KOREA FOUNDATION

KF Library Internship
Upon arriving, the school provided me with the on-campus accommodation I had requested, allowing me to look for more suitable housing under no rush. I am quickly learning that if you need something in the United States, you need to ask for it firmly and without hesitation, which requires a certain level of confidence.
I do cataloging work for Hamilton Library, the school’s main library, during the mornings, and manage the Center for Korean Studies’ archives during the afternoons. Although the two types of work may seem unrelated, they actually intersect quite often, which makes my job interesting and brought me into contact with a diverse range of people and viewpoints.
I spent a lot of my first month at the Center for Korean Studies. During the first two weeks, I organized the donated archives of Anges Rho Chun, who documented the lives of Koreans who immigrated to Hawaii during the 1900s, and spent the next two weeks arranging resources donated by Judy Avenzile, who was awarded the US Congressional Award for her dissertation on Korean dance. All relationships within the center are horizontal, and I appreciate the relaxed atmosphere that allows interns to perform their assigned duties and learn their respective trades without unnecessary interference.

• Center for Korean Studies at University of Hawaii at Manoa
• Jeong Hyo-jin

KF Korean Language Education Internship
The atmosphere in Europe was dismal after the November 2015 Paris attacks, and the streets of Rome were filled with armed police officers. However, the increased security made me feel a little safer. Spirits picked up as the New Year approached, but the city’s major tourist sites, theaters, and concert halls remained relatively subdued.
I currently teach 10 hours a week here: listening for thirdyear undergraduates, a comprehensive course for firstyear postgraduates, and advanced reading for second-year postgrads. Unlike other schools, the university has no midterm exam, and students are given only one test, which is administered after the semester’s courses are finished.
Apart from teaching, I also helped organize and prepare for a public diplomacy forum held under the theme, “The Influence of Korean Unification on Regional Balance and Global Security,” an event co-hosted by the Centre for International Studies (Ce.S.I) and the Korean Embassy in Rome and sponsored by the Sapienza University of Rome. I also helped produce the promotion catalog for the Korean Studies Department in the university’s Italian Institute of Oriental Studies, a very valuable experience.

• Sapienza University of Rome
• Kim Charm-yee