How to Make Friends in Korea
Make the most of your study abroad experience in Korea by making local friends and having fun, not just studying alone!
Are you thinking about making lots of Korean friends before coming to Korea? Or perhaps you're already here but struggling to connect with locals? Well, today we're going to explore some effective ways to make Korean friends while studying abroad or planning to study abroad in Korea. So, stay tuned!
Making Friends in Korea
School Clubs
If your study abroad period in Korea coincides with the start of the semester for Korean students, you might have the opportunity to join a Korean club. Joining a club is a great way to make friends quickly, as people with similar interests gather together. In addition, each school may have international exchange programs organized by their international offices, so be sure to check your school's website for more information!
Part-time Job
After a certain period of time, you may be able to work part-time in Korea, which is also a great way to make friends with peers. Part-time jobs, especially in places such as cafes, movie theaters, and clothing stores where young people gather, are usually filled with young people. Working together and going through the same experiences can create a sense of camaraderie and help you form connections. As an example, even as an editor, I still keep in touch with people I met through part-time jobs. When you work hard together, it's only natural to become even closer!
Volunteer Work
There are various volunteer activities in Korea. These include helping out at public and welfare facilities, visiting nursing homes, hospitals, and military bases, participating in campaigns for traffic safety, environmental conservation, disaster relief, and charitable activities for the disadvantaged, as well as participating in activities to preserve cultural heritage, maintain environmental facilities such as picking up trash, and providing knowledge-based volunteer services such as translation and foreign language teaching. Volunteers come with a kind heart and a strong will to help, and after the activities, they can become even closer because they have shared the experience. In addition, talent donation services such as teaching foreign languages require planning before the start of the class, which not only helps to become closer but also can be helpful as an experience when applying for jobs in Korea later on. To find volunteer opportunities, you can use the 1365 Volunteer Portal, which supports English language search on the site, making it more convenient for foreigners to search.
Exercise
You can make exercise buddies while doing group exercises such as kickboxing, boxing, and CrossFit. Of course, this requires a certain level of extroverted personality because most people don't initiate conversations first. For example, as an editor, I always greeted others first and talked about exercise-related topics during kickboxing, so I could make friends more quickly. If you enjoy exercising, making exercise buddies and meeting them privately to exercise together is the biggest advantage. Also, I am sure that building physical and mental endurance through exercise will help with long hours of studying, rather than just sitting and studying.
Application
Lastly, let's talk about using applications. As an example, I would like to introduce the hobby group app called "SoMoim." SoMoim is a mobile community platform where you can join various offline groups based on your interests and location. There are different types of groups, such as hiking, reading, and language learning, and you can meet many Koreans who share your interests by joining the ones you like. Many professionals in Korea use this type of app, and the advantage is that you can quickly make friends with people who have similar interests. In addition to SoMoim, there are various other apps such as "Flip" and "Udong," so I recommend searching for them on the app store!
Today, we looked into the fastest way to make Korean friends in Korea. When hanging out with Korean friends, it's common to split the bill and if you end up drinking, you'll likely go to at least a second location, so keep this in mind. I hope you make great Korean friends and have an even more fulfilling study abroad experience in Korea!
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