Updated: 01/28/2025
honestly, i don’t remember orientation week too well. i remember it was the first day i met my bias in the Korea Bowzos (Arisa) at housing orientation, there were two K-Pop cover performances, and learning housing orientation and international student orientation were two different orientations.
housing orientation was quick. they went over basic ground rules including no smoking in the building, no guests, not being a disturbance, and how to separate the trash. they were talking about the buildings we live in and their main amenities such as the lounges with new furniture, the AC, the heating that would be provided later in the semester, the music room, the main lounge, the laundry room, and so on. there is no curfew by the way in case you were wondering…..
next was the international student orientation, the main orientation everyone went to. the orientation started with K-Pop dance cover performances by local Yonsei students. my friends said they knew these performances would happen but i did not so it was a pleasant surprise. first was the girls who did a dance cover of the song Lovesick Girls by BLACKPINK and then the boys did the same for Fake Love by BTS. the transition from the performances to the rest of the orientation was funny because there was no transition. it went from high energy to super low energy really fast. not that i had an issue with that but i just found it silly. i’m not sure why that stood out to me but it did lol. the presentation from staff, faculty, and student club executive boards went on for about 2 hours but it was exciting so it didn’t feel that long.
we were offered a university tour, but we had to be the first 100-150 people to receive a lanyard after the orientation. fortunately, we received the lanyards and took the tour later that week. directly outside the auditorium was a stamp game event for students to participate in and international student clubs set up outside selling tickets to students who wanted to attend upcoming social events.
SOME ADVICE:
i recommend trying your best to make new friends during this time, even if you’re scared because this is when everyone wants to mingle and meet new people. i also recommend signing up for as many events as you can with the international student clubs to meet other international and local students. there is usually a big international student group chat as well. although they’re a bit… active… sometimes it was also useful to see what people were saying about events and stuff so i also recommend doing your best to join any of those if you find them. you can also leave later at any time if you want.
