The Importance Of My Interest In Korea

My interest in Korea was always something that considered interesting and different by others. Several people are curious as to why I choose to not only study Korean but also to spend six months studying abroad in Seoul. Before studying Korean, Korea has always peaked my interest as it was a country that not many people in my life knew about in great detail, making it quite exotic. My goals for my exchange was not only about studying abroad in one of Seoul’s top universities, Yonsei University, but also to actively interact in Korean society. Whether that was through traveling throughout the country or interacting with Korean students and other residents alike. It was a specific aim of mine to improve my Korean language skills enough to where …show more content…
12). However he adds while this can lead to the growth of the individual’s identity, the student’s day-to-day self-formation is based on necessity and survival rather than adventure, which can lead to different outcomes due to the students being under social conditions that they do not control (Marginson, 2014, p. 13). I certainly felt like this was the case in my situation, as succumbing to this illness forced to change, as I felt that I was not able to achieve my language expectations if I was completely unable to speak. Therefore at some points I felt that my identity and expectations shifted not because of the adventures I was undertaking, but rather the need to survive and be completely independent under social conditions that I do not control and that are unnatural to me. I felt like this was also an example of what Pitts understands as expectation gaps that contributes to stress build-up caused by not only your individual expectations but also external sources such as your family’s expectations (Pitts, 2009, p. 459). Although we are a family that has travelled a lot, I was the first student to go on a study abroad for a significant time, as well as the first one to go to Korea. I …show more content…
At the time I was so worried about failing my rigid and set expectations. But now they seemed to be a non-issue. I was challenged in terms of who I thought I was and what I represented, but not reaching my expectations in the end helped me become more open to failure and this led to the some memorable experiences that I will never forget. Becoming more independent and confident helped influence a change where I was able to learn about myself, the world and life in general. While I move away from that part of my life, I do not want to fall back into old habits. I want to be able to use all that I learnt on my exchange to approach life here differently than I would have before as I look toward the