When I was young, I used to dream of living alone independently. Now, I am proud to say that I have made my dream come true. Even though it is just for a while but this is what I had been dreaming of for a long time.
As a girl who grew up in a well-taken care family in a capital city, I had never experienced living alone. Some students left their hometowns and live in rented houses in the city while pursuing their degrees. I had always wanted to live a life like them. Actually, I want to experience every kind of living whether it is comfortable, adventurous, or hard. As I always said, life is a journey, everything is a part of an adventure. I am sure not many people want to have a boring journey. Neither do I.
Being a KGSP recipient, besides gaining academic experiences, I have also gained numerous life experiences. Well… I keep saying this again and again. Sometimes, I feel like time is going too fast. It was just like yesterday but it has been a year already. Soon, I will graduate and life in Korea will come to an end. It is sad to even just think about it.
Last year, I got a chance to experience living in a dormitory with a roommate from another country. I never experienced staying in a room with someone even with my relatives or siblings let alone with a stranger so it was a great and unforgettable experience. I learned a lot from that. Living with a complete stranger and sharing a space together is not really easy and it is not hard too if we know how to.
This year, however, I could choose to stay in a dormitory too but I did not. I chose to live outside. I am living in a small house that Korean called a “One Room Apartment”. It is a small room which has everything in it. It is a whole new level of experience for me. Living independently means you are responsible for everything by yourself even little things that you have never thought of. For example, living in a dorm or with family, I did not have to care about water because there was a water dispenser. Now, I have to buy water by myself. I am also responsible for electricity, gas, and so on. If there is something wrong, I need to know what should I do and who should I contact. Last but not least, living alone in Korea does help me to practice my Korean language skill because I have to communicate with my landlord quite often. I am so glad to gain all these experiences.
I love the feeling of locking the door, walking down the stair, going to school, and vice versa. I love how I can turn on the music and work without disturbing someone else in the room. I love the feeling of staying late at night and going to bed without worrying that someone is still working. I love standing on the balcony at night and looking at the sky, I love watching a movie at night until 1 or 2 am and then sleeping until 11 am. Lol – To sum up, I love the feeling of being self-controlled.
However, it also has disadvantages as well. Naturally, everything has pros and cons. Its disadvantage is, first of all, the expense. Living alone does cost a lot, especially in Seoul. I have to pay for the deposit, the rental fee, electricity, and gas. Another disadvantage is a lack of communication. Unlike living in a dorm, living alone is hard to make friends or hang out with other people for the first time. When you live in a dorm, you have a roommate, neighboring friends, and other students whom you occasionally meet in the lobby, elevator, or washing room. It was a bit hard for me to make friends with new people when I live outside. I can only meet them in class or at school. It is a bit lonely though. So before class started, I normally hung out with my Cambodian friends from other universities in Seoul. Now that the semester started, I hope to make more friends and spend more time together with them.
Ponika's Random Thoughts 
Hello! I was brought to your site while I was looking for blogs on KGSP experiences and I must say that I love reading your posts! KGSP has been my dream since I was in university and I’m planning to apply for the incoming academic year. I would just like to ask you, why did you choose Hankuk University? And how has the experience there been so far? I have had a specific school in mind for years now but the Interpretation and Language Graduate Program in Hankuk has caught my attention so I would love to hear your thoughts on the university as I know next to nothing about it! Haha. Hoping for your reply!
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Hello Maria, thank you so much for the comment. I actually wrote about the reason that I chose HUFS but now I think I have more specific reasons to tell you why. Since it’s a foreign studies university, the chance of working in international institution is high and it’s also specialize in my field. and for you, I am not sure which university is your preference but HUFS is the most well known for foreign language studies in Korea. they are specialized in foreign language teaching and interpretation. and for my personal view, the reason that I chose HUFS is because I feel comfortable with foreign environment. most of classmates are foreigners and most of korean students i met, they can speak english well so it’s easy to communicate. i know Korean but it’s limited so i prefer english. i hope i answer your question and let me know if you have more questions. 🙂
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Hi! Thanks for replying to my comment! Well, the school that I’ve had in mind for a while now is Yonsei GSIS since I’m interested in International Relations. However, I love learning languages and would like to become a translator in the future, hopefully in Korea, so Hankuk’s Graduate Program with three languages seems like something I would enjoy doing. So right now, I’m torn on which university I should apply to because I plan on doing the university track as I am currently working away from home, so the embassy track is a bit difficult. Ohh, also, I just wanted to ask if you’re planning to stay in Korea after the program? Do you think it would be difficult for someone with a degree in International Relations or in languages to find a job there, based on what you’ve seen/heard so far? Sorry for the countless questions!
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First of all I have to say sorry for long reply…
I should tell you I read the whole blog and
also the comments because there were alot if good information in there 😅I enjoyed alot. I loved it. and it’s really interesting how you improved in many ways after KGSP.
I’m aiming for undergraduate scholarship and preparing myself for next year .I almost prepare most important documents and notarized translations eventhough it’s too early and I have the whole year but I want to be sure and relieved that I have everything done before announcement.Im facing alot of self doubts because my major is not science nor engineering and also I’m 20 years old and as I said I’m aiming for undergraduate and embassy told me they prefer younger applicants around 18.but in the other hand I have 6 national awards related to my major (animation)and one international.also at the time of applying I will have my TOEFL and my TOPIK (as I planned. I hope it works)I worked as a volunteer member for AIESEC for 2 terms in social marketing. I have 2 good recommendation letter from my teachers and I’ll work hard on my personal statement and future plan when I’m sure about having enough English knowledge to write properly. I’m so worry about my age and my major. these 2 things makes me nervous.Did you meet anyone around my age or her/his field of study related to art and had got KGSP?the quota for my country embassy track is 2 this year and I hope it will stay 2 or increase next year.do i have a chance….?i know its a silly question but you were in my position and experiences alot so I hope you can help me ( god it seems I wrote alot. I know you are busy and I understand it.I hope I got an answer when you have the time for reading my comments)
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I was sitting in my room, frustrated from studying English to pass the TOEFL and at the same time I was dreaming about my plans and goals which the most important out of them is getting KGSP. I grabbed my phone and randomly typed “dream KGSP” I didn’t know what I was looking for. I did it to distract my mind from frustration and your blog showed up as a result.Kinda feel happy and refresh by reading your experience and it makes me cuddle my pillow and think if I can have the same experience.I don’t why I’m typing these kinda awkward but I wanted to let you know that I enjoyed reading this post.I think I’m gonna read your other posts and enjoy as well.
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Thank you so much for the comment and I’m glad you enjoy reading it. I’m sure you’ll be experiencing it or even something that is even more exciting. As long as you believe that you can do it, you will do it. Good luck and fighting! 😊
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