“helliday”
December is upon us! This means two things for college students: the season of holidays and the season of academic hell. The month of December has always been one filled with both academic stress and the dire urge to just enjoy the holidays. While in Korea, it was no different. While the Christmas vibe has descended upon Seoul since the start of the month, so too did the stress of final projects, reports, and exams descended upon my plate. I call this weird period of time “Helliday”, a combo of “hell” and “holiday.” This time around, this will definitely be a “helliday” that I will remember.
December is upon us! This means two things for college students: the season of holidays and the season of academic hell. The month of December has always been one filled with both academic stress and the dire urge to just enjoy the holidays. While in Korea, it was no different. While the Christmas vibe has descended upon Seoul since the start of the month, so too did the stress of final projects, reports, and exams descended upon my plate. I call this weird period of time “Helliday”, a combo of “hell” and “holiday.” This time around, this will definitely be a “helliday” that I will remember.
finals season + final course review
For the first time in a very long time, I felt the strong pressure of studying for final exams. As my classes at KUBS were graded by very few items, there is immense weight on the final projects and exams in determining the final grade for the course. Being accustomed to having many little assignments count towards the final grade, this was a different experience as I found myself spending hours working on assignments and cramming for exams. Here’s a rundown of how finals went for each of my classes as well as my final review of the course. |
Korean Business & Management (Asian Context) | KUBS - BUSS 325 | Shidler - BUS 367I
This class was one that didn’t require much assignments from students, but there was heavy emphasis on the final project materials. The semester-long project requires research on a current Korean business, analysis on its current situation and issues, and a proposal of solutions based on the concepts covered in the course. The deliverables of the project included a ten-page report and a final presentation that included a Q&A session. My group decided to conduct research on Korea’s business climate to assess the success factors and risk in regards to Kia Motor Corporations’ Plan S Strategy. It was a difficult project as none of my group members were Korean nor knew much about Korean business. Nonetheless, we still completed the project and learned quite much about Korea’s business climate in the process.
The exam requirements of this course was rather interesting: only one exam is required to take, but you have the option of taking both the midterm and the final exam. For example, if you opt to take the midterm, there is no need to take the final unless you would like to aim for a higher score. In this case, this is what I ended up doing being that I scored fairly well in the midterm.
Course Rating: 7.5/10
While the course itself was very interesting, it was very taxing of our energy. Being in class for three-hour long sessions was exhausting, and the amount of reading assigned was overbearing, especially for a class that only provides an oversight of Korean Business and Management practices. If you’re up to the challenge of taking a very intense course, I would still recommend taking this class! It’s an interesting international business elective, and in some ways this course has helped me to appreciate South Korea and KUBS a bit more.
This class was one that didn’t require much assignments from students, but there was heavy emphasis on the final project materials. The semester-long project requires research on a current Korean business, analysis on its current situation and issues, and a proposal of solutions based on the concepts covered in the course. The deliverables of the project included a ten-page report and a final presentation that included a Q&A session. My group decided to conduct research on Korea’s business climate to assess the success factors and risk in regards to Kia Motor Corporations’ Plan S Strategy. It was a difficult project as none of my group members were Korean nor knew much about Korean business. Nonetheless, we still completed the project and learned quite much about Korea’s business climate in the process.
The exam requirements of this course was rather interesting: only one exam is required to take, but you have the option of taking both the midterm and the final exam. For example, if you opt to take the midterm, there is no need to take the final unless you would like to aim for a higher score. In this case, this is what I ended up doing being that I scored fairly well in the midterm.
Course Rating: 7.5/10
While the course itself was very interesting, it was very taxing of our energy. Being in class for three-hour long sessions was exhausting, and the amount of reading assigned was overbearing, especially for a class that only provides an oversight of Korean Business and Management practices. If you’re up to the challenge of taking a very intense course, I would still recommend taking this class! It’s an interesting international business elective, and in some ways this course has helped me to appreciate South Korea and KUBS a bit more.
Organizational Behavior | KUBS - BUSS 311 | Shidler - MGT 341
A final component of this course is a group project in which group members interview a manager of a Korean company to identify organizational issues. From there, the group has to develop a report and presentation that showcases how those organizational issues were identified and what solutions (based on the concepts of the course) should be implemented to rectify those issues. This was a fairly easy project, but I did find difficulty when working with my group members. Their approach to group projects was different in that they preferred to divide and delegate every task of the project, even if some aspects demanded a collective effort (e.g., coming up with solutions).
This class did not have a final exam, but was rather composed of three non-cumulative exams. All three exams were a mix of multiple choice, true-false, and short-answer questions. While they were all open-book, the professor purposely made the questions difficult to ensure a challenging environment.
Course Rating: 10/10
While the studying component of this class was difficult, I had a lot of fun in this class! The professor (Jin Wook Chang) was extremely insightful and had a sense of humor that kept everybody engaged during the course. Course concepts were taught in a logical order helping us to further grasp and understand the materials. I would highly recommend taking this course at KUBS!
A final component of this course is a group project in which group members interview a manager of a Korean company to identify organizational issues. From there, the group has to develop a report and presentation that showcases how those organizational issues were identified and what solutions (based on the concepts of the course) should be implemented to rectify those issues. This was a fairly easy project, but I did find difficulty when working with my group members. Their approach to group projects was different in that they preferred to divide and delegate every task of the project, even if some aspects demanded a collective effort (e.g., coming up with solutions).
This class did not have a final exam, but was rather composed of three non-cumulative exams. All three exams were a mix of multiple choice, true-false, and short-answer questions. While they were all open-book, the professor purposely made the questions difficult to ensure a challenging environment.
Course Rating: 10/10
While the studying component of this class was difficult, I had a lot of fun in this class! The professor (Jin Wook Chang) was extremely insightful and had a sense of humor that kept everybody engaged during the course. Course concepts were taught in a logical order helping us to further grasp and understand the materials. I would highly recommend taking this course at KUBS!
International Business Management | KUBS - BUSS 313 | Shidler - MGT 342
In addition to a group case study project, this class demanded two final deliverables: a final exam and a final business plan project. What was different about this exam was that it was held in-person, closed-book. Having been away from such an environment caused me to stress a bit more about the final exam, but in all honesty, it felt good to be academically challenged again.
The final project was quite interesting: identifying a Korean business and creating a business plan for entry into a foreign country. This demanded thorough analysis of the business and business climate of the host country. This project required knowledge of all facets of international business management, and has been one the most challenging projects I’ve managed to complete.
My group decided to work with a Korean plastic surgery form that will export their services in China via a form of medical tourism. It was quite difficult in figuring out the logistics, but my awesome group members made it all doable. Special shout-out to Pedro, Madalena, and James for being one the best group members to work with!
Course Rating: 8/10
This course covers a lot of material. You’ll need a basic understanding of all things business: economics, marketing, management, technology, culture, etc. Throw all of that in an international perspective and that’s what this class is all about. Some lectures can be dry, but the material is manageable as long as you put effort into learning it.
In addition to a group case study project, this class demanded two final deliverables: a final exam and a final business plan project. What was different about this exam was that it was held in-person, closed-book. Having been away from such an environment caused me to stress a bit more about the final exam, but in all honesty, it felt good to be academically challenged again.
The final project was quite interesting: identifying a Korean business and creating a business plan for entry into a foreign country. This demanded thorough analysis of the business and business climate of the host country. This project required knowledge of all facets of international business management, and has been one the most challenging projects I’ve managed to complete.
My group decided to work with a Korean plastic surgery form that will export their services in China via a form of medical tourism. It was quite difficult in figuring out the logistics, but my awesome group members made it all doable. Special shout-out to Pedro, Madalena, and James for being one the best group members to work with!
Course Rating: 8/10
This course covers a lot of material. You’ll need a basic understanding of all things business: economics, marketing, management, technology, culture, etc. Throw all of that in an international perspective and that’s what this class is all about. Some lectures can be dry, but the material is manageable as long as you put effort into learning it.
New Product Development | KUBS - BUSS 407 | Shidler - MKT 372
The final deliverables for this course included two items: a final project and a final exam. The final project was quite fun as it was all about creating a new product to launch for a company and going through all phases of the new product development process: problem identification → concept generation → product screening → financial forecasting → marketing and launch. The project required a 20-page report, and 10-minute presentation.
The final exam adopted a short-essay format: six prompts were given, and we were required to select three to write on. This method of examination works best for me as I do a lot of a better job explaining my thoughts and understanding in a written format.
Course Rating: 10/10
While I have no intentions of going into marketing, this class was interesting being that there is a whole entire art in businesses developing new products. I learned a lot in this course, and I recommend that any student in business should take this course as a business elective. Theories of managing creativity and innovation, and learning how to screen alternative decisions were things that I learned and will definitely apply in my career journey. The professor of this course is also great. Professor Tony Garrett is a brilliant person in the world of marketing, and he delivers the lectures in an engaging manner. Highly recommend taking this course!
The final deliverables for this course included two items: a final project and a final exam. The final project was quite fun as it was all about creating a new product to launch for a company and going through all phases of the new product development process: problem identification → concept generation → product screening → financial forecasting → marketing and launch. The project required a 20-page report, and 10-minute presentation.
The final exam adopted a short-essay format: six prompts were given, and we were required to select three to write on. This method of examination works best for me as I do a lot of a better job explaining my thoughts and understanding in a written format.
Course Rating: 10/10
While I have no intentions of going into marketing, this class was interesting being that there is a whole entire art in businesses developing new products. I learned a lot in this course, and I recommend that any student in business should take this course as a business elective. Theories of managing creativity and innovation, and learning how to screen alternative decisions were things that I learned and will definitely apply in my career journey. The professor of this course is also great. Professor Tony Garrett is a brilliant person in the world of marketing, and he delivers the lectures in an engaging manner. Highly recommend taking this course!
KUBS Final Takeaways
Here are the main items that I learned about taking courses at KUBS:
Here are the main items that I learned about taking courses at KUBS:
- You will be graded by very few things, so put in the extra effort to do well on your projects and assignments.
- You will be working a lot with other students who hail from other parts of the world. Be prepared to work with different customs and working styles.
- Exams are weighted more than projects. Korean academics prides itself on heavy studying, so be prepared to spend hours studying and reviewing course materials.
it’s beginning to look (and feel) a lot like christmas
One of the things that I was looking forward to while being in Korea was finally experiencing the winter weather. Having been in Hawaii all of my life, every winter season was the same old hot and humid climate. This year, I was finally able to don more stylish outfits in keeping my body warm and dressing for the colder temperatures.
The weather began to drop in early November, with the average high temperatures within the high 50s F, and lows in the high 40s. By the time that December hit, I found myself adding on additional layers of clothing underneath my sweaters and jackets, bracing myself for temperatures between 20-35 degrees (F).
The temperature wasn’t the only thing bringing on the holiday vibe. Some parts of Seoul would be heavily decorated with Christmas decorations. In pursuit of these, I did my fair share of exploring and capturing such beautiful arrangements of Christmas lights, decorations, and the crowds of people attempting to take nice photos of themselves alongside the Christmas decor. Here are some of the places that were decorated:
One of the things that I was looking forward to while being in Korea was finally experiencing the winter weather. Having been in Hawaii all of my life, every winter season was the same old hot and humid climate. This year, I was finally able to don more stylish outfits in keeping my body warm and dressing for the colder temperatures.
The weather began to drop in early November, with the average high temperatures within the high 50s F, and lows in the high 40s. By the time that December hit, I found myself adding on additional layers of clothing underneath my sweaters and jackets, bracing myself for temperatures between 20-35 degrees (F).
The temperature wasn’t the only thing bringing on the holiday vibe. Some parts of Seoul would be heavily decorated with Christmas decorations. In pursuit of these, I did my fair share of exploring and capturing such beautiful arrangements of Christmas lights, decorations, and the crowds of people attempting to take nice photos of themselves alongside the Christmas decor. Here are some of the places that were decorated:
snow!
On a cold Saturday, my friends and I decided to check out Lotte World Tower, the world’s sixth tallest building standing at 1,823 feet. The subway ride to get there took about 40 minutes, but once we emerged from the subway station, we were met with a fond surprise: snow fall! It was the first time in my entire life that I saw snow fall from the sky. As a Hawaii boy, you know that this first experience was surreal. We eventually made our way to the top of the tower, only to be met with barely anything to see but white skies and specks of snow. While we were disappointed to not be able to capture the scenic view of Seoul from up above, we were still pretty happy to have witnessed snowy weather at that elevation.
Later on that night, my friend Dakota and I spent hours on KU campus playing in the snow. It was rather weird that we would flock to campus to play in the snow, but to my surprise, there were lots of other students who were having their share of fun. Seeing the campus draped in white was surreal, and I found the whole experience exciting as many others were throwing snowballs, building snowmen, and taking pictures. At that moment, there was no need to go to a park or forest to play in the snow. I had all of my snow fun right on my own campus not too far from where I lived.
On a cold Saturday, my friends and I decided to check out Lotte World Tower, the world’s sixth tallest building standing at 1,823 feet. The subway ride to get there took about 40 minutes, but once we emerged from the subway station, we were met with a fond surprise: snow fall! It was the first time in my entire life that I saw snow fall from the sky. As a Hawaii boy, you know that this first experience was surreal. We eventually made our way to the top of the tower, only to be met with barely anything to see but white skies and specks of snow. While we were disappointed to not be able to capture the scenic view of Seoul from up above, we were still pretty happy to have witnessed snowy weather at that elevation.
Later on that night, my friend Dakota and I spent hours on KU campus playing in the snow. It was rather weird that we would flock to campus to play in the snow, but to my surprise, there were lots of other students who were having their share of fun. Seeing the campus draped in white was surreal, and I found the whole experience exciting as many others were throwing snowballs, building snowmen, and taking pictures. At that moment, there was no need to go to a park or forest to play in the snow. I had all of my snow fun right on my own campus not too far from where I lived.