Erasmus Experience in Seoul, South Korea by Daniel

Why did you choose to go to Seoul, South Korea?

Because it was one of the furthest places away from Madrid as well as being of the most original ones, and my university offered a lot of places there, so I could go with three of my friends with hardly any problems.

How long is the scholarship? How much money do you receive to help you with living costs?

I was only there for a semester (the university term starts at the beginning of September and by 20th December they have finished exams) but there would have had enough places for me to stay the whole course (the second semester starts in March and ends in June). The Munde grant didn't provide me with any financial support, but I didn't have to pay any university fees to the university in Seoul which was a private one (approximately 4000 dollars per semester) and I only had to pay the usual registration fee to my home university.

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What is the student lifestyle like in Seoul?

Seoul is one of the best university cities in the world without a doubt. There are so many universities all over the city and in all of them, there are exchange students. There are people from all over the world and lots of Spanish students too (although this wasn't a big surprise). It is impossible to be bored here, all the universities have various organisations which organise activities, trips, parties and lots of other things outside of University, at the general level for all the exchange students, including the famous Kim. So to sum up, if you have money, do something different every day.

Would you recommend the city and the University of Seoul to other students?

I would recommend the university without a doubt because it is one of the best things you will experience in your life. I studied Business in Hanyan University, which I completely recommend, because it is situated in Wangsimni (quite close-by to the centre) the services are incredible, there are so many things to do, the lecturers are really kind and even though the university requires regular attendance, homework, presentations, etc... in the end it works out quite well and it is easy to pass with a good grade. (The pass mark at Hanyang is 6/10).

Do you like the food?

The food is generally quite good. You can't miss out on the famous Korean BBQ, the spicy topokki (a type of rice pasta) the jjimdak (meat, toppoki, noodles, etc, covered in melted cheese), dumplings (mandu), the bibimbap (Korean mixed rice) and the bulgogi (Korean BBQ meat). Then for those who are adventurous with their food choices, the kimchi is famous in any kind of dish *sauerkraut, fermented cabbage). Fried KFC-style chicken can also be considered a typical dish (it can be found everywhere) and the 1-minute cook packet noodles. There are loads of different flavours of these and they are really cheap (around 1 euro). You can buy them in 7-11, CU, GS25, Ministop and more chains, which are 24-hour convenience shops which are life-savers to have. I also have to recommend the dessert patbingsu, which is a type of ice cream made from ice shavings (excuse the repetition) with different toppings. For drinks, I would only recommend the soju (a Korean variation on vodka), which I'll describe more below.

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Did it cost you to find accommodation in Seoul?

It cost us quite a lot. As I went there with three friends, we were looking for an apartment in which we could all look together but to do that using a letting agent was impossible, as the contracts had a minimum duration of a year. So we found a quite cool Airbnb apartment in Myeongdong (city centre attached to the Seoul Tower) which was a guesthouse with 3 apartment buildings called Seoul Tower Ville which I recommend. But if you want to live in halls, try and visit Unidence in Hanywang University as there are quite a few exchange rooms in the city, like UrSeoul, A home in Sinchon and more...

How much did it cost to live in Seoul?

Life, in general, is a bit more expensive than Spain, and you'll especially notice the difference when shopping. All the prices are inflated and things like fruit and steaks are quite expensive, although public transport is quite good, as it's fast and easy to understand, each single journey costs 1 and a bit euros (you'll have a T-Money card where you pre-charge it with a certain amount of money and every time you use it the balance goes down). So at the end of the month, between going to uni, going on nights out and everything, you could have easily spent like 80 euros on the metro. But there are exceptions. Taxis are really cheap, a journey which would cost 15 euros in Spain costs 5 euros in Seoul. A McDonald's meal is also quite a lot cheaper, and in terms of alcohol and going out it's the same. Here we drink soju, either the normal version (difficult to swallow) or fruit flavours (less strong but it's easy to drink) and a bottle doesn't cost much more than a euro, so it's more cost-effective than buying bottles of vodka, gin or whiskey, which is more expensive here than in Spain (rum isn't a thing here, only in a drink in clubs). And generally, the entrance is cheap in the clubs here, except for in the Gangham area.

Is the language easy to get to grips with? Are there language courses available at the university?

You don't need to learn Korean to stay for four months in Korea just the classic "gamsahabnida" to say thank you and "annyeonghaseyo" to say hello and goodbye, I didn't learn any more than that. They had language courses in my university but you had to pay for them so I decided it wasn't going to be necessary.

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What is the cheapest way to get to Seoul from your city?

By boat, there is a cruise that starts at either Barcelona or Valencia and it doesn't take a long time to get to Korea, and it's not too expensive. If not, you have the opportunity to fly, it's not as cheap but with British Airways, Air China, Korean Air and Qatar Airways you can go to Seoul (Incheon airport, takes an hour and a half) although it always has a stop as you can't fly directly there from Madrid.

Where would you recommend to go on a night out in Seoul?

In Seoul drinking in the street is allowed and there are 3 areas to go out (Itaewon, Hongdae, and Gangnam).

Itaewon: the street where the internationals go out, there's a good vibe both during the day and in the evening. Without a doubt, the most famous place is Fountain, which has free entry. There is also Bliss, B One, Soap (techno) and lots more places to go along the street and all over the general area.

Hongdae: The best area in my opinion, it's where all the young people go out (as many Koreans as internationals) and there are lots of shops, people singing and dancing, it's got a great vibe. The most legendary place is the Thursday Party, with a bar full of table football, darts, beer pong and lots of atmosphere, a place for pre-drinks or to spend the whole night at. Then the other well-known place in Seoul is Mike's Cabin, a Latin and commercial music joint where all the exchange students go - my favourite place in the city. The entrance is 7 euros, or 5 euros with a drink. There are also other clubs like Nb2 (hip hop) and Cocoon and Aura, these clubs are more for Koreans and in Aura the bouncers aren't that keen to let foreigners in.

Gangnam: the bougie and expensive area. The most famous club is the Octagon, one of the best in the world, and it is quite cool, although the entry is normally around 24 euros. Other clubs are Arena, D-Star, Avenue or Made, where at the first three they often don't let foreigners in, and the entrance fee is about 15-20 euros. Always remember to take your passport with you to Gangnam.

How is eating out in Seoul? Can you tell us your favourite places?

Every local restaurant offers good Korean food. So I can't remember any name of a typical restaurant nor can I remember one, so in terms of fast food, you should go to Mom's Touch, which does the best hamburgers. Subway is also cheaper here than in Spain and then we have McDonalds, Burger King, KFC, Lotteria (Korean chain with a McDonalds' vibe), TacoBell (loved in Hongdae) and a lot more, you won't get tired of finding them.

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What good cultural sites are there to visit?

There are lots of temples and the truth is that they're all the same, it's worth visiting Gyeongbokgung, Changdeokgung o Deoksugung, I saw one, the rest are the same. It is incredible to go up to the Seoul Tower by cable car, go to the Lotte Tower and admire the gigantic shopping centre there. As I said before you can't go without having visited Myeongdong a few times, which is the shopping area. Walk by the river, through Insa-dong, through the Rio Han Park (it's better before autumn), the Olympic park, etc.

Concerning visits to the mountain, there is a lot of choice, but the one that's most worth visiting is Bukhansan, a national park which offers views of the whole of Seoul.

It's also an obligatory visit to see the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ). It is the border between South and North Korea and it is one of the country's most important tourist attractions. To do this trip you need to book it a couple of weeks in advance because it is quite popular. You can just visit the DMZ, or you can visit the DMZ along with the Joint Security Area (JSA) which is what is really worth seeing, although the final price will end up being double. The JSA consists of the blue buildings where North and South Korean face each other, are you can see the North Korean building directly in front of you. Nearby cities that you can visit are Suwon or Incheon, and you should also visit Buscan, the second biggest city in the country, a coastal city that is also quite charming. Another place where a lot of tourists visit is the Island of Jeju, located south of the peninsula. You should visit it in Spring or Summer as if not, you won't get the most out of your visit. After hearing the opinions of people that had visited it, it is worth noting that there is a waterfall and a trip to the highest peak in the country, the Hallasan peak.

Is there any advice you could like to give to fellow students heading to Seoul?

I think with everything that I've written about Seoul I don't have much more to say. You don't have to be scared about going to the other side of the world, nor about culture shock, because Korea is the most similar Asian country to us that you could find, due to being quite Americanised. Some more advice is to save some money so that you can make the most of your experience and get to do everything, for example making the most of being here by visiting nearby countries, for example, China, Japan or in my case Vietnam - which I completely recommend as it is very very very cheap and different (as soon as you arrive in Korea, get yourself an Alien Registration Card). There will be lots of fellow international people and everything will be plain sailing, get to know Korean people, most of whom are very kind and finally, try and become a fan of soju because it is the cheapest and most efficient way to drink!