Does your exchange meet your expectations so far?
"I expected it to be a difficult transition in many ways. I was quite worried about the language barrier. It is rather funny to walk around and not be able to read anything because you don't even understand the alphabet; or to see the name of someone in Zoom have no idea what they are called! But it is possible to work around it, and it's not as incapacitating as I thought it would be. Furthermore I would say that my experience here it is much more relaxed than I would have previously thought, which is surprising given how hectic the lives of most Koreans are. There are, however, a few points of maybe cultural divergence between the Netherlands and South Korea that I came to find more problematic than I had expected."
Could you give an example?
"In the other countries I’ve lived in I'm always treated as a foreigner, but not quite as an outsider. The Netherlands is a perfect example. I receive pretty much the same treatment as a Dutch person would receive. I am included in their friend groups, I am able to participate in all aspects of daily life, I am able to go anywhere. Here, that is not always the case. You do get a quite different treatment being a foreigner, especially when it comes to COVID. For example, at some point Koreans were allowed to hang out in groups of 6 while foreigners were only allowed in pairs. Or how vaccines not given outside of Korea are still widely disregarded, and so foreigners are excluded from the benefits of being vaccinated."
You also mentioned that a lot of things were much more relaxed than you expected. In what sense?
"I think firstly the pace here at university is more relaxed. Out of my five courses, only one of them is close to the PPE level in terms of speed and expectations. The other four are slower and assessment is not as complicated. It leaves me more time to do stuff outside of university. Another major selling point in Korea is the food. Besides the amazing cuisine, eating out is very affordable. So instead of having to cook at home as I would in the Netherlands, I can just eat at a restaurant twice a day, which saves time, energy and keeps me from having to eat food I cooked. I think it is a combination of all these things plus the sheer amount of unconventional things to do, such as weekly hiking, animal cafes, huge shopping malls and weekend trips really make it feel like more than just an academic experience."
What advice would you give to students who still want to go on exchange?
"My favourite thing about exchange is that it allows you to turn your life upside down, to give up the routine that you're used to and in a way go on vacation into a life that is different of your own. It’s more than just the changes in the weather, in the people you see or the subjects you study, it is really an opportunity to change perspectives, goals and more."
