Time flies, I’ve already reached the halfway point of my POSTECH studies. However, I could still clearly remember the first time when I set foot on the land of Korea, and the first day when I stepped in the campus of POSTECH. Being shocked by such beautiful scenery and a comfortable learning environment, I believed that I would embrace an impressive university life, in Korea, at POSTECH.

My belief was true. So far, I’ve experienced such a memorable life in Korea which makes my green years more colorful. A diverse culture which combines both Asian and western styles, extraordinary academic achievements that fulfill students’ dreams, picturesque spots where everyone can enjoy the beauty of nature… these are the reason why Korea provides me with an unforgettable study experience that I’ve never went through before.

Although having travelled to lots of countries before, this is the first time that I actually studied abroad and away from my home. Before departure, I had considered many difficulties that I might be facing in my study in Korea. Homesickness, loneliness, communication problems, culture shock, discomfort with food, difficulty in study… However, none of them in actuality became a burden. At the beginning, I missed home to some extent, but the convenient and comfortable accommodation made me feel that POSTECH is like another home. Despite the fact that I am a foreign student of POSTECH, I always feel that I can be part of this large family. Professors, teachers and students are really nice and friendly. They always offered help when I turned to them. By participating in the thoughtful and special activities held by the IRO and other organizations, I forgot all the loneliness, and made a lot of friends with Korean students as well as other foreign students from all over the world. Sometimes, I was bothered because I couldn’t understand Korean, but recently, after mastering few daily expressions, I realized that it is really fun to learn a new language especially when you can fully fit in and be affected by that culture. What’s more, I admit that I disliked kimchi and really missed Chinese food at first, but interestingly, these days, I kind of have fallen in love by adding kimchi served with rice as all other Koreans do every day. As for study, I have to say that it is busy and strained, not only because the working languages are English and Korean but also because POSTECH students are all very hard-working and the content of lectures is rich, which means that a lot of reading assignments and projects are required after class. However, I don’t regard this as a real burden; in fact I truly enjoy this diligent learning progress in POSTECH, because it feels great after you have grasped certain knowledge and improved yourself.

As a close neighbor to China, Korea has many similarities to my home country. Familiar Asian faces, same dietary structure (maybe except for kimchi), similar natural environment, and even many pronunciations of Korean words are very close to Chinese. All of these make me to adapt to my Korean life quickly. Anyway, campus life in POSTECH is still much more different from my previous campus life in USTB. To name a few, in USTB, we normally get up earlier to catch the first class beginning at 8 A.M. and go back to the dorm before 11 P.M. because the library and classrooms are closed in night. As for campus, USTB is also beautiful but smaller than POSTECH. We also have many more students, and students are grouped into classes so that normally we take the same courses together and the class will hold many activities for classmates. As an undergraduate student, usually we are just taking classes, so working experience in the lab is uncommon. Also, we don’t have many presentations and team projects as homework.

The end of the semester is drawing near. I’ll cherish my remaining time in Korea, trying to remember every precious moment in POSTECH. I believe that my life in POSTECH will become one of the most memorable and fruitful experiences in my life.

Zhou Xingyue
Exchange Student from University of Science and Technology Beijing