AnthroScope Korea

Over the years while attending boarding school, I’ve noticed some dissimilarities regarding the cultural baggage different students carry, depending on where they are from. As a Korean boarding student who grew up in South Korea until 7th grade, I’ve noticed the vast difference in academic pressure and expectations. In Korea, many of my friends felt lots of pressure on their shoulders to get good grades, straight As for every term, and experienced studying for tests for an endless amount of time. School, for my Korean friends, was all about achieving a high academic validation. And yes, I also noticed myself seeking academic validation with high grades until I flew overseas to study in the United States. 

Meeting friends from different parts of Europe, other areas of Asia, and the United States was a revelation regarding their cultural baggage. For instance, one of my friends from France once told me she came to a boarding school seeking personal development and a holistic education. Through classes like Humanities, she sought to grow as a person, not only by succeeding academically. A friend from Japan had a different cultural baggage, which appeared to me as a surprise because I assumed students from other Asian countries faced similar expectations relative to Korean students. She told me that her parents reminded her to achieve more extraordinary social etiquette before moving away from home. She was last told to “be polite to everyone.” I was very intrigued by how students from different origins hold differing values and expectations for themselves at boarding school. On the other hand, many of my friends who are from the United States wanted to succeed in leadership roles and extracurriculars by taking advantage of the vast availability of clubs and activities offered by our boarding school. They placed a higher premium on securing student leadership positions than on achieving high academic performance. 

Encountering boarding school students coming from different parts of the world exposes me to new values I’ve not considered prior to boarding school. Scholastic success used to be my main goal – what I must achieve while away from home. But now, by building new relationships with people from a variety of backgrounds, I’ve learned to value personal growth, better social etiquette, and gaining leadership experience. In turn, I’ve encouraged my peers and and those I’ve met to work diligently for academic achievement. Ultimately, boarding school became a gateway to staying open-minded and accepting new cultural perspectives. I’ve joined athletic teams, launched a dog-walking club, and applied to be a tour guide, all the while maintaining good social graces. With the privilege of sharing campus life with boarding school students hailing from around the globe, the most significant benefit was absorbing these new cultural values and growing stronger as an individual.