A semester in Yeosu! September 13, 2023
By Angelica G (Biology and French, University of Nevada, Reno) - abroad from 08/29/2022 to 12/16/2022 with
USAC Korea: Gwangju - Undergraduate Courses
I learned Korean and I really learned how to be independent. It was the best experience of my life!
Personal Information
| How much international exposure did you have prior to this program? | 1 month - 6 months |
Review Your Program
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* Overall educational experience
Academic rigor, intensity, resources, etc. |
I did the Yeosu Korean intensive language program and we learned a year worth of Korean in one semester. Monday-Friday you learn Korean for three straight hours each day. There's a lot that we squeezed into a year so I think just that was a bit difficult but the teachers did well to help us understand the material. They also offer tutors to help once a week if we need help. |
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* Host Country Program Administration
On-site administration of your program |
The staff at the GEC was just amazing! They were always so helpful and they always made sure we were comfortable and having fun out there. They treated us like their kids and you can tell that they try really hard to improve their program each semester. |
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* Housing:
How satisfied were you with your living arrangements? |
For this program you're required to live on campus and the dorms were a bit outdated, but I think for the price its not bad. It has a gym, cafeteria, convenience store, near bus stops, and beautiful scenery outside. The dorms are also six-person dorms, I was a little worried about it but actually I found that I was glad we had them. I got roomed with the other female exchange students and a Korean student, we got so so so close and we had so much fun our little home. |
| * Food: |
Food in the cafeteria is a bit of a hit or miss depending on what you like. About halfway through the semester the menu got a bit repetitive but we usually just ordered in if we wanted too. If you are vegetarian, it's gonna be tough, there isn't a lot of options for you in the cafeteria. Overall though, for the price, you'll always have food available so you won't go hungry. |
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* Social & Cultural Integration:
How integrated did you feel with the local culture? |
The staff at the GEC plans a lot of activities to immerse yourself in the culture. I did taekwondo, tea culture class, tennis, a field trip to the green tea farm and a visit to a temple. We also got to go to a play about Korean history! Yeosu is more of an outskirt city so less people speak English, I think it forces you to immerse yourself and that was really nice. The city also has a lot of rich history so it's really fun to learn about. |
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* Health Care:
How well were health issues addressed during the program? |
Health care was amazing, we had insurance with the program so we could just go to the doctors whenever we needed. There was also a clinic really close to the campus in case we needed anything. |
| * Safety: |
We were pretty safe throughout the entire time, I can't really think of anytime where I felt unsafe. I'm also a woman and I felt comfortable going out, but of course it's good to stay in a group or pairs. |
| If you could do it all over again would you choose the same program? |
Yes
I felt like I got a lot of what Korea has to offer and my program allowed myself to truly immerse myself and learn the culture. I also felt like I had a lot of opportunities to meet local students. Learning the language was also just so amazing and fulfilling. |
Finances
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* Money: How easily were you able to live on a student's budget?
(1 = not very easy/$200+ on food & personal expenses/week, 2.5 = $100/week, 5 = very easily/minimal cost) |
To be honest there wasn't a lot of things to pay for, you live on campus so you walk to class, you have a meal plan so most of your meals are covered in that, and taxis are probably $7 and bus like $2. Meals at restaurants are also pretty cheap, I've been to nice restaurants where your meal was at most $15 or fast-food like $6.Field trips and other activities are covered in your program fees. Everything else is your own preference on how you spend it. Most expensive things would probably be inter-city buses, tickets depended on distance but the farthest I've ever gone was to Seoul and that was like $60. Also, theme parks or concerts are about that much too. |
| Not including program expenses, about how much money did you spend on food and other expenses each week? | Most weeks probably $50-$100 but again it depends. |
| Do you have any general money-saving tips for future study abroad participants? | Get souvenirs in the beginning because at the end you might be scrapping for money if you ended up spending more. Convenience stores have meals for up to $3 so ramen and rice balls were always my favorites. Never, spend more than $15 for a taxi, just take the bus. South Korea is honestly so cheap to travel in as an American so I think most people will be fine. Minimum, I'd say have $5,000 and that should keep you pretty comfortable for a semester. Keep your money for the insurance to the side, away from your spending money so you know you always have enough to pay each month. Buy household appliances and class materials at Daiso, its like the dollar store in Korea and they sell a lot of different stuff. $20 is too much for AYCE KBBQ in cities like Yeosu. Travel to other cities with your fellow exchange students, we split taxi fares and Airbnb's so that was nice. |
Language
| * Did your program have a foreign language component? | Yes |
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How much did the program encourage you to use the language?
0 = No encouragement, 5 = frequent encouragement to use the language |
Yeosu is the intensive language program so we always were encouraged to use the language. |
| How would you rate your language skills at the beginning of the program? | None |
| How would you rate your language skills at the end of the program? | Intermediate |
| What was the highest level language course you had completed prior to departure? | N/A |
| How many hours per day did you use the language? | |
| Do you have any tips/advice on the best ways to practice the language for future study abroad participants? | Do the buddy program in Yeosu and practice your Korean with them. Prioritize vocabulary because you'll learn a lot of words, take like an hour everyday to practice them. Us exchange students would always leave class talking with the new grammar that we learned that day. |
Other Program Information
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* Where did you live?
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* Who did you live with?
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* Who did you take classes with?
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| About how many local friends did you make that you will likely keep in touch with? | 10+ |
A Look Back
| * What did you like most about the program? |
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| * What could be improved? |
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| * What do you know now that you wish you knew before going on this program? | Make sure to have a credit card in case of emergencies. |
Reasons For Studying Abroad
| To help future students find programs attended by like-minded individuals, please choose the profile that most closely represents you. |
The Academic or LinguistYou went abroad with specific academic goals in mind; the program credentials and rigor of your coursework abroad were very important to you. You had a great time abroad, but never lost sight of your studies and (if applicable) were diligent with your foreign language study. Good for you! |
