Korea Semester Abroad: A Long Journey Begins
26.08.2022 - 09.01.2023
The adventure begins...
26.08.2022 - Friday
It all starts with Korean Air flight KE906
- from Frankfurt (19:40)
- top Incheon 14:05 + 1
over 11:25 Stunden.
The movies "Dune", "Morbius" and "Detective Pikachu", coupled with excitement and anticipation, as well as numerous technical devices helped to make for an entertaining flight in the too-small seats of the Korean airline. The flat-rate drinks and delicious 3 in-flight meals were also appreciated.
27.08.2022 - Saturday
I arrive in Incheon without any problems. Due to the time difference of -7 hours to Germany, I am now a time traveler in the future. After the long flight, I first travel to the already booked GL City Hotel Incheon. There a yellow cab (the black cabs are more expensive) takes me for 20,000₩ within 20 minutes.
By the way, the conversion rate from KRW (₩) to Euro is about 1€ = 1200₩.
In my head, a price tracing then went something like this: 20,000₩ => 20 => ~€16
At the airport and in the evening with a first food order I realize right at the beginning of the adventure: The Koreans can unfortunately less English than hoped. Nevertheless, I manage with hands and feet to get a decent portion of chicken for 5€, as well as at night in one of the many "convenience stores" a "T-Money" - card. After that, the jet lag is slept off until Sunday. Whereby travel tip for students: You can't get jet lag if your own sleep rhythm can't be saved anyway.
Off to Daegu
I leave Incheon first to Seoul Station. From the metropolis of millions, however, it's (first) directly again with the "KTX" - fast train booked at the counter on site. This transports us with 300 km/h directly to Daegu.
- Daegu is the third largest city in Korea with a population of 2.5 million.
- Busan follows in second place with 3.4 million.
- Seoul (+ Incheon) is unchallenged with more than 10 million!
At the "Dongdaegu" train station, I am picked up together with my friend Samuel by my Korean buddy "임동혠". He introduces himself to us with the name "Lim" and leads us through the bus crowd to the university campus. Boy, is this all huge.
Lim first helps us find our dormitory here and check in. Everyone gets a key card for their own double room including bathroom, which can be used to open entrances to the dormitory building and their own room. I share the room with Samuel for the semester and we find a small, slightly dirty room on the 3rd floor of the dormitory, called "Cheomsong-Gwan": Room 1-314. But hey - it's just sleeping here anyway.
Afterwards Samuel & I walk together with Lim over the huge campus of the KNU. He shows us generally important premises, such as libraries & cafeterias, but also to our courses already chosen in Germany the buildings and classrooms to which we must go. Also, we are shown several apps of the KNU, in which you can
- receive homework & grades
- get access to certain buildings via QR - codes
- receive general university info
- receive dormitory info
I try desperately to remember everything or write it down.
In the evening, the three of us go into town for a welcome dinner and buy the necessities for the first furnishing of the room. We buy bed linen, clothes rack, coat hooks, hooks for the bathroom, toilet paper, various trash cans, etc.. We also order an LED chain for lighting the room, because the hospital room lamp here is incredibly bright white light with headache guarantee.
The first days
29.08.2022 – Monday
Today we accompany Lim once again to pick up the rest of the Darmstadters, Cedric & Stefan, and on their campus tour. Together we go shopping for some stuff for the room.
In the evening we met in this constellation of five with some other internationals and Samuel's buddy "Moon".
Two exchange students each, self-christened "Internationals", were assigned a Korean student by KNU. This "buddy" was mainly intended as a contact point for problems within the study program, but could be approached for anything. Depending on the mood and general motivation of all sides, it was often possible to organize further events with him, whether dinners or even weekend trips.
- Lim was the buddy of Cedric and me
- Moon belonged to Samuel & Stefan
31.08.2022 – Wednesday
Today was a big welcome event.
Here you can see how many internationals are making Korea unsafe together this semester - over 300!
In the evening, our growing group "celebrates" the start of university until the early morning. Here we also get to know the "Sugar Joes": A small bar at the "North-Gate" - exit of the KNU. Here we will show up a few more times soon, because: It is cozy and English is understood here.
Let the university begin
01.09.2022 – 02.09.2022 – Thursday to friday
The next day, I was slightly knocked out and went back to my daily university routine. Unfortunately, I also immediately find out that the 4th module "Machine Learning" will take place completely in Korean. I don't have a chance and choose it directly via one of the many apps of the university.
There were 3 modules left: "Wireless Networks", "Korea in Motion: Korean Films and the new wave" and "Korean Language I".
I couldn't choose much more courses either, since I'm in my 5th semester of computer science and have accordingly passed and finished almost all modules. This combined with the small winter semester selection of English courses didn't leave much choice.
Otherwise it was a normal university week:
Sleep in, eat in the cafeteria or North Gate, attend lectures and study, and in the evening eat again and possibly go out for a drink. Sometimes we also meet here and there on campus or elsewhere (bouldering gym, basketball court, bars, ...).
If there are gaps here now and then, it is because I actually worked in Korea and studied in such university weeks. Accordingly, nothing particularly exciting can be reported about it. It may seem as if I was only partying and traveling - unfortunately not quite.
About Korea and its university
You're supposed to wear masks in Korea wherever you have a roof over your head. And if you wear it so often, it's rarely taken off otherwise. Corona is not a main topic now, as one would have expected in Asia, but similar to Germany 2022 always in the background. In the university, you have Plexiglas screens between the lecture hall seats and the teachers use microphones with speakers distributed in the rooms.
There are two major special features:
- Attendance: is mandatory and graded: ~80% of the courses must be attended, otherwise you fail. But this also means that with a high attendance the module is almost finished.
- Form of examination: In each module 2 examinations are written: Midterm and a final. Together with practicals, homework and attendance, these result in the final module grade.
But the rest is familiar: lecturing professor in front and listening, sleeping or despairing students in the seats.
By the way, at the beginning of September there was a natural disaster in Korea and Japan: The typhoon goes superstorm "Hinnamnor". Except for a slightly more intense wind, but you get nothing of it, except that it is suddenly no longer so humid. I take advantage of the fact that you don't sweat when you're standing still to go for a jog on the campus running track.
Daegu city tour
07.09.2022 – Wednesday
Today the "Daegu City Tour" organized by KNU took place.
Here we are shown interesting and historical places of Daegu city in the evening.
In the next part, the first trip to Busan was organized.