無法到韓國做交換生的你，也來感受一下韓國大學生活吧！
Ever wondered what a year of a Korean university student would be like? For many Korean students, going to university means saying goodbye to the dull uniforms, taking off the minor badge, and being free from regulations! Of course, as the years pass Korean students have to jump into the fierce competition for jobs, but before that, being a freshman can never be more exciting! So let’s put off worries for a while and take a look at the fun side of what happens when you go to a Korean university. Here is an imaginary student A’s freshman year. For your information, March is the beginning of the first semester and the school year in Korea.
有沒有想過韓國大學生的生活是怎樣的？對於很多韓國學生來說，讀大學代表著向那套沉悶的校服說再見、拿走那個校章，當然還有不用再守那些校規！當然，過幾年後大學生都要踏進這個兢爭激烈的社會，但在此之前，作為一個大學新生的確是很令人興奮！所以讓我們放下憂慮並看看當一個韓國大學生有趣的一面。以下是虛構的大學一年級學生的生活。讓你參考，3月是韓國新學期的開始。
March: Get Busy to Meet New People
March is the year’s merry-go-round of meeting new friends, sunbaes (선배/upperclassmen), and professors. Although the atmosphere is different in each major and university, sunbaes taking care of hubaes (후배/underclassmen) is a long known tradition in Korea. It’s a first year students’ privilege to ask their sunbaes to treat them for meals and also a great chance to enlarge their friend circles, not to mention college survival tips!
三月是一個不斷認識新朋友、前輩（선배）和教授的時間。即使不同的學系或大學有不同的文化，但一直以來的傳統都是由前輩照顧後輩（후배）。新生亦可以要求前輩請食飯，藉此擴大自己的朋友圈子，這像是大學的生存秘訣。
單對單的介紹會面（Sogaeting 소개팅）
Photo via zladb.tistory.com
March is also a month of flirtation. Sogaeting (소개팅/blind date) and meeting (미팅/described roughly as group blind dates between at least two men and two women) flourish. Head over here to find out more about all these dating terms. One thing to note though, meetings are mostly casual, so the atmosphere is really light and fun even though some girls and boys sweep each other off their feet and evolve into a romantic relationship.
三月亦是一個屬於調情的月份，一些單對單的介紹會面（소개팅）或一群人的聯誼（미팅）在三月都變得很活躍。你亦可以從之前的韓國戀人大小事文章中了解更多關於這些約會的資料。值得注意的是，即使很多男女很快就已經互生情愫，甚至可能已經演化成一個浪漫的關係，但聯誼活動的氣氛仍然都是很輕鬆和有趣的。
一群人的聯誼（미팅）
Photo via polinews
April: Midterm to MT
Most of April will pass preparing and taking mid-terms. The highlight of April is the end of the exam week – going to an MT! Sounds boring? Although MT stands for membership training, it is actually a short group travel, where you basically drink the night away.
基本上整個四月都是用作準備和應考中期試之用，但四月的亮點就是完成中期考試然後就可以進行MT！好像很無聊？即使MT是代表Membership Training，但其實那是一個短程旅行，而通常都會在晚上飲酒狂歡。
Photo by Jisu. J
MT is an important event for sunbaes and hubaes to bond with each other and has been a major part of a Korean university culture. If you see a group of ten to a hundred people moving altogether with the same gwajam (a matching basketball jacket for each class with different colors and design for different majors), you can automatically tell that they are going to an MT. All or in a smaller group, students shop together at a nearby mart for food and drinks and they head to a pension.
MT是一個很重要的大學活動和文化，去讓前輩和後輩關係更緊密。如果你看見一班由10至100人組成的群體一起活動，並穿上gwajam（棒球褸，不同班級或學系有不同的顏色或設計），那你就可以知道他們正在進行MT。他們會全部人或以小組形式一同去超級市場購買食物和飲品，然後就會一同出發到宿舍。
Photo by Jisu. J
After enjoying an afternoon of group activities, it’s time for the mighty Korean barbeque. When people have their bellies filled, they gather around in a large room for more group games or talent shows and the night ends with drinking games. Tip: try to stay awake as late as possible if you don’t want to wake up finding your face doodled by your peers!
當他們完成下午的集體活動後，晚上就會吃韓國燒烤。當填滿肚子後，就會圍在房間裡玩遊戲、做天才表演或以飲酒遊戲去完結一天。Tip：盡量保持清醒或越夜睡越好！否則早上醒來你的面就會被畫花！
May: Get festive!
May is the perfect time for festivals. After rigorous studying for midterms, it’s time to relax and appreciate the good weather. The dates for the spring festivals vary by university, so the whole month is basically packed with festivals popping from different universities. These festivals normally have famous Kpop stars performing, so some festival hunters fill their schedules hopping around university festivals. How awesome is it to see celebrities without having to buy tickets?
五月是一個參與不同節慶的完美時間。經過不同的溫習和考試後，大家就可以盡情放鬆和欣賞好天氣。春天的節慶日期由各大學自己定立，但基本上一整個五月都會被節慶填滿。這些節慶通當都有不同的韓星表演，所以有些「節慶獵人」會把自己五月的行程表都填滿。想像到不用購票都能看到明星有多棒嗎？
延世大學的AKARAKA節慶
Photo via blog-hoonism
To fully enjoy the campus festivals, students are required to master their own school’s cheers and decorate themselves with their school color. The two biggest college festivals are Yonsei University’s AKARAKA and Korea University’s IPSILENTI. Known as Korea’s infamous rival universities, the two hold games at which students from both universities gather around to cheer for their school team. You can see an ocean of blue (Yonsei) and a group of red (Korea) on these days. Students from other schools are also welcome to buy tickets to join any group for feverish shouting.
為了充分享受校園的節日，學生要自己創作歡呼口號及用代表自己學校的顏色去為自己作裝飾。其中兩個最大的校園節慶是延世大學的AKARAKA和高麗大學的IPSILENTI。作為最強的兢爭對手，兩間學校都會派出代表去帶領全部學生歡呼，為自己學校打氣。在這些日子你可以看見全都是藍色（延世大學）和紅色（高麗大學）的人。其他學校的學生亦可以購票去參加任何一間學校的節慶，加入歡呼的狂熱。
高麗大學的IPSILENTI節慶
Photo via TheKoreanHerald
Other than contests there are quiz shows, goods and foodies, and carnival stands; my favorite was throwing water balloons at my classmates. The most essential are jujeoms (주점, temporary bar/pubs operated by university peers) which are on-campus pojangmacha (포장마차/pop-up drinking spots). Yes, during the festival season, you can drink on campus! Every year, departments bounce around menus and marketing tactics to lure customers into their jujeoms, which is also the place where students from different departments or schools meet to have drinks together, and you can guess why.
除了比賽，還有兢猜節目、貨品、美食攤位和嘉年華，而我最愛的就是向我的同學扔水彈。最重要的是 jujeoms（주점，由大學同學經營的臨時酒吧) ，就是開設於校舍的pojangmacha（포장마차，臨時喝酒小檔）。是的，當有節慶的日子，你就可以在校園內飲酒！每年，各個學校組織都會以不同的餐單或營銷技巧去吸引顧客到自己的 jujeoms，而這也可以令來自不同學校或校園組織的人娶在一起喝酒。
Describing Korean university festivals is so hard to describe in short number of words because there is so much going on. You can see student bands and singers playing at different spots on campus, people with funny costumes roaming about, artists and science geeks exhibiting, and more. The best part of the festival is that everyone participates and everyone is having a good time.
實在很難用幾行文字去形容韓國大學節慶如何精彩。你可以看到不同的學生樂團或歌手在校園表演、人們以不同打扮閒逛、亦有藝術或科學展覽等等。校園節慶最好的部分就是每個人都可以參與和享受歡樂時光。
Photo via yonseiblog
June – August: Final to Break
When June comes it’s time to get back into a studying mode for final exams. Summer break starts at the end of June. First year students would do an alba (알바/part-time job), go on a vacation, go to hakwons (학원/private academy) for individual studying, participate in various extra-curricular activities hosted by big Korean conglomerates. Time flies fast for any university student. In a blink of eye comes the fall semester, and pretty much everything is on repeat, in a more or less low and toned down scale.
Hope you enjoyed your imaginary Korean university life!
當六月來到時，就代表是時候要回到溫習模式，準備考試。暑假於六月尾開始。大學一年級生亦會做兼職（알바）、去旅遊、到私人學院（학원）進修、參加由韓國大企業舉辦的課外活動。對於大學生來說時間真的過得很快，一眨眼就過了一個學期，然後秋季學期都重覆做著差不多的事情，但就沒有春夏學期那麼激烈。
希望你可以享受這個幻想出來的韓國大學生活！
Photos by Jisu J.
READ MORE：
《K-Culture：真實個案！外國人眼中的韓國是這樣的…》
《K-Dictionary Vol.05：你具備韓國社交生存技巧Noonchi（눈치） 嗎？》
