10 Tips When Studying Abroad in South Korea
1. Download These Apps (Naver --> To get around, Papago --> Translate images and conversations, Shuttle Delivery --> Ordering Food, KakaoTalk --> Korea's most popular messaging App
2. Get An e-SIM Card ( I bought an e-SIM from LG U+ for the entirety of my study abroad and it came in handy when I needed a Korean phone number and high speed data wherever I went)
3. Apply For Your ARC Ahead Of Time If You Plan To Travel A Lot (I received my ARC about two and a half weeks earlier than my friends who applied for it through our school)
4. Learn Basic Korean (Please at least know how to say "hello", "Thank you", directional cues, and how to properly introduce yourself to someone.
5. Meet As Many People As You Possibly Can (I was lucky enough to have a group of friends from UH that came to Korea at the same time and we spent most of our study abroad together. Korean can get quite lonely so try your best to establish your friendships early on)
6. Save Up And Scholarships (It is so easy to run through your money the minute you arrive in Korea from their cute cafes, endless cosmetics at Olive Young, and travel so I would recommend saving up a decent amount before coming or applying to scholarships.
7. Understand Korean Etiquette (Small things such as standing on the right side of the escalator, using two hands when giving and receiving money, offering up your seat to elderly, taking shoes off indoors, not tipping, and bowing when you say thank you, are basic forms of etiquette in Korea that you should always follow)
8. Explore Beyond Seoul (Your schedule may be difficult to work around for classes but it is so worth it to take a day trip for a day or two to different provinces in Korea. As for international travel, please take advantage of it as the ticket prices are probably a lot higher if you flew from back home)
9. Dorming (I understand that dorming itself can be quite expensive but trust me it is so worth it! Dorming allows you to be closer to friends, not have to stress about traveling to and from campus, and also have access to resources like printing and laundry)
10. Take Steps Outside Of Your Comfort Zone (Korea has so many things to do and a lot of them can be quite intimidating sometimes but the one thing that pushed me to do things outside of my comfort zone was that I would never have the opportunity to do this again. I would never be able to visit Korea let alone any country for this long and have the freedom to do whatever I wanted again so that thought alone drove me to try everything I possibly could. Also don't be afraid to ask for help! Koreans can be a little intimidating but if you just ask for help 10 out of 10 times will they happily point you to the right direction)