Why Choose South Korea - Interview with Mentor Ekaterina

Many applicants face the difficulty of choosing a country and university to study at. We chatted with our mentor, Ekaterina, who told us why she chose South Korea, what are the special features of living and studying there, and her motivation to help other students in applying abroad.

Tell us a little about yourself

Hello everybody, my name is Katya, I am 23 and currently living and studying in South Korea, in Daejeon City. I am a second-year graduate student at KAIST majoring in Civil and Environmental Engineering. Besides studying, I run several educational projects - with a close friend I help applicants to enter foreign countries, and I'm developing my own blog about the English language. In my free time, which I have very little of, I won't lie, I travel, study Korean and spend time with my wonderful friends.

Why did you decide on this particular country, university, and major?

I want to answer this question by following the chronology of the actions I followed when I went abroad. First of all, I decided on a major, in my case making sure and making sure that I wanted to continue my undergraduate studies in the same field that I had studied at the undergraduate level, Civil Engineering. My specialty to me liked: I quite well managed to master the theory in this area and to apply it in practice, besides, I saw and see very many prospects of development in it. I would like to say that Civil Engineering is not only the construction of houses and bridges, this field is much deeper and broader, which, of course, has a huge impact on people's quality of life. I have to be honest, I only considered the top universities for my application because I put so much effort into improving my profile for my application and maintaining my academic record. KAIST is currently one of the top 50 universities in the world, which is why it ended up on my list of universities to apply to. Aside from its ranking, the country itself, South Korea, appealed strongly to me, not only for its Korean makeup, but also for its living conditions and possibly potential immigration. In 2018, I came here for the first time for an internship with a construction company and fell in love with it. Safe, comfortable to live in, cozy and insanely beautiful country with a rich culture whose residents are interested in development and continuous learning. Besides that, this internship showed me that in South Korea I could develop my specialty, have a good salary and become an international professional.

What was the hardest thing about applying?

The hardest thing for me was getting ready and not doing everything the day before the deadline. KAIST was the only university I started preparing for a month before I applied. Maybe that's why I got in, who knows? But yes, due to the enormous study load during the first semester of my 4th year of undergraduate studies, it was very hard to prepare for university applications in advance, but after the first two submissions I understood how the shaitan machine worked and understood what key actions I needed to take to properly allocate the resources that I have, maintain my grades, write my thesis and apply to universities for graduate school. I really want to give advice to all applicants - don't procrastinate with your application, don't hit the "Submit your application" button on the last day of the deadline. It is such a huge stress, which can make the desire to apply for a master's degree disappear after the first submission. Make yourself a schedule, structure all your information (Excel, Notion, Google Table), give yourself literally one hour a day to write your motivation letter, CV, or search for programs/fellowships, and then your submission will definitely bring you the fruits and offers of your dreams.

What does your university's application process look like and how is it different from Russia?

The process of studying for a master's degree in South Korea (at least in technical fields) looks like this: you close courses in your specialty, you choose them yourself, but there are also a couple or three mandatory subjects that you have to close, besides that you also do research activities. In my case, I am now part of the laboratory "Research group for concrete structures, materials and construction" and working under the guidance of a professor on a research paper. This research work is my Master's thesis required for my Master's degree, but also the data and results I get while writing it, we also use to prepare publications in scientific journals and conferences. As for the differences, probably the most important one is the research-oriented approach that most technical universities in Korea choose.

Does the university help international students adapt?

Yes, very much! We have a special office for that, it's called KAIST International Scholar and Student Services (ISSS). Before I came to campus, this organization helped me with my visa and provided me with all the necessary documents to process it, and when I arrived on campus, the staff at this office kept in touch with me, helped me adjust and answered all of my questions. KAIST ISSS also created a special Quarantine Buddy program to make quarantine for incoming students more comfortable, I did not catch this program, but many of my friends participated in it and were grateful for their quarantine buddies' help. There is also another, but already a student organization here - KAIST International Students Association (KISA). This organization also helps incoming students to adapt, make new acquaintances and make life on campus more comfortable and interesting. I was a part of this organization for 6 months, so it was a very nice experience, I made new friends and was able to help organize some events on campus.

Say what you like and dislike about studying here

I am a KAIST fan, really I like everything here - my lab, my professor, my office where I work, the dorm, the dining hall and the food there, the campus itself, it is very beautiful, see the pictures for sure. What I don't like... It's all very individual, really. The learning process itself, the lectures are fine with me, one thing I do not like now is that there are no group projects, and no - it is not because of the crown, I found out. I very much like to work in group, I like discussions, I like to see how from one idea there is a solution to a certain problem on which you did not work alone. In general I'm a very social person, I really miss that sociality in my studies right now.

And what about the country?

The things I like about Korea:

2. Security, here you don't have to worry about coming back late alone in a cab or on foot, here you can leave your laptop on the table, go to the bathroom or make a reservation, and it will definitely be there.

3. The Korean food is delicious and diverse, I think everybody has heard of Korean food and it really is divine.

4. The possibility to travel at least every weekend, the train tickets between the cities are not very expensive, so you can go to Seoul or Busan whenever you want.

5. Comfort, it is appreciated, funded and encouraged here because people here work very hard, quality leisure t is a guarantee of a stable mental state, so it is comfortable everywhere in Korea: in coffee shops, hotels, shopping malls and trains.

6. The value of education and quality work, people who strive to get masters or doctorate degrees are very appreciated here, hard work and discipline are appreciated here, all those things I also appreciate in people, I feel at ease here, and no matter what they say about Koreans and their workaholism, it depends on the person, I have seen examples of people here very carefully keeping work-life balance and living a happy life.

From what I dislike: 

There will be only one point, but very important, it's very hard to build close and trusting relationships with locals, there are few open people, sincerely willing to make new friends and have an active social life. I, unfortunately, do not have any Korean friends right now, I am not able to do it, however, I am trying very hard, I am not blaming or judging anyone, I am just talking about my experience. As sad as it sounds right now, Korea has one of the highest rates of suicide, and here, observing the closeness and emotional distance of the locals, you get a little insight into why this happened.

You work in a lab in South Korea. Tell me, how do you manage to combine work and study? What are the job opportunities for students?

Yes, I work in the lab now, it doesn't interfere with my studies in any way, the first two semesters, yes, I came to the office and did experiments, but my studies were a priority for both me and my professor. During my third semester, the amount of research work increased a bit, but I was only closing on two courses as well. Now, during my fourth and final semester, I am working on my thesis and concurrently writing a manuscript for publication, and on a related topic to my thesis. I don't have any difficulties, but considering the fact that I also have my own English blog and help other students get in, I have very little free time, so I can say that it's not difficult for me to combine my lab work and my studies, I have difficulties combining my ambitions for other projects with my master's studies. There are a lot of options: work in international companies, work in startups, but the competition is fierce, that's for sure. The strongest will win here, the one who will work hard, search a lot and be flexible. By the way, now graduates of my university can stay in Korea after graduation for as long as five years without having a job offer in hand, so I have a full five years to find a job.

Why did you decide to help other applicants?

I know how hard it is to figure out the application process on your own, to find exactly the right information and structure it, I understand the amount of stress even just thinking about having to search for both the right program and funding, and remembering to mail the paperwork as well. I've been there, I know how scary and sad and anxious it can be sometimes, but I also know that there is light at the end of that tunnel. I guess I want to help as many people get to that light as quickly as possible and show them that what you get in return is worth the effort it takes to apply abroad.

What can you help them with? Since I did my own admission, I have experience with almost every task involved in applying abroad, from selecting programs to putting together a complete application. I think I can help with any kind of student inquiry, as I have received invitations from top universities not only in Asia but also in Europe (Politecnico di Milano, Delft University of Technology), and won DAAD scholarships as well.

Can I get full admission support?

I certainly have had similar experiences before and very successfully, so I would be happy to help!