TW: talk of forced prostitution and SA (comfort women)

When I first imagined my study abroad experience, all the way back in high school, South Korea was nowhere on my list of dream locations. However, after completing a semester in Seoul, Korea, I cannot picture having done my GLI Beyond the Classroom experience anywhere else. While spending my semester at Ewha Women’s University in the center of Seoul. I explored my GLI theme of Culture and Politics through the courses I was taking, adventures I was going on, and my Global Challenge. I wanted to dive into the historical lives of women and how those experiences have an effect on South Korean women and the culture there today. Korean history is…tragic, to say the least. This history is something that is often forgotten, especially in the US. However, when studying and living in Korea, I witnessed how it is still alive and honored.

One of the main reasons I chose to go to South Korea and focus on women’s experiences was my learning of “comfort women” the summer before. Women, and girls, were taken during the Japanese Colonial period from Korea as enslaved sex workers and many were not able to return home after the war. Those who did were forced to hide their trauma for decades afterwards. Nowadays though, comfort women and Japanese Imperialist rule are frequently talked about in academic, political, and personal life. The past is a living memory.  

Near my school was a statue in memory of comfort women which looked towards Ewha. I often would pause and look at the statue when I walked to the cafe or subway station. To me, she represented all of the women who dreamed of freedom and going to a school just like the one I was lucky enough to attend.

Ewha Women’s University is quite possibly the most beautiful campus in the world, not for any explicit reason, but because of how the campus and city makes you feel. There’s something magical about the subtleness of Korea that sucks you in and makes it feel like home. Yes, there’s K-Pop and huge billboards, and yes, subways do get so packed sometimes it feels as if all the air is gone, and yes, the humidity was a new form of torture for a MT girl like me. But, there’s another side to Seoul that I was able to explore during my time at Ewha. I fell in love with Korea through the food, the architecture, the flowers and the small moments. 

The most important takeaway from my time abroad was to appreciate the mundane. Which, I know, sounds so cheesy, but is crucial when you are immersed in a new place. Some of my favorite memories are sitting at a cafe on Tuesdays with my friends or taking a silly photobooth picture on the way home from dinner. Discovering the local spots in my neighborhood, like the park that overlooked Ewha and Sinchon, where I would go alone to read and journal, felt way more authentic than going to a tourist attraction. These moments are what made my time in Korea so much more, and not just a vacation. Korea taught me how to slow down, which is ironic for a place known for its fast paced lifestyle. This lesson was pivotal especially in this stage of life, and I’m so so so thankful for getting to experience Korea in a way that allowed me to learn about another place, but also about myself!