June Choi
Dr. Soloway
SDLC 113
February 23, 2020
SDLC 113 Cultural Post #2
As it is my last semester of college, and due to my recent encounter with the new Yeonsei exchange, student, I thought it would be fitting to look deeper into the differences between Korean and American college cultures. In the US, the academic portion of college life involves a lot of essay writing, sports, and other extracurricular activities. Tuition is rather high, especially for private institutions that demand around 60,000 dollars per year if one does not receive scholarships or grants. In Korea, the academic life of a student mainly involves studying for a midterm and a final exam and doesn’t normally involve many daily assignments. Additionally, switching one’s major after entry is rather difficult compared to colleges in the US. Tuition in Korea is also much cheaper than in the US. Regarding the housing culture, in the US, many students live in campus dorms at least for their freshman year. Some opt to live in apartments nearby school for the additional freedom or for financial reasons. In Korea, it is common for students to rent a “one room” rather than live in a dorm, as dormitories are not that common in Korea. I found this to be a very interesting difference, as I feel that the dorm culture in the US shapes a lot of the activities that students can do, as well as the type of relationships that the students form. Due to the dorm-heavy housing in the US, at least based on my experience, I quickly became close to my hallmates in the beginning of the year. It is also very common for US college students to engage in school activities together or hang out in their dorms together due to the proximity of all of the students. On the other hand, as Korean college students mostly live in “one rooms” off-campus, it is common for them to meet up outside of the college boundaries and instead to meet up at nearby restaurant or café. As for fashion culture, in the US it brings no surprise to see students dressed in gym clothes or comfortable attire. Many college students prefer to have a relaxed look instead of dressing up for school. On the contrary, fashion is highly valued in Korean college culture, and thus both male and female students often put more effort into their daily appearances and outfits. Finally, for student activities, college in the US are dominated by Greek culture, or the association with fraternities and sororities. These are where students can feel “included” and make many close friends. There are also many clubs, especially those that support racial and sexual diversity. In contrast, colleges in Korea do not have Greek culture, but they do have clubs. There are “OT’s” (orientation) and “MT’s” (membership training), which are two of the largest events for clubs to get together and build relationships. Finally, due to the hierarchical aspect of Korean culture, it is common for underclassmen to be cautious around and very respectful towards upperclassmen. I found this aspect of Korean college culture to be very bizarre and hard to understand as college students normally only have a maximum of 3 years in age difference. Additionally, I thought that the “MT” and “OT” culture seemed like a lot of fun and wish that there were large events like that in US colleges. Personally, I think I like the dorm culture in the US better because it reduces a lot of stress concerning finding affordable housing in time for the school year, and it also eliminates a lot of worry about safety and makes meeting friends at any time of the day much more achievable. I found that watching some youtube videos on college life in Korea to be very enlightening and entertaining as it was a direct and raw look into one’s life as a Korean college student. I think studying abroad or even just living in Korea for an extended period of time would definitely help my language and cultural learning. However, I’m not sure if I’m ready for that just yet. Below is a link to some of the Korean college student youtubers that I watched.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ReQGOf8Sg34
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z0Wt0NjlcBE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OHxAsMVT0Pc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuJEkryWUK4
Comments
June, thanks for sharing your post about the Korean college culture. Although I've only visited Korea a couple of times, one thing I knew that was taken seriously was how respectful one has to be towards there elder. When I visited last summer, I found that even 1 year can make a difference and that the respect is expected. I find it interesting how in Korea we refer to those older as "oppa" or "unni", but in the U.S. we just call people by their first name. Something I wasn't aware of was the dorm situation. I also agree that the dorm culture shapes the students and find it so convenient that all of us can live in the same area. I'm curious about the social life in Korea where the students don't all live in the same place.