STE-008

Tyler Garvey is interviewing his friend J.K. for the Colby College Korean Oral History Project. J.K. talks about his transition from high school to college and the differences he experienced academically and socially. He shares his name, where he was born and grew up, and when he moved to the United States. J.K. also talks about his first time leaving Korea and traveling to the United States with his family. He shares a memory of almost drowning in a swimming pool and enjoying potato chips afterwards. J.K. discusses his decision to attend high school in the U.S. and the reasons his parents supported it. He talks about the cultural differences he faced and the adjustments he made in terms of social interactions and language choices. J.K. describes his hometown of Seoul, mentioning the tight-knit community and the convenience and safety it offers. He talks about his childhood activities, such as biking, playing video games, and later playing basketball in middle school. There is no menti Okay, my name is Tyler Garvey. Today is Thursday, October 26th, and I'm interviewing my friend, J.K., on the campus of Colby College for the Colby College Korean Oral History Project. Do you agree to grant the college permission to archive and publish this information for educational purposes? Yeah. Nice. Let's start off late. How have your first couple months at Colby been? Fun, definitely. Not a lot of big adjustment socially from my high school, but academically, definitely different. But I kind of like it more here. More freedom, I feel like. So, typical high school to college transition. Mm-hmm. So, it was pretty similar from going from Gov to here, same atmosphere. Yep. How are you feeling going into the interview? Do you have any concerns, any questions? Nope, I'm feeling great. I'm ready to just share my story, I'll say. Perfect. Can you give me a quick summary of yourself, your name, where you were born, where you grew up, and when you moved to the United States? My name is J.K. Baek, and then my Korean name is Joon-Gyu Baek, and then I was born in South Korea, and then I grew up most of my time, most of my life in South Korea, and then I went to the United States for high school when I was 16, so around 2020. All right, can you talk to me about the first time you left Korea? Tell me about what that was like, what made you travel to wherever you were, not specifically like moving to the U.S., but your first time traveling out of Korea? I feel like when I was like, when I was five, I think my parents really wanted to show my brothers the United States, so they went to like one-month travel, sort of like a trip all around the United States, and then my mom was like so sympathetic, just leaving me behind, like a three-year-old kid in the house by myself, so she brought me, which was a pretty big decision, I feel like. The first time I probably left was like 2007 when I was three. I think I went to New York and Boston for a month. Nice. Do you remember any of that at all, or not really? There's like a one fun story. Basically like we live in like an apartment, and there was like a swimming pool for everyone, and then I was like a young kid, so I couldn't go to like the adult pools, where like it's deep, but I really wanted to just like swim with my brothers, so I went in, and then I almost, I almost like drowned, and Security Guard saved me. Came out, went to the bench, and then my mom gave me like chips, like potato chips, and I definitely remember the flavor of it. It was just so good. I don't know why. Wow. Tell me about what it was like coming to the U.S. You came to start your sophomore here, sophomore year in high school. What was it like, that journey? What were your emotions like? Were you excited? Tell me about that. First of all, it was my decision to go to Gov's, not my parents, so it was, I don't know why, but still I don't know why, but I wanted to go to school in the United States, and then it was just, it was during COVID, so it was very different from now, but still it was a big transition, and then I was definitely really nervous. I think I was, I think that was like most nervous state of my life that summer. I just didn't know what to do. I just wanted to get prepared, but like at school and socially too, so I was just, I was just nervous, I'll say. I think we're going to get into it a little more later, but what caused your parents to want to send you abroad or to the U.S. to study? So basically, my brother went to Governor's Academy, and he graded 2018, and they really liked the process there, and that they told me like, basically what I heard from my mom is my dad thought I would not do good academically, and also like meant like school-wise, and in my life it would probably like be more, better for my life to go to the United States for high school, and I was, I went to international school, so it was like predetermined that I'm going to go to college in the United States, so they wanted me to sort of like get prepared before college. That's it. How did you go about navigating the cultural differences, especially you had been to the U.S. a couple times, but like moving to the U.S., going to school, what were the cultural differences and changes, and how was it adapting to a new environment? Yeah, there's a lot of cultural differences, I feel like, like socially a lot, culturally a lot. I just like, I first like year at my high school, I just trying to like, trying to go as many as event as possible, and talk to as many as people I can, so I can sort of learn, because basically living in the United States to me taught me a lot culturally. One episode is like the first day of school, I didn't know I needed to wear slides to shower, the dorm shower, so I was figuring out my, all my friends are wearing, God help me, I had one leftover slide, so I just, okay, so I need to wear slides, and I have so many story of those, so I just need to like learn really quick how like people do stuff, and just copy them basically. Are there any like major cultural differences that stand out to you, that like you're saying there's so many, is there any in particular that you're like, wow, I didn't know they do this here like that, or whatever? Um, socially, I'll say like, I don't know, culturally, I think most like 99% is so different, I feel like, like how to talk to people, how to like, like, like being a rude, like I might look like a rude person, just because I do, like I do stuff in Korea, in United States, like how eating too, some people like, it's like really different, I feel like, but if I need to give one like specific example, uh, like talking to people here, like I just talk casually, I don't speak too loud, I just talk really quietly, I'll say, and I really think my language choices, like word choices, like how do I like present what I'm gonna say here, more than like, just say whatever thing I want to, because some, some people might find like rude and not nice. All right, let's talk about, um, your experience growing up in Korea. So, um, tell me about the hometown where you grew up, what the community was like, um, maybe what you missed, what you liked, disliked, start with that. So first of all, Korea, I live in Seoul, which is like the main city, the capital, it's really like a big city, and then, uh, there's like, definitely pros and cons living in city, but I feel like one thing I kind of disliked when I was there was like everyone knows each other, because it's such a tight community, and whatever, whatever place I go, I see my friend, or like I'm gonna see someone who I know, and then especially like after going back, after like during summer, when I go back, I definitely feel that, I feel like kind of driving everywhere walking everywhere, I only like, it feels like nothing feels new, it's just a city, kind of like, not a lot of characters in it, you know, just, just city, but what I like about it is just like, it's so much convenient in here, I can do a lot of stuff just by myself, I could just walk around, and also the safety there, there's sort of, there's no guns, or not a lot of crime rates, so I feel like definitely safety and convenience was like a big plus in my hometown. So, Seoul is a big city, you're saying when you go around, you see your friends, and people you know, are you in kind of a suburb, or like a smaller community, that was kind of a section of Seoul, or tell me about that. Oh, like I live in like a 30 minutes away from the, like the downtown, downtown, like where all the tall buildings are, skyscrapers, and where all the like people imagine about, but basically, like once a week, basically when we go, when I go to convenience store, or when I go to market, my mom always sees someone who she knows, like in the Seoul, like even though it's like 30 minutes away from my hometown, in the city, and then my dad, like sees someone in restaurant all the time, just like really tight community, I feel like, because people only go to places they go, and at the end, it kind of like intercepts, so I feel like, unlike United States, there's a lot of options, a lot of things you can do, it's really tight, and then there's only few options in the city, because it's like same location, same restaurant, same market, so, and also, like one place gets famous, everyone goes there, it's like more crazy, like entire, like imagine entire, like people, like entire community of Seoul goes to like one place, just because they're like really famous, it's like a big thing. Interesting, what did you do, so the theme of this semester in the history department is play, so I'm interested in what you did for fun as a child, start with like any sports or games, or like what did you do with your friends for fun? I'll say, like when I was young, I really liked biking, and then after that, and we moved, like we lived in an apartment, and we moved to like a house at, during my like elementary school, like first grade, and after that, I couldn't bike anymore, because I wasn't around with any parking and stuff like that, but I biked a little, and then for like, I played a lot of video games in my elementary school, I feel like most of the times after school, I just played video games with my friends, like three hours, four hours, didn't get any work done, but it was still fun, and then I went to middle school, and I started playing sports, I was really into basketball, I think I like, if someone asked me what's my like favorite sports to play, probably basketball, and then basically what we did is like play basketball all the time, and we went to like a, like a basketball courts in Seoul, like there's a few famous ones that we just play pickup basketball all the time, but as a child, I feel like mainly I played, probably played basketball and video games. Yep, how did any of this change when you moved to the U.S.? Did you continue playing basketball? Were there any like card games or anything that like you brought over from Seoul that you're kind of like excited to show people or anything? Basically, when I was in South Korea, I didn't really play a lot of sports games, you know, I usually play like an FPS, like a gun games, like a Fortnite or like stuff like that, but when I moved to the U.S., I learned how to play all different types of like sports video games, like a NBA, 2K, NHL, UFC, all those type of stuff. It was definitely a transition, but I feel like I like the sports games, my sports video games a little more, and then for sports, basketball, it was I feel like the first weekend with my friend, went to the field house at high school, there was a lot of cats, we played 3v3, like it was like a tournament, and then one team had a two of high school basketball players, like varsity players, and then I played with them, first layup, I thought I got it, behind me, Ryan Rodnick, D1 player, University of Toronto right now, blocked me, and I was like without running shoes too, so after that, I was like, I'm never going to play basketball again in here, not even for fun, I like, not even like, I thought about trying out, nope, I wasn't good enough, I was too small, so basketball, I stopped playing like seriously, after I came here, and then, I don't know, sports, I really wanted to play sports at my high school, but my parents didn't really want me to, you know, I really wanted to play lacrosse, because all my friends played, but my parents were worried about concussion, and then they prioritized, like, you got to do school better than, like they told me, if you have, you need to keep up your grade, and you're going to be so busy, so I, like, they didn't really allow me to do, play any sports, honestly, but if I could play basketball, if I could play sports, I'd probably play like lacrosse, oh, and then I wrestled a little bit for two years, just because my brother did it, so my parents told me like, your brother did it, so you can do it too, okay, so I'm gonna wrestle, which was probably the biggest regret I ever had in my life, it wasn't fun, and then it was just, I felt like a torture every day, every day after class, I was just miserable, when the, every morning, I couldn't wake up, because my neck hurt so much, so I was like, I needed to push myself, so yeah, that's a lot of things changed after I moved to the United States, was that sophomore and junior year that you did in wrestling? Yeah. What kinds of, like, media, or music, or television did you watch growing up in Korea? Every Sunday, for me, like, when I was a kid, I watched all the, like, reality, like, TV shows in Korea, like, most people probably don't know here, but I watched a lot of those, and then, yeah, I basically watched a lot of cartoons in Korea, but musics, I listened to Korean musics, but even if, even when I was in, you know, in Korea, I listened to a lot of, like, hip-hop songs in the United States, and I listened, I already knew all the pop songs, and, but the thing is, thing I learned is, like, I was in my kid group, and then we talked about, like, childhood TV shows with my friend, and the kid, and then, like, they talk about, like, they could talk, but I had absolutely no idea what they were talking about, so I acted like, oh, yeah, yeah, I know, yeah, it was so fun, but definitely, I feel like I don't know any, like, childhood TV shows here, but I know, like, a few famous ones here, like, right now, I watch, like, a Netflix show, or, like, I watch, like, television here, so I know all the, like, recent ones, but old ones, I have no idea, and for the music too, I don't know any, like, music, like, old pop songs, or, like, 1950 some, like, classics, I have absolutely no idea, but still, I love those songs, so I just try to listen to them and learn them. What types of, what types of, like, cartoons or reality shows, like, how would you describe them? What were they like, or, like, what genre were you into? For cartoons, like, for, like, I watched a lot of, like, Japanese shows, basically, like, Japanese influence, like, TV shows, and for televisions, I watch a lot of, like, reality ones, like, it's kind of, like, cringy, like, comedy stuff, I watched a lot of those. It was, like, basically a big thing, like, my home, like, Sunday night or Friday night, all, like, entire family, like, everyone in my family just sits in front of TV and watch shows and, like, spend the night, still, yeah. Cool, and if there's any point where you want to say, like, a Korean word, or, like, a title or whatever, you can say it, because we're going to transcribe it and work with, like, the teacher to get the accurate spelling, so if there's anything, like, any words that are, like, important that you want to mention, you can do that. Oh, I was, I was actually sending you some, like, the actual names and shows I was watching. Oh, cool. Were there any, like, shows or media in the U.S. that, like, when you got here, your friends are, like, I don't know, like, you haven't watched Spongebob, like, you have to watch Spongebob, any, anything like that happened where your friends, like, try to get you to watch the classics? Yeah, definitely happened a lot, like, I, like, it was, like, a Saturday night, I told you first time I'm moving in here was COVID, so everyone in the dorm couldn't, like, go out during weekends, so only thing we actually did was playing poker and then watching movie every Saturday night. Every Saturday night, we watched a movie together as a dorm, because there was, like, 10 people in the dorm, so, like, it was really easy to pick a movie and watch it, so basically, Godfathers and The Other, I cannot name it, but they, I watched basically all the, like, classic movies my sophomore year every Saturday night, because they want to watch it, too, and I have absolutely no idea what those are, so it was really fun. Do you continue to watch a mix of Korean movies and U.S. movies? Oh, yeah, definitely, oh, especially after, like, Netflix and, like, the streaming sites became a big thing, I definitely watch, like, if there's, like, famous Korean show, I could watch it so easily here, and then American ones, I just go to, like, cinema or, like, a theater with my friends and just watch it, but I watch both of them, but most of times, I don't watch, like, like, I usually watch really famous ones, so, like, both country streams and both of them are in theater, so, like, not a lot of differences, but there's definitely some movies that I have absolutely no idea, like, even, like, right now, and it's famous, and Korea, like, Korean people globally, like, no one knows, like, I was, like, so surprised about that, because first time going to Amazon Prime U.S., I watch all the movies, like, I scroll through, and there's so many movies I had absolutely no idea, but then compare, like, in Netflix, there's so much movie I know, so I feel like, you know, like, famous ones, most people know, but, like, a less safe, like, less famous one, there's, like, I have absolutely no idea. So, you told me that growing up, you would visit the U.S. often. You said the first one was New York and Boston when you were three. Throughout, like, from then until you moved to the U.S., what were some of the trips you would go on, and what was, like, the purpose? Is it to immerse you into, like, culture and language, or just, like, a vacation or travel? I feel like the Boston and New York one was more about, like, English and fluency, and, like, because I went to, like, kindergarten for one month. I had no idea how to speak. I had no idea how to speak English. Like, there was one guy, like, my mom's friend's son who I knew, but he was, like, one year older than me. The first time we went to kindergarten together, they separated us because of the grade, and I would just, I think, I still remember probably the worst thing ever to happen to me, because I have absolutely no idea, and there's all the people look different, and I just, like, stuck there by myself. I feel like I did not even speak single English there, and then for the first visit, I think it was because of that, and then after that, I went to Hawaii a lot, and then I went to the United States often for my brother's graduation and just as a vacation, and I think those are more mainly, like, a vacation for fun, nothing special. All right, let's get into your education. So, what do you remember, what's memorable about your education growing up? What was it like in general? Um, I didn't, I wasn't really, like, a studying hard. I wasn't really, like, a top academic student at the school, definitely in my elementary school and middle school. Basically, I wasn't really a big fan of Korean education system, basically. Oh, yeah, but, like, it was definitely a lot of, a lot of transition from Koreans 1 and United States 1. It's, like, really different, and then I sort of did better in the United States 1, but I feel like, I feel like it's not because of the system, maybe, or I felt like it was more about motivation. I feel like, I don't know, but still, there's a big difference. Did you attend private or public school? In South Korea, I attended, like, a public elementary school for, like, a month, and then I moved to private school, and then I went to public middle school again for, like, a month, and I went to international school, international middle school, and then I went to, I wouldn't go, I went there till ninth grade, and I moved to United States for high school, and then, right now, I'm in college here. So, you talked about you didn't really perform great in school, or you didn't give it your full effort. Was there pressure from your parents to do well, or was it kind of relaxed, not as much? My parents didn't really care, because they thought I was too young to do stuff, and then I think that was the main reason, because no one was actually pressuring me, but it was a really toxic environment, I would say, in Korean elementary school, because there was, like, 30 people in one class. We just stayed in one class. We'd take all the classes in that class, and we know everyone in each other, so, like, we already know who's, like, smart and not smart, so there was a lot of, like, stereotypes. Basically, what happened was, like, a kid who gets the, oh, and then sometimes teachers tell you he's a rank two at the end of, like, a midterm or final. So, basically, I was, like, the, I think one thing I clearly remember was, like, I was, like, a 13th in male, and there's only 15 kids, and I'm, like, and then, and then, then, basically, all, like, like, kids who studied really hard, everyone knew, and they really did hard, but, like, there's stereotypes, so I felt like I didn't really need to prove anything. I was, like, I'm just stupid kid. I'm, like, no one cares, and then I just didn't try. There's no motivation, and then, first of all, and then, second of all, and I felt like I don't know how to, like, actually study stuff. Like, I didn't, I, like, I didn't feel motivated enough to get, like, homework done, basically, because, like, teachers didn't, like, teacher told me to finish it, but, like, I was afraid, like, and also there's, like, a punishment. So, oh, I definitely remember. It was, like, it, um, my mom, I don't know, but it was, uh, yeah, there was not a lot of pressure, but, like, no one really, like, pushed me to deal with stuff, but the environment itself sort of, like, moved me away from, like, studying, because everyone else is just studying so hard, and then, and then they're comparing each other, and I didn't really want to do that. I was, like, I really, I didn't, like, want to go into that pressure and push myself into there, because I felt, like, studying was, like, I wouldn't, I basically wanted to do something for fun, and I didn't find, like, uh, studying or, like, like, got curious about math or, like, uh, like, uh, I don't know, language or English that interesting, because everything was ranking, and everyone studied for, like, grades, I felt like, not for, like, general curiosity. Was your brother, um, older brother, was he the first person before, or the only person before you to study in the U.S.? Oh, uh, yeah, in high school, yes. He was the first one who moved to, and I'm the only one in my entire family who went after him. Okay. So, but all my cousins in my family went to school in U.S., like, college, and then, yeah, basically, sort of, needed to go to the United States to study. Did your older brother have, like, the same mindset about school as you, or did he care a bit more, study a bit more? He was a, like, a star boy, like, he was, like, uh, he was, like, a poster child. He was, I would say, he studied, like, he was, he didn't try, but the thing, he was just a smart kid, so he could get, like, 100 and test every test so easily, and, like, he was, like, perfect, and I didn't, like, that, that did not even push me. I was, like, I assumed he was just smart, and then he did so well in high school, middle school. He went to, like, a really good middle school in Korea. He went to, like, a talented kids type of school, middle school, and then he, and then my parents, well, but he didn't really do well there, because everyone else is just the same. I told you, like, the focus isn't great, and just such a toxic environment, so my parents told him, like, he could not, like, my brother didn't really like it, so he went to high school in the United States, but he was really, really a toxic child. He was smart. Tell me about what it was like learning English. You said you attended an international school. Yeah. What year did you start, and what was your school like? Was it full immersion, or tell me about that. It was definitely different. It was an international school, but 90% of kids were Korean, and only in class, when you went up, not even in class, all the kids there, who, when they're talking to, like, teachers, they only spoke English, and, like, in social life, everyone spoke Korean, so it didn't really help me to speak more English, and it was, I felt like it was, like, a United, like, you know, like, U.S. education system in Korean school, like, Korean kids, so it's, like, every, I wrote essays in English, or did everything academically in English, but everything social, culturally, it's all Korean, so it was weird, definitely, so I felt like it didn't really help me to do, like, do well in school, or the system was different, though, like, grading system, everyone didn't, everyone sort of only studied for grades, but it was definitely different. No one told me to rank, like, all the same classes, everyone's taking same classes all together, and then it was, yeah, academically, it was probably less challenging, because I still vividly remember, I got, like, 50s of math midterms in elementary school, I think the best I ever did was, like, 70 in six years, like, 70, and then in middle school, I didn't even try, but I got, like, a 80, it was more generous, I feel like, my effort was still the same. How did you, how did your, or would you say your older brother's experience in school, and then going to Gov, did that kind of pave your path? Definitely, 100 percent. First thing I did was, like, I got, like, placed to, like, a regular 10th grade classes, like, I was for two, and then, like, I basically copied his, like, schedule. I told him, like, I'm not going to take this class, because my brother didn't take this class, like, that's what I basically told my parents, and then they didn't really like that, because they knew my brother was, like, really smart, and I wasn't, so I just, like, copied everything, I took Latin, because of him, I took pre-calc, and then I did, like, I basically copied him everything, he didn't use paper, so I didn't use paper, he did wrestling, so I needed to do wrestling, so it was the same thing, but definitely I wasn't better than him, it's uncertain, so, yeah. All right, let's talk about what it was, or what the culture at Gov was like. What was it like being at a predominantly white school, and how did that kind of shape your experience? As I told you, I went to middle school, but it was mostly, like, Korean, not a lot of international kids, but, you know, the system, so it was definitely different than, like, socially, and them, like, and basically, I was, like, first time in my life, I was being minority, basically, but I felt like Gov was, like, a really nice community, everyone was nice, everyone really, there was not a lot of people who was actually mean to me, I feel, I feel like there was only, like, two kids who was mean to me, but they're, like, mean to everyone else, too, it wasn't, I feel like it wasn't racially motivated, but everyone, like, everyone was curious about me, because they, like, probably some of them, first time seeing them, like, someone who's, who came from South Korea, but they asked me a lot of questions, I felt like, but generally, they were really nice to me, so I never felt like someone's, like, yeah, it was, it was not that bad. Um, this kind of goes along with it, but, um, do you feel like you, the way you experienced high school as a minority gave you, like, a different experience than any of the other kids, or, like, the non, um, or, like, the white kids? Um. How do you feel like your experience was different, if, if not? Oh, yeah, makes sense. So, basically, it was first time me being minority, as a person, not racially or anything, because I was living in South Korea, I came to the United States, and then, I, like, I don't know, I just, like, what is it called, it's, like, a minority mindset, I don't know, there's something called, like, a, sort of, doesn't need to make mistakes, or trying to not bother anyone else, but, like, I definitely had that for quite a, I don't know, still now, I just try to be nice, I'm not, like, trying to be mean to anyone, or I'm trying to, like, be nice, and then, I felt like, yeah, definitely being minority taught me a lot, like, but I don't mind being minority, you know, like, uh, I kind of liked the, like, uh, there's, uh, yeah, but some, like, basically, when you say, like, like, the majority of my high school was nice, but, like, uh, I didn't really want to go, like, a party, because they didn't really, like, thought, like, think me as a, like, a person who'd go to the party, or do something for fun, or they didn't really expect, like, they didn't think, like, they didn't even assume, like, I don't do anything, like, I didn't do any drugs, or be, they generally assume I don't do it, which I don't care, but, like, I don't do it, so, like, they don't care, and then some of the kids thought, like, think, like, I didn't really speak in class, I'm really quiet, and then they, like, they generally assumed that, and then some people think I don't have, like, some people assume I, like, I don't have any characteristics, but, like, yeah, but, oh, and then it was definitely, I still, and it's definitely harder to make friends as a minority than as a white kid, I feel like, just because, like, of first interaction, but, like, after you talk to them enough, like, they know I'm, like, same as, like, most people, I'm just nice, and, like, I'm just, like, typical high school kid, but, but, like, that really helped me a lot in COVID, because no one knew each other, so everyone, like, 10, like, 10 people dorm, imagine, like, everyone needs to talk to each other, and everyone needs to go to the dining hall together, because all of them are new, and they have absolutely no idea, so, like, after talking to them, they became friends, and it was, like, a chain reaction, it was so much easier to be friends with them after, after, after white people, but first time, it was, and then there's a one really good kid, I don't, can I say the name, yeah, Danny Webster, who taught me a lot socially, he was a really nice kid, still keep in touch, he, he taught me, like, basically everything, like, he told me, like, if I say something awkward, or it doesn't make sense, he just told me, like, not to do it, and then just taught me everything, and, like, that friend really helped me to, like, learn the, like, social and cultural, had, had, just had to just leave, like, life skills, so he helped me a lot, so, yeah, he just taught me, yeah, as a minority, there's stuff that I didn't know, and he taught me all those stuff, so. Looping back, so he was kind of, he was helpful in you adapting to the U.S. culture, and learning about it, learning new things, correcting what might be appropriate in Korea that is different here, yeah. Were there any experience or moments from Korea that you would say kind of, like, shaped your identity, or anything major, I guess, that changed the way you behave in, like, the U.S.? It's kind of a tough one. Um, for me, I don't know, I feel like, can you repeat the question? Like, were there any parts of your, like, identity or culture from Korea that you brought over to the, to the U.S. for high school? If not, that's okay. Uh, yeah, but, like, feel free to think about it. No, not academically, because I actually started trying studying, like, academics after I came to high school, so, I don't know. Uh, identity, I actually thought, uh, oh, being clean. I feel like, my grandfather, my dad always taught me, like, your room needs to be really clean, like, uh, like, oh, I always need to, oh, I always need to smell good and dress well, and all those, like, basic attitudes they always taught me when I was young, like, you need to do that, and then, oh, and then smell wise, like, the, how I smell, too. Like, my, I think there's, like, my grandfather, he's a, he's a businessman, so he came to the United States, like, when no one was coming, because he needed to, like, uh, export, like, goods and stuff. Basically, he told me, like, crazy stories back then, but one thing he told me, like, you gotta really, like, you gotta be, like, you gotta dress well and have a good attitude and smell well, all those stuff, because as a, like, sort of foreigner and immigrant, he was, like, he can, he can tell, basically, and then, I think, like, he told me, like, my dad told me, I think, one time, and then he told me, like, you don't know how you smell unless you're in the elevator full of, like, like, full of white people. Like, you can smell how you smell, because you smell, like, so different. So, that's one thing I was, like, yeah, that, that really brought me here, like, at Gov's or here, I try to make my room clean all the time, smell good, and then, I don't know, taking, like, I try to do basic, basic hygiene stuff all the time, because they, that's what my grandparents and, like, parents taught me, and then I'll probably have it my entire life, because, like, it's good for me and good for others. Awesome. So, let's jump into your family a bit. You said, for you, it was kind of expected that you would go to school in the U.S. Was it the same for your older brother, because he was the first person to study in the U.S., right? Yeah, but, yeah, basically, one of my oldest cousins, who was, like, 12 years older than me, and she went to school in the United States for university, but, basically, what happened was, they, my parents knew how toxic it was, and they didn't really want me to, like, get through all those crazy exams, and, basically, in Korea, they usually take one exam before going to college, and that exam is, like, SAT, but with all the, like, AP exams, basically, it's easier to explain, like, you take SAT and, like, AP Chem and AP Physics at the same day, straight, not leaving the room, and then, and then you, that test determines everything, and you only have one chance every year, so if you don't do well on that test, you need to repeat it, study for one year, and then do it again, and then my parents really didn't want me to do that, and then my dad sort of struggled, not struggled, but my dad didn't like the prop, like, academic when he was in high school and college, so I think it was more, like, my aunt's decision, who said, oh, I'm going to send my kid to the United States for college, so she basically, my cousin went to international school, so that's how it happened, and then, after she went, everyone sort of followed, oh, my cousin, so for me, only thing that it was different was going to boarding school, because everyone else just went to international school in Korea and went to college, but my cousin and basically my brother thought, like, going to boarding school will prepare you for, like, prepare you for college better, so you could sort of enjoy college life, that's what basically my parents thought was, so. Nice. You go back to Korea every so often, you said, to visit your parents, grandparents, I think you said you went back this summer, what is it like for you when you're visiting, is it, are you excited to be back in your hometown, see old friends, see family, tell me about your visits back, and maybe how often you go. I go every winter and summer, basically, because they don't want me to, but after, I don't know, for right now, because when I was in high school, there's nowhere for me to stay during winter and, like, in summer, but I don't know, after college, during college, I don't know, but first, like, first day coming back, airport, just everything, everything feels so, like, like, new and, like, different when I come back, so, like, first day, but, like, second day and the week after, I feel so natural, and then, I don't know, it feels different, but I still feel the same thing, it's just Korea, and then, it's just Seoul, and I don't feel anything awkward, I just, I just, like, feel so natural in it. What are your emotions like when you have to leave? Are you sad to leave your family, or excited to get back to the U.S., and get back to school, or? I feel like summer, I'm ready to go back to the United States, because I've been, like, I need to stay there for, like, three months or more, but winter, I definitely want to stay a little bit longer. My grandparents really want me to stay longer, my parents, and me and my parents had a long discussion about JAN plan this year, because they told me, if there's any way if you can stay in Korea, they'll, you know, they will support, but I told them I couldn't get any internships, or I cannot take classes in different universities as a freshman, so I need, I, I'm coming back, so they were really sad about it, but for me, I feel like winter, all the time, I kind of wish I stayed a bit longer, because it's so short summer. The thing is, like, it really depends on the weather, because summer in Korea, it's, like, possibly the worst summer ever, like, the weather there, weather this year was crazy, because there's, like, do you know, monsoon, like a, it's like a weather pattern, like, it rains for, like, a one month straight, and it's just so humid, and so, just kind of not the best, and then during, and then after that, it gets really, really hot, so yeah, but yeah, I, I, I like to go back sometimes, like, weekends, I want to go back, but it's too expensive, first of all, and then for two days, it's not worth it, so, and then, yeah, yeah. Um, tell me about your family, how many siblings do you have, and, um, in your household, um, growing up, what was your family like, how'd you fit in? Um, I have two older brothers, and then I have a parent, both of them, they're living together, so yeah, but we, like, in Korea, I feel like one thing that's really different is, like, family is really important, you know, not a lot of people get divorced, basically, and then they try to keep their family as, as strong as possible, and then for us, same thing, my parents are really nice, and then my, uh, and then my brothers, both of them, when I was young, when all of us stayed together, when my brother, like, older brother didn't left school for the United States, I think that was, like, the most fun time of my life, basically, we just did everything together, we just, we'd watch TV shows, we ate all, like, it was like a typical, like, family, family, I feel like, good family. Um, you kind of already answered this, but if you have anything to add about your role in your household, um, specifically when all your brothers were there, you were the youngest sibling. I'm, like, a typical youngest one, I feel like, I, I piss them off, parents come, I cry, they're the one who's getting accused of, they, they get, they get, they get all the hard part, and they just take care of me, then I feel like my older brothers always tell me that dad loves me the best, and parents loves me the most, like, I could get, I was, when I was young, I could get away with a lot of stuff that I did wrong, I think, like, that's the main reason why I didn't really try in elementary school, and all my brothers did, and then, yeah, oh, definitely factor, yeah, and then my, even my brother thinks I'm, like, my first older brother, who's, like, six years older than me, thinks I'm, like, uh, his little kid, like, he doesn't even treat me like a, like, even if I do something crazy on him, he doesn't care, and he thinks just, like, a little cute brother, brother, and then, like, me and my second older brother fought a lot in high school, like, in middle school, I don't know, like, yeah, physically, I meant, like, I don't know, when he was just, he did all this stuff. Oh, um, at what time? Oh, okay. Um, we're in an interview, we have, like, 15, 20 minutes left. Let me go see if I can find another room. Okay, okay. Um, I talked to the person who manages, like, the technology, and she said there's no, like, reserving, and under my sheet is, like, someone reserved it for a different day, so I just figured, yeah, I'm not, like, cranky with you or anything. Okay, let me go see if I can find another room. Okay, if you don't see me again, okay, and you're good. Okay, cool, sorry, yeah, thank you. Um, yeah, that was, that was, yeah, I was a little kid, and I didn't really care what everything I would do, but I definitely learned a lot from my brothers, like, the thing about me is, like, I basically copied all the stuff they did and tried to do better, and then I, I, yeah, that's basically what I did. Okay, um, did you, did you grow up with any religious or, um, other organizational ties in your family? Oh, yeah, my grandparents, oh, yeah, my grandparents are Christians, my parents are Christians, and basically, my entire family's Christian, so every Sunday, we go to church all together, and then after that, we just grab a lunch, a quick lunch all together, so usually, my cousin, like, my entire family is really close, my, I'm really close with cousins, I, I feel like this, this week, this Thanksgiving, I'm going, going to New York to see my cousin, like, so basically, like, Christian, yeah, but back to the religious part, yep, I am Christian, I'll say, but I'm not, like, religious, religious, but my family's Christian, so I naturally became one, like, I believe in it, but in the United States, I just never went to church, but I still believe in it. Was church a very, like, social gathering for your family? Yeah. Like, you said extended family, we'd all go to see each other. Yeah. That was a big factor of it. Yeah, big factor, yeah, so my, my, yeah, we, when all of us are, came back from, like, summer, and then, basically, we all, we all see each other, and we just talk about everything, and then, yeah. So, I want to dig into a bit about your family's history. Why don't you start with what your parents' experience growing up in Korea was? You said your dad didn't really like the school system. No, just because, like, he, he basically, I told you about the exam, but he needed to repeat it once, because the day he got to take the exam, it was, like, snowing a lot, and he was, like, he was, like, a one-minute or two-minute close, like, to miss the test entirely, and that messed him around mentally a lot, so he couldn't do well on the test. So, after that, he did well, so he went to good college, but he told, like, they didn't, like, it was, like, actually, like, my parents didn't really hate it when they were there, but after they have a child, like, 20 years past, or, like, 10 years past, the system is, like, still the same, and they didn't really want to imagine kids going through that, so they just didn't really follow it and try to give us, like, the best opportunity, which is very nice. That's why I feel like we went, I went to, like, private school, and my brother, all my brother did, too, so, yeah. What was it like, I guess, socially for your parents, or, like, have they talked any stories about their childhood that, like, has affected you, or, like, any favorite stories about your parents growing up, or anything like that, that stand out to you? Um, yeah, uh, educational, or anything, life, life, uh, stand out to me, stories, uh, oh, yeah, my mom used to play cello, and she went to, she went to college for cello, too, she majored in, I don't know, something related to music, but she, it was a big thing for her, but she didn't really want to do it, but her mom forced her to, my, like, my grandparents sort of forced her to do it, so she didn't really like it, and she needed to do it, and then, basically, she told me a story, she sort of, like, sneaking out of the lesson when the teacher was in, like, uh, went to, like, bathroom, and then, having a break, she just sneaked out of the window, and went to go out, it was like, and I feel like that's the one reason why my parents didn't really want to push me, because, to do stuff, because they were being forced to when they were young, I feel like, so, yeah. Would you say they had it a lot harder, um, or a lot greater of an influence from their parents to do well in school than you had, maybe? Yeah, definitely, because, oh, my grandparents didn't went to university or college, so I feel like it was a bit complex, and then my grandparents, from my mom's dad's side, was a teacher, so my dad, and, oh, my, oh, my dad and uncle academically didn't do well, because sort of, like, my grandfather had a complex academically, and then, oh, so, my, my grandparents was teachers, so she knew how to teach kids, so, academically, they always need to be good, and then, yeah, they, I think my dad didn't really tell me, like, a specific story, I don't know why, but I heard, like, uh, he had a tutor all the time, he always needed to study, and then, kind of, yeah, academically, they were, like, really rigorously forced to study. Um, same question, but for your grandparents, um, are you close with them? Do you visit them when you, um, visit Korea, and what, do you have any stories from them growing up, or their childhood, or your, um, like, any stories with them from you growing up? I'm really close with them, I'm, like, I talk to them all the time, I, like, my grandpa FaceTimes me sometimes, in random, like, 3 a.m., and I need to answer, because of time difference, they just ran, and then, but the one good story is, like, uh, my grandparent, my grandparent thinks, like, I'm the most similar kid to him, like, he, like, he thinks, like, I'm exactly the same person as him, so he, like, he loves me a lot, and then, he always, like, likes to feed kids, like, he'll, every time I go back, I gain, like, a 5 pound all the time, they, they give me a crazy amount of food, and then, the funny thing is, though, my grandparent, if I don't eat, like, if I don't eat, like, as much as possible, he's kind of disappointed, and he just shows me that, I'm, like, uh, I'm, like, I'm so confused, like, are you, like, do I need to impress you, like, I'm not, like, a food fighter, but, like, they, they really want, I think it's because of, he went through, both of them went through a wall, like, Korean War, so, I feel like that's a big thing, getting family, that's one thing they really enjoy, I feel like, have, have they talked to you about their experience through the Korean War at all? All the time. Tell me about that. My, basically, my grandparents, my grandfather, my grandfather was living in North Korea, and moved out to China for, like, a, so, my grandfather was actually born in China because, because Japanese invasion, I think, then he moved back to North Korea after that, but right after that, there was a war, so, he needed, basically, he grabbed, like, a, no, he was doing little tedious work, he's, like, he's, my grandparents, like, parents told him to do stuff, like, grab a, like, a, grab, give him, like, a little snack to his uncle, and then, while he was doing that, he went to the, he, he was in a wrong boat, and he came down to North, South Korea by himself, and then, after that, he did all the stuff, like, he survived, like, everything by himself, so, he was, like, a war orphan, but he figured it out, and then, my grandmother, he, she didn't really have, like, a typical story, she didn't really tell me, but I feel like she, she lived in a place where we're living right now, when she was young, and then, her dad was, like, a police, and then, she, she went through the same thing, but all the stuff, yeah, and then, fun story, still, my grandmother, from my mom's side, when she was really young, all her, like, parents told her to bring, like, a gold and all the precious stuff, because it was current wall, so, they needed to move, but my grandmother didn't like it, so, she threw it away, all the gold and, like, diamonds and stuff, and she put her, her toys in it, so, like, she got really, like, scolded and all the stuff, when she was young, but still, yeah, all my, all my grandparents went through wall, and then, I feel like my grandfather, from my dad's side, had the craziest story, because he moved down to South Korea by himself, and then, he did all the stuff, so. How has learning about your family's, and maybe, especially, your grandfather's experience growing up in Korea, how has that shaped your experience, your childhood growing up in Korea, if, if at all? So, basically, how my grandfather's, sort of, story, or, like, how, how has your family's experience growing up affected your childhood, or, like, changed you as a person? How my family lived? Oh, I don't know, I feel like I've been predominantly, like, I'm, I feel like I'm living same lifestyle as them, like, I'm not trying to copy what, that's what I see and learn all my life, and then, I kind of, like, want to do that same thing, I feel like it's pretty good, and then, for me, like, if I could live like my dad, I'll do, definitely do that, just work, and then, being nice to, like, come back home, and then, have a family, and then, eat, like, dinner peacefully, nothing crazy, but I'll definitely want to live, like, same lifestyle. After, after Colby, what do you see as the future for you? Do you see yourself going back to Korea, staying in the U.S. for work, and also, if you want to get into what your siblings are doing? Depends. For me, I kind of want to stay here for two to three years, just working, because I don't know why, but I want to definitely experience it, you know, just working in the United States, and then, after that, I don't know, I kind of want to go to grad school or stuff like that, but after all those, I probably want to go back to South Korea, but I feel like, I don't know, I want to kind of leave lifestyle, but, like, come to Korea, and then, go to the United States, like, move around a little often, but, yeah, I feel like my home, I feel like, will be South Korea. I'll have, like, a house and home, but working, I feel like I don't know yet. Do your parents plan on always staying in Korea? Do they speak fluent English? My mom is learning. She was, like, after I went to college, she said, like, no one's in home, so I'm going to do stuff. 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