AnthroScope Korea

The preferred language of Korean boarding and international school students differ. I have noticed the difference after having attended an international school in Korea as well as a boarding school in America. 

When I attended an international school in Korea, I spoke Korean most of the time. All my friends did too. I was surrounded by Koreans wherever I went, didn’t have as many peers from countries other than Korea, and wasn’t exposed to American culture. Since I was surrounded by many Korean friends also attending international school or attending mainstream Korean school who tended to speak Korean, I instinctively spoke Korean outside of the classroom. Of course, when speaking with my teachers, I spoke English, but at other times, I hardly spoke it. I never gave any thought to speaking in English throughout the day. 

When I began attending a boarding school in America, I realized how much my linguistic choices had changed. Meeting friends, classmates, and dormmates from all over the world who were English speakers, I automatically became accustomed to this new preference in my linguistic choice. I noticed this when I was typing “ofc” instead of “of course,” “omw” instead of “on my way,” “imma” instead of “I’m going to,” and other abbreviations when I communicated with my friends throughout the day. I even began using American slang without realizing it and also began dreaming in English. My language preference had converted to a more “Americanized” style and I began preferring to speak in English even when hanging out with my Korean friends back at home. 

Several Korean boarding school students I’ve met in America also went through the same experience. The more they surrounded themselves with English-speaking friends, the more comfortable they became with English compared to Korean. Like these friends, I sometimes couldn’t remember Korean slang off the top of my head, even those I used to use when I previously attended an international school in Korea. 

Expressing my thoughts and opinions in English with my international school friends when I met them in Korea was significantly easier than in doing so in Korean. I wasn’t the only one taking note of this massive change. My friends pointed this out, too. With my growing preference for speaking English, even when I am in Korea, I began to sense a cultural shift inside of me. Before, it was a foregone conclusion that I felt more at home in Korea. But now, I am not sure. There is a side of me that is growing more and more comfortable in America, leading me to sense a a strong correlation between language preference and cultural preference. 

Many Korean boarding school students, including myself, have gone through changes in language preferences. As they speak English more frequently and fluently, they tend to feel more comfortable living in America. Once they fly back home to Korea, they feel distant when they hear Korean being spoken back and forth. Sometimes, I feel relieved and understood when I encounter other Korean boarding school kids speaking English in Korea. The cultural comfort level when I’m in Korea compared to America is very low now that my English is relatively better than my Korean. 

My outlook on my cultural ties with Korea versus the United States has evolved. Although I attended an international school in Korea, I was not immersed in American culture. Now, as a boarding school student immersed in American culture throughout my academic year, I feel closer to American culture than to Korean culture because of my linguistic exposure that has a lot to do with being surrounded by non-Koreans day in and day out. Being surrounded by the language that students prefer to use provides them with a sense of comfort. In my case, I have comes to grips with the understanding that I feel more at home in America than I do in Korea.