As I reflect on my first year in Korea, I am reminded first and foremost that God gives us the strength we never knew we had. I learned so much about myself and life through all the highs and lows. This experience has been the biggest life adjustment I’ve ever made. In the process of adjusting, working as a teacher, and trying to make a normal life for myself in Korea, I learned these six important lessons.

A special thank you to Samonim 사모님 for taking these amazing pictures.

Here are the Six Important Lessons I Learned In One Year:

1. Your Overall Health (mental, physical and spiritual) Is Important 

I never thought so much about my health, particularly mental health, until I came to Korea. Whenever I wasn’t putting any aspect of my health first, something always happened. Due to the language barrier and cultural differences, adjusting took some time and not without a few bumps in the road. This may even be a source of stress for some. It was for me. Read 16 Ways to Cope with Stress and Anxiety here. Within two months of living in Korea, I realized I needed to quickly discover things to do to maintain a healthy mind and body.

Living in rural Korean town, with a small population and fewer things to do felt disheartening at first. For a while it seemed very much so. That was until I decided I would put my health and happiness first and do something about it. Read How I Started Gaining Weight and 5 Things I Did to Lose it here. Things started to turn around when I prayed everyday, found a park and short hiking trail, was intentional about the foods I ate, took walks before or after dinner, made more friends, tried to sleep early, complete all lesson plans at school, and focused on my hobbies such as photography and blogging.

2. Community Is Important  

Maintaining and building relationships is crucial to a healthy life. Another thing I hadn’t realized until I came to Korea was the importance of community. I come from a big family – which also includes my church family – so I never had to think about building a community. And though I lived alone in another country before as an exchange student in the Netherlands, and studied abroad several times after that, I didn’t arrive alone. I always traveled with other students from my university.

Before coming to Korea, or if you’re coming through a program like EPIK, it’s crucial that you make friends. You will need them. Especially in rural areas, due to the language barrier, it won’t be easy to make friends. In bigger cities, you’re likely to see other foreigners or find events to meet them.

I am very lucky that from the first weekend I arrived in my local town, I searched online for a church and found my new church family. Read Sabbath in a Rural Korean Church here. There are only two foreigners at my church: me and another missionary, everyone else is Korean. There used to be another foreign English teacher in my town but now it’s just me. =) At church, I am able to communicate freely with the youths, the pastor and his wife. As my Korean progresses, I try to speak with the other members too. But we always speak in smiles, laughter and traditional greetings. I am always happy to see everyone: the deacons, deaconesses, and fashionable elderly women, some in their 90s. I am forever grateful for them. Being able to fellowship with them every week (except when COVID-19 regulations prohibits it) has been my greatest privilege and joy in Korea.

Luckily there are many Facebook groups dedicated to bringing foreigners and expats together. I’ve been able to join prayer groups, content creating groups, and connect with other foreigners through apps like InterNation. It’s refreshing to be able to communicate freely, share common experience and learn about someone else’s journey in Korea.

And how can I forget my Zumba class?! My Zumba instructor is just amazing. Thanks to one of the amazing cooks at my travel school, I joined a great team of local people in my town who love Zumba. It’s such a nice feeling when our heavy breathing, race to the water bottle table, collectively express we had a great work out. We’re all sweaty, tired but also rejuvenated from each session. Spending time with other people is a positive reminder that we need each other. No man is an island.

3. Speaking Up For Yourself is Important  

It’s important to know when to speak up for yourself. For me, there’s always the thought that I don’t want to offend anyone. As a foreigner, I’ve felt pressures from many directions – within and external. I didn’t always know what to do about them at first. Read 6 Challenges You May Face When Living In Korea here. For example, if you don’t get paid on time at your workplace, you may take it lightly or not want to press the issue. You should politely say something. If you’re being asked to do something outside your contract (as an employee): like working crazy over time hours or just something you can’t do – for several reasons – find a polite way to decline or ask more questions surrounding the issue. It goes back to the first lesson, overall health (mental) is important. Constantly agreeing and deferring your peace of mind will negatively affect your mental health.

Knowing what you like and you don’t like is equally important when it comes to speaking up for many reasons. For example, I recently had to move and switch apartments with another tenant in my building. The story of how that happened was a blessing and a miracle in disguise. My first apartment was a bit of a nightmare. You can read about How I Got Rid of Bugs In My Apartment here. I was not used to seeing bugs of that size so frequent. It really bothered me. It was to the point that if I hadn’t taken some action, I would have had a new unwanted creeping or flying friend in the apartment almost everyday.

After a year in that first apartment, I was finally moving. Yay! I think if I kept quiet about the situation I probably wouldn’t be in this new apartment. I learned if I kept quiet about everything that bothered me, I would just be stuck with them without any resolution. Then a new obstacle appeared. I noticed that there was a lot of effort being made to make sure my last apartment was clean before the new tenants moved in. Meanwhile, mine would need further renovations. Management was installing new windows in all the apartments; my new apartment wasn’t completed yet.

So I figured, I should play an active role in this situation and not be a passive bystander. The new tenant offered me her wardrobe closet since she didn’t need it but I already had one. I liked her bookcases, so I asked, “Do you need all your bookcases?” I think she got the hint and she agreed. I also asked her, “Would the other apartment (my new one) be cleaned as well?” Hinting that it would be nice for my new apartment to be just as cleaned. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Life is asking things from us everyday, not to mention people, so to maintain a balance, we should see opportunities to politely ask as well.

4. Showing Gratitude And Being Grateful Is Important 

There’s always something to be grateful for. I have so many things to be grateful for in Korea. The list is endless. Kindness isn’t a right but it’s nice to receive it and it should always be appreciative no matter how small. I’ve realized that no one has to be nice to anyone. But to receive it is like marrow to the bones. Sometimes I feel indebted to many people in Korea for their generosity and the countless ways they’ve helped me.

When I look back at the first year, I definitely needed a lot of support. Whether it was dealing with things at school, my apartment, daily life or even making appointments at doctors, I needed someone’s help. Each EPIK teacher has a Korean co-teacher that helps them handle administrative related things in Korea: visa, bank account, and much more. I’m sure it’s not an easy job because we need a lot of assistance all the time. I am grateful to have a kind and understanding co-teacher. Sometimes I wish I didn’t always need her help because I know she is busy. I am forever grateful for her too.

Remember the apartment situation I mentioned above? On moving day, the previous tenant and her family helped to thoroughly clean, vacuum, wipe down, and help move some of my things to the new apartment. Though there were also paid workers there to move the heavier items, her family was a great help. When I tried moving something a little heavy, her brother took it from me and said something in Korean, maybe along the lines of, “we will handle it.”

Koreans like to share. They like to bring things like fresh fruits or snacks to share with their coworkers, family and friends. Their efforts are always so thoughtful: hand – made treats, desserts from a friends shop, vegetables from a family’s garden. At my school, I like to show my gratitude in small ways like bringing special treats from vacation, or a popular Korean snack.

I am grateful for my church. The pastor and his wife are great role models and leaders. I hope to always have a spirit of generosity and service like they do – in the house of God and in my everyday life.

5. Being Understanding Is Important

Everyone makes mistakes, including me. When living in a foreign country, there’s bound to be misunderstandings. There were several moments when I misunderstood a class schedule, what someone was asking or saying. I’m sure people have misunderstood me. It may have resulted in me or them doing something we weren’t expecting. In situations like these I could choose to complain, point fingers or choose to be understanding. The latter is more productive and creates room to learn.

I find that it’s necessary to be very understanding and empathetic when living in Korea because we are both trying to understand each other. There’s no need to take things too personally or hold grudges. Because of language and cultural differences, even addressing a certain situation is different. For example, a foreigner might go into a situation thinking all they need to say is, “May I have … due to a or b reasons?” But in Korea, you might have to ask the person you’re much closer to, then they’ll have to speak with another person and another person; it goes down a chain of command. Taking the time to understand both sides – cultures and differences – eases the tension of confusion.

6. Believing ‘You Can,’ Is Really Important

No matter how difficult things may seem, believing that, “you can,’ makes all the difference. It may not be easy at first but hope and faith goes a long way. What seems hard today may not seem so hard later.

Like learning Korean. Though I am not where I want to be, I know more Korean than when I came. I can decipher familiar words and expressions when it’s being spoken, whereas in the beginning it was hard. If I told myself, “it’s too hard,” maybe I wouldn’t be where I am today.

If I was discouraged by the long list of ingredients to make some Korean foods, I probably wouldn’t have learned how to make them and share the recipes on this blog. If I allowed myself to be held back by the “solo dining isn’t common in Korea” mentality, I would have missed out on the chances to dine at some of the best local restaurants in my town.

Having confidence in tough situations can open doors to make things more easy or understandable. When I’m lacking confidence or want to give in to fear, I remember Fear Not. I Will Be With You – 8 Bible Verses About Fear That Reminds Us of God’s Promises. I also have to remember that To Every Thing There Is A Season And A Time.

If you have faith like as a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.

Matthew 17:20

No matter how tough or easy the mountains of life may be, God reassures us that it is possible to “move them.” Of course we may not move them in the sense that we’re thinking. All of life’s problems can’t be erased but a little faith can change the perspective. It’s easy to question why we have to go through certain things. I do that all the time. But the lessons remind me that I am growing, learning and becoming more of the person God called me to be. God has great plans for all of us. But he has greater love in the present moment.