In Hanyang there are lots of foreign students these days. Many of the foreign students are exchange students so they are not used to the Korean system, culture, or norms. The most difficult and necessary problem would be communication problems. Language would of course be a huge difficulty but after talking with some foreign friends, online communication tools are also tremendous barriers.
So, I will show some must have apps to live as a university student in Korea.
(1) Social network service apps
- Kakaotalk (카카오톡)
(Source: Kakao Talk)
Kakaotalk is an exclusive messenger application made from a Korean company. Without this application not only living as a student but also it would be almost impossible to live without it. Every people in Korea use this app to communicate through smart phones. Especially when we work on team projects most of the information are exchanged through Kakaotalk. So, don’t ever think of not downloading Kakaotalk.
(Source: Kakaotalk)
Besides there are lots of emoticons that can help you express your thoughts.
So, having a cute messenger app would make good memories in Korea.
(Source: Facebook)
Many people use Facebook to show themselves. We can gain information about new friends and make new friends. Some Koreans say that Facebook got tired and it’s no more fun. But there are still some reasons that make Facebook important. Many of the school events are promoted on Facebook. Especially events for foreign students like welcoming party for exchange students are in Facebook. So, if you are a foreign student that wants to get information you must have an account.
(2) Education apps
- Everytime (에브리타임) (picture 4)
(Source: Everytime)
This app will not be familiar to foreigners. This application helps students plan their lecture schedules. You could see what kind of lecture you have and where the lecture is taken. (picture 5) The visualization of the lecture time table makes me very comfortable. Moreover, we could see other friends’ timetables. This function makes us convenient to make an appointment with others even in different universities. This is not the end of Everytime. There are school communities inside the application. (picture6) After we get confirmed as a Hanyang student we can talk about anything with Hanyang students. There we can get good informations about school life, places to go around school, how to study, etc. For the last we can also get lecture evaluation which is very important.
(Source: Everytime)
(Source: Everytime)
- Papago (파파고)
(Source: Papago)
Papago is a translator app made from Naver. It translates English, Japanese, Chinese and people say the translation is quite natural. There are plenty of English translators in Korea but especially for Japan and Chinese students Papago will be useful. Not only for the foreign students to comprehend what Korean students say but also for Korean students to efficiently communicate with foreigners Papago must be downloaded. Moreover, Papago only supports three languages but there is no reason to be upset with the few languages that Papago is supporting. Naver said that Papago will keep being upgraded both in accuracy and diversity.
(3) Other Apps
- Kakao Map (카카오맵)
(Source: Kakaomap)
Many foreigners have a chance to take a trip by public transportation. Even the system is well made foreigners can get confused of their way to the destination. But with Kakao map the probability of being lost would decrease. It’s because Kakao map includes the best route and we could select the best transportation method. People say that google map is enough but Kakao map is more specialized for Korea and is more accurate. So, download Kakao map and travel as many as you want.
Article by Jonghyuk from Korea, a Sophomore in Business Administration
myHUBS 
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