My life in South Korea…
Visiting South Korea had been my dream since my childhood. The reason for that interest is that people from this country had always used to come to our house as the guests, my mother always introduced Uzbek traditions, customs, and culture to them. We have been celebrating the New Year for almost 7-8 years now with South Koreans in our house. Like all my peers I watched with my grandmother historical series like “Tangem” (“Tejangim”), “Jumong”, and “Yanbogo” from that time I began to open the pages of her story for myself.
Eventually, my brother first began to study Korean at the Education Center of the Republic of Korea in Tashkent, and was lucky enough to win a ticket to the «Seoul summer school-camp» in the Republic of Korea. When he came back, he shared his impressions and made me even more excited about the country. Then I went to this education center and started to study Korean regularly and passed the language exams. In 2016, I entered Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies and studied “Foreign Economics and Country Studies (Korean Economics)” to implement my future plans.
I knew that the grants are available to study in South Korea on the basis of inter-institutional agreements every year. After improving language skills during my studies in the third year of 2019, and again knowing that there is a grant to Sangmyung University in Cheonan, South Korea, I applied and was lucky to win this educational grant. Finally, I came to the country of my dreams – South Korea to study. If to talk about South Korea, it is a unique country, a megalopolis that combines modern high technology with an ancient architecture. Landmarks of the country include ancient palaces, integrated rural life, the ancient Buddhist temples, clean fishing pools, stunning natural beauty, modern technoparks and technopolises with high-tech centers there.
If this is your first visit to this country, you will surely enjoy its colorful nature. Because people here try to keep their nature unchanged and avoid situations that can cause the greatest possible harm to their territory.
I like to sit here by the river, enjoy the silence of the forest and listen to the quiet sound of the water. The nature around me enriches me with its energy. Eventually, I came to the country that once dreamed of.
Koreans are very hardworking people and their sedentary culture is similar to ours. They also kneel on the floor while eating. Therefore, in the national restaurants you can see rooms with tables and modern tables and chairs for foreigners.
South Korea is an East Asian country located in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. This country has a lot to talk about… But let me turn to the description of the university where I study. Sangmyung University is an educational campus with an integrated campus, a hotel with a Wi-Fi zone, a sports facility, a swimming pool, a library, a webinar media complex, production and experimentation, along with educational facilities. The educational buildings and the campus have a single Wi-Fi network, all rooms are equipped with the latest computers and projectors, as well as all the technical equipment, so all the technology is developed in this place.
Sangmyung University has begun its scientific research in 1937, in Cheonan and was later transformed into the city campus. Sangmyung University is one of South Korea’s top universities, along with many other independent universities. Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies and Korean University have not only organized student exchanges, but also had launched double degree program in Korean Philology in 2019.
If to talk about admission and study, then the admissions committee conducts an examination and selects applicants based on their results. The academic year at an educational institution traditionally consists of two semesters. Sangmyung University also has a master’s degree programs that allows students to continue their studies.
Sangmyung University’s educational philosophy is nurturing a fully-developed person, knowing how to contribute for the human’s well-being and its culture based on truth, justice and love. Student exchanges are well organized at this educational institution. And most importantly, you have the opportunity to study on a scholarship.
We know that the whole world is currently under quarantine because of the Coronavirus pandemic – COVID-19. But humanity learned about the problem of coronavirus in December, and we still know very little about the virus. That’s why our relatives wanted us to go home at first, but I decided to stay here, continue my studies, believing that I could go home and harm my relatives without my knowledge. Despite the incredible research of scientists around the world, many questions remain about the coronavirus. That’s why I think I’m right. After a short quarantine break, the university has launched Online Education, and we are now offered classes based on a schedule we set for ourselves. Attendance or absence is determined by the message sent by the student on the phone or by direct contact with the teacher. Studies contain 2 semesters which are fall (September-December) and spring (March-June). In the current Online and previous education, homework and assignments are carried out on a computer and sent to teachers via e-mail. Each lesson has an audiovisual resource with a lesson presentation and slideshows in it. After today’s quarantine announcement, all lessons are being conducted in Korean language and the whole necessary assignments are sent to teachers via the university’s website. They are scored and reported on the net as well. Koronavius COVID-19 seems to have paralyzed all countries of the world, but life in South Korea is slow: despite the streets are slightly deserted, and the decline of Chinese and Japanese tourists, trade, markets, businesses, offices and transport are functioning here. Medical masks and medicine are abundant in pharmacies. Few people are on the streets, most of them are in quarantine at home, all citizens are in medical masks, antiseptics are everywhere, and everyone follows the sanitary. It is not yet known how long the study will be online, but I can say that the population has being provided a beneficial assistance and all the necessary conditions were created. I was amazed at excitement when I came here, for sure these trial days were in my destiny as well.
Perhaps the knowledge that I have gained here would help me. I am not sure. However, I am happy with a current – “life with the full of little adventures” that I am having at present. But one thing I am totally sure about is that I will not regret of my arrival here, because if I get necessary knowledge and return to my homeland in the future, I will certainly contribute to some discoveries.
Sardor Ubaydullaev,
Student of Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies.
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