I am Pak Jiwon. I major in embedded software at BUFS and starting this fall, I will attend KUISs on an exchange program with HUMAP scholarship.

Various experiences and thoughts about the Japanese future made me decide to study abroad in Japan.
I got a chance of IT training to Japan in my first year. At the time, honestly I wasn't very interested about Japan.
However, after visiting universities in japan and big companies, I became interested in Japanese technology, educational environment, and culture. Since then, I have been learning more about Japan through a few trips and a working holiday in Japan. After returning to Korea, I wanted to learn Japanese and my major and acquire various knowledge and skills in Japan, which is a large market for my major embedded software. At this time, I found out that I could join an exchange program by chance If you can speak Japanese at my school.
I thought it would be a good choice to actively utilize Japanese culture because there is an opportunity to learn about major, Japanese, and Japanese culture at a local university in Japan rather than learning about Japan in Korea. After that, I made up my mind to study abroad at Kansai University of International Studies, where there is a data science major course that is closely related to my major among many schools, and I decided to go to Japan for exchange.
It is expected that new knowledge and new encounters will be gained through the upcoming exchange study in Japan.

During the fall semester of 2022, I spent about six months studying abroad in Hyogo Prefecture, Japan. While the universities in Korea and Japan may share the same names, I noticed many small differences in culture and education. For example, in Korea, course registration is first-come-first-served, which leads to intense competition. In contrast, in Japan, it is more convenient as you can apply easily during the designated period.

One unique aspect of the classes in Japan is the reflective exercises after each session. The teacher would confirm whether the students understood the material and ask them to reflect on what they had learned. In my home country, we usually only reflect on our understanding during tests or at our own discretion. The reflective exercises in Japan not only help students review the material but also allow the teacher to assess the students' abilities and adjust their teaching style accordingly.

Studying abroad in Japan also allowed me to experience various aspects of Japanese daily life that I would not have encountered otherwise. In particular, the dormitory provided by Kansai University of International Studies was not a typical dormitory but a public housing facility, which allowed me to experience daily life and scenes from Japanese anime or dramas.

I still have six months left in my study abroad program, and I hope to make the most of my time by gaining new experiences, creating good memories, and learning from the Japanese education system.

First, I evaluated myself that I was able to learn well in one year. Of course, I was able to learn textbook knowledge through classes such as Python, servers, and artificial intelligence, but the most important thing was that I was able to meet new people who are interested in the same field and share the thoughts with them, even though I had never thought of them before. I think I was able to acquire a wide range of knowledge and thinking in the IT field. Additionally, I did not take any Japanese classes, but that my Japanese ability has greatly improved as I used Japanese in my daily life and classes. This is a great achievement.

Next, I could say that my life in Japan was a series of school and part-time jobs. (The HUMAP scholarship helped me a lot.) Because food and transportation costs are quite high, it was essential to work part-time. However, I think that it is also a part of studying abroad to work at a Japanese company while living in Japan, and it will be a precious memory. Even in my busy days, I was able to visit nearby tourist spots such as Akashi, Kyoto, and Osaka in Hyogo Prefecture, and I was happy to be able to participate in events such as festivals and fireworks festivals that are difficult to experience in short-term tourism.

Finally, I have come to think strongly about working for a Japanese company and living in Japan in the future through this exchange program. In particular, I thought that even if my major is IT, I don't have to work for an IT company. I learned that there are companies that are not in the IT field but are in a situation where they cannot practice digitalization because they lack human resources due to the tendency for IT majors to prioritize IT companies, even though there are many IT-advanced companies in Japan. It's good to work for an IT company, but I've been able to broaden my horizons for the future by knowing that I can use my abilities elsewhere.