During the stay in Korea, besides language programs, there is a necessity of various practical, cultural and educational programs for international students to adapt to the specific characteristics of Korean culture and particular society, known as University. In particular, the purpose of this study is to make it possible for international students enrolled in graduate schools to pursue more specialized study and become experts in their respective fields. In this study, we examined the problems experienced by international students and adaptation strategy for them as well. In this study, 113 international students, studying in graduate school at INHA University, were surveyed and analyzed for a total of two times. The first survey was conducted among 70 people from 16 countries (with beginner Korean language proficiency of 27 students, 20 intermediate, and 23 Korean advanced level students) from 5th of March to 5th of April, in 2012. The second survey was conducted among 43 people from 15 countries (18 beginners, 12 intermediate and 13 advanced proficiency levels) from 5th of March to 5th of April, in 2017. There was a 5-year difference between the primary and secondary investigations, but similar results were obtained. The results of the main survey are as follows. First, the highest indicator among the factors of feeling sad after coming to study abroad was given as ‘loneliness.’ The latter played a significant role as international students left their home and pursued their studies in another country with different culture. Therefore, it is necessary to have a meeting, a school organization or a counselor to share their loneliness and to be advised. The next highest stress is related to academic work. International students study in a non-native language. Moreover, there is a lot of stress in submitting research results. There is a necessity for an institutional organization that can solve this problem. Second, while analyzing the question of 'Listing difficulties in coming to study abroad,' it was found out that the most problematic point was ‘language.’ Especially in the beginner's classes, they felt the great difficulty of Korean language. If the Korean language ability is weak, it will lead to the burden of stress and academic work, so a solution strategy for language proficiency is needed. The next difficulty was economic and cultural differences. The financial aspects such as tuition fee or living expenses should be considered. Otherwise, the difficulty of studying can be great. Also, the biggest problem in cultural differences is food; especially international students from Islamic cultures have had difficulties because they do not eat food containing pork. As a result of the comprehensive analysis of the research problems, international students were experiencing the difficulties in language as well as in coming into contact with other cultures while studying abroad. Especially, it was not only difficult to adapt to other cultures, but also it was challenging to adapt to a new education process and teaching methods. For solving problem, in this study, we propose language adaptation strategies, diverse cultural event strategy, sisterhood tactics, and economic problem-solving strategies based on organization and support of international student self-governing organization through practical experience and experiment as a teacher. This study is expected to help international students to succeed in their studies. © The Turkish Online Journal of Educational Technology.

Language adaptation strategy Korean language and culture Adaptation strategy Culture event strategy University culture international student

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