While I participated in the exchange programme, I interacted with different international students in largely three different countries, representing the United States, Canada and Australia. I had many preconceived notions about the differences in social norms between these countries, but my interactions with these international students taught me that people in different countries are incredibly similar, while possessing unique traits of their own too: we all loved listening to Korean music, eating Korean food, and watching the sunset alongside the Han River and so on. The international students I met there were young, creative, and eager to take part in new experiences.

I also enjoyed taking the courses at Yonsei University. Some of the remarkable courses I took include Data Structures and Linear Algebra. The professors were keen to teach the knowledge that they possessed to us as much as possible. These courses really drove me to the idea that computer science could be a useful and accessible tool for business as well, primarily because I am both interested in business and computer science, which are in fact my two majors at HKU. Not only that, I saw some fellow students who took the classes with me and graduated after the semester, and entered some of the very successful companies in Korea. Moreover, the courses were relatively small in nature, having up to twenty to thirty students, versus the usual size of a hundred. This ensured the relationship between the lecturer and the students were constant and satisfying, which I believe was also reflected in the final grade of the courses.

One of the professors who helped me gain a deep insight into technology was Professor Jeong. He was the professor for the data structures class as well as other higher-level courses including artificial intelligence. Since I have been developing a keen interest in AI, I took advantage of the consultation hours with him to know more about this field.

Professor Jeong’s ideas fascinated me. Personally, I wanted to work in one of the earliest steps towards AI. I thought that working in AI should involve both computer science and other scientific disciplines, which would be further complemented by the other sciences. However, while talking with Professor Jeong, I learned that there is no precise definition of AI, despite what researchers have published in the media. The more we work in this field, the more we find that there are many interesting and complex variables that involve the cognitive aspects of human beings. As Professor Jeong introduced these concepts to me, I was also able to further develop my curiosity and interest in this subject.

In a short period of time, I found myself being deeply impressed with Professor Jeong’s method of approaching the complexity of human minds from the fundamental levels, asking a simple question in a more specific way and seeing the patterns arise in this way. I believe he could also be described as one of the most profound examples of how seemingly ordinary people can produce incredible results by approaching it in such a manner, because he already published some prominent research about the use of AI-assisted computer vision in the medical field, starting by asking small, simple questions.

The programme came with some challenges too. One of the biggest challenges to overcome was that some courses were offered online only, because the bar on Covid was not fully lowered in South Korea at that time. I tried multiple ways to immerse myself into the remotely taught courses: by visiting the university on other occasions, by attempting to learn about the lecture material on my own, or by attending the classes online with a group of small students together at a separate venue. With these efforts, I was able to receive good grades as a result. This experience also taught me that there is no actual boundary when it comes to education; a student would learn in return as much as how much he or she puts in, regardless of the surrounding environment.

Outside the classroom, I explored South Korea. I went out in the area adjacent to Yonsei University often. I met other Korean and international students from universities and worked alongside them sometimes as well. This was, for me, my first taste of real-life environment in South Korea, a country with a lot more diversity than I had expected, because it is often believed to be a mono-ethnic country. Rather, it was a country with many cultures and languages co-existing and living together, side by side. I was astonished by the number of people with diverse ethnicities and backgrounds. I thought to myself that if I ever had the opportunity to move here, I would do it without a second thought. The people of Seoul were kind, and the city itself was clean and beautiful, but what really surprised me was Seoul’s vibrancy - the city never seemed to sleep. For example, several shops remained open at night under bright streetlights and many people tended to exercise outside at late night. There were people everywhere at all hours of the day, and I loved how fast-paced Seoul was. It was exactly how I had imagined an Eastern city to be.