Life in Korea: Not Just Korea Itself

Name Faculty Course

Beh Pui Mun FAS Bachelor of Communications (HONS) Public Relations

Chuah Mun Hoe FAS Bachelor of Arts and Social Science (HONS) Psychology

Jeremy Goh Ti-Vei FAS Bachelor of Communications (HONS) Adverting

Lee Wai Keng FAS Bachelor of Communications (HONS) Public Relations

안녕하세요! Yes! You’ve guessed it right! That is “annyeonghasaeyo” which means “hello”

in Korean. Korea is a country that is rich in its culture and proud of its language and that is

why all 10 of us who went to Inje University, South Korea for student exchange, or being in

Korea for that matter, Korean, the language is a must. Although Korea is still in the Asian

region but it is a total different story in terms of language, culture or even food.On the 21st

September 2014, we reached Gimhae, a small city near Busan where the University lies. Inje

or Korea for that matter is alien to us. Being in away from home is already a challenge to

most of us, what more to a country that is so different from Malaysia. Many of us struggle

being in Korea, but in time, we got use to it and starting to like it.

Inje University Main Entrance

In Inje, all 10 of us from different faculties enrolled in the same Korean course together with

other exchange students from around the world. The subjects we have selected were Korean

proficiency class which teaches us all four skills from listening, speaking to reading and also

writing. In addition, we also took TOPIK (an abbreviation for Test of Proficiency in Korean),

Korean Culture and Society and even Physical Education. All classes were conducted by

Korean lecturers and mostly in Korean language. Learning the language using the language

itself was very hard to us. However, no doubt, we have progressed a lot even in a short period

of time.

Korean Beginners Class Korean Intermediate Class

Physical Education

Inje University, a much smaller campus compared to ours, has served 10 of us well. We

never feel awkward or much alienated there. We were arranged to stay in one of the

dormitory in Inje named English Town, ET for short. In ET all foreigners do not stay together

but instead with a Korean. In that way, all of us got to learn how it is like to live the “Korean”

way and live the “Korean Life”. On top of that, facilities in ET are never lacking, never

disappointing. Every week, we even had dormitory group meetings for us to social and have a

“family” even away from home.

English Town Entrance Our Room in English Town

On the topic of “family”, we are blessed with people around here. Coming to Korea is not

about just making friends with Koreans and learning the Korean culture but to extend our

connections to the rest of the world by just going to one place. Being a foreigner in Korea, we

have met a lot of others just like us, just as alienated in the country. Inje has gathered students

from all over the world; just to name a few, Japan, China, Vietnam, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan,

Mongolia, Thailand, Taiwan, Sweden and many more. Through this short period of the

autumn semester, we lived together, studied together and experience the differences of

culture together as well. We share our differences as compared to Korea and also learn about

each other’s culture as we grow closer to each other.

Christmas with AIM Church Members Malaysians in Busan, South Korea

Food is also part of Korean culture. Food is never a lacking factor rather a pleasure to all of

us. The food in Korean has really impressed us all a lot. The reddish look of the food was

frightening to us at first, but not as spicy as thought compared to Malaysian food. Maybe the

diversity of Malaysian food has thought us well to accept a variety of taste no matter where

we are. We were addicted to삼겹살 (Korean BBQ), 빙수 (shaved ice with toppings), 치킨

(fried chicken) and a lot other delicious food in these three months. We ate the fried chicken

with other Korean friends in ET at least twice a week. Indulging any food in Korea is as easy

as a call and away. In 30 minutes or so, food will be delivered to your doorstep and payment

can be made in cash or even bank cards. The fried chicken in Korea is totally different with

Malaysia’s because Korea one has many flavors for you to choose such as soy sauce, sweet

sauce, garlic and so on. Besides, liquor is never out of the picture when food is

related.Korean liquor such as Soju, 막걸리 (Korean rice wine) and local beer are best served

with food. The Koreans even have matching liquor to what food you consume. For example,

Soju with BBQ and beer with fried chicken. Moreover, when you dine in, drinking water and

side dishes are provided unlimited and free in most restaurants. It will be served without

questions asked which we find it the best service in Korea that we like the most when it

comes to eating in Korea.

Rice roll, ramen and spicy rice cake Fried Chicken

Korean BBQ Shaved Ice with Toppings (Korean AisKacang)

Events in Inje have been abundant too. Inje kept all of us jam-packed with activities so that

we are not bored and will not even miss home. On the first week when we arrived, there was

Inje festival where student operated stalls were opened, songs and being sung and danced to

by Inje students and also Korean artists. Furthermore, we also got to go for class trips

organized by InjeandBusan tour organized by Busan government. Some tours required a

minimal fee for bus and insurance, but mostly free without a single cent charge. All trips are

inclusive of snacks, meals, fun and joy.

UFO Festival in Campus Class Trip to Suncheon, Jeollanam-do

Busan City Tour Inje“Venture” Camp in Gyeongju

In the month of October, we even experience Halloween for the first time as it is not much

celebrated in Malaysia. The Halloween celebration was held by ET. Each group was given a

pumpkin to make decorative lamps and the best pumpkin will win a prize. On Halloween day,

ET was decorated with Halloween decorations filled with mystery and surprises. There were

counters for henna, temporary tattoos and also face paintings. We were also entertained by

mini games and quiz. All of us enjoyed ourselves a lot, not to mention taking home gifts we

won during the mini games and quiz we have participated.

Pumpkin Exhibition and Competition Halloween Party at ET Lounge

Talking about trips, we have made some on our own as well. Although we had our own travel,

but all of us had our interesting story of the place we had visited. These pages are not enough

for us to write about our individual tours but we are going to sum it up to as short as possible.

During our semester, we always make time to tour Busan, the nearest city to Gimhae. In the

month of October there were a few public holidays and together with weekends, some of us

decided to fly over to Jeju Island as it is the Hawaii of South Korea. At the end of the

semester, we went on separate ways to tour Seoul, different parts of South Korea and some of

us even got the chance to visit Japan.

Pohang, Gyeongsangbuk-do Jeju Trip

Ski at Gangwondo Fukuoka, Japan

All in all, the entire student exchange program was a blessing indeed to all of us. We have not

just enjoyed a lot, but learned and experience a lot too. All these are nothing if not for the

twinning UTAR has with Inje University in Korea. We hereby express our greatest gratitude

to UTAR for choosing the 10 of us for this student exchange program, Ms. Olive for

coordinating us when we were in Malaysia, Mr. Jeong for coordinating us in Inje, our

beloved HODs, advisors, lecturers in Korea, roommates, buddies and friends in Korea who

made our student exchange life an even greater one. Without all of you, these three months

would not be a thrill. Thank you for making us well prepared before leaving Malaysia and

making us comfortable when we were in Korea.

Completion Ceremony at Inje University