Dream since 2013 fulfilled in 2023. My Seoul, South Korea Study Abroad Experience. Building Bridges and Breaking Stereotypes.

studyabroad15
Feb 13, 2024
12 min read

Kristie Throckmorton 2024

One of my favorite photos, the purple glow of Seoul at night from Namsan Tower, which I've dreamt of seeing since I was 13.

Project Mission

My name is Kristie Throckmorton a senior at Randolph- Macon College double majoring in Arts Management (music) and Asian Studies with a minor in Japanese Studies. I want to share my personal experience studying abroad in Korea to demonstrate that it doesn't matter where you come from, who you are, what you like or what you don't, but that you can educate yourself and experience a new culture and language firsthand. Anyone can do this all while breaking stereotypes that are associated with any other country and also by learning and assimilating to help build cultural bridges. I want to encourage others to study abroad and that when they have chosen a place they'd like to go, to conduct extensive research and prepare yourself as much as possible. Meaning learn the culture and the language before-hand if you can, it only makes the time you spend abroad better. My whole life I wanted to go to Seoul and my prior knowledge made it such an easy and fun transition and I was happy to help any other foreigners I could in any way they needed. Many people commented on how on earth I knew how to manage this new country so well despite never visiting there before. I was the translator, navigator, the go-to order taker, and the default "Don't do that here," friend on my Study Abroad. I want others to know that no matter what, you can and will have a fabulous once in a lifetime experience studying abroad, but going into it extra prepared and ahead of the game enriches your experience tenfold. I felt so comfortable as I spoke a decent amount of the language and knew many of the cultural quirks specific to Korea. I was often asked by Korean people how I knew so much or if I had Korean family. Every country and each person's experience is different and I would encourage doing research on where you would like to go and determining what you want from that and deciding how diligently you will prepare. I had many friends I met there that went in blindly and had a great time, but they also often expressed confusion and concern. They made it out just fine but I was "overly-prepared" in a sense so I got exactly what I wanted out of my time in Korea with no regrets. Your time abroad is all about your preparation and in realizing that YOU are the one in control of your study abroad experience, so make it what you want it to be.

My Background

Ever since I was nearly 13 years old I had it set in my brain that I was going to study in South Korea. The only problem was I had absolutely no clue how to get there and I was terrified of telling anyone about it. A bit of a backstory I feel is important to show how I fell into my love of everything Korea. I had begun learning Spanish in public school per language requirements and quickly fell in love with linguistics and learning the basics of other languages on my own. It had been several months of me going through every romance language on Duolingo until I realized I wanted I challenge; me being the Generation-Z that I am, I went onto Google and searched what the easiest language with characters there was to learn. Korean popped up and my life changed from there. I quickly learned the Korean alphabet in about 30 minutes (it's so simple, you can too!) and from there went on my way to learning as much about South Korea's language and culture. Up until this point, my only other passion in life was music. I had grown up around all genres of music and was playing violin, guitar, and piano by this time. I always wanted to work in something music-related in the future because it was the only thing I enjoyed doing in my free time, outside of my history homework. When language learning came up for me I was excited to find a new passion, Korean just so happened to be my favorite as I constantly studied up on its history and culture as well as the language. I like to say that the internet algorithm got me good because when I started learning all these things in Korean, my music recommendations on all social media became Korean Popular culture and entertainment. Needless to say, from there I was smitten because my two favorite things in the world had blended, music and language & culture. Since then I continued to learn in secret as I was afraid of being judged by others. I remember sitting in the cafeteria and everyone was talking about the song "Gangnam Style," which was great but unless it was solely that and you were interested in anything else similar, you were automatically dubbed a loser by your middle school. I have always been someone who is not the most confident so I didn't dare share my desire to learn Korean or want to learn about the music industry or share my dream of living there with anyone out of fear of judgment. All of that must've sounded pretty sad but all my fear was just because of others' ignorance, it only took me about 7 years to actually realize that though. What finally made me open up about my love for Korea was being stuck at home with my family during the COVID-19 quarantine, where I learned that my family thought it was incredible that I had been self-studying and they fully supported me. By that time my brother had studied abroad in college at R-MC. I was about to start college at R-MC so I declared to my family that I would be studying abroad in my junior year just like my older brother did. Still, I would be in Seoul South Korea for two semesters rather than the one my brother spent in Europe. My parents thought I was kidding as they said there was no way they could help me get through both semesters abroad as they thought I could only swing one and that it was very unlikely I'd spend a whole year of college studying abroad. It was my pleasure to tell them (in a rather sassy way) to "just watch me," and I proceeded to work every free hour of the days that I had to save up money to go. I was able to get through my second semester financially all by myself. I am now back home and about to start my final semester of my senior year at Randolph-Macon, what a crazy time it has been. From beginning my first year of college via Zoom calls on my phone, to sophomore year of making lovely friends and connections with professors, to a year in Seoul, and now back to finish my degree at R-MC has been an absolute whirlwind that I wouldn't change for the world!

My Study Abroad bestie, Gabi and I caught in a truly candid moment at Gyeongbokgung Palace, whilst wearing Hanbok (Korean Traditional Clothing)

STEP OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE....FOR REAL!

There is so much to get out of a study abroad if you let yourself have the experiences. I knew I would love Korea, but I never expected to love it as much as I did and meet so many people there that I will consider family for the rest of my life. This picture above is my best friend, Gabi from the U.K. I have never bonded with someone so quickly in my life and I genuinely consider her the sister I never had. One of the scariest parts about studying abroad alone is wondering if you will make any friends. Despite being an introvert, I was not going to let myself shut myself in like I usually do and actively seek out people to meet. When studying Abroad can be very difficult to make friends and I don't think I would've had a single friend if I hadn't put myself out there the way I did. I met most of my first semester friends from finding them on a Yonsei 2022 Study Abroad Facebook group, which then led me to a discord server, that had a subsection with my apartment building underneath it. I quickly hopped into all of those group chats and by the time I left I had a new friend waiting for me at our apartment building for us to get dinner and explore our little college town in the big city. The day after I got there, Gabi and I met up for the first time when I knocked on her apartment door to which she greeted me in her British accent and I was so excited to have a British friend. After our second time of hanging out, her and I were inseparable for the rest of the year and we spent most of our free time together. I would've never known her if I hadn't done extensive outreach! Her and I talk nearly everyday and are planning trips to visit each other. I met several friends virtually before I even got there and even met some that were even from Virginia! I then made friends with their friends and them with mine and within a few days we had a huge friend group who were always enthusiastic to hang out. Study abroad in itself is challenging you immensely but GO OUT OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE! That is my main piece of advice. I would not have enjoyed my time there if I hadn't opened my mind and told myself to say yes and to not hold back (in a safe way of course.)

Me on the plane to Seoul, South Korea for the first time! Was a bit scared but more so excited!

Take Pictures

This may seem like the most obvious advice, but take pictures (I'm not a big picture taker.) I'm not usually a fan of being in any pictures and I definitely didn't take pictures throughout any given day or post them before going to Korea. When abroad I made sure to take so many pictures to capture the memories. I've never really thought that having pictures would take you back in such a deep way, but I often find myself scrolling through the photos I took and remembering what time I got up that day, who I was with, and if I had a homework assignment due the next day or not. It was a bizarre realization when I got home that I could remember these things so vividly, because my memory isn't great most of the time. Having these photos to look back on takes me back to the moment I snapped the picture and I'm so happy I decided to take as many pictures as possible. With these pictures I can remember the happiest moments of my life. Below are some of my favorite photos and videos I took while in South Korea in chronological order by category!

Landscapes and Views!

My favorite kind of pictures I took! Several of these are taken from the Joseon Dynasty Palaces across Korea, getting to experience the history and see a concrete city just behind the walls was stunning. The picture of the huge suspension bridge is from a Buddhist temple site in Paju, where my friends and I took a day trip, such gorgeous nature there! I often frequented Seoul Forest which was about a 40 minute subway ride from where I lived, but it was one of my favorite spots to go because it was always so beautiful and peaceful night or day. The Han river is a hotspot in Seoul, I lived within walking distance and to get a lot of places to have to cross or pass it. It is a popular activity to go with your friends to the Han river and get "Chimaek," which stands for fried chicken and beer (Maekju.) Included are also pictures of the streets of Seoul, Suwon, and Daegu.

Only a small snippet of the incredible Photobooth culture!

This is another staple activity in Korea, self service photobooths! These are only a small chunk of the photobooth pictures I took. Photobooths in Seoul are on every corner, just as common as a convenience stores and are unmanned spaces where you can put on accessories and take themes pictures with your friends! It is also a great space to check how you look because there are always huge mirrors and even hair straighteners an curling irons in each one to make sure you have the perfect photo. So if I needed to fix my lipstick or break down a bigger bill into smaller ones I would go to a Photobooth too!

Visitors!

I had 3 friends from home visit while I was in Seoul, kinda crazy right? One was visiting her sister who lives there, another on spring break from her study abroad in Japan to visit me, and one who came back with me after Christmas break and stayed with me for a month! Getting to show people I consider family around Seoul as if I were a local pro (I think at that point I was) was a dream. I got to help them have a fun experience all while I felt so happy and comfortable with pieces of home with me in my new home! Here are a few photos of us!

Concerts/Festivals/Musicals

It seemed like every week and some several times a week, I was at a performance. Since its the industry I want to work in, I was in heaven. In Seoul, there is always something going on so it was just the perfect thing for me. I checked several ticketing websites daily to see what performance I could go to next, I couldn't get enough! In Korea the crowds are much more respectful in my opinion and concert-going is safe and fulfilling. I found that most performances were MUCH cheaper than in the U.S, so I took advantage of that as much as I could. I saw Korean artists as well as Western artists and three musicals while I was there. I would never go alone to a concert in the states but I went to most of these by myself at any time of the day because it is generally very safe. I think only 4 times was I accompanied by anyone at a concert the entire year and I went to so many!

School life at Yonsei

I loved every second of being a student at Yonsei University. It is such an incredible school that is so beautiful and really immerses you into higher learning in another country. I took many classes pertaining to Korean music, art, history, philosophy, business & communications, ect. I lived off of campus, which I would definitely recommend doing if you can, it separates your school life and your full experience and my friends that lived on campus wished they could've lived off campus. That being said I enjoyed my daily walks to school, which I've never been able to do before. Here are a few pictures of campus during daily life, as well as a beautiful study café view, and group projects where we learned extensively about Korean culture by first-hand experience!

Food/Beverages

I'm a coffee addict and Seoul is the perfect place for that addiction. They have so many cafes and they are a huge part of Korean culture and daily life. There are many chains and also many unique individual cafes too. Korea has popularized the idea of cat cafes (which I visited several and I think its so fun,) and study cafes that are open 24 hours. I went to at the very least one café a day and I spent many hours in the study cafes working on assignments from school. The cafes are something that I really miss because I felt like I was very productive then, but we don't have those in the states. Also, Korea has the best food I've ever had in my entire life. Since being home I no longer want anything but Korean food or Korean style Chinese or Japanese food. In restaurants they run very different from what I'm used to. You can pretty much sit down wherever you'd like and you either pay ahead or go up to the register after your meal. There is not much of a service culture and if you need anything you just yell "Excuse me" in Korean or hit the bell that is on most tables. You do not tip in Korea and meals there are extremely affordable, so affordable that most nights I ate out and did not cook at home. I really miss the food and café culture in Korea.

Learning About a Whole New World Through Daily Life

Within each experience, many of which were day to day occurrences that I shared in the photos above are the key to learning about a new place. I knew a lot about South Korea before I went, but I know that is not the case for everyone. I want anyone who is considering to study abroad to do anything in their power they can to make it happen. There is no other experience I've ever had where I've learned so much about myself and life in general let alone the language and the culture of the place I lived. I worked since I was young to make this happen for me and it was the greatest time of my life that I sincerely miss every single day. Like I mentioned before, what you get out of your experience is completely up to you, so why not learn as much as you can and become another person who is knowledgeable about differences so that we can all live in tandem together. Hard work is what gets you there, what makes you enjoy it is learning and being a part of the culture of where you are. Things being different is the beauty of a study abroad and learning how to live within a different culture and perhaps even learning some of the language is the key to establishing good relations with other people. In our interest in each others daily lives we can pique creativity and understand others deeply and establish connections and build respectful bridges that stand strong forever. It is pivotal that we continue to understand each other all across the world to foster peace and happiness for us all!