A Dream Come True – Visiting Korea As A UCSI University Exchange Student!
Korea, a place that I have always wanted to visit, where its climate and seasons are so very different from Malaysia’s. And so, here I was, gathering my courage and signing up for a student exchange programme in Korea in Spring, actualising two of goals with one stone!
The weather was beautiful, the breeze was cold, and the flowers blossomed along the roads. It was everything I had imagined as when before I boarded the plane heading to Korea. Throughout my exchange programme, I made my way to different places of attraction around Seoul, just like a tourist on her vacation!
But of course, I still attended classes like I was supposed to and had fun during my off days. I always remember how I was taken back by the size of the university and the campus. I was not able to stop myself from taking photos of the school.
Moreover, I visited Gyeongbukgong Palace, wore a Hanbok costume, and took tons of photos that I believe would be sufficient for me to post on my social media! Then, my Korean classmates invited me to a karaoke session – a totally different experience from the ones in Malaysia. We were even rated by the machine based on our singing performances – that ensured a thrilling competition between us all.
Furthermore, I went on to experience the clubbing scene in Korea and visited the dream place of every girl, Lotte World. I remember spending more than half of my day in that place and ended up getting too exhausted to even do anything else after that.
Of course, other than Lotte World, the official Line shop is a must visit place for every tourist that visits Korea.
Although I am not really a typical tourist, since I have come this far for my exchange programme, I had to make the best out of it!
So, there I was, visiting the official Line shop, taking photos under the cherry blossoms along the road. I had Korean meals and made my way to the Namsan Tower in Seoul!
I am glad I have made the decision to sign myself up for the student exchange programme, it has definitely changed me in a way or another. In a place where I had no family or friends that I could reach out to whenever I got into trouble, it has trained me to be independent and responsible for myself.
I have found this student exchange programme a life-changing experience because where else would you be able to enjoy the life of a student with the opportunity to achieve your dream by travelling to a country that you had always wanted to visit?
Written by Wong Woan Yee & Yap Bee Ei from FOBIS at Kyung Hee University, South Korea.