Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Milkman Dan]

I've been thinking about taking a break from teaching in order to study Korean full-time at the University level for at least one year. Ultimately, my goal is to get a high level on either the KLPT/TOPIK test or acquire some sort of Korean language proficiency certificate. After that, I'd look into studying for a Masters degree at one of the SKY universities.

I'm curious as to what peoples opinions are on the different University language programs - Especially some of the lesser known ones. It seems to be the general consensus around here that Sogang is good for conversation skills, while Yonsei is more grammar based (And some say is mind-numbingly boring). I attended the SNU night course, but was not impressed by the facilities or instruction.

So, can anyone chime in on their opinions about the different language programs? I'm really curious about the non-SKY programs, because some of them offer really goods deals compared to the better known alternatives.

Here's a list of the cost (per semester) for some of the full-time language programs in Seoul:

Yonsei = 1,554,000
Korea = 1,540,000
Sogang = 1,515,000
SNU = 1,500,000
Hankuk = 1,400,000
Ewha = 1,340,000
Sungkyunkwan = 1,300,000
Chung-Ang = 1,250,000
Hanyang = 1,250,000
Sookmyung = 1,140,000
U of Seoul = 1,050,000

[dharma bum]

I'm curious about this as well - and even about how the programs outside of Seoul in terms of quality and cost.

Just to contribute what I can, I've actually attended the full-time program at SNU and can say that the instruction is quite good and the classes uniformly structured. The program's main focus at the upper levels is to prepare people to attend university in Korea, so there is a strong emphasis on the grammar and vocabulary that would be associated with that and less of an emphasis on speaking, etc. Also, you'll have to study a lot on your own and be self-motivated to really keep up with the classes, especially with the Chinese and Japanese students who have an advantage in learning the language.

[Slowmotion]

There's like a billion threads related to this.

[Milkman Dan]

[joyorbison]

studying at YBM in jongno we use the konkuk university language program books. ive not studied at yonsei or sogang but what i hear is that the konkuk program is somewhere in the middle in regards to speaking versus grammar.

[misher]

I did Sogang 1-3 and now I'm at SNU taking level 4. The classes are pretty good and there is definitely more focus on grammar and vocab. Sogang is good to start off but after a while I was starting to get pissed off doing stupid dialogues and learning very little grammar per class.

SNU has really socked it to me and as I am also working 6 hours in the evening, keeping up has been incredibly difficult. I feel my Korean is getting better though and I'm glad I switched out of Sogang. I also want to write the TOPIK test and try to enter a uni so SNU is much better for that. The teacher talk time at SNU is much more but I just use that time to write down sentences that use the grammar. I prefer that to drilling 2 grammar points over and over for 2 hours through dialogues.

ANother thing I though I should mention is to not get discouraged by Japanese students. THey will always be better than you no matter how hard you try. At first I was really hard on myself for not learning as quickly as they did but then realized that when I lived in Europe I learned German to an advanced level while my asian classmates were still struggling at the lower intermediate level. It is some kind of revenge for them I guess.