I never got to graduate from university. I managed somehow to finish my freshman year in New York, but tuition was high, things happened, and I had to fly back to Korea during summer break and start working instead of returning to school. I have no hard feelings; it was a good experience, and at present I prefer being able to spend my own money rather than having to rely on my parents'. However, I'd always enjoyed learning, going to class, doing homework... being the nerd that I am. So last year, while I was on the lookout for options that would allow me to obtain a degree while still working, I discovered Korea National Open University (방송통신대학교). Or rather, I had some vague idea about it and passed by the campus quite often over the years, but for the first time actually properly considered it.
KNOU is the first national 4-year distance education university in Korea, which started out as a branch from Seoul University and eventually became its own entity. It has a campus in all the major cities in Korea, but for working people like myself who can't make it to the classroom, all the courses are available online or through other forms of media, mainly television (they have their own channel and everything). Online courses are the preferred choice for most students because high-speed internet is accessible nearly everywhere in this country, and the courses can be taken quite flexibly, in each individual's own time. A degree from KNOU is considered the equivalent of any other 4-year university degree, at only a fraction of the tuition price. I paid my first tuition for KNOU last year, and though I don't remember the exact amount I'm positive it was under 400,000 KRW. Which is like one twentieth of what I had to pay in the US (not even including all the crazy living expenses of a New Yorker).
However, it's important to know that KNOU should not be thought as an easier way to get a degree. I started my first semester last week, and man these courses are challenging. More for me especially because my major is Korean Literature, which I have less experience of than most other Koreans since I only spent 4 years of school in Korea, the rest either in the US or at home. My reading pace is much slower in Korean too, and I struggle with older Korean text and most of all with Chinese characters (which I imagine to be difficult for just younger generations in general). This is a full university course, only I have to balance this with a full time job. To keep up, I've realized that I have to finish at least one lecture a day, so I can maintain reviewing six lectures a week. If I don't have time in the evening due to other plans, I need to squeeze it in during lunchtime or else the studying will pile up for me on the weekend and I'll probably go mad.
A lot of people were surprised to hear I'm taking Korean Lit; I think they all expected me to do something English related. But I think I made the right choice. I was interested in linguistics and intended to major in it had I continued my studies in NY, and while taking introductory courses I found myself more interested in comparing what I learned about the English language to Korean. And after backpacking in other countries and meeting people from around the world, I began to identify myself more as a Korean and decided that I just didn't know enough of the culture, the language, the literature, or the history.
Well, I know I chose the right major, but at the moment I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get through a single semester. My first online lecture on Chinese characters nearly made me cry - imagine having to memorize thousands of characters, meaning and Korean pronunciation and all. That shit's a whole different writing system, and I barely know the basics. I didn't sign up for this (or I did, but didn't know what I got myself into). I don't know what the professor was thinking, just throwing a bunch of pages of characters in our faces and expecting us to find some way to look everything up in a dictionary and miraculously have everything in our heads by next time.
All I can say for now is, I don't know what's going to happen to my social life until the semester is over. It's been one week and I'm already looking forward to summer vacation, which isn't really a vacation because I'll still be working full time. I really admire all those people who managed to complete all 4 years... KNOU has a reputation for being tough to graduate but I never thought it would apply to someone like me. I thought it was more for older people and housewives and people who were way past schooling years but wanted to achieve something more (which is the case for the majority of KNOU students). I couldn't be more wrong! Let's just pray I'll get through this alright, and prove to myself that I'm actually capable of studying.
KNOU is the first national 4-year distance education university in Korea, which started out as a branch from Seoul University and eventually became its own entity. It has a campus in all the major cities in Korea, but for working people like myself who can't make it to the classroom, all the courses are available online or through other forms of media, mainly television (they have their own channel and everything). Online courses are the preferred choice for most students because high-speed internet is accessible nearly everywhere in this country, and the courses can be taken quite flexibly, in each individual's own time. A degree from KNOU is considered the equivalent of any other 4-year university degree, at only a fraction of the tuition price. I paid my first tuition for KNOU last year, and though I don't remember the exact amount I'm positive it was under 400,000 KRW. Which is like one twentieth of what I had to pay in the US (not even including all the crazy living expenses of a New Yorker).
However, it's important to know that KNOU should not be thought as an easier way to get a degree. I started my first semester last week, and man these courses are challenging. More for me especially because my major is Korean Literature, which I have less experience of than most other Koreans since I only spent 4 years of school in Korea, the rest either in the US or at home. My reading pace is much slower in Korean too, and I struggle with older Korean text and most of all with Chinese characters (which I imagine to be difficult for just younger generations in general). This is a full university course, only I have to balance this with a full time job. To keep up, I've realized that I have to finish at least one lecture a day, so I can maintain reviewing six lectures a week. If I don't have time in the evening due to other plans, I need to squeeze it in during lunchtime or else the studying will pile up for me on the weekend and I'll probably go mad.
A lot of people were surprised to hear I'm taking Korean Lit; I think they all expected me to do something English related. But I think I made the right choice. I was interested in linguistics and intended to major in it had I continued my studies in NY, and while taking introductory courses I found myself more interested in comparing what I learned about the English language to Korean. And after backpacking in other countries and meeting people from around the world, I began to identify myself more as a Korean and decided that I just didn't know enough of the culture, the language, the literature, or the history.
Well, I know I chose the right major, but at the moment I'm not even sure if I'll be able to get through a single semester. My first online lecture on Chinese characters nearly made me cry - imagine having to memorize thousands of characters, meaning and Korean pronunciation and all. That shit's a whole different writing system, and I barely know the basics. I didn't sign up for this (or I did, but didn't know what I got myself into). I don't know what the professor was thinking, just throwing a bunch of pages of characters in our faces and expecting us to find some way to look everything up in a dictionary and miraculously have everything in our heads by next time.
All I can say for now is, I don't know what's going to happen to my social life until the semester is over. It's been one week and I'm already looking forward to summer vacation, which isn't really a vacation because I'll still be working full time. I really admire all those people who managed to complete all 4 years... KNOU has a reputation for being tough to graduate but I never thought it would apply to someone like me. I thought it was more for older people and housewives and people who were way past schooling years but wanted to achieve something more (which is the case for the majority of KNOU students). I couldn't be more wrong! Let's just pray I'll get through this alright, and prove to myself that I'm actually capable of studying.
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