D-I-E Korea

DESCRIBE
Moving to Korea, I encountered what was going to be my first and perhaps only cultural bump just a few days in. At that point, I didn't actually think of it as a cultural bump because it came from my student buddy (we had exchanged a few emails prior to my journey and a few messages when i got there before actually meeting). This cultural bump has to do with Korean small talk which goes thus;

Speaker: Hey, what is your name?
Me: Clinton.
Speaker: Where are you from?
Me: Finland / Cameroon.
Speaker: How old are you?
Me: 26.

Find anything odd in there? If you didn't then I bet you must be familiar with Korean small talk. I just found it weird to ask someone's age , less than five statements into your chat when you just met them. I always answered but would find it difficult asking what their own age was because it wasn't something I was accustomed to. I was met with this same line of questioning whenever i tried engaging in small talk with someone i met at a gathering.

INTERPRET
The ''raison d'etre'' behind this remained a mystery until one day when I met this Korean lady at a Cameroonian party in another city and thought of it in the course of our conversation. She didn't get to ask what my age was this time around as I joined the conversation midway but she was able to solve what had remained a mystery for so long. Koreans basically hang around with their age-mates, that is, they date, make friends and chill with someone who is the same age as them. So the reason for asking your age that early is to determine if you are in their age group and if they should be hanging with you.


EVALUATE
After this explanation, I was able to understand why it was difficult having friends besides my buddy and his friends to whom he had introduced me to, especially as they had all become friends during the previous semester whilst they were all exchange students in Canada from the same Korean institution, Chungbuk. I was much older as most students where between 18 and 22. After that fateful conversation, I remained content with not trying to make any new friends and stuck to the few I had already.

Letter Home

I was studying at Chungbuk National University in the Republic of Korea for the spring semester of 2019 as an exchange student from Centria. Being a Business Administration student, I had to take courses from two different departments at Chungbuk; Department of Management and Information Systems and College of Business.

The teaching culture is almost very similar to that of Centria but for the so much importance attached to written exams at Chungbuk. I had presentations in four of the five courses i was offering at Chungbuk which entailed a lot of team work as I had to take part in at least one presentation every other week. This wasn't strange as team work (research and presentation) are a corner stone of my study path in Centria.

With the great importance attached to exams at Chungbuk, it wasn't strange to find students putting in a lot of hours in the library or  at their homes studying for mid-term or final examinations. Each semester has two exams per course (mid-terms which generally constitute about 30% while final exams constitute 70% of the total grade). It was therefore impracticable to find students taking part in some leisure activities two weeks to the start of exams.

Studying in Korea was a good experience as most lecturers had some sort of international experience as majority had studied and went on to teach in the United States, The UK and some other European countries but the United States obviously dominated the lot as the two countries entertain a very cordial relationship. My study group consisted mainly other exchange students from Thailand, Russia, Belarus, Germany, Mongolia and China as I was at a public university with  Korean as the main language of instruction. Native students were studying in Korean and they had just a handful of English language courses for incoming exchange students.

My everyday life was quite simple and homogeneous as i lived on campus in a student dormitory so I had no troubles commuting to school. My classes were always approximately 7 minutes-walk away from my dormitory because it was such a massive campus with each department or faculty having a building or two (like big buildings).

Throughout my stay, the most challenging aspect was sharing the same room with someone else especially as it was quite small. I always had the impression I was in some sort of a box when i went back to my dormitory. This was so challenging because I had never had to share such a small living space in the past.
Not so easy picking out a single moment or instance as the highlight of my exchange as I had lots of fun memories and visited some amazing places. Probably, the cable car mountain at Mount Palgong.

Introduction: Clint

Hi, I am Clinton Chia, a Business Administration student at Centria's campus Allegro, Pietarsaari. Originally from Cameroon, I hope to be studying at Chungbuk National University in South Korea throughout the Spring semester of 2019.
Asian economies notably China, Japan and South Korea are pulling great economic strides. I therefore hope during my time there, to be able to learn a few things about the overall business climate and their secret ingredient for such resounding success.

D-I-E South Korea

1. DESCRIBE: Think of one episode that has left you confused or that you think was strange/different. Describe the object or situation in concrete, observable terms. What happened in the interaction? What was said? What did you see? What did you feel at the moment?

Once, we faced such a problem that during a group work with Koreans, they preferred to use their mother language, not English. First it was confusing and felt a little bit offended, because we couldn't follow the progress of our work and understand what is going on. Sometimes they were explaining us something, when they saw our sight full of misunderstanding. After some time, we started to remind that we don't speak Korean and also would like to participate in this work. They apologized, but after a while they could start again and we had to remind once more.  

2. INTERPRET: Think of possible explanations (interpretations) for what you observed or experienced. From your cultural perspective, try to explain why you think this situation or experience occurred? Try to find at least 3 different interpretations of the interaction or occurrence. What cultural information have you used to produce these interpretations?  

In our opinion, the reason of such situation is lack of confidence in English skills and that it is easier for them to speak in their mother language. From our cultural and personal perspective, this was quite impolitely and disappointing. But we think that it can be acceptable since we can improve our basic Korean language skills and lead to better understanding of Korean culture. We knew before that Koreans don't have good English skills and are quite shy to speak it, so we were prepared for such situations. 

3. EVALUATE: Evaluate what you observed or experienced. What positive or negative feelings do you have regarding the situation? Consider how you might feel if you were a member of the host culture and held the dominant cultural values and beliefs?

During this situation, we had a negative feeling of discomfort and incomprehension. We would feel comfortable if we were a member of host culture, because this language is naturally easier to speak in. So, we can understand why they behave like this and accepted it.     

Letter Home - S. Korea. Ekaterina Vasilyeva and Ekaterina Ponomareva

1. In what country and University are you studying?

We are studying now in Chungbuk National University (CBNU) which is located in Cheongju, South Korea.

2. In what Study program are you studying at Centria?

Un Centria UAS we are studying Industrial Management degree, but in CBNU our faculty is Economics. 

3. What are the courses like at the host University?

There are a lot of engineering courses and courses which are connected to mathematics/physics/chemistry. They are mostly focus on theoretical part of the subject and preparing a HW for the next lecture.

When we arrived, we got information that the list of available courses was changed and therefore, we had to replace some of them. Because of that we had more courses which are not connected to our specialty, but still interesting.

4. Describe the study culture?

The study culture in Korea is quite hard. They used to prepare to lecture very well and they spend a lot of time in library or study cafes. Grades plays the most important role in their studying life. As well, they have a rating which influence on the grand (or better say how much cheaper will be the education for them). Additionally, only 40% of Korean students can get A or A+ (this doesn’t apply for exchange students).

Our studying courses are really different from subject to subject. The course about economics mostly just have lectures which has a lot of theoretical knowledge and homework. But courses about language and culture contain a lot of teamwork and interactive tasks. For example, play of traditional tea ceremony course about culture or rope play for language class.

5. What is your study group like?

The group is quite big, more than 20 people. For some courses (Economic and English Literature) it consists of mostly Korean students, but for others (like Understanding of Korean culture) there were only foreigners. Teacher always use microphone, so everyone can hear him well. People there are mostly friendly and nice.

6. Please describe what the everyday life is like in your host country? What do you like in particular?

Ekaterina P:

Actually, my everyday life is not differing so much from my life in Finland. As I don't have a lot of courses I do study about 4 hours every day in a class. I like the most the fact that the student campus is really huge and there are a lot of events for students like festivals or fairs.  

In the weekends I mostly try to travel and see beautiful places around like parks, fortress, beaches etc.  

Ekaterina V:

My everyday life is mostly active: I am trying to meet new people and taking part in different activities (like English club, English Clinic, Astronomy club) and travelling. I also don’t have so much courses, so I like to explore the city and travel to cities nearby. As was said before, we have really huge campus and lot of activities. Additionally, International Student office is supporting us and organizing different events like festivals and trips.  

7. What has been challenging? Why?

Ekaterina P:

The most challenging thing is strict attendance and deadlines in school. Other challenging things is Asian food in cafeteria (which even native Korean students don't like). Other challenging thing as difference in culture and language with people in Korea. For example, not each good place for eat has a translation in English. But, however, people are usually trying to help even if they don't know English with gestures at least. 

Ekaterina V:

For me the most challenging was also language. Not all Koreans can speak English, and even if they can, they are shy. So, it was a little bit hard to integrate to Korean society. And in the dormitory instructions were mostly in Korean or Chinese, so it took a lot of time for us to guess hot the laundry works.

8. What has been the highlight of your exchange so far?

Ekaterina P:

I think that the first days in Seoul are the greatest highlight as it was the first experience. Walking around historical building, seeing new people, eating a lot of street food, watching a concert of favourite group really made me feel that this exchange will be wonderful. 

Ekaterina V:

As well, the travelling to other cities and meeting new friends. And the festivals, they were amazing! Also. It was my first time to participate in different clubs (English club and Astronomy club). Many people were trying to help us and introduce to their culture, that was wonderful. 

Introduction: Ekaterina Ponomareva

Hello everyone!

My name is Ekaterina Ponomareva and I’m from Russia. Currently I’m studying Industrial management at Centria UAS in Ylivieska.

I am going to Chungbuk National University which is located in South Korea. I have chosen this university as I have been interested in South Korea lately. I have never been in any Asian country before, that’s why I hope to get new experience, explore korean culture and meet new people while studying. I hope that this experience will be very helpful in the future. 

Introduction - Ekaterina V.

Hello everyone!

My name is Ekaterina Vasilyeva, I am second year student of Industrial Management, Ylivieska. Originally I am from Russia, studying in Finland as international student.

I am going to Chungbuk National University, South Korea. I applied to this university, because I am really interested in this country ( I studied it for 5 years), and I would like to meet new people there and improve my skills in Korean language. As well, I found there several interesting courses for me.

In my opinion, this is a great possibility to visit an Asian country and stay there longer than as a tourist :)