I come from Bihar, India, the land of Buddha. It is the land of three religions, namely Buddhism, Jainism and Sikhism. The bank of the great Ganga River was my childhood playground and Jawaharlal Nehru University is my alma mater. I am very lucky for my education; I experienced every kind of schooling in India, from a small village to the capital city of Delhi. I come from a political family in which my mother and elder brother are politicians. Personally, I don’t want to get involved in politics.

I went to New Delhi from my home town, and at that time I didn’t know much about Korea. Back then, I never expected that Korea would become such an important part of my life.

I earned a Korean Government Scholarship in 2008 and came to Korea. I studied the Korean language for one year at Yonsei University and am currently enrolled at Kookmin University for my PhD course. I am majoring in International Relations and I love this subject. It helps me to understand world politics and how international relations work. I also created the Kookmin University community on Facebook and we organize get-togethers and other activities such as hiking among other things. 

I have lived in this country for almost three years and have learned much from Korea and Korean culture. I have traveled to many Korean provinces including Gyeonggi-do and Gangwon-do. The most attractive destinations for me were Jeju and Dokdo islands. Dokdo and Ulleungdo are especially beautiful and glorious. There was a high tide during my Dokdo islets visit, creating a great burden among all of my foreign friends. I went to the ‘38th parallel line’ four times, and it reminds me of the division of India and Pakistan. We are the same people, but a political boundary separates us. South and North Koreans are also the same people, but divided into two parts, representing a failure in Korean nationalism. The 38th parallel line is home to a huge military concentration and serves as a reminder of the Cold War era on the Korean Peninsula.

I have had very good experiences working, training, and participating in global camps in Korea. I participated in the 6th Seoul Global Internship in 2011 and learned a lot about the working culture in Korea. While the Korean work culture involves hard work and long hours, I learned a lot. The Korean work culture is based on hierarchy, which can at times be stressful. It has both negative and positive sides. I have witnessed a boss scolding juniors. One day, my Korean colleague fell down in the subway because the stress was so bad. Because of globalization, such demanding work environments are common in many countries, my country included.

Last year, I joined the Saemaul Movement training which holds training sessions for foreign students every year. It was a great opportunity for me to learn about the community development methods that have been applied in Korea. I specifically learned about the Saemaul Movement, which was the driving force behind Korea’s rapid economic development. The most important thing I learned through this training was how the Korean people developed their society without government aid and subsidies. 

Currently, I am working for Seoul International Student Forum 2011 under the Seoul Global Center with 84 members hailing from 32 different countries. This program started in 2008, and its main objective is to make Seoul a foreigner friendly city and support and enhance the living conditions of international and domestic residents.

Living in Korea has given me a new dimension in my thinking process and this city teaches me how to live in the globalized world. I am always happy to meet new friends because it boosts my knowledge about other cultures. Seoul is a truly cosmopolitan city of the world in which people share interesting ideas and experiences with each other.

Ph.D Student Bhushan Kumar(Dept. of Political Science and Diplomacy)

bhushanjnu@gmail.com