I have to admit: Google just taught me how to write Seoul in the native Korean letters. But I have booked a Korean course, the flight as well and a seat in the uni library should be reserved by now. I will be studying in Korean next semester! A bit of a FAQ to clear up your mind 😉
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| What a town! Seoul, Korea. captured by Caroline Meier |
Why Korea?
I wanted to go somewhere different and that is why I chose Asia. And Korea is known for hardcore learning at Uni. In my case the uni library is open 24/7 to guarantee that you have enough ’study time‘ …
After talking to the officials at my uni there where Beijing, Singapore, Hong Kong and Seoul as good options left. I guess that Seoul has a pretty Western World touch, but its very own traditions and rules. And of course, enough courses in English to offer.
Finally, I had good luck, that the agreement between the two unis could be completed within the application deadline.
What is your preparation? Are you already learning Korean?
There is not much to do right now. I am waiting for my visa and I still study and work in Switzerland (Seoul is not the cheapest). I plan the whole thing like a long trip. And normally a longer trip is hard to plan or to feel nervous about because it is hard to imagine before you are there. And luggage is limited to 30kg anyways.
I am going to learn Korean at the uni in Korea. There the courses are for free and – pretty sure – more useful than here. But it might be an advantage to know some phrases or numbers, before I leave home.
I want to go! How?
Let’s go! Do not hesitate for long, the preparation will take you a while and there is no way to answer all your questions before you leave.
From my experience I can tell you one thing. Talk directly to the officials at your uni, talk about your dream destination and do not let you talk into any administrative discussion. Keep your goal. Prior to my trial to go to Asia there where no partner unis in Asia. Now there are 4!
Korea will definitely be a ‚Journey in Thoughts‘ and so there is more than enough material to feed my Blogger and finally your hungry eyes… Stay tuned!
Caroulein found her way to Seoul early than me and she contributed the photos for this and the German version of this blog post. Thx!
