Oxford Academy, a college preparatory public school located in the suburban neighborhood of Cypress, California, stands renowned for its highly competitive academic standards and environment; with an entrance-exam admissions process and rigorous honors-saturated curriculum, the school has continually boasted repeatedly high accolades in student test performance and educational standard, consistently ranking within the top high schools on both the state and nationwide level.

Simultaneously, within the academic environment of Oxford Academy lies a student culture and demographic dominated, not by Caucasians, but by predominantly Asian minorities. According to a recent statistic taken by NewsWeek, minority enrollment constituted 90 percent of the cumulative student body, with a 69 percent Asian student demographic; Korean students, in specificity, comprise 13 percent of that demographic.

The multifarious extracurricular opportunities and student culture at Oxford remain reflective of such a diverse demographic; culture clubs remain prevalent and well-supported, ranging from the Vietnamese Students’ Association, to the Black Students’ Association. But most intriguingly, there also exists a growing culture of enthusiasm and interest for Korean culture amongst the Oxford student body, visible in the predominance of students, mostly non-Korean, listening to Korean pop music during their lunch breaks, and discussing the latest episodes of their favorite Korean TV shows.

Oxford Academy’s rich diversity serves as a platform for this cultural exchange and interaction within the student body, demonstrated most clearly by the diffusion of Korean culture and voice. While the school’s expansive Korean language and culture classes have definitely played a large role in exposing students to Korean culture, many students confess to being influenced by their Korean classmates during their time on campus.

“At Oxford, considering the culture and demographic here, listening to K-pop enabled me to feel closer with my peers and helped me better appreciate the diversity at our school,” Jon Le, a current junior at Oxford Academy, says, “It’s helped me feel more empowered, as an Asian-American.”Korean pop culture, as such, has played a role in fostering solidarity and friendship amongst the diverse student community at Oxford; many non-Korean students, who share mutual interests in certain Korean pop songs and idols, often congregate and find respite from academic workloads in doing so.

“There’s definitely a general air of collaboration and camaraderie,” Dongjoon Lee, a current junior says, “At this school, where we have such diversity and solidarity, I really feel as though we as students are allowed to thrive.”


<Emily Kim, Oxford Academy 11th Grade>