Forums » Smalltalk » AMA: Studying Abroad in Seoul, South Korea

Hi everyone!! I'm a senior in college/university currently attending Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea this semester!

Feel free to ask me anything about living in Korea, studying in Korea, or about my college experience as a whole!!

How do you deal with the loneliness of moving abroad?

Everyone deals with it differently. What I did was I tried to go out with friends, and also really find something to latch onto in the empty space.

For me it was music. There's a specific K-Pop group I've been a superfan of for years, and their music inspired me to get here. So I latched onto their music for comfort whenever that loneliness kicked in.

Now I have friends that can help with it, but sometimes I do still get a little lonely. For that I just pop in my headphones and blast the ATEEZ!

What made you decide you wanted to study abroad? And why Seoul specifically?

I've heard that Seoul is the "FGC Capital" a few times because of how many barcades there are. Would you know if that's true? Do you play any fighting games?

I was part of an exchange program where a handful of Korean students came to the US for a month to learn English at my high school. I was a big K-pop stan so that's kind of how I got roped into it. From there I ended up studying the language for 3 years and finally decided to take the leap and come over. I'm pretty poor, so this was really the best option for me to travel like I had wanted to. I was raised by a single mom, working almost full time putting myself through school. It was my best bet!

So Seoul is actually a huge gaming capital in general! Here there's something called a 'PC bang' or 'PC room', which is basically like a cafe but with computers and super high-speed internet! It's pretty cheap to reserve, and they have a lot of games on deck, and they're pretty popular places to go for most young people. I believe Korea has the top or one of the top-ranking League of Legends teams in the world. I know they host the World Championships a lot. Don't know much about FGC but FPS or combat games of that nature like League? MASSIVE here.

Barcades... I haven't seen many, even though I live very close to Hongdae. Standard arcades though? I got 3 near me.

And I play League of Legends... thats really it. I'm more of a puzzle game person so it's not super my jam. I literally only started playing league because of some k-pop idols and K/DA. I got addicted. Its an issue.

Puzzle gamer, you say...?

You wouldn't uh, happen to play any modern Tetris, would you? Not really an on-topic question feel free to ignore me lol.

Do you plan to stay in Korea after college? If not, what do you think you will miss the most about it?

I can't stay here, but I definitely do plan on coming back. I'm probably gonna miss the cheap food and friends I made here most. And the ability to go anywhere in the city for cheap. I'm gonna miss a lot about Korea. But I'll be back muhahaha

Are you glad that you chose S. Korea now, looking back?

What are some culture clash things you noticed (things that surprised you as an American or things that completely surprised Koreans about you and your culture)?

What's the biggest single difference between living in the USA and living in S. Korea?

Congrats on getting to travel. Cheers!

Oh of course! I've been wanting to come to South Korea for 5 years, and it was everything I had hoped and more. I definitely could see myself living here someday.

So the biggest thing was actually something I didn't expect. I had a lot of awareness about the culture when I came over because it was part of one of my majors back home, as well as learning the language for a few years. I DIDN'T expect that compliments weren't a big thing.
I'm the type of person to stop random people on the street and compliment them. I've always done it, I love doing it. It's not a thing here. People think you're weird if you do that. It's such a shock to me.

The biggest difference is the quality of life. Granted South Korea definitely has problems, the quality of life here is much better. The cities are walkable, the food is cheaper, there is so much to do, the public transport is clean and efficient. Back home I get none of this, and its probably one of the things I'll miss most when I'm gone.

Ha... I've heard this said about some counties in Europe too when compared to the United States. Or actually, I've heard it said that in the United States talking to strangers in general is much more of a thing whereas in parts of Europe it's seen as strange. Quality of life aspect sounds great.