평범한 한국대학생 스웨덴으로 이주한 이유(Eng)
[Interview]Why Dohee moved to Sweden
*이 인터뷰는 영어로 진행되었습니다. 번역본은 추후 업로드 할 예정입니다.
*Written by Tinika
Since the fall of 2016, Korean student Kim Dohee has been doing her master’s degree in Tourism at Umeå University. I first met Dohee through a friend when we were all living in Korea. My friend told me that one of his good Korean friends was planning on going to Sweden the following year, and he suggested he would introduce us during a dinner. When I heard this I thought that his friend was most likely going to attend a university in the Stockholm area, as there are plenty more programs, people and, well, fun things the farther south you travel. Still, I thought it would be fun to meet her and answer some of the questions she might have so I agreed to come to the dinner. When we all shared food and drinks later that week Dohee told me that she got accepted to Umeå University and I was happy to learn that we could hang out in Umeå after I returned home from Korea.
Fast forward two years and here we are, talking to each other in the Lindell café on campus on a chilly october afternoon. After having gotten to know Dohee better for the past few months I have learned that she is passionate about making the world a better place. She often talks about how peace and acceptance stems from an understanding of other’s lives and minds. She does not praise money, but instead emphasizes that we need to find what makes us happy and live accordingly, while at the same time taking care of each other.
도희와 티니카Dohee discovered the world
Dohee grew up in the industrial city of Ulsan, at the south coast of Korea. In 2011 Dohee’s father passed away. For Dohee, the sadness was accompanied by the feeling of emptiness when she thought about the life her father had lived. Like most fathers in Korea, he had worked hard to support his family. He could not see his wife and children as much as he would have liked due to the long hours at the office. Thinking about how her father’s days all were a repetition of work and sleep, Dohee realised that this was not the kind of life she wanted to live. It may sound obvious, but the fact of the matter is that this is a very common situation for many Korean workers due to the fierce competition in society that greatly affects salaries and working conditions. “I wanted to escape from Korea”, Dohee tells me with a stern look. Perhaps looking for an alternative to the Korean lifestyle, or perhaps out of simple curiosity, Dohee took to travelling. She visited Vietnam alone, and then continued to Taiwan and finally Hong Kong. Coming back home to Korea again, Dohee felt like she needed to see more of the world and planned a month’s solo trip to Europe.
Dohee, the first time in Europe, 2012.“I had heard about couchsurfing, it’s a good way to see how the locals live, experience their culture and save money at the same time”, Dohee says and explains that she was surprised to see something she had never seen in Korea; the europeans did not live comparing themselves to everyone else. In Korea, Dohee clarifies, many people live in a way which they think is the right way to live based on what other’s (may) think - not based on what actually makes them happy. After her trip she knew she had to go back to Europe somehow. She needed to learn more about the different countries in Europe. Shortly after deciding this, she applied and got accepted to study in Lithuania as an exchange student for one semester the following spring.
Dohee with friends, Lithania, 2012Living in Lithuania meant Dohee got a chance to meet and befriend many international students. She describes her time as an exchange student as the point where she really got interested in multiculturalism. “We all live in this contemporary society but everyone has different thoughts and lives. I wanted to understand how and why people think and act the way they do”.
After Lithuania Dohee volunteered for cross cultural awareness program, finished her undergraduate degree and interned for a company. Her internship was not quite for her, although the company was doing good, Dohee could not feel herself contributing to society while being stuck at a desk answering calls all day. Again, her heart yearned for a new adventure. Many of Dohee’s friends and seniors encouraged her to move abroad. “They were all pretty critical of Korean society and I, too, was very skeptical of the consumerism and capitalism of Korea. While travelling and living abroad I had seen different lifestyles that I had never even thought of. It had showed me that there is more than one way to live your life, and I knew that I couldn’t live like most Koreans do”, she laughs but there is a seriousness behind the smile. Life is not just about working, eating and sleeping. There is more to it than that, and Dohee is convinced that she needs to do something meaningful with her time on the earth.
Sweden as a destiny for Dohee
Imagebank SwedenSweden, along with the other Nordic countries, has a reputation in Korea for being countries where the happiest people in the world live their lives in equality and peace. Dohee was curious about these welfare states and she made her mind up to visit Scandinavia as soon as she got the chance.
Her opportunity would come in the form of an acceptance to study a master's degree in Tourism at Umeå University. It had not been an easy road; application aside, she only had a couple of months to get a high score on an english proficiency test that the university requires. She shakes her head at the thought of those stressful months that can undoubtedly be described as an emotional rollercoaster. Her first scholarship application got rejected; the university had decided that the scholarship would go to another Korean student. However, thanks to a very helpful person at the International Office at Umeå University, Dohee got informed about another scholarship she was eligible to apply for. She knew it was very competitive, and she admits she applied to it with no actual hope of winning. Thankfully she shortly received an email declaring that she had been granted the money and opportunity to come to Sweden and study. “Maybe Sweden was my destiny”, she laughs.
Dohee got scholarship, in the end!The sun has already set as we are talking. This is normal for autumn in the north of Sweden, and both Dohee and I know that it is only going to get darker as winter comes. Dohee has spent a little over a year in Sweden, and during the changing of the seasons she has been actively meeting new people and sharing her Korean culture through various food events. She arranges casual international dinners with her friends (I have had so much delicious food at some of those dinners) she has taught friends how to make kimchi and she has arranged a kimbab workshop where anyone interested in Korean kimbab could learn how to make it by themselves using ingredients found in Sweden. If you are in Korea, culture can be experienced in countless ways depending on your interests; you can visit the old palaces in Seoul, go to art exhibitions or museums, try on the beautiful traditional clothing (hanbok) and take a stroll, listen to typical Korean music varying from ancient instrument to today’s enormous k-pop industry and, of course, you can try Korean food. But, we are in Sweden!
“I am a food lover. Personally I think it is the most efficient way to immerse yourself in a new culture. Food not only tastes great but while sharing a meal we grow closer as we share our stories and experiences”. Perhaps it is something many people do not consider often, but food is a message of love and caring, and it is something you can share no matter where you are in the world. “The way you pick out the ingredients, carefully prepare them and finally eat the food together with other people you are giving them more than simply a meal”, Dohee smiles.
Food, a bridge to connect different cultures
Shortly after arriving in Sweden she learned that in order to afford living, she would have to cook her own food. Swedish people eat out at restaurants sometimes, but normally people will cook their dinners and also prepare a lunch box to eat at university or at work. Dohee says she never really enjoyed cooking when she was living in Korea, but instead it was in Sweden she started to really look up recipes and cook Korean food by herself. Kimchi is one example of food that she tried making for the first time, this autumn. Kimchi is not something you can easily find at a store (at least not delicious kimchi…) so she had to make it herself. In fact, she invited her swedish friends and they all prepared the kimchi together. Just like with the Kimchi, she is always eager to share the food she cooks, and I think it is safe to say that many many people have fallen in love with Korean food thanks to Dohee.
One thing she realised since coming to Sweden, as well as during her travels, is that there seems to be a lack of knowledge about Korea amongst foreingers. Introducing kimbab often means having to clarify how it is not japanese sushi, but instead a completely different food from a different country. She hopes she can start to change the way people consider all of east asia as a homogenous culture, and show the special flavours and traditions there is to Korean cuisine. By allowing people to taste Korean food and maybe even teach them how to cook it, and learn its culture dissolved in food themselves, she wants to spread more knowledge about Korea in Sweden. She also hopes to learn more about other countries, especially, Sweden where she dreamed of utopia.
"I came to sweden expecting people to be living their lives completely happy and with no worries because of the well developed welfare system. However, having talked to people in Sweden and Denmark I came to realise that they did in fact worry. Money, career, housing, future - these seem to be universal worries for people no matter what country they are from. But the degree to which they worry is what is different”. Somehow in Sweden and Denmark the people have faith in their governments, and they believe that their tax money is being put to good use. She compares this to Korea where there are many privileged classes and people are fairly critical about how taxes are spent.
"I want to live longer in Sweden and learn more about Swedish society and its values such as equality, sustainability. Later on I want to bring back my knowledge to Korea and share it. I know Sweden is not perfect, but there is a lot that we can learn from the Swedish system. Even a tiny improvement of the Korean society would mean a lot. I do believe Korea has been changing in a right direction. I am hoping to see our country where everyone's life values."
Talking with Dohee I can’t help but to feel inspired. She walks down her own path because she has a passion, not because society forces her to. Making the world a better place may sound like an enormous task, but listening to Dohee I believe that it is possible. It could be anything from a simple gesture of inviting someone to share a dinner you prepared with love, to raise your voice in order to change society into one that is fair and humane.
"한국과 스웨덴을 잇는 다리가 되고 싶어요"
- 도희와 티니카
