2011 EISC Session I Participant: Christine Oh

Syracuse University, USA



"Even though you were born in the US and can’t speak Korean you will always be a Korean first," my uncle told me. Korean adults are relentless in voicing their beliefs on how second generation Korean-Americans are always "first Korean," no matter how American they feel or act. I always wondered why they’d say this to me so insistently, as if they thought I was denying my roots. However, my experiences at Ewha International Summer College taught me that although I was not denying my heritage, I wasn’t necessarily embracing it either.



“Si tienes dos lenguas, tienes dos almas.” My Spanish teacher would tell us that if we spoke two languages, we had two souls. If that were true, then I have three souls: American (English), Latin American (Spanish), and Korean. Yet, the only time I could speak Korean fluently was during my last visit to Korea when I was only four years old. I guess that means I had left a part of my soul there. The EWUUAC NA Washington DC Scholarship was a boarding pass to a school where I would recapture what I had left behind. The Ewha summer program offered me an intensive language course along with eye-opening field trips which helped me to better understand Korean culture and history, and improve my ability to speak Korean.



"It’s not where you are, it’s who you’re with that matters," my friend remarked. If I had travelled to my parents´country for vacation purposes only, my experience would not have been as remarkable. The Ewha International Summer program connected me to a diverse student body and staff which made my visit to Korea very memorable. I did not just learn about Korean culture; I ended up learning about the cultures of the world— China, Norway, Japan, Australia, Germany, and Singapore, to name a few. I came to feel proud of my heritage by interacting with my classmates and participating in cultural activities.