The reason that I applied for a one-year exchange study program was to take some time to think about my future, as well as study abroad, before graduating. Now I will look back at my one year in Japan and write some information and advice for “future ISEP students” as a means of repaying my debt to CNU.

ISEP is an International Student Exchange Program which Tokyo Gakugei University (東京學藝大學) is enthusiastically running. Every spring and fall semester students from all over the world are selected and start their new life in Japan (actually more than half of ISEP students are from Asian countries including Korea, China, Taiwan and Hong Kong). All classes of ISEP are taught in English. Most of them are about Japanese culture and language related to education, since Tokyo Gakugei University is one of the leading educational universities in Japan. Besides, skiing, swimming, cycling, Judo, and various music classes are opened for regular students as well as to ISEP. The Japanese government also supports ISEP by granting scholarships. The university is running a tutor system to help foreign students to adapt Japanese life. All students are a supplied studio style dormitory. Many CNU students having interest in exchange student programs may be eager to know which university is suitable for them. I recommend them not to care too much about the particular university. Frankly, I was not satisfied with the result because I wanted to be selected for a university in the U.S., not Japan. At that time I thought studying in America was much better than studying English in Japan. However, studying English in Japan has more benefits than I expected.

Chances to enjoy multiple cultures

I was easily able to meet and communicate in English with my international neighbors. The International Students’ Dormitory where I stayed was a big apartment-styled dormitory. Here I made many international friends such as a Hawaiian girl (she lived next door. She is a sweet heart and good at dancing), some Swedish guys (their colorful dreadlocks caused a sensation both in the dormitory and in school) and many Chinese students who served us very special and delicious Chinese food. Whether this is good for English or not does not matter. Only enjoying life in Japan is the key to having a successful exchange study. In my case, I tried my best to enjoy all opportunities to know Japan and other international students. For instance Japan is called a Paradise of Festivals (mazzri). Every town has their own festival, however small. They enjoy hanami (cherry blossom appreciation) in spring and hanabi (fireworks) in summer. All year round, Japanese people enjoy festivals. Every festival has a special event to attract foreigners and is a good chance to enjoy Japanese culture. In addition to festivals, Tokyo has many parks and trails to secure your meditation time away from busy routine life. Enjoying events and opening your mind to international friends in your dormitory is a short cut to making exchange study a success.

Great hospitality

Japan is a perfect place to live for international students. The Japanese are on the whole kind to foreigners. You will be surprised to often see foreign actors or comedians on TV, not just of Hanryu (韓流) stars like Bae Yong-joon or Lee Byung-heon. This is not limited to mass media. For example, each town has a citizen organization of international friendship. They make brochures and display them all around the university on shelves. These organizations are eager to maintain friendship with international visitors. Member families invite students to their houses and serve them Japanese food and spend time together. International students can naturally experience, as well as understand, Japan. Most international friendship organizations are managed by volunteers. I was invited to a Japanese family home. I was surprised to see their extreme kindness. They welcomed me and served expensive sashimi (raw fish). They paid money for a party instead of me. I was moved as well as little embarrassed by their hospitality. Till now I have not understood why Japanese families are crazy about international friendship projects. I think Japanese people have a common mind to introduce their culture to foreigners. If they are kind to foreigners, the foreigners will be positive about Japanese culture in their own countries. They seemed to regard us as cultural ambassadors. This is a natural and effective way of escaping an ever-lasting burden to break away from the problems of World War II. The reason the Japanese government put an incredible amount of money into culture and education projects is to improve their image not as war criminals but as a peace-loving and friendly country.

Korean Advantages

We Korean students are famous as being quick language learners. In fact, many students who were not good at Japanese surprised people because they mastered it so quickly. Therefore, Korean students were superior to other exchange students after the 2nd semester. I think the ISEP program is a perfect chance to master Japanese as well as English. We have advantages compared to other foreigners. We can read Chinese letters and do not have a problem in organizing words, owing to similar word order between the two countries. We also have a similar appearance. Therefore, we can get part-time jobs easily compared to western people. Many students are learning Japanese at their workplace. One of my friends is really enjoying working part time. He has improved his Japanese through communicating with customers (every day he makes friends at work). He makes money as well as practices his language naturally. He is satisfied with his part-time job no matter how hard the work is. If you want to master Japanese, ISEP will be a stepping-stone for you. In addition, now Japan is crazy for Korea. From obasan (ajumma, married woman) to children, they are all falling in love with Korea. I often saw people studying Korean language books on the train. Now is a good time to be an international student in our neighboring country, Japan. I am also satisfied that I lived by myself for the first time and made many international friends including my lovely Hawaiian neighbor, Rachael. I am sure this one-year stay in Japan will be an unforgettable memory. Throughout the year, in spite of loneliness, some happenings, and difficulties, I found myself becoming more mature and open-minded to other cultures. Now I believe myself more. I trust that I can do well in the future.