[Eton TV] Things I Realized After Graduating from Seoul National University College of Medicine

Things I Realized After Graduating from Seoul National University College of Medicine

There was a naive time when I thought

that once I entered college,

it would be the end of everything.

I also thought that when I was admitted to Seoul National University,

I had already achieved all my goals.

But looking back,

that was only the real beginning.

Today, I want to honestly talk about

my own experience in Seoul National University College of Medicine

and what I felt there.

I heard that Seoul National University has

a funny story about the “three fools.”

Someone who thinks they can walk

from SNU Station to Seoul National University.

Someone who boasts about being first in their entire high school class.

And someone who goes to the school festival.

I had never heard such a phrase

when I was in school,

so at first I was a little confused.

In particular, people often talked about how far

SNU Station is from the school,

but it had not yet been packaged into a phrase

like the “three fools.”

The story about the school festival was also interesting.

My memory is already from the early 2000s,

so it may be a bit distorted,

but I remember that the school festivals at other universities

seemed much more energetic and fun.

I went to my friends’ school festivals a few times,

and I still remember places like Arakara and the Korea University festival

as being really lively.

As for boasting about being first in one’s entire high school class,

I actually was not always first in my class,

so I never had anything to boast about.

But among the friends who entered Seoul National University,

there must have been many who had such experiences,

so I thought there was no need to boast about it anyway.

In fact, among my classmates,

no one boasted that they had been first in their high school class,

and I never saw anyone become famous for that reason either.

Rather, the friends who got good results in world competitions

such as the Physics Olympiad or mathematics contests

were the ones who were more famous.

The biggest thing I felt after entering

Seoul National University College of Medicine

was that, contrary to my preconceptions,

there were truly all kinds of people there.

I had often thought that medical students

would just study and be boring.

But in reality,

there were many people who were so far from the stereotypical image of a good student

that you would think, “They were good at studying in high school?”

There were friends who were always playing games,

friends with a great sense of humor who led the atmosphere,

friends who were exceptionally good at sports,

and so on—truly a diverse group of people.

Of course, I have not attended other schools,

but I was surprised by how many students had strong personalities,

unlike the image people usually have of Seoul National University students.

And another big thing I felt was

that entering university is not the end,

but a new beginning.

I had graduated from high school

and entered the university I had aimed for,

so I thought everything was over now,

but I realized that from that point on,

how you go about things can greatly change your life.

Looking at my classmates,

there are truly a wide range of career paths:

people who became prosecutors, people who became lawyers,

and people who took completely different paths from medicine.

I learned that university is not where everything is decided,

and that there are many different paths after that as well,

which broadened my perspective.

Many people probably think that life in medical school

is a series of intense competition.

To be honest, I am not sure

I really felt that there was competition.

Of course, there may have been things like grade competition,

but competition in the sense of,

“I have to do better than that person,

so I need to secretly do something,”

was almost nonexistent.

Rather, there was a much stronger sense of camaraderie.

There was a lot to study,

and not enough time,

so the atmosphere was that we should help each other and do well together.

In particular, medical school classes are centered around major subjects,

and there are few opportunities to interact with students from other departments.

Once you move on to the main years,

it is almost like high school,

with everyone sitting in the same classroom

and professors coming in to lecture,

so unlike ordinary college students,

you could not flexibly build your own timetable.

As a result, we spent a lot of time confined among classmates,

and rather than thinking we had to beat one another,

we were more focused on getting through the limited time together

as quickly as possible,

so we helped each other a lot.

The Seoul National University label clearly had

a very positive effect on me.

I am not saying this to brag,

but I think that just being able to answer without embarrassment

when someone asks which school you went to

is a big advantage.

People may think differently about me to some extent,

even if they do not express it directly.

At the very least,

I have never felt that I was at a disadvantage

because of the school I attended compared to my own ability,

and I think there were many times when people judged me

more highly than my actual ability.

Of course, there may also be negative views about having graduated from Seoul National University,

such as,

“They probably just study and are not fun,”

or “They probably have no interest in society.”

But I think the advantages far outweighed those drawbacks.

In particular, because there were many excellent seniors,

it was quite advantageous when getting a job at a hospital

or exploring other career paths.

Not worrying much about employment

was one of the biggest benefits I received.

Also, when I was curious about a certain surgery

or wanted advice,

the seniors were willing to come, show me, and teach me,

which was a great help.

I really studied a lot.

More than other people,

and I worked hard too.

I have a certain talent for sitting still,

so I was able to put in a lot of effort.

But looking back now,

I think counseling and surgery are harder

than studying.

Studying can be done alone,

and I bear the responsibility for the results entirely myself,

but surgery and counseling are tasks that require interaction

with other people.

Rather than being physically difficult,

they feel harder because there are parts

that I cannot control.

Today, I shared my honest thoughts

about life at Seoul National University College of Medicine.

If I could go back in time

and attend any university in the world,

I would like to try somewhere else.

Especially a place with fun festivals! 😀