Series of photos of Eunjee in South Korea.

Eunjee

What led you to study abroad? Why did you choose your country/program?

 I've always wanted to live in the country that my parents grew up in. I'm also a big fan of k-pop and k-dramas that it was a no brainer that I would choose to go to study abroad in Korea!

What salient identities do you hold? How did your identity/identities impact the way you prepared for, or chose your study abroad experience?

 As a Korean American, it was both jarring and comforting to live in a country that I've heard so much of. I had visited the country before multiple times before, so I was aware of things like public transportation, but living in the country as a "foreigner" was a completely different experience.

Describe a typical day for you abroad.

 I unfortunately studied abroad during covid, so most of my classes were online. However, I did have one in-person class where I was able to befriend local students!

What coursework did you take while abroad? How did courses abroad compare with Berkeley classes?

 Film, psychology, law, and biology! Courses were much less heavily reliant on assignments than those I took at Berkeley. It was also unexpected that we had no idea of what our grades were until the very end when final grades were announced.

What was the most memorable/meaningful aspect of your time abroad?

 Meeting other students from around the world and enjoying a completely different culture and society as a student!

What was the biggest challenge/concern of your study abroad experience? How did you respond?

 Covid was the biggest challenge in that it was close to impossible to socialize with local students and people. I really recommend joining group chats related to your study abroad program and taking classes outside of school related to your interests to be able to meet new people!