SOAS or Sheffield for Korean Studies?

3rd year Korean studies student here ^_^
I was one of the helpers so I might have talked to you on the open day haha but I just wanted to answer this honestly on here as I was asked about this topic a lot but couldn't really answer 110% truthfully as I was strongly told to 'get as many people interested as possible', yet there's some vital things that need to be addressed.

Korean is getting more and more applicants each year at Sheffield, now actually making it more popular than Chinese studies, so if you're at a disadvantage in any of the required conditions then I'd say that it's unlikely.

Though to answer your question about no prior language qualifications, quite a few people in my class didn't have a language a-level, even though Sheffield said they preferred it, HOWEVER, definitely everyone had at least a GCSE in it, (whether failed or passed) so if you don't have at least that, then not only will admissions be questionable but most of all this course will be tough. The department want to know that you've gone through language lessons in education before so that your 9 hour a week Korean Language lessons aren't going to give you the biggest shock of your life. Korean studies is great, though very very challenging and requires your full commitment to the language.

The fact that you say you don't have any Korean language ability makes me wonder why you're interested in this course, as even though you start it from scratch, pretty much everyone in this course had already self-studied it beforehand, whether it's just Hangul or conversational skills.

We get quite a few students each year who've joined the course simply because they love K-Pop/KDramas and not actually realising that studying an East-Asian language is hard work. Last year three dropped out early and two simply didn't get the results to consider carrying it on - a real waste when there are other people out there who would dedicate their life to Korean culture yet didn't get on the course because the 'K-Pop Koreaboos' who had better grades got in instead.

Sorry if this sounds a bit harsh, but me, my contemporaries and teachers are just a bit tired of people applying to Korean Studies with no language experience whatsoever. It will be very hard for you. Apply for a course that you tick the boxes for instead of wasting a precious place on a course as limited and competitive as Korean Studies.

Hello! I don’t know if I will get a reply but I thought it was worth a shot! I applied to study Korean this year at university and have received offers from both SOAS and Sheffield, however I’m having trouble with deciding which one to firm. I have always leant towards Sheffield, being sure that’s where I want to go, however I am now also weighing up SOAS.

I have been reading that as SOAS is more specialised, during the year abroad there is some I suppose ‘discrimination’ (I don’t know if this is quite the right word) in the sense that they tend to ‘favour’ those who have attended SOAS over those who have been to Sheffield. I don’t know how true this is but I’m just worried that reputation could hinder me in that sense, although I’m trying not to worry too much about it too much.
Do you have any input on how you found your Sheffield experience/ advice? Many thanks!!

Hi there! Not studying Korean but studying Japanese at Sheffield!! so if you have any questions about the East Asian Studies department/ life in Sheffield feel free to ask away

In terms of the year abroad SOAS has many more partner universities in S. Korea compared to Sheffield (I think they have something like 6?? I’m not entirely sure) but it may be more competitive to go to your desired partner university with Sheffield than with SOAS. But don’t worry too much! The better you do the more likely you’ll get your first choice for the year abroad.

Ahh it deleted everything one sec

Hiya, thank you for the reply!! I actually do have a couple questions if you don’t mind?

- How many hours a week do you spend on language learning? I heard/ saw somewhere that it was 10 hours but I’m not entirely sure?
- With the Tandem Programme, how many hours do you spend talking to your partner & is it only during the first year?
- Would you say that the quality of teaching is good?
- Would you say that they are quite extensive/ thorough with their teaching to ensure that you reach a (high) level of fluency?
Also what year are you in lol!
(These are my main questions at the moment!!)

How many partner unis does Sheffield have? I saw on their SEAS section of the website they have 6?? (Won’t let me post the link here though). I thought as much.. I saw that when you’re actually there, they’re a bit more favourable of SOAS students?? Not sure but it worried me a bit. Thank you!! I intend to work hard so hopefully I can achieve where I want to go (fingers crossed!!)

It is probably a useless degree

It is probably a useless degree

How are you determining a degree to be useless? Do you know what I think is more useless? Chucking £37k down the drain on an engineering degree and despising it for four years, just for the sake of taking a subject that is 'useful'. Everyone has their own path and their own goals, that deserve respect. OP's pathway is not invalidated by not being mainstream - you are just ignorant, and frankly, calling it a K-Pop degree and implying that K-Pop is the only aspect of Korean culture, is offensive to the history and traditions of a country that is more culturally rich than you understand.

It’s honestly no problem, I’m really happy to help!!

I had around 5 hours of lesson time this semester. 1 hour per grammar lesson, and I had 3 a week. I also had 3 speaking lessons a week. One was an hour and the other two were 30 mins (time was reduced due to lessons online). Next semester is goes up to 9 hours, with grammar lessons being 2 hours each and speaking lessons an hour each. It’s not a lot but language learning takes a lot of effort. As long as you stay on top of your work it’s all gucci!

I haven’t actually heard of the tandem program~

I’d say the quality of teaching is good though I can only really speak for Japanese. But when the Korean team introduced themselves in induction week they all seemed pretty friendly and approachable and I haven’t heard any complaints from my Korean studies buddies so seems good!! The cultural module lectures are generally good however the exploring EA module is a bit all over the place because you jump around topics a lot, but it’s still very interesting.

You’ll easily be able to have basic conversations after first semester. It’s intense and the pace moves fast, but honestly as tiring as it can be it’s so rewarding when you hear a long sentence and realise you can actually understand it! The language teachers are very thorough and there is lots of supplementary work to help you reinforce everything!

I’m a first year! So I’ve only just completed semester 1 😅

Sheffield has 6 partner universities in S.Korea all in Seoul!! I suppose SOAS are a specialist in oriental studies but I don’t see any reason for them to be biased. But you don’t need to worry because you’re going to do amazing!!

Thank you so much!!

Oooh I see, have you focused on any reading/ listening yet? Also do you know what the original hours were for the first semester too? 9 hours does seem like a lot more in comparison to 5, especially since it’s the first year and given the fact that it is fast-paced! What about individual study if you don’t mind me asking?

Ah really? Apparently it’s a programme where you speak to those of the country you’re studying, so I think you spend an hour or so conversing with your exchange partner?? Should be on the website, but with COVID I have no idea what happens with that, plus I don’t know 100% everything about it.
Ooooh okay, thank you so much!! That’s honestly such a great help, I really appreciate it! Thank you for letting me know, helps me prepare a little lol!!
How about the tests/ exams? Are there many?

Aww nice, hope you’re getting on well! I’m looking forward to it (if I manage to get in lol, as long as my exam grades permit! ). Yes, I thought so!! Sorry, one last question, do you have any idea how you know what unis are good in the partner country? I have no idea how to go about knowing what’s good or not lol!! Thank you so much, that’s so sweet of you!! :’))))
I’m so sorry for all of the questions I’ve asked!!!!

Hello! I don’t know if I will get a reply but I thought it was worth a shot! I applied to study Korean this year at university and have received offers from both SOAS and Sheffield, however I’m having trouble with deciding which one to firm. I have always leant towards Sheffield, being sure that’s where I want to go, however I am now also weighing up SOAS.

I have been reading that as SOAS is more specialised, during the year abroad there is some I suppose ‘discrimination’ (I don’t know if this is quite the right word) in the sense that they tend to ‘favour’ those who have attended SOAS over those who have been to Sheffield. I don’t know how true this is but I’m just worried that reputation could hinder me in that sense, although I’m trying not to worry too much about it too much.
Do you have any input on how you found your Sheffield experience/ advice? Many thanks!!

I was just wondering when you sent in your UCAS application because I have gotten an offer from SOAS but I’m still waiting to hear back from Sheffield so I didn’t know if it was based on when I sent my application off or not. Just anxious I guess
Thanks

I was just wondering when you sent in your UCAS application because I have gotten an offer from SOAS but I’m still waiting to hear back from Sheffield so I didn’t know if it was based on when I sent my application off or not. Just anxious I guess
Thanks

Nooo it’s fine!! Ask as many questions as you need! When I was making the decision last year I literally couldn’t find anyone )

I’m sure when I went to the open day they said that it was originally 10 in the first semester so maybe it was more in the second semester? Not too sure though. I know that SOAS’ course is really intensive. In terms of individual study the work never stops 🥲 I probably spend up to 4/5 hours a day on language study, that’s including lesson prep/ hw/ revision of grammar/ vocab flash cards/ kanji practice - the list is endless.

I can’t believe I’d never heard of the tandem programme until now It looks so useful

For the speaking exams they give you passages to read and then ask you questions based on that passage and then questions about yourself (not sure if it’s exactly the same over the other EA courses), there’s also a writing task and a presentation. For the presentation you have to film yourself talking about a specific item or something like that. I don’t think the testing is much different without the covid situation, except for the writing task which would be a two hour exam. Everything else would be the same but in person I guess. I honestly have no idea how many exams there would usually be but for now there’s 3/4 at the end of each semester.

Thank you!! It’s going well so far but I have exams in a week so wish me luck😭 And I really hope you get the grades you need, I know how nerve wracking it is but if it makes you feel any better, Sheffield were really lenient last year. The algorithm gifted me with a BBC (lol) and they still let me in. At least it got bumped up a bit after the whole algorithm thing was scrapped😅

For partner universities there are league tables!! If you type in best universities in South Korea and go the times higher education link you should find what you’re looking for I’d link it but student Room hates me XD

Thank you!!

Perhaps?? I attended the online open day and I’m sure they said somewhere that was the range so perhaps! Even way I’m happy with the sound of the hours!! Hopefully Sheffield is just as intensive, I’ve heard good reviews?
Ouch, that sounds intense!! Worth it but a lot, do you struggle much with retaining the information? That’s the one thing I’m worried about :’) 🥲, I suppose it helps that everyone is in the same boat though?..

Ahh yes!!! Hopefully they’ll do it, as I said I don’t know much about it but worth asking your teachers!
Oooh I see, the passage sounds a lot like what I did at GCSE, but obviously more difficult because I mean, it’s university lol. Can’t say I’ll look forward to having to film myself!! Okay, thank you so much for letting me know, seriously I feel so much better prepared in knowing what to expect!! :’))

Good luck, you’ll be great!!!! thank you so much, that’s very sweet of you, time will tell I guess!! Omg that’s so great to hear, I asked about their lenience a while back but got no replies/ people were unsure but that really puts my mind at rest! Yes, that whole thing was a shambles! I really hope our year will be some what better off this time round :’))), I really want to get in 🥲

Haha no worries, I’ll have a look now, thank you!! Do you live in accommodation? I will have to book accommodation if I get a definite place but not sure what areas are nice, I heard Endcliffe seems alright??

Hiya!! So I sent my application to my school on the 18th of November which they then sent off to UCAS on the 2nd of DECEMBER. I got my SOAS offer on the 22nd of December and got my Sheffield offer on the 6th of January so just over a month of waiting!! Sheffield took the longest to reply and was the last of my uni offers that I received! They have started sending off offers again as they took a break over Christmas so I’m certain you’ll get one soon!!
Good luck with your application! (Please ask me anything else if you need ).

Hello! I'm not the person you're asking, but I have applied for Korean Studies with Japanese (a deferred application, so starting in 2022). Sheffield took the longest to reply out of all my choices, I sent my application off on November 3rd and got an offer on December 14th! Don't worry if it takes a while

That’s actually reassuring thank you! I have all my other offers but Sheffield is gonna be my firm if I get an offer which is why I’m just anxious waiting. Hopefully soon I get one then

No problem at all! I was in exactly the same boat, I asked around too! Most of the Sheffield applicants I’ve talked to has taken them about a month+ for them to reply! Sheffield will be my firm too , I’m gonna leave it a little while before I accept to finalise weighing everything up! (Just to be doubly sure lol)

What did you apply to study if you don’t mind me asking? Good luck!!!