Hello!
Week 4 is wrapping up, so I’m about halfway through my internship now.
Here are some updates:
Last weekend, my friend and I went to an interactive tourist center called HiKR GROUND. It is free and an attraction that is meant to introduce tourists to fun aspects of Seoul with various photo-ops and colorful displays. There were photo booths, a karaoke room, subway car, a bus stop, DJ booth, among other sets that were very cool to explore! If you are ever in Seoul and want a free but fun activity, I recommend you check it out! This place was in my neighborhood, so then we walked to Namdaemun Market—a very large traditional market full of cheap finds and food—and then found ourselves in Myeongdong for some more delicious street food (of course) and more shopping. The next day, in an attempt to escape the hustle and bustle of Seoul city living, I went to Boramae Park which currently is operating the Seoul International Garden Show. It was very pretty and so much bigger than I expected, so I walked around and took in all the fresh air that I could!
During this week, my work schedule has been typical and I am still loving my hour and a half of lunch break time!
As I have established myself in my role as an intern at a Korean company, some personal soft skills have grown and developed. One of the strongest skills for me was my ability to provide clear communication between me and our clients. As I’ve mentioned before, I talk on the phone with Korean clients for my company’s English language study services, so my days are full of asking and answering questions, giving feedback, and getting to know everyone’s strong and weak points. I have experience in customer service, and have strong communication skills, but clarity is the most important thing for this type of task because I am speaking to people in their non-native language. I have also always been a little shy when it comes to speaking with people on the phone, so having my job be primarily centered around doing so has forced me out of my shell completely and makes for more effective and valuable calls. My active listening skills have improved tremendously for these calls and in the office—when on the phone with our clients, I have to make sure I can understand what they are saying at any English level, as well as make for a more interactive practice through mock interviews and situational discussions to prepare them for real, natural English use. Additionally, my supervisor speaks to me in Korean mostly, so I have become better at listening and understanding what he is asking of me or explaining to me during my time working at this company. Also, because I have different calls with different clients everyday, my time management and task prioritization skills have improved as well. The schedule changes everyday, so I have been able to be on top of different types of calls with different people for different industries. Additionally, when there is time in between them, I make sure to work on other tasks involving research for company partnerships, which has a very loose structure and doesn’t have a deadline.
As far as technical skills go, I have gotten very good at using Zoom software and Google Workspace. All of my company’s work is on Google Drive and Google Sheets, so I have gained more practice in navigating all that is involved. Particularly with Google Sheets, I input all of my partnership research into different spreadsheets, so I have acclimated to it very well at this point. With Zoom, I have gotten very good at hosting calls with our clients, as well as recording the audio of our English study services for marketing purposes. Another huge skill I have improved on significantly is my Korean language skills. I have been learning for around three years, but using it in my daily life, especially at work, is a true test of my knowledge. There are moments when I have trouble understanding, but I have noticed that it is getting easier to catch everything that my supervisor says to me and it proves to me that I am improving!
So, with all of my skills and the nature of my work, I am confident in my abilities to navigate cross-cultural situations with empathy, understanding, and positive communication. I talk with many Korean clients of various ages and backgrounds, so I have found that polite curiosity is not a bad thing on both sides. Having proper responses and explanations to inquiries about cultural differences is a key to cross-cultural understanding and mutual respect.
As always, I’m very happy to be here and excited for the weeks to come. Until next time!