국제교류처

KANGWON NATIONAL UNIVERSITY
OFFICE OF INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

Q1. What do you consider your biggest challenges while living in Korea?

I think feeling homesick and missing all my loved ones is my biggest struggle here. A flight to France takes around twelve hours or more, so I cannot go back to see my family and friends very often, nor can they. Even though I really enjoy my time in Korea, it gets hard sometimes. It sounds silly, but I also miss eating French food a lot (especially bread, oh how I miss baguettes!) even though I love Korean food.

Q2. Could you tell us what kind of place or meaning KNU holds in your life?

To me, KNU represents the start of my independence. I left my country and came here alone, started from everything from scratch again, made friends, found a place to live, a part-time job, and managed to pursue my studies. It is a place where I grew out of my shell, discovered new aspects of myself and of the world. I will forever think of this university with fondness, as I was able to start my adult life there and made precious memories I’ll always carry with me along the way.

Q3.  What is your goal, or what would you like to achieve this year, hopefully?

This year, I really hope to be able to complete my thesis successfully. It’s one of my biggest challenges and worry these days, so I really hope I can write a thesis that I am proud of by the end of this year. 

Q4. What advice would you give to students who are interested in studying in Korea? 

If you’re interested in studying in Korea, it’s very important to thoroughly research all the needed information beforehand, especially when it comes to administrative matters. Visas require lots of time and documents, so it’s imperative to make sure you know which documents you need to have, or you will lose a lot of time and possibly money. Don’t hesitate to contact your country’s Korean Embassy if you’re having doubts— the same goes for your university’s administration. Learning some Korean is a plus, as you will feel a bit more confident when you arrive and I think Korean people will really appreciate you speaking their language, even if it’s just a little.

Q5. What new habits or hobbies have you developed while staying in Korea?     

After leaving in Korea for three years, I’ve developed lots of habits I previously didn’t have. I eat a lot of kimchi now, even though I couldn’t eat it at all back in France because I found it too spicy. I go to karaokes with my friends when we have some free time or feel stressed— it’s very effective to relax! I also often like to go to new cute cafés I’ve seen online or while walking around the city; Korean cafés really know how to set up a nice atmosphere for customers.

Q6. Did you have any meaningful or fun experiences observing the cultural differences between Korea and France?

One of the biggest cultural differences between Korea and France that struck me the first time I saw it is related to food. The first time I was in a restaurant that had garlic bread on their menu, I was excited because it had been a while since I ate some. I ordered it and when I took a bite of that garlic bread, I was so shocked: it was sweet and sugary! In France, our garlic bread tastes radically different! Over time, I realized that Korean people tend to eat more sweet food than French people do, which really surprised me. All my other French friends living in Korea were also shocked by this cultural difference regarding food.