Life of an Introvert at Yonsei

Before reading this blog, you may find out that I am a very studious person and that is true! I  would rather spend a Friday night and the following weekend studying. Even if it isn’t during the time of midterms or finals, I would still prefer a night to stay in or to spend my time indoors. Of course there are days where I am lazy and just go on random strolls around Seoul. Here in this blog post, I would like to share my experience so far since I arrived in South Korea! 

Here is a vlog featuring the a busking performance that enlightened my study abroad experience!

A Week at Yonsei University

At Yonsei University, my classes consist mostly of general education courses ranging from Korean Popular Culture and history, Understanding K-pop (yes that is the name of course),  Korean language (KLI Intensive Level 1),  and CIEE’s intercultural communications class for a total of 15 credits. In addition to this, there was an opportunity to teach the English language to senior citizens that took place every Tuesday morning for eight weeks. As an exchange student, I slowly came to the realization that most of these classes were not heavily lectured which allowed visiting students to make most of their time here while abroad. With this being said, I didn’t have to study as much as I did if I were to be back in my home college. However, if I were to choose a class that was to be the most difficult, I would choose my earliest class, which was the Korean Popular Culture and History course which started every Friday from 9am to 12pm. Although this class was three hours long, it was interesting to hear the Professor’s different stories ranging from his experiences during Korea’s Independence to his figurative main point of the lecture: “All hell breaks loose”. 

An Iconic Moment In My Life

    It was a Tuesday evening around 9pm where I decided to go for a late night walk in Sinchon just to get a breather and enjoy some fresh air. I currently dorm in Woojungwon so the walk from this dormitory would take me about 15-20 minutes to reach the main gate of campus. As I reach the center part of Sinchon, in the distance I can hear a woman singing a Chinese song and as for myself, listening to Chinese music has always been one of my favorite genres to listen to. I had seen that she had gathered a crowd and so I decided to stop and listen along. Slowly, the crowd began to get larger and I saw that there were other foreigners, Chinese, and even Koreans watching. It was a beautiful sight to see that many different cultures were getting along. With people from the crowd going up to sing even if they were just passing by to the voices of harmonization, this very moment made me smile. I am unable to put it into words but just imagine a time where you were just in awe, excited, held back tears, and were just living in the moment. The women ended the performance with a Chinese called Hou Lai (后来). This was the reason why my favorite thing to do in Korea is to watch busking. It was the voices of the crowd that gave me the chills, it was like an outdoor concert. I cannot explain this moment any further but if you understand, this was a moment that changed my life.