Engendered from the recent expansion of Korean grounding and convention, Korean classes are now available in the preponderance of educational districts. Since scholars are granted these right set of circumstances, these opportunities may be utilized for their imminent future. Scholars may specifically employ the korean language for their proposed career, however, my motive to learn Korean is my grandmother. Although being polyglottic is beneficial in societal circumstances, my pivotal motive is to share memorable stories and conversations with my grandmother..

My grandmother was born in the Kyung-gi Province, South Korea. Despite the progressive and innovative country that South Korea is, South Korea was formerly a country of destitution and impoverishment. Struggling to survive under these dire circumstances, my grandmother persisted through a number of life altering experiences. These experiences of adversity gave birth to a myriad of stories. When my grandmother came to The States, her English conversational skills were completely incomprehensible. Since my grandmother did not have the learning capacity to comprehend English, my desire to learn Korean grew tremendously. I took a Korean class because I wanted to understand my grandmother, and listen to her untold experiences.

Although I am a Korean American, I still have a considerable amount to learn about South Korea. Since the perspective of life between the US and South Korea are notably divergent, my grandmother and I are incompatible regarding prospects of life. I am continuing to learn about South Korea, aspiring to listen to my grandmother’s stories in her shoes. I want to spend and cherish as much time as I can with my grandmother, sharing conversations and stories through the language of Korean. This is only remotely possible until I understand the majority of the South Korean tradition, and recognize the differences between our cultures.

The hardships that my grandmother has persevered through, are too memorable to be forgotten. In the future, these stories should be passed down for generations and generations. Korean is an imperative language that I would require my kids to learn. In order for this to happen, I would need to be an exemplary figure in their lives. My contribution in the future would be greatly influential to my adolescents. As a result of the recent expansion of Korea, Koreans are continuously getting americanized day by day. Although individuals may not perceive that as a deplorable thing, I believe that our family should continue to pass down the traditional traits that our previous ancestors have left behind. This is why Korean would be an essential factor in the upcoming future.

I have so much to learn. I’m so thankful my grandmother is still healthy. I pray that she lives so long enough to hear so much about me. I hope to keep having an interesting conversation with her in Korean. I’ll talk to my children about it after my grandmother dies in the distant future. I hope the talk with her will continue for generations to come. So I will learn Korean well.

<Tim Lee North Hollywood High School 9th Grade>