I'm supposed to be happy, but I'm not

Sunjae Lee
51 Ohinerau St
Remuera
Auckland 1050
DOB: 29 April 1996
Email: sunjae429@gmail.com
Auckland Grammar School
5A

Being an immigrant from South Korea, now citizen of NZ, I believe interculturism is a significant factor that shaped me into who I currently am. There is a significant contrast in daily life in Korea and New Zealand, through which I learnt the important lesson of intercultural experience as one of the fundamental structures to build a healthy future life.

Life in Korea 8 years ago was simple; I would go to a fully Korean school, I would make friends with other Koreans, and this was almost as if we were unaware of the outside world. The only contact, if any, was by media, such as the news and documentaries. English back then was a minuscule part of life; it would only be taught in small after school classes, which even in those were limited. People would have just heard of the name of New Zealand, and when I would tell others of my departure, they would not understand where I would be going.

Life in New Zealand is completely different, if not reversed. School would be full of different sorts of people such as Europeans, Americans and Asians. My friends consist of many ethnicities; teachers also come down from different origins. We learn about other cultures not only from education but through the people who originate from those cultures, and in the same way I find myself telling others about Korean culture and society. I plan to do the same with the experience in Japan, in which I plan to teach the Japanese students about life in New Zealand, and when I return teach my friends about life in Japan. In school we learn the languages of many cultures, such as Spanish, French and Japanese, of which I have excelled in my Japanese studies by achieving 6 out of a possible 6 Excellences in my NCEA Level 1 Japanese last year. School also has cultural groups where people of the same culture gather together in activities such as the Korean Drum groups which again educate people from other societies the arts of Korea. I have joined the Anime Club, along with my great interest in Japanese Anime and Manga.

Japanese culture is one that I have not been able to meet any people belonging to it, and at the same time it has been one I have had great interest in since I was a child. I would also like to be part of school life in Japan, as I would be able to meet new friends that belong to a completely different society like that of Korea. I hope to achieve all this by being awarded the scholarship to Japan, and as I am aiming for study in a Japanese University, I will make the most of this scholarship and apply it to my future life.

GARUGAMESH! Sorry I just had to do that

Sunjae Lee
51 Ohinerau St
Remuera
Auckland 1050
DOB: 29 April 1996
Email: sunjae429@gmail.com
Auckland Grammar School
5A
Being an immigrant from South Korea, and now a citizen of New Zealand, I believe interculturalism is a significant factor of what shaped me into who I currently am. There is a significant contrast in daily life in Korea and New Zealand, through which I learnt the important lesson of intercultural experience as one of the fundamental structures to build a healthy future life.

Life in Korea eight years ago was simple; I would go to a fully Korean school, I would make friends with other Koreans, and it felt as if we were unaware of the outside world. The only contact, if any, was by media, such as by news or documentaries. English back then was a miniscule part of life; it would only be taught after school. When I told people about New Zealand, they usually did not understand what I was talking about.

Life in New Zealand is completely different. School would be full of different sorts of people such as Europeans, Americans, and Asians. My friends consist of many ethnicities, and my teachers also come down from different origins. We learn about other cultures not only through education, but through the people who originate from those cultures, and in the same way, I find myself telling others about Korean culture and society. I plan to do the same with my experience in Japan, in which I plan to teach the Japanese students about life in New Zealand, and teach my friends about life in Japan when I return. In school, we learn the languages of many cultures, such as Spanish, French and Japanese, of which I have excelled at by achieving 6 out of a possible 6 Excellences in my NCEA Level 1 Japanese course last year. School also has many cultural groups where people of the same culture gather together in activities, such as the Korean Drum groups which again educate people from other societies the arts of Korea. I have joined the school's Anime Club personally, due to my great interest in Japanese Anime and Manga.

Japanese culture is one that I have not been able to meet any people belonging to it, and at the same time it has been one I have had great interest in since I was a child. I would also like to be part of school life in Japan, as I would be able to meet new friends that belong to a completely different society like that of Korea. I hope to achieve all this by being awarded the scholarship to Japan, and as I am aiming for study in a Japanese University, I will make the most of this scholarship and apply it to my future life.