Spring Semester Language School Application Process and Thoughts After One Month of Attendance
관정
2 days ago
Hi everyone
I’m currently studying in Kyung Hee University’s Spring 2026 Korean Language Program, Level 3.
My midterms just wrapped up, so I wanted to share my experience from the application process through starting school,
and how I feel after one month.
1. Application stage:
When I applied, I was already a 30+ office worker, on one hand I was worried I might miss something when submitting documents, and on the other hand I saw that with Creatrip I could pay by credit card without needing to do an international wire transfer. While reading posts, I got a lot of info from the Creatrip website, and to make everything even more convenient, I decided to use their agency service. During the application process, whenever I had questions about preparing documents and emailed them, I got quick replies (I’d heard that schools can be pretty slow with admin🤣), which made me feel much more at ease.
As for dorm applications, I honestly think it’s all luck. When I didn’t get a single room dorm on the first draw, I just gave up on other dorm options and started looking outside.
2. Starting school:
(1) Placement test:
A few weeks before the semester starts, there’s an online orientation and placement test. It’s pretty convenient since you can do it wherever you are. Back in Taiwan, I happened to have studied up to the end of Level 3 at a cram school, and here I was placed into Level 3 as well, which felt about right (I’ve also heard some people get placed one or two levels lower than what they studied in Taiwan). Once classes started, the material didn’t feel extremely hard, but once you’re in a language institute, Korean is split into five subjects (listening, speaking, reading, writing, and grammar), and your weak points show immediately (for example, chatting with classmates who are really good at speaking is painful for me, because my speaking is terrible and I’m always several beats slower when trying to say what I want).
(2) The area around campus, daily life, and getting around:
The area around Hoegi Station is a complete 생활권 that covers basically everything you need for daily life. Because I’m afraid of being late, I live in a goshiwon near the school. Nearby there’s Daiso, convenience stores, supermarkets, Olive Young, and plenty of regular restaurants. Sometimes I also use Creatrip’s delivery ordering service to get food from places farther away. But if you want to shop, you pretty much have to go to other areas (there are a few clothing stores here, but it’s not enough!). This area isn’t a tourist district at all, but right next door in Cheongnyangni there’s a Lotte Department Store building, and it’s not too far from Seongsu and Myeongdong (about 30 minutes). Personally, I think not living in a busy downtown area is pretty peaceful.
For the commute to school, it takes about 15 minutes to walk from Hoegi Station to campus. There’s also the Dongdaemun 001 bus that goes straight to the main gate (about 10 minutes), but since there isn’t a huge difference, I usually just walk.
(In front of the Cheongun Hall building, there are often promotional events, my classmates and I join sometimes when we have nothing to do, and you can get little freebies🎁)
(2) Teaching and classes
Taiwanese students are all placed in the morning classes. Class sizes are small, usually under 12 people. There are many different nationalities in my class, the only one with more than one person is Vietnam, everyone else comes from different places. I think this kind of balanced distribution is pretty good, although sometimes it can be a bit challenging, and English isn’t a cure-all for communication (when my brain is about to explode, I still go find classmates from Malaysia or Hong Kong who speak Chinese🤣).
The morning class runs from 9:00 to 13:00, split into four periods. I think the school is quite strict about tardiness, even just a few minutes late (I forgot the exact cutoff) counts as late, and after 9:15 it counts as absent for the day. Three times late counts as one day absent. So after two weeks of the semester, I just gave up on doing my makeup…
The advantage of the morning class is that after class ends at noon, you can still do a lot. Whether it’s shopping or joining activities, as long as you have the energy, you can usually make it in time. Also, since class starts earlier than my old work schedule, my body clock has been forcibly reset, which is actually another plus.
In terms of teaching, I think Kyung Hee is pretty well-balanced. If I had to say, there’s a bit more emphasis on grammar hours. As for teachers, it depends, each class has two teachers. Some people in my class even applied to change classes because they didn’t really like one of the teachers (the school is fairly flexible with this system). In general, there’s plenty of time to practice, and the teachers are able to take care of every student.
As for homework, I personally feel it’s relatively light compared to other schools, but the midterm and final exams cover speaking, reading, listening, writing, and grammar all together, and the volume is honestly still a lot. For me, it’s not “easy.” The exam question types are very diverse, and speaking alone is split into an individual oral exam and a group oral exam. After the exams, you also have a one-on-one consultation with the teacher.
(3) Field trip
Every semester, Kyung Hee has a field trip (apparently if you’re in Level 6, you can go to Jeju Island). This semester we went to Nami Island, and there were subsidized meal vouchers. I thought it was super fun, the spring scenery was beautiful, and it was also a great chance to bond with classmates. Highly recommended!
Overall, my experience so far, from applying up to now, has been really good! Since I basically ran away halfway through my working life to Seoul for a short break, I’m cherishing it even more. I’d recommend it even if you’re already working, come give it a try!
