I first started attending Korean school at the age of 9; I was a 3rd grader, who had forgotten all about the Korean language ever since I entered pre-school. Unlike most of the other kids in my class, I enjoyed Korean school; of course at that age, I didn’t think of it as something that would help me in the future, but more of a place where I could meet new people and have fun. For me, Korean spelling tests were nightmares because I always had trouble differentiating between certain vowels and deciding on where to space in the sentence; at least I didn’t have to write an essay in Korean! Not only, did I learn about the Korean language, but also about the Korean culture; we made kimchi for our grandparents, small rice cakes for Chuseok, and yeot, which is Korean taffy. The school provided taekwondo classes, where I was complimented for kicking higher and more powerful than a guy, and also traditional dance classes that involved wearing a Hanbok, a traditional Korean dress, and feathers. To me, this was my first exposure to the Korean culture and from then on, my interest in my culture grew stronger and stronger.
The first Korean song I ever listened to was Abracadabra by Brown Eyed Girls, and I became so mesmerized by this song, that I memorized this dance and put on a show with my friends for our families. This marked my official entrance into the Korean entertainment world. I became so immersed in Korea’s music, dramas, and variety shows, so much that I ended up laying off my school work to watch the new episode of Running Man or the latest episode of The Heirs. Entering into this new world made me realize that a lot of the Korean actors and idols were really handsome! But in all seriousness, I realized that I was slowly picking up Korean phrases as I watched Korean dramas (with English subtitles obviously), and I was so proud of myself that my parents actually understood me when I conversed with them in Korean.
I have never personally been to South Korea, so to be a Korean-American living in the United States means a lot to me. Being able to enjoy the food, the music, the dramas that people in Korea enjoy, is so beneficial and intriguing to me. Places like Palisades Park, and Fort Lee are my go to places whenever I want to eat Korean food and I don’t know how I would live without HMart, which is a Korean supermarket. The Korean culture had such a big impact on me that I remember the first Korean song I ever listened to, the first Korean drama I ever watched, the first Korean food I ever ate, and this impact was so significant that I reached a point where I stopped listening to American songs, I stopped watching American movies, I just stopped paying attention to the American entertainment world. Without notice, I started favoring spicy rice cakes over pizza, I preferred eating Korean cake instead of American cake (Trust me; there’s a difference), and don’t even start with the Korean snacks; Korean snacks are ten times better than American snacks, in my opinion. Being able to find little bits of the Korean culture in the United States amazes me because it just shows how the United States is truly a melting pot that combines all the cultures around the world into one big country. Most of my friends at school are Chinese or Caucasian; in total, there are about 4 Koreans at my school, so I expected not to be exposed to my culture as much as I am exposed to it at home or at church. Turns out, my one Chinese friend is a die-hard fan of EXO, a K-POP boy group, and my other Vietnamese friend has binge-watched Descendants of the Sun, a Korean drama, twice in one week. And when BTS, a K-POP boy group, flew to Hollywood to perform at the New York’s Rockin’ Eve event, my friends went crazy. I didn’t realize how much K-POP has diffused globally, until BTS won the Top Social Artist award at the Billboard Music Awards in 2017. At that moment, I felt an immense sensation of pride as the BTS music I listened to in my bed, was slowly taking over the charts in America. From that small country in the Korean peninsula, the Korean culture has influenced my lifestyle as well as many Korean-Americans, and non-Korean Americans.
Being exposed to the Korean culture, history, and its people, has prepared me to make important contributions to Korea, and to the global community. At my Korean-Catholic church, we are involved in something called the Giving Tree, in which this is set up by the church’s youth group, which I am a part of. Every year, about a month or two before Christmas, we would set up a big Christmas tree in the main chapel and hung a bunch of different tags with varying prices. Our goal was to raise enough money to fund preschool and kindergarten kids in North Korea by giving them school supplies, mittens and hats for the winter, and by building a school for them. Although I wasn’t directly involved with coordinating this event, but by donating money, I felt like I was making a difference in my global community.
The Korean culture and history has truly impacted my life as it changed my taste in food, music, and TV shows. I am proud to be a Korean-American and I’m glad that I was exposed to this wonderful culture of mine from an early age. If I had the opportunity to visit South Korea, I would take it and hop on the plane the next day. Going to South Korea has been a dream of mine, and having the chance to directly engage in the Korean culture while roaming the streets and visiting tourist attractions, in my opinion, would be so fascinating. In the future, I hope that one day I’ll be able to visit South Korea, but also make more important contributions to Korea and the global community.

<Victoria Choe／ 11th Grade Whippany Park HS Whippany, NJ>