Campus Tour

So after settling into my new room (kind of), I finally decided to go around the campus and appreciate it.

As Korea's number 1 university, both in size and in academics, Seoul National University (SNU) is situated on Gwanaksan mountain, which is a popular hiking site among the locals. Which explains the reason why I have to hike everyday to get to classes and why I will (hopefully) become super fit after 4 months. 

It is also part of SKY, an acronym for SNU, Korea U, and Yonsei U, the top 3 prestigious universities in Korea, which is similar to the Ivy League in the US. Apparently, its first years belong to the top 2.5% of all Koreans who take the National University Entrance Exam. There's also a saying that SNU is full of nerds because of this. But the semester only started so I can't verify this yet.

Anyway, this weekend is Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving) and we are given 3 days of holiday + weekend. This gives students plenty of time to go back to their hometowns all across Korea which leaves the campus pretty much deserted. I took that advantage to explore the campus a bit and enjoyed the peacefulness. 

I only got to go halfway around the campus as it was starting to get dark and I was getting tired from all the walking uphill and downhill. Next time I will go further.

Here we go!!

My dorm building!

See how far up the mountain we are?

There are free shuttle buses that go around the campus and ones that bring you off campus to the nearest subway station.

Tennis courts!! But I don't play anymore :(

Where I take my Korean class.

The business building!!

Kyujanggak - This used to be the royal library during the Joseon Dynasty and was located in the Changdeokgong Palace. But it was relocated to where it is now and now belongs to SNU. Apparently it still holds collections of documents from the Joseon Dynasty.

Jahayon Pond - a popular meeting place for students.

Where my French class takes place.