Hello. I politely ask for your help to review my personal statement por GKS schorlaship. Mi intended major is International Relations due to embassy track. All comments are well received. Thank you so much in advance!
Throughout our lives we establish numerous relationships, with our parents, friends, co-workers, and so on, however, despite being an everyday task, we do not always stop to ponder on their true importance, as in the words of Wilhelm von Humboldt "after all, it is relationships with people that give value to life", and it is not only that they exist at the interpersonal level, but that they expand to international fields, making use of diplomacy and what I think is the most powerful weapon in the world: language; as someone from the Arrival footage says "Language is the foundation of civilization, it's a glue that holds people together and it's the first weapon drawn in a conflict".
Therefore, I have always felt a great fascination for languages and their influence on societies throughout history that has given rise to our current way of life, such as the Spanish colonization in America, although this time is still seen as a dark and violent period, It is also true that there was an unprecedented cultural exchange that laid the foundations for today's Latin America, such as the heritage of the Spanish language, which today is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, only behind English, Chinese and Hindi.
Over time, my interest in interculturalism and languages led me to learn English naturally, by watching movies and TV series at a very young age; as a result of this I studied my Bachelor degree in International Commerce at the Chapingo Autonomous University, since this exchange that strikes me so much is also reflected in international business; at the same time, in 2017 Mexico began to see changes with our main trading partner, The United States, which made us realize the need to expand and diversify our markets, being the Asia-Pacific region that capture my interest the most due to the great commercial and cultural exchange that has been seen in recent years, mainly with the Republic of Korea, the Popular Republic of China and Japan.
This guide me to specialize in this region, to know cultures so different from ours and between each other, so I had the opportunity to make a brief academic exchange at the Tokyo University of Agriculture: My first experience abroad. Which was very enriching, because not only did I learn to overcome the cultural barriers between Latin Americans, Europeans and Asians, but also awakened in me the feeling of nationalism, I understood for the first time the meaning of being Mexican, which goes beyond a geographical delimitation, it implies cultural, historical, natural, gastronomic richness, among others, since what I enjoyed the most during that semester was sharing the culture of my country with my foreign colleagues.
That is how I discovered the concept of diplomacy, which is the science that studies the interests and relations between states and by its multidisciplinary nature, fosters international cooperation, through cultural, economic and technological exchanges. Inspired by that I participated as a speaker in the Ibero-American Congress of Rural Studies (2018) and in the Congress of Agrarian Economy (2019), in Segovia and Lugo, Spain, respectively, representing my university with topics related to tequila and Mexican wine; for this purpose, in 2019 I attended the University of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain, for my thesis research titled "Comparative Analysis of The Wine System In Mexico and Spain (Ensenada-Lleida) Under The Localized Agri-Food System (LAFS) Approach", since I believe in the sharing of knowledge as the key of progress. All this experiences led me to my true passion: Research and teaching in the field of International relations and Diplomacy.
The more I got into the field of international relations and particularly with Asia-Pacific, through forums and conferences, I found in the Republic of Korea an exceptional charm, I discovered a country that harmonizes its history with the future, traditions with technology, an entertainment industry worthy of international awards, an exponential economic boom since 1960 that highlights it within the region as an economic power, and now ranks first in telecommunications and information technology. Therefore, during the pandemic due to Covid-19, which stop many of our ordinary activities, I decided to begin my learning in the Korean language, in order to understand and learn more about this interesting culture; in addition, at the same year I started the Graphic Design Tech Career, in which I developed a Korean culture online magazine called "Kstreet" as well as a YouTube channel of Spanish lyrics translations of some Korean songs for my final project, in first instance to practice my Korean language basic skills, but also to fulfill my desire to contribute with the bridge between the Latin American community and Korea. Due to this, I started working at a Mexican magazine about Korean's Culture (Revista Corea en su Cultura/ Korea in Its Culture Magazine), since July 2021 to present day, as a Content Creator, my main activities consist in writing articles for the magazine and the online blog, and generate audio-visual material for the magazine's social media.
That is why is my goal to study my Master's in International Relations in a country as advanced as Korea, where besides having the opportunity to study at one of the universities with the best educational level in the world, it will also strengthen my knowledge in the language, culture, history, diplomacy and the Korean perception about Mexico and Latin America, making known to my compatriots all these particularities that so fascinate me of the country and at the same time spread the Mexican culture and knowledge, with the aim of strengthening the international relations of these two nations, since both have much to offer.
PERSONAL STATEMENT
Throughout our lives we establish numerous relationships, with our parents, friends, co-workers, and so on, however, despite being an everyday task, we do not always stop to ponder on their true importance, as in the words of Wilhelm von Humboldt "after all, it is relationships with people that give value to life", and it is not only that they exist at the interpersonal level, but that they expand to international fields, making use of diplomacy and what I think is the most powerful weapon in the world: language; as someone from the Arrival footage says "Language is the foundation of civilization, it's a glue that holds people together and it's the first weapon drawn in a conflict".
Therefore, I have always felt a great fascination for languages and their influence on societies throughout history that has given rise to our current way of life, such as the Spanish colonization in America, although this time is still seen as a dark and violent period, It is also true that there was an unprecedented cultural exchange that laid the foundations for today's Latin America, such as the heritage of the Spanish language, which today is the fourth most widely spoken language in the world, only behind English, Chinese and Hindi.
Over time, my interest in interculturalism and languages led me to learn English naturally, by watching movies and TV series at a very young age; as a result of this I studied my Bachelor degree in International Commerce at the Chapingo Autonomous University, since this exchange that strikes me so much is also reflected in international business; at the same time, in 2017 Mexico began to see changes with our main trading partner, The United States, which made us realize the need to expand and diversify our markets, being the Asia-Pacific region that capture my interest the most due to the great commercial and cultural exchange that has been seen in recent years, mainly with the Republic of Korea, the Popular Republic of China and Japan.
This guide me to specialize in this region, to know cultures so different from ours and between each other, so I had the opportunity to make a brief academic exchange at the Tokyo University of Agriculture: My first experience abroad. Which was very enriching, because not only did I learn to overcome the cultural barriers between Latin Americans, Europeans and Asians, but also awakened in me the feeling of nationalism, I understood for the first time the meaning of being Mexican, which goes beyond a geographical delimitation, it implies cultural, historical, natural, gastronomic richness, among others, since what I enjoyed the most during that semester was sharing the culture of my country with my foreign colleagues.
That is how I discovered the concept of diplomacy, which is the science that studies the interests and relations between states and by its multidisciplinary nature, fosters international cooperation, through cultural, economic and technological exchanges. Inspired by that I participated as a speaker in the Ibero-American Congress of Rural Studies (2018) and in the Congress of Agrarian Economy (2019), in Segovia and Lugo, Spain, respectively, representing my university with topics related to tequila and Mexican wine; for this purpose, in 2019 I attended the University of Lleida, in Catalonia, Spain, for my thesis research titled "Comparative Analysis of The Wine System In Mexico and Spain (Ensenada-Lleida) Under The Localized Agri-Food System (LAFS) Approach", since I believe in the sharing of knowledge as the key of progress. All this experiences led me to my true passion: Research and teaching in the field of International relations and Diplomacy.
The more I got into the field of international relations and particularly with Asia-Pacific, through forums and conferences, I found in the Republic of Korea an exceptional charm, I discovered a country that harmonizes its history with the future, traditions with technology, an entertainment industry worthy of international awards, an exponential economic boom since 1960 that highlights it within the region as an economic power, and now ranks first in telecommunications and information technology. Therefore, during the pandemic due to Covid-19, which stop many of our ordinary activities, I decided to begin my learning in the Korean language, in order to understand and learn more about this interesting culture; in addition, at the same year I started the Graphic Design Tech Career, in which I developed a Korean culture online magazine called "Kstreet" as well as a YouTube channel of Spanish lyrics translations of some Korean songs for my final project, in first instance to practice my Korean language basic skills, but also to fulfill my desire to contribute with the bridge between the Latin American community and Korea. Due to this, I started working at a Mexican magazine about Korean's Culture (Revista Corea en su Cultura/ Korea in Its Culture Magazine), since July 2021 to present day, as a Content Creator, my main activities consist in writing articles for the magazine and the online blog, and generate audio-visual material for the magazine's social media.
That is why is my goal to study my Master's in International Relations in a country as advanced as Korea, where besides having the opportunity to study at one of the universities with the best educational level in the world, it will also strengthen my knowledge in the language, culture, history, diplomacy and the Korean perception about Mexico and Latin America, making known to my compatriots all these particularities that so fascinate me of the country and at the same time spread the Mexican culture and knowledge, with the aim of strengthening the international relations of these two nations, since both have much to offer.
