Greetings,

 

My name is Yeonjae Kim, and I am currently attending an international school located in Jeju Island.

 

As a Korean person myself, I often palpably feel the lingering presence of monoculturalism in our society today.  At the same time, I attend an international school, where I have the chance to interact with people from all over the world. Because of my background, I was able to recognize the stark contrast between the two worlds I belong to from a fairly young age. The lessons I've learned at school–diversity, importance of inclusivity and coexistence, and respect for differences–are things I've often don't see in our society. Perhaps this is inevitable to an extent; although many immigrants and non-ethnic Koreans have entered Korean society in recent years, we still lack opportunities to interact with people from various cultures in real life. 

 

These observations have driven me to share some of the knowledge I have gained in a multicultural environment with the wider Korean society. In particular, I wanted to share my experience and knowledge with the younger generation so we can all grow up fostering diversity and respect in our communities. This is by all means not an easy task for a high school student. Nonetheless, I will continue to strive to achieve the goal and purpose of CADA in the years ahead.

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