Post articles for GC Program, Kyung Hee 2011

Department of Psychology

              Joining this GC program has been an eye opener for me. I have meet many new friends from different countries like Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, Japan, Indonesia and also not forgetting the Koreans. Most of us use English to communicate and it is obvious that people from different country have their own English accent. It is obvious that Malaysian language usually stands out because of our bad habits of saying the word ‘la’, ‘ar’ and ‘ma’ at almost every sentence we said. Many people find it interesting and even asked us what a ‘la’ is? I know that this might be a bad way to represent Malaysia but this is just what we are and it’s also part of the Malaysian culture.  Although there is a language barrier (between the foreigners and the Koreans), everybody try their very best to communicating by using body language and sign language. Even though the Koreans can’t really speak English and we Malaysian can’t really speak Korean we are still able to communicate well and have fun as well. After joining this program, I can say that I am proud to be a Malaysian because of our multicultural society that enables us to be able to converse in multiple languages like Malay, English and Chinese Dialects. People from different countries were surprised that we are able to speak so fluently in multiple languages. 

            GC program has also made me realize that the world is very big and that made me humble as Malaysia is such a small country and there are many things that can be future improve in terms of courtesy, safety, technology and convenience. Moreover, I found that many people do not really know about Malaysia and this GC program has enabled us as Malaysian to tell them more about Malaysia and the lifestyle here. Many of them also promise that they would come experience Malaysia after listening to what we have to say. One thing I that I am really impressed is the respect people in Korea give to the elders and also people who are slightly older than them. I believe that this is something that we should learn from the Koreans as now; many people already forgot what respect really is.

            In one of the special lecture on Communication across countries in the GC program, highlights the earthquake in Japan and there was a Japanese girl who was touched because many people are so concern about them and she was also sorry she could not be there for her country when it happen. Seeing her being hug and given encouragement made me realize that no matter what race you are, in heart we are all the same and stereotypes certainly does not exist. After staying here for a month in Korea, I have truly experience the life of a university student. Living in this wonderful campus has made me learn to be independent, juggling in between study, housework and not forgetting to have fun too. This program has also given me a chance to challenge myself in terms of studying communicating; independence and I see myself grow up a whole lot after this program. I Love this Program!