Personal History & Diversity Statement
David Y.J. Kim
My motto is "Living, Loving, and Learning," as the author of the book Leo F. Buscaglia,
Ph.D. mentioned. I always pursue learning new things not only in academia but in my everyday
life. My goal is to contribute to making a loving society of understanding and empathy.
Living
I was born in Ames, Iowa, and I spent most of my childhood in the USA. I came to Korea
with my parents at the age of 10, and after that, I spent most of my education in Korea, including
my undergraduate. Now, I am currently pursuing a graduate degree to fulfill my goal of
becoming a research scientist.
I consider myself fortunate enough to have a reasonably comfortable life except for one part,
and that was when I first came to Korea. The cultural change I experienced moving to Korea
was sometimes too drastic for me to handle at a young age. The small cultural difference
between the two countries confused me; for example, people had different expectations in
manner and courtesies when talking to seniors, such as different forms of 'you' to address
seniors to show courtesies respecting their age. As I was not accustomed to such, I failed to
meet that expectation occasionally, and certain groups felt awkward towards me and excluded
me. The educational difference was also a major factor that made things hard. Although the
educational emphasis is currently changing in Korea, during my time, competition between
peers was extremely fierce even at a young age. Students would not study together because
they were afraid of outdoing each other on exams. However, my sixth-grade classmates elected
me class chairman because I showed teamwork and drive and found my school spirit infectious.
That became the backbone of my adaptation to Korea and my confidence. Eventually, I started
enjoying my life in Korea and gain academic excellence. Whenever I face obstacles in my life,
I think about the time I came to Korea and remind myself that every wall has a door and trust
myself in finding happiness.
Loving
For a while, I lived a life for my benefit and thought that was enough. I was aware of social
prejudice and discrimination, but I did not act upon it because it did not directly impact me.
During college, the foreign student support program in which I participated made me realize I
should be more aware of inclusion and discrimination. The school assigned me a wonderful
Philippine student as a mentee. At first, I merely helped him with school assignments arising
from language barriers. However, while I was assisting him, it frustrated me to see him having
difficulties getting into a group projects because people preferred to work with classmates of
the same skin color. I tried to make him understand how Koreans relate to each other and some
humor that Koreans enjoy so he would have a better chance to form relationships. With my
minor help here and there and his extraordinary courage, he eventually adapted to the society
and is now working at a prestigious software company in Korea.
My mentee’s story showed me that there are people out there that are not fulfilling their
potential because they feel they do not fit in. As much as I want to live a happy life, I want
others to enjoy their life too. I will continue my interest in teaching other to
learn
diversity so
everyone will
live with loving
in an interconnected way.
