For these past two weeks, I focused on learning Korea’s government system through a drama series called Chief of Staff. Netflix is currently airing the drama’s second season as the first series received outstandingly positive reviews. I was one of the enthusiasts that loved the drama. I loved the drama because I can follow the plot very easily and I learn a lot. I learn difficult vocabulary words and the ways to apply them in day to day conversations.
The usage of hangul in the drama is more difficult than some of the words that I’ve studied in the past. This is because the story is told from a politically savvy Chief of Staff. The terms used in this drama relate to political policies and positions, different districts in Seoul, and socioeconomic class. I found myself reading the subtitles more when watching this drama compared to when I watched other Korean movies and drama. I had to pause the drama often to make sure that I understood the conversations. This is because I wanted to follow the plot as accurately as possible. I think that my ability to understand the vocabulary words will improve substantially with constant exposure to the material.
The week ending on November 16th was full of highlights. The University of Richmond celebrated Asia Week, in which students displayed and took pride in their Asian dances, calligraphy, food, music, and etc. One of the highlights of Asia Week was the Festival of Lights, where different student organizations allowed students to participate in different activities. I was very proud that the university was taking its initial steps to recognizing and highlighting some of its more diverse facets.
When I was at the Festival of Lights, I visited Korean American Student Association’s booth. At this booth, they played trivia games with students and gave them prizes if they answered a certain number of questions correctly. I answered three answers correctly and was given my favorite instant ramen brand as a prize. Besides the prize, I was very proud that the Korean American Student Association was partaking in this event because I was once the Vice President of the club. When I was Vice President, the club did not have the resources to spread Asian culture to the extent that the student organizations did this week. This even made me think about how far we’ve come as a student body and how there’s still more work to be done.
This event was also an opportunity for me to meet like-minded Koreans that could speak hangul proficiently. Although I tried my best to speak hangul, I still felt awkward because I haven’t held a conversation in the language for over a week. This reminded me to constantly practice conversation. I will continue to practice with my peers during lunch and with my family through the phone or instant messaging. I hope to produce authentic artifacts that shows a substantial amount of conversation.
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