Brendan BLAKE

Student of University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
Exchange to Korea University, Korea

If you haven’t gone on exchange – why not?! Doing an exchange semester as part of my studies had to have been one of the most important parts of my degree. As well as that, the whole experience of travelling to another country and immersing yourself in another culture (and language and food...) is just about one of the best things you can ever do in life.

Can I recommend Seoul? There is no place on earth where I found such a mixture of tradition, technology, and enchantment. I had previously been to Korea, but I had wanted to spend some more time there to really get to know what the country was like. Going on exchange was the perfect solution.

Korea is a place where the people really celebrate, whether it is the seasonal festivals, sporting events or any other special occasion. Anywhere in South Korea is easy enough to get to, with cheap “Greyhound” type buses running all over the country. I made use of the long weekends and spent some time in different towns – exploring cool places not usually seen by the city tourists!

The food in Korea is something that I will have with me for the rest of my life. It is so varied and simple, with tonnes of fresh vegies and delicious cuts of meat, that I definitely will be attempting some of the dishes in my own kitchen (especially my personal favourite – sundubu).

Korea University is maybe one of the most foreigner-friendly universities you will ever find, with a lot of their classes in English (which I found very convenient). It is near to the centre of the city, which combines with the cheap and extensive subway, means that anywhere in Seoul is easy to get to.

Korea University really provides their incoming exchange students with lots of activities, clubs, and events. They made sure that we were invited to the annual Ko-Yon games, which are a series of sports played between Korea University and their rivals at Yonsei University. The atmosphere at these games was absolutely amazing; it’s like nothing I had ever seen at home. The football match was delayed about an hour, but that didn’t stop the party atmosphere. We sang so much while we waited that we pretty much forgot about the game!

The university also helped me attend an international engineering conference, which was a great opportunity to network with some leading worldwide companies.

Going on exchange fuelled a hunger for travelling and taking on challenges. I can’t encourage you enough to apply for exchange, it has something for everyone. Be adventurous; imagine yourself somewhere you never thought possible and then make it happen!

© Copyright 2018 CK Group. All rights reserved.