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.
Flight booking
Due to COVID, there are a limited number of flights going in and out of Honolulu/Seoul, and SNU is requiring all students to arrive by August 9th due to the 2 week quarantine. Once I received my acceptance from SNU, I decided to book my flight. When I booked my flight in early June, Hawaiian was the only airline with a direct flight to Incheon. The flight was a little pricey (~$1,100 round trip), but I decided to book it earlier rather than later. My flight was non refundable, but Hawaiian does have a change policy, which would allow me to change the date of my flight in case anything changes. Booking the round trip is much cheaper than buying two one way tickets, so I booked a return flight for the end of December. Hawaiian also allows two free checked bags. Update (11/26): Book your flights early and get your plans solidified ASAP! Airline prices will shoot up. Unlike UH, there isn't a designated week for finals at SNU (and many other Korean schools). Some professors don't announce when the finals are until later in the semester. Don't be afraid to ask your professors when the finals are going to be if it's not already stated on the syllabus. Let them know that you need to book your flight home, and they will most likely be able to solidify a date and time for the final. Since I booked a round trip flight when coming to Korea, I had no clue when I would be coming home, so I booked the return flight for 12/31 to be safe. I want to come home as early as possible to see my friends and spend Christmas and the holidays at home. I thought one of my classes would have the final on Tuesday 12/21, so in early October, I paid $38 to move my flight from 12/31 to Friday 12/24. As of now, Hawaiian is only flying from HNL to ICN on Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. In early November, my professor said that she would move the final to 12/14 because she realized that people want to go home. After this change, my last final would be on 12/16. I wanted to change my flight from 12/24 to 12/22, but Hawaiian was going to charge $193 for the fare difference in mid-November. This was absolutely ridiculous, so I decided to just keep my flight for 12/24. At the end of November, I found out that my landlord would charge the entire months rent even though I'd only be there for around 17 days (since I moved in on the 7th). She said that if I'm there for more than 15 days of the month, she charges the entire month of rent. I wish I had asked her earlier about the pricing for the last month, but I didn't think anything of it. At that point, I thought that it would be cheaper for me to leave earlier and pay the difference on Hawaiian. However, at the end of November, the fare difference for 12/22 was $265 and 12/19 was $315. This is absolutely ridiculous just for the fare difference (and Hawaiian has "no change fees"), so I decided to forget about it. Housing Dorming in Korea is typically pretty competitive, so I decided to play it safe and reserve off campus housing. This Goshipages website is super helpful in finding housing near each of the Universities in Korea. I reserved my housing early because the place I am staying at (Naejari Oneroomtel) only required a $50 deposit. I will also be doing my 2 week quarantine there - they charged an additional $300 for doing quarantine there, which I think is much more reasonable than the government facilities. Phone Plan My phone carrier in Hawaii is T-mobile, which allows for free texting, unlimited data, and 25 cent calls per minute with most phone plans. However, when I have traveled internationally in the past, the data was extremely slow and would be impractical for me to use for an extended period of time. I will be taking my iPhone (with the T-mobile SIM card and Hawaii number) up to Korea in order to still receive texts and FaceTimes at the same number from friends and family back at home. In addition, I also purchased a Korean SIM card from Trazy with the Premium Lite Plan. I had the SIM card shipped to me in Hawaii, and I didn't have the greatest experience with the company. They lost my original SIM card (which I ordered 3 weeks prior to my departure), but they sent me a replacement one, which thankfully arrived the night before I left. The customer service rep was helpful, but I was a little disappointed with the shipping situation taking so long. However, I have met other people who used Trazy and received their SIM cards very quickly. I'm not sure if the price on Trazy is the best, but it was the most convenient, considering I will have to quarantine when I arrive in Korea. My friend was very kind and is letting me use her old phone, which I will use for the Korean SIM card. Luckily, her phone was unlocked, which is important if you want to insert a SIM card from another carrier into the phone you're using. From this phone, I will be able to make phone calls in Korea without an additional charge and use fast data, which my Hawaii T-mobile plan wouldn't allow for. Money I set up an Investor Checking account with Charles Schwab. It was super easy to set up, and once you deposit money into the account, Schwab will mail you a debit card. This card has unlimited ATM fee rebates worldwide and no foreign transaction fees. I tested the debit card at an ATM in Hawaii, and the $4.50 ATM fee was refunded at the end of the month. In addition, I will be brining my Costco Visa with me. For the places that do accept card in Korea, I plan on using this Visa, as there are no foreign transaction fees. And, I can go to the Costco in Korea :) I haven't exchanged won yet because my dad had extra won at home. Doctor, Dentist, Eye Doctor For MIX, you are required to fill out the Health Clearance form. I went to my PCP a few months before this form was due, so I didn't schedule another appointment. I dropped off the form at her office, and she filled it out within a few days. I also scheduled a last minute appointment with my dentist and eye doctor to be sure I am healthy for the next semester. I also made sure I had an ample supply of contacts because I won't be able to find them in Korea. COVID Testing Korea is requiring all visitors to present proof of a negative COVID PCR test within 72 hours of the departure of your flight. I got my test at the airport with the National Kidney Foundation, since it was free because of where I work. Here is the website to register. You can show up at any time on the day you registered for. When I went for my test, I brought my ID, printed out QR code (emailed to you after you register), and my most recent paystub (in order to get the free test). Due to the surge in cases in Hawaii, there were a lot of people waiting to get tested too. Thankfully it was a self-swab test, so it didn't hurt as much! My results came back in 8 hours. Backing-up Documents To be extra safe when traveling, I will be saving the following documents to Google Drive, screenshotting it on my phone, and bringing a physical copy.
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AuthorStudying abroad at Seoul National University! Archives
January 2022
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