Breaking walls for other multicultural teens
Choi Nyeong-ju, 16, stands outside the main building at Buyeong Girls' High School, a boarding school in Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, Nov. 13. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Grand prize winner of The Korea Times' 7th Multicultural Youth Awards
By Lee Suh-yoon
Choi Nyeong-ju, 16, is an all-around A student at Buyeong Girls' High School in Yeosu, a small city on the southern tip of the Korean Peninsula.
Her strongest subjects are math and Korean. As her mother is from Japan, she also helps out in Japanese class by fluently reading out dialogue passages with the teacher.
Now a second-year student, she divides her time between studying and activities ranging from debates to badminton.
All the teachers The Korea Times met up with at Choi's campus Nov. 13 called her “a bright student” both in personality and academic achievement. Choi recently earned the highest midterm exam score in her entire grade.
Born on Jeju Island and raised in Yeosu since kindergarten, Choi speaks perfect Korean. Though her mother does not speak fluent Korean, she had three older siblings to practice her Korean with while growing up.
“Nyeong-ju breaks down the all the stereotypes that are sometimes associated with multicultural teenagers,” Yun Ki-ok, a teacher in charge of counseling for multiracial children at the school, said. “We're very proud of her and hope she can become a go-between agent who breaks down the boundary between multicultural students and other Korean children.”
In fact, Choi's dream is to become an elementary school teacher, a job that will likely bring her into contact with many multiracial children when considering the rapid demographic changes in Korea.
Choi, left, chats with her friends on her school's campus grounds. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
Every Saturday, Choi teaches Korean to young multiracial children through a volunteer program at the Yeosu Office of Education's Wee Center, which provided support to around 60 children born to immigrant mothers from China, Japan, Vietnam, Cambodia, the Philippines, Mongolia and Japan.
“I didn't know there were so many multicultural children until I started volunteering there,” Choi said in an on-campus interview with The Korea Times. “They're really not different from any other children, cute and full of mischief.”
Grasping the Korean language is the main source of problems for multiracial children, especially those who were first raised in another country.
“I think it would be better if there were more educational facilities for them to learn Korean,” she said after pausing for thought.
Kim Hye-ok, a program coordinator at the center, says Choi puts a lot of sincere effort into the classes.
“You can really tell she loves the children,” Kim said over the phone. “Naturally, the children are always waiting for her, sometimes saving up a piece of chocolate as a gift.”
Choi is also well-liked and respected among her peers.
“By just sitting next to Nyeong-ju, you get access to a continuous flow of knowledge,” Choi Yu-ri, a classmate, said. “She's also very calm and organized during debate sessions where she is the discussion leader, summarizing everything nicely at the end.”
Choi listens to a class in her front-row seat in the classroom. / Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk
“Plus she also shows non-academic and more human side of herself from time to time, like when she's watching webtoons in the dorm room at night or hanging out with her friends,” she added with a laugh.
Lee Su-yeon, another classmate, says Nyeon-ju works hard.
“During exam period, she studies out on the cold stairs to stop from falling asleep,” Lee said. “And I also respect her for being so good at math even when she doesn't attend hagwon after school.”
Choi also excels in Japanese language class, thanks to her mother's influence. She maintains her Japanese by watching Japanese films and animations with her mother. Last year she won the first place in the South Jeolla Province division of a national bilingual speech contest.
The only time when her multiracial background becomes uncomfortable is during history class, Choi says.
“Other students watch for my reaction in class whenever someone in class blurts out they don't like Japan,” Choi said with a shrug. “But they shouldn't worry about it because I also think what Japan did to Korea during the colonial period was wrong.”