Diversity Statement

For five months, I had the honor of teaching North Korean refugee students. Although grouped together as those from the “North”, they were all very different. Some had arrived just a few months earlier, while others had escaped ten years ago. Some came directly from North Korea while others had lived in China, a popular “layover” nation for many North Koreans.

Despite their differences, they shared one common denominator: they were struggling, even those who had been in the South for some time, due to the drastically different education systems.

So, I started by becoming their friend because, to really help them, I needed to know them well and hear their stories. To me, I wasn’t there just to teach English and Math. Instead, students came to me for everything, from life and personal goals to dreams and the issues they faced, so I became a mentor as well.

I also met with their parents and realized that their struggles weren’t limited to school life. Instead, their families were also struggling to fit in.

Thus, I really wanted to help them in any way possible, and for me, this meant helping them academically. Along the way, I realized that they all want a better life. Although many didn’t show it (they were in puberty, a phase when they act cool), they wanted to make something of their lives and succeed academically, as they saw their parents work hard in their 3D jobs (most, if not all, were financially challenged)

So, the first step I took was to shove aside textbooks (that are too standardized) and universal teaching methods. Instead, I developed customized ones for each student. And rather than simply moving on chapter by chapter, I focused on their interests as well as what they found difficult.

Over time, I saw them improve and transform.

In many ways, I was able to work with diversity because I had already been exposed to such diversity before. Recently, I got together with a former comrade from the military. A former medic, he is now a contributing member of society, working as a nurse.

What brought us closer was when he came out to me as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. When he did, I was most grateful for his trust in me, as coming out in the military is still not easy.

Thus, we became close friends and spent hours talking. The more we talked, the more I realized that we were concerned about the same issues: career, relationships, and our loved ones.

Of course, there were differences. For example, he did not have the right to get married (still in Korea, gay marriage is not even on the agenda), which, to me, is deeply unfair. Anyone should have the right to marry if they choose to do so.

Looking back, his coming out didn’t surprise me (that is why he came to me, he said, because I seem like a guy free of preconceptions who wouldn’t judge him), because I was “trained” by my father. An international businessperson, he traveled extensively, and each time he came back home, he brought me not only toys but also stories of the world per se.

And as he was a die-hard film buff (in fact, his dream in his 10s, 20s, and 30s was to make films), he trained me to think from another person’s shoes first and foremost (this is how filmmakers study characters, he told me) and to ask why: why is a certain person behaving as such? He taught me that behind every action, there is a reason, and so forth.

But more than anything, he trained me to respect differences. “That is how you learn, son,” he told me.

And he was right. My students weren’t the only ones changing and growing. I was growing as well, since diversity is a two-way street. They “taught” me the real meaning of survival (because what they went through were unspeakable ordeals), what trying to build a life out of ruins requires (grit and iron will), and something about persistence (many got up again despite all the bullying and negative perceptions of them in society).

I am taking all these experiences and realizations with me to your program, where I know even greater diversity awaits me – which I welcome with open arms because I have witnessed the power of diversity: how it helps us all grow together, how individuals can think so differently (which is where the beauty of diversity lies), and so forth. We need diversity because we are imperfect; we all have shortcomings that others can help us overcome.

This realization, I am sure, will be most helpful at your school and beyond because, as a scholar-to-be, I cannot wait to mix and mingle with other scholars around the world to create something valuable and bigger, together.