Welcome to Daniel Yoon’s WordPress

Intercultural learning has enabled me to gain insight into how diverse cultures think and how to accept differences in culture. Furthermore, it made me think a lot about how culture can influence people in so many different ways. I enjoyed hearing from the people in my class who had so many different backgrounds, and I am grateful for the friends I made through this class. Moreover, I learned that the shape of their language can help under their culture as well. I was inspired to learn a new language and explore the world after taking this course. The idea of culture now for me is more of a lifestyle. It is part of how we live our lives every day and with each individual being unique in their own way. My perception changed a lot as I began to listen to more people and how different it can be, and I learned to accept the new culture and experience it with them which helped me change the way I think about new cultures. Among all the readings and discussions that we had, one of the things that stuck with me was when we discussed our backgrounds and made a circle. I was very impressed with the diverse backgrounds in class and the thinking process of my classmates. It made me think about being open-minded to different cultures and having a diverse mindset. My future/ongoing intercultural relations will be influenced by everything I learned in class. It taught me how to think in diverse ways and how to be open-minded about new cultures and perspectives. 

I am a Korean American who was born and raised in South Korea until the age of 13 before moving to the state of Washington. When I first moved to the United States, It was a surprise for me as a 7th grader who had never been to the country before. Despite the fact that I moved from a familiar home to a strange world, the first three months after I arrived was the one of the best times of my life. I enjoyed experiencing new things and talking to different people from new backgrounds. After living in Seattle for several years, the time came to choose where I wanted to go for college. I had to decide whether to stay closer to Seattle, or to go far away again and explore the new world. I decided to go to school on the east coast where I never thought I would live and I have learned so much ever since I came to Wesleyan. One thing I have learned is that people think differently here compared to people in both South Korea and Seattle. The purpose of their life is different and how they communicate with each other is different as well. It’s so interesting to see wherever I go to different regions in this world, people are different and I become a more open person to learn more about their culture and become an open minded person. 

Having the opportunity to present on a subject that has interested me for awhile was a real pleasure. The presentation was made by our group about the differences between U.S. healthcare and European health care. My research about the topic led me to discover many things that stood out to me, and there were also many things that I learned during my research. For example, I did not know millions of Americans are uninsured and cannot afford treatment for their health problems. In class, I presented the future of the issue of U.S. and Europe. There were some issues that I knew from previous experience, but there were others that were new to me. As an example, rising health care costs were already known to me, but I didn’t realize so many infectious diseases were reemerging. Additionally, I was aware that there are always new technologies and new healthcare plans coming out, but I did not know much about them, and this presentation was a great opportunity for me to learn more. In terms of health care, the U.S. and Europe have some significant differences, but the overall trend for the future trend was very similar. 

It was exciting to learn more about study abroad in the class, and It was exciting learn more about the study abroad. We discussed the pros and cons of studying abroad and how this experience can benefit students. We also discussed the brochure and how it can mislead potential students about the study abroad. Despite the brochure’s fancy pictures, people need to understand that the place where they go study abroad is not a paradise. While there are a lot of good place, the place still would have a lot of cons, and students have to work hard to get a good grade. There may be many things to do and many places to visit in the brochure, but there may also be a problem such as pandemic and the bad weather. The study abroad experience, however, is an experience that not that many people get to have. You will be able to experience the new culture and learn new things from it.

I’d like to share my thoughts on English language education for second language learners. English can be taught in many different ways, but I believe that naturally exposing people to the language is the most effective way. Teachers can force learners to do grammar books and they can make them read books, but I think it is very important for them to create a surrounding where learners are naturally surrounded by the language. If the learner is exposed to American TV shows in daily life or hears English spoken by parents, the learner will think of the language as a tool rather than a subject. 

Our class was lucky to have Professor Hepford as a visiting professor. It was enlightening to see her perspective from a professor who usually teaches English as a second language at Wesleyan. The professor provided us with numerous examples of how people who speak more than one language are in a better position as far as understanding multiculturalism than people who only speak one language. It was also eye-opening to see how the brain judges and stereotypes based on the accent they use. Those with accents are subjected to a lot of disadvantages simply because of their accents. I also learned how the brain grows as a new language is learned as well as the importance of learning another language. By the age of 10 the brain usually develops the ability to learn a new language. Before the brain is fully developed, it’s crucial to begin learning language at an early age.

I had a blast having a cultural interview with Omar. As a Korean American, Omar wanted to know more about my background as well as what shaped me as a person. Among the questions he asked was, “Do you consider Seattle more of a home or Seoul? This question made me take some time to think about myself. I couldn’t decide where I should call home. While I’ve lived in Korea for a longer period of time, I feel more comfortable in Seattle as I’ve lived there more recently. He thought it was very interesting that I lived in two countries as it’s a rare experience to live in two places. Additionally, he asked me how I feel about living in my third home in Connecticut. In response to their questions, I told them that it had been an interesting journey getting used to the new place and culture, but it was also a great opportunity for me to learn something new.

The life story of Demetrius that he told our class was very inspiring, and I think he was also very surprised to hear our stories. In the circle, we discussed our stories as well as our different struggles. Micro-racism was mentioned by some people and difficulties they encountered when they moved to a new country were also mentioned. We also talked about the importance of multicultural and intercultural education. You will understand how small the world you were living in and how much you can learn from people from different backgrounds when you experience new cultures and talk to people from different backgrounds. For example, when I lived in Korea I enjoyed watching news and reading newspapers, so I thought I was knowledgeable about a lot of cultures and things from around the world. However, when I moved to Seattle, I realized how little I knew about the world, and it was very eye opening to see how different people live in different cultures. Moreover, I have learned that the east coast and the west coast are very different, even though they are both parts of the same country. Demetrius’ speech once reminded me of the importance of intercultural education by connecting it to my own story.

Hearing about cultural dimensions and reading about how culture shapes people and how they think was very interesting. My fellow classmates and I were fortunate to have the opportunity to discuss cultural dimensions since having people from around the globe together is not something that happens often. The consensus among classmates is that culture will affect how people think, and how people think will influence culture. There is an inverse relationship. In the conversation, it was interesting to see that developed countries such as Western Europe or North America seem to have higher independence rates compared to developing countries. Since developing countries are constantly changing and tend to change as a group, they tend to have more collective power than developed countries. In contrast, developed countries tend to be more independent. During the discussion I also realized that the culture is continuously evolving. Korea’s culture has changed dramatically in the past 30 years, and people today think very differently than they did 30 years ago. You can apply this to food, clothes, homes, and even the way people speak.

It was an eye-opening experience to attend the Egyptian event. I realized that even if you find that offensive, it could be offensive to other people for cultural reasons. According to one of my Egyptian classmates, it feels offensive when people assume the pyramids and sphinx are just landmarks, when for them they are history and religion. It was also eye-opening to discover that culture is so much more than I thought. Culture can alter a person’s lifestyle and change the shape of who they are. One other thing I realized is that people with more experience of multiculturalism have more open minded personalities. I was surprised to realize how many people are willing to listen and understand the culture and my story.