Sally Williams, ’27, TDM/Anthropology, Korea Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Travel Grant, Summer 2026

Sally Williams, ’27, TDM/Anthropology, Korea Institute Summer Undergraduate Research Travel Grant
"Multiculturalism as Seen Through Diversity Classroom Curriculums in South Korean Welfare Centers"

This summer with the generous funding from the Korea Institute I was given the opportunity to conduct my senior thesis research in Seoul, South Korea. This summer was my third time visiting Korea, but proved to be a very different experience than my previous trips. For the first time in my life I lived alone and because I was not enrolled in a program or an internship I spent most of my time on my own. It was an interesting experience to conduct research immersed in a community and to be one of the only foreigners in many spaces. As a result I felt pushed in many ways to quickly pick up on linguistic and cultural conventions as I navigated new spaces.

My work was focused on CJ Welfare Foundations’ Diversity Classroom program which integrates its curriculum into existing welfare centers, training teachers to instruct their students in a 7 lesson course. I was able to learn about multiple sides of the program from the perspective of the CJ staff members, classroom teachers, and the students. Having learned about Korean cultural practices before and having a short experience working an internship at a Korean corporate office I had some insights in how I thought this initiative was run. Despite this I was able to gain a deeper understanding of nonprofit work, about the back-end preparation and the actual execution. I sat in on many classes at two different sites in Seoul. I was able to visit different areas I had yet to visit prior and experience different classroom environments.

Experiencing this contrast really opened my eyes to the diversity of teaching styles and reception of said educational materials to students. The most fulfilling part of my research was interacting directly within the classroom and with the nonprofit through interviews. Interviewing people, especially the elementary aged students, all in Korean was an unforgettable experience. Communicating in a foreign language and trying to express yourself in ways beyond words was such a fun and human experience. The students were just as interested in me and my experiences as I was theirs and they tried their best to engage with me by using English expressions or teaching me about what was trending in their friend groups. I learned so much from these conversations and I hope to have an opportunity to engage with these welfare centers in the future even if just to have a simple conversation. I’m excited to use the valuable insights I have received to write my senior thesis this year.