Sarah Chang, '20, Korea Institute Undergraduate Language Study Grant to Ewha (Tuition Waiver), Summer 2018

         Saying that my trip to South Korea was life-changing would be an understatement. Through the Korea Institute’s Ewha tuition waiver scholarship, I was able to experience not only focused, Korea-specific courses, but also was able to make life-long connections with other visiting students. Attending Ewha impacted me personally in more than one way and gave me an experience that no other program could ever have given.

         At Ewha, the classes and the people I met made my experience all the worthwhile. The first course I took was ‘Sex, Gender, and Sexuality in Korea’. Being a queer Korean American, it was important for me to understand how my Korean identity also tied into my queer identity, and this course offered both academic history and analysis behind queerness, as well as out-of-the-classroom experiences as well. Through a class fieldtrip I went to my first ever Pride parade – the Seoul Pride – and was overwhelmed by the Korean queer community that came together to celebrate. My second course, ‘Korean Ceramics’, gave me the opportunity to get back into the visual arts. I had come to Harvard wanting to pursue sculpture before I transitioned to ethnic studies, and the ceramics course was a way for me to reconnect with art as well as a part of my own culture. I was able to fine tune my skills in building ceramics while also incorporating the different techniques – such as inlaying – that have been invented and traditionally used in Korea. The last course I took was an intermediate-level Korean language class. While I could speak Korean conversationally, I never had the opportunity to take it in an academic setting. In fact, the farthest I had gone in terms of reading and writing were picture books from my childhood; therefore, placing into the intermediate Korean language class – although challenging – was infinitely rewarding. It forced me to develop my reading and writing skills at an accelerated rate, and by the end of the term I could read comfortably, and my spelling had dramatically improved.

         Even though the academics were difficult, I came to appreciate them and my time at Ewha more because of the friends that I made. Initially I was worried I wouldn’t be able to make lasting connections due to the short nature of the program. However, I was greatly proven wrong. With students from all over the world attending Ewha International Summer College, I was able to become friends with people I never would have gotten the chance to meet otherwise. We created bonds in the unlikeliest of moments; an example being the close friendship that blossomed over the shared fact that both of us were lost – and as we found out later – in the wrong building for our placement exams. Lunches and dinners every day turned into memories we still Kakaotalk about, and the evenings were filled with exploring the nightlife – such as karaoke and watching movies in 4D – or even mundane events such as writing our final essays together in a café. We’ve already planned an in-person reunion in September, and I have no doubt that these friendships will be life-long.

        While I had yet to realize it in the moment, going to Korea and Ewha also impacted my family life. After coming back from Korea, with my improved language abilities in Korean, I can communicate with my parents and grandma more easily and openly. I am able to express myself more clearly, and with the language barrier gone, I feel closer to my family as well. I am so grateful to the Korea Institute for giving me the opportunity to attend Ewha, and the experience will undoubtedly continue to impact me not only at Harvard, but also at home and in the future as well.