The first week

My first week in Seoul is almost over, so it’s a perfect time to talk about my daily life here and the living conditions! Let me start off by saying this: the Korean people are great! Although my communication hasn’t reached any further than the English-speaking people at the University (the average Korean doesn’t speak a word of English), they are all very open, friendly and eager to help in case there are any issues. I have not run into a single person who could be described as mean or even unkind, this includes the random people on the street. I was a bit worried beforehand that I would stick out like a sore thumb in daily life and while I guess I still do, I do not feel like I am seen as an outcast or that I get weird looks. Of course, I guess that’s something you can also expect from such a international city. It’s starting to feel more like home with each passing day.

The Dorm

My dorm here is quite fancy, we (the room is shared with a great Dutch guy) have our own refrigerator/freezer, washer/dryer and desks and several closets. This is in the Koart Ville, which is one of the two dorms. I initially hoped to be put in the I-House dorm, which is only a five minute walk away from campus, but I feel very happy with my room and dorm at the moment since the I-House dorm lacks the personal fridge and washer and the rooms are a little bit smaller. On the other hand, I-House is newer and has its own ping-pong table so both dorms have their pluses and minuses. I am paying 1,4 million KRW for the four months I am here, which roughly equates to 225 euro per month including everything.

Traveling to campus

The biggest downside for the Koart Ville dorm is that it’s a bit further away from campus. Right now I have to take the subway, which is about two minutes away by foot, for 900 KRW per trip and then a SKKU Shuttle bus to campus, for 300 KRW per trip. Total traveling time, depending on crowdedness and sheer luck, can range from 25 to 35 minutes. It’s also possible to walk the final part of the trip, taking the shuttle bus out of the equation but this of course takes longer. The campus is also built on a hill, so in the early morning this is not preferred. It’s also possible to take a cab from the dorm to the campus gate, and if you travel with enough people this is actually cheaper. Thankfully I will receive some money from the Dutch government (roughly 86 euro per month) to compensate the fact that I can’t use my public transportation card from the Netherlands so the costs incurred by traveling are easily made up by this.

I have met a lot of great people, both Koreans (who are very eager to mingle with foreigners) and other exchange students and so far I have had lunch with others almost every day and everyone is very active, so there is always something to do. Thankfully the restaurants around the campus are generally cheap (and I mean cheap) and meals are good and filling if you know what you order (my only order I made by myself turned out to be pig kidney with blood sausage…) so it’s wise to bring someone who speaks the language.

Course issues

The biggest annoyance for me at the moment is that I have still not been able to register for the three courses I will need to do. The online enrollment system did not work for foreigners, and therefore all the available spots for classes were filled by Koreans. Therefore, exchange students have to register for their courses by filling in forms and this process has not gone perfectly for me. Hopefully I will be able to register for my final course in the next few days, since the deadline’s tomorrow (it is currently Thursday here). I am sure that I should be able to do this, since the people at the International Office on the campus are very helpful and everyone, including professors, know that exchange students have a lot of things on their mind (such as paying the rent in cash, registering as an alien at the immigration office downtown, taking care of courses, signing up for the gym, etc.) and therefore we get a special, lenient treatment.

I still have many more things I want to talk about, since in the last week so many things happened, but I will not do that in today’s blog. I’m sure I forgot to talk about a lot of things, but I will attempt to give a clear overview of my adventures here in Seoul. This Saturday, we will go with a big group to see some landmarks in Seoul, so hopefully my next blog will have a lot of great pictures!