Kyndra Love – USA

Please give a brief introduction of yourself. 

Originally from Oregon, I was first introduced to Korea in high school. I had the opportunity to travel to Korea with my music department and immediately fell in love. During my senior year, I studied Samulnori at Chungnam Arts High School in Cheonan. After returning home to the US, I wanted to continue studying Korean. So, I decided to move to Hawaii! Not only is there a large population of Koreans, the Korean program at University of Hawaii is well-known.

After completing an undergraduate program in Second Language Studies (and a year of language study at Yonsei University), I was accepted into the Korean Language Flagship program. The 2 year program was split into two parts, one year spent in Hawaii and the other at Korea University. While attending classes in Korea, we were encouraged to find internships similar to our thesis topic. My interest was based in Korean food culture and history, but it was very difficult to find an internship related specifically to my topic. So I started to do some research on possible internships and was able to find VANK.

When and how did you find out about VANK? How did you start interning at VANK? What kind of work did you do during your time there? Any problems or difficult aspects?

I actually found out about VANK through a fellow graduate of Flagship. He thought that VANK would be a perfect match for my interests; and as it turned out, it was! For about a year, I had the opportunity to be part of this organization and during that time I was involved in various activities. As a native English speaker, my main task was to assist in the translating and editing of articles, videos, and presentations. I also participated in lectures, and attended meetings and conferences between VANK and other government organizations.

The best part of my job was being around colleagues who were enthusiastic about their work; and it was a relief to intern in such a positive environment. I had previously been warned about companies where employees were treated badly or overworked. Fortunately, my experience at VANK was the complete opposite. I enjoyed coming to the office and participating in events and activities. The only difficulty I had was my intent to speak Korean at all times. As a learner, it is easy for me to become nervous when speaking, especially in front of crowds. However, using Korean at work allowed me to advance my Korean ability in many ways. It was only because of the acceptance and support of my colleagues that I was able to become more comfortable speaking in a work environment, which I am extremely thankful for.

What have you gained from your internship? What were the most rewarding moments?

There are few moments in life when you have the ability to experience something incredible. For me, VANK provided me with not one, but two of these opportunities. The first was visiting Dokdo. The tension between Korea and Japan over the two islands is well known and having the opportunity to step foot on the islands was surreal. Although it sat in the middle of the ocean, the clear blue water and birds perched on the rocks were a beautiful sight. After that experience, with all of its charm and beauty, I began to truly understand the importance of the islands to Koreans.

The second was traveling to Uzbekistan. Never in my life did I think I would be traveling to central Asia. I was impressed and surprised by the deep connection between the Uzbek and Korean people. For a number of centuries Koreans served as an integral part of Uzbek culture in regards to trade and eventually farming. I was able to learn so much about these two cultures and gained a deep respect for the warmth and kindness of both native Uzbek people and the Korean-Uzbek nationals as well.

Through traveling with VANK and attending day to day workshops, I constantly was reminded that every person has the ability to affect change; myself included. I enjoyed the challenge of pushing myself to not only be better at my studies, but be a better person as well. And for that, I am truly grateful for my experience at VANK.