Years ago, foreign students were asked questions such as, “Do you like kimchi?” Now, they face much more complicated matters than liking kimchi. It is not just about liking a different culture, it’s more about living in one. Since Seoul National University endeavors after campus internationalization, around 2,200 students are now studying at SNU, many of them sharing rooms with other foreign friends in the dormitory or an apartment. Living with people from different cultures might be the best way to broaden your perspective, but it also requires a lot of understanding and sometimes, patience.
Living with foreigners
Benoit: I’m from France and I have lived in the dorms back in France. Once I lived with a Chinese guy and a Japanese guy, and I was amazed by their opposite characteristics. My Chinese friend had a really outgoing personality, and always invited over his Chinese friends, leaving his door open. And being boisterous seems normal in dormitories in France so it was familiar to me. We actually do not have many dorms in France, but all dorms are loud because we have parties every weekend. Unlike the Chinese roommate, my Japanese roommate was rather a silent one, and the only way to communicate with him was through notes that he had left everywhere in the house like ‘please flush the toilet,’ ‘please clean the room,’ etc.
Jong-ho: I’ve had a few opportunities to live with a couple of foreign students and I know it’s unwise to generalize national characteristics with just a few examples. However, it seems true that the so-called, ‘culture shock’ among roommates is best shown in the way they frame things whether individually or collectively. While the Japanese are an exceptional case, students from Asia tend to gather as a group and Westerners are more likely to keep their individual way of life.
Emily: I spent my last semester in Europe as an exchange student and had an opportunity to share a school-owned apartment with a Russian roommate. She actually never made any noise and she never even left a trace. She didn’t ever tell me when she was leaving the apartment so I only knew that she was gone when I heard no noise from the bathroom in the morning.
Cahyo: I am from Indonesia and as a Muslim I think religion also plays an important part while living together and sharing rooms with a foreigner. I have to set my alarm clock everyday for 4:00 AM to say my prayers. Fortunately, my former roommate was a sound sleeper who didn’t really care about the noise. However, my new roommate is very sensitive and he has even complained about coughing or snoring that wakes him up.
The SNU culture
Benoit: I think the food delivery service in Korea is amazing. There is not much delivery food where I come from.
Chloe: I have also tried the food delivery service with my friends, and it was quite good. Besides, it is really convenient. You can’t get such a variety of food delivered elsewhere. In the US, you can get pizzas and Chinese food delivered but that’s about it.
Emily: Even though I like the delivery food, I have never ordered it myself because I don’t know how!
Jong-ho: Actually, the delivery food in Korea is rather special since they can deliver it to just about anywhere, and even if you say the address in the vaguest way, they will find you. For example, you can order Chinese food or fried chicken to the middle of a beach with no particular landmark, and have the food delivered to you still warm. I suppose it’s an interesting culture we can only enjoy in Korea. If foreign students learn how to order in Korean, it is definitely something that can make life at SNU even more enjoyable.
Chloe: Another interesting culture is the cafeteria. Suddenly in the afternoon the cafeteria turns into a library. Everybody is studying so it is hard to talk with your friends aloud.
Emily: I don’t really get people going to the library to study. It was interesting that SNU has big rooms where you can find lined up tables and chairs just for studying. We usually study at home. It is really amazing how people concentrate in the library.
Jong-ho: It is not just at SNU; it is basically the Korean culture of studying. In high school students usually study in libraries. We are just used to it. 3. Overcoming Conflict
Cahyo: I hope the dormitory will survey the preferences of students as to whom they want to share a room with. I once had a roommate who was very shy, and he wouldn’t talk to me because he was afraid to speak in English. Since I am in Korea, I want to share a room with a Korean to experience and understand Korean culture. So I wish my roommate to be an open-minded person who wants to share his room with a foreign student.
Living with a foreigner does not necessarily mean conflicts in the dormitory. All roommates at some point or another experience conflict as a result of their differences. It may take a bit longer to understand your roommate who comes from a different culture and has different characteristics, but once you understand him/her, nationality does not matter.
“Also, having roommates from different countries adds spice to your life because you have to expect the unexpected (laughter). That is why I always share my apartment with foreign students,” said Jong-ho.
November 18, 2008
SNU English Editors