2023 KNAPS SEP Incoming_Visiting Program_Testimonial by Simon

Simon Robelin (ANEPF_France)

I heard about the Student Exchange Program (SEP) at the beginning of my second year in October 2020. At first, I didn’t know if I wanted to do it because of the other internships I had to do for my studies. And one day, I had the opportunity to participate to a conference about the SEP, the guest was a young industrial pharmacist who had the chance to do a SEP in South Korea. All the photos he showed us, all the stories he told us, everything gave me the willing of doing a SEP in South Korea. I always wanted to discover Asian culture, which is so different from the European one, that’s why doing this SEP became one of my biggest dream, for my studies, but also for my personal experience.

 

Moreover, in France, and more specifically in Limoges, we have to choose our specialty during the 3rd year of our studies. I have chosen to work in the pharmaceutical industry field, but for the 6th year (the last one), we are selected for master’s degrees, and having an experience related to the pharmaceutical industry field is a must have to get into one of these masters. That’s why I wanted to do the Visiting Program, I wanted to discover how the Korean Health System work and meet some professionals, but I also wanted to open my mind to new horizons, to discover new things, to get out of my safe zone.

 

I applied in December 2022, and the 21st of February 2023, I received an email from the KNAPS telling me that I had been selected to come in South Korea the next summer. That’s how this fabulous adventure started.

Arriving at Incheon airport with Lucie and Céline, Steven and Mingwan were waiting for us

I found this exchange really complete. We visited different pharmaceutical companies, some national and international institutes during which I had the opportunities to ask more information and contacts for possible internships.

We also visited community pharmacies and learned more about the Korean Health System. I really liked these times because we had the possibility to ask as many questions as we wanted. By this, I could discover the differences between France and South Korea.

Finally, we also had the chance to visit the Seoul National University Hospital which was very interesting. Professionals and pharmacists explained us how everything is organized and how the different services are coordinated to work together to help patients and heal them.

Welcoming Party with everyone

Visit of Charmacist

Beside the professional aspect of this exchange, we also had plenty of time for the cultural discovering. During this, we visited temples, some parts of Seoul, museums, etc. And of course we had the pleasure to discover the traditional Korean food in multiple occasions. These times were really chill and offered us the possibility to get to know each other better, talk together, and create strong bounds despite the different nationalities.

I think that one of my favorite moment is the day we went to the Han river where we had a picnic. The weather was great, we had some good food and we spent the evening talking, laughing and having fun. During the weekend we went to the beach near Incheon where we played games, we had a barbecue, it was like time had stopped during a moment and everyone had forgotten that we were all from different countries, at this moment we were just friends having good times together.

Everyone in the KNAPS team was doing everything to make us comfortable, to talk with us, and they were always up to do some activities together at the end of the day: go to party, eating in a new restaurant, visit some places in Seoul, etc. They were absolutely adorable with us and I can tell you that they were working as hard as they can to offer us the best trip of our lives.

 

To conclude, the Student Exchange Program in South Korea is certainly one of the best experiences I had in my life. It was the first time I traveled alone so I was a bit anxious about it, but everyone there helped me having the best time of my life.

 

Thank you for everything guys, you allowed me to make my dream come true and I will never forget it.

 

Take care of you, I miss you all,

 

Love you,

 

Simon.