College Years in South Korea

Bao Yang is a student at Mount Mary College and a Classmates Connecting Cultures Blogger corresponding with the Social Work Club at Mount Mary. Bao is currently studying abroad with ISA in Seoul, Korea.

Epic High — a hiphop band in South Korea — came to Konkuk to perform at the end of the year festival.

We just wanted to say hello to our friends who were working at the tent, but once we got inside the group of middle-age men pulled us down to sit with them. On the long table were bottles of empty Soju and beer with bowls of multicolored fried corn chips placed in the middle of the table.

Then a middle aged man wearing a pink dress shirt walked in and sat down at the table.

He shook all of our hands then asked us our names. We replied. Then he asked if we were students of Konkuk University. We answered, yes we were. We further explained that we were members of the English Conversation Club (E.C.C.), that was hosting the restaurant tent that he was eating in. He smiled, surprised. His friend, who sat next to him explained that they were the presidents of the E.C.C. in the 80′s.

South Korea: Learning the Local Language

Bao Yang is a student at Mount Mary College and a Classmates Connecting Cultures Blogger corresponding with the Social Work Club at Mount Mary. Bao is currently studying abroad with ISA in Seoul, Korea.

Can you see the mixture of English and Korean? A clash of the old and new society.

What’s the need for there to be so many different languages in the world? Wouldn’t it be easier if the world spoke only one language? But of course, that would require the people of the world to have the same culture. After all, language distinguish one group from another. Otherwise, we would all be grouped into Asians, Caucasians, Africans and so on. By the way, these race groups (Asians, Caucasians etc.) don’t exist; only ethnicity and culture exist.

Life of a Study Abroad Student in Seoul

Bao Yang is a student at Mount Mary College and a Classmates Connecting Cultures Blogger corresponding with the Social Work Club at Mount Mary. Bao is currently studying abroad with ISA in Seoul, Korea.

Two meal choices at the Konkuk cafeteria.

Through the uproar of the media regarding North Korea it can be difficult for those in the U.S. to understand the exaggerations in the media about North Korea. Here, South Koreans go through their daily lives paying very little attention to the threat of the North because they know that North Korea will not take any actions that will further isolate it’s nation into oblivion.

My daily life as a American student in Seoul has not been effected at all in the mist of this tension.

Comparing and Contrasting Korea and USA: No Judgement Needed

Bao Yang is a student at Mount Mary College and a Classmates Connecting Cultures Blogger corresponding with the Social Work Club at Mount Mary. Bao is currently studying abroad with ISA in Seoul, Korea.

Of course it makes sense to have models for a cosmetic store. But models/celebrities endorse almost everything in South Korea. In addition, right now Psy’s face from Gangnam Style is plastered everywhere.

Being competent about diversity can be stressful for a Social Work major, but taking an anthropology class about a certain society doesn’t really give access into the different aspects of a another world. It’s hard to understand the minds of the people in a society without living among the locals.

4 Surprises from My First 3 Weeks in Seoul

Camille Gauthier is a student at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities and an ISA Featured Blogger. Camille is studying abroad with ISA in Seoul, South Korea.

I can’t believe I’ve already been in Seoul for three weeks!  I have dreamed of coming to South Korea since I was in the 10^th grade.  To finally be here as a student in the heart of Seoul is a dream come true.

First Impressions: Seoul

Bao Yang is a student at Mount Mary College and a Classmates Connecting Cultures Blogger corresponding with the Social Work Club at Mount Mary. Bao is currently studying abroad with ISA in Seoul, Korea.

Off to explore the Gyeongbokgung Palace

The worst fear that I had about studying abroad in Seoul was the thought I might be all by myself, which is understandable due to the human disconnection throughout the pre-departure process to travel to Seoul. For example, I contacted most of the ISA staff through emails or phone, so I didn’t feel like I was able to build meaningful relationships without meeting them in person. Furthermore, it was up to me to do most of the paperwork and such to prepare for my time abroad.

Fortunately, once I got to Seoul I met all of the other ISA students on my program and it finally sunk in that I was not the only one that was new to Seoul.

Pre-departure: Social Work Major Meet Seoul, South Korea

Bao Yang is a student at Mount Mary College and a Classmates Connecting Cultures Blogger corresponding with the Social Work Club at Mount Mary. Bao is currently studying abroad with ISA in Seoul, Korea.

I have been a hermit in my house for the past few months. But I have my excuses. One, I’ve been busy writing my term paper about South Korea for my Independent Study class. And frankly,two, I don’t want to become sick with the flu. There is nothing worse than being sick and being stuck on an airplane for 14 hours.

How Concerts in Korea Compare

Brittney Neset is a student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and an ISA Featured Blogger. Brittney is studying abroad in Seoul, South Korea, on the ISA Summer 2 program.

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Back home I have been to a slew of concerts, but none of them measure up to the ones that I’ve seen during my study abroad adventures in Seoul. Concerts back home in America are pretty great, but they don’t even hold a flame compared to their Korean counter-parts. So far during my trip, I’ve been for three Korean Pop concerts: MBLAQ, 2NE1, and B2ST. All of which I’m just noticing are abbreviations  in generally not very good English, but that’s besides the point.

Kpop, aka Hallyu, has been something that has slowly been gaining attention over seas and that’s what drives many students to gain an interest in Korea… Myself included. So, when it was official that I was going to be going to Seoul for the summer, I scoured the internet and found out who was going to be playing while I was there. And I just happened to get lucky and have some of my favorite groups preforming while in Korea.

To make things simple and much less long, I’ll just tell you all about the differences in Korea Pop concerts and the ones I’m accustomed to at home in the US.

Fangirls. Compared to the girls, and guys, at home, American fans are not nearly as devoted to their groups as they are here. Fans here not only have signs, but also bring their tablets for LED signs, dress up as their favorite band member’s cartoon character, and not to mention the screams going out of their mouths that don’t quite sound human. Fans in Korea are very devoted to their groups, and it shows. If you’re going to a concert just to go, don’t let anyone else know or you’ll get glared at! Also, if you’re in the standing section, get ready to get pushed by little Asian high school girls in a desperate attempt to touch their favorite band member. The Koreans don’t do anything half-hearted when it comes to fan-girling.

Fan Chants. When I went to my first concert here, this really threw my for a loop. I had been vaguely aware of the chanting that the fans do at concerts, but I had no idea how elaborate they were! If you’re going to a Kpop concert, it wouldn’t help to Google the group’s fan chants so you don’t look as silly as I did just standing there with a dumb look on my face as all the fans yelled out things in unison to the members.

Light Sticks. This is my favorite thing about Kpop concerts! It’s very, very common to see the fans in the crowd with light up sticks (think glow-sticks, but with a battery instead of glowing chemicals and the band’s name on it.) I’d say at least 70% of all people in attendance have their light sticks and wave them proudly during the concert. It give the audience a really cool look as well as showing support for the group performing on stage. If you don’t have one of the group light sticks, don’t worry! You can buy them at the concert, either official ones from the company of the group… or cheaper ones from off-brand sellers. Either way, pick one up if you’re going to a show!

Severe Lack of English. This one is really obvious, especially since I’m studying in a country where most of the people don’t speak English, but it was a bizarre thing to me regardless. The groups here, just like any other group, likes to talk to the audience between their songs… except I couldn’t understand a word of it. The group members would ask something to the audience (you could tell by the way their voices went up at the end of the sentence) and I would promptly respond with my loudest “NAE!!!!!” which means yes in Korean. Even though all of the groups we saw are Korean groups and their English isn’t very good for the most part, I was hoping to get a few English sentences out of them. Some groups are better than others with this, but usually the English is left out. So if you’re going to a concert, make friends with a Korean who speaks English so they can help you!

Crazy Ajumma fans. First of all, let me explain Ajumma to you. Ajumma is the Korea equivalent of Mrs. and usually is used for women over the age of 45. I was very, very surprised at home many women my mother’s age were at the concert. I had expected a few parents with their kids, maybe, and then mostly people High School to College aged. But again, I was very wrong. There were Ajumma’s all around us who were just as hardcore fans as the people my age. But watch out, they’re mean! Don’t get in their way or they’ll mow you over on the way to grope their favorite band member.

Length of the Concerts. This was another thing that really surprised me about concerts in Korea. For starters, the concerts I’ve been to have not had starter bands, just the main group who was holding the concert. Each concert is usually two hours longs, filled with solid singing and dancing by the groups. If I was in their position, I would have been practically dead by the time the end of those two hours finally finished. But, each show was awesome, even though I could tell the artists were exhausted. The groups here really care about their fans and really want to give them the best show possible. (And this is often expressed in a song to the fans where the singers will start crying… This actually happens often…)

Overall, my experience with concerts here has been awesome! They’re been far better than I had ever expected and they definitely top the list of my all time favorite concerts.

Below are a few pictures from each of the concerts I went to, a picture of the light sticks I mentioned above, and my little Korean friend that helped me translate at the 2NE1 concert.

Seoul Searching: Adventures in Noraebang

Brittney Neset is a student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and an ISA Featured Blogger. Brittney is studying abroad in Seoul, South Korea, on the ISA Summer 2 program.

Noraebang is very, very popular in South Korea. This past week I finally got to experience the magic that is a Korean Noraebang. A few Korean students brought some of my friends and I out to a Noraebang on Thursday evening. The easiest definition of a Noraebang would be Karaoke, but let me tell you that it’s way more awesome than just Karaoke.

Norae is equivalent to song or singing and bang is the Korean word for room. So if that doesn’t tell you what it is, here’s a little more explanation. There are millions of Noraebangs in Korea, and especially Seoul. It’s a popular place to go after clubbing once the subways have shut down, or to go on an evening with friends. A Noraebang is a room that you rent out, and depending on the place you go, there can be a bar within the Noraebang. Sometimes there are also costumes and tambourines that you can use while in the room as well.

Just like Karaoke, you pick out as many songs as you like and then sing your little heart out. You pay for the Noraebang room by the hour, so it’s best to have a few songs in mind when you get there so you don’t waste any time looking for what to sing. They have songs in Korean, Japanese, Cantonese, English, and a few songs in Spanish, so you’re likely to find at least something you know.

I decided to show off to my new Korean friends, and picked as many K-pop (Korean Pop) songs that I could. We sang 2ne1, Secret, SHINee, Big Bang, and a slew of other Koreans songs as well as Spice Girls, Green Day, and a few other English artists. The only hard part about Noraebang is the Korean. We were lucky and had native speakers with us to help us out, but I for sure would have struggled if they weren’t there to show us how everything worked. My other downfall were the K-pop songs I picked. Not speaking Korean made it hard to sing along with my favorite songs, but I belted out the English (and often times Engrish, which is poor English) phrases that appeared in the songs and then mumbled my way through the Korean parts. All the Korean parts of the songs were in Hangul, so I could have eventually read them, but the songs would have had to been slowed down by 500% for me to effectively do so!

Overall, my Noraebang experience was awesome! It has all the fun of Karaoke, but not so much of the awkwardness of being in front of a crowd. I will definitely be going again and again while I stay in Korea! Here are a few pictures from the Noraebang we went too. But since the Noraebangs aren’t usually well-lit since they have cool club-like lights instead, many of my pictures were too dark to post. There is a picture of all of the students I went with, a shot of us and the Noraebang, and then finally, myself singing a song.

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Tips for a Loooooong Flight

Brittney Neset is a student at the University of Minnesota, Duluth and an ISA Featured Blogger . Brittney is about to study abroad in Seoul, South Korea, on the ISA Summer 2 program.

Flying to Korea has been the longest flight I’ve ever been on. Before this, I’ve only been on a few short flights, ones that were  fours hours or less. So, when I found out that my flight to Seoul was going to be 14 hours, I almost had a heart attack! I always gets antsy on flights, so 14 hours is definitely a long time to be antsy and wait around. So, here are a few tips to make those long flight pass a little more quickly!

Sleep! Take a nap! That’s the fastest way to pass the time. But make sure you bring ear plugs because you might run into problems with loud, crying kids on the plane like I did. So having them keep you up is the last thing you’ll want to listen to.

Pack a Book… Or two…Or maybe three. If you have a short attention span with it comes to books, much like myself, bring a few to switch between when you’re on the plane. That way, if you get bored of one of the books, you’ve always got another to change to. If you’re travelling to a new place, think about bringing a city guide book on the plane with you. That way you can catch up and learn about the place you’re visiting without wasting your precious time once you’ve arrived.

Bring a Snack in your carry-on. Time always seems to pass slower when you’re hungry. So an easy way to avoid this is to bring snacks. Pack a few granola bars or cookies to keep your stomach happy while you’re flying.

Electronics are your best friend. If you have a laptop, tablet, e-reader, or handheld game, bring them! Make sure they’re fully charged before you leave and pack them full of new and exciting things. Long flights usually have movies you can play, but there are only a few to pick from, so bring your own movies! Games, movies, television shows, and books are a great way to help pass the time.

Hopefully those tips will be helpful to you on your next long flight. I will you all the best from Konkuk University! Annyong!