What a Year in South Korea Taught Me About Culture Shock
In 2011, young, dumb, and excited about the world, I ran to South Korea to teach. I was full of curiosity and astonishingly determined to be away from home, in the furthest reaches of this planet. Korea was the bridge that served as my gateway into the invigorating unknown.
I went there mainly because it wanted me; at the time, I was ready to go anywhere. I had no predisposed yearning to live in South Korea. I had heard positive stories about the country and its culture and people from friends and relatives. But mainly, I went there because it was easy to get a job. And it was different from home.
My expectations went only a little further than that.
South Korea is where I first experienced culture shock.
Before Korea, my understanding and interpretation of culture shock were vague. I believed it resembled a feeling of homesickness, a short-lived initial overwhelming reaction that struck when one first interacted with a foreign place and culture. I thought it lasted a week, maybe two, and then naturally dissolved as one became more familiar with the new setting.
