For me it was important that I would learn something I couldn’t in Korea, and I didn’t want to be all the time with Korean students

The PIE: When you first moved to Brisbane what was the most difficult thing to adjust to?

KK: English was really hard. It was difficult to learn the different grammar and writing structures that I had to use for my course so I studied English for Academic Purposes (EAP) for 10 weeks at Embassy, my teacher was lovely! In South Korea we start learning English from 10 years old but it’s not really helpful because our teachers are Korean so they are not native speakers. We are really strong in reading and grammar structures, but it’s hard to practice speaking.

The PIE: What is the best thing about living in Brisbane?

KK: I love the lifestyle, the weather and the workplace. A lot of South Korea follows a hierarchy process in the workplace, but I could achieve more here, it’s a much flatter way than many Asian countries, so that takes away the stress. And also they’re really good at encouraging people. I also have another job, I’m working at a restaurant on the South Bank. I usually work about 18 hours a week. Australian wages are really good. They pay me quite highly per hour and three days a week is great!

Brisbane has taught me that it’s important to keep your cultural background so you can bring something different to a business

The PIE: What do you want to do in the future?

KK: I come from a business family, all of my family are running their own businesses, but I want to work for a really good company like Samsung or Hyundai, or maybe an Australian company. At Griffith they also help me to find a good internship once I graduate, I already have one offer of internship from Deloitte. I graduate in July but actually I want to go back to Korea for one year to get in touch with Korean culture again, because I feel I have lost the connection. Brisbane has taught me that it’s important to keep your cultural background so you can bring something different to a business. In the long term I’d love to live in Australia and find a job, there are so many opportunities for international students here.