pre-departure & important tips
Here is everything that I think is useful for a student studying abroad, both pre-departure and during your stay in Korea.
I feel like money is a topic that people don’t like to openly talk about and is something that I wish I knew more about when coming to Korea. However, money is a super big part in determining if you will be able to study abroad or not. MIX does have estimated program budgets, but here is a true breakdown of the costs I encountered during my study abroad, beginning from when I applied through MIX. There were so many little expenses that added up before I even arrived in Korea! Please keep in mind that everyone has different lifestyles, so your expenses will vary from mine. I hope that this will help future students get a better idea of how much studying abroad will cost and help with their planning. Lastly, I would like to give a very big THANK YOU to my scholarship donors (and my advisors and managers who let me come in to work extra shifts and everyone in between) who have made this experience financially possible. UH and Shidler have many generous donors and organizations who offer many scholarships, which really help to offset the costs of studying abroad. Something to keep in mind is that your scholarship checks will not arrive until later in the semester and will be mailed to your address in Hawaii. I did not receive my check until mid-October, and my parents deposited it for me in Hawaii.
Here's a breakdown of all my expenses: Tuition: $6,593.00 You will still pay the UH tuition while abroad through your STAR account. I still had to pay the $500 Shidler professional fee while away. Flight: $1,455.00 Hawaiian Airlines was the only direct flight at the time. I also changed my flight at the last minute for $265. Housing: $2,750.00 My goshiwon was definitely on the pricier end. This also included my quarantine fee. I stayed here from August 7th - December 17th, and rent was 580,000 won a month. Food: $3,500.00 A very big number for a girl with a happy tummy. The one thing I will never miss out on! Food in Korea is cheap compared to Hawaii. On average, I'd spend $5 for breakfast, $10 for lunch, $10-15 for dinner, and $10 for the occasional dessert. There are cheaper options depending on where you go. Ground Transportation: $350.00 This is the amount I spent to refill my T-money card. Keep in mind that SNU is farther away from many of the attractions, so the additional transportation does add up. Phone: $200.00 I had a 15GB phone plan. It was about $40 a month. There are much cheaper plans out there, but I was paying for convenience, as I had that SIM card shipped to me in Hawaii. Activities: $700.00 This is probably one of the categories you can't estimate very well. Activities included Lotte World, Nami Island, Busan Tour, museums, and much more! Random, yet essential, fees: $410.00 This includes transcripts, passport photos, visa, health insurance, SNU buddy fee (not including the cost of events), MIX fee, and ARC fee. The small things add up! Miscellaneous: $1,000.00 This is for all the random stuff that I bought in Korea, but also stuff that I needed to survive. This category includes omiyage, much needed winter clothing, COVID tests, room essentials (toiletries, hangers, blanket) and much more.
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I am familiar with three main options for housing in Korea - AirBnb, dorm, and goshiwon. I know that securing a dorm in Korea is quite competitive, there are a handful of documents required, and the application processed seemed lengthy. For those reasons, I decided the safest option was to put a deposit down for a goshiwon. As mentioned in a previous post, I found my goshiwon through goshipages.com, and I found Naejari Oneroomtel to be the best option. Here's my rating of the goshiwon and some important things to note if you're considering living here. On a side note, goshiwons in Korea supposedly have a bad reputation for being extremely tiny and not the best place to live. It is known that people live in goshiwons to lock themselves in the room to study.
Location
I was a bit worried when I found out that I had to print the CDC attestation for my flight. Luckily, printing in Korea is super easy! I'm not sure about other ways to print, but I was able to print my documents at CU. Not all CU's have printers, but the larger ones typically do. The CU across the street and up the road from the Gwanak-gu Office has a printer. I've never printed something outside of Shidler or my own home, so printing papers wasn't super straight forward to me.
1. Find the computer inside the store. There should be a printer underneath it. 2. Find the document that you need to print using Internet Explorer. 3. Click to print the page. 4. A message will pop up asking you to input a 4 digit code. You can enter any 4 digit code, but remember this code. 5. On the printer, there is a button that says to print. Click that button. 6. It will ask you to enter a code. Enter the 4 digit code you inputted earlier. 7. Your document will show up. Be sure to click on the right document. If someone used the same code as you, their documents will show up too. 8. Pay with card. My documents were in black and white, and it was 50 won per sheet. I am so fortunate for this opportunity to be studying abroad during a pandemic and all of the people who made this possible. I just wanted to talk about the pros and cons that I've experienced while being abroad and if it's worth studying abroad during a pandemic. My short answer ~ YES!
My thoughts:
I just want to preface this article by saying that I am extremely grateful for my study abroad experience and the opportunity to experience the Korean culture during a pandemic. I want my blog to be 100% honest and as informative and helpful as possible to future students studying abroad. That being said, there are also negatives that come with experiencing a new culture. I do not mean to be offensive in any way, but rather share the experiences I've had recently that can help other students prepare for their study abroad. Yes, I've been enjoying my time here, and the people I've met have been extremely nice. At the same time, when I'm in public, I feel there is a lack of respect and consideration.
Prior to coming to Korea in August, I spent the first half of my summer primarily in the sleepy town of Hilo on the Big Island. The second half of my summer was spent on Oahu, with my time split between the residential town of Mililani, as well as the bustling Kakaako neighborhood. I am used to a relatively quieter, slow paced life back in Hawaii. Maybe spending most of my life in the two most laid back towns in Hawaii was not the best way to prepare me for Korea. I also did two weeks of quarantine before actually going out in the city. When I first got out of quarantine in Korea, I was surprised by the constant honking, especially during rush hour. I honestly cannot even go for walks without getting a headache. The crosswalks literally have arrows painted on the ground indicating which side to walk on, yet people will spread across the entire sidewalk. Not everyone walks on the right side of the sidewalk, nor will people move out of your way if they see you coming towards them. Motorcycles ride on the sidewalk (even though this is technically illegal) and come inches away from you. Cars don't stop for you in the crosswalk. When I'm waiting at a red light to cross the street, people stand unnecessarily close to me. I've recently been having the worst experiences on the subway. First off, the seats on the subway are extremely small for the average human. I'm relatively small, but my shoulders are wide and take up the width of the subway seat. Most males are larger than the entire seat. The puffy winter jackets also do not help. The past few times I've rode the subway, the males sitting next to me man spread their legs, making it extremely uncomfortable for me to sit nicely in my seat. I've also had times where people have been sleeping next to me and have no control of their movement. One person fell on me while sleeping. When I got up from my seat during rush hour, someone nudged me aside to take my seat before the train stopped at the station. I've seen friends who have been bumped into by older ladies, even when there was more than enough room for them to walk around. This was definitely not something that I was expecting while in Korea. I know that the culture here is very intense, and people really want to succeed, which translates into their daily actions. The Korean students and most shop owners are really nice, but it's just when I'm out in public that I feel there is so much aggression and lack of respect and personal space. Maybe people in Hawaii are just too friendly and laid back, and this would be normal anywhere else in the world. Maybe locals do not appreciate foreigners being here even with COVID. Maybe I just got unlucky with the people I've encountered in public. There are so many "maybes," but this is all part of learning and immersing myself in the Korean culture. Everyone now seems so concerned with COVID that they forget the flu exists. My mom is usually the one to remind me to get my flu shot, but luckily SNU sent us an email at the end of September regarding flu shot registration and the link to make an appointment. The school sent an email almost every week regarding the flu shot.
SNU was administering flu shots on campus from 10/12-10/26 on campus in building 63 in the Health Service Center. The room was kind of hard to find, as it wasn't actually inside the building, but was located on the outside near a flower shop. The process of getting my shot was easy, and the workers spoke English. Unfortunately, I had to pay 33,000 KRW for the shot, but it is worth it if it'll reduce my chances of getting sick. After getting my shot, the worker said to wait around the area for at least 30 minutes, so I grabbed a super cheap and delicious lunch at the student center. I didn't really notice anything horrible about the water quality in Korea when I first moved in, but others mentioned that more hair was falling out than usual. After about a month, I started to notice that more hair was falling out than usual, as well as my skin breaking out. I am by no means a doctor, so there could definitely be other factors contributing to these problems.
Some people mentioned that they replaced their current shower head with a filter shower head. I bought mine from Daiso for 5,000 won, but I know that other places like Jaju sell it as well. I've been using the filtered shower head for about a month now, and to be honest, I am not sure if it's making a huge difference. Maybe my scalp was ruined from the two months of using unfiltered water... In regards to drinking water, I never drink straight from the tap like I do in Hawaii. I saved my 2 liter bottles from my quarantine and have been refilling them. Luckily, my goshiwon kitchen has a filtered water machine. I luckily had leftover money from the last time my family came to Korea, which was enough for my quarantine. For the most part, I have been able to use my Costco Visa. It doesn't have any foreign transaction fees, and I believe it takes the days exchange rate (it has been around 1160 won per dollar). However, there are times when I do need cash, such as for refilling my T-money card, eating at small restaurants, and paying my rent. Here are the different ways to exchange money:
1) At a physical money exchange place with USD: Bring NEW $100 bills with you. Justina and I have been going to Myeongdong to exchange money and have been getting really good rates there (1167 KRW per USD). We usually walk down the street with the Chinese Embassy (it has big red gates) and look for the best rate. There's about five money exchange places on this one street, and the rate usually only varies by 1-5 won. I think the exact location of the money exchange place is 26 Myeongdong 2-gil. If you don't have new $100 bills, the exchange rate will not be as good. In addition, they require a passport when exchanging. 2) ATM w/ Schwab Card: While exchanging at Myeongdong was a great option, I didn't think about bringing much USD with me, nor would I have felt safe carrying that much cash. With my Schwab debit card, I am able to withdraw money from ATMs. It will charge a fee (usually around 4,000 won) at first, but it will be reimbursed to you at the end of the month. I found that ATMs vary in the max amount they let you withdraw. At one of the convenience store ATMs, I was only allowed to withdraw a max of 100,000 won. However, at Woori Bank, I was able to withdraw 1,000,000 won. I believe the rate is around the day rate, but I've been exchanging at around 1160 KRW per USD. Also, the ATMs I've been using were able to be switched to English! To be honest, I was a little skeptical about SNU's location at first. I thought there wouldn't be much around the area compared to areas like Yonsei and Ewha Woman's University. Although SNU isn't located near all of the touristy locations, there are a ton of restaurants and a supermarket just down the road from my goshiwon. In addition, the train station closest to my goshiwon is on the green line 2, which is super convenient for getting around. From my goshiwon, I could ride the bus for 2 stops or walk for 10-15 minutes to the SNU station. (Note: My goshiwon is located halfway between SNU campus and SNU station. Living at the SNU dorms would require you to take a bus to the station.) For those planning on studying abroad at SNU/Korea in general, finding a place next to a train station is ideal.
T-money Card To go to different places around Seoul, I typically ride the train or bus, depending on where I am going and what my app recommends me to do. In Korea, there is a T-money card, which is similar to the Holo card in Hawaii. The same T-money card can be used for riding on the train and bus. You can purchase a T-money card at almost all convenience stores for 4,000 won. You are also able to load your T-money card at the convenience store, but everything must be paid in CASH. I don't exactly understand the pricing for train/bus rides, but a one-way trip is anywhere from 1,000-1,500 won. Transportation Apps I've heard different things about different transportation apps in Korea. Please keep in mind that I don't know how to read or write Korean, so some of these apps haven't been super easy for me to use. Here is my experience using different transportation apps. Overall, Google Maps has been the easiest for me to use when using public transportation, and Kakao Maps has been best for walking to places.
Riding the Train Riding the train is pretty straightforward. Just follow what your map tells you, and have your T-money card ready when entering and exiting the station. Make sure you are headed in the right direction! The train stations are very English friendly, so it is easy to know which stop to get off at. Your map will also tell you which number exit to exit from. This makes it even easier to get to where you want. Riding the Bus Riding the bus is slightly different than in Hawaii. You must tap your T-money card when entering and exiting the bus. This is so that it knows how far you traveled - when traveling longer distances, they will charge a little bit more. In addition, you must press the stop button when you want to get off. If you get motion sickness, I would not recommend riding the bus. Honestly, the traffic and drivers in Korea are terrible - people are constantly cutting each other off, making sudden stops, running red lights, etc. Walking I am putting a section about walking in here because you will do a lot of walking in Korea. Be careful when crossing in crosswalks, as the drivers will have no patience for you. Drivers do not stop behind the crosswalk, but rather stop past the crosswalk. In addition, walking on the sidewalks doesn't necessarily guarantee you safety from cars. Even when walking on the sidewalk, cars will drive on the sidewalks to park. In addition, the delivery drivers on their mopeds will come very close to you. Also, even though there are sometimes arrows on which direction to walk, they will not follow those arrows. Yes, I am making a blog post dedicated to bugs. At the beginning of my quarantine, I was getting a crazy amount of bites all over my body, and I had over ten large bites (like the size of a penny) over my body at one point. After I got my first few bites, I kept my windows closed and the number of bites went down, and I believe the excess amount of bugs was due to the humidity. I also started sleeping with long sleeves and pants. Even a month later, there are still minor scars from where the bites were. I would show you pictures, but it is kind of disgusting. My bites were so bad that when I showed my parents, they told me to schedule a telehealth appointment with my doctor at home. However, I found out that I couldn't do a telehealth appointment because I wasn't physically in Hawaii (I think it is because my doctor is licensed to only practice in Hawaii). Luckily, my sisters friend in med school is pretty knowledgeable, and she told me the bites are just mosquito bites, not bed bug bites.
At first, I thought it was just me who was getting bit, but I later found out that other people (in other parts of Korea too) were getting a bunch of bug bites as well. For those of you studying abroad in Korea, I would bring some kind of itch cream, bug repellent, or long sleeves and pants to prevent yourself from getting bit. In addition, don't open your windows! |
AuthorStudying abroad at Seoul National University! Archives
January 2022
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