Educational Exodus: Stories of Korean Youth in the U.S.
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Literature Review
2.1. English fever in Korea and ESA
2.2. Understanding Immigrant Youth
3. Methodology
Unlike a chronology, which also reports events over time, a narrative communicates the narrator’s point of view, including why the narrative is worth telling in the first place. Thus, in addition to describing what happened, narratives also express emotions, thoughts, and interpretations.(p. 656)
Unlike a chronology, which also reports events over time, a narrative communicates the narrator’s point of view, including why the narrative is worth telling in the first place. Thus, in addition to describing what happened, narratives also express emotions, thoughts, and interpretations.(p. 656)
4. Findings
4.1. Reasons to Decide ESA
4.1.1. Parents’ Decision
4.1.2. Following Siblings
“Due to my brother… My brother was facing difficulties in living with guardian family at that time. When he came back to Korea during the first summer vacation, my parents realized that issue, and my mother decided to come with him to the U.S. At that time, my mother asked me if I want to go to America to study living with my brother. I said “Yes.””
“My sister came first, then I decided to come along, my mom asked me, I said yes, this was a kind of my decision, but I had to do any way…My sister comes to this university, not the reason of learning English because I originally go to (an)international school in Korea.”
4.1.3. Pursuing the Privilege of U.S. Citizenship
“There are many differences between Korea and America. In Korea, there are a lot of homework from school and private institutes. I have some reasons why I want to give up Korean citizenship to keep the US one. In Korea, everybody goes to private institutes and has to study very hard. But here in the US I don’t need to do much homework and go to private institutes. In Korea, it takes a lot of time to go to some places due to the ongoing traffic jams. Here it doesn’t take much time to move around by car.”
“It’s very difficult to earn American citizenship. Somebody said that it took more than 10 years. And if I give up Korean citizenship, I don’t need to go to Korean Army. But, I can apply for Korean citizenship if I want later. It’s not so difficult to earn it again. I like here and this town and living in America.”
4.2. Struggles in the U.S.
4.2.1. Academic (Dis)oriented Mind
“I think it’s a good choice because I like America. In America, I don’t need to take college entrance exam. In Korea, I heard that high school students slept only two hours a day and have to attend private academy. And it’s hard to go to a good university.”
“…they keep the fire alive, nagging every day in phone, maybe advice. They remind me of how important it (studying) is…”
“If ordinary American people got 28 in ACT, they think that it is a very good score, but my parents said that because I am very bright, I can get perfect score, and 28 is not good for me.”
Interviewer: What do you think “successful life” means?Mary: Successful life means making much money.Interviewer: Where did you get the idea?Mary: From the world.
4.2.2. Conflict with Parents
“He told me “You have lived too long in the US” But I don’t know and I don’t care if I’m Korea or American. When my parents brought me here, I didn’t have any idea what was going on. However, now it is different. I have lived here for eight years. I go to school here and I have my friends here. My life is here. I hate to go back to Korea.”
4.2.3. Hardship to Adjust to the U.S.
“There were students who teased me. I felt annoyed especially when I didn’t feel good… When I didn’t understand what they said, I asked them to say it again. But, they said something weird and went away. They would not say it again. Mostly, they just ignored what I said and went away.”
“In order to learn English fast, I am not talking with Koreans, but talking with Americans. It helps develop my English. Learning English makes me easy to communicate with other people…”
“The book was not always difficult to read. It is boring. It took a lot of time to read a novel....I read two sentences and then listened to songs to take some rest.”
4.3. Refuge
4.3.1. Other Korean Friends
4.3.2. Online Games
“It’s hard to change my lifestyle. There is nothing to do at home but playing Internet games. At the previous guardian’s home, there were two young boys, and I would play outside with them. However, here, everybody is female. I don’t want to come out of this room. Internet game is my only pleasure.”
“No, I don’t want to go back to Korea because I’m a (American) citizen. So, I have to be here. My elder sister told me not to give up the citizenship, never ever.”
4.3.3. Avoidance
5. Discussion and Conclusions
Acknowledgments
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
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Choi, H.Y.; Kim, E. Educational Exodus: Stories of Korean Youth in the U.S. Soc. Sci. 2017, 6, 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6040116
Choi HY, Kim E. Educational Exodus: Stories of Korean Youth in the U.S. Social Sciences. 2017; 6(4):116. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6040116
Chicago/Turabian StyleChoi, Hee Young, and Eunhyun Kim. 2017. "Educational Exodus: Stories of Korean Youth in the U.S." Social Sciences 6, no. 4: 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6040116
APA StyleChoi, H. Y., & Kim, E. (2017). Educational Exodus: Stories of Korean Youth in the U.S. Social Sciences, 6(4), 116. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci6040116