"... Koreans are very strict about education .."

February 19, 2018

"... Koreans are very strict about education .."

This impression is shared with us today by the student of the "World Economy" department of the Faculty of Economics and Management-Elzar Osmonalieva. Elzar recently returned from Korea, where she spent almost half a year on the student exchange program.

-Hello, Elzar! Tell us, please, why did you apply for the exchange program and why South Korea became the destination?

-The trip abroad was my dream since childhood. The choice fell on Korea, because it is an example of a developed economy and has good ratings at the world level.

-How was the preparation for the trip? Have you faced any difficulties?

-After filing an application, I waited a long time and worried about whether they would approve my candidacy. Finally, I received a confirmation letter and began to prepare visa documents. Then we searched for plane tickets for a long period of time, so it could be more profitable in price. Of course, there were financial difficulties, because it is not so easy to prepare just such an amount of money for a trip. Another problem was my infancy, it was required to prepare additional documents. But as soon as our plane landed at the airport, I immediately forgot about all the difficulties!

-What is it, Korea for a very young Kyrgyz lady?
-Ooo, I have only positive impression! Korea welcomed us very cordially! Korea is very hospitable, beautiful country, which attracts with its sights a very large number of tourists. People there are very kind, friendly, responsible and courteous. Generally, the Koreans are very strict about education. Only those who know exactly that will really study are going to universities. During the examinations in the library it is impossible to find a free place, everyone is so diligently working.

 

 -And what did you do in your free time?

-Every day, I took Korean lessons for four hours, so I did not have much free time. But the little time that I had left, I spent on traveling.

 -What interesting or unusual did you see in Korea?

-I was surprised that Koreans do not care about other people's affairs. They are not interested in what you do, how you look, what you are wearing, how is your make up, while in Kyrgyzstan people are very curious about someone else's life.

 - Very interesting observation, Elzar. And what role did our university play in your trip?

-"Ala-Too" gave me the opportunity to travel and exchange experience and knowledge in such a progressive country. I got acquainted with another country, with another educational system, I took part in "Field Trip", I visited even “Samsung and Korean District Heating Corporation”.

 

-And what advice would you give to our future students?

-Study hard and learn languages. It opens the window to the world!

-Elzar, after your visit to such a developed country as Korea, what ideas would you put into practice in our Kyrgyzstan?

- We have a wonderful, beautiful country, we can and should develop tourism, we have all the conditions for this! I would very much like that in our country there will be the same conditions as in Korea for cultural rest. I would also like to see prestigious companies with opportunities that open up to create more working places and people with knowledge to be appreciated. And, finally, we need to develop the culture of the population, in order not to be afraid at every step for our safety.

 

An interview by Elena Romanenko