Erfahrungsberichte

alle Länder anzeigen

weitere Erfahrungsberichte für Suedkorea

Land:
Suedkorea

Universität:
Hallym University

Semester und Studiengang:
4. Semester Bachelor International Management

Aufenthalt:
Sommersemester 2013

Über die Universität:
Hallym is a relatively small private University, even though the Campus is huge. The city name is Chuncheon which is not that big either, approximately 50km from Seoul. All different kinds of facilities are located on campus including sports stadium, tennis and golf courts and the best library in the whole Korea as they claim.
A huge amount of courses are provided, both English and Korean. Here you need to consider a fact, even though you will take courses in English, most of the Korean professors will speak a bit in Korean as well in order to translate and make native students understand everything. In my case I had 5 Korean professors and only one from the USA, nevertheless, I find it even more interesting and sometimes more beneficial rather than having a native English speaking professor. But it's up to you and you can choose whatever courses you like.
One little frustrating thing was that there are around 8 different buildings where the lectures are being held, so in the break-time you need to manage to get to the next building and if it's the case of getting from the east to the west coast of campus, you might be one or two minutes late but in my case it happened only once per week.
The level of the courses differs, of course, depending on the style and the ability of the teachers. But overall, I am satisfied with the process and the results that I gained in Hallym University.
The pressure is not that intense as it is, for instance, in THD, but you have to take mid-term and final exams which take a concentration starting from the very first day of studying. The Korean professors tends to give a lot of assignments and presentation-making, but it helps in the learning process. The exams could happen to be replaced by a submission of an essay, again, depending on the professor.
Normally you should have a lot of free time, which you can utilize using some of the sports facilities on campus or traveling around.

Betreuung vor Ort:
At Hallym University you have a great support from the International Office that you can contact before and after the arrival. A buddy student is assigned a few weeks prior to your arrival and he can help you answer a lot of questions and clear out things you would like to know.
I lived in Hallym International dormitory on campus and was able to choose which of the several dormitories I would like to live in. There were no problems with getting an accommodation, furthermore, the buddy you have will greet you at the airport and guide you to the doors, where you will live and show you around. The accommodation didn't cost me anything, in fact, as I was assigned to be a tutor for Korean students, worked together with them, practicing and developing their English language skills and cultural understanding of other countries. At the end of the semester I received a certificate and a reference letter from the director of the HID.
One little issue was with the language barriers. Before I went to Korea, I was told that all Koreans speak English very well, but this is not really the case. People on the streets or in the shops basically don't speak English at all, but you can communicate with the help of sign language or Korean which you should learn for making your daily life easier.
The organization is pretty decent and you don't need to concern about anything, as all the details about your stay in Korea are provided in the handout from the International Office.

Tipps:
The infrastructure within Korea and Chuncheon in particular is highly developed. You can use a train to get to Seoul in 40 minutes or a bus which would take a bit longer. As the transportation is relatively cheap, you will often find yourself sitting in one of the above mentioned transports traveling around. Withing the borders of Chuncheon, Taxi service will become a good friend of yours as it is approximately 5 times cheaper than in Germany.

Speaking of the society, such a friendliness and willingness to help might be surprising. Everyone inquires where are you are from and shows an interest in you. You will soon have a bunch of friends that will want you to hang out with them. So if you are not afraid of attention and even desire for it, Hallym University is the place you want to be.
Cheers!