Hankuk University of Foreign Studies

It's a required program (that's how great it is). The classes are extremely good in terms of academics--really descent professors and classes. I also went on cool field trips. Rather it was fun or not, they were all memorable and positive and made new friends. The overall program would be 9/10 because of the students and the quality of education. However, you can't expect advanced Korean classes to be 'advanced.' They are good only if you are wishing to learn the very basics of Korean language. In addition, you have to be careful about picking classes. I picked intellectual property in korea and the Professor was laughing at students he/she disliked. More importantly, the exam was not easy, where you had to memorize examples of law and take good notes. If you miss his classes, you are kinda screwed (unless you don't care what you get). Again, his/her class was super interesting as well, but would not recommend it.

International Summer Session in HUFS was the best summer in my life. I really enjoyed my staying at this university, because academic courses, administration, events organized by the school were so good that I did not even expect. Thanks to HUFS ISS program and to people involved in that for such a brilliant opportunity! :)

I went from knowing virtually nothing about Korea to caring and talking a lot about it all the time! It does not matter if Korean/East Asian studies is not your field of study! You'll never be bored as there are so many activities and field trips (my personal favourite being the DMZ). As a westerner I feel like I understand Korean and East Asian people a lot better now, and am glad I had the amazing opportunity of learning about this country and its history with people who were there and saw it - it is not everyday that you learn history with the professor's personal account and photos rather than books! The ISS was only the starting point as I will definitely go back to Korea someday - ultil then, I'm learning the language! Academics: I only give this an A because I barely learned any korean, but the other two courses I did were very interesting and I definitely learned a lot that will be very useful for my future. Living Situation: The rooms are shared but very clean and comfortable and the dorm has a canteen downstairs and a convenience shop (and you can find many of those around campus, as well as restaurants). I miss eating gimbap and samgak gimbap from the convenience shop on a daily basis!! Cultural Immersion: Unfortunately I think I missed out on this a lot since I can't really speak Korean, but I did have to get by in Seoul and made many korean friends so I learned a lot about them and their culture. And besides, I made so many friends from other countries that I learned a lot about their countries too!

This was an amazing experience to know people of all around the world, just this year we were people of 27 different countries. Highly recommended to everyone ;)

Staff and faculty are wonderful, and apart from a wide variety of interesting classes, weekends are filled with culturally-immersive field trips. Even lunch time on certain days are filled with noon-time activities like gimbap making. Doesn't disappoint.

If you want to find a summer school in Korea, HUFS ISS program is a perfect choice! Everything is of highest quality there: subjects, the way of teaching, field trips that let you broaden your knowledge of the country and have lots of fun! The general atmosphere is very friendly. If you chose ISS, you will never forget your wonderful summer in Seoul!

(See the comments below each graded item.) Academics: Socializing took precedence over academics for me, but I learned so much outside of the classroom from the people I met. The diverse and international student body is the best part of this program. If you're looking for an intensive Korean language program, this is not the place to go. The "advanced" Korean language class is actually more like an intermediate level class. (Otherwise I wouldn't have placed into the advanced class.) The Korean language class sizes are way too large; my class probably had over 20 students. The result was that I didn't learn that much Korean. Sure, I learned a lot from Korean friends, but in terms of systematic language learning, this is not the place to go. Living Situation: Dorm rooms are air-conditioned, and you can adjust the temperature yourself. It's great! Cultural Immersion: If you're like me and most of my fellow students in the program and speak English most of the time, this program can't really count as a true cultural immersion experience, given the intimate link between language and culture. Even so, you can still learn a lot not only about Korean culture, but also about all the other cultures represented by the incredibly diverse student body. Program Administration: Everything seemed to go pretty smoothly.

The most amazing experience ever. It did so many thing s well. The classes were very interesting and I learnt so much academic wise. I also learnt so much about Korean culture from general interaction with the students and staff but also from the exciting fieldtrips arranged every weekend. Everyone was so friendly which made the experience that more fun. I made some good friends and no doubt we'll keep in touch with the other international students as well as the Koreans.The staff and volunteers were so helpful with University issues as well social issues such as the best place to eat. I will always remember this experience and recommend it to EVERYONE!! Living Situation: I wish there was a self catering option. Wifi wasn't working when I was there but these are not that important.

totally love this program! the staff was great, the lessons are tailored for the program with professors from all over the world teaching and you also get to meet students from different countries as well. this is one of the best summer programs ever and i would do it all over again if i could!

This summer program was the best program I could've asked for. Not only were the classes great, but the administration took the time to take us out and explore Korea. These 5 weeks or so were the best weeks of my life and I plan on doing it again next year if I can!