Fancy a trip to Jeju? This credit exchange program will get you there

There's no need for university students to pay for an expensive vacation on Jeju Island, as signing up for a credit exchange at a university on the island offers the same experience on top of a learning opportunity.

An olle trail, or a long-distance trekking trail, at Jeju Island. During the Introduction to Physical Education class at Jeju National University, students are given assignments to walk around the island's trails. [JOONGANG ILBO]

There's no need for university students to pay for an expensive vacation on Jeju Island, as signing up for a credit exchange at a university on the island offers the same experience on top of a learning opportunity.

Jang Soo-jeong, a 21-year-old student enrolled at Keimyung University, would usually spend her semesters studying at her school's campus in Daegu.

But this time, she stayed on Jeju by signing up for a credit exchange during the Jeju National University winter session, which ran between Dec. 26 and Jan. 16.

Jang took the Introduction to Physical Education course at the university, providing her with assignments that allowed her to enjoy the island.

She had to take a walk on the olle trails, which refers to a long-distance trekking trail on the island, and near the island's oreum, or large and small volcanic edifices. Other assignments included hiking up the Seowoobong and Byeoldobong peaks.

Students go on a walk during the Nordic Walking class at Jeju National University [JOONGANG ILBO]

Although a regular vacation on Jeju requires her to book expensive stays, she only paid 180,000 won ($135) to stay at Jeju National University's dormitory during the four-week winter session.

Keimyung University is one of the 56 universities with which Jeju National University has signed a credit exchange agreement. This arrangement enables students from these 56 universities to enroll in courses at Jeju National University and transfer the earned credits back to their home institution, and vice versa.

Requirements to be eligible for a credit exchange can be different based on which university the students are enrolled in, but usually requires them to have completed at least a semester at their home university and meet the minimum GPA requirements.

Credit exchanges are possible during regular semesters and the summer and winter sessions, but the latter are the students' favorite as it's geographically hard for nonresidents to take courses on the island.

Among the 5,768 students who signed up for Jeju National University's summer and winter sessions in 2023, 31.2 percent, or 1,802, were credit exchange students from other universities.

Courses like Oreum Trekking and Nordic Walking are some of the most popular options.

"When my classes were over, I would immediately go to a nearby beach to swim," said Nam Da-yoon, a 22-year-old who took classes at Jeju National University during summer sessions last year. "Me being able to stay at Jeju National University's dorm was the important thing, not what classes I was taking."

The university is the only four-year university on the island that offers credit exchanges for offline classes. Jeju International University is the only other four-year university on the island, but only online courses are offered through its credit exchange program.

Cheap tuition is another reason why students prefer credit exchanges at Jeju National University.

"At Sookmyung Women's University, tuition for summer and winter sessions are 93,900 won per credit," said Hwang Ja-yeong, a 20-year-old attending Sookmyung Women's University. "But Jeju National University's is 25,000 won per credit, and cheap fees are one of the big advantages."

Universities also welcome the source of extra profit.

"There's an increase in public utility bills which could pressure us to raise dorm fees, so we need to make as much profit with the empty dorm rooms if we want to lessen the burden for our students," a spokesperson for Jeju National University said. "We recently expanded the capacity of the buildings so even students from other universities that signed up for online classes can stay there."

Jeju Island isn't the only popular tourist attraction as other regions are also aiming to attract credit exchange students.

Students practice rowing a boat during Chonnam National University's Exploring the Coastal City Yeosu and Marine Activities class. [CHONNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY]

Chonnam National University created a class called Exploring the Costal City Yeosu and Marine Activities in 2023.

The course is available as both a summer and winter session class at its Yeosu campus in South Jeolla. It provides instruction in survival swimming and offers knowledge about various marine resources found in the seas around Yeosu.

"Not a lot of students used to come to the campus due to the geographical limitations, but we are trying to offer more courses regarding Yeosu and its seas because we are recently seeing more tourists in the area," said a spokesperson for Chonnam National University.

For Kangwon National University, located in Gangwon, the Gangwon-do and DMZ class is one of the popular choices.

"Even credit exchange students from other universities enroll in the course, filling the class quota every time," a spokesperson for Kangwon National University said.

The course teaches students about the demilitarized zone, and the province's geographical features, also during the summer and winter sessions.

"Courses that teach us something special about each region is an opportunity for students like us to develop a different perspective about those regions," said Kim Min-ji, a 21-year-old student at Incheon National University who took a course as a credit exchange at Pukyong National University in Busan.

"There aren't a lot of opportunities for university students that have a tight budget to travel to other rural areas, and I hope a lot of regional universities will create classes like that."

Although there is demand for regional universities to create more summer and winter session courses, schools say it isn't easy.

"Creating a sign-up system for credit exchange students itself requires additional costs," a spokesperson for the Korean Association of Private University Presidents said. "Partnerships are possible only if students signing up for credit exchanges and those coming from other universities are similar in number, and predicting if that will be the case is also difficult."

Transferring course credits is one of the tricky procedures.

"A professor needs to assess the course equivalency if we want to transfer credits we took at the other university to the home university, and this process is a bit difficult," said Hwang Seo-yeon, a 20-year-old attending Gyeongsang National University.

BY CHOI MIN-JEE, SONG DA-JUNG, LEE TAE-HEE [lee.taehee2@joongang.co.kr]