First, let me start off by admitting, that this story is not my own. I have already shared my own story of how I ended up in Korea. Instead, I will be sharing the story of one of my close friends and their Korean adventure.
How & Why I Ended Up on a Korean Adventure
Many people, including myself, want to travel the world and create wonderful memories. Iโve always been interested in Asian culture, particularly that of Japan and South Korea, since I was a child. Those two countries pulled me in with their stunning scenery, music, movies and, of course, food โ we canโt forget the excellent food!!
But after dreaming of traveling to East Asia for my entire life, how and why did I finally end up in Korea after all these years? Well, let me tell you my story.
Korean Adventure Opportunity
My story is fairly generic and typical, but it was a wonderful opportunity that enabled me to achieve one of my biggest goals. I got the incredible opportunity to study overseas after finally finishing the first two semesters at my home university. I was fortunate in that they had a large number of partner universities in Korea, so all I had to do now was pick one and apply, right? Easy! How hard can it be?
Well, with a variety of options comes a number of challenges. For one, I had no idea which one to choose! I wonโt lie, it was quite difficult. A lot of the colleges sounded intriguing and exciting, but several were quickly eliminated since they did not offer the English courses I needed.
After all, I had to choose courses that were part of my home universityโs curriculum. Which, as it turned out, was more difficult than I expected.
Deciding on the University
So, after spending a considerable amount of time researching a variety of factors, I had narrowed it down to two options:
Konkuk University and Incheon National University.
I presented my options to the International Office at my home university. After some discussion, they agreed to let me apply to both. My first semester would be at Incheon National University, and my second semester would be at Konkuk University. That means that Iโd be able to remain in Korea for a year, and experience life at two universities in two different cities.
And with that, I was set to embark on my Korean journey!
Decision to Embark on a Korean Adventure
I actually had the opportunity to travel here as a tourist two years prior to enrolling in my year-long exchange program. I came with my best friend. Despite our trip only being around three weeks, it nonetheless gave me an insight into the country. I learned what the people were like and got a feel for what I can expect from living here โ regardless of how limited this insight was.
During my time here as a tourist, I saw and experienced a variety of things, not all of which were positive. However, the majority of it was wonderful. This made my decision much easier because I already knew what to expect.
My trip gave me the motivation to try and follow my dreams of living in Korea. I plan on using the opportunity to study here as a test and see if I would like to live here long-term and work in Korea full-time. I guess I could also kind of describe it as an experiment for myself.
While Iโm here, Iโd like to use this time to grow personally and see how far I can get.
Back home, I was comfortable with having my parents by my side and relying on their support.
Being here alone, I had to find out a lot of things on my own here. This independence is much more intriguing to me than I initially anticipated.
Final words
So in the end, the โwhyโ I came here to Korea remains the same. I simply fell in love with this country. Everyone who has ever wanted to visit here should give it a shot!
Whether as an exchange student, for a summer language program, or as a tourist โ just come and experience it for yourself!
So this was my friendโs Korean adventure, I hope you enjoyed it!
Stay healthy!
If you would like to read about more Korean adventures, Click Here to read about my first day in Korea!
