[vlog #1] yonsei university sk global dorm move in + first weekend in seoul, south korea 

Tengo el mismo problema, quiero explorar pero que miedo estar solo en un lugar diferente

i came with no prior knowledge of korean. the language barrier isn’t as difficult as it seems. navigation apps like kakao and naver maps are user friendly and have an english option for getting around. at restaurants, many have english menus. if not, you can always use the translation app papago or honestly, just point to pictures. at stores and everywhere else, everyone is typically nice to foreigners and will help through the language barrier. solo traveling is super scary at first, but it’s also super exciting. i have no doubt you’ll make friends in seoul, but it’s equally as easy to have fun on your own here :)

@@annikagail thank you so much for the insight! Have a great time in Seoul

I had the same dilemma but I decided to just go for it instead of missing out because of the fear of being lonely!

Honestly, I want to go study abroad in korea. I also would have no friends or anybody there 😢

thank you! i’m rooting for you!

Oh the dorm beds are brutal, get a mattress topper from Muji or homeplus (i got two lol)

Quick question how do u overcome the language barrier?😅

@@Yeuvri you can get by with very little Korean since classes are in English and menus tend to have pictures/english on them. Just spend a few weeks learning the alphabet and how to order food, and that's already plenty

it’s been so so fun so far! i’ve been looking for a decent mattress topper, thank you !! 😭

i only had i-house and sk as options so i don’t know much about woojungwon. however, i believe woojungwon is located on a hill, so it may be a bit of a tiring walk. sk walk is about 15 mins, depending on which path you take. i also think woojungwon only has doubles and triples, whereas sk has singles and doubles. but i believe woojungwon is newer (opened in 2014 vs 2010). the biggest difference to me would be that woojungwon has a curfew and sk does not :)

i’m only studying here for the spring semester, so i arrived in mid february and classes started the first week of march. for the fall semester, they start the first week of september :)

@@annikagail Thank you!!

i’m using the sony zv-1f ps: thank you :)

ahhh thank you !!! 😭💜

there’s no korean language requirement for the international yonsei program!

for the spring semester, i was a little late to applying, so i applied in early october. the applications are open i believe september through october, but i’m not positive. i would definitely check online or with some sort of advisor!

in sk global, each room (singles or doubles) get their own bathroom. in international house, there is one bathroom for the entire floor!

if you’re going as an exchange student, honestly i would recommend to go lighter rather than packing your classes. if you need to do max amount of credits, then of course do that! but if you have more flexibility, i would recommend to lean into a lighter course load. you’re going to want to explore and maybe even travel, so taking less classes will allow you to explore korea and also have the right amount of time to focus on the classes you have. i have no classes on fridays, which has been more of a benefit than i could have anticipated. it allows for long weekends for trips, and there are less crowds in touristy places on weekdays (before 3pm). for the actual classes themselves, if you’re taking all english classes, then it’ll be taught in relatively the same structure. it shouldn’t be too much adjustment, but always be adaptive! :)

i applied later close to the deadline so i didn’t get any scholarships with yonsei. however, i applied for a scholarship offered by my home university and received one that way :)

@@annikagail okay thank you

for the scholarship i received, it only applied towards my tuition. i had to pay for my housing in full separately. i-house only has doubles, and it is only for international undergraduate students. graduate students have their own dorm!

my major is declared as computer science, but i’m taking mostly business classes this semester to complete my business minor

yes! i’m here completing my BS in computer science

i applied through specifically the yonsei exchange program so it was relatively simple, as opposed to applying as a regular student at yonsei, which would be much more difficult !

i'm from america :)