Seokjin Kim, a foreign exchange student from South Korea, wasn’t expecting to spend her senior year of high school in a small town in Alaska.
Kim, 18, a member of the AFS Intercultural Student Exchange Program, was initially surprised when she found out she’d be living in Cordova.
“The most challenging part, truthfully, of being an exchange student, is being in Alaska,” said Kim. “At first, when I heard that I’m going to go to Alaska, it was hard for me to believe.
“I did not choose to come to Alaska, I didn’t have a choice. But, I changed my mind and I feel this is a kind of fortune. Most people (I know) have never been to Alaska and now I consider this to be a perfect experience for me.”
Kim is from Incheon, South Korea, a city of three million people, with bustling traffic, moderate year around temperatures, fish markets, temples, metropolitan shopping malls, and numerous islands and pristine beaches.
The transition from city life to bush-style living in Cordova has been an eye-opening experience.
“Cordova is a really small town. Compared with Incheon, there are not enough exciting things to do for me,” Kim said. “I am kind of crazy about shopping, and wandering from place to place, so it is a little hard for me (to adjust.”
Since her arrival here, Kim has had the opportunity to reside with two Cordova families, first with Jennie and Chris Grimwood, and now with Roger and Miriam Dunbar.
She finds American cultural differences interesting. One example is her age.
In America, Kim is 18 years old, but in Korea, she’s now 20.
“Actually, I’m 19 years old in South Korea because we get a year once we’re born. Then we add one year to our age when it is a new year. So, I became 20 years old in Korea!” she explained.
Writing her name in the United States is backward to what she’s used to, too.
“In South Korea, we say it the last name first, then the first name after,” she said. “We don’t have middle names. In Korea, my name would be seen as Kim Seokjin.”
Kim is the daughter of Sunmi Jeong, her mother, and Youngjun Kim, her father. She has one brother, Harang Kim, who is 15 years old.
Kim’s stay will last into June, following her graduation with the Cordova High School class of 2017.
She has many interests, from watching movies to shopping, traveling and after school sports.
She has joined the CHS volleyball team and is also a member of the CHS cheerleading squad.
A dedicated CHS student, she’s had the opportunity to take classes in Alaska Native Arts, choir and a textile class, which aren’t available in her hometown.
“To be honest, I like all subjects,” Kim said. “I’m taking quite hard classes here, for example, U.S. government and advanced placement U.S. history. I like these classes. It is fun to learn American knowledge. I love taking the textiles and Native arts classes, and choir.”
Kim said that she finds Cordova to be full of friendly, outgoing people.
“I have made good friends here,” she said. “Most of the people in school are (my) friends. They are friendly and kind. They always help me when I have difficulties in understanding or following the schedule of the school.”
She has also taken up ballet.
“I was doing ballet for the first time in my life! I really enjoyed it and I participated in the dance concert at the Cordova Center,” Kim said. “My first host mom, Jennie Grimwood, suggested to me to try it and I appreciate her for suggesting it to me. Jennie also helped me to try to learn knitting. I am still doing it – I made hot pads, baby booties and scarves. I love knitting.”
Photo by Miriam Dunbar/For The Cordova Times
Her list of Alaskan firsts includes eating winter king salmon, hiking and snowshoeing around Cordova, and sitting on an iceberg, all activities she’s enjoyed with the Dunbar family.
She also is enjoying traditional Alaskan and American foods, so much so, that she said she’s gained 10 pounds since arriving in Cordova. She hasn’t found any food that she dislikes, yet!
“The new foods what I ate on Thanksgiving and Christmas are my favorites, especially turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie,” she said. “These foods were the first time for me to try. I want to make those for my family in South Korea, on Korean Thanksgiving and Christmas.”
Kim’s wide, happy smile and open nature go together with her open-mindedness regarding her Alaskan experience.
She’s not fond of the rain, but she loves the snow and outside activities.
“I am really enjoying Cordova’s weather,” she said. “I mean just snow, not rain. I just adore the scenery of Cordova, especially the mountains all covered with snow. The most enjoyable thing about Cordova, so far, is meeting people here. Everyone knows each other and you can walk anywhere. It is especially interesting to see everyone waving hands inside of cars (in greeting).”
Her biggest surprise so far, is that Cordovans keep so many pets in their homes.
“I’m surprised that everyone has a pet, some even have really big dogs at their houses,” she said. That’s something people in her hometown don’t do.
And sometimes, yes, she feels a bit homesick.
“Even though I am enjoying the cold weather, I really miss warm weather. I miss my family, especially on holidays, I miss my friends and my foods,” she said. “It could sound a little bit funny, but I miss my room of my house in South Korea. Although I have own room in the Dunbar’s house, the most comfortable and peaceful place is one’s room. I miss my scent and just the mood of my room.”
Kim’s post-high school plans are to attend a university where she’ll study to become a flight attendant, hopefully for Asia Air, she said.
“I am planning to go to university to do my flight service major. I also have plans to travel. I’m thinking about going to Laos or Japan with my boyfriend for our second anniversary, in July,” she said.
“To be a flight attendant, it is good to speak as many languages as I possibly can,” she said. “I’ve studied Japanese, and Japanese culture, for about three years. I went to a special high school in Korea, the Michuhol Foreign Language High School. Its purpose is to teach foreign languages. My major is English-Japanese, therefore, the biggest reason I wanted to study in America is to learn English and to meet many people.”
She has already visited the Philippines, Japan and Taiwan, and can now add Alaska to her list. She said she is interested in traveling to other areas of the U.S., including Portland and Seattle.
The AFS Intercultural Student Exchange Program is a leader in intercultural learning for more than 70 years, offers international exchange programs in more than 40 countries around the world through independent, nonprofit AFS Organizations, according to their website.
Locations in the study abroad program are worldwide, and costs vary from $8,000 to $16,000. Scholarships are available.
For more information on AFS’s student exchange program or on how to become a host family, call 1-800-AFS-INFO, or visit their website at http://www.afsusa.org/.
Photo by Miriam Dunbar/For The Cordova Times
