Epik Essay Letter

In 2000, a group of Korean seniors in Fort Lee formed Friends of Grace Seniors to serve and empower the growing community of Korean immigrants, and quickly become an anchor for all generations of Koreans in the area. We provide practical tools and assistance for Korean immigrants to overcome their language and cultural barriers, and to preserve and promote Korean cultural heritage and social identity through self-empowerment and a spirit of participation

The transition from a South Korean education system to a religious incorporated Christian academy challenged me to adapt to a different way of life away from home. I started high school right away in the Philippines, this was a drive that would propel me through my high school years and beyond. I attended elementary school in S.K. and middle school. Therefore, I didn’t have friends in the Philippines. There were times when I felt like giving up, but living in S.K., my grandfather taught me the value of having an education, which hold important in Korean culture. With that in mind, the word of wisdom became a motivator for me to never give-up. I had a life changing development in those 5 years spent in the Philippines. I learned how to eat different types of Filipino food, acquired new friends and became trilingual,

Currently, in South Korea there are more than 28,000 North Korean refugees seeking refuge from the communist sister nation (Hamilton). Since English is becoming more of a necessity in South Korea’s workplace and daily life, it is therefore essential for North Korean refugees to learn the Western language in order to fully assimilate into the new culture. Recognizing this problem, Lee Eunkoo, who is a South Korean, and Casey Lartigue, an American, started an organization called Teach North Korean Refugees, TNKR for short, in 2013 (FQA-Track 1). Unique to many organizations, TNKR allows North Koreans refugees to choose their volunteer tutor who will educate them in English language skills. To date, the non-profit has seen 190 students come through the program and 290 volunteers (FQA-Track 1). Additionally, in order to meet the unique needs of their students, Teach North Korean Refugees provide two unique English language tracks. Track one primarily focuses on providing English language skills in basic English, grammar, vocabulary and pronunciation. The second track focuses more on perfecting writing and public speaking skills. In order to keep Teach North Korean Refugees running, the organization needs proficient English speaking teachers to volunteer to invest in their students. Volunteers will help refugees cultivate English speaking skills that will enable them to thrive in a fast pace nation of South Korea. The primary requirement for teachers to be a part of TNKR is that they must have a college degree and speak English as a first language. As proof of the program’s success, several of the refugees have published books and have become professional orators (FQA-Track 1). While Teach North Korean Refugees is not directly located in the hermit kingdom itself, the opportunity for TESOL professionals to impact the émigré lives

The story beginnings in the midst of the 1960’s, post Korean War. During this era South Korean was going through many, dramatic changes: socially, economically, and politically. Society was becoming for advantaged and

My unique upbringing, perspective of culture, and instillment of core values such as cooperation regardless of background or belief are what make me American. For these reasons, I am suited to take on the privilege to develop and cooperate with my fellow ambassadors and the people of South Korea to build a better global

The ethnographic study poster of Korea was a partial requirement for completing the MA TESOL course Development of Cross-Cultural Competencies taken during the summer at Alliant International University. The poster is divided into two major categories, Culture and Pedagogical Implications. Under the culture category, information on topics such as travel, food, holidays, and K-culture occur. For ESL teachers, the topics of education, body language, culture shock, language differences and what teachers can do in the classroom for their students from Korea can be useful. The ethnographic study was conducted primarily with an interview of a Korean national with additional background information gathered from internet sources. I chose the country

Aiding others with a developing interest in my culture, I put forth an intensive amount of effort into the Korean Language program at KORAFF. Coincidentally, I felt that incorporating knowledge about the Korean culture and it’s traditions into the teachings for these young adoptees would help bring families closer together. KORAFF itself is an immensely devoted and supportive program. However, my proudest moment was when I appropriated a leadership role by producing a new class system. Through my experiences and my developing Korean class, I hope that I will further enrich the lives of

Perhaps the most prominent way in which South Korea’s education system stands out is a topic that often strikes controversy. What is expected of the students there can be eye-opening to read about for students in America- or anywhere else in the world. 2. Tom Owenby, a former teacher in Korea, is quoted saying “It’s not about finding your own path [as much] as it is about doing better than those around you.” A recent article called “The All-Work, No-Play Culture Of South Korean Education” describes how suicide is the leading cause among overly stressed teenagers.

In conclusion, the critical cultural incident that happened in Koreatown allowed me to learn and be flexible with other people’s cultures, and to appreciate that the culture I grew up with could be similar to other cultures. Because of the incident, I know that I will behave myself accordingly, and I will also conduct research my in future intercultural

Investing in me specifically for this program is important, because I am passionate about pursuing cultural knowledge and obtaining a global state of mind. While involved in the program, I will make the most of the experience and all it has to offer. After completing the program, I will continue to passionately pursue expanding my cultural knowledge and linguistic skills. Becoming fluent in Korean and becoming familiar with the culture are key aspects in my career plans. Once I complete my bachelor's degree, my goal is to move to South Korea and complete my master's degree at an university there. I will complete my master's, remain living there, and then work for a police station. The goal is to live and work in Seoul, but these aspects will

Korea does not always have a positive connotation associated with it; media depicts North Korea as aggressive and hostile. Although I do not know in what manner, I wish to actively be a part of improving relationships between the North and the South. Thus, my primary focus is to not only be academically challenged but also to be surrounded by peers freely expressing their morals and ideas shaped by New Hampshire's motto "Live Free or Die." Meeting peers with drastically different backgrounds will challenge me and help me understand multiple perspectives as I aspire towards my

North Korean defectors who entered South Korea live in ‘Hanawon’ at first, a government-organized educational facility for helping North Korean defectors settle in South Korea (Jeon et al., 2009). They are provided education for social adaptation for

Korea has experienced an astonishing rate of growth in the past five decades. Many people attribute this growth to Korean education. In some aspects, the education mindset of Korea has been successful in helping Korea grow to what it is today. However, times have changed. The current educational philosophy in Korea does not reflect the ever-changing world today. The Korean education system limits students' creativity by focusing on rote memorization which causes harmful and unnecessary stress to students, while also being an unfair system in which the rich have an advantage over the poor.

Korean is one of the world’s most common languages, with approximately 72 million speakers. In terms of number of speakers, Korean is rated as the eleventh among over 3,000 languages existing on the globe. (Sohn, 2001). Data from the Forbes.com ranks the Republic of South Korea’s gross domestic product as #13 in the world. Shim et al state that from 1970 to 2007 the Korean GDP grew an average of 8.4 percent which can be attributed to political stability, a favourable international environment, competent bureaucrats and a skilled labour force. (2008)

Culture is a system of shared beliefs, values, customs, behaviors, and artifacts that members of a society use to cope with their world and with one another. South Korea is influenced by the philosophical brilliance of Confucius, they believe in family, community and society, unlike western ideology of individualism. Customs are a very big part of their culture when comes to communicating, dinning or even when purchasing items from a store. Because of their unique culture, ever since the country was established is has grown tremendously and continues to grow. South Korea has overcome a variety of difficulties such as military conflicts and economic issues. Even after the continuing issues occurring on the Korean peninsula they have managed to stay strong and are becoming a very independent nation.