I studied abroad at Hanyang University in Seoul, the capital of Korea, for four months from February 2015. Since I studied about the relationship between Japan and Korea in Kanazawa University, I wanted to know how Korean students think about it. That’s why I studied abroad in Korea.

Many universities in Korea have language schools to study various languages including Korean. I took Korean language classes at the language school every day, and I also took a class about Japanese History for regular undergraduate students once a week. There are many classes offered in English in undergraduate courses, and the students from various countries take those classes. So I want to recommend studying abroad in Korea to the students who want to study English more, yet feel that it is hard to study abroad in English-speaking countries.

If you start your study in Korea in winter, you find lots of encouragements to join a club because regular students enroll in the university in winter, too. At first, I hesitated to join a club because I was not able to speak Korean well at that time. But because I wanted to make the most of my four month stay in Korea, I decided to join a travel club. When I traveled for three days with them, I had a lot of hard time because I was not able to understand Korean correctly. However, I tried to do anything with them such as hitchhiking, climbing a mountain and performing a skit. All of them were the first challenges of my life and rare experiences for a student studying abroad, so it was good decision for me to join the club.

(On top of the mountain with the travel club members)

 

After I came back to Japan, I got interested in the globalization of universities, so I joined the internship at Global Affairs Support Office, Kanazawa University for 2 weeks. Before the internship, I thought that the relationship between universities and foreign countries is only about studying abroad. Through the internship, however, I learned that there are many relationships such as global internship, international training and so on. In addition, Kanazawa University has been trying to attract international students by joining studying abroad fairs held in many countries. It should not be long before that there are more international students on campus.

I spent a precious time in Korea. That experience changed my values. When I lived with new friends in a new town, I realized that I was living l a blessed life in Japan being supported by my family and friends, and I thanked them for many times. You can improve your language skill and human resilience, and have a new perspective on you and your surroundings by studying abroad. Let’s go abroad and find a new world unique for you.

 

(Updated: November 18, 2015)