Vannesha Mae (Exchange to Seoul, South Korea)

(Images courtesy of Vannesha Mae)

For my exchange, I went to Seoul National University in Seoul, South Korea. Seoul is a big city with a lot of opportunities, and a great place to study and live! This was not my first visit to South Korea; I had been before yet could never relate to why my friends and family were in love with Seoul (in particular). Thus, I decided to go for an exchange semester and give it another try - it was the best decision I have ever made!

I arrived in Seoul relatively close to the start of the semester as I was familiar with the city already. However, it was still enough time for me to discover the area and the neighborhood around the campus. The Seoul National University campus buildings are located in one area, 5-10 minutes by bus from the Seoul National University subway station, which is also one of the areas for off-campus housing and is surrounded by great restaurants, nice pubs, and karaoke places (noraebang). The public transportation in Seoul is definitely superb and inexpensive, which makes it easy to travel to campus or throughout the city.

For most people, exchange in Seoul was made wonderful because of the SNU Buddy Programme, which accommodates and facilitates incoming exchange students and provides various activities in culture, sport, and art. The Thursday pub nights are especially one of the highlights from SNU Buddy Programme, something that we really looked forward to each week as it is the perfect place for all exchange students to gather and get to know each other. All exchange students are divided into random groups that also consist of several Korean buddies who are your personal buddies, and they are honestly the nicest people, really welcoming, and ready to help you anytime! Living in foreign country where people rarely speak English could be difficult at times, but their help definitely made it easier.

If you are a foodie, you will never regret coming to Seoul. The cuisine is divine, from street food to restaurants, and they are inexpensive for the portions and service you will receive. Eating out is also a part of the culture for Koreans; I never had to cook a single time during my stay in Seoul. Other than that, the campus also provides meals for around 3,000 won or 2,50 euros approximately, from breakfast to dinner and in every cafeteria in every college building (including the dorms if you decide to live there).

Last but not least, were the courses I took at SNU; the university only offers Graduate level courses and most revolve around private or patent law. To fulfill my ECTS requirement, 4 law courses in SNU is mandatory. The courses consist of lectures in a relatively small class size, for three hours per course per week. Some courses are scheduled on Saturdays but it might differ per year and would not necessarily cut away from your leisure time as you would still have them at the beginning of the week. Overall, the courses were stimulating and could be challenging at times but still very doable!

Vannesha Mae , Indonesia, LLB International and European Law