Studying at SKKU, and experiencing South Korea!

From the beginning...

Everything began from Korean dramas ^^. In my country people love Korean dramas, and me as one of these people after watching the series of these dramas started seriously interested in South Korea. Everyday I was searching information on different websites about Korea, their culture, history, cities images, information about actors and actresses whom I saw from dramas, the level of development, the traditions and customs, holidays and finally the education. I stopped on one of the web pages where it was written: Study in South Korea! And there was a list of South Korea Universities. Hmmm, I was really surprised to see that there are so many universities in Korea, and they are almost all can provide education in English (for me the language point was really important, because I don’t familiar with Korean language^^). So… I thought, why don’t you try to think about finding some opportunity to study there???

Actually I’m second year student in KIMEP University in Kazakhstan; Our university has well-developed system of providing opportunities to students to apply for exchange program that offer a variety of abroad universities and these universities are very perspective and well-known in the world of education. So, finding out that I can apply to exchange program in my home university, I really became excited, because I found that there is a list of Korea Universities to which I can apply! Now… I thought, my dream to go and study in Korea would come true!!!

Everything is excellent, but one problem had occurred, which university to choose???
So, thank to god I somehow find out that there is a one-year exchange student from Korea. I got her number and we made an appointment to meet. She was really nice and very friendly to me, she explained me whole system of education in Korea, and she really helped me with choice. I showed her the list of universities, and she looked through it carefully and then she said: “Sungkyunkwan University”!!! Hmm….I was really wondering why the Sungkyunkwan University??? She started to explain me the reason and the perspectives and opportunities that this university can provide. I found out from her that Sungkynkwan University is one of the top Universities in South Korea. It is famous for its well-organized system of education and the main for its historic origin. I was really surprised that Sungkyunkwan University has been existing since 14th century, and it was found in 1398 year, and it is in the list of the oldest universities in the world coming after Harvard and Oxford Universities. Can you imagine??? It means that now it’s almost 600 years passed. The right word for describing it is - unique origin, and exactly this partial slogan now is used by university. Of course, at the beginning this university which had been found by royal decree was primarily addressed in studying Confucianism and it was the highest educational institute, and the name of University that was given and is still used means “an institution for building harmonious society of perfected human beings.” It sounds great, isn’t it??? I think this philosophy is what the university has achieved today.

Nowadays, Sungkyunkwan University is one of the top of Korea Universities, and it’s developing day by day. As I understood many students attempt to enter this University in Korea, and its name is extending not only in East Asia countries but also among other foreign countries. Year by year more International students come to study in this university. Sungkyunkwan University built a great respect and value that the world of education in technology, medicine, business, and high degree of career professionalism today needs. After exploring such great source of information about this University, I finally decided which university to choose!

I’m so excited, now I know that in few months I will be in Korea, and I will be studying at the university about which I heard so many incredible things. I’m wondering how it would be in the reality???

Two weeks left to my leaving to Korea, and today I received mail from Korean guy, he is a member of International organization in University, called Hi-club! He said that he is my buddy, and he will coordinate and help me at any time when I need a help while staying in Korea. Also he said that he would like to be good friends, and he wrote in big letters “WELCOME TO KOREA, WELCOME TO SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY!!!” That was a big sign of fact that Korea is waiting for me! Ha-ha^^

Let’s get start!

Today is 18th of February, my plain is landing. Oh God! That is indescribable feelings, I’m in Korea, and I’m in Seoul!!!
So, I passed check-in and now I’m going outside, the first thing that I saw was I big poster with my name carrying by Korean guy!!! Ha-ha, here I am! Saying him hello I saw his happy face and I’m sure my face was happy too…^^

My buddy is so nice and friendly; on the way to my dorm we were talking about everything, from who I am to what is economics condition in the world!
Yes! Finally we reached to the place where my school and dorm are located. I’m shocked, such a nice location! Streets so busy, so many people, so many restaurants and cafes, boutiques, convenient stores!!! That is great! It means that you will never feel bored living in such area!

Feel yourself as at home!!!

I see the dorm, it is written “International House”! The first thing that came to my mind is that it means that only International people live here, and I will find a lot of friends from all over the world!!!
So, what do you think I saw inside? First of all there was a really kind and helpful doorkeeper, who welcomed me and tried to registrar me as soon as possible, understanding that I must be tired from such a long trip and I need to have a rest! Looking around, I saw very nice lobby, so clean and so modern, and one thing that made me surprised, there was a big ping-pong table! Wow, it means here you can do some free exercising! Then you go further and you see a big rest room. It is very nice place to meet with your foreign friends in evening and discuss with a cup of tea how your day was. Also, there are three computers, that have access to internet, and you can use it whenever you want. Actually, when I first entered this room, I felt myself as at home; it is like being in your own house, with sofas, and even TV. And there is a cabled TV, you can watch some movies and different TV shows in English, as well as in Korean, if you want to learn it in this way. I think there is no limits what can you do in this rest room; you even can invite your Korean or other friends, and have some nice dinner with them. Yeah, finally we reached to one of the most important point that the dorm provides, it is a big kitchen room. It’s really modernized with all necessary facilities and tools. There are many refrigerators where you can keep you foods, oven, cookers, and microwaves, in short, everything that you need for cooking you can find here.
So, now I’m going to my room. Wow!!!! That’s great; my room is so big, clean and light. There is special desk with desk lamp, and book shelves, very good condition to study. Big bed, with prepared pillows, shits and blanket. Balcony, bathroom, everything looks very nice.

Studying in SKKU.

Everything is perfect!!! Our school is so close to dorm, it takes me only 5 min to get there. The campus of school is very nice. Coming from the main gates, you can see historical buildings that were constructed at the time of Old Sungkyunkwan University. That makes you feel the real traditional spirit of Korean culture. You even can take a picture, because you are experiencing the great trace of history that was left since 600 years ago. Further, you can see different building halls that are divided by the departments, such as Business building, Economics, Law Building. The auditory in the buildings is very modernized and modified with last technological improvements that provide highly-leveled condition to get a good knowledge from professors during the class. The professors, who teach either in English or in Korean are all professionals in their subject area, they are all graduated from well known universities, with PhD degree. Each professor follow own systematical method of educational process, so that it makes students easily understand and catch the necessary material from each subject. Also, professors primarily focus on students, and I think it is really important, because only in this way students can feel their high importance in the class and therefore it makes the process of education more enjoyable and useful for students.

One of the important points for making your studying process progressively is the Central Library in SKKU. This library is really good place to study and it is very big. Wireless Internet is everywhere, but if you don’t have a laptop, it’s not a problem, because everywhere in campus you can find a computer and use it. Library divided in different reading halls, so if you want to search for specific sources of information, you can easily orientate by looking at different sections in which a variety of books are provided. One more important thing about library, during examination period, it works 24 hours. So, if you feel that in library it is more convenient to study, and you are short of time to prepare for each subject during the day, you just can easily go there and prepare until you finish. In library there is also good place to have a rest. If you are tired from studying and you want to take a break, on the first floor you will find a nice place for having a rest and meeting with friends.

Of course, one of important thing that we should take care about is having a meal during you busy day in school. In campus there are so many canteens and convenient stores where you can have a good meal, so then you will fill yourself with energy and will be able to continue to study. But also as we know, our campus is located in the center of Seoul, so that there are a lot of places around, where you can have a delicious traditional food as well as try other cousines.

Perfect location!

Actually I don’t afraid to repeat that the location of university and dorm is perfect. Everything that you need you just can find here without any effort. The Seoul has a big Metropolitan Subway and it is one of the most heavily used rapid transit systems in the world, with well over 8 million trips daily on the system's ten lines, and number of stations is more than 260. At the beginning I was really afraid of getting lost to go somewhere by subway, but then I realized that everything is well-organized in subway stations, so that you will never get lost and you will find the right direction easily. The nearest station to dorm and school is called Hyewha station, and it takes only 5 min to get there. There are also many bus stops near the school. So it means that in order to visit different places in Seoul, and just look around you can take either a bus, or subway without any difficulties. Of course, the taxi is also available, so that if you are late taking a bus or subway, usually this time is midnight, you can just take a taxi.
Sightseeing in Seoul.

Seoul is a great city! It has so many places which you can visit and you definitely will remember them for whole life. It is really rich city with cultural and traditional places, so that it makes modernized Seoul more attractive, because it combines the two epochs of history, new century of rapid developing technology and early centuries of historical events and traditional way of living of Korean nation. One of the most memorable places for me in Seoul was a Namsan tower. This tower is built on the top of mountain, so that this tower is seen from each side of Seoul. There is a wonderful view on the city with skyscrapers buildings, and it is really romantic especially in night^^, when a lot of lights of night Seoul spread in front of your eyes. Also, this place is famous for couples, who believe and wish for internal love, by putting locks with their names to gates in form of heart. Another place in Seoul, that is really impressed me is a traditional house village, this is a right place especially when you really want to experience the traditional spirit of Korean culture. There you will see a gorgeous park that is full of perfect places to be close to nature, and there you even can have a small picnic with your friends lying on the grass and enjoying the life! Also, there you will find a traditional Korean houses that made of wood and inside of them you can find a different types of handcrafts that represent the symbols in Korean traditional culture. Also, Seoul is rich with it historical palaces. One of them is Changdeokgung Palace. This palace is famous with its ancient architecture that represents the magnificent history with enormous events that occurred to ancient Korea.
When I were walking along this palace, I felt the real power of Empire epoch which made me so excited, and the air that you breath make you feel the harmony of prosperity that was definitely build by ancient Korean society. Along with these incredible places, you can go to the river that is in Central Seoul; there you will find many entertainment centers, restaurants, and parks and it is the place where you can spend and enjoy your time having a fun with your friends.
What about the most popular shopping areas in Seoul? I think it is one of the most important part while being in foreign country!:) Well, I think that Seoul is the best city with shopping in the world! The most popular shopping areas in Seoul are: Myongdong and Dongdeamun Stadium. These places are the most adorable for people who are crazy about shopping. Especially for me^^. There is a big busy district that is always full of people, and the shopping malls is everywhere, you can find here whatever you want and buy it, so many cafes and restaurants around, entertainment centers, theaters, and I think it is even impossible to look through all of them in one day, you need to dedicate almost 2 or even 3 days! It sounds amazing, isn’t it?
Actually I think there are so many places in Seoul, so that it is even impossible to describe them at once in one page. Everything that you need is just take a map and go wherever you want, and don’t worry about whether is the right place to go or not, because I think that in South Korea, you will enjoy everything, starting from food to sightseeing. By the way, the most important thing that has left about sightseeing is that all places that I described above, are located near our school, and it will take no more than 3 subway stations to get there, what is more that the Changdeokgung palace is located in 5 minutes by walk from school, and again it proves the fact that our university and dorm has a perfect location for making your life enjoyable in Seoul.

Enjoy your food in Korea!

So, let’s talk about the Korean food and the places around the school where you can have a delicious meal. Actually, to be honest, before coming to Korea, I and my parents were worrying about food, because, we thought that every food in Korea is spicy and hot, so that it is impossible to have appropriate meal for people who don’t usually eat in every day life such kind of food. But I was wrong, the Korean food is not so spicy and furthermore I found that Korean food is really delicious. Everything that I tried was so good, that I even started to think about learning how to cook such food so that I can cook and eat it in my home country. You will always have a variety of dishes offered in menu. Almost each food contains the rice, seafood and different vegetables. When you order the specific food, you will always see different salads, soups, and sauces that will be brought along with your main menu choice. The most important thing that you should know is that all Korean food is really healthy and it contains a variety of different ingredients that our organism needs.

As I already mentioned, there are a lot of places around campus and dorm, where you can have a meal. Also, there is a very famous area of cheap and delicious food near the school. It takes only 5 minutes to go down by stairs from Central library to Small Street that is full of cafes and buffets. Usually students go there, sometimes this street called “Meal students union,” ha-ha. Of course, there is not only Korean food that you can eat; there are a lot of places which offer you food of different cousine. Also, when you are lack of time, you just can go to fast food restaurants such as McDonalds and Burger House to fulfill your hanger fast and easy. But if you don’t want to go outside to eat, and want to stay at dorm just because of weather or something else, you can easily order the food, just make once a call and in 10 minutes you will be ready to enjoy your meal. I was really surprised by the delivery system in Seoul, it is so fast and convenient, and you even don’t need to put any effort except your one minute call. But if you good at cooking and you prefer to have own prepared food, you can easily do it remembering that there is a very good dormitory’s kitchen with all that kitchen stuff. Just buy some products from nearest supermarket and have own cooked meal.

People in Korea.

Actually, I think that for international people the most important things along with food, sightseeing, and living condition in foreign country, it is also really important to adapt to country’s society that is sometimes hard and sometimes easy. What about Korea?
It’s known that any society consist of group of people, who is definitely play an important role in each person’s life, and that is right, everyone who is around me here play an important role in my life as well as I do in their lives. I think it is impossible to describe in words what kind of people they are, but you should feel it. Everyone here is so kind and friendly, at the same time so shy and modest. When you need some help, they will always support you and always try to do the best in order to make your life here so enjoyable. Whatever you want, whatever you need, just ask them, they will help you. For example, when classes started, I didn’t know anything, what is a school site to download the lectures, where I can buy books, where is the building in which class will be held, and etc. Of course, you can ask your Korean buddy, but what if your buddy is not taking the same classes as you, and he or she doesn’t know everything what is requirements of your specific class, however, you can easily ask anyone who is attending the same class as you, and be sure, there will be so many volunteers, who definitely will answer to your all questions, and who will always help you to do the best during the semester in this class! Korean people are really kind, and their hospitality to foreign people make you feel as in own home country. I easily found many friends, because it’s easy to communicate with them, they are open-minded and easy-going. We always study together as well as hanging out after the classes, having a dinner and going to entertainment centers to have a fun. It is really nice to have Korean friends, so that you can experience another culture and find from it something useful for you. In short, I think in Korea, and in SKKU you will not have any difficulties to find very good people who will be always around you, helping and just supporting you in everything.

SKKU – good chance, good knowledge, good friends!

I’m really happy that my choice was a Sungkyunkwan University! Here, I found a lot of opportunities to improve and develop my personal qualities, to wide my knowledge about different cultures and their ways of living, to experience the great educational system that allows me to build a good background for career goals, and of course the last but not least important is to find good and loyal friends!!! The thing is that’s really true about the slogan of SKKU: Unique origin, unique future, and that is what I have today!

I love SKKU! I love KOREA!