◆ visa application process

IND is the name of a residence permit visa issued by the Dutch Immigration Bureau. It is relatively convenient because you do not visit the embassy in Korea like exchange students in other countries and only need to register and pay simple documents. After arriving, I visited Breda twice to get a residence permit. The first one was to register my photos and fingerprints, and the second one was to receive a physical card. In the case of receiving the card, the school helped me collectively through Student office, but I couldn't receive it due to inevitable schedule, so I made a separate reservation.

BSN number is the concept of Korea's resident registration number. For exchange students at Tilburg University, if they arrive at the city hall in downtown Tilburg at the time of the application and register as a kiosk, the office will help them one by one. The full text of the passport and dormitory contract has been printed out in advance in Korea, and both of these will be good administrative procedures if they are prepared immediately after arrival to open an account and issue a local number.

◆ flight ticket information

I also paid for a direct flight of Korean Air three months before departure. The price was in the early 800,000 won range.

Personally, I recommend you to pay for a round trip rather than a one-way trip for those who are going to the spring semester. By July, when you return from the semester, it is the peak season anywhere in Europe, so the price changes. There is also the option to change the date for free or with a small additional fee, so you can adjust it enough for the re-exam or other travel schedules later. Not knowing this, I thought my academic schedule was uncertain, so I bought a one-way trip, and the return flight was more expensive. For other Korean acquaintances, I also cut the round trip + date changeable ticket to around 1 million won.

◆ enrollment in a course

After nomination, you can apply by looking at the list on a system called Osiris and searching for the number of students. After that, if the dispatch school approves it, you can take it. I heard that they would approve everything, but I was rejected only for data classes with advanced courses such as math subjects.

I applied for the course by referring to the math report and Naver blog, and I can freely change it from TOP Week at the beginning of the semester to the first week, so I can put all the classes that I think will be okay for now, check if the evaluation method and class method are right for you, and then desenroll the classes I won't take, so you don't have to be too stressed.

◆ Recommended supplies

- Bicycle Holder | You have to turn on Google Maps and look at the bicycle map for a month or two to adjust. It rains a lot in winter and it's very dangerous to carry a cell phone with your hands, so it's convenient to take it with you in Korea.

- Bibimjang | There is an Asian mart nearby, so Korean food is expensive, but you can get the essentials. But I've never seen Bibimjang before. It was so good to boil and eat noodles sold at Asian marts with one. Rather, I don't eat other Korean food (block soup, coin broth, seaweed, etc.), so it's good to minimize Korean food when packing.

- Bathroom slippers | hole-punching slippers are nothing like Daiso.

- Mesh Bathroom Basket | Plastic is good, but it takes up a lot of volume in the carrier. Daiso has a mesh bag that dries water well.

- Portable Carrier Scale | I borrowed it from another Korean brother, but it's really useful because I can get mental stability before I go to the airport. It's nice to be able to lend it to my friends during the return season.

- At the beginning of the semester, the dormitory was sharing one secondhand per person, and at this time, I brought a rice cooker and a toaster with my flatmates and shared them in the shared kitchen. What you have in the warehouse is an area of luck, so make sure to bring the essentials you need. If you get cold a lot, an electric pad is a must.

◆ Other precautions

If you don't know, please check again by e-mail. The administration of the dispatched teachers in the Netherlands, especially the dispatched teachers, seems to be faster than other European countries, so there was no other inconvenience. When I created the dispatched teacher account, the dispatched process was delayed a little because Microsoft Authenticator was not certified, but when I sent an e-mail, they responded quickly. They said it was difficult to make landline calls because they didn't have a Dutch number yet, so I was able to open Zoom and solve it quickly.

◆ A dormitory
-Dorm/House Name: Verb, Location: On-campus, Cost: KRW 600,000 per month

Verb was satisfied with the excellent management and service providers, usually living in two buildings where only exchange students live. I used to refer to the Tilburg exchange student blog a lot.
On one floor, there are 17 rooms in three corridors, a shared kitchen, a shared shower, a shared bathroom, and two bathrooms. There are building number 4, building number 5, and there is a laundry room in the basement of building number 4, so please refer to it when you apply! (Actually, it's hard to apply because you're busy keeping a single room, thinking it's advantageous... I was like that, too.)
All of my flatmates were exchange student friends, and I had a little bit of luck, so I was able to make rules well and develop a caring mind for each other in communities with different cultures.
I was very worried because the server exploded when I applied for the dormitory, but I was able to share the difficulties because I made a group chat room with the college students going to Tilburg before applying. If you fail to apply for the dormitory, you have to get a studio apartment, etc., but it's very expensive and cumbersome, so you must apply!

◆ Cultural life and leisure activities provided by overseas universities

I couldn't participate due to my schedule, but there was a ski camp provided by Top week.
I cut the sports center right next to Verb on a monthly basis so that there was no surplus time not to travel, so I worked out almost every day. There are various programs such as tennis, boxing, squash, jumping fitness, Core 30, and hip hop dance, so I went there almost every day.
There is a cafe at the back of the school, and we had a picnic in front of it. Living in the Netherlands, the price of eating out is very high, so I have a habit of rarely buying and eating lunch boxes, and I remember being very happy to share food and chat with my friends.
In the class I took, students were advertising with short presentations at the start of each week, and there are various programs like sports sessions and management career camps.
Other cultural activities and leisure activities were more significant, such as going to downtown Tilburg or taking Ns weekend pricing plan to travel to other cities in the Netherlands or to other countries.

◆ general review

I looked back on the semester when my foreign friends started returning home. I thought time would pass by, but I didn't know it would be this bad. If you live in an unfamiliar environment every day, you can find small happiness and meet great difficulties, but six months have passed since I responded one by one with the mindset of "I didn't know it would happen" and "I'll do it if I do."

The most recommended thing is to get insurance and set goals for exchange students. I've never been sick in Korea, but I had to go to the hospital, not just a cold, so I barely covered my expensive medical expenses with AON insurance. It's important to set up a good coverage and sign up, as I see that people around me are compensated even if the clothes I just bought are pickpocketed.

Until I arrived in the Netherlands, I wanted to hang out with my local friends, but the Tilburg spring semester is the second semester, so I felt that it was a little lacking in the exchange student program. So, influenced by my flatmates, I changed routes and traveled more to Europe except for the exam period. If I had a cheap plane ticket, I went on a schedule, and I traveled for 8 days with a backpack. In particular, I was never in the dormitory on weekends due to Ns Weekend pricing plan in the Netherlands. I went to many small Dutch cities that I would not have been to on a trip to Europe from Korea.

I was obsessed with what I could only experience there, but now that I look back, I didn't have to, I was just happy to be in the Netherlands. I recommend you to be an exchange student.