So this is a long overdue post but thought i’d make one for people who’d be interested to read if they’re going Korea for exchange! This post is going to contain some Sogang stuff as well. When I was preparing I had such a lack of information when I google, the bulk of the info was from friends or discovered when they happened, so I decided to write a rough one for people seeking info. Warning: very lengthy post ahead!!
This post is only relevant when you’ve received confirmation from your university (btw congrats if you’ve already received!!! Yay you’re going Korea on exchange!!!) so this will NOT include the health checkup, filling up Sogang’s application form etc your school will assist you pretty closely on this part. So without further ado, some important things you need to prepare before exchange~
1. Flight ticket and visa
I got my flight ticket wayyyy before i got a confirmation from Sogang because I’m quite kanchiong and there was a promotion hahaha. I got myself a round ticket for $820 from STA which to me is quite a steal considering I’m flying Singapore Airlines. You could get a single trip too but I think it wasn’t much cheaper, and it was more worth t getting the round trip ticket and paying a little more to change the return flight afterwards. Granted, you must decide on your return date earlier (2 months prior) because the admin fees get a lot more expensive the harder it is to get a flight. Minimum admin fee was quoted to be $75. I have 30kg baggage allowance and 7kg handcarry. Yay. Don’t scrimp too much on flight because you’re gonna have lots of baggage.
Now coming to visa. The troublesome part. First of all, which visa to get? There are two types of visa for exchange students, single entry and multiple entry. The trick is that when you enter Korea, you need to apply for a compulsory ARC (Alien Registration Card, ikr we are aliens basically). Mine is due to be arranged by Sogang so I don’t have to worry. The ARC should be done by around April, about a month’s time period, and with that ARC you can leave and enter Korea multiple times no matter what visa you have. So if you’re not planning to leave Korea and then return in that one month period while your ARC is being made, get the single visa. Single visa is about $76 and multiple is about $110ish if I’m not wrong. You can play safe and get multiple entry if you’re worried but I think it’s money well saved, if you’re not planning to leave Korea in that time.
Things you need to bring for visa application? Gawd I was so annoyed because I had to return and come back despite being prepared and researching about people’s experiences. So on top of what you can find on other’s blogs, take my list into consideration and play safe on this part. The first 10 are what was given to me, the next 2 are the additional things I had to bring.
1. Passport, valid for at least 6 months
2. Birth certificate
3. Visa Application form (download at their website)
4. One color passport-sized photograph taken within the last 6 months
5. Certificate of Admission issued by Partner University
6. Acceptance letter issued by Partner University
7. Certification letter issued by home university
8. Documentary proof of financial support of yourself (bank statements, salary slips etc)
9. Letter from Financial Sponsor stating/confirming support (if any)
10. Census registry (only for Mainland Chinese)
11. IC and photocopy of IC
12. Re-entry permit
Because I was not Singaporean I had to have IC etc and i didn’t bring it for some stupid reason on that day, so I had to return again. And I printed by re-entry permit just in case and thank god i did because they asked for it. If you’re not Singaporean take note of these additional details.
For me, they didn’t need the birth certificate and proof of financial support (note that this could ONLY be for Sogang, because in Sogang’s form you could indicate how you’re financially supported and the form was signed by Sogang, thus it was enough proof that I had financial support. I noticed Yonsei didn’t have this). My friend from Yonsei got her bank statements stamped by the bank to verify. For those getting financial support elsewhere unfortunately i’m not sure how the letter from financial sponsor would be like.
The staff there are not very pleasant as expected from a lot of embassy staff, so please prepare very very well. They’re not kind on the unprepared at all. I didn’t bring photocopies of the acceptance letters etc for example and they are NOT going to help you do it. They have a photocopier there but no paper stocked up when I was there and they’re NOT willing to give you paper. Very reluctant, if they have to, or else they’ll ask you to recycle whatever papers you have on hand. In my case, the photocopy of my birth certificate which they didn’t need – they asked me to use that to photocopy my other stuff. Also paste the photograph on your application form I just pinned it there and they weren’t happy LOL.
They also wait for your queue number for about 3 seconds and skip you if they don’t see you getting up. Which is mean because they put a TV there and that makes it distracting. I got passed over once and had to prowl near the counter the second time i took a number, and leap up dramatically the moment it’s my call.
Overall, not a pleasant experience but i’m at fault too anyway for not preparing properly.
So after you’ve finally succeeded (congrats!! i hope you made it 1st try) they’ll issue you this slip of paper for you to collect your passport. It took 3 working days for mine.
2. Insurance
Ah insurance, another headache. STA had a student assist insurance for $310ish for 6 months ,which is quite okay but the downside is that they don’t include illness medical expenses. They only include accidental medical expenses which is self-explanatory. Stomach flu, food poisoning and the likes, are all under illness medical expenses so they are NOT covered. Medication from doctors etc NOT covered. Take note!! It is only covered when you get Plan B I think, which is a lot more expensive than basic Plan A.
The cheapest so far is from Direct Asia at $270+ but I’ve heard about difficulty of claiming so I didn’t get that.
In the end i got myself the MSIG basic plan which includes illnesses etc and it cost me $319.50 for a coverage of 5 months. They have some of the best coverage out there for travel, in terms of variety and also amount claimable, and i heard they are easier to claim from. Of course it’s more pricey than the rest. 6 months insurance from MSIG was quoted $380 i think. I may have to extend but for now I doubt I’ll be staying more than 5 months.
3. Sogang related!
this part is all about Sogang so skip if you aren’t going Sogang~~
The letter from Sogang came rather late. I received nothing since the first letter regarding acceptance into Sogang, in fact the next email was chasing us for insurance. It was written in the acceptance pack that we need to submit insurance evidence but at that point we had no idea how we were supposed to do it.
The official email arrived on 10th January which was slightly less than 2 months before the semester starts. The email attached a pre-departure handbook and a guide for incoming students. At this point they will also invite you to join the Facebook page which is very helpful and the best way to ask for help or stalk the other students from other universities!!! The guide is very comprehensive and should answer all your enquiries.
Course registration for Sogang began on 21st January and it was super hectic. Take note that the modules you’ve mapped based on last year’s courses are but a LOOSE guide because a lot of modules were removed for my semester which means re-planning. Courses for the semester started to be released and confirmed a few days prior to the registration day, so make sure you set aside ample time for re-planning. Course registration are based on the fastest fingers first lol so i was camping on my IE (yes they only do internet explorer sigh) at 10am.
Sogang is very very helpful with this and the staff on facebook are cute with their replies. Could feel the concern and sincerity from them so I’m super pleased I’m in Sogang.
After registering courses they will prompt you to register for Korean classes, which is every Monday Tuesday and Thursday. Yep i doubt you can expect to have many free days for Sogang, since regular classes are also twice a week and mostly mondays/wednesdays/fridays combinations and tues and thurs you have Korean so alkjghlaksjdhglka. You could choose not to take Korean though. About $350 deposit required for Korean classes, it will be returnd if you have 80% attendance and you pass. Placement test will be conducted if you’ve learned before. Also you will sign up for other things like your buddy if you need one, airport pickup, etc. They ask you if your personality is outgoing or reserved in the buddy form I WAS SO CONFUSED I HAD A PERSONALITY DILEMMA. And also your interests hahaha.
4. Accommodation
If you’re planning to travel before you’re allowed to check in to the Sogang dorm, accommodation is going to be very tiring. Now I’m travelling with Zenn from Yonsei so we were looking for a hostel near those Yonsei and Sogang. We raided airbnb, hostelworld, hostelbookers and finally narrowed down to two choices. Here are some things you can consider when looking for accomms:
- Location. Hongdae is a good young-people hangout place that’s relatively close to Sogang and Yonsei. Sinchon is even nearer, but you get less of the excitement in Hongdae (I think? I’ll find out soon) Find those that takes 5 min walk from Hongik Univ station if possible. We got the 10 min walk one though, but mostly because other factors were taken into consideration.
- Price. Depending on your budget~ Zenn had a budget so we searched for below $20 per night, since it was only a couple of nights.
- BATHROOM i kid you not this was important to me. It was the deciding factor for me because the other option, Sinchon Kimchee Guesthouse, had cubicle style bathrooms which i generally dislike.
- Reviews. There are bound to be good reviews but trust the bad ones over the good ones. If there are no bad ones, take the chance, they could actually be that good.
- Rooms. The bf forbid me to go for mixed dorms so i tried for 6-room female dorms.
- Facilities. Some of them don’t have heaters and some hostel sites don’t state heaters, they just state air-conditioners. Read the description of the hostels, if they have heaters they will say they have heaters. If they don’t, don’t bet on it, you don’t wanna freeze to death. Washing machines and dryers are some things to consider as well.
- You get what you pay for. Don’t expect too much paying $16 per night!
Taking all of these into consideration, we picked Mamas & Papas Hongdae Guesthouse. I made the booking via hostelworld which was the cheapest rate for this guesthouse. Remember to compare across all platforms, they tend to differ and even though hostelbookers is generally cheaper for a lot of hostels, hostelworld was cheaper for Mamas & Papas. Research research research.
Granted, Mamas & Papas was not the best ever choice because it gets noisy and it’s small and reviews are also rather mixed. But we decided on this as it seems more cosy and is as good as you can expect for $16/night, so let’s see how it really turns out!
Book in advance because it gets bothersome if some dorms are not available on one or two random dates in your entire 10 days stay.
For those with more budget, you can get decent single or double rooms for $20-$30 in the same guesthouses with bunk beds. Sinchon for example had double rooms for $23/night which is super great given the bathroom is ensuite. I think that if you’re staying single or double rooms you can be assured it will be comfy and private, just look out for other factors like location price etc. I’d think it’s more worth it to get double / single rooms in guesthouses than in a private apartment because essentially you still have your own room so why get an apartment? Esp if you’re traveling with a friend, a double room in a guesthouse is sweet. That’s just me though.
Then again, i’m prolly hypocritical when the BF comes along in May I’m looking out for apartment style LOL. You can find a decent, small studio apartment on BnB for $50ish per night (exclusing booking fee – oh yeah hostelworld and hostelbookers have no booking fees \O/). Airbnb does this per person thing so make sure when you are choosing options, state the number of people and they will help you calculate automatically if there are extra fees, and just give you the total cost. On some days it could be cheaper rate too but they don’t break it down for you on Airbnb. Hostelworld and hostelbookers do. So anyway back to extra charge… e.g. an apartment was quoted $50 per night when you selected 1 person. If you see they state $13 extra charge per person, it means the rate for 2 people will be $63/night. You’ll see the rate automatically re-calculated when you change the selection to 2 people. They also have the maximum number of people they can accommodate.
I’ve been prowling around and dammit the family apartments look sooooooo cosy i could cry. They are designed so prettily with so much space in the house creycrey
Oh yes before I forget, goshiwons! These are one-room accommodations that’s basically like your own dorm for only $18ish.
Goshiwons are typically for students and was actually created for students who can’t find dorm space in their universities. So these goshiwons are very near our universities. But heard from Zenn and her Korean friends that goshiwons are sometimes shady and info is very limited so we decided not to. But if you must, try goshipages. One problem is that you need to call and speak in Korean, I sent a message in English because it wrote that messages in English are okay, but no reply.
I’m probably gonna try a goshiwon for the extra month I’m staying in Korea though, so you can expect a review of that!
SO yeah. That’s about it for accomms.
5. Moneyyyy
okay so i’m not settled on this part yet so i have no right to really be blogging about it but anyway. Plan is to change a thousand or two to settle accomms and expenses for the first 10 days, once i move in to Sogang I’ll open the bank account and TT the money to the Korean bank. Which is really quite sucky actually, transferring online is a sucky rate so as much as I can, my parents enourage me to bring cash that I change over here and deposit there.
Citibank is the only bank Korea will accept, so if you don’t have an account there probably you’ll need to open one in Korea.
6. Clothes
Nope not really that important but just the vain part of me speaking
Do you know Korea has those kind of fleece leggings that are really warm but don’t look thick. Some even look translucent. Zenn brought me hers and it was actually like an inch thick and lined with fleece despite how it looks. E.g. this one here from qoo10:
Get your main coats in Singapore in January period where they start putting winter stuff on sale, because they’re not much cheaper in Korea. But thermal wear don’t get too many because Singapore winter wear retailers especially are quite rip-offs and may not be the best solution. Trust the locals who lived in winter seasons to come up with cheaper, more efficient winter essentials! Especially essentials where you don’t compete on fashion but more on efficiency. Trust locals! And leggings > jeans anytime i always froze my ass in jeans but these leggings are so warm. Also sweaters are affordable along Edae area in Korea so be patient and wait for it, they’ve got stuff as cheap as 5000 won!
I got my thermal leggings a bit expensive from Uniqlo (no time to order from qoo10 and hope it can arrive on time) but you can bet i’d get those sneaky fleece leggings and jeggings in Korea. I have finally uncovered the secret behind those japanese and korean girls prancing around in thin looking leggings and i was always judgin and thinking ‘pfft it’s ok they must be freezing to look that good’ WHEN I’M THE ONE FREEZING IN MY AUTHENTIC EXPENSIVE JEANS DAMMIT
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That’s about it so far! Feel free to ask me about anything~
I also have some things to rant about my packing list and my expense excel sheet HAHAHA but that will be a separate day for another post. Right now i’ve got some frequent Topik vocabulary list to memorize so i won’t screw up in Korea LOL ciao!
darmawanders 