Studying Abroad in South Korea

Carey McClure

Education Abroad

For four weeks, I studied abroad in South Korea with ISA’s Korean Language Electives in English Summer I program.  I took two classes, Beginning Korean II-A and Korean Cinema and Visual Culture at Korea University. My classes were Monday to Thursday from 2:00-7:20 pm. On weekends, I would explore Korea with my friends or through activities offered by ISA or Korea University.

This was my first time studying abroad. Not only was it my first time studying abroad, it was the first time I traveled outside of the United States. Also, it was the first time I had to navigate an airport by myself. It has been years since I have been in an airport and I only went to Florida with my family. I had to find the correct gates, go through customs, and get my baggage to the right place. The good thing was that I had only one layover in Toronto, Canada. Another aspect was this was not a simple one or two-hour plane ride, it was a fourteen-hour plane ride which was tough. Luckily, I was entertained with food, games, movies, and music offered by Air Canada. When I arrived in Korea I was accommodated with transportation to my dormitory, but there was no transportation provided going back. I had a taxi take me back to Incheon Airport. This again was another first for me, riding in a taxi. Despite the newness of traveling alone, I made it safely to South Korea and back to the United States.  I felt a sense of accomplishment that I could be independent and travel on my own.

One part of my life that makes me unique is that I am a triplet. This means that my siblings were always with me wherever I went, including vacations. We all go to different colleges now, but this felt different. I would have liked them to come with because I would have felt more comfortable and at ease with them by my side. The good news is that it helped me grow to not be so dependent on my sisters, but to do things on my own. Even though I couldn’t see their faces every day, I still could contact my family if I needed to. I admit my experience would have been more enjoyable with the people that I care about the most, but it was still an amazing experience for me to have. One thing that surprised me was that I wasn’t homesick. I really loved Korea and enjoyed every moment of it, and was sad to leave.

I have lived in rural areas for all my life. Although I have been to Chicago, New York City, Minneapolis, and Orlando as mentioned earlier I wasn’t alone, but with my family or a group of people. I did have friends who were also studying with me in Korea, but we weren’t together all the time. One aspect that I couldn’t get used to by the time I left was the subway. There are a lot of people crowded in one space, and it moves fast. There is a bit of pushing to get off and onto the subway as well. I didn’t feel comfortable going by myself because I didn’t know what subway to take or where to get off, so I usually had someone with me. Instead of having a map for Anam, I had to remember landmarks to go where I needed to go. After a couple of days, I knew my way around by walking, and felt comfortable.

I sort of had an idea of what Korea would be like since I am engaged in the culture everyday through Korean dramas, reality shows, Korean pop music, and the Korean language. I thought when I came back from Korea I would be more fluent in the language and better than I was before I left. This assumption was wrong as I had difficulty improving. When I read about Korea it said most people know a little English, and that English is usually their foreign language. I found this not to be true. In the classroom only Korean was spoken. This made it hard for me to learn new words because when I had questions the response was usually in Korean with words I did not know. Even though I knew that a semester would be packed into four weeks, I didn’t think there would be a lot of work to do since it was summer. Again, I was wrong, one week I had an exam, speech, and quiz with two of them on the same day. There were lots of papers to write and words to remember. I would start class at 2pm every day and end at 7:20. My schedule left me with not a lot of time for exploring. Before I left for Korea I thought I wouldn’t be able to find something to eat as I am picky with my food. The food there was amazing and I enjoyed trying new foods. One thing that disturbed me was the stench that came from the sewer system, I had to smell it every time I went out as it was next to my dormitory. I have never experienced this in the United States, and was surprised to find it like this in Seoul. I thought it was very modernized. Many times, in Korea I found people to be very helpful and kind. People would help me if I needed help paying the right amount of money, choosing what to eat, or they would direct me to where I needed to go. Lastly, I knew that Korea is more collective than the United States. What I didn’t know was that everyone travels as group everywhere they go, it was rare to see anyone alone unless it was on the subway. Everyone ate together and couples were holding hands everywhere. When going to restaurants most items on the menu are in big portions because everyone shares their food. It is expected that people eat together and not alone.

This experience was a great starting point for getting to know Korea. I didn’t realize how short four weeks would be, because I didn’t have enough time to do what I wanted outside of class. Classes were long and required studying on the weekends in addition to homework. Even though I wanted to enjoy myself, I had an obligation to do well in my classes as my grades in Korea would go directly on my transcript. Also, I rarely had any interaction with Koreans because everyone in my classes were from different countries and most were high schoolers. In addition, I wasn’t with a host family, but in a dorm with my American friends.

This experience was valuable to me because it showed me that I can be independent. I accomplished so many personal goals, for instance studying abroad in South Korea and traveling by myself. It showed me what I need to do in the future. Instead of learning in Korea, I want to take my classes in the United States. I want to go to Korea again, live with a host family, and immerse myself in the culture. My major is in Korean, so the next time I go I want to be able to converse fluently with the people that I come in contact with. I want to learn everything I can about Korea, not just inside of the classroom, but outside as well. My dream is to spend a lot of time in Korea in the future. Later, Korean will be essential in whatever job I choose, either working in the Korean entertainment industry, for the government, or as a teacher.