Emily O'Neil(USA)
Growing up in the United States, a country created by immigrants, I would still be asked the question, “Where are you from?” in which I would respond, “Illinois.” The people would then ask “Errr… where are your parents’ from?” in which I would respond truthfully, “My father’s Irish and my mother’s German.” By then I would get the confused stare and I would explain that I was adopted in which the next question would often be, “Do you plan to go visit?”
I resented that people assumed that because I was not white or black, I was not from the country that created my identity and instead owed my allegiance to the country where my biological parent’s had sex. I wanted to make the point that the only part of me that is Korean is my physical appearance. One day I realized no one asks to be whatever ethnicity they are and most people embrace their ethnic culture because it was part of their family culture. Though my family cultural identity is different than my ethnic identity, I should not deny my ethnic identity either. That was when I decide to visit Korea and I sent an email to friends and family asking them for connections. A friend of a friend, who had done the program, told me about IIIHR and at first I was skeptical. It sounded to good to be true! Only $600 for 4 months in Korea with housing, food, and classes paid for!
It wasn’t until I saw the main Inje website that I felt is was a legitimate university program and I transferred the fee the very next day.
The program has been a wonderful way to learn more about Korean culture, both past and present. We have had language class, history class, culture class, film class, music class, and taekwondo. We also have had many group discussions about our perceptions of adoption, Korea, and life in general. We live in a very community oriented dorm called English Town, where the students are able to speak English and we participate once a week in English Groups. Our room mates have been wonderful, often taking us to visit their families so we also experience family life in Korea. We also have been on many fieldtrips, like farm stay where we experienced Korean country life.
Our nights have been filled with going out to eat if we want variety from the cafeteria food that is included with tuition, norae bang, drinking beer and soju with students, having late night chicken, and watching more Korean movies. We also study as well.
Busan, the second largest city in Korea, is only an hour away and has one of the best beaches in all of Korea. I’ve greatly enjoyed my time here and though there is always more to learn about any culture, I feel that I’ve learned enough about Korean culture to feel that it is part of my unified American, German, Irish, and now Korean identity.
