EXCHANGE REPORT – FALL 2016

Student ID 381622

Seoul National University at a Glance SNU is the top ranked university in . There are annually about 600 exchange students from all over the world. The main campus is located close to Gwanaksan mountain in the south part of . SNU is one of the three partner universities in South Korea for the Aalto students offering both undergraduate and graduate exchange. The home department for the exchange students will be the College of Business Administration (=CBA) which host about 80 – 150 exchange students in every semester. In this report, I will introduce you the SNU studies and preparations for the exchange but also my own experiences about living in Seoul during the fall semester 2016.

1. PREPARING FOR THE EXCHANGE

After receiving information from home university that they have nominated you to Seoul National University you will soon receive an email from SNU Office of Int'l Relations or CBA’s coordinator. I received it this year March 22nd and it included the information how to proceed with application process.

About SNU application process

This process included handling many documents and application process will be finished by post- mailing documents to Korea. There is approximately one month time to finish online application and send documents (before end on April if your exchange semester is fall). To complete the first phase, online application, prepare the following documents and upload them (excluding recommendation letters) on online application page. All the instructions, links and forms are provided with the first email from SNU. The CBA Exchange Coordinator from SNU, Ms. Michelle Choi was very helpful if you have any questions regarding the process.

1. SNU Application form – Apply online and print it out after finishing as a hard copy. You need other documents to be attached to online application: A Statement of Purpose, Official University Transcript, A Certificate of Enrollment from the current university you are attending and a copy of applicant's passport. 2. A Statement of Purpose 3. An original copy of official university transcript 4. A Certificate of Enrollment from the current university you are attending 5. A copy of passport 6. Two photographs – I would recommend that you take passport photos enough because you will need those for other applications e.g. visa, ARC, student card. 7. Two letters of recommendation - You receive a form from SNU within email so use that specific form not any informal. I recommend to ask your Bachelor thesis instructor or Professors you know from previous courses. You don’t need to upload these recommendation letters to online application, only post-mailed.

The second phase, after completion of the online application you post-mail the above mentioned documents with two recommendation letters to SNU. The final decision of acceptance from SNU takes

about 1-2 months. The results should be informed to you by email and final admission packet sent to your home institution in the middle of June. If you don’t receive papers begin of July, you should ask about papers because I didn’t get those in the first place.

About VISA application

Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Finland has a website where you will find the latest information about Student Visa process and needed documents. First, I applied Visa online with the online form but you need to visit Embassy afterwards or send papers by post. The Visa process took me about one week when I visited personally at the Embassy but apply it as soon you have collected needed papers and know the departure date.

Vaccinations and other arrangements

Finnish Student Health Service (YTHS) will help you with your vaccination plan and I got also vaccinations certificate from YTHS. Students need to arrange their own travel insurance when staying abroad. All the exchange students should also submit a travel notification to Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland (www.matkustusilmoitus.fi) just in case.

Traveling to the Host University/ Reception at School

The easiest way to get Seoul is a direct flight using Finnair. If you are looking for the cheapest options, choose the round-trip ticket which costs about 500-800 euros. Check the Finnair youth tickets before reservation if you are under 26 years old and buying one way flight.

Normally the fall semester and classes starts always begin of September (this year September 1st) but orientation week is before it. I recommend to join the orientation week because it is the most informative for your studies and surviving in Seoul but also the best place to meet people! During the orientation week, there are many orientation classes, dinners, events and tourist sightseeing arranged for exchange students. CBA Orientation day and dinner was August 26th and Office of International Affairs held their own orientation August 30th. The content of orientation classes is very practical. For example, you will get guidebook and information about course modification, ARC and student card process and a bank account opening.

Student ID card

This card is needed for access to library and some facilities like study rooms at campus. With card you also get cheaper prices for meals at school’s cafeterias. You need the application form and passport photo (also emailed photo is approved). The card process takes normally about 1hr at the campus after application is submitted.

Alien Registration Card

All foreign students who stay more than 90 days in South Korea should apply this. It is important to

apply this as soon as possible because leaving and returning to country is not possible without it or otherwise your visa will be expired. The application time must be booked online before visiting the Immigration Office (Omokgyo). Take passport, passport and visa copy, passport photo, Certificate of Enrollment (print out from MySNU portal), Application form and service charge. There is photo booth and printing service at the office if needed. The service charge will be paid to ATM next to photo booth before appointment and you show the receipt to officer. The card will be issued normally within 2-3 weeks after submitting application. Anyhow, getting appointment takes also about 2 weeks because all the other exchange students are booking appointment in the begin of September.

Tip for students, who has applied card but not received it yet and travelling outside the country: With the approved application from Immigration Office you can apply the ”Certificate of Alien Registration” from the Gwanak-gu Office located close to SNU station. The Certificate proves that you have Alien number issue under process and costs about 2’000 KRW. It allows you to travel outside country before getting official card. Just remember take it with you to airport because Custom will check it. DISCLAIMER: check if this fact is still valid from Immigration Office when you submit the application!

2. EXCHANGE STUDIES

The fall semester of SNU starts begin of September (1st of September this year) and will be finished middle of the December (14th of December this year). Some students have exams or paper submissions after final date. The grades of the semester will be announced end of December (28th of December) in MySNU portal. During the fall semester there is national holiday, Chuseok, when the classes are canceled.

About courses

The course registration is stressful and confusing even the system works quite well. Details and instructions will be informed by email and registration period is normally one month before semester. You should try to plan as much as possible your courses and familiarize you to system before the official registrations because after system opens all the seats are full in minutes. The registration time is Korean time so in Finland it is night. Do not panic if you don’t get any of your planned courses because there are many other exchange students in same situation and within a first week of semester (called modification week) you have right to change/ add/ drop courses at portal or ask from Professors if there are available extra seats at courses using “Override forms for international students”. Details about Modification week practices tell you in CBA orientation. Anyhow, if you have planned to travel during your stay try to arrange your course schedule well because Professors don’t allow many absences.

The school offers some studies. Korean Language Program at Language Education Institute (LEI) is the most common and you must apply for that before semester starts. I didn’t take that one because it is very intensive 15-week Program arranged three times per week and there is tuition fee (about 950 € and SNU pays about 40% reimbursement). The course is helpful for those who wants to learn the language. Other chance to study basics of Korea is for example free course “Elementary Korean 032.001” (2 ECTS) from College of Humanities.

I am a Master student so I had to take total 12 SNU credits for the semester. I found it challenging to find courses which are taught by English and the workload would not be too high. I think it might be easier for undergraduate because then there are more CBA course selection. Most of Graduate courses are easier to find in Graduate School of International Studies (GSIS) because they are offered in English.

1. Global Business strategy 8751.519A, Prof. Hwy-Chang Moon (GSIS), 3 ECTS

The workload: attendance 20%, weekly summaries 20%, group cases and presentations twice 20%, group project 20% and final exam 20%

This graduate course introduced theories and strategies to understand better globalization and global strategies using many examples from Asia. The course book is written by the Professor Moon himself and I got it from the library. The Professor demands lot of work and challenge students in his personal way which might feel little different comparing Finnish teaching. For every class, we read one chapter from the book and summarize it. One student team introduced the case studies from the book within 45 minutes presentation weekly. Generally thinking, there is lot of assignments and group projects to do but then final exam has not so much weight. The final exam was open-book including some case questions about international strategies, evaluation of class presentations and some learning perspectives. The participants were mostly international students and one third Korean students.

2. Workshop in International Commerce 1: Marketing Strategy 8751.515, Dr. Hwang Hye-Kyun (GSIS), 3 ECTS

The workload: midterm test 25%, final exam 25%, group project and presentation 25%, weekly readings 10% and participation 5%

This graduate course contains basics of marketing theories and tools. The theory basis of the course was easy and the exams were about lecture slides testing understanding with multiple choice questions and short essays about basic concepts. Normally, there were 2-3 articles per week and you write one page summary of each. The most interesting part of course was a group project where we made a marketing analysis and plan for the case company which you can choose yourself. Many of the students at this class were international and the atmosphere were the most relaxed with this group. If you submit all the assignments and attend to classes contributing discussion it will provide you a good grade even you don’t get the highest scores from exam. Exams are quite easy though.

3. Seminar in International Commerce 2: International Development cooperation 8751.821, Prof. Kim Chong-Sup (GSIS), 3 ECTS

The workload: attendance and participation 10, final exam 70% and two individual assignments 20%

This graduate course introduced the complex and changing field of international development cooperation focusing both multilateral and bilateral foreign aid. We analyzed topics like why international donors give aid and whom, what is the aid chain and which players are part of it, what is the impact of aid for developing countries and does it work effectively. In addition of theory and

statistics of past aid, Professor showed many real cases where he had been working lately. This course was probably the most interesting and the workload was light. We had weekly readings but it was enough the read introductions of articles. Two individual assignments were about analyzing some aid system and evaluation of aid projects (about 3-5 hrs work each). Some extra work was possible to do summarizing articles and presenting those to class but it does not affect your grade so much (I didn’t do that). For the final exam, it was enough to read slides from the lecture and learn the basic concepts. Some statistic estimation chart interpretation can be included for the exam in general level.

4. Fashion merchandising 353.306, Prof. Karen Moon (Human Ecology), 3 ECTS

The workload: attendance and participation 10%, mid-term test 20%, individual and group assignment 20% and final exam 50%

This undergraduate course was the easiest one thinking about work load. The content included the basics of fashion industry and the principles of merchandising of fashion products including fashion trends and market analysis. The individual assignment was about collecting some fashion features and trends from Korean market and group project was 10 minutes presentation about comparison of two countries’ fashion market objectives. Both mid-term test and final exam were easy including some short essays, lists, connecting words and descriptions and multiple choices. Only material needed for the exams is slides from the lectures. At some point the course is little boring and it was easy to survive without too much effort. The Professor retired after this semester so it is hard to know how the course will change in the future.

Many previous exchange reports mentioned course Special Topics in Business Administration 251.434 to be suitable and easy one for exchange students. Unfortunately, Professor retired just before my fall semester 2016 and the course was cancelled. Maybe they arrange new teacher before the next semester. In addition, there are many courses named as “Special Topics in Business Administration” so check the syllabus carefully about the content. During the fall, I also heard good feedback about courses what my friends had. For example, Korean Language and Culture 1 990.804 or Two Koreas: Modern Korean History and Society 055.016 are easy way to learn more about Korean society.

In conclusion, I would say that workload is similar compared to Aalto courses and how demanding or well taught the course was depends lot of teacher and level of studies. Even the competition seems to be hard between local students and they aim only the best grades you will success in your studies with good grades even you don’t put all your time for studying. The SNU is the best university in Korea and if you mention the name of school to someone local you will understand that school’s status is valued and they will praise your smartness if you study there. It can be awkward.

3. FREE TIME AND OTHER INFORMATION

Transportation

Most of the international flights arrived to Incheon airport but Gimpo airport is closer to city. To get your first destination it might be an good idea have an address also in Korean. There are many options to get to centrum and SNU campus:

1. Taxi – I recommend just take a taxi outside the airport and make sure driver use meter. School offered also pre-booked limousine taxi but it is not cheaper option when you travel alone. 2. Train/ Subway – If you feel energetic after flight and want to save some money. It takes about 1hr -1,5hr to get centrum and might include some train changes. The price of train ticket to Seoul is about 4’000-6’000 KRW. 3. Bus – There is Airport buses and one (#6003) going also to SNU main gate. The prices are about 9’000-15’000 KRW depending on the destination and travel time about 1h-1,5hr.

Generally speaking, subway network is the most efficient way to get around the city and there are many apps to navigate in subway (e.g. Subway Korea). Purchase the T-money card for the buses, taxis and subway from the local convenience store like 7Eleven. The card is possible to reload at every subway station using ticket machines. Taxis are affordable in Seoul and during the night time almost only way to get back home because subway is closed after midnight until morning.

You will mostly use buses (#5511 and #5513) between campus and SNU station. Intervals for those buses are around 10 minutes but during the rush hour it is even faster to walk. The walk takes about 20-30 minutes depending your destination at campus. CBA building is quite close to main road.

SNU Buddy

The first event, Welcoming Day, was arranged at school by the volunteer SNU Buddy student organization at the orientation week (August 25th). The SNU Buddy gather together local and exchange students creating great experiences and events. You will receive an email about how to “match” with personal buddy. Be fast because reservations are the first comes first basis. If you don’t get Buddy during registration go to first meeting because they try to arrange groups for all. The buddies and students are divided for smaller groups, about 20-30 people and I can assure that these group members will become your best friends during your stay in Korea.

The membership fee is 45’000 KRW and there are some extra fees to parties and events but it is worth of paying. All the events (Opening party, Weekly pubs, Olympic Day, rafting, paint ball, Temple stay, Campus runner, hiking, Farewell party etc.) are well organized and buddies put their personal time and effort to make the best events. Buddies will also arrange extra meetings like lunch, dinner, bowling, picnic etc. within their own group and help you with the problems related studies, courses or housing. They will be your local guides showing the best of Seoul and make your stay unforgettable.

Important places at the campus

For the most business students CBA building #58 is the first place to find at campus. Anyhow, events and classes might be around the campus and easiest way to get around is use free shuttle bus or just walk even it is hilly. Other important places to know are main Library (#62) and Student center (#63) where you can print out papers with print card (cost 5’000 KRW), visit health center, ATM, books store or enjoy the meal at school cafeteria. There is pdf-map about campus at school website which helps you to find the right buildings.

Accommodation

Early accommodation tips can be asked from CBA exchange coordinator (Ms. Choi). I think the easiest and cheapest option for you is to find a hotel close to SNU subway station for the first nights. Many of the first week student meetings and dinners are arranged close to SNU station.

Dorm application period will be announced by email and it includes also instructions how to apply it. This semester it started end of July/ begin of August. The dorms are quite close to campus but it takes some time to get SNU or subway stations. If you get a dorm or believe you will get it during the first weeks of your stay in Seoul you have to have chest X-ray. I recommend to do it with private healthcare center because public healthcare or YTHS didn’t do that without medical reason. The dorm is always the cheapest option about 200-400 euros per month. The prices differentiate based on undergraduate or graduate status and room type. The dorm application must be done by online and check the waiting list every week in the dorm website based on your own numbers. It is not well informed what waiting numbers normally get accepted. For example, in my case I applied Graduate dorms and I would have gotten a dorm at the second week of semester (5.9.2016) when waiting number #41- #93 got places. This is good to keep in mind because more rooms will be available when graduates give up their rooms in the first week of fall semester after graduation.

Private studio, or shared flat is easier to arrange when you get in Seoul. Join the SNU exchange students Facebook groups where people post announcement about rooms, listen the tips from SNU Buddies and talk to other exchange students during the first week because many of them are looking also a flat. It is always easier to find a place together or get contact numbers to agents. Many agents do not speak English well but ask help from your personal buddy. I heard that studios or own rooms in shared flats in SNU station area are about 350’000-650’000 KRW. If you don’t need space so much an good option is goshiwon which is small room with bed, desk and bathroom but you share the kitchen.

I shared a studio apartment in Dogok station, 30 mins away from SNU station. The neighborhood is family oriented and clean suburb in Gangnam-gu area. The flat was fine with new furniture and wifi but we had some problems with heating so during the nights it was quite cold in the room. I paid rent 620’000 KRW per month (too much about shared room comparing price level in SNU station) and deposit 500’000 KRW. Generally, many landlords do not return deposits because they will reduce the electricity, water, maintenance, security, trash or other fees from the deposit.

Finally, I would say that choose housing close to campus because all exchange students and events are

there and do not do private housing contract without seeing the place. If you need some stuff for the apartment check Daiso (kitchen, bathroom) or go with your friends to Ikea. Close to SNU Station are some stores selling bedding sets (blankets, pillows). I recommend you to take own bedclothes and towels with you.

Food and Culture

Korean culture is polite and older people are appreciated very much. You should learn at least to say the basic phrases like thank you and hello. In many places outside tourist areas people do not speak English always. People make a small bow to higher status persons such as Professors or older people.

There are some table manners what are good to ask your local friends to explain you when you go out for dinner. If you have no clue what to do just follow locals. First, the funny fact is that you take care of your friends’ glasses pouring the drink and they take care of your glass. Second, you must learn to eat with chopsticks even some food is ok to eat using spoon or hands. Third, important part of Korean food culture is drinking and alcohol beverages like Soju (taste like dilute vodka) or beer are part of dinner, especially Korean barbeque. Don’t worry if you don’t drink alcohol because there are many non- alcoholic Korean beverages with different tastes.

The pics of Korean food: Barbeque (left) and bibimbap with hot stone pot (right)

The food in Korea is totally new for Finnish taste and it might take some time to get used to it. Some Korean food, such as Kimchi is spicy so be careful when trying food first time. The normal dishes in Korea are for example bibimbap (mixed rice and vegetable bowl with spicy sauce), gimbap (local sushi roll), fried chicken, green tea products or Korean barbeque (table grilled meat such as pork belly, salad leaves, spicy soya paste and other side dishes like mushrooms or vegetables). The small side dishes are common (kimchi, radish, fish, spring sprouts, eggs…) and those foods are shared with others and you can ask refill. It is normal also to get small soup including seaweed. The food is delicious but I’m sure you will eat rice and noodles (e.g. ramen) more than enough during the semester. Locals do not drink tap water but there are many water machines at campus where you can refill your bottle.

It is cheap to dine out close to SNU station or at school cafeteria (2’000-4’000 KRW). There are also many cafeterias and fast food places close to SNU station. Alcohol at convenience store is quite cheap

(soju & beer) and those stores are easy to find everywhere to buy snacks and drinks. The bigger grocery stores are harder to find but there is one close to SNU station and local brand Lotte has their own food markets around the city.

Free time and hobbies

Most of the SNU Buddy events are arranged at the campus or close to SNU station. After-parties are in Hongdae or GangNam or Itaewon where are clubs for every taste. Other ways to spend free time is go to amusement park or shopping to malls like Jamsil Lotteworld. In Korea is very big cosmetic and beauty products markets if you are interested and many subway stations have underground markets where you can do affordable cloth shopping. Seoul offers also events like fireworks, light exhibitions and K- pop concerts.

Gym at the campus is called POSCO (building #71-2) and it is furnished by the newest equipment. It offers different kind of memberships (day, morning etc..) and the prices are between 40’000 to 73’000 KRW per month. Gym offers towels and training clothes (shorts and t-shirts) but you must bring your own indoor sneakers. There swimming pool is available if you pay extra. I heard that there is gym at dorm and one free gym at the campus (building #71) which one is close to CBA. The free gym is open at specific times during a day, mostly mornings and evenings and you can do basic training there but gym equipment is not the newest.

Older Koreans love to go hiking during the weekends. I did some hiking with friends in Seoul. Behind the campus is Gwanaksan mountain and other popular places for day-trips are Bukhansan and Namhansanseong parks where you can get a good view to Seoul.

Traveling in the host country and sightseeing

Most of the exchange students travel to Busan, the second largest city in South Korea which is well- known for seafood and beaches. The easiest way to get there is to take KTX train about 3 hrs. For the budget travelers are buses affordable solution. Other popular destination is Jeju island which offers many outdoor places worth to see from waterfalls to beautiful beaches. CBA arranged weekend trip for students to see the island with guide and minibus. The most visited attractions in Seoul are for example Gyeongbokgung palace, Seoul Tower, Bukchon Hanok Village and Insadong. One great to place to visit is DMZ, the Korean Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea for day trip.

Weather

The weather in Seoul was warm and sunny from end of August to begin of November, around 20-32 degrees. Some fogginess and rains are common. It can be cold at class rooms because of air conditioning even outside is 25. When the weather gets colder towards Christmas it is better to be prepared with more cloth layers so take jumper, warmer coat and for example wind jacket if you plan to do some outdoor sport. In November and begin of December weather was around 5-16 degrees during the days but nights can be cold, even under 0 degrees.

Money

I didn’t open the bank account myself because I didn’t need it for rent paying. It is good to have two credit cards with you if something happens or you lock your pin code. I had Visa electron and VISA card and both worked fine in the bigger stores. Normally, you will use cash in the smaller restaurants but malls, chain stores or bigger grocery stores (e.g. Lotte) accept cards payments. Almost every corner has the ATM but some ATMs do not accept international cards. I used mostly Shinhan banks and Wooribanks. There might be transaction fee added to withdrawals.

4. FINAL COMMENTS

Seoul National University is very appreciated university in Korea and all the exchange students are warmly welcomed to spend a semester in Korea. You will find the courses which are totally new for you if you decide to choose Korean language or culture studies or you can choose business related course, it is up to you. SNU offers a vivid campus life and the process of application was clear. In addition, I met bunch of new people joining to SNU Buddy and organization introduced me the Korean lifestyle and culture. I feel that SNU provided me an excellent experience to get to know local students and get an insight about Korean school systems and Asian business life.

If I would go SNU again, I would do small changes. First, I would put more effort to choose the Korean culture classes. As a master student, I felt it was at some point hard to find good courses which are not too similar for my old studies. Other thing to do differently is to live closer to campus. Anyhow, the exchange was a great opportunity to meet people from different cultures and I learned lot about myself. I learned to organize things effectively from financing the trip to making travel plans and encourage to do new things. My understanding of new cultures is developed and tested during this fall. I adapted well the Korean lifestyle without any bigger cultural shock. Even the Seoul is home for 10 million people all works well in daily life; transportation is well-organized and it is safety place to live.

The exchange met all my expectations and I am happy that I did it before the graduation. I enjoyed the Korean culture, food and the polite people and would recommend SNU for the exchange destination. Seoul offers a lot to do and see with interesting history stories. Country is developed and the Korean brands like Samsung and Hyundai are visible everywhere. In addition, the good connections to other Asian destinations with reasonable prices give you chance to explore other countries during your stay.