Chonnam National University
Gwangju, South-Korea
General report
Host institution and exact dates of semester abroad
Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South-Korea – semester from 1st of
September – 19th of December 2014.
Contact with home faculty, preparation and journey
Contact with home faculty by e-mail. No real assistance during the preparation,
nor during the journey in Korea.
Residence abroad
Student visa has to be arranged at the Korean Embassy in the Hague, price is
about €70,-. When arrived in Korea the university took care of the alien
registration card. The price of this card is €25,- and after approximately 3 weeks
you will receive it (without this card you cannot re-enter the country!!). For the
vaccinations I went to Meditel, they provided me with the necessary
vaccinations. I departed at the 29th of August from Amsterdam and arrived in
Korea at the 30th of August, the University arranged transportation from the
airport to the University. The University arranges accommodation, there are 2
types of apartments: apartments for 2 persons and apartments for 6 persons, in
both cases a room is shared by 2 people. Both apartments contain 1 shower,
whereas the 2 persons apartment contains 1 toilet and the 6 persons apartment
contains 2 toilets. The University and its faculties organize a lot of activities for
their students to attain. The main language (even in the internationals building)
is Korean. Some information is written in Chinese and English but not
everything.
Grant
The grant is about €1000,-, which mainly covers the flight ticket which is around
€700,-. The University subsidized our housing and cafeteria food, which made
living quite cheap. Also restaurants nearby the campus offered food under €5,-.
Public transport (taxis and busses) is very cheap compared to the Netherlands.
Study (general)
My international supervisor arranged the introduction very well. We had a
meeting fairly quickly after our arrival which explained everything concerning
the housing, cafeteria, studies and alien registration card. The semester started
on the 1st of September and ended with a final exam week of which the last date
was the 19th of December. In the middle of the semester there was a week of
midterms. Courses were either given on Monday-Wednesday-Friday or TuesdayThursday. The International Office abroad arranged everything very well and
was very helpful when needed. I took 3 business courses (strategic management,
principles of management and e-commerce) and 2 free electives (Korean
language and typology and Korean society).
Summary impression of the study period abroad
I really enjoyed my time at the Chonnam National University in Korea. Though,
people should reckon with the cultural differences between the Netherlands and
Korea. The country is really safe and foreigners are warmly welcomed, but the
English language of the society (especially outside of Seoul) is really bad, which
makes communication in some situations hard.
Specific report
Host institution and study period
Chonnam National University, Gwangju, South Korea, 1st of September 2014 –
19th of September 2014.
Lectures and literature
My studies consisted of 5 courses during the semester in Korea. For these 5
courses I had a total number of 13 lectures every week. Every course had their
own literature list, in some cases not all literature is compulsory, teachers will
provide you with information about this during the first week.
Overview of lecture program
The timetable of CNU is as follows:
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
9 – 9:50
9 – 10:15
9 – 9:50
9 – 10:15
9 – 9:50
10 – 10:50
10:30 – 11:45
10 – 10:50
10:30 – 11:45
10 – 10:50
11 – 11:50
12 – 13:15
11 – 11:50
12 – 13:15
11 – 11:50
12 – 12:50
13:30 – 14:45
12 – 12:50
13:30 – 14:45
12 – 12:50
13 – 13:50
15 – 16:15
13 – 13:50
15 – 16:15
13 – 13:50
14 – 14:50
16:30 – 17:45
14 – 14:50
16:30 – 17:45
14 – 14:50
15 – 15:50
15 – 15:50
15 – 15:50
16 – 16:50
16 – 16:50
16 – 16:50
17 – 17:50
17 – 17:50
17 – 17:50
Most of the courses are scheduled on either Monday, Wednesday and Friday (1
hour each day) or Tuesday and Thursday (also 1 hour each day).
Contents
My courses
Strategic Management: this course is about the strategies managers use to reach
the major goals and initiatives taken by the company’s CEO. The course will
present us different kinds of strategies and the advantages and disadvantages of
the strategies.
Principles of Management: this course presents us with the guidelines for the
decisions and actions of managers.
Electronic Commerce: this course is about the trade of products/services by
using computer networks, for example the Internet.
Korean Language and Linguistic Typology: this course explains the Korean
language, the pronunciation, the history, how to write it, and some basic Korean
language.
Understanding Korean Society: this course is about the differences between
societies. A lot of different societies will be compared to the Korean society.
Lecture-related activities
Each course has its own type and amount of assignments. But most of these
assignments are cases analyses, articles and presentations. For Strategic
Management multiple articles have to be summarized, which you might need to
present (random selection). For Principles of Management and E-Commerce you
have one or more case analyses every week, besides these case analyses there is
for both courses one big project which you have to present at the end of the
semester. Korean Language and Linguistic Typology doesn't have homework,
everything happens during classes. For Korean Society articles have to be read
every week, besides these articles every student has t give 2 presentations: 1
individual and 1 group. For both presentations you can choose a topic yourself,
but in both presentations you have to make a comparison between your home
country and Korea.
Relevance to Groningen study program
It is compulsory to choose at least 3 business/economics courses. In my case I
choose 3 business courses and 2 free electives. Two of the business courses were
somewhat comparable to courses followed in Groningen, but during the classes
their main view was Asia and different theories were used which made the
course a bit different from the comparable courses followed in Groningen.
Study load
Strategic Management:
Lecture: 2,5 hours a week
Self-study: varies per week
Principles of Management:
Lecture: 2,5 hours a week
Self-study: 3-6 hours a week
Electronic Commerce:
Lecture: 2,5 hours a week
Self-study: 3-6 hours a week
Korean Language and Linguistic Typology:
Lecture: 2,5 hours a week
Self-study: none
Understanding Korean Society:
Lecture: 2,5 hours a week
Self-study: 2 hours a week (but varies per week)
Assessment in Groningen
Strategic Management: 6 EC
Principles of Management: 6 EC
Electronic Commerce: 6 EC
Korean Language and Linguistic Typology: 6 EC
Understanding Korean Society: 6 EC