[Talk with KUBS Students]
 

"My college life" of four KUBS students

 From drinking with fellow students, on-campus relationships, exciting meetings, and GPA management… Prospective students who are just before admission at KUBS will be excited with fantasies and expectations about university. To solve their questions about their dream of "university life," we met four colorful KUBS students Kim Minsung (Business ‘18), Kim Gahyun (Business ‘19), Karimova Marbelyuda (Business ‘20), and Jung Jaekyung (Business ‘22) to hear about their "real" college life.

Q Please introduce yourself briefly and tell us why you chose the business department.

Jung Jaekyung (Business ‘22, hereinafter referred to as Jaekyung) | I'm a freshman in the class of 2022.During my first year of high school, I found the job of a brand marketer attractive, which naturally led me to dream of entering the business department.

Karimova Marbelyuda (Business ’20, hereinafter referred to as Marbelyuda)
| I'm Karimova Marbelyuda from Turkmenistan. I am interested in business and management, so I chose the business department. Before I came to Korea University, I worked in the marketing department of a company and also worked at a startup. I also like to talk to various people, so I learned many languages, and I chose this department because I thought I could use all the languages and abilities I have in the business department. 

Kim Gahyun (Business ‘19, hereinafter referred to as Gahyun) | I'm Kim Gahyun, and I’m in the class of 2019. I graduated from a high school overbroad and was able to take a course called 'Business Management' at middle school, and I chose the business department because it suited my aptitude.

Kim Minsung (Business ‘18, hereinafter referred to as Minsung) | I am Kim Minsung, a third-year student in the class of 2018. Even though I am a liberal arts student, I like math, so I vaguely thought that business would suit my aptitude and chose the business department because I wanted to work in the financial sector.

Q Was there any difference between your dream of college life in high school and your actual college life after coming to KUBS?

Jaekyung | The college I dreamed of when I was in high school had a lot to do with 'freedom', 'romance' and so on. So, I thought I would travel a lot and study a lot less when I entered college. But in reality, there are more assignments than I imagined, and the amount of study during the exam period seems to exceed that of high school students. Of course, it is different from high school in that I study only the fields I am interested in and like, but there is a difference in that college does not leave you to play.

Minsung | It was rather the opposite for me. I don't know if it's because I entered KUBS before COVID-19, but I was surprised that everyone was playing much more than I thought. So, when I saw some of my friends, I wondered, "How did they get accepted to this school?” But on the other hand, seeing them try hard to achieve their goals once they set their minds, I think I also tried harder not to fall behind.

Q What was the most helpful thing in your KUBS life?

Gahyun | I think internal and external activities were the most helpful. Especially, I think for me especially the experience of academic conference helped me very much, and I think I was able to grow a lot from it. Since I entered the conference in the second grade, I didn't really know anything, but I learned a lot and had a really good time while working on projects with actual companies. In addition, outside of school, the Dream Scholarship, a scholarship for living expenses at business schools, was very helpful. I used to not have enough time to study because of tutoring, but with the support of living expenses, I was able to concentrate on studying because the burden was greatly reduced. KUBS has an exceptionally good scholarship system, so you can get it easily if you meet the conditions.

Marbelyuda | I'd like to pick 'Free Curriculum'. It is to helpful that I can focus on the areas I am interested in because I can take the classes I want to take and choose my major. 
Minsung | I think it's 'Relationships'. As I did various activities such as working in KUBS class, a band, and a KUBS ambassador, I naturally became to know more people. Thanks to these people, there are many things to laugh about at school. I am preparing for CPA now, and I think I gain a lot of confidence and enjoy studying because of them.

Q What course do you recommend for KUBS students?

Jaekyung | I'm still a freshman, so I'm taking major and liberal arts courses. The subjects I take in the first grade consist of subjects that help me draw a big picture of the business administration, and among them, I recommend Professor Park Kyungsam's . I usually had a vague difficulty with statistics subjects, but the professor instructs in a very easy way, so I can understand them well.

Marbelyuda | I liked Professor Hwang Junho's . The professor is very fluent in English, and especially, I'm the only foreign student in class, so he contacted me separately to tell him if there are any difficulties, so it was very helpful.

Minsung | I recommend Professor Na Hyunseung. The Topic Course lecture is a class where the instructor changes every time, and I took the class when Professor Na Hyunseung gave the lecture. Professor Na's Topic Course Lecture is about how to analyze the synergy between mergers and acquisitions and the resulting synergy and evaluation of the company value. During the semester, I was able to learn a lot by doing individual and team tasks to analyze four cases. And the cases required us to not only use what we learned in class, but also all the accounting and financial knowledge I had learned in the business department while considering the social and economic aspects at the time, so it was a great opportunity to think in various aspects during analysis.
Gahyun | Professor Yoo Sijin's . When I was in class, I learned how to write a program called SPSS for the first time, and it was very helpful. The professor uses SPSS as a team project to solve questions that can be asked in real business, and it felt very difficult during the project, but there was a lot that I learned after I completed it.

Q. Do you have any resolutions or challenges for your future college life?

Jaekyung | I'd like to participate in the Startup Express, a business start-up competition that I’ve been interested in, and achieve excellent results. Since Korea University Business School does not spare support for startups, I would like to win the award for my own business and move into the Startup Station and fulfill my dream of starting a business.
Marvelous | I would like to participate in a case competition called 'KUBS Challenge' held by the International Office of Business Administration. If you win a prize, you will be greedier because you are qualified to participate in an international case analysis competition as a representative of Korea University.

Marbelyuda | I would like to participate in a case competition called 'KUBS Challenge' held by the International Office of KUBS. If you win a prize, you are qualified to participate in an international case analysis competition as a representative of Korea University, so I feel much more motivated to win. 

Gahyun | I want to do everything I can. Especially this vacation period and next year, I'd like to try a contest. Outside of studies, I don't want to miss things that I can only do when I'm an undergraduate student, such as Ypsilenti, Koyonjeon, and MT.
Minsung | I'm currently studying for CPA and I'm going to take an exam in February next year. I want to pass the exam next year and get rid of my anxiety!

Q Lastly, what are the tips for "Wise College Life" to newcoming students who are about to start college life next year?
Jaekyung | When you enter a university, you can get away from your long life of studying and start to think deeply about yourself. I think it would be good to spend the first year thinking about and exploring what you want to do.

Marbelyuda | I would like to say the same. I think it would be good to think deeply about what you want to get from KUBS and make your own plan. There's so much you can do here, but you can't do everything. Knowing in advance what you want to get makes it easier to choose. And if you are a foreigner, please approach other Korean students first. Korean students won’t come to you first.

Gahyun | I hope you experience it all. Play hard, but don't miss out on studying too. Just because you're a freshman, I hope you give up the idea that "even if I take a challenge now, I won't be able to do it anyway because I’m in lower grades," and try various things and find out what's right for you and gain experience.

Minsung | Most of all, I want you to play a lot. When I was in 1st and 2nd grade, I belonged to various organizations, hung out with people, and attended all the events. These memories seem to be a great comfort in hard times. When I had a hard time in the army, I was comforted by the pictures of my happy times, and even when I meet my friends after a long time, I feel refreshed when I share my old memories.