STUDENT REPORT
Name of the University: Yonsei University
Exchange semester: Fall 2012
I GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Yonsei University has a beautiful campus, and it has a great location in Seoul. You can get basically anything you need in Campus or down in Sinchon, which is about a 10-15 minute walk away. There are more than 20.000 students enrolled at Yonsei University, and the university has around 5-600 exchange students. The educational system is a bit different from home. In most courses you are evaluated based attendance, homework, presentations,
Midterm exams and final exams. Sometimes you may feel a bit overwhelmed by the workload, but the benefit of it is that you do not feel the same pressure for the final exams.
One thing I really appreciated about this educational system was that for each class you had at least one group presentation. Although it was quite nerve-wrecking at first, the presentations were great practice in speaking in front of a crowd.
I. PRACTICAL INFORMATION
Before leaving Norway
I received information from the university about three months before I left Norway. Signing up for housing online was pretty straightforward but be aware that the course registration is a bit more tricky. I will get back to that later on in this report.
Applying for a visa
I applied for a visa through South Korea's embassy in Oslo. The application cost 300NOK and took about 10 days to process. You could go pick up the passport yourself or have it mailed. The embassy will be very helpful if you have any questions concerning the application.
Travel

I traveled from Oslo to Moscow to Seoul. I would recommend flying this route instead of
Shanghai if you can. It means less paperwork for you, and good assistance in English at the airport in Moscow telling you where to go and what to do.
Housing
If you wished, you could apply for on-campus housing. There were different alternatives, and you could choose whether to share a dorm or to have a room yourself. Living on campus was very convenient, with everything a maximum 10 minute walk away. Also, it was a great way to meet people, as you only needed to leave your room to be amongst many other international students. I chose to stay on campus. If you wish to live off campus, Sinchon is the area within walking distance of the school, and costs are supposedly somewhat similar to the costs of living on campus.
Costs
Rent: 2200NOK when staying in the dorms.
Books: 400NOK in total. Some of the professors will provide you with all necessary materials either in class or online, while some classes will require you to buy for example a collection of articles. In my case, I only had to buy two books.
Food: This one is a little tricky to estimate. On campus, we had a kitchen downstairs where you could cook your own food. You also have a Grand Mart grocery store down in Sinchon, where you can get everything you need. However, I found it easier to just eat out with friends.
You can get a dinner for everything from 25kr and up. I would say I spent approximately
2500NOK each month on food. Eating foods such as Korean Barbeque, Italian food and sushi often will increase the costs.
Transport: The subway system in Seoul is impressive. On top of that, buses will take you anywhere you need to go. The bus and subway fare starts at around 6 NOK, while Taxis have a start fare of around 13 NOK.
Other: for entertainment such as going to the movies, going out, going to cafés and going shopping I assume the costs were about 2500 NOK
Culture and language at university
Most English speaking teachers were fluent in English, and the same goes for fellow students taking classes taught in English. Information desks and staff spoke English. The great thing

about Yonsei is that you were able to choose your own schedule, as many of the classes were offered at different days and hours. I managed to get every Friday off, giving me the opportunity to go on long weekend trips and explore all that Seoul had to offer.
Cultural and social effects from the exchange experience
Going on exchange truly is a unique opportunity to experience a different culture first-hand, and it has most definitely widened my horizons. I have made friends from all over the world, which may also be a very useful network to have for my future career. The experience has helped me become more confident in unfamiliar settings and it has opened my eyes to career opportunities that exist beyond the Norwegian border.
II. ABOUT THE SCHOOL
Yonsei University has an impressive campus, with a very high-tech library, great buildings and a beautiful scenery. There is a mountain behind the school that is great for hiking and that has a great view of the city. The different faculties are divided up in separate buildings spread all over campus. At school, there are about 30.000 students, with 5-600 exchange students.
The courses are structured in a way that acquires you to work throughout the semester. There are many hand-ins and group projects, and there are midterm-exams. You will have at least one oral presentation in every class, which is good, practice for those not used to speak up in class. Also, the teachers value and encourage class participation.
Course registration
-The course registration may be somewhat of a challenge for you. With 3-5 spots open to exchange students in each class and a "first come, first served" policy, clicking all the courses you need when the database opens for course registration and actually getting them was almost impossible. Thankfully, there were 3 course add/drop periods in total. If you are unable to sign up for the courses you need, email the faculty the course belongs to. They helped place me in all the business courses I needed to take, despite the fact that the seats available for exchange students were, in fact, taken.
Academic calendar
Arrival date: August 23rd

First day of the semester: September 3rd
Last day of classes: December 20th
Examination period: December 10th - 19th
Any special events/holidays: Chuseouk
Arrival
- Was the administration and faculty well prepared for your arrival?
You are pretty much need to find the university and the dorms yourself. Just ask someone if you are lost. Be aware that a lot of people do not speak English. When you arrive at the dorms you just fill out some forms, and you can go find your room.
- Did the school’s students participate in the reception of the exchange students?
You get a mentor and a Cell group. The group consists of 2-3 mentors (Korean students), and
10-15 international exchange students. We had a dinner together a few days after arrival. You also have a Cell meeting about once a month.
- Describe the introduction week?
August 23: Arrival.
August 24: Academic Orientation (General information).
August 26: Voluntary Palace Tour. (Free)
August 27: More general information.
August 28 and 29: Voluntary City Tour. (Small fee)
The International Office
There is an international office for students located on campus, and all the material you need is provided in English.
As an exchange student, did you receive sufficient and relevant information? In English?
Yes. Good communication, mostly done by email. Koreans are, in general, very helpful. If you want help with anything they are happy to help.
Promoting BI and Norway

What kind of activities were you involved in promoting exchange to Norway at your exchange university?
No specific activities, just talking about Norway in general.
Social activities
How was your relationship with native students?
It is easy to get to know native students in class. Most professors put you in group with
Korean students so that you can experience working with them on projects. The relationship with them was always good.
How was the relationship among the exchange students?
Living in the dorm you are surrounded by exchange students. You will end up getting friends from all over the world. In many cases you still end up with more friends from European countries than other places. Often you end up going out for dinner with big groups of people from many different countries. Most exchange students are really open, and they’re to meet new people.
Is there a student organization, and if so, are the exchange students a part of it?
There are lots of student organizations and activities you can join. Most of these are unfortunately in Korean.
Are there any special activities and gatherings for exchange students?
The Cell groups were supposed to meet once a month, but we only met once. So there were not many official gathering for the exchange students.
III. ACADEMICS
Other:
Exams
- Was the exam based on the course materials or on the lectures?
It depends on the course. Some were based purely on lectures, others almost entirely of course materials.
- How was the course evaluated (include all that apply)?
Attendance (showing up and participating in class), handing in book reviews, article case solving, group presentation, midterm, final exams.

o Final exam (include form: written, oral, home assignment, presentation, etc.)
It depends on the course. Term project presentation, written 1-2 hours exam, hand-ins. It can be more than one of the mentioned. Written exam can include solving a case, multiple choice, short answer questions, and essay questions. o Mid-term exam
Most courses got some sort of mid-term exam. Mid-term can include writing a big paper, book review, multiple choices test, or a presentation. o Small assignments and/or papers
Most course have articles you need to read and write executive reviews for. I was not used to do this from studying at BI. In most courses you get them back graded from 1 to 10 or similar.
It is not hard to get a good grade on these, as long as you get the main points right. o Presentations
Get used to the idea of presenting you material for your class. We thought this was a very good experience. You can expect 1-2 presentations for every course. o Group work
Group work with people from other cultures than you was different from doing it back in
Norway. Koreans are very structured and they always prepare for group meetings. Most of them are over in 1-2 hour depending on the size of the task. You then have to do your part and be ready to present it. Always participate actively, the Professors usually figures out who slacked from the other members. o Class attendance
All incoming Exchange students are expected to attend all classes. They check attendance.
Bad attendance shows on your grade. You have 3 hours of class every week, in every course. o Class participation/debates
You get a better grade if you participate in class. You can also discuss online on the class page.

o Activities outside of the classroom
Most school related activities happen in the classroom. We only had one case competition outside the classroom in our Product and Service Innovation class.
Description of courses
BIZ3138-01 Business Negotiations:
Bachelor
Exam form:
- Negotiation Simulation Participation & Discussion
Case Write-up & Discussion (50% of your grade)
- A Reference Book Review (10% of your grade)
- Team Presentation on a Reference Book (10% of your grade)
- Final Written Exam (30% of your grade)
Prerequisites : None
Elective
Comments: This course is mainly based Negotiation Simulations. You get Harvard Business
Case articles you have to read before or in class, and then you get some time to prepare before you negotiate. In the end of the class you have to hand in what you could agree on.
Then the professor lets you know what happened in real life, or what could be done.
- BIZ3134 International Management
Bachelor
Exam form:
1.
Final exam 25 pts
2.
Term project 20 pts
3.
Article presentation 20 pts
4.
Summary report on HBR articles 20 pts
5.
Book review 15 pts
6.
Attendance, online & class participation 10 pts
Total: 110 pts
Prerequisites : None.
Elective

Comments : Very good professor with international experience.
- BIZ3147 Strategic Management
Bachelor
•
•
•
•
Exam form:
•
In-class quiz: 10%(Test day will be announced later)
Final exam: 40%
Textbook Case reports: 15%
Final Group Report: 25%
Class attendance and participations: 10%
Prerequisites: None.
Mandatory instead of STR 3600 Strategy.
Comments: The course starts off really basic, with simple cases and questions. There is a lot of theory, but most of it very easy to understand. We had two textbook case reports. With a group of 8 people it is not much work. Also have a bigger final group report, but it does not take much work either since the group is so big.
- BIZ3182 Product and Service Innovation
Bachelor
Exam form:
1.
Case, Class and Wiki Discussion/Contribution 30%
2.
Eight Individual Written Case Reports
40% (5% each)
3.
Term Project
30%
4.
Homework and In-class Exercises 10%
Prerequisites: None.
Mandatory instead of MRK 3621 Tjenestemarkedsføring
Comments: Very interesting course. The term project was very challenging. You have to find a problem, which is worth solving. Then you and your group need to figure out how to solve it. This was a lot harder than expected.
- IEE3317 Communication Media in Korea
Bachelor
Exam form:


Midterm 30%

Group project 30%

Final 30%

Class Participation
Prerequisites: None.
Elective
Comments: You learn about the censoring of the Korean media, and a lot of history.
Midterm and Finals is big home assignments. Expect to write 15-20 pages. Group project is a one hour presentation with 6-8 other students.
Library and technology
The main library/Samsun library is easily accessible on campus. It is very modern and hightech, with open reading areas, group rooms and quite study rooms. Note that all rooms and seats need to be booked through a computer in the library. If you don't book a group room in advance, for example, it's almost guaranteed to be taken when you get there. There are also reading areas in every faculty building, but I would recommend the main library. There are computers in the library. For some reason, though, I could not log into any of these with my student ID number. I don't know if this applied to all exchange students, but I am sure someone could fix this for you if necessary. There are quite study rooms where you are allowed to bring your own computer.
Any other experiences/comments about your exchange experience?:
As an exchange student you meet so many great people, both local and foreign. You seem to make friends anywhere you turn. Everyone is so open and friendly, and it is very common to be invited to join a group of people for dinner whom you have only been talking to for 10 minutes. 70% of Korea consists of mountains, and the hiking opportunities were great. You simply cannot go to Korea without going hiking. The scenery will take your breath away.
Bukhansan National Park was 1 hour away by subway, and Seoraksan was a 2,5 hour bus ride away. Busan is a beautiful city on the South Coast, a 4,5 hour bus ride away. You will spend weeks and weeks exploring Seoul. The city is enormous, and various and attractions, Korean barbeques and Noori bangs will keep you busy. If you are ever lost, the Koreans are extremely friendly and will try their best to help you out despite of language barriers. I cannot count the times locals have literally walked me to the places I needed to get to. Seoul will

entertain you night and day. To quote a friend; “People say New York is the city that never sleeps, but that is not true. Seoul is the city that never sleeps”.