International Exchange/Overseas Program

Exchange student: South Korea/Shangmyung University (4 months: 1 semester)

Reason for studying abroad

I have always been interested in Korea, and since I came to IU, I thought it would be a good idea to study abroad as a new stimulus for me, so I applied.

About the local atmosphere and university culture

Since it was a big city and a place where tourists came, the town was bright and lively every day. The university building was clean and well-equipped. There is an affiliated junior high school and high school on the university grounds, so I often saw not only university students but also junior high and high school students.

About interacting with local students while studying abroad

I participated in a program called the "Buddy Program" run by my host university that allows international students to interact with local students. I also joined a club called "SISO," which is a group of local students who want to interact with international students.

Subjects taken locally

Basic Korean, leisure content, modern Japanese culture, education and personality, introduction to Korean culture, etc.

Thoughts after studying abroad

It was my first time to go to Korea and I was full of anxiety, but I was able to spend a fun and fulfilling four months there because I had Japanese ladies living in the same dormitory. They helped me a lot with things I didn't understand, and although I was very worried about the language and couldn't pronounce it well and couldn't communicate, I was able to grow a lot by learning basic Korean there. Listening to a language spoken by a native speaker will greatly improve your listening skills. It was good because I was able to improve my speaking by learning how to respond to them.

Message to students considering studying abroad

You can't understand the local situation unless you actually go there, and even people who already have language skills were often confused if they had never spoken to a native speaker. Image training is important, but no matter how much image training you do, you often end up failing. I think it would be good if you could experience various things in other countries without trying to do well from the beginning.

Department of Education and Welfare, 3rd year HO

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