Karanda Kay Davis, a Black Hills State University junior from Belle Fourche, S.D., spent her entire sophomore year studying
abroad in Seoul, South Korea. “I thought it was a great opportunity and I’d always wanted to go to South Korea since I was a kid; their culture is amazing.” Davis said.
Davis, who is currently studying marketing at BHSU, traveled frequently throughout neighboring states growing up, and even more recently had the opportunity to visit New York City, but South Korea was her first international trip. Since she was young, Davis had always been interested in Korean culture.
While in Seoul, Davis attended KonKuk University. KonKuk’s main campus has an enrollment of nearly 20,000 students – with just under 2,000 of the students being international students. Compared to BHSU, KonKuk is a large campus. The walk from the academic building to the dorms takes 10 to 15 minutes. KU has 30 buildings on campus, including the KU Middle and High Schools and the KU Medical Center.
Davis explained that all her classes were taught in English, even though the classes were comprised of students from South
Korea, as well as other foreign exchange students. Class structures were presentation based, with an emphasis on independent study, and rarely was homework assigned. When Davis first went to Seoul, she was a business economics major, but after enjoying a marketing class at KU, she decided to change her major to marketing.
Although there was often a language barrier, she was still able to meet and connect with students at KU. For example, Davis’s roommate was from Japan and neither of them spoke the other’s language, but they were still friendly toward one another and
did their best to accommodate each other.
Davis also participated in KU’s International Student Helper program, where she was paired with a KU student that helped her adjust to life in Seoul the first few weeks of school. Though the student’s main purpose was to show her around campus, introduce her to a few people and aid in small things, Davis felt lucky to have a friend who went above and beyond in helping her.
“My debit card didn’t work the first two weeks I was there – I couldn’t get food or anything,” Davis said. “He was very helpful and was buying me meals until I could use my card.”
Moving from the small town of Belle Fourche, with a population of about 6,000, to South Korea’s capital Seoul, home to over 10 million people, was quite the change for Davis. Since she had traveled to New York City just a few months before going to Seoul,
she expected it to be just another big city, but she was pleasantly surprised to see the city clean and orderly.
“The subways were super clean, and they had specific seating for elderly people or someone who is pregnant,” Davis said. “If you
were on one side of the subway, you had to walk in a certain direction, and same with stairs. And even though it was all cement, there were trees everywhere.”
Davis also found the food interesting, as none of it was processed – even at fast food restaurants the food tasted fresh. She says everything felt healthier and cleaner to eat and she struggled to readjust to the commonly processed foods consumed in America. Davis found fruits and vegetables were expensive, costing nearly $7 a pound, however, basic groceries could be bought for around $50.
She did lots of traveling while in Seoul, but one of her favorite pastimes was trying different cafes with her friends. Davis and
friends explored Busan several times and went to Daegu where they attended a festival and concerts. For Thanksgiving, Davis
and her friends had a small potluck in Olympic Park. Davis was also able to bring her mom and brother to visit, and she enjoyed
showing them the city and culture she had become a part of.
After experiencing all of Seoul’s seasons, Davis was certain that spring was her favorite. She enjoyed getting to see all the plants and flowers blooming, and especially loved getting to see cherry blossoms for the first time. During the summer months it was hot and humid, so she did her best to work inside. Although it was cold, she did enjoy touring during Christmas break.
“It was really fun to explore during the winter,” Davis said. “It’s a lot different of a winter than South Dakota. It was more of a wet winter, so it was colder than you’d expect.”
While in Seoul, Davis had very few bad experiences – the main challenge was learning to overcome homesickness and spending holidays alone. She did, however, say that getting odd looks when passing someone on the street was not uncommon, but most
were still friendly toward her. Once while walking past the KU Medical Center, a Korean woman started shouting that she should
leave and go home.
“It was kind of funny in a way, this Korean woman speaking English, telling me to leave,” Davis said.
Overall, Davis felt that her time in South Korea was more than beneficial. Not only did she get to explore and learn more about
a culture she had always been interested in, but she also felt she learned more about herself and changed her perspective on life.
Davis participated in the exchange program, but this program is just one of the many options for international education. Kaitlin Palmer, BHSU International Relations and Global Engagement Responsible Officer, explained a few options, including an international internship, semester-long study programs, and even international student teaching opportunities. With so many potential programs, Palmer encourages interested students to sit down with her to determine which avenue will best fit their
expectations. Even on the BHSU campus, there are opportunities to explore international education.
“Even if you don’t study abroad, you can still participate in cultural exchange here on our BHSU campus,” Palmer said. “We have, every November, an international education week where we do a food festival and cultural expos, students share countries, stories
and cultural presentations.”
