From Small Town Dreams to Global Horizons Pt. 2

Before discussing my travels, let me tell you about the first time I was exposed to Korea, as this moment played a pivotal role in influencing my curiosity and subsequent decisions.

I was first introduced to Korean culture in middle school. There was a guy who would bring his seaweed snack rolled up with rice to school every day. Inside, it didn’t only have rice but also various vegetables and meat. I was absolutely intrigued. Most of this intrigue stemmed from several factors. Firstly, he was Asian like me, making us a rare 2% of the school population in Oklahoma. Secondly, unlike me, he was brave enough or proud enough of his culture to bring it to school and eat it in front of the other kids. Lastly, he spoke his native language much better than I did.

Regardless, I had one bite of his kimbap, as it is called, and I was absolutely hooked. It was as if I had just been handed a new drug by a drug addict. I began to look forward to lunch every day when he would bring his lunch. Eventually, he had the heart to start sharing it with me and a few other friends.

As time went by, I became interested in his cultural heritage. He was the first person to teach me Hangul, the Korean alphabet. English is my second language, so I was no stranger to learning how to speak in different tongues. But since English was learned naturally, I had no comprehension of the amazing feeling of consciously learning a new language. As I wrote each stroke that he taught me and learned basic phrases, I was absolutely enthralled by the ability to communicate in another language.

In addition to that, Korean uses an alphabet system, but not ABC like my mother tongue and English. Their letters also use a similar stroke style to Chinese, but they have round circles and clear-cut lines. It was absolutely beautiful––and I was absolutely enthralled by how the language sounded.

This was my introduction to Korea. Little did I know that this first experience was not merely the last, but just the initial journey of me immersing myself into the flame of this culture.