QUOTE(little mixed girl @ Nov 20 2005, 05:36 PM)
my experience with yonsei's summer program
i went through younsei's summer session (DIEE) in 2003 & 2004.
in 2003, the ppl in the dorm were terrible. 90%+ of the kids there were korean-americans, and many of them were visibly NOT happy about having non-koreans in their midst.
i got ppl saying stuff like "what are YOU doing here?" as if i had no right to go to korea to learn korean.
most the korean-americans hung out together and actively excluded anyone that was not korean-american or 1/2 korean.
many...most of them had sh*tty korean, and would try to make up for it by mumbling and swearing a lot in korean.
the teachers were nice and the security guards also were nice.
actually, i had more fun with the koreans (locals) than korean-americans.
in 2004 when i went, it was much better (but still not great).
the summer session is really about "korean-american bonding time". and because of that, i ACTIVELY encourage NON-KOREANS to apply for the summer session.
of course both times i went i met nice korean-americans, but a lot of them are just rude to non-koreans (this includes non-korean asian-americans).
anyways, this 2nd time i went, there were more non-koreans and some of us were able to hang out.
in terms of classes:
mon, tues, thurs & fri you have class. wed is a no-class day...for some random reason...
the korean language class is 3 hrs long. the 1st hr is like reading, 2nd is grammar, 3rd is speaking (something like that) with a 10 min break between each hour. and it's everyday (except wed of course).
you don't *have* to take a korean class, they have a number of other classes avaliable, all taught in english. though, be warned that some teachers of the other non-korean lang classes don't have the best english (so i heard) so, you'll have to put a bit more effort into learning.
if you're going to take a korean class, they give you a placement exam.
they tell you that the exam places you lower than what you might have expected. but, you can always move up or down as you please.
the exam starts out with some simple stuff then gets harder and harder.
in my case, there were grammar patterns that i knew, but i didn't know the vocab around the grammar so i couldn't understand what was going on.
there's also a speaking portion.
basically the lady is going to ask you stuff like "what's your name?" "where are you from?" "what time did you wake up this morning?" etc.
honestly, i didn't know the answers so some questions even in english cuz i just straight up forgot.
if you are a complete beginner, they have a beginner class.
it sounds like the class starts off in english, but then the teachers just switch mostly to korean...and some ppl felt that they didn't really learn anything.
some korean-americans might have good/OK speaking skills, but can't write worth sh*t.
if that's you, and you're put in a lower class, don't get an attitude about it.
it's no fun to be in a class with ppl who don't want to be there.
it's not my fault that you didn't want to take saturday korean lang classes as a kid, so don't get an attitude with non-koreans who know more about korean grammar than you.
along with that, if you are a non-korean taking korean, the korean teachers expect you to know the grammar better than korean-american students...and sometimes explicitly tell the class that.
so if that's you, non-korean person, try to work on your speaking skills!
there's a buddy program in the summer and during the regular year.
i never did it, but it could be a good way to meet local koreans, and many local koreans are eagar to show non-koreans (and korean-americans) around and introduce them to korean culture.
i'll write more later...i'm getting tired.
Wow I had no ideal
How about non Koreans? Did they seem to have fun?
QUOTE(dutsukyampu @ Feb 2 2007, 03:19 AM)
does anyone know when i should start applying for the summer programs at seoul univ, or yonsei univ? the deadline is like in may..but i thought i might apply in march or so.
is that too late?
pleasee help~ thanks
My school the dealine for summer programs was Marchh 15. Maybe it depends on the school though.
But i would say if u haven't appied yet you should
) Hahaha minimum is 3.0 but they let me slide in with a 2.7 
But I guess it's a small price to pay to go study in Korea, hehe.
