The South Korean exchange students presented to Korean foreign language classes during their visit. Photo by Veritas News reporters.
On Sept. 26, South Korean exchange students visited Cardozo to speak with students in their Korean foreign language classrooms. This visit marked a new chapter for Cardozo’s World Language Department, in hopes to continue to bring in more exchange students in years to come.
During the students’ visit, many of them presented slideshow presentations to Cardozo students, sharing what their own educational environment is like back in South Korea. Many of the students were also admiring the diversity of Queens and the new environment around them.
Kim Taeyang, 17, shared that this was the first time he had ever been to the U.S., arriving in New Jersey just the day before. Taeyang reflected that schools in South Korea are much different than the school environment he was seeing here at Cardozo.
Students pose with Assistant Principal Ms. Jaramillo and teacher Mr. Kim. Photo via Ms. Jaramillo.
Although South Korea’s academics are ranked highly, Taeyang shared that in South Korea, he believes that they have “less work” than we do here in the U.S. In addition, Taeyang explained that students are expected to self-study and practice for exams on their own. This differs from school here, where Cardozo offers college-level courses such as St. John’s classes, Queensborough Community College courses, and AP programs.
Taeyang’s classmate pointed out that in the U.S., “Students speak more in front of other students. I like their confidence about speech.” Many students in South Korea do not speak up in front of their peers as often. “In South Korea, there’s no freedom of speech or freedom for students to speak more,” they added.
Taeyang shared, “Many Koreans, I think they are introverts.” South Korean society places a high value on modesty, which could be one of the reasons that social anxiety could be present in front of the classroom environment.
The diversity and culture of Queens was something that also stood out to the South Korean students. “I feel more about cultural diversity because I became more accepting about cultural diversity,” a Korean exchange student shared. In South Korea, many experience monocultural style, where many students dress the same and also come from the same background and cultural upbringing.
Coming to Queens was a chance to step outside of this experience. “I feel like I’m alive here because of the diversity,” the student added. This puts into perspective how diversity can change one’s views on the world, because it adds new colors or sounds to audiences who would have otherwise never had the chance to see or learn.
One thing that South Korean students are interested in has to do with American music. Many Korean artists draw inspiration today from American hip-hop culture and the diverse backgrounds and beats. Taeyang was inspired and listens to music by Steve Lacy, Malcolm Todd, Tyler the Creator and Odd Future, sharing that “She” by Tyler the Creator was one of his favorite songs.
“I like the raw style,” Taeyang said.
The music admiration works both ways, however, as K-Pop and Korean music are becoming integrated into American culture, as well. With K-Pop artists hitting the top of some of the music charts, such as the song “APT” by Rose and Bruno Mars, Americans are also able to be inspired by South Korean culture and style.
The visit was an overall success, with Cardozo students getting to see education from another perspective, as well as the South Korean students getting to see how schools in the U.S. are organized. In the future, we look forward to seeing more international exchanges in our school community.