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Kyungpook National University

South Korea 2022/2023 Partner universities

Personal data
Mobility type:
study

Faculty at MU:
Faculty of Arts

Field of study:
Classical Archaeology / Classical archaeology

Level of study during period of placement:
Bachelor

Language used:
English

Summer/winter school?:
no

Period of studies:
autumn 2022

Period of placement (from-to):
2022-08-16 - 2023-02-28

Number of months:
6

Activities before my departure abroad
Where can information be found about courses taught at the foreign school?:
On partner university websites.

Which documents were needed for acceptance at the foreign university?:
Application, motivation letter, transcript of records. I think that is all.

How far ahead did you have to organise your acceptance?:
I was nominated in December 2021 and got agreement aroud January-February 2022. With partner university the communication started around May 2022. So as soon as possible, if someone did not reply to you, just ask kindly again, it is better to have everything done quickly and check mails regularly. I was basicaly glued to my mail box.

Did you need a visa?:
yes

Documents and materials needed for a visa:
ID photo, passport, application form, reservation of accomodation, reservation of flight tickets (both ways), application fee (60 USD), Certificate of Admission from partner university, Certificate for Business Registration from partner university, a copy of the cooperation agreement between the two universities

Length of wait for visa:
+-3 weeks

Fee for the visa:
60 USD

Studies
Did you have a Learning Agreement signed before your departure?:
- choose option -

If not, why not?:
I think I did not as I was leaving earlier than needed as I wanted to enjoy Seoul plus it took me a while to find out with who I need to sign it.

Before your departure did you know how your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
I was not sure on 100% just hoped for the best.

During your stay did you change your Learning Agreement?:
No. Once we agreed on the LA I did not felt like changing it even when I realized I underestimated some subjects and would like more credits, I kept it like that.

When and how did course registration take place? Are there any restrictions? Possibilities of making changes?:
The registration was 1 month before the semester started. It was hard to catch the courses I wanted because of the time difference it was very early in the morning for me and the serves was too slow as in Korea most students use the pc in PC rooms to get the subjects they want. I end up with just 2 from 7 subjects I planned to take. Especially the main subjects I did not managed to catch so I had to write the professors. I was told to wait and got the subjects later in a week long period, which is a time when we can change subjects, as many Korean students realized the subjects are in english they usually drop them after a while.

Did you take any examinations at the foreign school?:
Yes. We had 2 weeks of exams at the end of the semester and a week in the end of October, midterms. For midterms we got a week of before for studying, but for end of semester we did not get any time to preper which was pretty hard for me as we had only one chance to pass the exams on 1 set date with not much time to prepare.

Does the school use the ECTS system?:
- choose option -

If not then explain how the credits there were recalculated into ECTS:
Courses usually were 3 Korean credits which = 5 ECTS.

Describe the teaching methods (theory, practical and projects) and assessment of students:
All subjects I took were in person, expect one time when a teacher was in quarantine. The professor used mostly presentations on the lectures. We got a lots of homeworks and self study, basically everyday I had at least 1-2 homeworks. They were usually in a form of small research or review on academic articles/books about the topic we discussed in the class. Sometimes we had to watch documents as a homework and made a review. Almost always I got materials before the lecture so we can discuss with the professor during the class. Some professors used movie/documents during the lecture which I liked a lot.

Quality of teaching in comparison with home school:
I liked the system of sending us their presentations or notes before the class so we are ready to discuss with them. Also some of them using "play" way to catch our interest like speaking about traditional games - she brought the game and we played it, speaking about history - played part of document, or we got recommendation for a movie which is based on facts. I did not liked that we had only one chance to take the exam in a short period of time but for midterms, when we got whole week of to study I was actually able to do something due to students around me working hard too, as there is a lot of places open until midnight including study rooms, cafe... and many students spends a lot of time by visiting these places and silently studying, that was the biggest help to have silent place opened even at night for studying. Almost all subjects are also twice by week and students are expected to take maximum of 20 Korean credits which is to make sure they do not take many subjects and have enough time to pay attention to their main subjects and I think that is good to put some limits also as the subjects are twice the week there is not much time for more subjects. I liked the though of having the subjects twice a week as I was able to spend more time discussing with the professors on the lectures.

How did you receive study materials?:
Professors almost always sent their notes, usually before lecture so we could discuss or right after. For Korean language class I had to get workbooks which we were informed about right at the first lecture which ones we need and that we can buy them at the school bookstore at the campus.

Can you recommend an interesting course/subject/teacher?:
Korean History by TaeJin Hwang. I took more of her classes. Her speciality is Cold War. She tried to be always full of energy and thanks to sending notes and giving homeworks once a week, students had a lot of chances to discuss in her classes.

How well is the school library equipped?:
Many places to study, sit and recharge phone. Absolute silence. Small cafe in middle of the library, which is reserved for students to drink/eat silently without disturbance of others and can still study. Also many small "booths" or how to call it for the student to have privacy to study isolated but still in the library. Also had place for printing and rooms with computers. Another floor was for studying with another booths but also open space to take more students. There were also small conference rooms for people working in groups (projects, study together...).

Availability of computers, internet access, level of software needed, requirements on notebook:
As I mentioned before, there was a lot of places in library, but also at almost every first floor of each building in the campus with around 3-5 computers and printers. But I had my own laptop or IPad always at me for notes purposes.

Options from printing and copying:
Again, as I mentioned before,you could print in the library, but also at almost every first floor of each building in the campus with around 3-5 computers included printers. At B1 in dormitory we had 2 big printers too.

Does the foreign school/student organisation arrange special events for exchange students?:
yes

If yes then what?:
Hello Foreigner, "Squid Games", Halloween party, Christmas party... there was a group of Korean students who did games and parties for us.

How would you assess your integration with the local students (evaluation like in school from 1 to 5 with 1 as highest):
2

or describe in your own words:
I had classes usually with foreigner students sadly. Not many Koreans was able to hold conversations in english and as a shy and introverted person it was hard for me to approach anyone also Koreans do not really approach random people so outside of the games it was almost impossible to speak with someone. I was able to meet some Koreans thanks to group projects as I had one class where were almost only Koreans, but as their english was really poor I was not able to befriend them outside of class. Also it was always boys (only one time I worked with a girl) in my projects groups and they almost seemed too scared to even speak with me. I had a Korean buddy who sadly also had really limited english and as I was starting with my Korean, not many people were interested to practice with me. I met another 2 Czech students who helped me a lot, one was fluent in Korean so I got help from her mostly. The other one did not spoke Korean at all but she was really friendly and met with many Koreans so in the end I was able to befriend people through her. In the end when I got to know some Koreans better, I was told that I am kinda tall for a woman and wear black a lot so some people can be intimidated by my look as Koreans care about the look a lot and other said me that I just look "intimidating in a good way".

Practical questions on your placement
Where did you live?:
At the dormitory.

Cost of accommodation - monthly:
125 USD

Additional comments to the price of accommodation (as to what the price includes):
The final fee for +- 4 months was from KRW 602,300 (US$500) to KRW 1,428,090 (US$ 1,200).

The amount of dormitory fee depends on your meal plans, you pay it together. The room fee is KRW
602,300, and the meal plans with 3-time a day is KRW 825,790. (I had 2,5 meal plan but would recommend only 1 or 1,5 meal plan I was traveling a lot so I had no time to eat at dorms)

Describe the equipment. Tips for future students – what should they bring with them?:
There was no official wi-fi at dorms, so I bought unlimited data and used them for all my devices. You need to buy your own stuff. There is only bed with mattress, no covers anything... table and old chair. I slowly bought all the needed stuff all around campus. Daiso is the best. I got covers from local market for KRW 20000. But during winter it was not enough, we can not have heating pads which is really bad as some floors, mine included, had broken heating system for whole winter. I got 3 more covers from my friends who left before winter hit harder. Still was freezing a lot even though Daegu is one of the most warm places. So shortly, do not expect anything. I bough all new stuff myself after my arrival to the dormitory. But I had 1 big fluffy blanket from home which at first I though was waste of space but in the end before I managed to find proper covers it was the best thing. You also cannot cook at the dormitory and have no place to do it. But there is cafe and convenience store at B1 floor, the store is opened 24/7 (for people with Korean credit card which can open the doors after stuff leaves). You can buy food there, make a coffee and use microwave.

How and how far ahead should accommodation be organised?:
I think I had to submit my dormitory application 2 months before arrival. After that you cannot apply for dormitory and go on your own. I met 2 girls from France who lived out of campus but they payed around KRW 1 000 000 every month.

What are the catering options?:
The meal plans with 3-time a day is KRW 825,790. (I had 2,5 meal plan but would recommend only 1 or 1,5 meal plan I was traveling a lot so I had no time to eat at dorms). You can visit dormitory cafeteria only if you live in the dormitory. If you are not living there than there is other cafeteria, but that one is more expensive. Also if you run out of preordered food or wanna buy food without having meal plan, you can buy food ticket which for one food was I think KRW 4500.

What are the rough costs of groceries (compare with Czech prices):
I think it was really similar expect for meat and sea food that is cheap also a few local fruits, but vegetable and not local fruits were very expensive, also european food in the restaurants was kinda expensive.

Transport to location of placement:
I was only informed to take KTX train from Seoul to Daegu which was supposed to cost around KRW 44500 but because I had no idea where to buy a tickets as I was told to do it online but even my local friend was kinda confused about the online reservation, I payed almost KRW 100 000.

Rough prices for transportation:
I was only informed to take KTX train from Seoul to Daegu which was supposed to cost around KRW 44500 but because I had no idea where to buy a tickets as I was told to do it online but even my local friend was kinda confused about the online reservation, I payed almost KRW 100 000.

Tips for purchasing cheap tickets and other recommendations:
Search for local apps at your phone.

What are the local transport options (public transport, cycling, on foot, rough prices):
As I lived in a campus I did not really need to use anything but I traveled around Daegu in my free time with a bus which costed around KRW 1400 one ride, same for Seoul. I charged my T-card around KRW 50000 each month.

What kind of formalities have to be arranged before arrival, for example residence permit?:
I had to visit Covid center to get tested. The visa, immigration and getting Alien Card was all did through university so we did not really need to do much but it took a lot of time before we finally got our Alien Card which you need for almost everything it was hard without it.

What health insurance did you use? (rough price, advantages, disadvantages, is it necessary to arrange insurance at the university other than your home (Czech) insurance?):
My mom made some insurance for me which I had no idea how much was but it was for a whole year, included all possible scenarios (which I was rather gratefull for as I was for Halloween in Seoul...) and for almost all countries around the world. But I also had to subscribe through my Alien Card to the local health system. We had to pay every month around KRW 56 000-57 000.

Did you have any experience with medical treatment abroad?:
Yes. I got hurt in october/november and later had problem with my thyroid. So I visited local doctor as it was kinda complicated where to go first, so I just went to the neck doctor from university magazine for foreigners but even when he was supposed to speak english he did not, neither the nurses so we tried in Korean, I still have no idea what happened there. Also as I do not have Korean name, thankfully the nurse was nice, it was hard to fit my name anywhere as Koreans only have 2-3 syllable boxes and my Czech name in hangul is 7. So just at the register it was hard to get through. At the pharmacy I had no idea what they told me but thank God they print it for me, my friend did not had such a luck and when she got pills she had no idea how to take them. They also give you exact amount of pills in packages. I only had something with my throat but got 5 pills had to take all of them 3x per day. It was crazy how much pills you get here.

Did you work during your studies?:
No I sadly could not because of the visa.

What are the conditions for working for MU students?:
-

Tips for free-time activities:
Travel. Even if it´s somewhere near, it is worth it! I spent all my money and time by traveling around and regret nothing. I also visited concerts of my favorites artists and participate in K-pop activities (cafe, exhibitions...) in Seoul.

Financial support and expenses
Total grant from Centre for International Cooperation:
70000 CZK

Monthly grant in CZK:
17500 CZK

Number of supported months:
4

Total number of months:
6 and half

What other sources did you make use of to finance your placement?:
My own savings, I worked 3 jobs before leaving for Korea plus my whole family gave me small "gifts" during the studies and my mom sponsored biggest trips.

If you received another grant, state which and how much in CZK:
-

 
Total fees associated with enrolment at the university:
0 ???

a/ amount of enrolment fee:
0 ???

b/ amount of tuition fees:
0 ???

c/ amount of other fees (which):
0 ???

 
What was your average monthly expenditure?:
2000000 KRW

a/ of which for accommodation:
165184 KRW

b/ of which for catering:
200000 KRW

c/ travel and recreation:
1000000 KRW

Any comments to the average monthly expenditure:
Health Insurance - KRW 56 500
SIM Card - KRW 30 000
Buses - KRW 50 000
Trains - KRW 90 000

I count almost all the trips around whole semester. I traveled every third weekend to Seoul, visited a lot of places around peninsula. Traveled to Jeju island with a group of friends, rent a cars there, sea fishing... and after exams visited Japan alone for a week too. Also visited a few concerts which end up being one of the most expensive weekends as I traveled for them to other cities, usually Seoul, had to pay for a hotel and got tickets for both dates.

Recognition of foreign studies at the home faculty
How many credits did you gain during your studies (in the system of the foreign school)?:
18

How many ECTS credits were recognised at MU?:
25

Did you know in advance which of your courses would be recognised by your home faculty?:
Yes.

What problems did you have with recognition?:
-

Overall assessment
Assessment of personal benefit (1 = excellent):
1

Assessment of academic benefit (1 = excellent):
1

Evaluate the information and support provided by the foreign school (1 = excellent):
3

Did you encounter any serious problems during your stay:
I cannot recall right now expect for the doctors and that the dormitory was kinda complicated with moving around as some students had to change rooms for winter vacation including me.

What would you recommend to take with you:
Not much, it is better to buy everything there. Just laptop I guess. And I took 1 blanket and 1 plushie, a few clothes which I end up not really wearing. Especially during winter. I had to buy whole new winter clothes. Shoes and coats.

What most surprised you at the partner university in a positive way:
I cannot really explain, as it is something between possitive and negative, but the atmosphere of everyone trying so hard to be the best kinda helped me and motivated me to study more. But long story short, the studying system is actually an issues in Korea due to the long time impact on psychology of the students but I enjoyed the atmosphere around me as the people I befriend were doing just well with their studies.

What most surprised you at the partner university in a negative way:
I can only think about the dormitory. They had "strict" rules. Time when you cannot walk into the building, no skinship inside the building, seperate elevator for men/women, checking the room, many objects that cannot be in the room...

Further comments:
I think I already wrote a lot :D