Korean Language Study Abroad

Guess it’s time to wrap up these updates! The past three months felt like forever but also like they went by in the blink of an eye. I’m back in NZ now, savouring the last few days of warm weather before it gets cold again. I say that, but it has just started raining pretty heavily (and suddenly?!) outside. The last week in Korea was so hectic. Everyone on the programme probably…Continue Reading Final Update

When I arrived in Korea I didn’t really have any expectations in regard to making friends. Obviously, I wanted to make friends but I also know that is easier said than done. I am someone who values quality over quantity in friendships and would rather invest time in one person instead of in shallow friendships with many people. However, it is hard to make deeper connections when communicating in a…Continue Reading Queer in Seoul

Time indeed went very fast on this trip. A few weeks before returning to New Zealand, I visited Gyeongbokgung Palace with another friend from Auckland. Surprisingly, the tour took shorter than we expected. There were two exits, both near a different tourist attraction. One was right next to the National Folk Museum and the other was near Cheong Wa Dae, the former presidential palace. Although neither was part of our…Continue Reading Final Weeks + Going Home

I feel like we just arrived but somehow 3 months have passed. So much has happened and yet I feel as though there is so much left to do in Seoul. It’s a strange contradiction of emotions. I don’t want to leave but I’m so ready to go home. I’ve loved my time here in Korea but I do miss a few comforts of home. One of the biggest differences…Continue Reading Reflecting on the last 3 months…

I’ve always found that in the lead up to a significant event, I never really feel that said event is actually going to happen, until it finally does. It was much the same for me in the week leading up to our departure. While I was very aware that our final week in Seoul had dawned on us and that we were living our last days in the country, I…Continue Reading The departure and our return

Everland Theme Park Since the Lunar New Year was the only holiday we got during our exchange, we decided to make a trip to the Everland Theme Park since it is outside of Seoul. This was an amazing experience; we did not realise there would be so many incredible animals; it was like a whole zoo within the park! There were also some really cool rides, including some themed on…Continue Reading Lunar New Year

As a 34-year-old mature student, I came to Korea with a mix of excitement and nervousness. I was eager to experience something new and challenge myself, but I was also unsure of what to expect from the culture and the academic environment. However, my time here has exceeded all my expectations and has been a life-changing experience. STUDY When it comes to my studies, I have found a great balance…Continue Reading Finding Beauty and Balance in Korean Culture and Study

In our Korean language study abroad programme, we had the opportunity to apply for the Doumi programme. The Korean University’s Doumi programme pairs and connects new students in our language study programme with Korean students from the university. During this Doumi programme, local Korean students become our ‘Korean Buddies,’ helping us get comfortable with the Korean language, social life, and, of course, school.  I had the pleasure and honour of…Continue Reading Adventures of my buddy programme

Time has flown fast, and we’ve reached the end of the epic year of 2022! In the meantime, I became much more familiar with my classmates, and some of us went together to Everland on Christmas day. To celebrate new year’s, the same group of friends and I decided to see the new year’s celebrations at Gwanghwamun Square. I felt it would be a memorable experience as it was my…Continue Reading What An Experience!

As I begin counting down the days in our final week in South Korea, I’m consciously cherishing many moments and experiences that I know I won’t be able to have when I return to New Zealand. There are so many aspects of life here that I love, but I’ve tried to distil these down to a top 5 list of what’s currently at the forefront of my mind. Of course,…Continue Reading What will I miss?

I didn’t go to a theme park recently, but the past few weeks have been a bit of a rollercoaster. To put it nicely, I had a bit of an experience at a hair salon here, and as a warning from me to you: don’t get your hair bleached if your shower doesn’t have a filter here. (FYI: the dorms here at KU don’t have filters). Korean water is hard…Continue Reading The Last Week

After our first week in Korea, classes were about to start. The day before class, I heard that some others in the group got their textbooks. I thought it would be good preparation to get textbooks in advance. Although it was a rainy day, Niki, Waves, and I decided to go immediately because it was already about 5 pm. I was surprised that the university store was still open. The…Continue Reading First weeks of class!

Shortly after the new year celebrations, we began our mid-semester exams. We have many small quizzes, speaking tests and exams during this programme. Finding time to study and make social plans has always been a task I struggled to balance. I always prioritised one over the other and wanted to find a better balance. One of my goals in coming to Korea was to improve at finding this balance between…Continue Reading New Year, New Habits

Welcome back to my blog!! This might be my last blog post because it is slowly nearing when we have to leave Korea, which means lots and lots of packing and tidying things up! Many fun things have been happening, and I’ve been trying to cram everything in now that the time to leave the country is nearing! It has been such an enjoyable time here in Korea, and I…Continue Reading Not Ready To Leave 🙁

Day 1 (5/12/2022): Off to Korea!! This awesome trip started with a funny welcome: our flight was delayed for about 2 hours. The great thing was that this flight has so far been my most comfortable one! I enjoyed watching three films, getting some good sleep, decent food provided by Korean Air and the epic views outside the window. The only funny part was that I looked for where to…Continue Reading First Week in Korea!

절대 난 돌아보지 않겠어 (oh-oh, oh-oh, yeah) 앞만 보기도 시간은 짧아 (yeah!) Step it up, step it up 다시 시작이야 /I will never look back again (oh-oh, oh-oh, yeah) Time is already short even if I only look forward (yeah!) Step it up, step it up, it’s the beginning again/ -KARA, <Step> To the dismay of myself and probably the 360 International team, I have been slacking off greatly in…Continue Reading Brace-Step

Monday 23 Jan Currently aboard the KTX bullet train on my way back to Seoul after spending Lunar New Year’s in Busan with the family. Spending time with my family in Busan is… interesting — I feel so grateful to have a big extended family and that I’m able to spend quality time with my grandma, but there were times when I just wanted to be back at the dorm…Continue Reading Lunar New Year’s in Busan

Saturday 24 December I spent Christmas Eve making kimchi with my aunties in my grandma’s apartment (located in the Suyeong district of Busan). When the image below was taken, we were at the stage of slathering the spicy marinade into the salted and rinsed cabbages and wrapping the marinated cabbages up to place securely into containers where they would ferment for some time. Although Koreans don’t really celebrate Christmas like…Continue Reading Kimchi-making and solo train rides on Christmas

Time has continued to fly past, and I’m becoming ever more aware of our impending departure. With that in mind, it feels like the perfect time to reflect on my time here in South Korea. After two months of being away from home, I’ve realised there are most certainly things I miss and can’t wait to get back to. On the other hand, I know there are so many things…Continue Reading What do I miss?

It’s hard to believe that as I write this, it’s early February, and the end of our trip is beginning to loom in the distance. As we packed so many activities and sights into the first month, time seemed to move rather slowly, but I have to say that January passed me by in the blink of an eye. At this point, I can comfortably say that I’ve adjusted to…Continue Reading Looking into (Korea’s) future