Sookmyung Women’s University (SMU) is a private university located in downtown Seoul, South Korea, within close distance to the city’s major attractions (10 minutes from Seoul Station). The university’s name is derived from Hanja characters of ‘sook’ and ‘myung’, which mean ‘elegant’ and ‘bright’ respectively.
First established in 1906 during the latter stages of the Korean empire, it was Korea’s first national women’s private school. Currently it has a diverse student population of 13,000. The university’s main goal is to foster creative leaders with power of thinking, delivered through rigorous academic training and opportunities for student leadership against the backdrop of the exciting capital city of Seoul.
Please note, male students are eligible to apply to study on exchange at Sookmyung Women’s University.
Learn more about Sookmyung Women’s University here.
Programmes of study
Sookmyung Women’s University provides the opportunity for students of the following subject areas to study modules in English: Business, Marketing, Management, Economics, Law, English Language, Literature, TESOL, International Relations, Mathematics, Mechanical Engineering.
There are also complementary Korean Studies courses available, to allow students to learn more about Korean language and culture. Full details of courses available can be found here.
Exchange students will be required to follow a full programme of study for the academic year based at Sookmyung Women’s University.
Learn more about campus activities and events
Each exchange student will be introduced to an SMU buddy. The buddies are there to help students to assimilate into life at SMU such as getting to know the campus life, learning about Korean Culture, getting a registration card etc. There is also a designated Global Lounge on campus to provide a supportive environment for international students. As well as acting as a study space, students get a one-stop service and receive 1:1 help for both academic and campus life. Access to newspapers, magazines, CNN, CCTV, NHK etc is also available.
Exchange students can join to volunteer in English Speaking Spot (ESS) and the Second Language Tutoring program (SLT). This allows students to teach English to SMU students and receive a small scholarship (10,000 Korean won per hour) throughout the semester.
SMU has an active and lively Student Union with a plethora of groups available for students to join, these range from social clubs to arts and everything in between! Develop calligraphy skills, practice your classic guitar or join the ICCUS (international culture network camp). Learn about the social clubs available here.
Travel & accommodation
Visas & insurance
Costs
Living costs in South Korea tend to be similar to those in the UK. We recommend that you do further independent research to gain a better understanding of the cost of your year abroad. To help you, we have a created a simple cost comparison between the UK and South Korea: