Keiran
Mechanical Engineering
Seoul National University
Sometimes it’s hard to grasp the fact that at 19, I moved to a different country on the other side of the globe not knowing anyone or the native language. Retrospectively, only one thing is clear, I certainly don’t regret it.
Immediately after arriving at the airport in Seoul, I remember vividly asking a woman directions with transport. She showed me the highest class of kindness by buying me a banana milk drink, a travel card, as well as adding her own money onto it for me to use. Her name was Vanessa and she was the first friend I made in Korea.
As a proper Londoner, I always thought to myself that if I can live in there, I can live anywhere without any expectations exceeded. I couldn’t be more wrong. Seoul is probably triple the size of London with some skyscrapers touching the wisps of clouds. However, despite being shocked at the larger scale, I didn’t feel overstimulated. I felt right at home.
Starting university I was slightly worried. Can I handle the workload of the best university in Korea? Will I make friends? A life lesson I’ve learnt as I slowly leave my teen years is, “When you start to see life for what it is rather than what it could be, it starts to get more enjoyable.” I ended up making an amazing group of friends whom I plan on travelling Asia with 🇯🇵🇨🇳🇭🇰, enjoying my courses, and fitting into the Korean student life very comfortably.
Seoul National University (SNU) is substantial, almost the size of the entirety of Guildford itself. The library looks so brutalist with its architecture (being 9 floors) and advanced software which includes cinemas where students can borrow movies and video games. Given the university is located on a mountain, my lectures by luck were always at the peak. In the beginning I genuinely thought I could climb up the mountain every day to lectures and not pay for the bus. This only lasted a week as it took 1 hour and by the time I got there I was dripping in sweat.
Some Korean customs are much different to the UK’s. For example, I’ve never cooked a single meal being here. Given how restaurant food in Korea is so cheap. Mathematically, it would be more expensive to cook my own meals than eat out every day. Furthermore, SNU provides 1000 won (50p) dinner which normally is a hot traditional meal usually with noodles. My favourite dish would be the all you can eat Katsu Curry buffet. All I can say is these are much better than the Coop meal deals at Stag Hill Library.
People in Korea are much kinder than in the UK. If you are lost and ask for directions, someone will guide you to that place itself. If your card declines at a restaurant for some reason, a stranger will ask to pay. Adding on, buses will wait for you if you are running late to the stop so you don’t miss it. Overall I feel much safer in Seoul than in London.
To students thinking of doing a year abroad I simply advise you to do it. I would’ve never thought I’d be able to make so many friends internationally and how confident it’s made me as a person. If you told me a year ago that I would be clubbing in Itaewon, climbing Bukhansan mountain, and learning taekwondo in Korea I wouldn’t have believed you.
