#  My Summer Attending Sogang University via a KI Tuition Waiver- Summer 2010 

 





September 07, 2010

 

 

   ![student, Jane Choi, on left in Korea in 2010](/sites/g/files/omnuum10896/files/styles/hwp_1_1__360x360_scale/public/koreainstitute/files/kbs_studio_photo_jane_choi.jpg?itok=LiPln_Wd) 

 

I spent my summer in Seoul learning Korean at Sogang International Summer College. I moved into the newly built Gonzaga dormitory on June 20. Although I had no problems with the dorm itself, the dorm rules were stricter than most students expected. Curfew was midnight on weekdays and 1 am on weekends, and students that didn’t arrive before then couldn’t enter the dorm. Even though the curfew is inconvenient, I would recommend staying in the dorm because most people who didn’t stay in the dorm had a harder time getting to know other people in the program.

I chose to do the immersion program, which involved traditional classes (reading, listening, writing, and culture/video) in the morning from 9-1, and an afternoon class that taught us about Korean culture and often took us into the city (this was the “immersion” part). There was a different teacher for each class, so six different teachers taught us throughout the week. I placed into the highest level, which surprised me because I thought my Korean to be very poor. Compared to other Korean-Americans that know Korean, I have a harder time speaking, and in the interview portion of the placement test I struggled a lot. My class had four students similar to me; we all were American-born Koreans who knew basic Korean, but needed more formal instruction related to grammar and writing.

I really liked all of my teachers, and because our class was so small we came to learn a lot about each other. Near the end of the term, our class went to lunch with to of our teachers and ate naengmyun, a traditional Korean summer cold noodle dish. Additionally, due to our small class size we often took our teacher’s car to visit various places for our afternoon class while other classes took the subway and walked in the heat. For our afternoon class we visited places like the traditional Korean house village and the KBS broadcast studio, or experienced Korean activities like taekkyeon (a Korean martial art) and calligraphy.

Sogang also had a buddy program that paired summer students with Sogang students, and the Sogang students introduced us to various places in Seoul to have fun. I especially loved Seoul’s nightlife!

My Korean improved greatly in six weeks, and after the classes ended I bought all of Sogang’s grammar books that our class didn’t use so I can continue to learn and better my Korean skills. I can’t imagine a better way I could have spent my summer, and thank you so much to the Korea Institute and OIP that made it possible!

*-Jane Choi, '12*



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Undergraduate ](/audience/undergraduate)
- [ Student Reflection ](/news-type/student-reflection)
 
 

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