Why and how I went to Korea.

I have gotten alot of requests to write about what school I went too. And now its a perfect time, because today I'm not so busy, and at the moment im lying outside in the sun with my laptop, Relaxing or what?

Where to start....

I found out I wanted to try something new and exciting, something that not every norwegian has done before me.

I really love languages, and learning about different cultures. And for many years I've been very fascinated by asian cultures, both China, Japan and Korea. 

So I thought, well...everyone else is going to places like The US, and England to study. Why do the same? 

So I decided to go to Asia. 

Why Korea?

Well, the reason why I choose Korea was because, here in norway,you can study both japanese and chinese langauge at university. But there is no place to study korean.So I though that learning a language that not many else know in norway, can someday become useful. So my choice was in the end to go to Korea.

What did I do after deciding to go to Korea?

To be honest, before going to Korea i didn't know so much about Korea. Didn't know about good schools etc. So I used what Im sooo good at using, Google!! So I started to google trying to find out what was the best universities in Korea. So my choice was either Korea Univ. or Yonsei Univ. But after alot of reading about both schools, and looking at forums where foreigners had written about them. My choice was Yonsei Univ. Because i found only good things written about their langauge school. And ofcourse the pictures of the school, just made me fall in love with the thought of studying there.

How did I apply?

I don't remember clearly how I did it. But its not hard, even I managed to apply without any help. But to apply for university you have to send them your high school diploma with grades in English. So first I applied over their internet page. Where I had to write an essay why I wanted to study korean, and what my goal in life was, and what I will do with my korean when Im finished with my studies. So I wrote an long essay, and called my high school to make them send my diploma in english and I also had to pay for application fee. After maybe 1 month I got an big letter in the mail from Yonsei where it said they had accepted my application and wished me welcome as their student. I almost thought I was going to die of happiness that day. So my advice for everyone is just to use alot of time to google, find out about schools, and what you want. And Im sure the schools have english speaking staff to help you with applying if you have any problems! 

How did I get money to go to Korea?

What is so hard about studying in Korea is money. Getting good scholarships for foreigners = almost impossible. And getting scholarship from norway is impossible also for study langauge. I had to use 150 000 NOK on one year in korea, and thats alot. My parents gave me a loan from them, so they paid for everything. And someday in the furture I will pay them back. When it comes to taking a major in korea, if you are norwegian you can get scholarship from norway after one year, so that means you have to find a way to get enough money for one year. So now Im working hard to get money for my major in Korea. 

How to get an korean visa?

Its very simple! All you have to do is sending you acceptance letter from the school to the korean embassy in your country along with application form, application fee,and passport. For me it took only one week to get my passport back with my korea visa in it.     

After getting your visa you are all set to go to Korea! The whole process from applying to getting a visa is actually a lot more simple than it looks like. For me the hardest part was finding out what school I wanted to apply too. And I cant really help you with that. But its easy to find school in Seoul if you just google it :)

But I must say that Yonsei is a great school, and it beautiful, and so many fun things to do around the campus. So check Yonsei out if you are looking for a school. I can gladly write more about Yonsei later. But now its time to tan my stomach in the sun a little!