Anyone would have expectations when they move to a new place. What would the people be like? Would I make new friends? What about my old friends? Can I adjust to a new school? The list can go on and on with hundreds of questions. This was what was running through Julia Jung’s mind as she boarded a plane to New York City in 2010.
Julia was born in the capital of South Korea, Seoul. She lived there with her parents, brother, sister, and grandmother until she was about 12 years old. Living there all her life, it was all Julia knew. When her mom told her they’d be moving to America, she was a little hesitant at first. They had only come for a vacation when she was 7 and stayed just over a month. Her mother reminded her they were
First visit to America
moving to get a proper education and after graduation, they’d all move back. In Korea, the education system can get extremely competitive, therefore making it harder to get into good schools. In order to find a steady job after school, Julia’s parents decided the best thing for their children was to have them study abroad where they can get a better education. It was a difficult decision but they knew what it would mean for their future, so she, her mother, and her siblings packed up their life and moved to New York City. Her father stayed behind for her grandmother and to support the family.
America has been dubbed the land of opportunity by so many immigrants who have moved here. They come for a better life, where they can grow and prosper more so than their home country. Julia and her family moved to New York City because she had an aunt who lived in Long Island, and they believed living near family will help make the move easier. Her aunt recommended an area in Queens that had a very dense Korean population; the familiarity would make the move easier on the family. Julia moved with a head full of dreams and wonders about what her new life would be like, but that came crashing down very quickly. Her parents had bought a house in Bayside, Queens before arriving there. However, the previous owners did not move out when they were meant to, so Julia and her family were forced to move into a tiny apartment, much smaller than her home in Korea. “That is why I was so disappointed and complained a lot when I first came here. I used to think that I had to give up my life in Korea for my mom and brother.” It was a hard transition physically, and mentally it was not going any better.
For the first few years, Julia felt extremely different from the people around her. She had trouble speaking in front of people, especially with her accent, so she tended to stay quiet in social situations. She had a few Korean friends help her until she got used to it, but she really wanted to move back home. She also had some issues on shifting her social cues to an American understanding. For example, there are certain things you do in Korea that you don’t do in America, as she recalls below.
Above all, Julia missed her friends and family in Korea. It was a difficult ordeal, picking up your life and leaving parts of it behind, but she knew that it would benefit her in the long run. One good thing is that she is still able to keep in contact with her friends, and she just recently visited them over this past summer. The first time Julia went back to Korea after moving was in the summer of 2013, 3 years after she settled in Queens. This was the first moment where she realized how much living in New York City has changed her, for the better. She has become more open-minded and accepting of all people. She recalled, “In Korea, there’s only Korean people living there. But here I see so many different people from other countries so I became a person that respects all countries. I learned how to respect everyone and their differences. I think that’s the best thing I learned here. Because of how diverse America is
Taken in 2013, when her family went back home for the first time since the move
, I have become more open-minded.” Julia also realized that people have different values in America than in K
orea. “In Korea, when people see other people they look at how rich and smart they are. In NYC, they all respect everyone and treat everyone equally even if you’re better at certain things that other people. Korean people are a little colder to strangers unlike here. I met so many nice people that have tried to help me move here.” Another aspect of Julia’s life that changed was her relationship with her mother. In Korea, her grandmother lived with her family, and she is a person who values politeness over anything else so she was
unable to really connect with her parents. However, after they moved Julia felt like she could be more free to talk to her mom and became more like friends with her because her grandmother wasn’t there to tell her it was wrong.
Today, Julia has no regrets about moving to New York City, and she is even considering staying her after graduation. She would like to go to grad school, so she still has a while to make her decision. However, after living her for almost 7 years, she believes that America has a brighter future than Korea, and it is a better environment for her family and her future family and children. Unfortunately, it is harder to find a job in this country if you’re not a citizen she is still debating on going back home after school and moving back later in life. As much as she loves the city, Korea will always be her home. Julia keeps a memento with her, her name tag that she had to attach on her middle school uniform. “I still keep this in my wallet because I am not called by my Korean name anymore, and I don’t write my name in Korean anymore. But keeping this in my wallet, I remember my culture and background which will always be a part of me.”
This is the name tag Julia had to wear in school which reads her Korean name.
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