Scholarship / Great chance to gather and interact with Koreans and experience various aspects of their culture [2]

Summer Exchange Program to Korea

Hello, I am thankful that I get a chance to gather and interact with Koreans from all over the U.S. and experience various aspects of Korean culture. To learn more about my background, I figured this would be a great opportunity to travel. I want to learn precious knowledge that I can bring back to Texas and build a greater appreciation for my unique cultural identity.

I was always confused about my identity. When I was younger, I moved multiple times because of my dad's job. At my schools, they were barely any Asians and I always felt stared at. Through elementary school, I didn't have friends and was extremely quiet. I was verbally bullied and life was miserable. Before, I always just thought everyone was the same. But as I grew I realized that I didn't look like everyone else and I started questioning who I was. I knew my parents were from Korea but I wondered if that made me Korean too. When I asked my mom who I was, she told me I was Korean. So, I learned I had 2 identities. I was Korean and American. In middle school, things got better and I was accepted. Some people are still mean but I have more friends to back me up. I want to learn more about Korea so I can proudly tell everyone I am a Korean and how great my country is.

I grew up in Korean environment. I used Korean to my parents, ate Korean food, went to Korean school, went to a Korean church, and naturally had lots of Korean friends. Yet I was still in America, so I felt like I was stuck between 2 worlds. But I learned it wasn't a bad thing to have 2 worlds. I learned to love both sides of me and most of the time people accepted for who I was. I want to be able to express to others that it's nice to be Korean American.

To try to know a little bit about the Korean culture, I did Korean traditional dancing and started watching Korean dramas. I attended Korean school continually and went to many Korean competitions in writing and storytelling. I did Taekwondo and Hapkido for 3 years. At school, I made new friends with other Koreans and began to talk in Korean, use Korean slang, use Korean social media, follow many K-pop groups, and so on. This did help learn more about the culture and with my group of Korean American friends with me, I felt more confident being who I was.

When I'm in high school and college, I want to volunteer at my church's Korean school. Like my Korean school teacher, I want to teach children about the Korean language and culture. Korean taught me that some things are hard, but at the end, it will benefit you. Korean has brought my life together, making me closer to family and friends. I want to be able to give back and educate others too.

If I'm privileged enough to go on this trip, it will be such a great experience that will change me of how I think of myself and my background. I want to be able to connect with the culture and language. Looking for my other "home" and experiencing new ideas would be a dream come true. Gathering with others just like me for a week long trip would also be very fun.