VSUES Students Attend Winter School in Sungkyunkwan University: Language Practice and International Experience

11 февраля 2019 Students’ life

VSUES students returned from a Winter School held in the Republic of Korea. For almost two weeks they studied Korean language, got acquainted with the history and culture of “The Land of Morning Calm”. These are students of almost all VSUES schools of and two colleges - 43 people in total.

The close and long-standing cooperation of the VSUES with the universities of the Republic of Korea and the Korea Tourism Organization made it possible to receive a grant to study at the oldest university in the country, Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul. The educational School lasted from January 20, 2019 to February 1, 2019. In the first part of the day the students studied Korean language, and in the second they attended sights, workshops, seminars, and interacted with other international students.

Five VSUES students told us about their impressions, the most memorable places in Seoul, and how useful this experience was.

Sergey Dyukov, 2nd year student majoring in Hotel Management:

- I arrived with a zero level of Korean. For such a short period, we tried to learn an educational program planned for an entire semester. I managed to learn basic phrases and simple sentences in Korean, I also have improved the level of my English. At the same time there were students from other Russian universities.

Overseas travelling - expands the horizons, makes you more independent. In my field of study, hotel management, the knowledge of Asian languages is a big advantage. Initially, there was a desire to learn only Chinese, now I am thinking about further improving of Korean.

Unforgettable impressions remained from visiting the Gyeongbokgung Palace. I also liked the modern architecture of Seoul. Yes, a lot of concrete and glass, but at the same time, many parks, squares, alleys.

Anna Ten, 3-year student majoring in Economics and International Busines:

- We lived in dorms: there was a dorm for boys, another one girls, and one for our supervisors, all in different dorms. Dormitories are located outside of the campus, so every day we were taken to the classes by bus. Living conditions are very pleasant: everything was for a comfortable life.

We had buddies among students of Sungkyunkwan University and our supervisor from VSUES — Olga Bogova, a Senior officer of the International Academic Mobility Department, and Vitalina Udod, officer of the Youth Policy Department.

Nyurguyaana Ignatieva, 4th year student majoring in Financial Management:

- We are very grateful to our university for such an opportunity to study at the oldest and most prestigious university in the Republic of Korea. We had only flight, return transfer and personal expenses, the rest - tuition, accommodation, cultural program at the expense of the receiving university. Indeed, for a student this is a great opportunity to learn the language, to meet people from other countries, to learn culture.

Alexandra Syromyatnikova, 1st year student majoring in International Relations:

- At first, it was hard for me to study Korean because I had chosen higher level than mine - the third of six possible. The girls from our group helped me to get into it.

Most memorable was SMTOWN Coexartium tour. If you are a K-pop fan, then this place is a must-see. There is a museum, a thematic cafe, you can watch a holographic musical.

Anna Sheikhot, 1st year student of the Merchandise and Expertise in Customs Activities School:

- There were students from China and Taiwan in my Korean class as well as Russian students. We talked a lot, learned the language in a playful manner. Our teacher was Korean, she explained very well and really everything was clear.

Among all the cultural activities we had an opportunity to take part in I liked the make-up class the most. The beauty industry in Korea is on top for the past few years. We were told about the latest trends, but also shown how to do make-up. And also we received beauty boxes with cosmetics samples during the workshop.

Information:
Sunggungkwan University (Seoul) is one of the leading and oldest universities in the Republic of Korea. Its story begins in 1398. It is in the top 200 in the world ranking on the quality of teaching. Thanks to many years of financial support from the world-famous company Samsung, the university is a leader in the field of higher education reform.