Studying Abroad in Korea as a Chinese American Student

I grew up eating my mom’s dumplings in Connecticut. So why did Korea feel completely foreign and oddly familiar?

In the first week living in Korea, I found myself easily adapting to the social norms and environment, while my peers found many things to be a shock. Growing up Chinese American in the US, I was exposed to many Chinese social norms that were similar to Korean norms in some ways. Even the language was similar in some ways, and it was easier for me to pick up the basics.

However, the feeling of not being able to understand most of the native language scared me. My appearance was also misleading; many of my interactions started in Korean and ended in English. Especially when traveling alone, I would often be mistaken for a Korean, which made me feel like a fraud. There were countless times when I was in a group with my study-abroad friends (non-asian), and the worker would look towards me for help. It felt as if I was disappointing or letting the locals down – an odd feeling.

Studying abroad in Korea made me question my appearance and whether I even looked Chinese. When traveling with one of my Chinese friends, we walked into a pharmacy to buy Band-Aids. I entered first, and the worker spoke to me in English, asking what I was looking for. My friend followed behind, and the worker spoke to my friend in Chinese. This situation repeated itself whenever I was with this specific friend. When traveling solo, no worker had ever spoken Chinese to me right off the bat.

Overall, my experience in Korea has been positive. Immersing myself in a new culture by living in it is a new experience that I would definitely repeat. There are far more positive instances that overpower this odd feeling, but it may be relatable for many other Asian-American study abroad students.