Have Fun in Korea~ Past Review

Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc.

The workload was very minimal and the main focus seemed to be the communication between the students, foreign and non-foreign.

On-site administration of your program

The program has not been around for more than a decade, so there are still many developments currently in progress. The location was one of the issues for some students who wanted to travel to Seoul or bigger cities while in Korea, but it was possible thanks to the newly made train station a few years back. The program seems to be improving with every semester.

How satisfied were you with your living arrangements?

The ratio of international students to local students was 1 to 5. There was an imbalance there because each Korean students did not get a chance to stay with a foreign student, which seems unfair. Students were not able to have any cookware in the dorms and there was a curfew. The security guard was always on duty, but sometimes criticized the students too much on their behavior. Guests were usually not allowed into the dorms.

Since there were no cookware, students had to either order in or eat out most of the time. There are several restaurants around school campus, like kimbap nara which have a wide variety of Korean foods and an endless side-dish buffett. It's really cheap and close to campus. Other students went to E-Mart(kind of like WalMart) to buy food like tuna and rice instead.

How integrated did you feel with the local culture?

I am made some really good friends while on this trip. There were people from all over the world;Finland to Cambodia and they were very open minded, as were the local students. The program encourages interaction between the students through the weekly cultural exchange program and the fieldtrips. There are lots of activities and constant interaction while living in the dorms. Just be open minded about everything and people will follow.

How well were health issues addressed during the program?

There was not as much crime and because the school is located in the country, people were very much relaxed and slow paced. Only thing would be for students to watch their things in their dorms. Sometimes there are thefts, especially among the guys, so lock your cabinets and bedroom doors at all times.

(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost)

There was several hours of cultural exchange that had to be invested by each student, so during these times, we could teach each other about our culture and language. Korean language classes were mandatory for international students, which greatly encouraged students to learn the new language. There were different levels for each student based on their current knowledge of the language. Korean students seemed to understand the reading and writing portion of English pretty well, but because of the lack of verbal communication, there was a need for English students to know some Korean.

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• Dorm

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• International Students
• Local Students