Telesis Preparatory Academy

Hyojeong Kim

Telesis Preparatory Academy would like to welcome Hyojeong, our first foreign exchange student from South Korea. Hyojeong (pronounced Ho-chjung) is in traditional 11th grade and is a delight to talk to; she’s a real “people person.” Hyojeong has made a smooth transition to live with her host family, Mr. and Mrs. Bill Cox, but, of course, she misses her real family she left behind for this school year in Suwon, South Korea, which is southeast of Seoul. Her mom and dad and younger sister have supported her in her goal to come to America to be a student here for a year.

Before being assigned to Telesis, Hyojeong spent several months in North Carolina participating in a language camp and other preparations for her stay. In her hometown of Suwon, her parents own and operate a Chinese Restaurant which offers both Korean and Chinese dishes. Besides missing her family, she misses her best friend and her two little dogs which she refers to as her “little lions”. Hyojeong’s dad worked as an engineer when the family lived in Seoul and her mom was a stay-at-home mom. Now in Suwon they both work hard in their restaurant and care for Hyojeong’s younger sister.

Hyojeong’s birthday is December 7th, 1992 which makes her 15 here in America, but as Hyojeong explained in Korea she is actually 17 years old. This is because in Korea the nine months before you are born are counted in your age and your birth is always celebrated on January 1, New Year’s Day.  Hyojeong spoke of the many differences in her school in Korea where the teachers, not the students, move from class to class. Students arrive at school each day at 7:30 A.M. The first of eight classes begin at 8:20 A.M. and the school day concludes at 10:00 P.M. with students having their lunch and dinner at school. This is very different from our comparable short school days here in the USA. After dinner, students engage in study hall activities to complete their homework for the next day which comes early at 7:30 the next morning.

Hyojeong has many pastimes, most of which are related to people as she loves to make friends and be with others. Among her favorite things to do are watch movies, play games, and watch car racing. She likes good fashion for teens, but does not like trendy fashion such as baggy pants that expose underwear. She thinks that is disgusting! Hyojeong thinks that America is interesting. She finds the people here to be both kind and friendly. Welcome to Telesis, Hyojeong! We are so glad to have you at our school this year and look forward to sharing our cultures with each other, building a bridge between your country and ours.

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