OQEANOUS Plus ProgramOversea Quality-assured Education in Asian Nations
for Ocean University Students Plus

OQEANOUS Plus-IJP Report (KMOU 2021/Sep-2022/Feb)

2022.04.28

OQEANOUS-IJP Report (KMOU 2021/Sep-2022/Feb)

Graduate School of Marine Science and Technology
Course of Marine Life Science
Second Year of Master's Program
A. K.

 

  I am A. K., Second Year of Master's Program, Course of Marine Life Science. From September 2021 to February 2022, I studied at Korea Maritime and Ocean University under OQEANOUS IJP Program for five months. Since overseas travel was restricted due to COVID-19 then, I think it was an experience that was very different from a normal study abroad in terms of circumstances and feelings. I hope this report will be helpful for those who are reading this as an unusual study abroad story.

[Motivation for Studying Abroad]
　In 2020, the global spread of COVID-19 may have changed the lives of many people. I was not the exception. I remember that I was required to refrain from doing research as soon as I was assigned to a laboratory after moving on to Senior of undergraduate school, and it was not until about six months later, in the fall, that I started research in earnest. In less than six months, I managed to finish my thesis research, and graduated from undergraduate school. In the spring, just before I was to enter graduate school, the COVID-19 had not subsided yet, and I was feeling anxious about limited last two years of my student life. I was also afraid that the infection would spread again, and I would be confined to my house. Also, it had already been more than a year since the pandemic began, so I felt that I could no longer blame it for not being able to do something. There, I noticed the differences in the COVID-19 responses of each country on TV. Depending on the country, the situation of wearing masks and eating and drinking was greatly different, and of course the number of positive cases was also remarkably different, so I decided to study abroad simply because I thought that I could study more if I left Japan. Since I had to start job searching after one year, I needed to leave as soon as possible and chose the OQEANOUS IJP program, which was already well established as a program. Also, in terms of the difficulty of preparing a large amount of money in a short period of time, the availability of scholarship was a major reason for my choice.

[Classes and Research]
  I took the classes of
① Special Research in Molecular Endocrinology (분자내분비학특수연구) and
② Advanced Endocrinology of Aquatic Organisms (수산생물내분비학특론).
The IJP program requires 6 credits, and classes at KMOU are 3 credits each, so you must choose at least two or more classes.

　The class of ① was for undergraduates, but I was given a special opportunity to take it because it was taught by a professor in my laboratory. I was lucky that the classroom lectures were video delivered, so I was able to take my time while pausing and translating. Of course, the experiments were conducted in Korean, but I was able to keep up with class by getting the resumes in advance and translating all of them, and by looking up unfamiliar parts either in textbooks or on the internet before participating in the classes. In addition, the general procedure is an application of what you have already learned, and the technical terms and reagents are in English, so it was more manageable than you may be worried about.

  The class of ② was in the form of a seminar presentation by my laboratory, where we had to choose a paper and make slides to present it. I only presented my graduation research in English, but it was difficult for me to understand the participants' presentations in Korean.

　 As I didn't understand Korean, I could not even choose classes from the syllabus, so I consulted with a doctoral student in the laboratory that I was affiliated with and got him to coordinate above two classes for me. This allowed me to learn specialized content, but I believe I should have taken Korean language classes.

　The laboratory had core hours of 9-6pm from Monday to Saturday, but I had other things I wanted to do like preparing for classes while staying in Korea, so I asked a lab about changing my schedule to 4 days a week 9-6pm plus coming to school as needed. Although my main purpose as a graduate student is research, the minimum requirement for the OQEANOUS program was to obtain 6 credits, so I think it was very important to be able to consult with my physical and mental condition in an unfamiliar place and be flexible in changing my schedule before it became too much. I felt that the program had a good balance of requirements and flexibility, making it easy to create a study abroad life at my own pace.

  Above all, most importantly, I was able to meet precious and important people. In Korea, there were many times when I felt it was very difficult, but I treasured the encounters with my Korean friends who welcomed me so kindly and with friends from other countries who shared my feelings as international students. I also have a new goal in life, which is to learn Korean so that I will be able to understand my Korean friends better the next time I see them. Not only did I make new encounters, but I was also able to rediscover the existence of people around me in Japan who are cheering me on and supporting me. Not only new encounters, I realized the existence of other people in Japan who cheered and supported me, and now I appreciate the encouragement from them, and I am grateful to have been empowered by them.

　Lastly, if you are at all interested in studying abroad, please give it a try! For those who feel that studying abroad is a challenge, I would recommend this program which provides support for classes, research, and finances. Rather than starting from scratch on your own, I hope you will take full advantage of travel information and stories of seniors in this program to make your studying abroad experience even higher quality and more enjoyable. It doesn't matter if you don't have a big plan that you have spent a long time developing. I would be happy if this report happens to catch your eye and inspires you to give it a try.

안녕！

Pictures)
・Hamburger Shop in university
・Korean BBQ with friends
・Delivered Dinner in the laboratory