‘It is a blessing to believe, not to ask’
Deeksha Maudgal, 24, started the Global MBA program in Yonsei School of Business, Yonsei University last month. She earned a bachelor in statistics, mathematics and economics in her home country of India. She also worked at Contests-2-win, Viacom 18 Media, and Yahoo! India for 3 years. Her family moved to Korea because of her father’s job.
Since you started doing an MBA at Yonsei last month, how is it like living and studying in Korea? How is Korea different from India?
The best part of Korea is the people. In my first week in Seoul, I was in a bus and didn’t know where to get off because I couldn’t read the stops which were in Korean. A girl got off with me and we realized that I was lost. She walked with me to help me find a way. That’s just one example. Things like that happened again not long ago. I once lost my umbrella, and a girl came to me and said she would help me.
Nonetheless, there are some difficulties. I do plan to work here if I get a good job, so language is my biggest challenge so far.
How is Korea different from India?
After I met a bunch of Indian people working here, I found that the biggest difference between India and Korea is the work culture. Korean people work hard and efficiently. In India, we have kind of a laid back culture because of the “chalega attitude,” which means, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”
Why did you decide to study in Korea?
I found Seoul very exciting. During the five days I spent in Seoul before starting an MBA, I would see everybody with smartphones. When I visited Yeosu Expo, everything was completely digital. Since I came from a digital media marketing background, I got inspired by that.
The atmosphere in Seoul is very fresh and everybody thinks very innovatively and out of the box. I would say people played a big part of it when I decided to study in Korea. In my class, Korean people are the ones who work the hardest out of all of us.
Is there a specific reason why you chose Yonsei and not, say, Seoul National University (SNU)?
To be honest, when I visited both universities, I got more of an international feel from Yonsei. I saw more international people at Yonsei compared to SNU, and almost everybody I met spoke English.
How are activities or programs the school provides outside class?
Yeongo-jeon (sports competition between Yonsei and Korea University) was amazing. I took so many videos. All the students were so passionate about their universities.
At the business school, we had an orientation program, kind of an ice-breaking event. We went to a place owned by Handok Pharmaceuticals, and an alumnus of Yonsei let us use that facility. We did team building activities and it was a lot of fun.
What made you leave Yahoo India for an MBA?
My role was in sales and media planning, so basically I had to draw up a lot of plans for fast-moving consumer goods. I was at Yahoo for only 6 months, but prior to that, I worked at Viacom 18 Media for about a year and a half and at Contests-2-win Digital, India’s No.1 contesting website for a year.
I knew I would gain more out of it because I had just about the right amount of experience, 3 years. Marketing is important to understand how to bring in profits. After Yahoo, I realized that I was done with sales and it was a good time to do an MBA because it would allow me to push forward in understanding marketing.
The other key factor was the salary. In India, if you do your MBA late, your salary doesn’t jump up high. But at my age, with my level of experience, the salary would increase maybe even by 10-fold.
Can you give some advice to students who are now preparing for an MBA?
If you haven’t studied something that you know you’re going to study in an MBA program, then just brush up a little on it.
Some work experiences are really important. I always have my experiences at the back of my mind and try to relate what I have learned at work with the lectures. If you have no work experience, I think you won’t be able to get most out of an MBA.
Do you have your motto in life?
My favorite proverb is, “It is blessing to believe, not to ask.” It means that sometimes it’s important to just believe in certain facts that are told instead of always having doubts. When you’re working in your company or studying at school, a lot of things will put you in doubt. Keep it simple. Don’t get away from what you believe in. Don’t doubt yourself.
Interview by Chung Hyun-chae