{"id":841,"date":"2023-12-08T12:03:20","date_gmt":"2023-12-08T17:03:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/voices\/?p=841"},"modified":"2023-12-13T15:41:44","modified_gmt":"2023-12-13T20:41:44","slug":"distance-and-connection-life-as-a-south-korean-college-student","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/web.colby.edu\/voices\/2023\/12\/08\/distance-and-connection-life-as-a-south-korean-college-student\/","title":{"rendered":"Distance and Connection: Life as A South Korean College Student"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"South<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Interviewee: Michael Chang<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interviewer: Maya Sachs<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This interview is with Michael Chang, a 25-year-old senior at Colby College born in Seoul, South Korea. In this interview, Michael discusses home and what it was like to grow up in Korea before living abroad for the majority of his life, including going to high school in Singapore and college in the United States. He discusses some of the struggles and highlights of adapting to new places (connecting with others via video games) and how he was able to find his own identity in the meantime. As a dual citizen of the US and South Korea, Michael was required to go back to Korea to serve in the army in order to maintain his citizenship there. He talks at length about his experience serving as a police assistant in the second-largest train station in Seoul including the rewarding aspects of the role and the more disheartening parts. This interview covers topics such as identity, play, Korean history and legacies of war\/division, the impact of military service on academic and social experiences at Colby and in Korea, and how family histories influence Michael into the present.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The interviewer was introduced to Michael through Jasper Loverude, another Colby College senior, after the two met at the beginning of their senior year. This interview was conducted in person at the Gordon Center for Creative & Performing Arts on October 23, 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This interview was conducted by Maya Sachs, a senior History major and Computer Science minor at Colby College, who is passionate about learning from others and piecing together histories outside of traditional textbook methods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n