Name : DANG TRAN DIEU LINH Major : Chemical and Pharmaceutical Engineering Nationality : Germany Home University : BERLIN UNIVERSITY OF APPLIED SCIENCES AND TECHNOLOGY

Q1. Reasons for applying for Chungbuk National University(CBNU) Exchange Student Program.

Chungbuk National University has a good reputation in terms of education and research, and it is also one of the partner universities of my university.

Q2. Good points as an exchange student.

As an exchange student, you get to know a completely different way of living, learning and independence, especially if you hardly or not at all know the language of the country. However, you are very well supported in every respect and can always ask for help.

Q3. Characteristics and strengths you would like to introduce to other friends

The Exchange Student Program is an immense support and gives you the security not to get lost. In addition to the coordinator, each student is assigned a Korean student ("buddy") who can help you with anything and automatically brings a friendship with it.

CBNU consists of a beautiful campus with numerous educational institutions of all disciplines and very competent, kind and helpful professors.

The city of Cheongju itself is also a very beautiful city. You can find everything you need to live and have fun in the immediate vicinity and it is also very well connected to all the other cities, which makes traveling within Korea very easy and convenient.

Korea as a country is fascinating and diverse. It is very interesting to learn about the culture, life and the people and to be a part of it all.

Life in Korea has been nothing but positive for me as an exchange student. People are all incredibly polite and helpful, even or especially to strangers, and are very interested in getting to know you when they hear that you are from another country.

Q4. Advice to your juniors before entering Korea

I think a good tip for future exchange students is that you should know the language at least a little bit. Just being able to read is a big advantage.

One thing that you should also take care of in advance or at the airport is to get a prepaid SIM to have a phone number and mobile data directly.

Q5. Do you want to come to Chungbuk National University or Korea again?

I would definitely come back to CBNU if the opportunity arose and I will definitely travel back to Korea in the future.

Q6. Recommended places in Korea and Cheongju

I haven’t been to a lot of different places yet, but for now I would recommend the following places.

Places in Cheongju: Sangdong-ro for shopping and arcades, Musimdong-ro in spring for cherry blossoms

Places in Korea in general:

Seoul – big city life, shopping, night life

Daejeon – a lot of beautiful parks, botanical garden, expo park, Sung Sim Dang bakery etc.

Anywhere where you can find street food and markets.

Q7. Difficulties as a foreign exchange student in Korea.

The biggest difficulty in Korea is the language barrier. In addition, there are many bureaucratic things that are necessary, but as already mentioned, you have a lot of help.

Q8. Other things that you want to say

I think my semester abroad is a little different from others because of the whole Corona situation, but it's still a unique and incredibly great experience that I would recommend to anyone.