My experience in South Korea has been one of the most meaningful moments that I have had in college. I am eternally grateful to my parents for supporting me when I decided to apply for this program, and for helping me when I got accepted and realized that I was going to fulfill one of my lifelong goals of travelling and be able to experience living in Seoul. I also want to give my biggest thanks to my scholarship donor, because I genuinely do not believe I would have been able to go to South Korea without them. The scholarship helped me tremendously, and enabled me to have the wonderful experience I did. 

I have been wanting to visit South Korea for many years now, but I didn’t want to just take a vacation there. I wanted to actually experience living in Seoul, speaking in Korean, and getting the cultural immersion that you don’t get if you only go for a week or two. Of course, I wanted to do touristy things like go shopping in Seongsu or eating street food in Myeongdong, but there is so much more to a country than the popular activities you see people do on the internet. Every day I was exploring different parts of the city, trying new foods, and getting the experience that I wanted. Even though I was there for two months, it felt like time was flying by, so I cherished all of the moments that I could. When I see a video on the internet that simply has the jingle that played when the train was coming in the station, it makes me want to go back more than anything. 

There are a couple things that stick out to me the most when I reflect on my experience in Seoul. First was how easy it was to get around the city. There are metro stations everywhere, and I really miss the transportation system. I am from the suburbs, so at home everyone needs a car to be able to get around. I came to appreciate Pittsburgh’s bus system after moving there for college, but nothing can compare to the public transportation in Seoul. If it was too late for the trains to be running, taxis were very inexpensive compared to the United States. This is part of what made going to Seoul so enriching, I was easily able to go anywhere I wanted to. Second was the food. I tried so many delicious meals that I still dream of to this day, notably a kimchi fried rice dish from a small, family-owned restaurant that was a fifteen minute walk away from my hotel. All of the ingredients were so fresh and healthy, and it made me realize the amount of processed foods I eat at home. I have been doing better about that since coming back, because I felt so much healthier living in Seoul. 

I came into college with the intention of studying abroad in South Korea for a semester, but due to me transferring into Finance from the Dietrich School of Arts and Science, I didn’t think that would be possible. When I saw that Pitt offered an internship program in Seoul, I jumped on that opportunity immediately, and I am so glad that I did. I was extremely nervous to be in another country for two months by myself, but in doing so, it made me grow as a person. I am typically the type of person who always wants to do something, whether it be eating or shopping, with another person. However, this trip has made me a lot more independent and comfortable being alone. Being in a completely new city with a public transportation system I was not familiar with where the native language was not my own was intimidating at first. As time went on, though, I became more comfortable going to restaurants, exploring different neighborhoods, and going shopping by myself. These may seem like small things, but for me, they were a big part of me becoming more confident and independent. 

My internship has also helped me grow both academically and professionally. I was able to take what I have learned from my classes at Pitt and apply it to an actual company. I worked with sales data and made dashboards that the managers used to better understand and visualize the information that was across multiple different spreadsheets. I became more comfortable working with programs like Microsoft Excel and Tableau, and my internship made me gain a deeper understanding of those tools than what I have learned in my classes so far. This experience, I believe, has given me professional development that will become extremely valuable in my internships and jobs in the future. 

As I return to Pitt, I want to carry the lessons I learned in South Korea with me. I want to continue to take opportunities that push me outside of my comfort zone and challenge myself. I want to carry the work ethic I developed at my internship and apply that to my classes and coursework moving forward. South Korea gave me memories that I will carry with me for the rest of my life, but it also gave me skills and confidence that I plan to develop and build on for the rest of my career.