Stories from the
students themselves
Real words from students who spent their summer immersed in Seoul — learning Korean, discovering the culture, and finding themselves.
As someone who has come to Korea with Sarah before and would do it again a million times, you will have the experience of a lifetime.
For anyone considering studying abroad for the first time, you could not ask for a better person to do it with.
Thanks to Sarah, I was a lot closer to everybody than on a different program in Korea. And it was a lot more group-oriented, and we were able to do a lot of things together that felt really connected.
I really liked how the director structured the time. Even if I came to visit, I don't think I would have been able to do a lot of the things we did.
Everything I heard about the program was as if I had designed it myself. Nothing overlooked, and the perfect balance of freedom and structure.
It was as if by luck I had stumbled upon the perfect program.
The program is very good at being an introduction to Korea, especially if you want to be here in the future or just be interested in learning about the history and culture.
I feel like I learned a lot of grammar that I didn't know before.
Around 10% of what I ended up learning actually really came from the books. Everything else was just conversations in class and getting comfortable talking.
I loved our Korean classes. I loved our teachers. I sat in the corner of a room with two other Korean-Americans, and we called ourselves the Kyopo Corner.
I really progressed so much learning Korean at this program. I loved all of my teachers. They were so sweet and supportive.
One piece of advice is to remember it's going to be rigorous. You're going to be doing four hours of Korean class a day.
The mentors were such sweethearts and really a key part in bringing us all together.
I still keep in touch with Sarah and my mentors and we always send each other funny Instagram reels!
The mentors helped with homework, came on field trips, hung out with us at cafes, had picnics with us at the Han River, and talked with us about life!
I wrote my mentor a song. I just love hanging out with my mentor group.
I especially liked the individual activities, and I truly appreciated Sarah's efforts to find good matches to what we requested.
My individual activity was architectural photography. It was just a really cool experience — we went to a bunch of different temples and architectural sites around Seoul.
Sarah and a professional video producer taught us how to make three short documentaries where we got to interview some really cool people. It was definitely one of the highlights of my time here.
I did cooking — I got to learn how to create various Korean dishes. My teacher took us to a sijang, a Korean market, so we got to try authentic street food.
Movie night really opened my eyes to new movies that are now my favorite movies ever. They really made me emotional and also reflected back on my own life.
The field trip to the DMZ was one of my highlights. It was so cool and such a new experience.
I saw pretty much every district in the city by the end.
I just love entering a random store and them always being like, 'Wow, your Korean is good!' — and from there you start meeting someone and you open up and you get to understand who they are.
I love everyone. I miss everyone so much. I've done programs before. But I feel like this is the first time that I will miss people so much.
We all got so close so quickly. Instead of like friends, it felt more like a family we made here.
The cohort is small, which means you actually get to know everyone. It's almost a year later now and I'm still in regular contact with a lot of people from that summer.
Because it is six weeks, it's a lot in the span of a very short amount of time. It was hard, but it's also very good. And I learned so, so much.
I realized that it was really about self-exploration. That realization changed my whole mindset on learning Korean.
I would say this trip has taught me a lot about myself and how important it is to be independent. I can't wait to go back to Seoul next summer.
The best time of my entire life. We're in an amazing city surrounded by great people. I love Korean culture and we got to learn so much about it through all the activities.
Don't be afraid to maybe go out alone a couple times and really take advantage of the fact that you're in Korea and you can really immerse yourself.
Don't be afraid to do stuff alone. If you're the only one who wants to do something, go do it.
Try to practice as much Korean beforehand and also during — speak as much Korean as you can.
Seoul is genuinely one of the best cities in the world to just exist in. I could get basically anywhere with public transit and the program gives you real freedom to explore.
Don't rush into things — there's so much you can do, but there's also so much time you have to do them.
Make the most of your free time. Have a list of stuff you want to do before you get here no matter how touristy it sounds, and go do that stuff.
Be present. Especially since we're in the coolest place on Earth, just be present.
As someone who has come to Korea with Sarah before and would do it again a million times, you will have the experience of a lifetime.
For anyone considering studying abroad for the first time, you could not ask for a better program to do it with.
Thanks to Sarah, I was a lot closer to everybody than on a different program in Korea. And it was a lot more group-oriented, and we were able to do a lot of things together that felt really connected.
I really liked how the director structured the time. Even if I came to visit, I don't think I would have been able to do a lot of the things we did.
Everything I heard about the program was as if I had designed it myself. Nothing overlooked, and the perfect balance of freedom and structure.
It was as if by luck I had stumbled upon the perfect program.
The program is very good at being an introduction to Korea, especially if you want to be here in the future or just be interested in learning about the history and culture.
I feel like I learned a lot of grammar that I didn't know before.
Around 10% of what I ended up learning actually really came from the books. Everything else was just conversations in class and getting comfortable talking.
I loved our Korean classes. I loved our teachers. I sat in the corner of a room with two other Korean-Americans, and we called ourselves the Kyopo Corner.
I really progressed so much learning Korean at this program. I loved all of my teachers. They were so sweet and supportive.
One piece of advice is to remember it's going to be rigorous. You're going to be doing four hours of Korean class a day.
The mentors were such sweethearts and really a key part in bringing us all together.
I still keep in touch with Sarah and my mentors and we always send each other funny Instagram reels!
The mentors helped with homework, came on field trips, hung out with us at cafes, had picnics with us at the Han River, and talked with us about life!
I wrote my mentor a song. I just love hanging out with my mentor group.
I especially liked the individual activities, and I truly appreciated Sarah's efforts to find good matches to what we requested.
My individual activity was architectural photography. It was just a really cool experience — we went to a bunch of different temples and architectural sites around Seoul.
Sarah and a professional video producer taught us how to make three short documentaries where we got to interview some really cool people. It was definitely one of the highlights of my time here.
I did cooking — I got to learn how to create various Korean dishes. My teacher took us to a sijang, a Korean market, so we got to try authentic street food.
Movie night really opened my eyes to new movies that are now my favorite movies ever. They really made me emotional and also reflected back on my own life.
The field trip to the DMZ was one of my highlights. It was so cool and such a new experience.
I saw pretty much every district in the city by the end.
I just love entering a random store and them always being like, 'Wow, your Korean is good!' — and from there you start meeting someone and you open up and you get to understand who they are.
I love everyone. I miss everyone so much. I've done programs before. But I feel like this is the first time that I will miss people so much.
We all got so close so quickly. Instead of like friends, it felt more like a family we made here.
The cohort is small, which means you actually get to know everyone. It's almost a year later now and I'm still in regular contact with a lot of people from that summer.
Because it is six weeks, it's a lot in the span of a very short amount of time. It was hard, but it's also very good. And I learned so, so much.
I realized that it was really about self-exploration. That realization changed my whole mindset on learning Korean.
I would say this trip has taught me a lot about myself and how important it is to be independent. I can't wait to go back to Seoul next summer.
The best time of my entire life. We're in an amazing city surrounded by great people. I love Korean culture and we got to learn so much about it through all the activities.
Don't be afraid to maybe go out alone a couple times and really take advantage of the fact that you're in Korea and you can really immerse yourself.
Don't be afraid to do stuff alone. If you're the only one who wants to do something, go do it.
Try to practice as much Korean beforehand and also during — speak as much Korean as you can.
Seoul is genuinely one of the best cities in the world to just exist in. I could get basically anywhere with public transit and the program gives you real freedom to explore.
Don't rush into things — there's so much you can do, but there's also so much time you have to do them.
Make the most of your free time. Have a list of stuff you want to do before you get here no matter how touristy it sounds, and go do that stuff.
Be present. Especially since we're in the coolest place on Earth, just be present.
I am one hundred percent satisfied.
I thought it was going to be less close-knit than what it turned out to be. Because there's so few of us, and Sarah worked to help us all get close, I feel like we're really all connected together.
I am definitely coming back, and the Korean is only going to go up and up.
It was a really special experience to come here, so I would definitely recommend it.
No matter what the end result is you won't regret it.
There's so much dedication, and you can tell this is really a passion for the whole team rather than just trying to make a profit.
I learned more Korean in one summer with Sarah than I did my entire 3 years of self-studying.
The classes were fully immersive: teachers only spoke Korean, which improved my Korean comprehension a lot.
I really liked the pacing of the class, and I think that we got to do a lot of speaking practice as well.
The teachers were very welcoming and they helped me figure out what I needed to do in the following weeks.
I came here knowing nothing, zero, nothing, except for how to count and how to say thank you. I can have conversations now. So yeah, I'd say it went pretty well.
If you stay diligent, you don't have to study an incredible amount, but study a bit every night. Do some review. Your hard work will pay off.
I loved our mentoring group so much. It was just really fun getting to know them and hang out with them all the time.
The mentors and staff definitely made my experience in Korea even more amazing than I could have imagined it would be.
It was so nice to have university mentors a little closer to our age who we could practice speaking Korean with, ask questions about the culture, and just have fun making friends with.
I love Sweet Sylvia. She wrote us letters and gave us gifts. I was sobbing looking at that on the last day.
My personalised activity (Korean Sign Language) was perfectly picked out and was a perfect setting for me to practice Korean with people who didn't speak English.
My research advisor guided me all the way through putting data into a coding language and putting it through a model to analyze statistical significance. It's definitely very rewarding.
On all of these film projects, I was able to gain amazing on-site experience through hands-on work with a great mentor and equipment we were able to rent.
I discovered that Korea is actually re-identifying, breaking away from the past filled with foreign influence, and they're doing that through modern and preserved architecture in Seoul.
I really enjoyed the Gwangju overnight trip. We stayed in a very, very nice hanok residence, and we got to spend a lot of time with our mentors, and I absolutely love all of them.
I saw more of Seoul on the scavenger hunt with Sarah than I had the entire three week program I did with another company last summer.
Through this program I learned so much about Korean history and culture that I would have otherwise not had the opportunity to learn.
The classes that we did were really informative and I think they really stick with you because you're going around and seeing all these things in person.
I really liked the program staff, especially Sarah and the mentors. I think they were some of the nicest people I've ever met.
It's crazy to think that we didn't know each other just a few months ago.
Every morning before class going to the convenience store with my friends and getting a little onigiri — I thought just the mundane moments I was able to experience here were super fun.
I think my character grew a lot. I wrote my Common App personal statement on it.
I left with a much deeper understanding of relationships within the Korean peninsula, as well as between it and the rest of the world.
Every time I see my Korean family I feel like we understand each other more. I've been texting and calling them in Korean, and I never would have been able to do that before. I even started using my Korean name.
SeoulQuest isn't just about learning Korean — it is the best decision I made for my college portfolio and for who I became as a person.
When Sarah offers an optional activity, GO. Because it WILL be worth your time.
Be open to new experiences. Because there are a lot of things at the beginning of the program that I didn't think I would like, but ended up being some of my favorite parts.
It doesn't hurt to apply. And even if you come, if you don't get perfect grades, that is okay. Enjoy your time in Korea.
Sarah found a local volleyball clinic for me to join, which was totally above and beyond. I made Korean friends through that too, and we still talk.
Study Korean before you come, explore more, and don't be scared of talking to strangers — it is the best thing you can do.
Space out your time for studying and plan multiple nights. You feel like you're learning more and getting the full experience.
Ask for help. So many of us come here and we're used to just trying to do things on our own — but please ask for help. It's going to be so hard if you don't.
I am one hundred percent satisfied.
I thought it was going to be less close-knit than what it turned out to be. Because there's so few of us, and Sarah worked to help us all get close, I feel like we're really all connected together.
I am definitely coming back, and the Korean is only going to go up and up.
It was a really special experience to come here, so I would definitely recommend it.
No matter what the end result is you won't regret it.
There's so much dedication, and you can tell this is really a passion for the whole team rather than just trying to make a profit.
I learned more Korean in one summer with Sarah than I did my entire 3 years of self-studying.
The classes were fully immersive: teachers only spoke Korean, which improved my Korean comprehension a lot.
I really liked the pacing of the class, and I think that we got to do a lot of speaking practice as well.
The teachers were very welcoming and they helped me figure out what I needed to do in the following weeks.
I came here knowing nothing, zero, nothing, except for how to count and how to say thank you. I can have conversations now. So yeah, I'd say it went pretty well.
If you stay diligent, you don't have to study an incredible amount, but study a bit every night. Do some review. Your hard work will pay off.
I loved our mentoring group so much. It was just really fun getting to know them and hang out with them all the time.
The mentors and staff definitely made my experience in Korea even more amazing than I could have imagined it would be.
It was so nice to have university mentors a little closer to our age who we could practice speaking Korean with, ask questions about the culture, and just have fun making friends with.
I love Sweet Sylvia. She wrote us letters and gave us gifts. I was sobbing looking at that on the last day.
My personalised activity (Korean Sign Language) was perfectly picked out and was a perfect setting for me to practice Korean with people who didn't speak English.
My research advisor guided me all the way through putting data into a coding language and putting it through a model to analyze statistical significance. It's definitely very rewarding.
On all of these film projects, I was able to gain amazing on-site experience through hands-on work with a great mentor and equipment we were able to rent.
I discovered that Korea is actually re-identifying, breaking away from the past filled with foreign influence, and they're doing that through modern and preserved architecture in Seoul.
I really enjoyed the Gwangju overnight trip. We stayed in a very, very nice hanok residence, and we got to spend a lot of time with our mentors, and I absolutely love all of them.
I saw more of Seoul on the scavenger hunt with Sarah than I had the entire three week program I did with another company last summer.
Through this program I learned so much about Korean history and culture that I would have otherwise not had the opportunity to learn.
The classes that we did were really informative and I think they really stick with you because you're going around and seeing all these things in person.
I really liked the program staff, especially Sarah and the mentors. I think they were some of the nicest people I've ever met.
It's crazy to think that we didn't know each other just a few months ago.
Every morning before class going to the convenience store with my friends and getting a little onigiri — I thought just the mundane moments I was able to experience here were super fun.
I think my character grew a lot. I wrote my Common App personal statement on it.
I left with a much deeper understanding of relationships within the Korean peninsula, as well as between it and the rest of the world.
Every time I see my Korean family I feel like we understand each other more. I've been texting and calling them in Korean, and I never would have been able to do that before. I even started using my Korean name.
SeoulQuest isn't just about learning Korean — it is the best decision I made for my college portfolio and for who I became as a person.
When Sarah offers an optional activity, GO. Because it WILL be worth your time.
Be open to new experiences. Because there are a lot of things at the beginning of the program that I didn't think I would like, but ended up being some of my favorite parts.
It doesn't hurt to apply. And even if you come, if you don't get perfect grades, that is okay. Enjoy your time in Korea.
Sarah found a local volleyball clinic for me to join, which was totally above and beyond. I made Korean friends through that too, and we still talk.
Study Korean before you come, explore more, and don't be scared of talking to strangers — it is the best thing you can do.
Space out your time for studying and plan multiple nights. You feel like you're learning more and getting the full experience.
Ask for help. So many of us come here and we're used to just trying to do things on our own — but please ask for help. It's going to be so hard if you don't.
The SeoulQuest program truly takes things to the next level, facilitating cultural immersion and academically rigorous programming while offering participants a taste of everyday life in Seoul.
If you put in the effort, this summer will give you something real to show for it — not just a line on a resume, but a story worth telling.
More so than other programs, it's very personal… it feels like it's more customized for each person.
I'm really glad I came here.
Having had the opportunity to study abroad in Seoul before, I left feeling incredibly lucky that my second experience had been with SeoulQuest Director Sarah.
With Sarah, I feel like I've got to do so many unique experiences that I wouldn't have been able to do or known to do without coming through a program.
My grandparents, my mom, and my Korean teacher at home all commented on how much my Korean had improved over such a small period of time.
I think the chronological curriculum Sarah designed was really helpful. It helped me put the timeline into perspective.
My Korean's definitely a lot better.
The curriculum covers listening, reading, speaking, writing — everything — so I think it was really good.
After completing the Level 1 class, I went to the hair salon to cut my hair, and I spoke entirely in Korean. So I was really proud of myself.
I really appreciated how thoroughly we covered Korean history and how we made sure to incorporate many modern-day activities that helped us learn more about it in a very fun way.
I think they were some of the nicest people I've ever met.
I really enjoyed the company of our K-skincare and makeup teacher, because we called her our Korean mother.
I love the mentors. I really love the mentors. I love the mentors.
Just being around them was so fun because not everything had to be structured. I went to a cafe with one of our mentors and we got drinks and talked in Korean.
Sarah set me up with a fashion design class, and it was really fun. I came out of that with a cool sweater that I designed, a bag I learned how to sew, and some jewelry I made.
The makeup and skincare teacher went really in-depth with the information. On the very first day, she pulled up to our first greet with a whole presentation.
For my video production activity, I got to interview people about being Korean, about Japanese-Korean relations, and about being a refugee from North Korea. I don't think I would have been able to do that anywhere else.
Sarah went out of her way to find me a really unique filmmaking opportunity — working with a North Korean refugee program, LINK, and interviewing a North Korean refugee.
The field trips were a great chance to get outside of the city and explore different parts of the country. As well as bond with each other and with our mentors.
I liked having a themed week each week — it was really fun where we had all the activities kind of match what we were learning, and it also helped me put into perspective the timeline.
I went to the Comfort Women Museum, and learned about the history — it was deeply touching. I may have cried.
Seoul is so interesting in that it's a big city and it's very busy, but it's not overwhelming. You can go to somewhere that has a million people or somewhere that has two people in 30 minutes of walking.
All of us just came together. I don't know if it's fate or luck, but it's been the most fun I've had in a group!
It's a big city and it's very busy, but it's not overwhelming. SeoulQuest gives you real freedom to explore.
I've made so many friends like that. I just love the whole connection.
While the language and the history you study might not last a lifetime, the connections and the memories you make with Sarah and the staff most certainly will.
Sarah did help me a lot. I learned a lot of things, and I'll be going on with new information to the future.
Enjoy every moment to the fullest, even the bad ones. Be present and you'll be happy going home — it'll just be a great time.
I had always been embarrassed by the fact that I didn't know how to speak any Korean. I found myself trying to prove that I was Korean. Working with SeoulQuest helped me realize I was enough.
Try everything with an open mind because I feel like there's stuff I wasn't able to enjoy because I felt like, oh, I don't think I'm gonna like this.
Bring more than two suitcases. Bring three. A few more for the shopper.
Cherish the time you have here; it flies by quickly. I mean, I know everyone says it flies by quickly but it really does.
Go into this with a really open mindset and then just enjoy your time here.
Don't let FOMO get to you. Solo questing out into the world is very nice. You learn stuff about the world around you, and you also learn stuff about yourself.
Really try to immerse yourself. It's easy to get caught up in the storm of shopping, but your Korean's not going to get better unless you actually apply it.
The SeoulQuest program truly takes things to the next level, facilitating cultural immersion and academically rigorous programming while offering participants a taste of everyday life in Seoul.
If you put in the effort, this summer will give you something real to show for it — not just a line on a resume, but a story worth telling.
More so than other programs, it's very personal… it feels like it's more customized for each person.
I'm really glad I came here.
Having had the opportunity to study abroad in Seoul before, I left feeling incredibly lucky that my second experience had been with SeoulQuest Director Sarah.
With Sarah, I feel like I've got to do so many unique experiences that I wouldn't have been able to do or known to do without coming through a program.
My grandparents, my mom, and my Korean teacher at home all commented on how much my Korean had improved over such a small period of time.
I think the chronological curriculum Sarah designed was really helpful. It helped me put the timeline into perspective.
My Korean's definitely a lot better.
The curriculum covers listening, reading, speaking, writing — everything — so I think it was really good.
After completing the Level 1 class, I went to the hair salon to cut my hair, and I spoke entirely in Korean. So I was really proud of myself.
I really appreciated how thoroughly we covered Korean history and how we made sure to incorporate many modern-day activities that helped us learn more about it in a very fun way.
I think they were some of the nicest people I've ever met.
I really enjoyed the company of our K-skincare and makeup teacher, because we called her our Korean mother.
I love the mentors. I really love the mentors. I love the mentors.
Just being around them was so fun because not everything had to be structured. I went to a cafe with one of our mentors and we got drinks and talked in Korean.
Sarah set me up with a fashion design class, and it was really fun. I came out of that with a cool sweater that I designed, a bag I learned how to sew, and some jewelry I made.
The makeup and skincare teacher went really in-depth with the information. On the very first day, she pulled up to our first greet with a whole presentation.
For my video production activity, I got to interview people about being Korean, about Japanese-Korean relations, and about being a refugee from North Korea. I don't think I would have been able to do that anywhere else.
Sarah went out of her way to find me a really unique filmmaking opportunity — working with a North Korean refugee program, LINK, and interviewing a North Korean refugee.
The field trips were a great chance to get outside of the city and explore different parts of the country. As well as bond with each other and with our mentors.
I liked having a themed week each week — it was really fun where we had all the activities kind of match what we were learning, and it also helped me put into perspective the timeline.
I went to the Comfort Women Museum, and learned about the history — it was deeply touching. I may have cried.
Seoul is so interesting in that it's a big city and it's very busy, but it's not overwhelming. You can go to somewhere that has a million people or somewhere that has two people in 30 minutes of walking.
All of us just came together. I don't know if it's fate or luck, but it's been the most fun I've had in a group!
It's a big city and it's very busy, but it's not overwhelming. SeoulQuest gives you real freedom to explore.
I've made so many friends like that. I just love the whole connection.
While the language and the history you study might not last a lifetime, the connections and the memories you make with Sarah and the staff most certainly will.
Sarah did help me a lot. I learned a lot of things, and I'll be going on with new information to the future.
Enjoy every moment to the fullest, even the bad ones. Be present and you'll be happy going home — it'll just be a great time.
I had always been embarrassed by the fact that I didn't know how to speak any Korean. I found myself trying to prove that I was Korean. Working with SeoulQuest helped me realize I was enough.
Try everything with an open mind because I feel like there's stuff I wasn't able to enjoy because I felt like, oh, I don't think I'm gonna like this.
Bring more than two suitcases. Bring three. A few more for the shopper.
Cherish the time you have here; it flies by quickly. I mean, I know everyone says it flies by quickly but it really does.
Go into this with a really open mindset and then just enjoy your time here.
Don't let FOMO get to you. Solo questing out into the world is very nice. You learn stuff about the world around you, and you also learn stuff about yourself.
Really try to immerse yourself. It's easy to get caught up in the storm of shopping, but your Korean's not going to get better unless you actually apply it.
Trusted by families across the country
Sarah provided the right balance of safety and responsibility with independence and trust.
From our first conversation, Sarah's care was truly unparalleled.
Sarah is top of the list... I never once felt discomfort having my son so far away.
Sarah immediately reached out to us, giving us complete peace of mind.
The decision to send my son under Sarah's careful watch was absolutely the best decision we could have made for him.
Sarah is truly monitoring and participating in nearly everything herself.
She goes above and beyond in communication.
We would have no reservations recommending SeoulQuest to any family.
Sarah did an excellent job communicating with parents and keeping us up to date about the programming and sharing photos with us.
It was the right balance of great academics, age-appropriate supervision, and accommodations we felt comfortable with.
Sarah is truly a gem — her vision and commitment to connecting young people to Korea is a one-of-a-kind opportunity.
The program changed my son's life and it solidified his hopes to live in Korea one day.
Sarah cares deeply about the students — she puts enormous effort into crafting an exceptionally well-thought-out program.
Sarah designs a comprehensive program — there is so much to take advantage of.
SeoulQuest isn't just a job for Sarah — it is something she cares deeply about, and that care is evident in everything that she does.
Kudos to program director Sarah Mack for creating and leading an amazing program.
Sarah's program is phenomenal!! I give it 5 stars!!
Before my daughter even boarded the flight home from Seoul, she was already asking to go back and study for another year!
Sarah designed a well-rounded program for those like my ultra-ambitious daughter.
Sarah provided innovative support for enriching my child with advanced experiences, unique relationships, and a full submersion into brand-new traditions.
Sending a warm and loud THANK YOU to Sarah.
After 6 weeks in Seoul, my son came back with more mature eyes filled with curiosity, fortitude, empathy, and compassion.
My daughter really enjoyed her time in Korea. On top of really improving her Korean language ability, she was able to explore a lot of places and culture.
The program was rigorous and productive, but she focused more on the joy of the cultural immersion and learning.
Sarah has not only provided this opportunity for students interested in Korean language, but also the techniques and methods that work the best for studying and practicing Korean.
Students also had the chance to live independently in their own apartments — a unique and special part of the experience.
In addition to classes at South Korea's premier university (SNU), the students traveled, visited the DMZ, dressed in traditional hanboks, and studied about South Korea's fraught history of occupation.
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