Difference Between Korea and America

Recently Weston-McEwen High School has added a new foreign-exchange student. Her name is Soyeong Lee and she is 16 years of age with a birth date of April 7th who came from Yongin, Korea which is an urban area and has a similar climate to Athena, Oregon. This decision was made because her school teacher and parents recommended Soyeong to expand her knowledge by experiencing the American culture.

The main reason for the decision was her ambition to learn the language while being here in which she studied for years in Korea; she said,” I struggled with the language at first, but now that I’m here it is a lot easier. ” Soyeong has made many friends while attending Weston-McEwen High School, and stated,” The students are very kind. ” One of Soyeong’s scariest or weirdest memories here was having a dream where American people she met here spoke Korean.

The Froese family chose Soyeong to be her hosts while she’s in America. There are many differences between the United States and Korea. Some of the biggest differences include: students in Korea attending school from eight in the morning to ten-o’clock at night, having almost no transportation except riding a lot of busses and taxis, teenagers not being able to drive until they are 20 years old, not being able to own a separate house (unless one is really wealthy) and living in apartments due to population.

Soyeong said that the schooling is very different and is taken more seriously. They also have to wear school uniforms and are not allowed to dye their hair or wear make-up. Being away from Korea may sound better to Americans, but Soyeong misses the food, family, and friends as she stated, “The food here is saltier and greasy”. Obviously this is a huge change for Soyeong, but she likes it here too. Most public schools in the United States allow students to wear make-up and dye their hair.

Koreans attend school seven more hours than Weston-McEwen High School and that is Soyeong’s favorite part about being here is having time to actually do activities. Soyeong’s main goal is to learn the full English language and make her understanding of the country better. Soyeong Lee will be attending Weston-McEwen High School until December of 2013 and plans on coming back as an adult to attend a private school in Los Angeles. We all hope your experience is great!