Do I Need to Know Korean to Study Abroad in Korea?

Today’s blog post is a general post about Korea, and the title says it all: do you need to know Korean in order to study abroad in Korea?

The answer is no.

...And that’s all to it for this post, everyone! Thanks for reading!

Just kidding. There’s more, so please keep reading, okay? I promise there are some good stuff in this post.

Like I said, you don’t need to know Korean in order to study abroad at Ewha, Yonsei, Korea, etc., so, if you want to study abroad there without any knowledge in the language then that’s fine; HOWEVER, I highly, highly, HIGHLY recommend you at least take an intro course or know SOME basic Korean words to get by. Not only will it make it easier for Koreans to understand you, but it will also be easier for you to get around.

My recommendation is, before the semester you go, try to take up the intro course if your university has it. If you can’t afford that then try to learn on your own (though it may be harder that way, but it’s not impossible). If you want, you can definitely pick it up when you get to Korea as well and start taking classes at your university. For those learning alone, please learn cheondaemal (존댓말) first instead of banmal (반말). I’m not saying to not learn banmal at all because it’s kind of impossible to not learn it when you are speaking with close friends, but at least study cheondaemal before banmal. For those who might not know the difference or what these two words mean, an easy definition of it is “the way you speak to others/how you speak to others”. Cheondaemal is formal speaking while banmal is informal/casual speaking.

If you’re a k-drama watcher (I admit I’m not), a lot of banmal is being used between friends and people who are of close age. When they speak to those of higher class or who are older, they speak in cheondaemal. It might be hard to distinguish the two if you don’t have any knowledge of Korean, but trust me when I say that it’s there.

Now, I’m not telling you to go full blown formal and start using speech patterns you’ll find during the Korean news  - that’s not what I’m saying at all. But you shouldn’t go around speaking informally to people you just met and those who are older than you. It’s rude. And it makes a bad first impression. Also, don’t go mixing banmal and cheondaemal either.

When I was studying abroad at Ewha, my Ewha buddy and I were about the same age but because I didn’t know her that well, I addressed her politely using cheondaemal in my speaking and in writing when I was texting her through Kakao. When we did get to know each other better, I continued speaking formally to her, but she was actually the one who brought up speaking banmal.

“말 편하게 할까요? 지금부터 말 놓아요. 괜찮아요?” (Shall we speak banmal now? From now on, let’s speak comfortably, okay?)

She said something along those lines, and I was more than happy to oblige.

Long story short, you don’t need to know Korean, but I recommend you know the basics to get by.

Hopefully this post didn’t come off as nagging or ranting - that’s not my intended purpose. I just want all of you to adjust well when you arrive to Korea!

Best of luck!

What You Need In Order to Apply to Ewha

You wanna go to Ewha. You’ve decided to go during your [college standing] in college. The year has come. You’ve applied to Ewha through your university and got accepted! YEAH! You wait for Ewha to contact you and when they do, you - wait a minute - there’s another application? What? Now what do I do?

First, you breathe and relax!

Yes, there’s usually two rounds of applications; one through your university and another round for the actual university you’re wanting to apply to. That’s just how it is. But don’t fret! It doesn’t mean you weren’t accepted the first time; the second round of application is more for Ewha’s benefit. I don’t know much of what goes on, but all you need to do is fill out the paper work and submit it to them. You’ll be in soon enough! I’ll list the things you’re going to need to get your hands on in order to finish this set of application successfully (though, I admit it’s pretty self-explanatory on what you need to do so I guess this is more for future Ewhaians).

The application will be online only and you’ll need these following items to make things go smoothly, so sit down and take notes!

1. One 3x4 Photo of Yourself

It can be any JPG photo from chest up. This will ultimately be your student ID when you arrive at Ewha, so choose your photo wisely! Your background needs to be of neutral color and your face has to be seen clearly, of course. I’ll bring back this photo for your reference.

I’m actually very happy with Ewha. From what I’ve heard from my friends who went to Yonsei and Korea University, they TOOK their picture when they arrived and I’ve seen my friends’ student IDs. Let’s just say I’m glad Ewha allowed me to choose which photo to give to them to use as my student ID.

2. Official Academic Transcript

Once you request your official transcript from your university, you’ll then have to scan it and upload the document onto their online application. You can have this document be either in JPG or PDF.

3. Medical Clearance Form

Yes, you’ll need to get a TB test and have your physician sign off the document Ewha will provide for you. If you test positive for TB, you’ll have to get a mandatory x-ray of your chest and provide the necessary document to Ewha as well. TB tests shouldn’t be too expensive so if your a college student who doesn’t have insurance, it shouldn’t cut too deeply into your bank account (shots are another thing though).

4. Passport Photo Copy

It should only be the scanned file of the first bio page in jpg or pdf format. Please make sure your passport is up to date!

5. Statement of Purpose

This will actually be typed into their online application box, but just a heads up, it has to be about 1,000 characters. (Realize I said CHARACTERS and not WORDS.)

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Please also note that you can only upload these documents in English or Korean. They won’t accept paper-form documents, and all these documents must be prepared and uploaded before you can submit your online application to Ewha.

After the online application has been submitted and received, you then will be asked to submit an Overseas Health Insurance Certificate. This is to ensure the cover of your medical expenses in Korea if something were to happen to you while there (Ironic story: I almost got backed over by an ambulance when I was studying there. Crazy and definitely ironic.).

When all is good and you’re accepted, you will get your tuition & fee invoice when you actually arrive for your orientation! Pay that baby off and you are set for your semester at Ewha!

Best of luck to all future Ewhaians!

I believe in one of your posts, you mentioned the GKS Scholarship. Is there an application process before attending a Korean institution? Or is it more of a scholarship given by your host university? I would love to know because it is definitely hard to finance study abroad.

Hi Anon!

Great question about the GKS Scholarship! The only reason I found out about the GKS Scholarship was because the Office of International Affair (the office that helps you adjust to your new life in Korea as an exchange student) reached out to all students accepted into the program and mentioned this great opportunity. My university had no idea about this scholarship, so I was very fortunate enough to have the OIA email me about it.

The GKS Scholarship isn’t hosted by Ewha - it’s actually a scholarship from the Korean government. My theory, and I could be wrong, is that this scholarship is aimed for international students specifically in order to promote South Korea and their ability to take care of students like us who are studying abroad who decided to study in Korea. By being awarded this scholarship, the students will then return back to their university to speak of how well the Korean government had taken care of them by giving them this scholarship (I know I did). In a way, it’s their way of being able to take care of us while we’re there while at the same time having us be ambassadors for their country when we return home to speak of our experience.

A win-win situation for both parties.

My friend was also awarded this scholarship (she attended Yonsei University), but from what I heard, her application process was much different than my own experience. I was given an online application, two essay prompts, and a few short answers. I was told that there would be two rounds before finding out if you were a recipient of the scholarship so that put me on edge. For my friend though, she had none of that. She told me all she needed to do was submit her GPA at our university. My guess is that, unless the process changed from her to me (she did go in the fall while I attended in the spring), each university goes about it differently.

In terms of disbursement of the scholarship, my money came on time every time at the 5th of every month while I was there. As long as I submitted proof that I was in Korea, I was able to receive my money every month. My friend, on the other hand, barely got her money in on time as promised from Yonsei that eventually, they gave one big full payment at the end of her last month there.

I haven’t asked my friends who attended Korea University if they had the chance to apply for this, but maybe I should.

If you have more questions about GKS, I’ll do my best to answer them, but I hope this answered your question! Financing your study abroad is indeed difficult, but it’s not impossible! I hope that people see it is possible to study abroad - all you need is a little elbow grease because scholarship/grants don’t just walk right into your arms.

Hello! Can u tell how to apply for dormitory in Ewha? At the same time as for overall application for degree and lang courses or after it? Thank u;) i love ur blog, it is really helpful)

Hi Anon!

I actually just answered this question, but given my long absence, you probably thought I never got an ask for this and asked me. I’m sorry for the delay, but it has been answered now. The guild weighs heavily on me, but I can only move forward and be more mindful of this account (I’m planning to keep this one activated on my phone app from now on because of this sole reason).

In terms of degree and language courses, that has also been touched upon, but I’ll answer it once more briefly here. Depending on your major, certain classes may be restricted and not offered (business for example since that major and classes offered for it is very competitive even for Korean students). However, that doesn’t mean Ewha doesn’t offer any exciting courses because they do! I loved the courses that I took while I was there and learned a lot from the professors, too. You don’t get to pick your classes until you arrive in Korea and have had your Ewha orientation. You’ll be picking your own courses by yourself and over there full-time is 9 credits; however, just because that is their full-time student requirement, you need to abide your your original university guidelines for what makes a full-time student full-time. For my university, 12 credits is the minimum for being full-time, so I had to take 12 credits while at Ewha as opposed to their 9.

I’m really glad this blog is helpful for future Ewhaians and/or at another Korean university. This is the reason why I made this blog - to help future exchange students acclimate accordingly and not go into things blindly.

Hello! I wanted to ask can I apply for korean language courses and further bachelor's degree in Ewha? How do you apply for dormitory housing? Site says through email, you can just write in email "apply for dorm" and that is all? :D Thank you a lot!

Once again, I’m so sorry for not replying! I honestly have no idea how long these asks were in my inbox but I haven’t been receiving notifications on when people send me asks (this isn’t my main tumblr page after all). But I also realize that it’s not excuse to check out this page. Anon, please forgive my negligence! I will go ahead and answer this question.

So, I kind of briefly talked about Korean language courses in the last response, but I will talk about it more here! If you want to take some Korean language courses at Ewha, you definitely can! There is no requirement for international exchange students to take Korean at Ewha (or at Yonsei or Korea University). When you arrive for your orientation, you’ll be given the option to take an assessment exam to gauge your level of Korean competency. If you know nothing beyond “hello” and “thank you” in Korean and think you’ll come off as being stupid at the exam, don’t be! Regardless if that’s all you know or if you carry out a conversation, they want to see all your pretty faces! From bare minimum to at maximum capacity, they want to see you, so go for the assessment exam if you want to pursue the language!

As for furthering your bachelor’s degree, it depends on what degree you have. If you are a business or STEM majors, it might be a little hard to find classes for you not because Ewha doesn’t have any (because that’s not true at all). It’s simply because of the language the class will be taught. There might not be a lot of classes for STEM/business majors that will be conducted in English so finding them might be hard if you are in that field. So, when it comes down to it, it’s up to you to do the research beforehand to see if there are classes there will be taught in English and will be catered to your major.

And dorms! Applying for dorms shouldn’t be hard. If you are applying to Ewha through your university, when you are accepted, Ewha Office of International Affairs should reach out to you and give you your student ID. They will soon open up their application where you will fill out your information and apply for dorms by going through their portal. You can’t pick which dorm to stay at, but whichever dorm you do get placed in (there are three that are right next to each other), you’re in good hands! I was placed in the Graduate Dormitory (which I thought wasn’t opened to undergrads, but I was admitted anyway so I don’t know what’s up on that end), and I absolutely loved it. I was all the way at the top and got a fantastic view of Seoul.

Hope this helps!

Hi! I saw that if you want to join Ewha, I must meet one of the language proficiency requirement. I am fluent in English btw but I don't understand what its trying to say. Should I take the Korean test or something?

I’m so sorry it took me so long to reply! I never get notifications for asks so my activity on this tumblr remains at a standstill. Please forgive me but if you are mad, I completely understand your reasons for being so. Nevertheless I will answer your question Anon.

As far as I know there should be no language requirements for Ewha as an exchange student. There is a GPA requirement of 2.5/4.0 though, so I’m not sure where you’ve read or seen that there is a requirement. If you happen to see it, please point it out to me so I can take a better look to see what they’re saying.

HOWEVER, if you want to take Korean there, you will have to take a language assessment exam so Ewha can place you in the right Korean language classroom. Even if you know nothing about the language they prefer you to take the exam anyway.

Best of luck!

Foods You Have to Try at Ewha District

Wow, it's already been a years since I've been back and I have yet to get over my post depression. Once you get a taste of what it's like to go abroad, you'll want to constantly hold onto those memories and more often than not, you want to go out into the world AGAIN. I've been there, I've done that, and I can tell you that the hunger to get back out there eats at me everyday.

Speaking of eats (in ta different way this time), I want to talk about Korean food! When you're attending Ewha, there's a plethora of food cart stalls lined up from the entrance gates of Ewha all the way down to the entrance of the subway stairs for Line 2. Today, I want to let you know the foods I absolutely adored when I was at Ewha. If you're ever there for your studies or traveling, I hope you'll keep an eye out for these delicious foods!

No.1: Chicken Cup (치킨컵)

I don't know what it is about these babies, but they are just downright delicious. And the best part? They're CHEAP and they FILL YOU UP. The tricky part is finding the right stand to buy them from since everyone makes it differently. I've probably tried four or five different ones from different places (in and out of Ewha), but I ALWAYS come back to the stand near the entrance of the school. It's just quite sad on my part that I can't help you find it if you were to go there since I never got a picture of the wonderful 아저씨 who I bought them from. I apologize. T-T When you do find one to your liking, stick to it. It's good to try others, but some won't be to your liking and you would have just wasted your money.

Price wise, they range from about 1,000 won to 5,000 won. They come in three sizes, too. Small, King, and Box. The one you see was originally the "big" cup, but he no longer carries that and instead carries King size, which is bigger than the pictured above. Small isn't that bad, but it's more like a snack. Box, well, let's just say you CAN finish it in one sitting (No shame if you do because it's THAT good!), but it's more for you and your friends. 

Go out. Try it. LOVE it. I did.

No.2: Ice Cream & Waffles 

I showed this once, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to NOT show it again! To be honest, this was an okay dessert. For some reason, Korea has this mentality where waffles are supposed to be hard and crunchy. HOWEVER, with the ice cream I got (taro? blueberry? & strawberry), it made things so much better. That day was hot, too, so it definitely was money well spent! I can’t recall the price, but for sure it was under $4. To get to these babies, you have to jump into the Ewha shopping area which is east of the campus grounds of Ewha if you were to exit Ewha University. 

No.3: Egg Bread (계란빵/치즈계란빵)

Egg bread! Yes, yes, you guys may be wondering what’s so good about it, but hey, it’s not that bad to eat. Besides, you also get the option to have it with cheese or not. This picture, without the cheese, is my friend’s egg bread. She’s kind of lactose intolerant, and when it comes to cheese, it just goes right through her (if you know what I mean). It’s warm, it’s fluffy, it’s...heaven. It’s mostly eaten during the winter, but it should be sold all year. At least, that’s what I saw when I was about and about on the Ewha district. However, if you’re not a corn muffin fan, than maybe skip it. I believe most, if not all, have this corn muffin texture to it. It shouldn’t be too expensive - maybe under $2.

No.4: Hotteok (호떡)

Once again, this picture doesn’t belong to me, so all rights go to its respectful owner! I don’t have my own picture and had to snag this from Google Images. These aren’t pancakes, my dears. Well, they ARE, but not the kind of pancakes you see in the USA. These piping hot and fresh hotteok are good all year round and they are DELICIOUS. There’s a range of hotteoks you can get but most will have some nuts inside mixed with gooey chocolate and a taste of cinnamon. But where you buy them and how good they are depends on your street vendor. I fail you guys once more in taking a picture of the street vendor I usually go to at Ewha, so I’m sorry. There’s so many vendors there who sell hotteok, but some of them aren’t that good. You usually can tell the pre-bought ones from the actual made ones, so keep your eyes peeled. The ones made by hand are sometimes misshapen circles while the bought ones are TOO circle. Price range are about $1 unless it has changed. Buy it though. It’s so good.

No.5: Ice Cream Bungeoppang (아이스크림 붕어빵)

Ice Cream 붕어빵!! Wahhhh. These are DELICOIUS. It’s so delicious, I couldn’t even spell delicious right the first time since I was so distracted on how it was so delicious when I had it. Okay, I’ll stop with that. 붕어빵 translated means crucian carp cake (bread for literal translation). It’s usually filled with bean paste and the original doesn’t have ice cream, but the one with ice cream is very good. You have to once again travel into the Ewha Shopping Area to find this delicacy. I paid about $3 for it maybe. There’s only one vendor who sells 붕어빵 at Ewha and they offter three types of filling: red bean paste, sweet potato, and another one which I forgot since I didn’t get happen to buy it. They actually set shop right next to the waffle & ice cream vendor that I talked about before. The ice cream was more tarty than normal ice cream, so I kind of thought they used Greek ice cream, but it’s still very good to eat on a nice warm and sunny day.

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Thinking about all these foods makes me want to go back and buy them all over again. I know you can find these food anywhere in Korea, but if you come to Ewha, definitely be on the look out for them there, too! However, knowing how some places can go out of business so quickly, I hope they are still there if you are visiting Ewha District. The reason I love these foods is due to the fact that they are rather cheap. Unless you’ve been starving for the whole day, these should fill you up. They filled me up. And if they don’t, they will at least keep hunger at bay and then you and your friends can go get some Korean BBQ for dinner later that night in Sinchon.

Insurance for Studying Abroad: Is There Any?

Episode 2 for Serious Talk for Studying Abroad. Today we will be talking about finding insurance when studying abroad. First off though, I would like to thank the Anon who asked me about it and I have no idea why I had never talked about it before in my earlier posts, so shout out to whoever you are because as I've answered in your question, this is a very important issue that needs to be talked about! Thanks!

As answered earlier, my international insurance was done through Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI). If you head to the "For Students or Scholars" section, you are greeted with two options for students who are studying outside the US and those studying inside the US. Because those on my blog wish to study in South Korea, your option is the former of the two. Clicking on that, you are given the option of the Basic Plan or the Upgraded Comprehensive Plan. I've included a picture capture here for visual learners (I'm one myself).

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I apologize if quality is bad. I reduced it and it turned out like this. As you can see, the last option on the right is an additional purchase for your personal properties like phones, computers, etc. that you wished to be insured. For me, I went with the Basic Plan even though the Upgraded Comprehensive one was enticing; however, I do tend to lean on the "Being on the Safe Side" mode, so I trust myself to make rational decisions. I can't recall if I also enrolled in the Personal Property & Liability, but my gut tells me that I didn't. Nevertheless, you should not not consider it. Consider having insurance to cover damage or theft of personal property while being abroad regardless if you're going to be gone a summer, a semester or a whole year. Occurrences can be rare, but it still can happen and I wouldn't like it if my personal properties were loss due to a fire or other incident in my local residence overseas.

If you opt out of that additional purchase, just always be careful where you leave your personal items, okay?

Whichever option you decide to enroll for, once you do enroll, you will receive a medical ID card via an email confirmation along with a consulate letter and a claim form. For those wanting a hard copy, CISI will gladly send you one if you contact the plan administrator through their skype number or by email. It is IMPERATIVE that you keep the card on you at all times since you never know when things might go wrong, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Your trip may be months away but that doesn't mean you can't enroll in CISI now. In fact, they allow enrollment up to the last TWO DAYS of your requested insurance start date. So, let's say you want coverage starting January 25th; the latest to enroll would be the 23rd of January. If you happen to forget about insurance and already depart, you should still fill out the application but you have to fax or email it to them.

Say that you're abroad and having a really good time, but you realize that you want to travel to another country after your program ends but your problem is that your international insurance will expire. Can you extend it? Yes, you can! You can enroll for up to an extra month of coverage. All you need to do is complete an enrollment form for individual study abroad plan. It also works the other way if you end up leaving earlier than planned. You can get a month of coverage before or after your start date. 

How do I know all of this? Well, I was one of those who decided to travel a good 2-3 weeks, by myself, to Japan and knew my coverage would expire before that. Signing up for that extra month was super easy and I had no trouble at all, but if you do run into questions or problems, another good thing about CISI is that they offer 24/7/365 world wide assistance. That's pretty cool, no?

Now, I'm no spokes person for CISI and I definitely don't get paid to write any of this stuff, but I believe this is very important materials that should be addressed and I want to address it with all of you guys who come to my blog because you're going to study abroad, or you want to study abroad soon, or wanting to study abroad one day when you're old enough. I want to tell you that coverage is possible! Do check with your health insurance provider now to see if you are covered when studying abroad and if you are, perfect, but if you aren't, I would definitely recommend checking out CISI.

Since there's a lot more that needs to be discussed, I'm going to link CISI's FAQ page here at the end of my post so you guys can check it out. If you have any more questions about this and want to ask me, please do! I'm more than happy to answer. I just hope my answers will suffice your asks. Haha.

Happy travels and stay safe!

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CISI's FAQ

* Picture here was taken from CISI's page. All materials, rights, and information belong to CISI.

Hi!! I love your blog! I was wondering what insurance you have to go overseas. Thank you!

Hello Anon!

Thank you for saying you love my blog. It makes me happy to know people out there are finding it useful. :)  Personally, I have been away for a wile to focus on my studies and family health issues, but that doesn’t mean I want to ignore those who have questions in regards to studying abroad - and your question is a very good question that should be addressed and will be.

Now, I’m not sure if everyone who goes broad have this insurance but through my university study abroad program, those who study abroad are required to have international insurance, and my university provides us with Cultural Insurance Services International (CISI). If you are to look at their website, they state that they are the “leading provider of studying abroad and international student exchange coverage”. They have a Basic Plan for $34/month and then an Upgraded Comprehensive Plan for $53/month.

Because I believe that is an important issue to discuss about, I want to thank you for bringing this up. As there are a lot of things I would like share with you and with my followers as well a those who stumble upon my page, I will be posting another blog detailing everything I want to get across.

So, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Anon for asking and please look forward to my next post where I will be answering question in full length.

More delicious foods to try in Busan!

I miss it. :(

Did I post these already? Sorry, if I did.

Hi :) Just wanted to shout out to a fellow Ewhian~ I read some of your replies to people asking about studying at Ewha and decided to check out your blog and really liked it ^^

Hi!

Shout out to you, too! :D Sorry, it’s taken me a few days to reply. My media production classes are cutting into my tumblr life. NEVERTHELESS, I am happy to see an Ewhaian here! I absolutely loved my time at Ewha last spring and seriously considered spending the summer (and maybe fall) year there, but given that I already made plans on coming home and booking my flight way back before I even arrived, I decided to come back. I don’t regret it though! I guess, one bad thing is I can’t see all the new Ewhians over at Ewha.

I would have loved to grab a coffee/dinner/bingsu with those who are still there (including you! :D).

Thank you for stopping by and leaving encouraging words. It makes me happy to be able to connect with people and help people who may be having troubles. I may not have all the answers, but I try my best. I’ll be sure to check out your page, too, now that I have some free time on my hands. :))

I'm sorry I can't tag you. I can't seem to find you when I put in the @ symbol.

Busan. Such a lovely place. I definitely recommend you guys visiting if/when you head to South Korea!

My friends and I loved the beach so much, we went back very often despite our hostel being a bit far from it.

On my way there, Jo In-sung was looking at me. That's okay. He's handsome, and I love him, so yeah...no slapping. Haha. <3

Hi!! I recently found your blog and many others about Edae and I was sooooo happy!! I've been wanting to go for about 2-3 years and I'll be applying soon. I had a question though. I've read that people have to wait before moving into their dorms. Where would you recommend staying before moving in (like in a hotel or maybe with a host family or something) or did you arrive in time to move straight into your dorm?

Hi! I’ve been so busy with school lately that I haven’t had much time to keep this blog updated. But in glad you asked that question. :)) I do have to say, I am very thankful that I had awesome friends over in Korea who housed me until it was time for me to move in. For those who are coming in alone, please don’t be worried! Though Ewha does not allow early move in, there are plenty of hostels around for the Backpackers/Travelers coming and going around Seoul. These hostels, depending on where you go and where you plan on staying, can charge up to 60,000 won a night for private/twin private or 10,000 won a night for dormitory style housing.

Host families are a different story - unless you meant to talk about couch surfing. I’m pretty sure, if you are with a host family, you’ll be able to move in right away as long as you let them know what dates you will be arriving in on. My friend lived with a host family and when I went to visit, they were so loving and friendly towards me that they always wanted me over when I had the time. (Ah, I miss Host Mom’s Korean cooking! T^T)

I don’t recommend hotels simply because it can get pricey but if you want your own room and want that luxury kind of feel (which the hostel sometimes cannot provide unless you book a private single/twin room), then the hotel will be your friend. I’ve never once stayed in a hotel while in Korea so I can’t really help in that aspect.

My recommendation is that if you have friends there who are living in a goshiwon, have them see if they can house you until you can move in. However, your friends might not be able to. The only reason I was able to stay with my friend who attended Korea University is because she got to know the landlady and the manager well enough that they recognized who she was. If you can’t do that, then hostel all the way! :D

Hope this helps, fellow Anon!

A Starter's Guide to the Gilman Scholarship Pt. 1

So, today, I am going to talk about how I applied for the Gilman Scholarship and what my follow-on project was. I’m not going to dive into talking about this wonderful scholarship, so let’s just get right down into it, alright? Alright!

Taken straight from their site, “the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship Program offers grants for U.S. citizen undergraduate students of limited financial means to pursue academic studies or credit-bearing, career-oriented internships abroad. Such international exchange is intended to better prepare U.S. students to assume significant roles in an increasingly global economy and interdependent world.” As explained earlier in my Scholarship for Studying Abroad, the amount the Gilman gives you ranges. I was fortunate enough to be given $4,000 dollars for my trip to Ewha, and every single day, I am not only thankful, but extremely grateful that Gilman was able to help finance me.

To apply for the Gilman, there are two components: the online application form and the online certifications form your host university and your financial aid advisor. I’m not going to go about how I did my transcripts and such because I think the Gilman’s guide here does a great job in explaining a step-by-step process of what’s acceptable and what’s not acceptable in terms up uploading such important documents. In fact, I encourage you guys to go through their site and familiarize yourself with their website. They have a lot of useful information for you guys and videos of tips (from the board member who look and decide if you pass or not), so I highly, HIGHLY recommend on reading everything they offer for us.

If you’ve gone through the site, or if you’ve heard by word of mouth or some sort, you should know that the Gilman is mainly comprised of two essays: the Statement of Purpose essay and the Follow-on Project essay. You can be the greatest writer there ever was, or maybe you're not the type who wants others to look over your paper, but it is imperative that you get a second pair of eyes to read your essay. It's even better to have a third pair of eyes, but just make sure that you have someone who's qualified to critic papers to look at your essay. My college campus as something called "The Writing Center" and there, they have English TA's and workers who guided me on what I should change and where I needed to work on in terms of sentence structures. I really benefited from going to them and I went back two or three times to make sure I have everything right. “Applicants that do not have their essays proofread compete poorly during the selection process and generally will not receive a scholarship award,” is what’s written on the Gilman site, and I completely agree with every word. Write your essay on your laptop first before transferring it over to the online application at Gilman. That way, if you leave your laptop for any reason for over 15 minutes, you won’t lose everything you’ve typed up since the Gilman site will automatically log you out after 15 minutes of inactivity. There is a 7,000 characters limit (spaces included) for each essay, so write with care. Another note is that you shouldn't use any bold, underlining or italics in your essays because when you transfer your paper over, it won't show up on Gilman's application.

If you realized, I haven't even TOUCHED the Statement of Purpose yet in this blog because there's just a lot of information you need to know. I'm sorry. I truly am since I feel like I'm blabbering, but I feel that I needed to stress certain things for you guys since there is no short cut in going about this process. Alright! The statement of purpose essay. This is your chance to make this essay your own. This is the essay that the board members will read and go, "Ah, so this is what (your name) is like and this is what he/she does. Okay, that's cool." Here, you need to discuss the impact that your studying abroad will have on your academic, persona, and professional goals. You also need to talk about how the Gilman Scholarship will help you achieve these goals you've set up.

In my essay, I discussed how I wanted to study abroad in Ewha instead of Yonsei or Korea University because Ewha is known for putting out strong and individualized women who have gone on to make a name for themselves in South Korea. Being a girl myself, I found that not only inspiring but amazing that they were able to go against the grain of women just not being in the kitchen and that was something I admired greatly. By being able to study at this establishment, I would be able to learn in an environment that caters to my needs at being an independent woman. Of course men would be teaching here, but I'm not saying I needed to be taught by women in order to make something of myself; the professors there (men and women) all leave you empowered with something more when you walk out of that class, and that's what I had to stress in my essay.

This is a list of things you need to talk about, but if I did that here, the blogs can easily go over three posts, so I'm just going to talk about what I found important for me. What I found important for me may not be for you, but that's okay! Find out what you want to talk about and make it your own. What came close to me was when I talked about the challenges in my decision to study abroad. I'll get a little personal here and tell you guys that one of the greatest challenges that affected me was my father being hospitalized and then having to lose his job in the same month. Before all of that, I had made plans to go abroad and was so sure I would be going during Spring of 2014; however, with my dad’s unfortunate circumstance, it turned everything upside down. My dad was the provider for our family. My mother, a year or two back, lost her job, too, so everything we had from that point on came from my dad and his job. With this happening, I struggled with myself on whether or not I should go. If I go, I’ll be away from my family, and if something happened (and I didn’t want to think about the horrible what-if’s) I wanted to be close to home. I think that when you truly make your essay your own, you will be able to show the board members who you truly are. But as I stressed on another post, please don't turn your paper into a "pity me, give me" story. I'm not trying to make a mockery of your writing, but there are those people out there who think that if they give the soppiest story, they're going to get the Pity Card, and that's not how the board members work. They are professionals who’ve done this and seen many papers that they know what they're doing. You can't pull the wool over their eyes on these things.

I’m going to cut it off here! Let’s quickly recap and highlight the important things in this blog post.

1: Read over the guidelines and tips from the Gilman website, which I have linked in the post.

2: Write your essay on your laptop (on Word) before transferring it over to the online application.

3: PROOFREAD, PROOFREAD, and then have someone else PROOFREAD.

4: Utilize your Writing Center or something equivalent to that so they can catch the grammars mistakes.

5: Make your personal statement YOUR OWN. Dig deep and write something meaningful to you.

6: Keep it 7,000 characters (including spaces) or less. Gilman application site will cut it to 7,000 if you go over.

7: Make sure you answer everything Gilman has on their website.

8: Answer everything on the Gilman website.

9:  Follow the guide on Gilman website.                         

10: Look at the Gilman website.

Part 2 will come shortly!

I can't remember the name of this restaurant, but it's located in Anam (near Korea University), and my friends and I LOVE this place. We call it the 아줌마 (Ajumma) Restaurant because it's owned and run by one! Reason why we love this place: the 반찬 (banchan)! For those who may not know what 반찬 is, they are the side dishes you get when you order food in Korea.

Yes, they are FREE and depending on where you go you get A LOT of them.

If I were sequestered on an island somewhere, it would have to be the 반찬 Island. LOL.

These types of restaurants are located everywhere, so go out, find one you like, and stick with them!

This is one of the things I greatly miss now that I've returned to the land where I have to pay for side dishes and appetizers. *le sigh ~*

Happy Eating~

MIA? No, Just Distracted with the Game of Life...

Hello my Lovely Ladies and Dashing Men (if I have any guy followers),

I just want you guys to know I appreciate all of you and your questions, and I apologize if I’ve been MIA for a while. Fall semester has started for me, so I’m trying to finalize my schedule to make myself happy with what I have. So far, it’s ehhhhh. I just wanted to inform you that I got an ask about my process of applying for scholarships and the steps I took. Since I want to help the asker out, I decided to share it all with you guys in hopes that you land some scholarships, too! I can’t do it today (actually, I should be heading to my next class right about now), so please look forward to it on Friday when I don’t have any classes.

First semester should have begun already in Ewha, so if you’re there, congrats and awesome~! For those who want to go in the Spring, next year, two years, or someday, I hope I can be of help!

Alright, I’m going to head out of the library now and find my class, but if you guys have questions, please feel free to ask me! I should also have another post coming up this Friday along with the scholarship one.

*fumbles with stuffing tablet into backpack and runs off to class*

Hello, i'm not 100% sure if you're an exchange student at ewha or not (since when i usually ask people are like 'oh im only here a semester') I am going to be a senior and i'm from the u.s but I want to study in Korea for college (yes, "full-time") Ewha is my goal but i'm so scared to apply already. My grades are average but this year, senior year, i'm going to bring my ACT score and extracurricular count up. I've studied korean for 2 years but i still feel so doubtful. any advice/encouragement?

Hey there!

I’m so sorry it has taken me this long to respond. With college starting back up, I got side-tracked and needed to focus on finalizing my schedule for fall classes. Unfortunately, I am one of those who studied a semester at Ewha. I have met other international students who are doing the undergrad at Ewha, but I unfortunately did not ask them what the application process was like. What I can tell you is that to study there full time, you need to pass a certain level in the TOPIK test. From what I remember, you need to be in the conversational level which is around level 3 or 4 - 4 being the higher end of the intermediate platform.

At Ewha, for those who are there on the 4-year term, they are called Degree-Seeking International Students, while those staying for a semester or a year are just International Exchange students. But let’s get back to the Korean Language. If you are serious about this, you should study hard on Korean and use it as much as possible in you everyday life. Now, I’m not sure how you are learning as you say you have been teaching yourself for two years, so I can’t judge what level you are in terms of accuracy and proficiency. However, you do need to take the TOPIK Exam as the university you want to attend will need it to see if you can hold out on your own in terms of communication.

To apply as a full-time student, you need to give Ewha your Personal Statement and Study Plan. Now, I’m not qualified to tell you exactly what that means, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that they most likely want you to tell them how you plan to take classes and how you’re going to stay diligent as a student if Ewha does decide to take you in as one of their own. You will also need to have more than two letters of recommendation, an official transcript of academic records and a certificate of (prospective) diploma from your last school, copies of your passport along with BOTH of your parents or other official documents attesting to the nationality of the applicant (in this case, YOU :D) and your parents, official documents verifying your relationship with your parents, documents validating your language proficiency (TOPIK Score comes into play here), and a consent form to check-up the level of your education.

For OPTIONAL documents, you can give them your ACT score (which you have mentioned in your ask), documentary evidence demonstrating your ability to successfully pursue academic studies, SAT scores if you’re taking this, materials that show your artistic/athletic ability (videotapes, portfolios, etc.), scholarships applications (if you’re going to apply for any at Ewha), and a copy of your alien registration card issued by the Korean government.

The application period to gather all of this is in the middle of May & October per year, and you need to have received your high school diploma in the February in which you are applying. Due note that there is an application fee and you will need to upload a photo of yourself. It is also recommended that you should apply for scholarships and dormitory when you do your online application form. For the fee, it has to be paid during the application process and registration is accepted when your application payment is completed. After all of this, you play the good old Waiting Game. If there’s any important information Ewha feels like you need to know, they will announce it during the admission period and will be delivered via e-mail, phone and address you gave them so make sure all that stuff is filled out correctly and clearly.

(My two cents into your ask is that the grading system at Ewha is a bit challenge and strict. Because I was just an International Student, I think we’re graded differently than the actual full-time students, and here’s the reason I say so. I was sitting in one of my classes one day (mixed international students and regular Ewha students) and we got to discussing about the grading system that Ewha promotes. I can’t really explain it all thoroughly and clearly (as I was a bit confused on how the process worked when they were talking about it) but from what I heard, the professor have to give a certain amount of A’s, B’s, C’s, etc. to his/her students. No two students can have the same percentage. Now, that seems a bit wonky, doesn’t it? BUT PLEASE DO NOT QUOTE ME ON THIS. I’m not really sure if this is how it really works. This is what I could take from the conversation. I don’t’ want to scare you, but that’s just what I heard.)

Okay, this looks like a lot of work, and it is a lot of work, but if this is really what you want then you have to work for it, right? It may seem like a daunting and scary task to partake in, but if this is something you really want to do, then I am behind you 100% of the way, Anon! It’s terrifying to leave everything you know for a strange and foreign land, but the experience you gain hold such beauty and wonder. I don’t regret going abroad one bit. Some people say you shouldn’t go abroad, and some do – I am one of those who strongly believe that going abroad will open your eyes when you come back. I encourage you to keep studying Korean! :D It is a lovely language and learning another language helps you out in the long run when you apply for jobs and whatnot. If you have any more questions, please feel free to ask me. And if you’re still worried, feel free to keep asking me questions about anything! I will always try my best to help out anyone who strongly want to go abroad to Ewha or any other establishments in South Korea. If I don’t know, I know people who do know, so don’t feel embarrassed or scared to send me an ask.

I wish you the best of luck and send all my warm thoughts. :)