Studying Korean in Yonsei University ~ 在延世读韩文

Although my boyfriend understands English, I thought learning Korean will help me to understand his culture better. Furthermore, studying there will mean that I can spend more time with him, learn more about his country and iron out all of our differences. The decision was made at a time when we were having lots of disputes thus I thought it was timely.

虽然我男友听得懂英语，我觉得还是应该学好韩文以便能更好的了解韩国的风俗习惯。在做这决定时，我与男友刚好出现很多意见分歧。这更加巩固了我的我去韩国留学的决定。

I was considering between Sogang, Ewha and Yonsei. Yonsei was slightly more reputable and also the most expensive of all 3. I had a few considerations and one of it was timing. I initially wanted to quit my job (applied for no-pay-leave instead) to embark on this study thus I can only make it for Yonsei's course given that I have to give 3 months notice. In addition, I prefer to stay in hostel, if I am not wrong, it is easier to get an on campus housing in Yonsei (not a smart option if you intend to stay for more than a semester). Thirdly, I love Yonsei's campus. I was awed by that greenery hugged building when I first shopped at Ewha University street. I was there during autumn so the greens turned red.

在选学校时，我有把西江，梨花和延世列入考量。延世是三间当中最贵的一间了。当时因为正在上班而如果要离职必须给三个月的通知（最后没离职，只请了无薪假）所以我得考虑到学期何时开始。延世的校园环境相比下绿意盎然再加上延世比较容易申请到在校住宿。
（秋天时，绿叶都变红了，不过还是很壮观）

So it was decided that I will be going to Yonsei and staying in International House, sharing a room with my NTU friend. They do provide pillow (made of straws and I am serious), bedsheet and blankets.

最后选择了延世并且申请住宿在International House。因为是和南大大学友人一起留学，所以申请住在同一间房。如果打算留学超过一个学期，建议找附近的民宿租房。宿舍会提供枕头（用吸管制成的），床单和毯子。

The loving boyfriend brought me comfortable blankets. There is a mini fridge in the room (you can use the big one in the pantry for storage of bigger items).

男友送了温馨牌单具，冬天时真的很温暖。房里也提供小冰柜，若需要大冰柜，可到茶水间。

This is the pantry. There is no wifi in the rooms but only in the pantry area so people tend to skype here.

每层都会有一间茶水间。房里没有Wifi所以大多数的人都会到这里来Skype。

The application procedure was quite simple. You apply for the course (regular, summer or 3 week prog), apply for the hostel and then wait for them to inform you that you are successful. Regular course made more sense for me because the duration for the other 2 are too short. They sort of informed me quite late about the course acceptance and I was worried because it was quite close to the registration period for the hostel. I ended up emailing them to enquire. They assured me that I will be accepted and asked me to apply for my hostel direct.

延世的入学申请挺简单的。选好了课程，收到入学通知后就可以申请宿舍了。我因为迟迟未接到入学通知，只好发送电子邮件询问。他们告知我入学申请已被批准，并且可以直接申请宿舍。

The payment part was more tricky. Sending money from Singapore incurs lots of bank admin charges so I asked my boyfriend to help instead.

在开学之前，必须把学费汇款到韩国的指定户口。通过新加坡银行汇款的话，必须得付昂贵的银行费。所以只好找男友帮忙 ^^

If you have learnt some Korean language on your own (like me), need not worry, there will be a placement test to determine the right level for you. I got into level 2. I did some basic Korean language class in Singapore (ezSAM in far east shopping centre). Nothing beats learning in Korea. It is so much more efficient and effective to learn in Korea because you are placed in the right environment.

如果你已有韩文的基础，只要通过编班试，就能被分配到适合自己程度的班级。在韩国学韩文，怎么说都会比较快和有效。

Studying Korean in Yonsei is a good experience for me. They really drill you into learning (or should I say memorise) the conversations. The teachers are great (at least I got good ones, total 4, throughout my semester). The lessons each day are split into 3 categories. The first category is textbook learning where you learn new verbs, grammar and phrases. The second one focuses on speaking. The third one is on activities and workbook.

在延世学韩文是一个很不错的经验。为了让学生加深对词汇的认识，他们注重于对话练习 （上课时必须把刚学会的课本对话背下来）。学校老师也非常的亲切和专业 （1个学期就碰到了4个老师）。一天的课程分为三大部分：学习新词汇和词句，阅读和发音，对话和作业。

Throughout the semester, there were lots of other activities organised (cooking class, poem writing, sing and dance performance). Because you only have 4 hours of lessons a day, you have lots of time to spend. You can take part in their student clubs (be prepared for lots of drinking) or hang out with friends (time to make international friends). If you are there for a motive (to meet Koreans), then be sure to join their student clubs or buddy programme (but they only pair up students of the same sex). You will get to see lots of idols, we had two filming of Running Man outside our school and one filming of The Heirs near the school, not to mention running into a few others elsewhere.

单单一个学期里，我就参加了好几个课外活动 （料理，写诗比赛，表演大会）。因为一天只上四小时的课，课外自由活动时间非常充足。你可以参加延世的课外活动团（必须很会喝酒）或则是认识认识一下来自不同国家的学生。如果想结识异性韩国友人，建议参加他们的学生团队。在延世也有不少机会能看到偶像。跑跑人就在学校门口举行两次摄影，继承者也在学校附近开拍过。

There were lots of students from China and Japan (majority) and they stay close to their community. So, if you are a minority, try to stick with the other minority or you can try penetrating into the other communities.

大部分的学生都是华侨和日侨。如果你来自华人地区，不怕交不到朋友。

You don't need to worry about starving to death in school because the canteen serves great food (if you can manage to find a seat). It's cheap too, I think the one below costs less than S$5. There is a convenience store in the building (connected to SK global house but not international house so going out in winter can be quite a challenge). There are several other restaurants in the building as well, one of them selling doshirak (bento).

在学校用餐也很方便和经济（豆腐汤只需5千韩币以下）。学校里也有24小时的便利店连接SK Global House。学校里和小校附近友好几间餐厅可选择。

I think autumn is the best season to study in Korea because you get to see the first snow (첫눈) and the fireworks festival. When the semester ends, it will be winter and you can get ready to head to the ski-jang (ski parks) or do some ice fishing (Hwacheon Sancheono Ice Festival). Ok, I know it sounds more like having fun than studying. Oh, don't forget to watch the yon-ko jon (competition between Yonsei Uni and Korea Uni) that will be featured on TV (Mu Han Do Jon).

我觉得秋天在韩国留学是最佳的季节。不只能看到冬天的第一场雪还能去赏烟花。期末时，刚好是冬天，可以去滑雪或是冰钓。喔，不要忘了去观看一年一度的延高战。

What you need to prepare:
Visa - I was only there for 4 months and Singaporeans get waiver for up to 3 months, I travelled to Japan for holiday prior to that deadline and re-entered Korea after about a week.
Sim card - getting a sim card with a data plan is useful
Bank Account - I didn't get one though and still survive the 4 months
International driving license - if you intend to drive, like in Jeju
Install some software on your computer to allow your phone to tether wifi from your laptop because there is no wifi in the room.
Bring some SGD, if you need to change, you can change to KRW at Myeong-dong (near SPAO) with quite good rates.
Large luggage and if you intend to bring your textbook (5 books at least) back, make sure you travel SQ (30kg baggage allowance). If you have friends coming to visit, try to get them to bring some back for you.

在出发之前，必备品：
签证
电话卡
银行户口
国际驾照
下载能让电脑变成Wifi分享器的软件
自己国家的货币，能在明洞兑换（靠近SPAO的兑换店）
大的行李箱

That's all for now, will update if I can think of anything else. Feel free to ask if you have any questions.

如果有任何问题，可以留言。