There are many exchange students from various countries all over the Asia and Europe attending the University of Seoul. In this issue we will interview a student who is from the country which has friendly relations with Korea.

I will give you some hints to remind you... `World-cup 2002`, `brotherly country` and one of the participating countries in `6.25 civil war`. The answer is Turkey. Let`s talk with `Sedat Yetim` about five topics.


Sedat Yetim, our interviewee, is an exchange student from the Ankara University in Turkey and his major is Korean. Every Korean university has started a new semester this March. So there is an orientation for freshmen students. I began with the topic of "School".

He came to Korea after he graduated. We compared the difference in the school systems between Turkey and Korea. Turkish universities also have two semesters a year, but the first semester starts at the end of September, unlike Korea`s. I wondered if Turkish Universities had close to the same type of orientations. He said "Yes, there is called orientation in Turkish universities, although we don`t go places far from school and spend the nights away for M/T.

When freshmen enter the university, seniors and professors will help them. We just spend time together and go back to each others homes." He also mentioned that, Turkish students want to be lawyers and civil engineers. In Korea, Medical schools and Law schools are favorable for students, so these are highly ranked.

Every November, there is a big event in Korea. That is the `Korean SAT.` Failure and success plays an important part in our destiny and the SAT score determines what university we get into, plus our major. Likewise, Turkey also has entrance exams (OYS, OSS) and after taking the exam the students prepare admission documents with test score and the result is dependent on these scores.

After 4 years of school, most university students will try to get a job. So they prepare their Grade Point Average (GPA) and also other requirement like Official English test scores and internship experiences, etc. Korean students really struggle to get a high score on the English tests. How about Turkish students? Do they make an effort to get a good score as well? The answer was `NO.` He stated that Turkish students study English because it is an official language all around the globe. But they would rather study English hard than study history and math, However, in Korea, these subjects are for someone who wants to be a government official.

The second topic was about "Food." Sedat said `food` was the biggest problem when I first came to Korea. Because it had a weird smell that he had never smelled before and Korean food was very spicy for him. But now he was adapted himself to Korean food. For our readers, I asked which Turkish restaurants was the best in Korea. He recommended the one in the Myeong-dong. He is very proud of Turkish food. He even thinks Turkish food is the best in the world (According to him, Korean food is ranked the 4th).

The third topic was about "Overall Korean Life." Maybe readers wonder whether or not he has many Korean friends, and about the differences between both cultures. He has many Koreans friends to hang out with and there are no big differences between Korean friends and Turkish friends. Turkish friends are like Korean friends for him. Because he meets Korean friends once or twice a week which is what he did when he was in Turkey. He also added that Turks and Koreans are very similar in lifestyle as well. In addition, the cost of living is almost the same.

So if some of our readers want to study in Turkey, it would be okay. One of the funniest things he thinks is the Korean alcohol culture. Especially the game played when drinking alcohol. He likes the game which is called `007 game.` After Koreans are drunk, we normally tend to go to a `Noraebang.` Do Turks have `Noraebang`s? Well, he says there are no `Noraebang`s in Turkey but there are some similar places called Karaoke.

In Korea, there are some places ending with `-bang` like `Noraebang` and `Jjimjilbang,` and I wonder if there are similar place in Turkey? Also `Turkey tang` in Korean is well-known because we know so what exactly `Turkey tang` is. `Turkey tang` is like a sauna. It isn`t a place for bad things. I hope you don`t misunderstand this word.

The fourth topic was "Turkey." I think some of our readers would bet their money with this question; Is Turkey included in Asia or Europe? The answer is "Euro-Asia." Turkey lies both in Asia and in Europe. There was a semi-final soccer match with Turkey in the 2002 World-cup. Do you remember that? Soccer is the most popular sport in Turkey like Spain and the U.K..

To conclude, Sedat left a message for UOS students, "Turkey is historical country, so it is worth visiting. When I was at my music club, there were Koreans students who hesitated to say hello to me. Please don`t be shy to me." Also he stated. I am little bit sad about my Korean classes. It is because my classes are only 6 hours per week. Compared to the Korean language school in the UOS, it is 5 hours a day. "I want the Korean class hours to be extended for future exchange students."

It was a very interesting interview with Sedat, I learned a lot about Turkey! I hope you learned something by reading this article as well!

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