Lucia Filinich (Argentina)

My name is Lucia Filinich and I'm a graduate student from Argentina at Sogang University. My major is Korea and East Asian Studies with minor in International Relations. Since I was very young I`ve been interested in Asian countries, especially Korea and Japan. However, living on the other side of the world, coming to Asia was only a dream to me. Everything changed when two years ago I was accepted in the Korean Government scholarship program. After a long selection process I was finally coming to Korea to study Korean language and to get my master degree. Being a once in a life time opportunity I decided to gain as much experience as possible and to make the best out of it.

I found out about Asia Hope Camp Organization while searching for internship opportunities in Seoul. I wanted to have some working experience in Korea related to my major and at the same time work in a welcoming and international environment. As soon as I found Asia Hope Camp I knew this was what I was looking for. 

Before I started my internship officially in September I was invited to join the Gochang summer work Camp. It was a 5 days camp in the south of Korea where students participated along with foreign team leaders. In Gochang I experienced life in the Korean countryside, volunteer farming activities and sightseeing with the students. I was a great opportunity for me, not only to have fun and make new friends but also to see how Asia Hope Camp Organization works.

 

I've been working in the office since September and It has been a good experience so far. Every day I have a new task and I learn new things. I`m currently helping review the English version of the website and translating information from Korean to English. I`m also helping in the promotion of the camps. The working environment in the office is very good and welcoming. I`m looking forward to the months to come and to the next camps!

 

My experience at K-POP Camp

 

As part of my internship program I participated in the K-POP camp organized by Asia Hope Camp Organization at the beginning of November 2016. One of the participants was from United States so I joined the camp to help him with the language barrier. The camp was a lot of fun from the beginning! I had the opportunity to visit places in Seoul that I have never been before and to spend time with a group of Japanese participants that were really interested in Korean pop music and also in Korean culture in general. The participants attended dance lessons, tried Korean traditional clothes “hanbok”, took a Korean language class and visited many places in Seoul related with K-POP music such as SM town. 

Together we visited the Korean Art School where we attended some lessons and had lunch with Korean students. We had dinner and lunch together and also spend some time shopping and chatting in Hongdae area. I`m glad I had the opportunity to practice my Korean and also some Japanese with the participants while making new friends. I think it is incredible how music brings people from different countries together, especially young people. I think this kind of activities like the K-POP camp help build good relationships among young people from Korea, Japan and other parts of the world. I`m glad I had the opportunity to participate in the camp and I’m looking forward for the next one!