First Day of Classes

Registration for Yonsei University is ridiculous.  I have heard from many people that it is the same at the other Korean universities as well (worse at some).  Instead of registration opening and remaining open, you play red-light green-light with registration that is open for hours at a time as though it was a cafe.

I am certainly not alone in my frustration.  Those around me loudly voice theirs as well, asking question after question about when exactly registration will reopen, and why such a date was chosen.

And wait lists? Forget it.  You either get in during that tiny window before the spots fill up (for my chosen classes it was less than thirty seconds), try again during the next registration period days or weeks later, or take the form to your professors in hope that they will sign you into the course.

Solace comes in the fact that the professors know how frustrating this system is.  Though it was only the first day, I did not hear of a single student getting turned down to sign into the classes.  This open and close system means that students cannot drop classes they have decided against either.  This left my first class of the day with plenty of spaces, the professor announcing that she would be allowing anyone who wanted into the class to sign up.

Yonsei has a wonderful Korean Language program at the Korean Language Institute (KLI).  Generally, the intensive is four hours daily for ten week periods.  However, if you take these classes as an exchange student the classes occur with the regular semester (sixteen weeks) at two hours a day.  Either way, you take the same test that took nearly two hours.

There is a writing portion, which is approximately half multiple choice and half write in, as well as a speaking and listening portion.  The listening portion is an interview.  The group of nearly 400 students who planned to take KLI were broken up into groups of about a dozen and sent to different classrooms.  I was unfortunately the last to be interviewed.  This was such a shame because I could not answer more than two pages of a test that was about 13 pages, so I mostly stared at the linoleum floor until it was my turn for the interview at which point I said in my most nervous of Korean that "level one is fine".  She laughed, asked me a few questions and her face told me that she agreed.  I thanked her, left, and went to stuff my face with the amazing pasta sold just under our dorms.