Q: Tell me a little bit about yourself. Where you are from, how old you are, how junior year is going, your favorite thing to do, things you are interested in at school, etc.
A: “I'm from South Korea and I am seventeen years old. My junior year is going pretty well except that I have to work a lot harder than last year. My favorite things to do are shopping, hiking, and playing instruments. I'm in the pit orchestra and play violin. I also play badminton.”
Q: How hard was it for you to learn the English language?
A: “I started learning English when I was young. When I was in Korea, I usually learned how to read and write. Also, most good Korean private schools require students a certain level of English skill. I think that's why I first tried to learn English as my second language. However, I never really get to speak it even though there were some speaking classes during my life. It's like we were not allowed to speak Korean in the class but no one really listened. It's really easy to answer why. Do you want to speak in Spanish to your American friend when both of your Spanish are poor?”
Q: Has learning English been useful to you in any way?
A: “It has been very useful to me. For me, it was very helpful to come here. If I had known nothing about English, I could never gotten these grades in John Carroll. But, what I more look for is not now. I want my English to be very fluent for my future. It's going to help me getting in a good job and also be very convenient when I travel other countries. I love traveling other places”
Q: Do you prefer speaking English or Korean?
A: I prefer speaking Korean to English because I can say anything that I want to say when speaking in Korean. Although my English has improved a lot so far, mine is still not perfect and I feel very discouraged when I want to write something that I know in Korean but not in English. But when I go to Korea, I feel very proud of speaking English because knowing more than one language is very important and worthy there. And when my friends say they are jealous of me knowing English a lot better than them, I feel perfect. (Laughs) You know what I'm talking about.
Q: What opportunities have you been given while you have attended John Carroll?
A: “I was never involved in school activities in Korea. The first reason was that there were not many activities and the second was that I wasn't interested in any. Since I've transferred to John Carroll, I've been involved mostly in the music department. I'm in the orchestra, chorus, music ministry, and musical.
Other than that, I started thinking about my future seriously while having many opportunities here.”
Q: What are some of the big differences between American schools and Korean schools?
A: “I think you guys have a lot more activities here. In Korea, a student's daily life is like this: get up, study, school, finish homework, prep school (English, math usually), own study (Korean SAT), and sleep. Students here play sports for their own satisfactions while studying hard and getting good grades. Nobody set this rule but it kind of became a common sense now. It doesn't mean they never learn other things rather than academic stuff. But they literally stop what they've had for their hobbies when they go to high school. It's not a thing that they have some choices. When you are in Korea, if you want to get in a good college, your first step is leaving everything behind and just study until you graduate.”
Q: If there was one word you could describe your time in America what would it be and why?
A: “Adventure. It was exciting to see new things and experience the things that I'd never seen before I came here. However, living without my own family and leaving all my friends in Korea have been hard for me. Also, I had to overcome my poor English skill compared to American students' because there was no advantage when it came to the grades.”
Q: Why did you choose to come to high school in America?
A: “I chose to come here because I wanted to go to college here. It is much easier to go to American college from American high school than Korean high school which sounds like a common sense to me. I also wanted my English be better."
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