South Korean exchange student adjusting to CF

As in past years, Cedar Falls High School is hosting several exchange students from all over the world. One of these students is Yunnie Jeon, from just outside of Seoul, South Korea. Looking forward to trying new things and branching out, she said that studying abroad seemed like a good way to break the routine. 

“I want to experience as much as possible, and while doing it, I want to find what I want to do,” she said of her motivation for studying abroad. “This is a really challenging experience for me, but I think it’ll be worth it.” 

Jeon said that her challenges mostly come from cultural differences between South Korea and the U.S., “Literally everything is different. I think I can write a book with that topic,” she said. “The most culture-shocking experience I had is probably people’s attitude toward others here. They just talk to someone, even though they don’t know each other at all. I think it’s a really nice thing to do. In Korea, people are just so cold to each other, so it was really shocking. It’s really heartwarming.” 

Beyond new attitudes toward small talk, the structure and atmosphere of school is also something Jeon had to adjust to. 

“We make lots of floors in school. We have four to five floors, and all grades have different floors, so we don’t have a chance to see other grade students. And every year, we get a new classroom, and we have to live in that same classroom and with the same kids for a whole year.”

She noted that because one spends much more of their time with the same classmates in Korean schools, it’s easier to make friends than in the United States.

“Not only am I originally an introverted person, but I also have to speak in English [here]. I have so many things that I wanna say all the time, but I couldn’t say it in English, so that makes me really feel stressed.” 

Overall, though, Jeon said that her experience abroad has been a “really precious experience,” and she would recommend studying abroad to anyone considering it. 

“You can see the world with more wider vision,” she said. If you’re an exchange student interested in being interviewed, contact Michael at hilinestaff@gmail.com.