Comments on: Exchange Student at SNU Offers Advice

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 05:05:16 +0000

고대 students are famous for their drinking ability, and their faithfulness to 전통술.
Oh, I’m certain that if I were to apply for the program my Korean would certainly qualify me. I may well have been able to get in back when I was doing my MA and first encouraged to apply ~ especially since I gather there was a push to get non-heritage students involved. In the end though, despite the potential to increase my Korean, I didn’t find that it fit very well with my projected career path, particularly when I already had a fellowship for another program. At any rate, I’m getting lots of practice here in my current job, where I not only have to speak Korean, but also am involved in one of the major KS journals. When I decide to go back, it’ll be for a PhD.

By: qklilx

qklilx — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 10:52:32 +0000

Ah cool. Yeah I’m saving up money with a 원룸 or something similar in mind. A place where I’m living on my own. I’m tired of dealing with the Korean dorm curfews and other rules and restrictions, though I was lucky to have the curfew overridden by my manager roommate in my first semester.

KU students like alcohol? I’m glad you said that! It’s probably not a good thing, but if I wasn’t studying at SCH I was probably out drinking with a bunch of Korean friends. I’m sure I’ll fit right in.

Yeah I heard the MA program is crazy rigorous. My friend is in it and he said they read something like 50 pages of political works every week. I’m not sure what his job duties were before it but he went back to it for the internship AND after graduation and he’s usually giving defenses and debating North Korean politics, often in Korean. But you know honestly your Korean doesn’t have to be as good as you think to get in; that’s the purpose of the program: to improve your ability. I got into the BA program with an apparent OPI 1+ speaking grade. By the time the fall semester started I’m sure I upped it to at LEAST 2- since I had my interview before the spring semester started, and I talked in Korean more than ever before this spring. There are 2 or 3 students in my cohort who have a tough time speaking, probably in the 1 or 1- range.

But at least you found other work instead. You may keep it in mind for the future though if you want to boost up your Korean. Like I said my friend left his job while studying in Hawaii and went back in place of the internship during the KU period.

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 06:02:17 +0000

The general campus area has most of the basic things you need, but is slightly out of the downtown area. There’s the usual number of 한숙집, 고시원, 고시텔, and 원룹 for housin options. I haven’t seen the international dorms, but I hear they’re rather nice (at least their lobby is!) CJ house is essentially a very lovely 고시원. I borrowed the money to put down 보중금 on a studio, and lived very happily near 보문 station, which is one subway stop away from the back end of campus. Most of the time you’ll probably use 안암역 rather than 고대역, since there’s more out the back gate than the front. Food isn’t fabulous, but it is cheap, and 참살이길 has lots of little restaurants and drinking establishments. Be warned, 고대 students like to drink. A lot. But it’s a cheaper area than being in 신촌 or 홍대 for example.
I know about Flagship because I was asked to apply twice ~ once while I was in grad school, but I didn’t feel that my Korean was quite up to speed then. While I was at 고대 the KU prof. in charge of the program there met me at the 어학당 and told me I should apply, but I didn’t want to return to the states since I had an offer for a research position/internship in Korea.

By: qklilx

qklilx — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:42:35 +0000

Yep, Flagship indeed! How’d you know about it?

I don’t need information on classes since I’ll be in a different situation than most any foreigner there. Any info on housing and the general campus area is good since I’ve never been up to that part of Seoul. I like to know my area before heading out; did it both times I went to Korea before so I knew what to expect. I can’t really think of anything else I’d want to know. I’ve got plenty of experience in Korea already.

Thanks!

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 01:02:33 +0000

Sounds like you’re in the Flagship program?
KU has a very lovely campus (I’d say the nicest in Seoul), and I found most of the people there to be really great. There’s quite a few professors who I found really helpful (although sadly I don’t really know any in anth) who went out of their way to help my friends and I with our study interests. The housing situation in the area is so-so, but liveable. Bus access is better than subway. Man, so much to tell! Anything in particular you’re interested in knowing? I didn’t attend anything other than their 어학당 so I can’t really help out with class information . . .

By: qklilx

qklilx — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 11:56:00 +0000

Gomushin I didn’t think about that. And how coincidental that I’ll be taking anthropology classes when I’m at KU. The lucky advantage I get is that I have to spend a couple semesters doing prep work so I can understand the lectures before heading out to Korea. I’ve got 3 more semesters before I go.

By the way, what can you tell me about KU? I’ve got 3 semesters of experience at 2 different Korean universities and I’m currently doing prep studies for TOPIK 5, with expectations to either pass or come close to passing TOPIK 6 before I attend (it’s required in my program to do that well first). I don’t need advice on classes since I’ll only be taking anthropology classes in Korean.

By: mstrum

mstrum — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 02:43:51 +0000

Yeah, that’s pretty sound advice

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:42:57 +0000

@mstrum Still, living in the dorms can be a valuable way to experience campus life and meet people. Just check what kind of restrictions and conditions there are before you agree. That said, 하숙집 and 고시원 also provide a good, supportive atmosphere. Shop around.

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 01:40:45 +0000

My own personal advice for taking a class in Korean is to take something low level on a topic with which you are already VERY familiar with in English, but does NOT use a lot of jargon. For example, even though I studied anthropology and area studies, I would probably not take classes in those areas because they’d still have a substantial amount of vocab that would be foreign to me (and I graduated from the 6th and final level at 고대, with a few years now of working in Korean-speaking offices) because it’s specific to the field. However, I could probably squeak by in an English lit or American history class. Why? Because I’d already know the content, and could concentrate on using my language skills instead. This makes it a game of matching my knowledge to new words and grammar, rather than trying to match new words and grammar to new information and content.

By: mstrum

mstrum — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 14:04:06 +0000

Yeah, choosing where to live is definitely a hard decision for me. I’ve never lived in freshman-type dorms so I might need to look off campus.

The good thing is that SNU offers a lot of classes in English, so theoretically I wouldn’t even need to take a class in Korean. I want to take at least one regular class in Korean so I have that opportunity.

By: mstrum

mstrum — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 13:56:16 +0000

Thanks for contributing your tips! I really appreciate it!

By: qklilx

qklilx — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 10:11:56 +0000

Sean’s information is 100% true. And in fact some Korean students (perhaps not at SNU) will take as many as 24 credits and still not study all that much except for so-called “study weeks.”

Just a heads up, at most schools or perhaps all, you need a minimum TOPIK 4 ability in Korean to attend classes with Korean students. At your current rate I’m sure you won’t have a problem doing that, but with just that qualification I’ve heard from students that it’s tough listening to lectures and understanding everything that’s going on and doing the homework properly. So be careful. Also the school will give you a placement test and most likely all you have to do is get placed in level 5 and you should be good to go. In fact at SCH levels 5 and 6 were optional.

But man when I go to KU in 2011 I’m gonna try to get my own place. I have a friend there right now who got a deal paying 400-something thousand a month in the campus area. The dorms are fun to live in but some are internationals only, have crazy tight rules, etc. The rules are pretty much the same across the nation but some dorm buildings might be more lax than others. It’s up to luck. I just got a job that’ll pretty much ensure I’ve got enough money for my year at KU.

It’s good you’re doing a bunch of research on this ahead of time. You’re also going there with more language ability than I had. The only advantage I had, in my opinion, is that when I could actually have a conversation I had already studied in Korea once before so I knew what to expect.

Ah, just thinking about it makes me jealous. lol

By: Gomushin Girl

Gomushin Girl — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 06:10:57 +0000

I can’t really add anything specific about 서울대 (although I’d be glad to help out anybody wondering about 서울여대, 아주대, or 고대), but the advice seems pretty spot-on for most Korean universities.
If you can’t get a room in the door but don’t want to commit to the lease on a 원룸 (and expect to find your lease very difficult to break if you don’t stay the full term), look into 고시원 or 고시텔, of which there are likely to be gads of near school. They are essentially privately run dormatories, and can run as little as 150,000 won a month for a VERY basic (possibly windowless) room to something more like 300,000 for a nicer single. It’ll be one to four people per small room, usually furnished with bed, desk, and wardrobe, and usually having communal bathrooms, showers, kitchen, and lounge area. Some provide students with free rice and kimchi.
Another alternative is 하숙집, which will usually run between 4-600,000 won per month for a furnished private room, shared bathroom, and two meals a day. Particularly if you eat on a very regular schedule and like Korean food, this is actually a very economical way to live, and usually pretty comfortable. There may be restrictions on visitors in either kind of housing, particularly in the evening hours.
A few more things to ask about the dorms before you apply: a) is there a curfew? b) are the dorms integrated or are international students housed separately? Curfews can be annoying (and expensive, if you end up spending the night someplace like a 여관 or 찜질방), and being in a segregated dorm is a mixed bag. Usually international dorms are much nicer and less restrictive than regular Korean dorms, but you will miss chances to make social ties.
Here’s a second to joining a 동아리. It will take up all your free time, but it’s hands-down the best way to make Korean friends.
Second again to speak as much Korean as you can ~ not only will it make some Koreans more comfortable and enlarge the range of friends you can make, it will also improve your Korean and weed out people more interested in practicing their English than really engaging with you as a person. There’s a big gap in the quality of friends I made after I learned enough Korean to be functional in the language, and it’s definitely allowed me to meet and learn from people I wouldn’t have been able to know otherwise. Even if your friends all speak lovely English (and at SNU a fair number will) make the effort to say what you can in Korean, and only use English when you have to.
Definitely take a few hundred extra dollars to travel around Korea if you can afford it. This is an amazing country and has some wonderful things to do and see that extend well beyond the boundaries of Seoul. Travel with your Korean friends to their hometowns, go on trips with your 동아리, see if your professors will sketch out a trip to somewhere related to your studies. There’s also a number of excellent tours in English, particularly by the Royal Asiatic Society, whose bi-weekly lectures on Korean studies are also well worth attending.

By: Chunbum Park

Chunbum Park — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 05:31:59 +0000

This is awesome. Thx to both of u.