Previously, I had posted a guest review done by a fellow exchanger studying communications. In this post, my friend, Chan Jia Qi from National University of Singapore Business School will be sharing her thoughts on the classes she took in Yonsei.
IEE3108 Modern Korean History (Son Cheol Bae)
This module teaches you on the following issues regarding Korea
- How Korea became colonized by Japan
- How Koreans live during the colonization
- How did South and North Korea became separated during the Korean War
- Development of South Korea
If you are someone who are interested in colonization history and the past between North and South Korea, this module is right for you! However, this module has a very heavy workload.
Assessment
You are required to submit two pieces of work every week – one 1000 words summary paper and one 1000 words essay paper. Readings will be given and you are given a week to summarize the readings into a 1000 words paper. For the essay paper, the content is based on the topics which the professor will go through in class. These weekly submission of papers will make up 50% of your overall grade.
Other components of your grades are made up of class participation (20%) and one comparative paper (30%). There are no midterms or final examination for this module, so all your grade depends on the take home assignments! For the comparative paper, you are required to write a 7-10 pages paper on any topic that compares your home country and Korea. You are also required to present this paper to the whole class on the last lesson! J
Lesson
With regards to the lessons, the professor speaks softly and his English may be a little hard to comprehend. However, he is friendly and always willing to answer your queries.
Conclusion
Pros – no midterms and finals examination
Cons – heavy workload
Difficulty – 2/5
Recommendations: Do take it only if you are interested in history, likes writing and does not mind the heavy workload!
ECO3104 Econometrics l (Lee Na Kyeong)
This module teaches you on the various economic analysis method such as
- Regression line – How to derive Beta, Gauss Markov Assumptions, Simple and Multiple Regression
- Test of autocorrelation – using various methods such as Dublin Watson statistics
- Dummy variables
- Test of Heteroskedasticity
Please only take the lesson if you have a strong foundation in statistics. Without a strong statistics background, you will find yourself very lost in the lessons like me (and I have contemplated dropping this module halfway because it was so difficult for me). Furthermore, the module has a heavy focus on proving – so do it only if you are good at proving and deriving mathematical formula.
Assessment
There are 4 components to the assessment. There will be a midterm (35%), final examination (45%), take home quizzes (10%) and attendance (10%). The mid term was really hard and our scores disappointed the professor. Thankfully, to improve our grades, she conducted 3 review sessions before our final examinations to ensure that we are well-prepared for the finals. The take home quizzes are on proving mathematical formula and they are challenging too!
Lesson
The professor will handwrite all the notes on the blackboard and you have to copy them down. No slides will be provided after the first two lessons. The professor is really nice and she will patiently clear your doubts after lessons. However, she has a tendency to reply questions asked by Korean students back in Korea. Thus, students who do not understand Korean may be at a disadvantage.
Conclusion
Difficulty – 5/5
ECO3134 Money and Banking (Sung Taeyoon and Park Sung Jun)
In this module, you will learn about:
- Optimal resource allocation over time – eg. Marginal rate of substitution
- Risk and Return – eg. exchange rate risk
- Capital asset pricing model
- Risk and term structure of interest rates
- Money supply and demand
- Central banking and conduct of monetary policy
Assessment
There will not be any midterms for this module. The assessment is based on class participation (15%), homework (15%), final term paper (30%) and final exam (40%). For the term paper, you can write on any topics related to the subjects taught in class. Do note that the professor will not give any consultation on the term paper as he regards it as “midterm examinations”.
Lesson
No notes will be provided at all in this module. You are required to copy all the notes that will be handwritten on the black board. The professor (Sung Taeyoon) is good and professional. If a question is asked in Korean, he will translate the question to English and answer the question in English to ensure that international students can understand too. His teaching is concise and really easy to understand! However, for the other professor, Professor Park, it may be hard to comprehend him at times. He may also make mistakes sometimes, which he will rectify in the next lesson. The module has a heavy emphasis on mathematics and proving – do expect lots of proving questions in the final examinations.
Conclusion
Difficulty – 3/5