Lee spent her time in Missouri meeting new friends, exploring Columbia and realizing what the world outside of her hometown has to offer
Helena Lee’s decision to leave her hometown of Seoul, South Korea, and study in the United States for a semester was not an easy one. She was not confident in her ability to speak English, confused about U.S. customs and nervous about living in dorms for the first time.
Despite this, Lee was determined to experience the U.S. for herself.
“The scenery was really cool,” Lee said of her first impressions of the U.S. “It was beautiful. Everybody [was] American. It was like a honeymoon.”
Lee was selected to be a part of MU’s Lead, Engage, Advance and Discover program, a semester-long international program run by MU’s Asian Affairs Center to build students’ global leadership skills. Students in the program are required to take courses that focus on strategic communication, leadership essentials, building strong communities and examining U.S trends. In addition to classwork, students get to experience U.S. culture by traveling to different cities in Missouri and living in the dormitories.
Lee’s semester on campus was full of new experiences, as she tried to get the most out of U.S. culture before she had to return home. She tried different foods, explored areas around campus and improved her English with the students around her.
“Even though I [did] not stay a long time, I tried to do things or experience as many things as I [could],” Lee said.
Lee also spent her time learning how to interact with Americans. South Korea’s social customs, she quickly realized, were much different than those she encountered in Missouri. Soft spoken and shy, Lee’s personality often clashed with the outgoing nature of most students she met on campus.
“I think Americans are more open-minded,” Lee said. “They like to talk, so [interactions are] much better. In Korea, some people like to talk, but most of them are shy … I think I’m still quite shy.”
While she did make friends during her semester at MU, she found that these cultural differences sometimes caused problems in her new relationships.
“That was my first time living in a dormitory and not living in my home,” Lee said. “I had to cooperate with my friends, and I had to make some relationships with them. That was a little bit challenging for me, but I think that was a really good experience.”
To Lee, the small, day-to-day annoyances she now faced in the U.S. made her miss home the most. Things like eating a particularly plain meal, needing to walk instead of drive places or not having a room to herself all made her long for what she had back in South Korea.
“I love my country,” Lee said. “Everything is so fast, and I think it has so many good places to visit.”
Still, Lee cherished the five months she spent in Missouri. When it finally came time to leave, she was reluctant to go. She had spent almost half a year adapting to the new culture, learning how to interact with those different from her and navigating the ins and outs of U.S. customs. According to Lee, knowing she wouldn’t see the friends she made in the U.S. again would make it hard to leave.
“I don’t want to go back to Korea now,” Lee said three days before she left for home. “I think I will really miss this town, university and my friends. I have many good friends here, and when I go back to Korea I can’t see them anymore.”
On Dec. 18, 2023, Lee left the United States.
Almost five weeks later, Lee found herself overwhelmed with work in South Korea. She spent her time balancing teaching elementary students part time, going to school and interviewing for post graduation jobs. Even on her school break, Lee could not rest.
“When I was [at] Mizzou, I just focused on what to do, what to play, where to visit and what to eat,” Lee said. “But these days I have to make something of myself in Korea.”
Lee said she feels like her future educational pursuits are also tied to a different, more abstract feeling of loss.
“When I first came back to Korea I had a dream related to Mizzou,” Lee said. “But I realized that I couldn’t go back. Even though I might go back to Mizzou in the future, I cannot be a college student. I can’t re-meet everybody that I met last year, so I feel so sad.”
However, just because Lee is no longer in the U.S. does not mean that she isn’t able to keep up with the people she met over the course of the semester. She often texts with her MU friends, and has even coordinated to meet up with one of them in Korea soon.
“One of [my friends] told me that she will visit Korea in February, so we will meet again soon,” Lee said. “I asked them to say ‘hello’ to me on Korean national holidays.”
While cost and time restraints prevent Lee from visiting the U.S. again anytime soon, she continues to carry the lessons she learned from her time at MU.
Back in South Korea, she feels more comfortable teaching her elementary students English than she did before living in Missouri. Living away from her parents has also taught her the importance of doing chores and cleaning up after herself. More than that, Lee’s perspective on the world around her has changed.
“There are many ways to live, and when I was in Korea I could just see the Korean lifestyle,” Lee said. “I could meet so many different people in the U.S., so I could learn about different lifestyles and ways of looking at the world.”
Edited by Annie Goldman | agoldman@themaneater.com
Copy Edited by Jackson Cooper and Briana Iordan