Middle-age immigrated youths, made university career choices like this!

Hello, I am Rita. I came from Thailand to Korea when I was in the second grade of elementary school. I came to Korea because my parents were missionaries, and all five of my family came with me. I came here when I was young, so I don't remember much of what happened in Thailand.

Elementary school life - studying Korean

I came to Korea and attended Wonil Elementary School. I studied Korean separately in class at Wonil Elementary School. It was a bit difficult, but I think I managed to get through it anyway. I think I couldn't enjoy school life because I was learning Korean and adjusting. Even I didn’t know the kids well, so there was no one to play with.

From the 4th grade onwards, I got used to it a bit and made a lot of friends. When I was in middle school, to be honest, there were things I regret because I was so quiet. I don't have many memories of my school days. At that time, I had to adapt and I didn't know what to do. And if I wanted to adjust to Korea, I need to able to speak the language first, and then I can do or not whatever I want, so I think that’s why I learned Korean all the time.

Even when I was in middle school, spelling and pronunciation were a little difficult, but at that time, I was doing a play. I think my Korean has improved a lot as I read and memorized the script every day and improved my pronunciation and voice.

I had a hard time at that time. From home to school, I took the bus for 1 hour and 2 hours as a round trip to go to elementary school alone. There were no schools that accepted foreigners back then. It's a lot better now. At that time, there were no teachers to help foreigners. The homeroom teacher has to take care of all her classmates, so I don't think she had the time to take care of students from abroad.

Middle School Life - Making Friends

I learned more Korean through social life than by studying. I think I approached people first. When I was a kid, I looked like a complete foreigner, and I was teased a lot because I had short hair and dark skin. It was very difficult. I don't know what to say or how to say it in Korean, but I know I'm being bullied, and there's nothing I can do about it, so I just put up with it and continued to approach my friends first. I think the kids slowly approached me as if they were just friends. That's why I think I grew up early because of these things.

As I said before, I went to elementary school far away. Then, when I went to a middle school near my house, I didn't have any friends. ‘I thought I should study hard now, so I studied really hard until my second year quietly. I worked really hard on my notes to keep up with the class. Still, I couldn't keep up with my studies, so I gave up around the 3rd grade of middle school, thinking that I couldn't study, and that I had to go to high school for the arts and physical education.

My family was not in good shape to go to academy, and there was no place to help. I don't know what the exam will be, but it was easier because I could prepare for the performance evaluation. So, I prepared hard for the performance evaluation and raised my school credit a lot.

High School Life-Career Choice

Most of my Korean friends go to general high schools, but foreign friends cannot keep up with general high schools because it is difficult. The 1st, 8th and 9th periods are all general subjects, so it is difficult to follow along, there are so many subjects, it is difficult to take exams, and it is very difficult to manage your grades, so I recommend going to a specialized high school.

I study general subjects at specialized high schools, but because I only take a few specific subjects, it is easy to follow and I can manage myself well, so it is not bad when I go to college. I would like to recommend that you choose a major you are interested in from among the majors in specialized high schools.

However, going to a specialized high school is not easy. I need to have a certain score and body to go, but I was around 140 points. So, at first, I was going to the Fashion Design department at Design Culture High School, but I dropped out and went to Ansan Technical High School, my last hope.

This is my personal opinion. If I went to a regular high school, I don't think I would have had a chance to know what I like. Instead I would just have to keep studying. The specialized high school I attended had only four general subjects in the third year, including Korean, English, and Mathematics. And the rest were all major subjects.

I had a really good time in high school. It wasn't a big problem and it was just because it was my favorite major. As for my major, I enjoyed studying the subjects I chose, doing things like drawing and designing, and grading them based on that. It's my favorite major, so I had a lot of fun.

University life - constant worries

This continues into my college life. The good thing is that I designed it when I was in specialization. I learned in advance so I could do better even after I went to college. Here, because I've learned, I'm a little better than the other kids. It may be a little more convenient to choose a university because of the arts and sports. If it were nursing or electronics, I think we might not be able to keep up.

As an adult, I was worried about where to live. Now is the time to make a decision.

So, first of all, which country do I speak better? I'm thinking about whether I can really make a living when I go back to Thailand, or if I can really go back and do well with the job and major I have now.

Written by ‘Rita’ Ansan Global Youth Center Empathy Talk Show for Youth with immigrant Backgrounds