Before the end of their high school careers, students make plans for the future. Deciding on a college, a job or even whether or not they should enlist in the military. Imagine planning to spend the next four months of your life in a different country. That’s the decision foreign exchange students Seulgi Lee and Sijung Kim faced when deciding to study abroad in a new country and at a new school, Mississippi State University.
Around December 2013, Lee and Kim applied for the exchange program through their university, Puson National University, in South Korea. After submitting many documents, comparing grade point averages and interviews to determine their level of speaking the English language, the girls were chosen to spend a semester at MSU.
Even though they were studying at the same university, Kim and Lee did not meet until April of this year. The girls applied for student visas and booked flights to Starkville, Mississippi.
Lee said her fears about attending school stemmed from the language difference which she would have to face.
“I was most afraid about the language barrier. I was concerned with not understanding and not being understood,” Lee stated.
Kim said she was concerned about the firearm laws in the new country.
“In Korea guns are very sparse, so I feared the permit laws here in the United States,” Kim stated.
Although the girls felt fear about uprooting from their home country, they were also filled with excitement and a desire to learn. Lee said that her name means “wisdom” in English, so when choosing her American name, she hoped to keep the same theme with the name selection of Sonia.
Kim shared that her name means “right or just”. She kept a simple approach and chose her last name, Kim, as her American name.
Kim and Lee explained their desire to broaden student’s cultural awareness with their presence.
“I hope that American students will become interested in Korea. We have many job opportunities with global companies such as Hyundai, Kia, Samsung and LG,” Kim said. “In my business class, my professor told us that Korea has the fastest internet speeds in all of the world which made me very proud.”
“I hope to bring my culture to students here. My major is history, so I want to bring American history to Korea and hopefully leave Korean history here too,” Lee said.
After their stay at Mississippi State, Kim and Lee will travel back to Puson National University where they plan to find jobs or internships anywhere their skills acquired from MSU can be put to good use.
