Welcome back to a new video. Today we’re going to be learning English using comprehensible input. I’m meeting my friend here in Korea, and we’re going to go see Yonsei campus — one of the most prestigious universities in Korea.
Meeting Johnny at the main gate
Okay, so this is the main gate of Yonsei University, and we’re meeting him here. Let’s go see if he’s here yet.
My boy! How you doing, bro? — Doing all right, dude. — No, you’re you’re good, bro. This is my boy, my friend Johnny. Hello.
Introduce yourself. What’s your name?
Johnny: My name is John. People call me Johnny or Johnny Boy. I’m Volka’s friend. I met him in 2022 — three years ago. It was his first semester as an exchange student, and I was one of the first Koreans he met.
How old are you? — 22. Okay, so he’s 22. But when I met him, he was 19. And weren’t you, like, president of a club back then?
Johnny: Yeah, I was the president of a club at 19 — one of the biggest clubs on campus. The English Society.
That’s how I met him, through that club. I joined as an exchange student, and the next semester I joined as a board member. Johnny is the youngest club president I’ve ever met. We used to run a lot of events together. Really fun.
So today we’re going to explore the campus and just talk, and you guys can hear a conversation. Also — try to guess if he’s a native English speaker or not. I’m not going to say anything else; tune in and find out.
Hospital, major, and the walk down Baekyang-ro
That’s the Yonsei Cancer Center. This part is a hospital — along with the medical schools. Is this one of the biggest hospitals in Korea?
Johnny: It is. You can see it from far away, dude. The thing is just towering. It’s so big.
What’s your major? — I’m in Global Leaders College within the university, and my major within that college is international commerce.
Really smart guy, honestly. Super smart, and very mature.
When I was on exchange, I stayed at SK Global House, which is another dormitory. I don’t know if you watch K-dramas, but isn’t that area really famous for K-dramas? They filmed that K-drama about the students in charge of all the festival and the dancing team.
This is actually called Baekyang-ro. It used to be a car road because it’s really wide. It’s one of the nicest pathways I’ve ever seen in a university.
Have you ever been to Japan for the cherry blossoms?
Johnny: I’ve been to Japan once, but not for cherry blossoms. I went during fall, I think.
I’ve been to Japan with Yemen. Oh yeah — shout out Yemen. He used to be a board member in the same club as us. Yemen was fire.
Signs, statues, and school pride
Look at that statue — the eagle. What does this sign say? No dogs allowed, no motorcycles, no bicycles, no scooters. But I sometimes see people just come in here with a scooter. And I see the motorcycle delivery guys just whipping through here, man. Is there a sign at the gate? I don’t think they see it. Oh, dude — they definitely know.
Cherry blossom. During the summertime this becomes, like, a fountain shoot.
They don’t have a hockey arena here, eh? — They don’t. But they do have a hockey team called Yonsei Titans. And there’s stuff all underneath us — parking mostly, but also the student co-op. There’s a Yonsei co-op where you can buy hats and the Yonsei jerseys.
In North America — Canada, the United States — no one wears varsity jackets. Literally no one. Only football teams and football players. But here, dude, everyone has one and actually wears it. Especially during Yonko games, or for the pride. That’s one thing in Korea: they have super, super strong university pride.
How prestigious is Yonsei?
Johnny: Basically, there are what people call the SKY universities — Seoul National, Korea, and Yonsei. Those three are the top three universities in Korea.
So this is the eagle statue — the mascot of Yonsei.
This was the first place I met Johnny, now that I’m thinking of it, because we had that orientation. I was with Bartek from Poland — this Polish-American guy — and then we met Johnny there, and he was 19. Crazy.
The central library and the open square
Behind the statue is our central library. Students used to just sleep on the sofas in there. Yeah, I used to do that. Students, aka me.
This is actually the square, where nothing really happens in the square. People used to be able to use these quadrants for picnics and stuff, but I heard from one of our school administrators that people started drinking and vomiting. So they prohibited people from using it. What does that sign say? “Don’t step on it.”
And there’s a bulletin board with what activities are happening. They post a lot of posters here. There are bulletin boards across campus — they promote a lot of things.
This one looks like a video game. Oh, this is the 24-hour lounge where all the students study. Right now it’s exam period, so there’s a bunch of kids here. It’s really hard to reserve a spot.
Why? — Because everybody’s very studious, so everybody goes there.
Wouldn’t an individual study room be better than a big open room with everyone? I could study by myself pretty well, but if I’m studying with people who are super dedicated, I don’t even want to look at my phone — I feel guilty.
This is the library. I’ll insert pictures of the inside so you guys can see what it looks like. There used to be long couches and long sofas, but then people started sleeping on them, so they took them away. It looks more civilized now. And when you go inside, there’s the Y-Lounge — this big open space where you can just study.
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Tuition, comparisons, and how expensive is “expensive”
Our tuition is pretty expensive, you know. How much is normal tuition in Korea?
Johnny: I don’t want to misrepresent, but here it’s around 7.1 million Korean won — about 5,000 USD a year. So for two semesters.
For my major, if you round up, it’s around 6 million per semester. So about 4,000 USD per semester.
Compared to foreign standards, I don’t think it’s that expensive. Compared to the USA — dude, America is just insane. It’s like 80 to 100k average for a four-year degree. And it’s very well known that America is so expensive.
The alumni plaza and the Yonsei merch store
This is actually what we call the alumni plaza. I sometimes see people holding concerts over here. My friend who graduated last year was taking her graduation photos here, with that as the background. This is a very good graduation-picture spot. This and where the eagle statue is.
Some doors don’t work at Yonsei, I guess.
Is this the only area where you can buy Yonsei merch? — I haven’t seen another area, but I’m also not a full-time student here. I think there’s one in the student union building, but it’s not as organized. This is the main one for the merch.
You have the hat. You have the jacket. I’ve got, like, eight jackets. You put your drinks here — that’s one thing I think is super cool, because you’re not allowed to bring drinks in ever. Why? Just so you don’t spill. I think it makes sense. Like, clothes and stuff — you can put them here and no one takes them and no one spits in them. The comments are going to be like, “Korea is living in the 25th century.”
You cannot do that in Canada or America. They’ll take it, or just spit in it.
Oh, that’s a cool jacket. Clearly for girls. Come on, try it. Do it for the video. — Dude, it fits you perfectly, man. — Yeah, it low key does. You look like you could star in High School Musical. — I can be in that K-drama.
I love keychains. I really like our university’s logo. It’s nice. Here are all the varsity jackets — these are supposed to be cherry blossoms, I think. They have black and gold — people buy a lot of that. These ones are thicker, for winter. I remember when I came here in spring, they were a lot thinner.
This is the Y hat. I like this better. I had this hat before. You should try it on, man. You should be an ambassador or something. Sponsor my boy Yonsei.
Look at this hat — it says 1885. That’s the year Yonsei University was established. We just had our 140th anniversary celebration. Was it big? — Yeah, it was pretty big. They had this media facade on the student union building where they projected a video of the history of Yonsei.
But this says “Y University” on the back. Okay. So the guy said we need permission to film. Permission to film. Should we go out this way? Yeah, that was good. I’ll come buy a hat later. — You guys learned a word: “kicked out.” He’s like, “Yeah, keep it pushing.”
The faculty lounge and the Grand Ballroom
That’s the lounge, actually. Have you ever used the lounge before? — Never. — There’s really good food there. — Oh, is it? — Students really don’t know about that because they think it’s too expensive. But it’s not really expensive.
Oh, this is the Grand Ballroom. Is this where they hold big events? Maybe graduation ceremonies? — Yeah, they hold a lot of big events. I’m not sure if they’re holding one right now. Let me have a quick look-see.
Let’s get kicked out again. — Okay, it’s closed. I mean, it’s locked. Some doors don’t work at Yonsei, I guess. But — Grand Ballroom. People use it for ceremonies. Let me know if you study at Yonsei.
This is the lounge. You can see the prices here. Okay, that is expensive. I’m not going to lie, it’s pretty expensive. We went to a premium outlet mall in Busan and it was this price.
Do the convenience stores on campus sell alcohol and soju? — No, they don’t sell alcohol. I never checked, but I would assume no.
There are not many students here. They look more like grad students, and there are some bald guys too. My campus in Canada, the U of A, is big — really big. But this is a different level. Korea is a different level, man.
That’s where people can print out official documents — like score reports. And here is where I got my ARC card, my Alien Registration Card, my Korean ID, at the global lounge. This is where exchange students get them. This is also a photo booth — not like an actual photo booth; it’s for passport photos and ID photos. I took my ID photo here for my ARC card.
I actually need to take one, because I lost my passport. — What? You lost your passport? Your passport is, like, your most important document. — I know, man. I’m trying to find it, dude.
Two campuses and a bus loop
There are two campuses — one in Seoul and one in Incheon Songdo. People take the shuttle bus from the Songdo campus all the way here, and they drop them off right in front of the gate. Why are there two separate campuses? Songdo in Incheon is pretty far from where we are — like an hour and a half by car. By bus, maybe up to two hours.
They have it separated because the first-year students go there. Depending on the major, some students stay in Songdo for all four years.
This is the parking space, and that’s actually the shuttle bus. The blue bus is a Yonsei shuttle bus. This one is the normal bus that goes around the campus, because it’s a pretty big campus. Just does the campus loop. The campus is huge — if you had to walk it would take a long time, and it’s cold. So yeah, a shuttle bus makes sense.
Imagine a campus so big it needs a shuttle bus. Insane. That’s like that Mexican campus. We went to Mexico City — guess how many people go to that university. — Like 30, 40? Yeah, 30 to 40. — Okay, now guess again how many people go to that university in Mexico City. — I’m inferring it’s going to be small, so — no? — No! — What? How many? — Enormous. I want you to guess. — Like 50,000 then? — One more guess. Higher. — Is it 70,000? — 300,000 people. It’s so big there are roads in the campus. There’s not a shuttle bus; there are normal city buses that go through there.
Is it a national university? Do you remember what it was called? — National Autonomous University of Mexico. I believe that was the one. — How many students go there? — Over 360,000. That’s crazy. I was wrong. When you look on the map, it’s like a city inside a city.
Lunch in the cafeteria
Should we get something to eat? — Sure, man. You hungry? — Yeah. Do you still eat, like, eight times a day? — I’m trying to cut for the army, you know.
We’re in the cafeteria right now — this is the main cafeteria. Are these all options? — Yeah, they’re all options. You know Jimmy? That Korean YouTuber who speaks English in his videos — he did a video here. (Not Uncle Roger, a different one.)
This is more Western-oriented — spaghetti. But they have a spicy pork rice bowl. Yeah, they do.
Now we’re just waiting for our food. It probably shouldn’t take long. Sometimes it takes a long time — maybe during lunchtime. And it is lunchtime.
Yeah, we got our food. Dude, look at that. Look at this insane amount. It’s, like, compared to my head, bro.
Have you been to that really cheap tonkatsu place? — Yeah, 3,000 won. — That place too. And that’s the one thing — dude, this is the one thing Yonsei needs to fix: these cups, man. I’ve used these cups before; you just have to drink it, dude. If you don’t drink it, it’s all on them. This is like a game-show cup. Bro, they’re just — come on, man. We want some water. Who can drink from this? Now there’s water all over the table. All over the floor.
Ice cream, Underwood Courtyard, and a trim of the vines
Okay, we got the ice cream. Let’s go outside and eat. I’m trying to cut — Yonsei sundae. The best thing to eat after spicy food is a sundae, man.
Oh wow, that actually tastes amazing. Yeah, it tastes pretty strong — the milk taste is pretty strong. I really like it. Almost like frozen yogurt.
What is this area called? — Underwood Courtyard. So this is where, if you see people doing vlogs of their student life in Korea, or K-dramas — this is where they are. Unfortunately it’s not super green and luscious right now, but you kind of get the idea. During spring it was really green.
They also trim these trees. Winter is kind of sad and beautiful. These three buildings have vines all over them in the summer. Now you can see the kind of the branches of the vines, but no leaves.
This right here is Horace Underwood. This is the person that founded the university. He was the president of Chosun Christian College. In my opinion, this is the nicest spot on campus. It’s just so nice.
You’re not supposed to climb on top of this. Don’t climb up. We never climbed up. We climbed up to, like, right here. Maybe this is the max. You can’t put your arms around Mr. Underwood, you know. I’m pretty sure you get in trouble and kicked out of school if you did.
What is your favorite place on campus? — I want to say my major building, but it’s not as pretty as here. The first time I came here I was like, “Oh my god, is this Hogwarts?” This is not something from Korea. I’d say my favorite place is here. A lot of couples who start dating come here at night.
I remember when I was studying here, sometimes I met Johnny on those benches during classes, and we would just sit there. I studied right there at the business school — that building is the business building. I’d come out, sit here. Korean summers are so nice. It’s nice, warm, sunny. So I would just sit outside and enjoy the sun.
Through the forest to the amphitheater
Now we’re going to make our way through the forest. Does that forest have a name? — I don’t think so.
That is the theater — the amphitheater. We’ll go check it out too if it’s open.
This is the walk I did every day, from the business building up through the forest to the dorms. It was a 15-minute walk, man. Kind of far.
The business building is one of the nicest buildings. It’s newer — it looks really new.
This is where the big K-pop artists come. Like Psy — he was here. New Jeans. Those are the only ones I know.
Every year Yonsei has this representative festival called Akaraka. It’s really famous and popular in Korea. All the students gather around and stand on those bleachers, and they just cheer on and listen and watch the celebrity concerts.
Look at this huge amphitheater. So this is the stage. Me and Volka used to be, like — I’ll definitely include videos, but imagine this whole area filled with people, and everyone’s doing this: “One, blue, three!” Just imagine an entire theater filled with students in red and blue. Well, Akaraka is just blue, but with the cheer event, it’s red and blue, and everyone’s just — the vibes are immaculate.
And they do that for, like, 10 hours. — Yo, I’ll do it for 20. — Everybody gets back pain. Doesn’t matter. Rain, shine, snow, whatever.
The KLI building and the exchange dorms
This is the forest I was talking about. They have a forest in the middle of campus. That’s crazy.
This is where I studied Korean — this is the KLI building. I studied here for one semester.
Speak some Korean. Go ahead. — Whoa. Hell yeah. They say, “I love you.”
Okay, so this is SK Global, the student dorm I stayed at. There are two main student dorms — International House and SK Global. 90% of the people who come on exchange are women. — Oh, I didn’t know that. — K-pop, K-dramas. And 10% are men, like me. Of that 10%, probably 90% are into K-pop and K-dramas. And then there’s me, who just came to Korea to learn the actual culture.
It was a good dorm. I had a roommate here, this Swedish guy — vegan. It’s really hard to find vegan and vegetarian restaurants here. Everything contains some sort of meat product. So all he ate was rice and some oats and grains every night in a bowl. Most of the vegan or vegetarian places are pretty expensive compared to the normal ones.
Another quick note from Volka: The most important part of learning a language, and the reason why everyone learns a language, is to be able to speak it. These videos help you with your listening — but how can you practice your speaking even more? You need to practice by shadowing. Shadowing is just repeating after a native English speaker to practice your pronunciation, your accent, and your confidence. I’ve started making videos specifically for those three things. If you want to become more confident in English and become truly fluent, check out my Patreon in the description. I give you three new videos every week. See you there.
The food court and a gloomy old building
This is the food court area for students, because around here there are a few dormitories — the one I went to, another one over there, and a couple more.
This is where I used to study — the building that I studied in. The first floor is really nice because they renovated only the first floor. Not going to lie, this is kind of gloomy. But these are the classrooms. It’s empty, and it smells like paint. I think they did a paint job. Just painted. So they renovated this whole place. Looks much better, right?
The reveal — is Johnny a native speaker?
Is he a native English speaker, or did he learn English? And his accent — what are you, Johnny? Are you a native English speaker, or did you learn English?
Johnny: I learned English.
You learned English. What’s your first language? — My first language is Korean.
Where were you born? — I was born in Korea, and I did have some experience abroad. I was in Singapore during my high school years, but I mostly learned English beforehand.
How did you learn?
Johnny: People like you, man — YouTubers. I watched a lot of Ryan Higa, Smosh, PewDiePie. I listened to a lot of songs. I used to love Eminem. In elementary school I used to try to memorize Eminem lyrics. It was pretty explicit.
You’re pretty much everyone’s goal when learning a language — like, where you are. You sound like a native. When I heard him speak, I literally thought he was American, until he told me he’s Korean. That’s how good his accent was.
Thank you, honestly. Like, thank you so much, man. That is crazy how good you can be. And without focusing on formal lessons, right? You just focused on content you enjoyed.
Johnny: It was mostly through YouTube. I tried following how they speak — like shadowing. That really helped me a lot. It helped me more than the normal education, because you start with grammar, phonetics, and all that, and you memorize vocabulary — but you don’t really know when to use it, and it’s not really practical. That’s how you sound like a native — you’re able to speak naturally with a flow, and you don’t have to think in Korean first.
And remember, guys — you will become fluent in English. Bye, guys.