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[KF Mailbox]Greetings! My name is Caleb Kelso-Marsh

Greetings! My name is Caleb Kelso-Marsh, and I teach Korean culture asan associate lecturer at the University of Western Australia (UWA),where I am working on my doctoral thesis. In August 2019, I had theopportunity to study Korean language at Sogang University in Seoul ona KF scholarship. I have wonderful memories of my life in Seoul,particularly of various aspects of Korean culture. The most memorableexperience was my appearance on the television programYoun’s Stay in the Korean countryside at the end of last year.My thesis is on Korean cinema, so I was extremely happy to meet manyfamous actors and actresses while filming. I also learned aboutKorea’s cultural traditions, enjoyed delicious royal cuisine, andstayed in a hanok [traditional Korean house]. Despite theseasonal cold weather, I was able to have a good night’s sleep in thecozy and comfortable hanokroom heated by anondol system. To me, ondol is a truly remarkableinvention.

Appearing on a television program was fantastic, but it came withembarrassing moments, too. Even though I was working on a paper on themovie Parasite at the time, I failed to recognize ChoiWoo-shik, one of its stars, when I met him upon my arrival at therailway station. He and I talked for a while and I asked him what hedid for living. He asked me if I had ever seen Parasite and Isaid I had, of course. When he said he was in the movie, I wasshocked. My Korean friends still make a lot of jokes about this scene.Whenever they see me, they ask me if I have ever seenParasite.

Last but not least, it was truly important that I had the opportunityto learn the Korean language. Before coming to Korea, my Koreanproficiency was very poor, but it got much better as I lived in thecountry and used it all the time. For instance, when I ate atrestaurants I would talk in Korean with the people working there. Whenin a taxicab, I would strike up conversations with the drivers inKorean, too. Thanks to the KF, I was able to learn and practice myKorean language skills while living in Korea. No wonder I now have afairly good command of the Korean language, which I use for mydoctoral research and would like to teach in the future. The KFprogram was indeed an amazing experience for me.

School ofSocial Sciences/Korea Research Centre, University ofWestern Australia (UWA)CalebKelso-Marsh

KFKorean cultureYoun’s Stay