I am excited to study at Yonsei University in Seoul, Korea next semester! Yonsei University was established by American missionaries in 1885, making it one of the oldest universities in Korea. It is also one of the top universities in South Korea and Asia. Most students enrolled at Yonsei University were in the top 1% of their high school graduating class.
Yonsei University is different than UR in several ways. First, it has over 36,000 students and three campuses, which is much larger than the 3,000 undergraduate students at UR. Secondly, it is more competitive. Yonsei University is one of Korea’s SKY universities (Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University). These three universities are the most prestigious universities in Korea.
I am particularly excited to study Korean at Yonsei because I would like to learn Korean in a formal classroom setting. I am also looking forward to learning in a different kind of classroom setting. At UR, most of the classes are discussion-based. At Yonsei, many of the classes are lecture-style. I want to experience not only a different culture and society, but a different educational setting as well.
There is a difference between how I assume Yonsei University is regarded in Korea and the stories that I have heard from UR students who have studied abroad. Almost all of the students from UR who have studied abroad have told me that there is more school work at UR. At their abroad institutions, their final grades have comprised mostly on their final exam or one paper. I expect there to be less school work throughout my semester at Yonsei than a regular semester at UR. A factor that will contribute to this is that I will have fewer obligations while abroad. I hope to have less school work throughout my semester abroad so that I can travel and truly enjoy the unique culture.
Course registration for Yonsei is in January/February, so I won’t know which classes are being offered next semester until then. In previous semesters, there were classes offered for specifically exchange students. Some that look particularly interesting to me are Korean Popular Culture and Korean Wave, Korean Traditional Music and Culture, Korean Food and Culture, and Understanding K-Pop. There were also classes relating to my leadership major, including Law and Justice, Early Modern Korea and its Historical Sites in Seoul, Business and Society, and Korea-US Relations. Korea is a very popular place to study abroad, largely due to the presence of Korean culture in mainstream media. For this reason, many students who are interested in Korean popular culture study abroad in Korea.
My main purpose for studying at Yonsei University next semester is to explore my Korean heritage, which is an aspect of my identity that I have never truly learned about before. I have never been to Korea, but I have always wanted to visit. Additionally, I want to hear my grandmother’s stories from her life in Korea and coming to the United States. These stories are part of my history too.
Comments
Congratulations, Eden! Enjoy your time at Yonsei!
Congratulations! I'm so happy for you! I have heard that Yonsei University is one of the top universities in Korean. I hope you have a great time there next semester and learn a lot!
I'm so glad you get the opportunity to study abroad there! It sounds amazing and the classes seem super interesting. Exploring a new culture is always fun and interesting, but you will be coming to it with a different perspective of already hearing so many stories from your family. I hope you take advantage of trying out all the street food and participating in a lot of cultural events!
I'm glad we get to study in Korea together! It sounds like we're sort of on the same level language wise, so it will be funny to see how our language skills work out in Korea together. Maybe we’ll even test into the same language class or similar levels.