The Dreaded SOLGEO Curfew

“I want to go out after 11pm… ”
“I can not come in if I come back later than 11pm on weekdays…”


Yes, that`s what we have now in SOLGEO-International Resident Hall, a curfew! I know that some students are always complaining about it. But, in my opinion, it is still a necessary policy that we should have in the dormitory.


This summer vacation, I did a large survey about this dormitory type of situation in Chinese University’s.


The results of the research show that around 84% of the domitories in China that I studied don`t have a curfew every night. But one thing we should mention is the dormitories for which I did the survey for are all for Chinese student housing. Actually, it is often the case that Chinese students are not that free-spiriited as westerners. So, it`s common for them to come back to dorm on-time consciously. Just because they don`t have a curfew doesn`t mean that the school doesn`t feel responsible for their safety.


They also have foreign students studying and living there, but they have a special dorm for them. And they have dedicated students or other teachers taking care of them everynight at the same time to make sure they all came back. It`s similar to a curfew.


But here, since SOLGEO is a residence hall with over 600 multi-cultural residents, every country represented has their own behavior and living habbits. We should value different cultures to avoid conflicts at the same time. So, having a curfew is much more important for us to have a unitive rule or policy for all residents so that we can better ensure all of the residents safety and It will be much more convenient for the manager to do their work. The goal for this is to use the least intrusive and the most convenient way to get the most useful results.


All in all, our safety is the primary concern for all of us. So, always be mindful of that. It`s not a useless thing designed to cause trouble for you. But it`s really a useful policy to provide for your safety. Stay safe out there.

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Zhang Jing is currently a Solbridge Student majoring in International Business and Finance 

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A Window to Malaysia

My first thoughts were, 'What? Malaysia? What can I do there? I was hoping for crazy shopping in Hong Kong!'


When I heard that we are going to Malaysia for English Training, these were the words that came out from my mouth. But, what could I say? I am college student and I should deal with it. On the last day of July in the evening, 30 Woosong University students landed safely in Kuala Lumpur International Airport. There were three people waiting to greet us.


One of them was a Korean coordinator from the University of Malaya (UM). The other two were International students from UM. And they referred to themselves as a ‘PM’. They said they would be helping us out for the next 2 weeks. I was thinking, ‘Local friends who can show us around for 2 weeks? Cool.’


The next day, they took us to a Faculty of Languages where we would take our classes. That same day, they gave us a campus tour and welcoming ceremony. Thankfully they organized 3 daytrips with a college bus to the suburb of of Kuala Lumpur. We visited places such as Firefly Park, Malaca, Batu Caves, Petra Jaya and so on.


They all treated us like old friends. They were so friendly, kind and dedicated. Most of our guides were Muslims, so they were doing their Ramadan fasting which means they can’t eat while the sun is up. Yet, they helped us 24/7.


I was very impressed with their dedication and warm hearts. 2 weeks seemed like such a long time before I left Korea. But, time flew. When I got back from Malaysia, I realized I got an amazing experience of diverse cultures and good friends. Something I couldn’t compare to some postcards that I would have gotten after a trip to Hong Kong.

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Jain Song is currently the Chief Student Editor of the Woosong Herald
and
a Woosong Student majoring in Culinary Arts

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What I Felt Through Training Program in Malaysia

We, the 30 students of Woosong University, came back to Korea after the completion of two weeks of training at the University of Malaya in the capital of Malaysia, Kuala Lumpur. Although it felt like it was somewhat of a short period of time, it was a good chance to feel and experience a lot of things. In my opinion, to cut a long story short, Malaysia is a very unique and special country.


Firstly, one thing that made me surprised the most was that Malaysia is composed of a variety of cultures. All this, as well as the peaceful coexistence of such different cultures at the same time. The diverse cultures in Malaysia were so distinctive that I could feel it in daily life. For example, there were all types of apparel being worn on the street. Not only Malaysian traditional clothes but modern and casual clothes as well as religious clothes. Downtown was scattered with all kinds of temples such as Islamic Mosques, Buddhist temples, Hindu temples and Sikh temples. Looking at all the different types daily religious practice was very interesting.


Besides diverse cultures, another novel feature was that there were a lot of foreigners. In fact, the major ethnic groups of the country are Malaysian, Chinese, and Indian. Moreover, in recent times, a number of people coming to Malaysia in order to study or to work are from South Asia, the Middle East and Southeast Asia. So there were many chances to meet tourists and foreigners who live there while I was staying at the University of Malaya and walking in downtown Kuala Lumpur. Running into foreigners so frequently made me feel like a member of Malaysia, not just a stranger.


Furthermore, I got to think a lot about language. Actually, I encountered numerous kinds of languages that I’ve never experienced before while in Malaysia. Beyond Malaysian, some examples of them are Arabic, Persian, Cantonese, Panjabi, Tamil and so on. As meeting so many kinds of unfamiliar languages, I anew realized that indeed the world is wide and it has much to offer and learn from. And I thought that if this is a place where people from all over the world gather, English is a basic means to communicate but when it comes to learning each other truly, an active attitude to understand different cultures and ideas is necessary.

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Jeong Seop Ahn is currently a Woosong Student majoring in the Nursing Department

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Return from Malaysia Summer Training

First, I have to tell you that I have itchy feet. It means I love to go somewhere, want to travel or do something different. This defines me exactly. Luckily I got a much higher than my usual average score on the imitation TOEIC test from the foreign language competition this time.

That is how I have got a chance to participate in the ‘University of Malaya Exchange Students program’ for 2 weeks this past summer.

So I am telling you I was pretty lucky though. The university paid for this great  program, and I have learned a lot, experienced totally new and different things, and also met lots of great people there. It was a very meaningful and very precious training for others and myself.

While I was in Kuala Lumpur, which is the capital of Malaysia, all the thoughts and expectations I had about Malaysia until I arrived were all wrong. The streets and buildings in Kuala Lumpur were so impressive. The city itself is just very well organized, clean and neat. There are a lot of modern designed buildings in Kuala Lumpur. There were quite many buildings that I still think of. Especially I cannot forget the ‘Petronas Twin Towers’ which are very fancy.

Since I was trying to save money, we didn’t go up for the city view. But our Iranian friend took us for the whole Kuala Lumpur ’s night view, which was very beautiful and made us go, “Wow!” Plus when you visit Kuala Lumpur, you may feel like you are in the United States or Canada somewhere because of all the malls! The malls are just like the ones in the States.

The first one I went to was ‘Midvalley Megamall’. I was stunned. Because it was completely awesome! Not only the mall, but there are so many things to buy and eat compared to Korea. Malaysian ethnic groups are various. It’s Malay, Chinese, Indigenous, and Indian. So there are different and diverse foods, cultures, languages, and religions of course. This unique feature of Malaysia could make them more attractive or not. Because honestly for me their culture was so mixed, I could not distinguish who is originally from Malaysia because Chinese and Southern Indian people (Tamil) are also part of Malaysia. But being multicultural is their special attractiveness. So it has to accept diversity.

I also didn’t know that Malaysia also produces petroleum and their main exports are palm oil. It is always good to learn something new about a place. And one more thing I felt while there is that this was my first visit to Muslim country. It was a new and different culture shock, really! Women were wearing Hijabs (a head covering) in 30 degree Celsius and above weather with long sleeves and pants. Mercifully, it was not as humid as Korean summers. 5 times per day, I could hear the Quran’s prayer. Also since it was August, (in the Islamic calendar it’s September) they were having their Ramadan, which is fasting while the sun’s up. So we usually hung out with the students in UM.

They are called as ‘Pembantu Mahasiswa’, which means student facilitator. They are volunteers. Many were not even locals. They were from all around the world like Sudan, Chad, Mauritania, Iran, Sweden, Indonesia, Myanmar, Bangladesh, India, Russian and more! I’ve met so many good people there and made so many local friends too.I love to meet new people from everywhere and today we still facebook.

My stay there everyday was so cherished and thankful. I really appreciate Woosong University for sending us to this great place to learn and experience. I will never forget this summer!

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Eun Young Hwang is currently a Woosong Student majoring in Hotel Tourism Management

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A Unique Encounter in Malaysia

For two weeks, from  August 1^st to August 15^th, I visited Malaysia. It was a free university trip for the students who were awarded at the Woosong English Competition. During these two weeks, I took an English class at the University of Malaya.

In the morning, I went to my class and then I would travel Malaysia in the afternoon. The English class in Malaysia was similar to that in Korea and the professor let students speak freely in English. I liked my teacher and enjoyed the experience very much.

However, the most interesting and unforgettable thing about Malaysia was the environment. There are a lot of free roaming cats and monkeys in the University of Malaya’s campus. Even in the dormitory! It seems that cats in Korea are afraid of people, but cats in Malaysia are not afraid at all. When I had breakfast in the cafeteria or when I had free time socializing with classmates, cats and monkey’s would come to us and sit on our knee’s.

I was very surprised to see so many monkeys in the dorm. Before we went to Malaysia, we were told that if we put bread or fruits in the dormitory, monkeys would come to get them. I really had a hard time beliving this could be true.

Yet one day while I was alone, I encountered a single monkey in the dormitory. At that time, I was on the way to the shower room and I saw something in the end of hallway. It was a monkey. The monkey was approaching me little by little. At first, I was not sure what it was but I soon realized it was a monkey. At that moment, I was really surprised. I didn't make a sound because I was so scared. So I ran to my room. I remembered my teacher saying I should never look into the eyes of monkey. If people stare at a monkey’s eyes, they will likely attack and injure you. I honestly think the monkey was also surprised to see me and did not know what to do.

Now when I think about that moment, I smile. It was a very unique experience and that makes me laugh. While I was in Malaysia, I really missed Korea, my family, and friends. Ironically now I miss Malaysia. I miss both the University of Malaya because I learned a lot there and I also miss the beautiful Kuala Lumpur Tower and the Petronas Twin Towers.  Finally, I miss all the animals, especially that monkey I met in the dormitory!

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Eun Ah Yook is currently a Woosong Student majoring in Food Service Management

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Woosong University Review: University of Malaya Perspective

Milad Moazzam is currently a student at the University of Malaya. This is his account of meeting Woosong students this past summer.

I headed for the university to greet the new students who arrived from Korea for a two-week program. Well, honestly speaking this was not the first time I dealt with Korean exchange students so I expected the same people with the same look.

The first person I ran into was the kind and lovely Professor Ms. Sue. She was the supervisor from Woosong University located in Daejeon. Woosong students stayed in Malaysia for two weeks, a very short trip but useful!

During the first field trip I was expecting to face many difficulties as we did before, but Woosong students were surprisingly well-organized. Everyone followed Kevin (The Oppa or Big Brother) and the program ran smoothly. Later on Kevin got named Captain Kevin for his remarkable leadership skills.

In the following weeks we conducted several field trips and visits together with Woosong students and my role as a facilitator had nothing to worry about because everything was already taken care of by Woosong students.

Woosong students reflected such discipline and unity that I have never seen before among Korean students. They really showed that “United we stand, divided we fall.”

I still remember their smiling and kind faces in any situation. I know at certain points they did not enjoy what was going on, but still smiled at us. It was such a great help and inspiration to bring up the awesome moments we spent together.

These great Woosong students all helped to create the best memories for me during the Summer of 2011.

It absolutely goes without saying that you guys were the best and I know will continue to do great things!

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Milad Moazzam is currently a student at the University of Malaya

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A Good Way to Use Summer Time – The Summer Session

Starting in the summer of 2010, Woosong University implemented a four-semester system. The system requires students to take classes through both summer and winter vacation breaks. At first, most students, including myself, did not welcome the change since many felt that they were missing other opportunities by participating in the semester system. Traditionally, students have made special plans for their vacation time including getting certifications, traveling abroad and earning money through part-time work. This is because most students are very busy with their studies and assignments during the regular semester. 

In reality however, students often plan things but fail to carry them out. From a personal standpoint, while taking classes this summer, I began to realize that taking courses in the summer and winter breaks is really a great way to spend my vacation time.

This summer semester, I have been taking a class called, “Restaurant Operation”. During the regular semester, Korean professors teach major-related courses and foreign faculty typically only teach general English. However, the summer “Restaurant Operation” class is a major-related course that a foreign professor teaches, but it is in English only. Of course, this creates a burden for students since it may be the first time for many to take a major-related class in English by a native professor.

For example, “English Speaking” was the only class I have ever taken where the entire class was given in English. In this class, the professor spoke English slowly for students and the work in class was fairly easy to understand because it dealt mostly about daily conversation.

This is in great contrast to the work of my summer “Restaurant Operation” course. There are many major-related terms and descriptions in English that are difficult to understand, not only because the words are very different, but also because the professor speaks very fast. For about two days, myself and other students found the class very difficult to understand but quickly adapted to the new class format.

If there were no four-semester system, my fellow students and I would have once more a wasted our vacation time. Yet, because the summer course is compulsory, we all wake up early in the morning to go to school. Woosong students are using their time more effectively. In this course, I have not only gained a lot of new major-related information, but it has also enhanced my listening and speaking skills in English. This has given my class and myself greater confidence to speak with a foreign professor about our major. With the summer session finishing next week, there is even still some time to enjoy the rest of our vacation.

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Eun Ah Yook is currently a Woosong Student majoring in Food Service Management

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