End of My First Semester in Korea University | Studying and Exams

I can't believe my first semester in Korea has come to its end. It feels so surreal; most of my new friends have returned back to their home countries, or they are visiting their home for the holiday. Time sure flies fast. It was such a hassle that I didn't even realize that the semester ended.
     Now that I'm on a winter break I thought I'd try to update this blog, and look back at some things related to being an exchange student at Korea University (KU). This time let's look at Korean education culture; though I can only offer my perspective on this issue. ^^' I had heard a lot of things from my Korean friends and seniors at the university. Yet, this semester was still quite a culture shock for me.

Courses and Studying

I've discussed about the Add&Drop period in one of my previous posts so I won't repeat the same things again in this post. Rather, I will continue about the regular student life that follows the course registration period.

     Just be prepared that even though KU boasts that 40% of its courses are taught in English it doesn't mean that you won't have any troubles. Some of my friends had to drop courses because their teacher decided to teach the course in Korean. Most of the time this was because majority of the students were Korean. Ironically, it is most likely that majority of the students are Korean since only 10% of the seats in the courses are reserved for exchange students. I might be exaggerating but for most of the courses the seats for exchange students were very limited There are some issues KU should change in order to become more international student friendly university. Even though I know Korean I did say in my application that I will be studying in English because I don't trust my Korean skills that much yet. And the majority of the exchange students I've met don't know any Korean so how are they supposed to study here if there aren't enough courses offered in English.

     I'm sorry about the little rant there. Back to studying in Korea. At least when it comes to KU, the courses vary a lot depending on the professor. But generally, the teachers will expect a lot from you. There are students who will sleep during lectures since they are tired of studying all night long. Also, there can be lots of assignments; in my case, I received most of them right before the exams. So I'd say, sometimes, the work load is not as equally distributed as in Finland. Usually, at least in my home university, you will be informed about upcoming assignments, guidelines and schedule right at the very beginning of the course. Here homework might be mentioned in the syllabus, however, the guidelines and schedules are given later. Or at least this is how it was for me for the fall semester. For example, about a month before the exams, one of my professors gave us an assignment of an 8-page essay due to the exam week. 

     But after all, it is all about the professor. All of my courses had different policies. My Korean history courses was based on a book that our professor, Korean, would read during the lectures. She would note the important parts and those were included in the exams. Then again my other Korean professor, would have his own slides for every class. For my sociology class our American teacher would expect us to read before-hand assigned parts from our course pack before class in order to be able to discuss the topic of the day.

     So it is difficult to offer a general view on the teaching culture here because it seems to be dependent on the professor. But one thing is for sure. They expect you to spend a lot of time self-studying. Memorizing everything by heart seems to be the goal here instead of learning how to apply the knowledge you've gained.

Exams and Grades

Unlike in the University of Helsinki, here all the courses last the entire semester. So for most of the courses there seems to be two exams: midterms and finals. Usually, the final exam will be stressed more in your grade than the midterm.

     The exams will focus on details. So if you are unlike me and able to memorize things easily, you will most likely do okay in your exams. However, for me it has been a struggle since I am better at applying the knowledge that I've learned than memorizing all the dates for a history exam. Also here, in order to pass the exam, you need at least 60% of the scores; or at least that is what I've heard. Although, exams cover only a part of your final grade. Unlike in Finland, here most courses require attendance, and the attendance rate will affect your final grade. Also, assignments and homework will affect your grade. So in the end your score on the final exam might be only 30% of your final grade.

     However, what I'm worried about is the way homework works here. As a Finnish student I'm used to an atmosphere where trying is good enough. What I mean by this is that you don't have to be 100% correct with your answers, and sometimes you are not even required to have finished all the homework, as long as you can prove that you've tried your best.

I was afraid I might fail couple courses I had. But fortunately to my surprise I passed them all. One I thought I might fail I got a C and another one's grade was A. I don't know how I managed to get that A but maybe I remember Korean history better than I think. Generally, my average grade here seems to be a B which I'm happy with since the exams are so different here.

Now back to enjoying my holiday! ;)
xxx

PS. Many may not agree with me but this is my point of view on the topic: studying in Korea. Of course universities are different, here and Finland, so my perspective is based on my experiences as a math major and Asian studies minor student of the University of Helsinki.