Three Korean exchange students from Seoul Women’s University (SWU) are attending Hood College for the 2015-2016 school year.
The students are Minji Kong, Youhee Kim, and Juri Kim. All three live in Shriner Hall.
Minji Kong, a senior, is majoring in English. She said she is almost fully adjusted to being at Hood, but still has a little trouble speaking and listening to English.
What Minji misses most about Korea is the food.
“I love Korean food, especially eating at night, but I can’t do that now,” Minji said.
Youhee Kim, a junior, is majoring in Business Administration. She experiences a bit of culture shock from time to time mainly because of the fact that Hood is coed and SWU is all girls.
“My RA asked me “Is it okay if boys enter the toilet?” At that time, I pretended not to care about the problem. I was little surprised in my mind, but now I am not surprised when I see a man in Shriner,” Youhee said.
Juri Kim, a junior, is majoring in English. Thanks to the staff and faculty at Hood and friends she made, she is easily adjusting to living on campus.
What Juri and Youhee both miss the most about Korea is the fast Wi-fi and data speed.
“The internet speed in Korea is the fastest in the world, but all Koreans think the speed must be faster than that. So, I’m learning to be more patient,” Juri said in relation to Hood’s Wi-Fi.
All of the girls are loving how friendly and kind everyone is to them here.
“They always ask me “How are you?” I know that’s just the culture, but, I’m thankful for such a little kindness. That makes me smile a lot,” Youhee said.
In Korea, it is considered strange and uncommon to greet strangers and hold doors for others. In America, it’s a social norm.
When she first experienced those cultural differences, Juri said, “I was surprised at first, but now I’ve got used to that. I think those are very good cultures. I like that! “
Thanks to the friendly and welcoming environment Hood has, Minji feels realy at peace on campus.
““When I was in Korea, I always have to do something. But here, though I don’t take many classes, I feel so relaxed. I love Baker Park. People in there look so peaceful,” Minji said.
Over the Labor Day weekend the girls got the chance to visit Washington, D.C. for the first time. The trio visited the Air and Space Museum, National Gallery of Art, and the Washington Monument.
In D.C, Juri said, “I loved to do shopping and to walk in the downtown. Every building in D.C was so wonderful.”
Minji, Youhee, and Juri all miss various aspects of the Korean culture, but they are also embracing the American culture completely. They hope to travel more and also hope to make as many friends as they can while in the United States as well.
“At Hood, I’m trying to smile and be kind to other people. I’m sure that this experience will affect my characteristics positively,” Youhee said.
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