not FAQs, but never mind

Assalamualaikum heyyy ((waalaikumussalam))

So some of my friends asked me some questions regarding me being an exchange students in Korea but it is not frequently asked questions (my friends are not that clingy), hence the title hahaha. So here you go, my answers;

1) Why do I choose Korea? 
lol isn't it that obvious? hahahaha jkjk. As much as I love Kpop, Kpop is not the ultimate reason why I chose Korea but more like a catalyst actually. Being a Kpop fan from a decade ago, I have watched a lot of their dramas, movies and even their tv shows. Hence, I can't help but to fall in love with the country as well. This also made Korea feels familiar to me (though I just went there once for travel purposes) as I know their language, some of their culture and their foods. To breath the same air with my oppas is just a bonus to me. cant help hahahaha. So there you go, though I'm given the chances to choose 3 country, I put South Korea for all 3 of them for this exchange program and I got accepted at Kyungpook National University (KNU), Daegu.

visual information on how i'm so close yet so far from my oppas

2) What subjects do I take in KNU?

Okay so here's the deal UM give; the minimum credit hour that we have to take is 12 (which means 4 subjects). As a very good listener, I took only that amount of credit hour hahaha. So I just chose 2 subjects that are related to my major (Programming Language and Communication Theory) and 2 fun-fun subjects (Korean Language 1 and Korea in Motion). Though Korea in Motion class is fun-fun subject because I got to watch movies every week, it was actually a heavy course. Nonetheless, I've learned a lot through that one class! and of course, I  enjoyed the Korean Language 1 class, the professor is so cute and all the words/sentences that I learned unintentionally through korean variety shows now make sense hahahaah. Oh yeah, we only got to transfer 3 credit hours (1 subject) because most of the courses offered there, we already took them during our second year and the remaining courses offered aren't 80% the same as UM syllabus (maybe...how should we know? hahaha). That is the major reason as to why I don't feel stressful/homesick during 4 months in Korea hahaahha. Okay, so in other words, I only have 4 subjects for a week! and to make it more sweet, we arranged our schedule to have classes only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday (except for yasmin hahaha). Now you know why I always go somewhere during the weekend. But it is chaos in my mind when we got nothing planned for the weekend hence it felt sooooooooo long that I can't wait for class. 

3) How is the dormitory?

I got accepted at Cheomseong dormitory, the best dormitory of all said my buddy, Taehyung. The dormitory is indeed comfortable, 1 room for 2 people with attached bathroom. What makes it better is that we kinda get to choose who our roommate is (during dormitory application, they asked whether i want to be in the same room with my friend or randomly arranged). Other dormitory facilities are just the same here i.e washing machine, dryer, study room, etc. 3rd-5th floor is for guys while 6th-9th floor is for woman. They even separated lifts for each gender, I'm impressed.  

4) Do Koreans study hard compared to Malaysians?

This differs on individuals actually but what I could say is that I didn't feel the strong competition in Malaysia compared to in Korea. I mean, in my case, even though mid term exams are approaching in 2 weeks, I still can relax. So of course, I did the same when I'm in Korea. Then one day when I message my buddy to share what I did for the weekend, his reply was 

"Oh it must be good for you. I'm so busy nowadays because of midterm examination,"

And its like 2 weeks before exam... I've been slapped real hard hahahaha. Besides, the study room in the dormitory always full with people...studying. I only go there because I want to download/watch movies because internet connection is not that strong in my room. But looking at how Koreans struggle to study while I'm there holding my laughter because of Running Man... I gave up, and go back to my room instead.

However, as much as they are sooooo struggling with their studies, that doesn't stop them from finding their soulmates hahahaha. Everywhere you go, every direction you look, there's always a couple holding hands. No no i'm not jealous i'm oki

5) What language I use to talk with Koreans?

English, Korean and body language! Being there make me reflect a lot on myself. I used to avoid talking with foreigners (or anyone who speaks English) because I'm not confident with my English. I was so worried about my grammar, pronunciation, accent and my choice of words. I can see its the same case for most of people there. They seem to avoid talking to us because of language but once I greeted them in Korean, they reply warmly and then they talk so fast in Korean forgetting the fact that I'm a foreigner, "Yes...." would always be my answer to them hahahaa. 4 months there, I've improved my Korean and English. Wait, no. Let me rephrase that. I've become more confident to talk in them whether they are correct or not, thanks to my smol circle of friends. 

Oh there's one time where I asked one stranger to take a picture of me and my friends so I approached him using Korean language and then he was like "Yeah sure, where?" Excuse me boyyy I asked you in Korean, you reply in Korean lah ayyy hahah. Also, they use a lot of Konglish words (Korean version of English words. Mostly used for words that aren't traditional Korean language so they just use the English words and make it sound Korean eg: cheese: chi-jeu, hotdog: hat-do-geu). That day when we went to have our dinner, we asked for fork to eat our noodles. 

Us: Fork isseoyo? (Do you have fork?)

Staff: ??

Us: Fork. *start using body language to explain what fork is*

Staff: Aaaaa~ po-keu! 

Us: ....

6) Are Korean foods delicious compared to the one in Malaysia?

That...I can't say for sure because I didn't go to Korean restaurant in Malaysia as much. The only place I've been to are Myeondong Topokki, Dubuyo and Kyochon. But of course, the original Korean food made by Korean people in the country itself would be better compared to other places right? For me, the food I ordered always turned out to be delicious and I liked it very much. You could say Korean foods really matched my taste buds because when my friends said that the food is not good, it would be always me who ate it deliciously hahahah even the fermented soybean paste stew, which traumatized my friends. 

Bonus: KNU library

I only went to the library twice hahahaa. The first time is when Taehyung insisted that he wants to show me the library and second, during group presentation. Reason? There's no wifi there! So how can I study in the library that provide no internet access? (read: excuses). But maybe just mayyyybe there is wifi. It is just me who don't know the password. Idk. Nonetheless, their library is the best I've ever went (pls note that I'm not a "library person"). To get into the library, we must first scan the QR code of our student mobile ID. We need internet access to do this. So what I (the one who don't have the internet access) did? I go to the Global Plaza (next to the library, the building on the first picture), connect to wifi there, generate my QR code and run back to the library (because the QR code only lasts for 30 seconds).

Pheww. All the efforts I've done just to get into the library. 

So the first floor is probably my favorite section. They provided many small booths (can fit 1-2 person) for students to watch movies! There are quite a lot of movies for us to choose from and of course, to avoid from getting disturbed by the sound of it, they provide headphones as well. There's also a cafe inside the library. You know, the coffee culture is quite strong here in Korea. Oh and one unique thing here is you have to reserve your seat in order to stay in the library using their library apps. I think it is quite...unnecessary? Why should I reserved my seat? Or maybe the library is packed with students that you have to reserve your seat. Hahahah idk never seen that situation before.

Done! Thank you for reading xoxo