Hello! As you can tell from the long title, I will be talking writing about my own experience applying for an exchange program at South Korea, specifically in Hankuk University of Foreign Studies.
While I was in the midst of preparing documents and applying for the program, it was hard for me to find information that is directly written for FASS students in UBD/ international students applying for HUFS so I had to ask my friends who have done their Discovery Year (DY) in Korea.
In UBD, we have the chance to do our DY in our third year from our 4-years bachelor degree. There are 4 activities that we can choose from and one of them is study abroad/student exchange program. The activities and the university/work places you choose is based on your cGPA in your Semester 3.
You can refer to the table below if you are eligible or not. This is taken from DY application for FASS students so I am not sure about the other faculties.

I chose to do my exchange program in the first half of my DY. I chose HUFS as my first option because only FASS and APB students can apply so I had less competition. Then, for the second half of my DY, I will be doing my local internship.
BEFORE APPLYING FOR DY
First and foremost, there will be a briefing on DY and the DY Office people will give you a week to complete DY application form. For my batch, our briefing was in January 2019 because it was combined with the August intake (I am from January intake) but we are asked to submit our application form on 21st July 2019. We had a lot of time to finish our forms, but, people tend to forget things… so make sure you know when to submit and mark it on your calendar!
List of things needed for FASS DY application:
- form (you can download here)
- 2 recent passport pics (I highly encourage you to take white background and write your full name & registration number at the back of your pics)
- 2 copies of latest academic transcript (you can buy them in the Finance building located between CH and Business Library. Then, bring your receipt and go to Student Central to collect your academic transcript. The counter should be on your left once you enter SC. )
- 2 copies of English proficiency certificate (your O Level result)
- 2 copies of CV (include your passport number & expired date)
After you submit the form along with the required documents, wait for the final nomination result which will be posted on FASS DY Facebook . Make sure you add them on Facebook.
There is no first or second nomination so once the final nomination result is out, you can’t change your placement. If you have a change of heart, go to the DY Office as soon as possible.
While waiting for the final nomination, I suggest you to check websites of your soon-to-be host university and take note what are the documents and how many they required.
AFTER FINAL NOMINATION RESULT IS OUT
The final nomination result for my batch came out on 9/10/2019 which was actually late compared to other faculties because our faculty was the first one that opened the DY application. Nevertheless, I still secured my first options for both semesters.
So, after the result is out, you need to do fulfill the application of your host university. I applied for HUFS so I will be talking about HUFS only.
After DYC sent you an email regarding the confirmation of your DY, you will receive an email from HUFS that contains your login info (username and password). For HUFS, you are required to do online application. There is no need to submit hard copies. The email from HUFS should reach within a few days. But for my batch, we received our login info after a week which was after we met our DYC in her office to tell her about the issue we faced. So, if you have not receive an email from HUFS in three days, I suggest you to tell DYC as soon as possible. Please learn from our mistake.
APPLYING FOR HUFS
Luckily for us, international people, HUFS uses online application only. But, you need to print your application, sign it and compile with other supporting documents in a single PDF (I use this website to compile my documents) to be sent to HUFS via email. Your coordinator is the one responsible to submit your supporting documents.
List of documents required by HUFS:
- printed version of the online application form (with your signature)
- brief essay that includes your personal history & your plan of study
- 1 copy of your academic transcript
- 1 copy of your home uni offer letter
- 1 passport size photo (it is compulsory to use white background and it is in jpg/jpeg form)
- Proof of English proficiency (IELTS, TOEFL, or recommendation letter)
- dorm application form (if you are planning to stay in a dorm)
- Health examination form (if you are planning to stay in a dorm)
How to write for your essay?
As I am not confident enough to show my essay, I pinpoint what my friends and I wrote in our essays:
- background info about yourself – your name, your home university, your major/course, etc
- Why you want to study in Korea and why HUFS specifically?
- What you plan to do/participate/study in HUFS? (I recommend to check out their website and social media to find out more)
- How can you contribute when you return from South Korea?
English proficiency
I don’t take IELTS or TOEFL so I submitted recommendation letter from my faculty. For FASS students from UBD, you can get your English Proficiency recommendation letter from FASS General Office which is located at 2nd floor of FASS building. They will give you a slip to be filled in and there is no other document to be submitted to the GO. Then, in 3 days or less, one of the clerks will send you an email and you can collect your letter.
Dormitory
you can check HUFS website to see which dorm is available in your desired term.
For spring 2020, the Globeedorm is not offered. Only Global Hall for on – campus and International House A and International House B for off-campus (but close to the HUFS campus). I choose International House A which is for females only and we can cook there but I don’t really know how to cook.
Health form
The form requires you to take TB and Hepatitis B tests. For UBD students, you can only to your medical check-up, strictly, in PRIVATE CLINICS only.
I did my tests in Lee Clinic Gadong. The Hepatitis B blood test is $80, doctor filling my health form for $20 (the price varies according to your form). And then I was referred to JPMC for TB test. I paid $10 for registration and $39 for mantoux test (a skin test for TB). In total, I spent $149.
if you plan to do all of tests in JPMC, you can too. I heard from a friend that it is cheaper to do the Hep B test in JPMC than in Lee Clinic but I don’t really know.
And, if you want to know how much your form costs, instead of giving them a call, go to the clinic directly so that they can check your form and give you a price.
For the Mantoux test, the health practitioner injected something on skin and you have to come back after 2 days. The size of that thing on your skin is then measured. I remembered the nurse told me that it might enlarge and it might be itchy so I was worried. But, it was nothing. I say, the scar is like a mosquito bite.
Both Hepatitis B and Mantoux tests took at most 3 days so I recommend you to do the tests on the same day. But I have to warn you, I got 6 needles injected onto my skin on the day I did my tests because the doctor couldn’t find my veins and I ended up have 4 bad scars. It was really painful. 😭
WHAT’S NEXT?
After you submitted your application and supporting documents, wait for your acceptance email from HUFS. They will send you an email if you have not completed your online application or your coordinator(s) have not submitted your supporting documents.
I submitted my application on 17/10/2019 but my supporting documents did not reach HUFS before the closing date. So I informed my DYC about it and the coordinators resolved the problem (yes, another problem). But I still managed to be accepted by HUFS. Yeay!
I hope I cover everything that you need to know. Personally, I hope someone actually give me an actual detailed guideline that is specially made for FASS students in UBD or for in general, people who apply for HUFS because I really don’t like to bother my friends with my zillion questions ☹️
For the next entry… Let’s just keep it as a secret for now
If you have any questions, you can reach me at @LakastahTerabang on Instagram
Side note: This information is true as of November 15, 2019. It is mostly for FASS students from UBD and for people who apply for exchange program in Hankuk University of Foreign Studies. I hope it helps!
Thank you!