Throughout my four months abroad, I witnessed how the legacy of Gwangju permeates everyday life in Korea. From weekend protests to political banners lining the streets, the country’s civic culture continually gestures back to 1980. I had conversations with local elders who recalled the dictatorship years, and I saw how those memories are actively passed down. At the same time, I was able to practice my Korean in academic and research settings, expanding both my language skills and my ability to engage with local sources and cross-cultural perspectives. This project furthered my academic interest in tracing transhistorical and transnational relationships—for example, between the U.S., Korea, and Chile—where democratic struggle and youth movements intersect. Overall, my education abroad experience was not only academically enriching but personally transformative. It deepened my passion for anthropological research, helped me better understand my diasporic identity and reaffirmed my commitment to studying social movements, memory, and political engagement from a global, intersectional lens.
In Korea, I witnessed how the legacy of Gwangju permeates daily life through conversations with elders who lived through the dictatorship. Practicing Korean in academic settings expanded my skills and ability to engage with local sources. My research project deepened my interest in tracing transnational democratic struggles, like those in the US, Korea, and Chile. The experience was both academically enriching and personally transformative, strengthening my passion for anthropological research, my diasporic identity, and my commitment to studying social movements, memory, and political engagement through a global lens.