Impersonal Politics on a Personal Scale
Jayme Shepard

Since I was young, I have always been infatuated with cultures. As I grew up, I found myself gravitating toward language classes and learning as many as I could handle at once. Somehow I stumbled upon Korean, and instantly fell in love. My hometown did not offer any Korean courses, so I self-taught myself for about ten years. Then, when it was time to finally choose a university, it made perfect sense for me to come to Michigan State; they have an outstanding linguistics program, one of the best study abroad programs in the country, and are one of the very few universities in America that offers a Korean minor.

When I first came to MSU, I was so excited to finally take actual language classes in Korean. I loved every single day and was beyond excited when my professor suggested that I spend a semester abroad in South Korea. The next spring I was on a plane to Yonsei University in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.

The spring of 2017 was a very interesting time to be living abroad because there was much changing in the world. Right before I left, Donald Trump had been elected president and divided not only America, but most of the world. With the ensuing travel bans and shifting global views on Americans, my family and I had a moment of hesitation before I departed. I was planning on going to South Korea, which was extremely close to the self-proclaimed biggest enemy of America and the new president: North Korea. There was also the fear that harsh travel bans could be put into effect while I was abroad and it may be hard for me to visit neighboring nations or even get back in the United States at the end of my studies. However, my time abroad was not only marked with the changing of the American government. Shortly after I arrived in South Korea, their president was impeached. She was accused of corruption and neglecting her duties.

Unlike America, a vice president does not come into power when the president is removed from office; in Korea there is an entirely new election. South Korea has a very vivid history of fighting for their freedoms from imperial powers, and they do not take their right to vote or the freedom of speech for granted. For months it was hard to go anywhere without hearing election jingles or having supporters vibrantly dressed in their party's colors trying to convert me. The candidates would also hold impromptu rallies in the streets, and I was lucky enough to stumble onto numerous of these events, including one held by the future president, Moon JaeIn.

I was also lucky enough to be attending a Korean-US relations class at my host university in Seoul. This class took a detour during this election period and focused heavily on South Korean politics and how the new decisions were heavily changing South Korea's global policies and international relations. The former president had begun a project called THAAD that was highly controversial. The project proposed a missile base in South Korea that would only be deployed in self-protection against North Korea's nuclear weapons. These missiles, however, had the power to reach beyond North Korea and into Chinese territory. China was therefore heavily insulted as it seemed that South Korea did not trust China either. The main issue for the new election was how each of the candidates would react to this situation. The newly elected president, Moon JaeIn, campaigned on the platform that this project should be eliminated, but as of today the project has still not yet been scrapped.

Also during this debacle, I had a once in a lifetime opportunity. One of my Korean friends got permission to go visit some of his friends that were working as soldiers in the DMZ between North and South Korea, and I was invited to go with him. Even if it was from a distance, it was surreal to actually be able to see North Korea with my own eyes. Through binoculars we were able to observe a few small North Korean towns (with their mammoth golden statues of their leaders) and even the North Korean soldiers that were patrolling the streets. I also had the opportunity to go into tunnels that were originally built by the North Koreans into South Korea as a surprise ambush tactic if they ever decided to try to invade South Korea again. After emerging from a tunnel that went under North Korea, it was strange to be back in South Korea. Especially with its amusement park and heartbreaking memorials that are situated right across the border in view of the North Koreans. The situation that we had talked about so heavily in all of my classes suddenly became insanely real; there are actual people on the other side of the Road of No Return.

At Yonsei University I also had the pleasure of taking a course on Korean history. As a lover of history, I was consistently shocked as I would go through one of the most modern cities in the world and stumble upon a castle that was thousands of years old. It was very interesting to learn about this history from the viewpoint of a Korean and be able to physically visit the places mentioned. I traveled to the neighboring town of Jeonju with my friend. This town is known for being the largest still-standing cultural town in the country. We spent the day in traditional outfits and exploring the castles along with many Koreans who were also rediscovering their culture. I was also able to visit the historical capital of the peninsula, Kyeongju, when my parents came to stay with me. It was breathtaking for me to see all of the historical sites that I had grown to love through my history books since I was a child.

The Korean people have a very long history of being a population dominated by external imperialistic forces, but somehow they have been able to maintain their identity and history so distinctly. This history is shared by both the North and South Koreans; they were one nation for thousands of years and endured everything together until about 75 years ago when two foreign powers came into the picture and split the peninsula into two warring sides.

Heavily influenced by the classes that I attended, the people I met, and the places I explored, my time in South Korea has shifted the way that I view the world and my career choices. Previously, I had wanted to only be a linguist. Since my return to MSU, I have added a second major in Global Studies in Social Science with a specialization in Asia so that in the future I can work with North Korean refugees. There has been increasing pressure from various nations on the North Korean regime, and it is looking like the country is going to eventually have a major change. There are currently many North Koreans fleeing through the Chinese border, and the people are becoming increasingly aware of the reality of the outside world. If the regime collapses, it will be the worst refugee problem the world as ever seen; as of right now no country is offering to take responsibility of the North Korean citizens should the government capsize.

There is also the problem that many North Koreans do believe that the outside world is evil and they would not be willing to relocate to a new country. Would China take over? Would the peninsula reunite under the jurisdiction of South Korea? Since the North Korean armistice is technically with America and not South Korea, would America be responsible? Would various countries fight for the territory? Or would another similar government simply take over and the Korean Peninsula remain split? There is no telling what will happen, but my study abroad made me very involved with the Korean people as a whole.

I intend to use the knowledge that I have gained throughout my various experiences all over the world to aid refugees and help humanity as a whole to regain our compassion and help each other in times of need. I would not have adopted this drastic career change without my time in South Korea, and I am beyond thankful that I was able to be so greatly impacted by this experience.