iBA - BRAIN BREAK DECEMBER 2012
Exchange study in Korea!
Every year several IBA students take on an exchange study as a part of their study. Usually the exchange experience turns out to be an adventure they will remember for the rest of their lives. Brain Break was interested in getting a taste of the students’ experience. By Agate Ose and Michele Lindhardsen, photos by : Agate Ose
(Hello! I am Agate.) Korea… I really don’t know where to start. Only word that really comes to mind is ‘WOW.’ It is the best and most exciting experience that I have ever had. Culture shock Although I was an ‘alien’ in Denmark (because I am Latvian), only in Korea have I come to understand what that term really means. It is not only the language that separates you from the rest – it’s your face, body structure, body language, sense of humour, chain of thoughts – everything! Somehow, I imagined that most Koreans would speak English, since America has a huge influence on this country. Oh, I was wrong. Turned out that in Anyang the number of English speakers is very low, so my ability to explain things with gestures and body language has increased dramatically. That combined with a few expressions in Korean helps a lot to get around the city, do some shopping, or even communicate with Koreans. Foreigners are welcomed warmly in Korea. In our first days, and even now, Koreans will come up to us on the street, say hello, and try to communicate with us in Korean (that we very obviously do not understand). This is mostly due to the low number of foreigners in the area. Many Koreans in Anyang have never seen a non-Korean before! The Korean language (‘Hangugo’ in Korean) proves very difficult to understand for an unprepared mind. It looks and sounds completely different from any language I have as of yet encountered. Moreover, there are several forms of the same phrases used to address different people. Older people, family and people in higher positions must be addressed differently (more formally and politely) than your friends and younger people. Honestly, this can be very confusing! I also encountered some communication problems. Firstly, Koreans don’t understand sarcasm. Not only does this make for some interesting communication issues in my personal life, but it 8
also alters the way Koreans interpret foreign and domestic popular culture. For example, “Gangnam style” was intended as a sarcastic song about all the weird things rich Koreans do in Seoul’s district of Gangnam. Well, Koreans did not (and still don’t!) get the joke. In general – Korea is a place for diversity. On one hand, you have the highest level of urbanization that I’ve ever seen, and on the other hand there are beautiful landscapes with amazing nature and a skyline of mountains. This is the most amazing place that I have been to and it has been an amazing journey so far! I definitely recommend this place if you’re ready for the time of your life! Agate Ose
The top of Suri Mountain
Wearing a traditional Korean bride outfit
iBA - BRAIN BREAK DECEMBER 2012
By Michele Lindhardsen With a bit of anxiety and excitement in my body I left Denmark for the first time on my own, and 19 hours later I finally arrived at Incheon International Airport. I was picked up by my somewhat nervous and confused Korean Buddy. He was not completely sure what to do with me or where to go, but he seemed to get the hang of it once he calmed down a little. As I exited the airport I had my first shock – climate change. The humidity was extremely high and for a Dane the combination of that and the hot air was unbearable. A one-hour bus ride later with barely being able to speak to my buddy in English, as I had later come to realize is not a very well spo-
Temple
The School
With an American William almost on top of Suri Mountain
ken language here, he took me to my House Dormitory. The house was actually not the residence I requested, as it turned out though, living with 22 people from about ten different countries, sharing three bathrooms, a kitchen and a living room was not so bad after all. On the contrary it has been pretty great and I will certainly miss every part of it when I leave.
My impression of the school is all in all good and we at the House Dormitory are lucky – only a couple of steps outside our door and we are in school, avoiding the infamously steep hill. On campus we have a big library, about five different class buildings, a student restaurant, two coffee shops, several kiosks, a bakery and a big party area on the rooftop. We also have a couple of basketball courts, a volleyball court, a gym and a football field, however that is more Trying out t he Lo tus p like a ositio n huge sandbox mainly used as a parking lot. 9
iBA - BRAIN BREAK DECEMBER 2012
Anyang city has its minor flaws, such as garbage on the streets and worn down buildings, but apart from that it is a great city. It has several districts and I have yet to see them all, so far I can manage my way around my own district – going downtown (Ilbeonga), to E-mart and to the traditional market. Anyang has beautiful scenery, as it is surrounded by mountains on all four sides, two of which I have already climbed. When it was still summertime I climbed Samsung Mountain and later Suri Mountain – everything was so green. Later in fall I climbed Suri Mountain, located just behind our school, again. The colors had changed so rapidly and it was now like the mountain was on fire – yellow, red, orange – amazing. Seoul is the capital of South Korea and is definitely worth visiting several times. It is home to twice the inhabitants as in all of Denmark, so you can imagine visiting Seoul takes more than a couple of days. I have been there maybe ten times, and I certainly have not seen it all. Seoul offers an amazingly diverse and interesting scenery with everything from beautiful a mountain landscape and river sides, historical palaces and temples, traditional areas, galleries and museums, shopping districts, modern skyscrapers, tourism streets, and a high class business and finance sector. One thing that I as a Dane had to get used to was the sharing and group culture of Koreans. Everything has to be done in groups or at least as couples – that is also a very popular thing here; couple rings, couple outfits, couple accessories and even couple coffee. Then there is the sharing of food; we often buy a whole dish meant for several people including a variety of side dishes, and then we each get these little plates so we can all share. Furthermore, when going out for drinks it is often customary to buy some food to share, before we can actually order the drinks. It has been an amazing experience so far and not even half of it has been mentioned here. Going on this trip has been a great way to really learn about another culture so different from my own; I can only recommend going to South Korea. Michele Lindhardsen
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Seoul at Han River