My Korean Connection

 I would like express my sincere gratitude for being selected as a recipient of the Korean Adoptee Fellowship at Ewha.My experience at the International Co-ed Summer School is unparalleled in its thorough introduction to Korean culture and language.In the course of six memorable weeks I went from being reliant on others for translation to having a more direct understanding of Korean customs—and even conversation!

 One thing that I did not foresee was my altered perception of Korean Americans, which began to change from the time I arrived at Hanwoori and met my Californian roommate.Having grown up in the Midwest and now attending college in Minnesota, my contact with Korean people has mostly been limited to Korean nationals and fellow adoptees.Because most of the summer school participants were Korean Americans I developed respect for how they too embrace their Korean identity and make efforts to connect with their ethnic heritage.

 The international aspect of summer school was equally informative in demonstrating the importance of Korea on the global scene.My Beginner Korean class gave a glimpse of the varied appeal that the language has developed.I became close friends with a Chinese girl with whom, along with a Taiwanese boy, I was able to practice my learned Mandarin! Our instructor Lee sun saeng nim did an excellent job of keeping our attention for the first three hours of a full day of classes every day.Of course the most exciting aspect of learning a language is the real-life applicability of every lesson learned; being in Korea only intensified the rewards of daily study and practice.

 My subject classes offered a varied approach to studying Korean culture in depth.Professor Lim was an endless source of energy and genuine concern for the issues discussed in the course “Contemporary Korean Society: Change and Continuity.”I was personally impacted by our visit to a home for comfort women, as just a year earlier I became aware of their ordeal from a documentary viewing at my school.To see the frail survivors and hear one woman talk about her life in person was something that few people will benefit from; I will share this valuable experience with anyone who will listen to it.

 The instructor for the course “Understanding Korean Culture through Relio-Cultural Perspective” demonstrated the scholarship of Ewha to me.Professor Choi in