Stronger Ties with KOREA
1999 Summer in Korea
Mizuki Ando
Ms.Mizuki Ando is a junior at the Department of Food Science and Technology, Faculty of Agriculture, Kyushu University. This summer, she and 14 students of Kyushu University participated in the Intensive Korean Language Course of the Ewha Womans University sponsored by the Korea Foundation.
Now I am looking at many photos listening to songs which I had listened to in August in Seoul. When I close my eyes, a lot of memories rush like an electronic flash. I had never had such a wonderful and meaningful summer vacation.
With my teachers and classmates whom I love
In our class at Ewha Univ., there were Korean students from U.S.A., Australia, Spain and Germany, and there were also students from China, Russia and Japan. All of them were very active and kind. However tired I was in the morning, I could get some energy just by seeing them. At class, we didn't only listen to what our teachers said but also questioned and applied what we learned by expressing what we ourselves thought. In taking part in this, I came to know their characters, the way they thought, their hobbies, their jokes etc. and through them, I felt my own philosophy was changed.After class, we asked each other about the country they lived in. I really felt like visiting their countries and seeing the landscapes with my own eyes. What I was moved by most was that we were able to use the Korean language as a medium of communication, regardless of whether Korean was our mother tongue or not. It might be natural but I was very moved.
Korean-Japanese cultural exchange assembly
We had Korean-Japanese cultural exchange assemblies twice a week. One day we had a chance to tell each other about university students' life style in each country. I had never really considered our daily life in Japan until I discovered that there were different ways of doing things. At the same time, we found that there was a lot in common between our student lives. It struck me that before we started presenting ourselves as Korean or Japanese, we should remember that we are simply people first, and that we have our experiences as girls in common.In teaching Japanese and Korean pop songs, we helped each other translate Korean or Japanese into Japanese or Korean. When we came across words we couldn't understand, we used not only the dictionary but also gestures and drew some pictures on the paper. During these assemblies, I was very happy because Ewha students concentrated on every phrase I said. They looked at me when I spoke. They studied Japanese very hard.
My interest, 'mother' and friends
I had a wish come true during this stay in Seoul. Since starting to study my major at Kyushu University, I have been interested in it more and more. I wondered how my major was taught in Korea, the country which I personally loved.One day I crashed against a girl accidentally in the Ewha caffeteria. I talked with her for a while and I found her major was the same as mine; Food science and technology. She showed me her classroom, laboratories and introduced me to a professor. Professor Chang talked about her experiences and what I have to do now for my future. Talking with her, I found that she had overcome many difficulties and I came to respect her not only as a senior of the same major but also as a woman. She listened to my questions kindly as if she was my mother, although I was not very good at speaking Korean.
I'll never forget the classroom where I had studied Korean with my teachers and friends for 3 weeks, the OB-Beer factory where I visited with Ewha students and teachers, Min-sok-chon where I learned Korean life style of the old days, Lotte-world where my friends and I took part in the night parade, Cham-sil baseball grand where I cheered LG team with my friends, Nam-dae-Mun market where Ewha friends helped me to buy the souvenir for my Japanese friends.... I'll never forget my teachers and friends whom I met at Ewha, I'll never forget their kindness.
Now I can work hard to live my life even if I encounter difficulties, because I believe my friends I met in Seoul are doing so, too. They gave me a lot of energy with which I can overcome pressures in daily life. From now on I study my major and Korean language hard and after graduation, I hope that I can find employment at a food company that has some connection with Korea.
I thank the Korea Foundation for giving me the chance to learn so many things!!
