My exchange in South Korea is certainly an experience I will never forget. To start my essay I will firstly address the question that most of Koreans and other people have been asking me many times: what made you choose Korea for your exchange? Well, the answer is basically that I didn’t choose it, but what I believe myself, my destiny had chosen it for me. Having travelled a lot and even lived abroad I have always aspired for getting to know and experience new cultures; besides, having already had one exchange-student experience two years ago I knew how wonderful and exciting it can be and how much knowledge it may bring not only as concerns the scholarly side, but also in terms of broadening the mindset. Thereby I had been looking for opportunities to study abroad again and as soon as the chance came, I just took it. And surprise, surprise – this chance happened to be South Korea. While still applying for the exchange I was not sure I would get it and once I knew the result, I was surely very excited but also warily tried to control myself in order not to be crushed in case something wouldn’t work out.

When I was already on the plane bound for Incheon airport, the neighbouring passenger, who happened to be a Korean business man, asked me about my knowledge of Korea, my expectations and hopes for my exchange. Hmm, after having received this question I was quite puzzled and honestly admitted to the good man that I certainly knew very little about the country and its culture and my “box” of expectations, if I may put it that way, was more or less empty. I was going there and turning a new, totally blank page in the book of my life, not knowing what the colours of the ink on it would be, or what the story would contain…

The beginning was tough. A totally new culture, new language that you have no clue about, Koreans watching you because you are different. And this is exactly how it felt – being different, or to put it in other words, being a stranger. The first time me and Justina (a girl from Lithuania as well, who I met at the airport before the flight) went to have lunch at the food court we simply took something by the picture since there was no other way for us to understand written Korean and choose from the menu. A nice and funny experience was also the time when we went to check out the canteen in the basement. There were a few people sitting at the tables and waiting, and me and Justina just went straight to the ladies where you were supposed to get food. Well, the ladies were moving around there, preparing food, cleaning but paying no attention to us! Come on, we came here to eat at the place where they are supposed to serve food and nobody is paying attention to us! Then we looked around and headed towards one table where some Koreans (so it seemed) were seated. So we addressed them asking whether we could get food there. To our great surprise the would-be Koreans told us that they also had no idea about it. Wow, we were surprised! We though “at least you can speak the native language so why don’t you just go to the ladies and ask them what is going on?” The riddle was unpuzzled once we sorted out that the would-be Koreans were in fact Chinese and also exchange students like us! The moral of the story is that during the first days it felt that we were left all alone facing all the tricky puzzles that a foreigner naturally encounters in a foreign country, especially when it is such a far away land in terms of culture and language! During the first days we did not know anyone in the country, did not know how many and who other exchange students were, we did not know even such simple things as how to find the nearest supermarket, etc. It was so many it seems simple things that in fact felt so vital while being a foreigner. Of course, the advantage of being a person living in people’s society is that it is not an absolute jungle and that you can find out all these little things by approaching people, by asking them questions, trying every way you can. So we managed! The first time we went to “Home Plus”, the nearest supermarket, was a real crusade. We had the name, had some obscure directions and an estimation that it takes approximately 5-10 minutes. Well, as we happened to experience, it actually took no less than 15 minutes so I’m sure we looked like quite two fools looking around every corner in the area which was in proximity of about 10 minutes from the dormitory. The best thing about the whole “endeavour” of finding the shop was that the people we asked help for, even though they could not speak any English, were so helpful and tried to show us the way in every possible manner they could. Body language was the best mean of communication!

The hospitality of Korean people is something I will not forget and in fact it is why I may say I fell in love with the country. In general I believe that the experience and the good memories you bring back from your travels or visits is always related to people you meet in these far away places. Korean people, once we got to know them, appeared to be very open and helpful to foreigners, eager to know, eager to make friends. Paradoxically enough, even though we noticed the clear stratification in terms of age and the due respect in Korean society, we also faced remarkable friendliness from the teachers’ side at the GSP. Therefore the otherwise visible power distance between the elder and the younger ones was in a way absent in our own relationship with the teachers at the University.

Talking about teachers and University, I think it is noteworthy to mention that the education model applied at GSP is very good as concerns the attention to every student. Most of the courses I took were mostly only attended by 10 or less students, in that way the contact with the teacher was very strong, enhancing the quality and comprehension of the subject. I guess it is not surprising that I enjoyed these courses most and I believe that it is partly due to the above mentioned reason. Being a student of International Relations and Diplomacy I did not have much choice as concerns the selection of courses at GSP since most of the courses were targeted to business, finance, trade, management, etc. Anyhow, the courses I took were really interesting and covered a wide range of topics, some of them focusing on very concrete matters (“Issues in the WTO Negotiations”), the others spanning the main topics of the subject (“American Foreign Policy”, “International Political Economy”), others still offering a wide variety of modern topics (“Global Agenda”, “Interculturalization Workshop”). Even though I was struggling hard with some of the courses, and at that time it very often felt as too much stress and pressure, now as I look at it from a different perspective, I feel I have gained more knowledge and understanding of the issues that were very new to me; besides it taught me perseverance which I hope will be helpful in my future not only continuing my studies but possibly also in my work life.

Concerning the studies and the work load that we were all facing, I find it noteworthy to mention that the study culture in Europe and the one in Korea differ in quite a few ways. Firstly, in Europe creativity is encouraged, whereas in Korea there is more stress on completion of the task and following the instructions. However in Korea, at least as part of the courses that I had taken, the ability to analyse and criticize was developed, which I think is beneficial not only as concerns the scholarly life but also in future career. Strange as that may seem, Korean students many times lacked the courage to be creative and inventive or did not dare to speak up with their ideas in contrast to foreign students. Further talking about the differences in the study culture, the second distinction that pops up to my mind is the visible spirit of collectivism in Korean style as opposed to more individual European style. Therefore it was very nice both to watch and experience how in fact it can be fun to study in a team or with a partner. Another difference that we witnessed while studying at GSP is that the work load is much bigger in Korea than in our European Universities. That of course can be viewed as a good thing if you stress the amount of material provided or tasks accomplished; however, what I have always believed, many times it is not the quantity but the quality that matters most and, having seen how hard and sometimes even physically impossible for Korean students it was to accomplish the tasks, the only conclusion I can make is that in fact “the more, the better” approach doesn’t always work out.

As concerns my own progress during the semester, I believe I did learn many things and was introduced to many new and interesting topics, therefore my cognition has broadened in many ways. First of all, I acquired better understanding of the subjects that were new to me; secondly, I deepened the knowledge of the subjects that I had heard of or had previous knowledge of before. Besides, I experienced a new method of teaching and learning and last, but not least, I got to know Korean culture by being a colleague and a friend to Korean students. My results of the classes taken were surprisingly good, certainly making me very happy, since the lowest score I got was 92 percent, the highest being 98 percent. To tell the truth, in the midst of semester when I was going through a hard time with mid-terms and other tasks, I was really thinking that I will not do well. However, I believe that even though we have experienced quite much stress and pressure, in the end the effort that we had put in to understand the courses and to complete the tasks was rewarded. Therefore now when I look back at my study period in Korea I can say, yes, it was hard at times, however with much work and determination, everything can be accomplished.

One most valuable asset that I believe I have gained through studying at GSP is making presentations and speaking in front of the audience, as well as discussing the topic within a group. I have not had much of that kind of experience in my previous study life, therefore the skills I gained at GSP are very significant to me. I can tell for sure that the method of presentations is a very good one as concerns learning the topic, since in order to present the article you have to devote much time and due attention to understand it well yourself. I have felt that the topics that I had to present and the ones I discussed in classes are the ones I fathomed and comprehended most.

Even though the study life did take quite much of the time while being an exchange student in Korea, certainly our stay was not limited to studying only. Once we got to know other exchange students, also students from other programs, our stay in Korea stopped being a “survival” and commenced a new absolutely unforgettable, remarkable and fun social life. The first evening after the introduction, when we got to meet all the other exchange students, we (Europeans) all met up and hereby started our friendship within our group which later on expanded to include many other friends from a variety of countries. Even though many times we did not do anything special, just being friends and having such a nice company was sufficient to enjoy all the simple activities such as having lunch, going shopping, walking around the campus, studying together. We also resolved not to limit our Korean experience to seeing Suwon or Seoul only, therefore we organized two big trips to Sokcho, including the visit to Seoraksan National Park, and Pusan, not mentioning several visits to Seoul and Suwon centre, as well as the Folk Village. Certainly, coming to Korea from Europe one expects and wishes to see much more than we actually did, but considering the time limit and the study load I believe we did experience quite much and undoubtedly these were unforgetbale experiences.

We also had very much fun during the trips that were organized and financed by the International Office. A remarkable and exciting day was our visit to Everland, a wonderful amusement park where even grown-ups are allowed to be children! Another very fun and also informative experience was the visit to Korean Education Centre where we got to try Korean traditional clothes, participated in tea ceremony, made Korean traditional cookies, played traditional games, thereby getting a taste of Korean lifestyle and culture.

Now that I am back home and I look back at the time I spent in Korea, the only word to describe the emotion that fills me up remembering it is warmth and longing for the good time experienced there. I got to know so many nice people, received friendliness and benevolence from Korean friends, was part of a nice international group of friends, each of them bringing a taste of a different culture, each of them sharing their perspective. Therefore I claim once again that being an exchange student is not only about studying abroad, it is so much more in terms of what it gives you beside the scholarly side. Enriching you with knowledge about so many different countries, making you understand different cultures better, making you more tolerant and open to differences, making you want to travel and experience even more.

There are so many things that I miss from Korea: the wonderful experience at Karaoke clubs, being part of the active student community at the University, where University is not only a place where the lectures are held, but also a place for learning, for hanging around with friends and taking coffee with them during the study-breaks, watching movies or just staying in the computer lab and feeling safe surrounded by friends. I even miss the food court and other little eating places, the nice rice-snacks that you always get for free in Korean cafes, the spicy chicken along with Korean beer, even the melodious  Korean music or hip-hop clubs which seemed to be so popular with Koreans. Paradoxically enough, but being in Korea it felt many times that I missed food from my home country, however now I find myself many times thinking that I would so love to have a Korean “bibimbap”! It is certainly impossible to put it all in words and express all the good feelings and memories that relate to my exchange period in Korea. For that I would have to have a lyricist’s talent and determination to write a lot, because I believe that the experience of any exchange student is certainly worth a book!

While being on a plane flying from Korea I recalled the moment four months back when the Korean business man asked me about my expectations and about my knowledge of his country. At that time my “box” of knowledge and hopes was empty, now that I was coming back, I felt so much different. My heart was full of warmth, my laptop filled with Korean songs and 8 gigabytes of pictures taken in this country, my msn contact list stretched to include so many more contacts, my eyes full of tears… tears of happiness because I had such a good time and met so many wonderful people with whom I got to know Korea. It will always stay in my heart. And the page that was blank when I was coming to Korea is now full of beautiful colours, like the pretty tree leaves of golden Korean autumn…