Korean Job Discussion Forums

[eirrehs]

could you guys recommend some good universities for learning korean.

i'd like to study in a 6 month program if they are available.

does anyone know if its possible to get a student visa for one of these programs?

any info would be greatly appreciated

[i4NI]

Usually each semester is 10 weeks and you meet 5 times a day (standard program). And yes you do get a student visa, if i'm not mistaken a D4?

The best two programs in my opinion:

Seoul National University:
http://lei.snu.ac.kr/english/pages/SD00009_00.jsp

Sogang University:
http://klec.sogang.ac.kr/

Stay away from Yonsei unless you are just looking people to party with who won't even bother taking the final. If you have anymore questions I'll be glad to help.

[eirrehs]

So which uni did you go to?
Did you work at the same time?
What kind of jobs can one get on a student visa?
I wonder how much money I'd need to study for 6 months in Seoul.

[i4NI]

[dharma bum]

You won't be able to work (legally) on the visa for language students from my understanding of immigration law. You can work while here as a full-time university student (D2 visa?) but not as a language student (D4 visa?).

As for the language study itself, the terms run 3 months each at SNU; that's 10 weeks of class (9-10 M-F for the full-time program) and 3 weeks of break each term. If you're a beginner, that means you'd be able to complete Level 2 of the program in the six months you're talking aobut, giving you a good grasp of the fundamentals of the Korean language.

With that said, while I think SNU's program is VERY good at Level 1, from what I've heard, at higher levels, a place like Sogang might be more suited to the average Westerner's needs, as it's based more on day-to-day Korean.

[dharma bum]

[definitely maybe]

sungkyunkwan is a pretty good program. that said, sungkyunkwan, sogang and snu are expensive. i have a number of friends who studied at konkuk university, which is quite a bit cheaper, and were quite pleased with their experiences.

[crazy_arcade]

I'm studying at Sogang this spring and staying at a Goshitel near Daerim Station. Goshitel is a newer kind of goshiwon that is a bit more comfortable. Daerim station is also quite a bit cheaper than Shinchon station and is on the same line, about 15-20 minutes down.

Konkuk is only about 200,000 cheaper per semester and I can't find anything about their books online. Sogang has a good reputation but their books are the deal-maker for me. I'm pretty sure they have the most modern and most usable curriculum going in the Korean Language scene.

I've done night classes at SNU and they're good. Their classes probably fall somewhere in between Sogang and Yonsei--with Sogang on the communication side and Yonsei on the grammar side.

[i4NI]

I also wanna mention the teachers at SNU are really cute, as well as excellent teachers.

[Anon]

Oede is cool : www.hufs.ac.kr