When l was thought about exchange program first, l want to go to be deepen my major as a student studying Economics. I got to know that KOBE university has traditional and history about Economics among universities of Japan. If l study in KOBE, I can have more broader vision of Economics. So I decided to apply to Kobe University 's exchange program.
Second, The enhanced Japanese skill strengthen my competitiveness since world employment market require global language skill.
Therefore, I'm going to study Japanese hard during the time of the university student. At the same time, I am considering about exchange student or internship in company of Japan. I think this exchange program is the best chance for me. The most attractive thing is that I can study Japanese living in Japan with studying of my major.
The last is that l can improve my English and Japanese skill all at once living
with foreigners. I know that the KOBE university has many international students as well as Japanese. I want to learn English with Japanese.
Before I came to Japan, Kobe University assigned one tutor to help my life. As soon as I arrived in Japan and arrived in Kobe Sannomiya, I was able to meet with my tutor and find out about my dormitory location, markets, day of going to school, and things to do. I kept communicating with my tutor throughout the year. I got a lot of help.
The school lectures consist of English lectures for exchange students and lectures with other Japanese students. I think that Japanese class was not very good at first, so I took all of my major classes in English and took Japanese courses for foreign students. And I took a lecture with Japanese students in the second semester. Of course, there were many difficulties, but I finished them well because I had help from professor and friends.
My dorm was the international Residence in Port Island, the furthest from the school. It takes about 1 hours to get there, so I would say that what was the hardest part of my life in Japan was going to school. However, since it is a single room and has a bathroom and kitchen, it was very convenient to live independently.
Japan in the summer was too hot and humid to live in but Japan in the winter was very warm than Korea. It hardly ever fell below zero and never snow.
I could experience many festivals in Japan, the scenery of the festival was very impressive which was different from Korea. Studying abroad in Japan was a great experience and help me who wanted to work for a Japanese company in the future.
I was not good at Japanese at first. The most important purpose while studying in Japan is to improve my ability of Japanese. Japanese Course class in University is helpful that way. I lacked basic skill since I studied alone in Korea, what I could learn from the basics was very helpful. In the second semester, I challenged to talk to only Japanese major classes. I learned about Economy, History and Economic Situation of Japan. It was very refreshing to learn what I learned in Korea in English and Japanese and from a Japanese point of view. It was a defiant choice to me. It was the class that the general Japanese students of the university heard, and all of the class materials etc. were made only in Japanese, so it was difficult. Also, it was difficult to know the intonation or cursive of the professor. I had to study a lot because I did not have basic kanji ability than other students. I am satisfied that I have experienced regular university course in Japan and improve my Japanese skills.
When I go back to Korea, I will study Japanese more. I plan to do internship or activities related to Japan after receiving the certificate ’JLPT’. When it's time to get a job, I want to find a job relating to Japan or using Japanese.