Seoul Searching - The Exchange Experience
Written By: Tan Siang Ning
To be completely honest, Seoul as a destination for a semester exchange is something I have yet to give much consideration to.
The same could be said for Jacob So, a then Year 4 Linguistics and Multilingual Studies student who ultimately did his spring semester exchange at Sungkyunkwan University.
Meet Jacob So!
“I wanted to study at a university overseas, but lo and behold, COVID-19 happened, so I ended up going to a local university instead. But I still wanted exposure and independence, so I applied for exchange, and I chose Japan because I wanted to experience Japan’s culture,” he recalled.
“But I was informed that the university there does not have the modules needed to match the modules that my major offers, so I was re-allocated to South Korea. Still, I was definitely open to the experience of doing my exchange there. Because it was my first time being in South Korea.”
Life As An Exchange Student
As we delved deeper into Sungkyunkwan University and Jacob’s experience as an exchange student, I couldn’t help but be intrigued by the culture of the school, which certainly has its similarities and differences to that of NTU.
“You definitely will feel the Asian culture of mugging. Everybody’s really just studying hard. Every single bench, every single seat that can be sat at, you have someone sitting there and studying,” he remarked.
He also shared that the only difference in Sungkyunkwan University classes-wise is their use of flipped classrooms, where lecturers would pre-record lectures, and afterwards, students come to class and discuss them.
Other than that, a typical day for Jacob would involve him waking up at 8 am, having breakfast (or not), then going to school. What used to be a 40-minute walk to school with his roommate became a 15 to 20 minutes commute, having learned of a bike-sharing application that can also be used by foreigners.
Getting to the humanities campus, which he described as “a hassle”, involves walking through the old university campus and a subsequent walk up a hill.
The humanities campus at Sungkyunkwan University. Credit: Jacob So
However, if there is something that might have just brightened his day before heading to the classroom, it would be the coffee he never fails to get from the student café.
“I was a member of the café, they even gave me a points card, and I bought so much coffee. I even redeemed two free drinks,” he laughed.
He also shared that the only difference in Sungkyunkwan University classes-wise is their use of flipped classrooms, where lecturers would pre-record lectures, then students come to class and discuss them.
Other than that, a typical day for Jacob would involve him waking up at 8 am, having breakfast (or not), then going to school. What used to be a 40-minute walk to school with his roommate became a 15 to 20 minutes commute, having learned of a bike-sharing application that can also be used by foreigners.
For Jacob, classes go on throughout the entire day. When time is tight, he usually would order food from the cafeteria through ticketing machines and produce the ticket at the stall in order to get his food. Meals at the cafeteria typically cost 4,500 to 6,000 won, which were “very affordable and very delicious.”
When he has more free time for lunch, he would head out to housing estates near the humanities campus with his friends, which offers a wide variety of food from various cuisines. Otherwise, if there are no afternoon classes, he would book a seat in the library or study lounge and study until evening before heading back to his accommodation on campus.
His accommodation, which is a boys-only housing on campus, is situated at the heart of a mini U-town. With an abundance of photo booths, pubs, motels and gyms, hustle and bustle are ever present in that area. Whenever Jacob and his roommate, an Australian, are back home early, they seize the opportunity to explore the neighbourhood, pop down to the bar for beer or soju, or drink some coffee at the Mega Coffee before heading back to the dormitory.
Experience Beyond Studies
When asked if there were any particularly memorable moments during his time in Seoul, Jacob had several to share.
The first of them were concerts organised by none other than Sungkyunkwan University itself. For these kinds of university-organised concerts, students need not pay a single cent to enjoy them.
“You have K-pop bands and K-pop groups come to perform in these concerts, and everybody around the world knows about them,” Jacob shared. “I managed to catch artists like IVE, PSY and ITZY during the three concerts that I attended.”
Of course, it goes beyond just catching world-famous artists at these events. For Jacob, one of the more memorable concerts he attended involved everyone dancing to PSY’s Gentleman.
“Everybody’s hands were up, and the water bombs went off and everybody got drenched. There were even lasers. It’s a different feeling altogether,” said Jacob.
“The whole experience of being in a concert and jumping at the same time to a song makes you suddenly feel you’re with the crowd. You can feel everybody’s energy, even for me, who normally doesn’t go to concerts.”
Despite being on exchange, that doesn’t mean that Jacob stopped at just being a student at Sungkyunkwan University. The many places he visited in South Korea with his friends included famous tourist destinations within Seoul – Myeongdong, Hongdae and Namsan, to name a few. As for places outside of Seoul, Seokcho, Gangneung (noted to have a street famous for its coffee), Achasan and Incheon are included among them.
Of course, Jeju Island and Busan can’t be left out of his itinerary. While on Jeju Island, his friends suggested they stay at a different hotel every day, eventually culminating in them taking a bus to visit the northern, eastern, southern and western parts of Jeju Island.
“I’m like, ‘Are you sure you want to do that?’ And they were like, ‘Yeah sure, you know, let’s live life, you’ll never be 25 and broke again.’ And we did that,” Jacob shared.
For his birthday, Jacob went to a convenience store on Jeju Island. Instead of buying a cake, he bought instant ramen and stuck chopsticks as a replacement for birthday candles.
A happy birthday in the middle of nowhere. Credit: Jacob So
“We had my birthday in the middle of nowhere, we were at the roadside,” he said. “I spent my birthday in Jeju [Island] with my friends, away from my family. It was by myself, independently, overseas.”
As for Busan, which Jacob described as a “must go”, Gwangalli Beach was one of his destinations.
According to him, he did a number of activities that were very “touristy”, including sitting in a boat train capsule that goes along the beach. But what stood out to me was lighting Roman candles by the beach.
“We shot them [Roman candles] off into the sky,” he added.
Takeaways
As we wrapped up our conversation, I sensed that Jacob had no regrets going on exchange to Sungkyunkwan University instead.
“South Korea gave me a very different perspective to life in a big city,” Jacob said in agreement. “You get to see a lot of different aspects of the city.”
“I ended up making many local friends, who were very friendly. They were very open to sharing about their culture and bringing me to different places that a foreigner or international exchange student normally wouldn’t know,” he explained.
Perhaps one of these aspects originated from the numerous friendships he made during his stay. Starting with international students who eventually became a group of six, it eventually expanded to include locals as well.
“They were also very willing to go out of their way to assist me in things that I’m unsure of or wasn’t able to do myself.”
On the other hand, if there were several things that Jacob thought he could have done better, one of them, which involved doing research, stuck with me.
“I don’t really travel much, which meant that I was not proactively seeking things to do,” he said.
“It is only when I had to plan my Jeju [Island] trip or Busan trip with my friends among others did I realise it is very rewarding to do your own research and go travelling by yourself or with your friends. And that is something I never considered when I was in Singapore.”
Conclusion
When our conversation ultimately had to come to an end, Jacob mentioned that he really enjoyed speaking to me about his experiences.
While I was happy to hear he had a great time, I felt a stronger sense of gratefulness for the opportunity to speak to him.
One that I certainly will keep in mind when it’s time for me to sign up for exchange.
