“The art of life lies in a constant readjustment to our surroundings.”
~Kakuzo Okakura, The Book of Tea
When I decided to study abroad in South Korea, one of the prospects I was simultaneously most excited for and intrigued by was the academic culture at Yonsei University. Specifically, Yonsei University is part of the “SKY” universities, which are the three highest ranked universities in South Korea: Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University. As someone enrolling in STEM courses, I approached studying at Yonsei with an open mind and tried to view it as an opportunity for growth. As is often the case, growth is uncomfortable. Rather quickly, I realized my new academic culture would be challenging for two reasons. On the one hand, I quickly had to adjust to a new level of academic rigor, which I delve into further in a related post. Nonetheless, I heavily underestimated the significant difference in cultural learning/teaching style and the impact this would have on my own learning experience. Very quickly, I realized studying in a new country meant getting accustomed to a new classroom dynamic and learning style.
As an example, let me recount my very first day of classes at Yonsei University. At noon, I made my way through the small campus forest to Daewoo Hall for my first statistics lecture. The sun was shining. The birds were singing. After an unusually long winter break, I was excited to resume classes. Nonetheless, my excitement wavered as I walked through the open doors of my new classroom. For the first time, I was in a classroom with 100+ students. More importantly, I was in a classroom where the majority, i.e. close to 95% of the students, were Korean juniors and seniors in the applied statistics major. Word of advice: arrive early to your first lectures as an international student. Otherwise, you face the intimidating task of walking down the aisle towards the open seats at the front of a bustling lecture hall. As class started, most students quietly listened to the lecture, with minimal interaction between students and the professor. With the end of class, most students left quickly for their next courses. My next classes progressed in a similar manner and I gradually adjusted to my new environment, learning some hard lessons along the way.
To provide more context, I come from a relatively small, public hispanic serving institution in California that provides a lot of resources and help to its students. From free tutoring to writing workshops and counseling, there is an abundance of resources for students. Moreover, the math department at Stanislaus State is very close and I am very fortunate to have professors that value fostering relationships with their students. Most importantly, lectures are small and teachers encourage student interaction inside and outside of the classroom. For better or for worse, I had never had a TA in any of my classes. Thus, transitioning to the academic culture at Yonsei University was a unique challenge that helped me grow into a more mature and resilient student. The following are important lessons I learned that I would encourage anyone considering studying in South Korea to keep in mind. As a preface, these are based on my experiences enrolling in statistics courses at Yonsei University, so each student’s experience will likely differ from my own.
On the one hand, the learning environment is much more independent and places a lot more responsibility on the student. Classes are primarily lecture heavy and there is minimal interaction between professors and students during class. In talking with Yonsei students, I quickly learned that asking questions during class could be misconstrued as questioning the teacher’s teaching ability. This was an interesting perspective because I had always seen asking questions as a reflection of personal misunderstanding and not necessarily teaching style. Since there is no tutoring, I learned to make use of other available resources: office hours, online class discussions, and my fellow students. I am the first to admit that taking the initiative can be intimidating, especially when there are cultural and language barriers. Nonetheless, reaching out to others, including fellow international students, helped me get crucial feedback and generally made the class more enjoyable. A word of advice: don’t get discouraged when you face challenges. For one of my courses, for example, office hours were held entirely in Korean even though the course was in English. Since I do not speak Korean, I resorted to classroom discussions where I would translate other student’s questions/answers and would post my own questions. The key is to not give up. One thing that will make this process less daunting is preparation. When attending office hours, have well-thought out questions that merit more than a yes or no answer. When talking to students, don’t underestimate the importance of a smile or kind gesture.
Even though adapting to a new learning environment was more challenging than I had anticipated, studying at Yonsei University helped me grow into a more independent and resourceful student. Culturally, I realized students in South Korea often have to be more resourceful and independent in their learning because the education system offers limited additional resources. This creates a crucial resilience amongst students, who learn to rely on each other and form strong academic bonds. As an international student, forming these bonds in a short time is really challenging, but I grew to value and appreciate the student culture. Personally, this experience helped me step outside of my comfort zone and learn to tackle new problems independently. Since I hope to attend a graduate program in statistics or data science, which requires more individualized learning, this experience was invaluable. Thus, I encourage anybody studying abroad to embrace the academic culture and learning environment of the institution and country they are in. Doing so will help foster invaluable life skills, like becoming a more flexible learner and problem solver. Ultimately, studying in a new country is the opportunity to experience a new way of learning, so I would encourage everyone to embrace the challenges that come with any new environment and make the most of it.