I was introduced, by happenstance, to the opportunity to be a “pioneer” for the Madden School of Business during my junior year. Being a pioneer meant temporarily leaving my “Jesuit gem,” packing my bags, booking my flight, and spending four months at another Jesuit institution in Seoul, South Korea— A world oddly similar, yet drastically different from my own. So, I said yes, bid my adieus, and after months of planning and a brief 13-hour flight, landed in “The Land of Morning Calm.”
First Month: September
Gyeongbokgung Palace
The first month in South Korea was very overwhelming. There were plenty of adjustments that I needed to make, and an equal amount of things to learn about my new temporary home. Luckily, Sogang University had many resources for me, and my new classmates, to help with the acclimation process. One of our main resources was a club on campus called “H.U.G,” which stood for “Hands Up for Gathering.” The club was led by various Sogang students who organized events for foreign exchange students to get to know them, as well as for foreign exchange students to get to know each other. The first events they hosted was to Gyeongbokgung Palace, which was the main royal palace of a Korean dynasty that lasted for roughly five centuries.
October/November
Wearing Hanbok
Since October was occupied with preparing for midterms, which in Korea tends to begin two weeks before the exams, I had less time to designate to the “tourist” part of being a “student tourist.” Nonetheless, I made sure I tried to do at least one major activity in the month. Seoul is a bustling city, which I loved, yet I was also interested in experiencing the non-city parts of Korea before I left. The travel abroad department in Sogang planned a weekend trip to Wanju and Jeonju, areas that were less bustling and more country-like, in the middle of November, which I swiftly signed up for. Here, I wore hanbok, formal traditional style Korean dress, made a keepsake box, and attempted to make Korean paper, which lasts for one thousand years. The trip and the activities were just what I needed to truly submerge myself into the culture.
However, I had to make sure to save up some energy and have other activity ideas in mind, because my Mom was coming to visit me in a few weeks! During her stay, we went to a cooking class, local markets, a virtual reality café, and even a DMZ tour. My mom was there for what seemed to be two days but was really a week, and we had a blast! She left Korea loving it just as much as I did.
Last Month: December
Once December came around my roommate and I continuously thought about our journey to Korea and how surreal it was. We went back and forth about how far we had come from the first day we arrived and what we had accomplished since then: such as navigating the subway system by ourselves, to finally figuring out where our mailboxes were, and to appreciating the little bit of Korean we did learn along the way. Most importantly though, we thought about all the friends we made whom we would be leaving behind in a few short weeks. It was amazing to witness how fast friendships developed in a relatively short period of time. Leaving everyone was difficult, however it’s awesome to have friends in countries all over the world whom I can visit on my next adventures—stay tuned!
Five Fast Facts about South Korea
- Sneezing is considered a disturbance and because of that they don’t have a word/phrase for “God bless you.”
- All of the men are required to do 2 years of military service which they usually do when they are 21 years old—requiring them to have to take a break from college.
- In most restaurants, eating by yourself is not allowed. You have to dine with another person. If you do not have another person with you, they probably won’t serve you.
- Every 2nd and 4th Sunday major grocery stores close to provide an opportunity for small businesses to succeed.
- They have “dog cafes” where you can buy a beverage and play with dogs for as long as you want.
Jordann Myers '19 is a Marketing and Business Analytics major, double-minoring in Communications and Psychology.
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