Hey from South Korea! My name is Amelia Kirby and I am currently studying at HPU’s partner school Soonchunhyang!
About the school-
The school is located in Asan which is in the central part of the country. It is about 3 hours by subway and 40 min by KTX (the high-speed train) from Seoul. The school itself is in the countryside, but the school is large compared to HPU. Exchange students stay in a residential building called Global Village. Here international students live with Korean students. The school is on a big hill, and walking around campus there are a lot of stairs. Housing is at the top of the hill, so to get off and on campus you have to climb. When you first get to the school it is really overwhelming in all honesty. Remember that all exchange students there are in the same boat, and eveyone is adjusting to a new lifestyle.
Language Exchange Program-
Global Village has a program where international students do a “language exchange”. This program pays for housing in Global Village as well as some airfare credit and a weekly stipend of 120,000 SKW (around $90). In exchange international students have 6-9 exchange partners. You meet with your language exchange partners for one hour per week and just talk to them in English. It is a really good program that allows you to meet more people and establish friendships. There are not super strict guidelines on what to do when you are with your language exchanges so I normally get coffee or food with them or we just chit chat.
Housing-
Like I mentioned before the international exchange students live in Global Village. In this building, there are 4 halls, 2 for the boy's side and 2 for the girl's side. Boys are not allowed in the girl's halls and vice versa. There are two study rooms in the main area of the building and there is also a room with fridges and microwaves that is open from 6 am to midnight. The kitchen to cook food is only open at select times and it can be hard to find an open hot spot. In the main area of the building is also the laundry room. You have to pay for laundry and it is around a dollar to wash and around a dollar to dry. In the suites themselves, there are 12 people. There are 6 rooms with 2 people per room, in my suite we have 4 girls from America and 8 Koreans. 6 girls share a bathroom, I thought this would be an issue at first but there has not been much of a problem with it. Global Village has a ton of different people from all over the world so you get to meet people from multiple different nationalities. When I first got to Korea I was a bit overwhelmed but the foreign students got there a week before the Koreans moved in which allowed most of us time to settle and get acclimated.
The people in Korea-
Overall most people are really nice. Specifically in the SCH/Asan area, I have not met a lot of people who are rude towards foreigners. It is not uncommon to get asked questions by Koreans, especially older Koreans. Most of the time they mean no harm, they are just curious about why you are in their country. Most tourists stick to Seoul so people ask more questions when you are not in Seoul. Everyone in Global Village (GV) is really nice and wants to make friends with you. I was worried that living so close to people from a drastically different culture would cause conflict, but they want to share their culture with you and learn about things that you do back home. Everyone in GV speaks English (at varying levels) so the language barrier was not as big of an issue as I thought it would be. As far as those outside of GV, you can get by not speaking Korean but it will be useful to learn basics, like how to order. In places like Suwon, Jeju, and other parts of Korea that do not have as many foreigners, fewer people speak English.
Money-
Things in Korea are generally cheaper than in the US, but I would still allot around $2,000- $3,000 or more if you plan to travel. If you are a part of Global Village and the language exchange you will get a Korean bank card but unless you know the language it will be hard to navigate the app, so I ended up relying heavily on ATMs to access my card balance. I used my Chase Saphire credit card while I was abroad because it has 0 international fees, and it worked everywhere. Some of my friends had cards that worked at some places but not at other places, so I would recommend always having cash on hand. Additionally, as soon as you get there they will tell you to take out cash, you should take out more than you think you will need.
Transport-
Getting around South Korea is relatively easy once you get used to it. In Seoul, there is a subway network as well as buses that can take you around the city. There is also the KTX system which is how you get around going longer distances, across the country. In Asan, there are buses to get around, and there is 1 subway line in the area. Most day-to-day transportation is done on foot around the school. Although most people stay close to SCH during the week, there is a bus that takes students to and from the train station every day. Most traveling is done on the weekends because the school is in the countryside.
Visa-
Getting the D-2 visa was a lot easier than I thought it would be. The school sends you an acceptance to the school, then you fill out the application and take it to the Korean Embassy. When I got to my appointment it was less than 10 minutes. I gave them the paperwork, my passport, and a passport photo, then I signed a few papers and they sent me on my way. After 4 weeks I got my passport and visa grant notice in the mail. When I went through customs they did not even look at my visa, BUT the school needs it and will take you to get your Alien Registration Card(ARC). You cannot leave and re-enter the country without it, so while your ARC is being processed (about 6 weeks) you cannot leave the country.
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