My Master's Degree Experience in Seoul National University

Well, here I am, with a subject that I was avoiding talking about for a year. :D

 

But I got too many questions especially on Instagram and I don't have time to reply to everyone so I wanted to make a blog post for it. Before I start though, I was a KGSP scholar so my perspective is from there. Normal graduate students are much freer than KGSP students. :)

Anyways, I got the KGSP(Korean Government Scholarship Program) scholarship in 2018 and I came to Korea in 2018. 

--> I had my IELTS score --> I had TOPIK 4 level.

Korean Government sends you to language school if you are below level 5. That was the reason I started studying at Pai Chai University for my language school. ( I can talk about my KGSP Experience as well in a different post but this one will be for SNU only.) I finished language school in 6 months and I started my master's in the spring semester in March 2019. 

Let me introduce my situation first. My major was Educational Technology and it is under Education Department. I had to write a thesis to graduate and my all classes were in Korean. I didn't take an extra semester so I graduated in February 2021. 
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So how was it?
What should you consider before you come here?

 

This is the most common question I get in my DMs.I understand you wonder how it feels like.

First of all, my experience was much more positive than my other fellow KGSP friends. I had amazing classmates, they were nothing but kind to me. They included me in every event and it was easy to study with them.

 

That is the main reason why I don't remember my days in SNU bad. I know this is luck. But if you have nice classmates then I can tell you, it is easier. Unfortunately, you cannot do anything about this beforehand.  Just so you know and keep in mind while you are here. :)

 

The second thing to consider is language.

How comfortable are you with the language?

 

Before you ask whether there are classes in English, yes there is. But this doesn't solve your language problem. You see, if you are not GSIS of course, there are SOME classes in English. That's all. They are generally in Korean and you should make sure how many of them are actually valid in your department. For example, there are must courses and elective courses you take. Must courses are NOT options. You have to take the classes your department/advisor wants and you have to pass those classes to earn credit. 

 

In my case, all of those must classes were in Korean.

(Thank god some of the professors did let me prepare the assignments in English.)

 

However, the content and everything we learned during those classes was in Korean.  Professors talked in Korean. This meant Statistics in Korean, Education-related philosophy classes were in Korean. There was a Qualitative Statistics class and the professor used nothing but Hanja. I had to drop that class and take it in summer school from some other professor. I had to learn so much stuff that I will not use in real life in KOREAN. The struggle was real, I'm telling you. To give you an idea tho, I have TOPIK 6. :)

 

All universities say they have -I don't know how many- classes in English. They don't mention how many & in which departments. You don't know if those classes will be acceptable from your department & your professor.

And honestly, even the syllabus says that the class is in English, the professor may still use Korean. So even for SNU, I recommend you to check your classes and if they are available in English or not. And don't forget; there is still a chance to have many classes in Korean. Be prepared for it. 

 

The third thing to consider is the environment. SNU is a public university and it is located in the cheapest area (Gwanak) in Seoul.

(Not all departments in Gwanak Campus so check it in advance)

So the dorms are pretty cheap compared to other universities in Seoul(190$ish per month). And that is the reason why they are full every semester because they are on demand. I didn't have that problem because I was on KGSP, I had priority when it comes to 2-people dormitory rooms. If you are KGSP, don't you worry about the dorms because SNU dormitory management takes (at least took when I was in there) good care of KGSP students. But if you are not, then I recommend you to prepare key money and add your rent to your financial plan, just in case because you may not be able to register to dorms.

 

If you want to live/have to live alone, there are good options(money-wise) around SNU station or Nakseongdae Station. The percentage of living alone in a dorm is so small that I will not even talk about it. 

 

I lived in dorms for 2 years and I can't say it was a pleasing experience. The rooms were okay actually but still, it is no living alone. So look for other options and prepare financially in case you can't go into dorms. 

Do I recommend SNU for international students?

 

Absolutely yes, go for it. The campus is amazing, it is a well-known public university (in Korea) so you will not have any difficulties. But you should think about your major, what you are going to do after you graduate etc. For me I wanted to work in Korea and SNU in my resume helped me to find a good place to work. 

 

Do I recommend Korea for a Master's Degree? 

 

I can't answer this question. I think the variables are too many and it drastically differs from person to person. You really should think about your language skills and if you can fit into Korean culture first. And then do your research based on academic stuff. Finally, try to see if getting a master's in Korea will help you in the future. That should do it. 

If you have any other questions I can answer them in a different post.

For now, 안녕!

:)