Ruiz de Arriaga Gimenez, Victor – Spain / International Trade

1. Please introduce yourself (background, interests, your MBTI, and so on)

Hello! My name is Victor and I am from a rather small city in Spain called Zaragoza. I got a bachelor in Business Administration in IE University in Madrid and then returned home to begin my professional career. Currently, I am a first semester student of Sogang GSIS majoring in International Trade. About myself, I have always enjoyed travelling. In both Winter and Summer breaks, while I was in bachelor's program, I always took the opportunity to go somewhere. And after I started working, I always used the bulk of my holidays for the same activity. In my free time, I really enjoy playing badminton (as an amateur, nothing serious) and doing all sorts of activities with my friends, like going to the cinema, discovering interesting cafés and bars, or doing some cultural activity around the region.

My MBTI is either INFJ or INTJ (I wish I could be INFTJ haha). But if I had to stick to one, I’d say I’m more INTJ.

2. Can you tell us the reason why you chose to study at Sogang GSIS?

Since I decided to study a master’s degree in Korea, I wanted to do so in one of the top universities. I started looking for options and found out that Sogang GSIS was ranked amongst the best graduate schools in the country and classes were fully taught in English (necessary for me, since I can’t speak Korean yet). When I further researched on it, I found out that the student body was composed by so many different nationalities. And the university campus seemed really nice and full of facilities. Since I didn’t really have a proper campus when I was at university, this was going to be my first time and I was really excited. So, the decision to come here was obvious.

3. How do you usually spend your spare time in Korea?

Whenever I have some free time, I like to spend it with my new friends! We do all sort of different activities: watching live sports (football, baseball, ice-hockey…), going to museums and exhibitions, or attending some festival or local event. There is always something happening around the city. I’ve also managed to retake some sports I had left aside for a long time, like badminton, and tried others for the first time, like archery. Or like recently, I also fully enjoyed when we had a demo session by the Sogang’s taekwondo club!

On top of that, my friends and I like to do some trip around Korea at least once a month. For example, in this semester, we have visited the beautiful cities of Sokcho, Mokpo and Gyeongju. And when I’m not doing neither of these, I spend my time improving my Korean. There are many options to learn it: from courses at Sogang, to academies, to students teaching for a few won. In my personal case, I joined a program where volunteers teach me for 1h15 every Thursday (for free!).

4. Can you recommend your favorite place/spot in Seoul?

I would say that one of my favorite places to spend my free time is the Seoul Forest. Here you can enjoy a lot of green areas (something I miss in a crowded city like Seoul) and beautiful trays to either walk or rent a bike and go around. And the surroundings of the park are blooming with original shops and cozy cafés for a study session.

 I also particularly like the vibes from the Haneul Park. It’s calmer, it’s got an interesting wheat plantation on the top and the area is surrounded by nice statues and places to sit and enjoy the city skyline.

5. Any recommendations or know-how on life in Korea?

My biggest advice for someone who was just coming to Korea for the first time would be to learn Hangul before arriving. It doesn’t take long (a day is enough to get the basics), and it is very useful to survive. For example, even though you don’t understand it, you can get the meaning of some things by just reading them because some words are very similar to English.

Also, I would recommend downloading the basic apps to get around: KakaoTalk (Korea’s chat app), Naver Maps (for directions) and Coupang (for online shopping). And, don’t be like me, and get your Korean ID card appointment as soon as you arrive because it takes sooo long to get a date and then for the government to issue it!

6. Can you share your most memorable experience at Sogang GSIS with us?

I really enjoyed the Hangang potluck picnic we did mid-semester. In this event, we did a picnic in the Hangang Park and every student was suggested to bring some typical dish from their own country. Many students did it and it was great! I got to try delicious foods and beverages I hadn’t even heard of before. And also, here I got to meet some of the other GSIS students for the first time and had a wonderful time.

7. Do you have any advice for the prospective students at Sogang GSIS?

I would say that my biggest advice for a newcomer would be to join some of Sogang’s clubs. They are so much fun, and it is a great opportunity to practice a sport (if that is your thing) and meet great people from other departments, international and local.

8. Do you have anything to say to Sogang GSIS?

I would like to tell new students that Sogang GSIS is a rather small school, which makes it x10 better. If you want to make meaningful friends, from all around the world, come here!