Dongguk University Social Media
Bennet Achtenberg, BA Public Relations and Corporate Communications, reports from Dongguk University, where he is studying for two semesters.
It's finals week in South Korea. This means that the last few weeks have been full of studying and homework for me and thousands of other students. To fortify myself, I went shopping at a huge Korean supermarket at the weekend. At first glance, everything seems quite normal and very similar to Germany. But if you take a closer look, you can see some really interesting things. The supermarket has been built on two floors of the former Olympic stadium. So the space is now being put to good use!
In the first picture you can see not only a huge amount of spicy kimchi, but also small spicy marinated crabs. Fruit is really super expensive here. I once saw a
watermelon for the equivalent of around 40US dollars. I preferred not to! There are also fish tanks with live fish and crabs in the middle of the supermarket (similar to a fish market). But I don't know how I'm supposed to get them home in the Subway. In the last picture you can see another special feature. There are sales assistants all over the store trying to sell you all kinds of products. If you're not careful, you suddenly end up with a packet of Korean dumplings in your hand. However, I rarely have to go to a big store, as there are small convenience stores on every corner 24/7 in South Korea where you can buy anything your heart desires. I've often gone back at 1 a.m. to get a snack or an ice cream. I really miss that in Germany!
You definitely get to know new things every day and can broaden your horizons a bit here!
Best wishes from Seoul and keep your fingers crossed for my exams!
Half time. A little more than half of the "Spring" semester at Dongguk University in Seoul is already over. It's hard to believe that I've already been living and studying in South Korea for about 2 months - time is flying.
I'm Bennet, 22 years old, I'm studying Economics at Kiel University of Applied Sciences and have been at Dongguk University in Seoul, South Korea, for two semesters since March 2021.
Dongguk University is located in the heart of Seoul near Mount Namsan, which is why you have a great view over a large part of the City from the university.
As the university is directly connected to the subway, it's also very easy to find. But because 3 of my 4 courses take place online anyway due to corona, I'm unfortunately not on campus too often. But because I also have a face-to-face course once a week, I can at least admire the really big campus from time to time.
After I arrived, all exchange students were given a small care package to pick up. It included masks, hand sanitizer and, as a highlight, a power bank for your smartphone. Our supervisors probably knew that we would need our smartphones all the time to find our way around the huge City of Seoul. Now, in May, there is also an event where we can pick up handmade Buddhist bracelets. I'll definitely do that - after all, it's a great souvenir!
In South Korea, you have two exam phases per semester. One is the "midterms" and the other is the "finals". Luckily, I recently finished the midterms, so I had plenty of time afterwards to explore the City and the surrounding area. So with my new power bank in my luggage, off I went.
I went out to eat a lot with my new Korean friends, discovered the nightlife and visited palaces in traditional Korean dress (insider tip - if you come dressed up, entry is free).
As there are fewer coronavirus cases here than in Germany, there is much more to do. Cafés, restaurants, cinemas, bars and many more are open.
You can easily explore the City on the subway. Everything is connected and it's super easy to find your way around. You can easily travel from one Korean restaurant to the next without having to think about it. The food here is really delicious, but perhaps not for everyone. Koreans love spicy food. If you don't tolerate it well, you might want to reconsider traveling to South Korea. Foreign food is usually much more expensive. Fruit in particular is really overpriced. For example, 1 kg of apples sometimes costs 6 euros.
Public transportation is very cheap though (a ride across the whole City for less than 1 euro). Korean vegetables and meat are not expensive either. Especially thanks to the generous financial support from the PROMOS scholarship, you can enjoy your time and studies in Seoul more. The DAAD's PROMOS program gives you up to 450 € per month for 6 months, which you can use freely. Travel costs, quarantine costs (two weeks) and corona test costs were also covered. I was surprised myself at how much support I received, but of course I am very happy about it. I would therefore recommend anyone who wants to further their cultural education, explore a new country outside Europe or discover a different study environment to apply for the PROMOS scholarship. The staff at Kiel UAS and the International Office also gave me great advice and helped me a lot to ensure that everything went smoothly during this unusual coronavirus period.
Thank you and best regards from Seoul!
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