Seattle Colleges International Programs presents... Conversations with!
Seattle Colleges International Programs presents... Conversations with!
S3E27: Seattle Colleges Conversations with! International Student Sojung ’Sofia’ Jun of South Korea
In this our twenty-seventh (27th) episode of Season 3, Seattle Colleges host Evan Franulovich interviews international student Sojung 'Sofia' Jun of South Korea about her experience here at Seattle Colleges and about life in the United States.
1:19 - Meet Sofia!
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Evan Franulovich 0:05
Welcome to Seattle Colleges International Programs and our show 'Conversations with!', where we talk to people that help you understand how you too, can be an international student in the United States and why Seattle Colleges should be your first choice. We'll talk to students and staff and agents and government folks, all kinds of people about what you can expect when you're getting ready to apply or travel here, what you'll experience while you're with us, and how it can all lead to an amazing life. Don't forget to check out the Seattle Colleges International Programs website at intl.seattlecolleges.edu where you can find a treasure trove of information about the school, the programs here and best of all, fill out and submit your application. Again, that's intl.seattlecolleges.edu.
Hey everybody! Welcome back to Seattle Colleges 'Conversations with!' We're here at the Seattle Central Campus. Yet another awesome guest from the country of Korea. Welcome!
Sojung Jun 1:09
Hi, welcome!
Evan Franulovich 1:24
Welcome. Can you introduce yourself? Let everybody know where you're from, and you know what you're studying and when you've been here maybe?
Sojung Jun 1:30
Of course. My name is Sophia Jun, and I am from Korea, specifically Gyeonggi-do. Which is right at the buttom of Gangwon-do, so it's right next to Seoul.
Evan Franulovich 1:49
Okay.
Sojung Jun 1:50
And yeah, this is my first year in Seattle Colleges, especially Seattle Central College, and I've been really enjoying a lot. And yeah, I'm a business student.
Evan Franulovich 2:02
Business!
Sojung Jun 2:03
Yeah!
Evan Franulovich 2:04
What do you want to do with business? Are you going to start your own company someday?
Sojung Jun 2:08
Well, that may be one of my goals, but for now, I would say I'm really interested in consulting.
Evan Franulovich 2:16
Oh.
Sojung Jun 2:16
Maybe analyzing, and also marketing.
Evan Franulovich 2:21
Marketing is great. We love it.
Sojung Jun 2:23
Yes!
Evan Franulovich 2:24
So while you're here, you know, it's an opportunity to do business in the United States. Do you plan to do OPT after you do your first two years here? Do you have a company in mind that you would like, really like to work with?
Sojung Jun 2:36
Well, I would say, not a specific one yet. It'll be really great if I can work in Seattle, maybe New York or Los Angeles. Yeah, anything will be great.
Evan Franulovich 2:50
Right, right. You always forget you can go away to do your OPT if you want you go to New York or Los Angeles or whatever. But we have a lot of great companies here in Seattle, like Starbucks, Amazon, Microsoft.
Sojung Jun 3:01
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 3:02
And we have other smaller ones that a lot of people haven't heard about, like Outdoor Research, and, you know, as I can remember. Yeah, a lot of good companies. So good luck with that, that's good.
Sojung Jun 3:13
Thank you!
Evan Franulovich 3:14
So you've been here a year.
Sojung Jun 3:16
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 3:17
So you still have one more year before you graduate?
Sojung Jun 3:19
Mhmm.
Evan Franulovich 3:20
And you went straight into your college classes, right?
Sojung Jun 3:22
No.
Evan Franulovich 3:23
Oh, did you have to do English school?
Sojung Jun 3:24
Yes, that's where we met.
Evan Franulovich 3:26
Yeah, but you started at what level?
Sojung Jun 3:35
So, first ever quarter in Seattle Central College, I was taking listening and speaking level three and reading and writing for level four.
Evan Franulovich 3:45
Right.
Sojung Jun 3:46
Yeah. So I took SCIE classes for two quarters before my college classes started. In 2024 summer, I got to start my college classes.
Evan Franulovich 3:59
Yay!
Sojung Jun 3:59
Yay!
Evan Franulovich 4:00
But you've already...when levels four and five, you're able to take some college classes as well.
Sojung Jun 4:06
Oh, yes.
Evan Franulovich 4:07
So what have you been taking in addition to the English?
Sojung Jun 4:10
At the time, I was taking Sociology 102.
Evan Franulovich 4:15
Cool.
Sojung Jun 4:16
And Humanities 105 which I really enjoyed.
Evan Franulovich 4:20
Tell me about it.
Sojung Jun 4:20
So for Sociology 102 is basically really similar to the Sociology 101 which a lot of domestic students take.
Evan Franulovich 4:30
Right.
Sojung Jun 4:30
And so it's just 102 is only for the international students.
Evan Franulovich 4:36
Oh, it is? I didn't know they had a Sociology just for international students.
Sojung Jun 4:39
Yeah, it's part of International Programs, I believe.
Evan Franulovich 4:42
Cool.
Sojung Jun 4:43
So it's basically the same people that you're taking other SCIE classes and Sociology 102.
Evan Franulovich 4:52
Gotcha, gotcha.
Sojung Jun 4:53
Yeah. So yeah, it's about the Sociology 101, a lot of terms, a lot of...
Evan Franulovich 5:00
Yes, sure.
Sojung Jun 5:01
...yeah, theories.
Evan Franulovich 5:02
What about humanities?
Sojung Jun 5:04
Humanities was so fun. The class name was intercultural communication.
Evan Franulovich 5:12
Oh, cool.
Sojung Jun 5:12
We get to learn a lot about humanities sides with different lenses, different perspectives. And one of the class material that I can remember is about the gender.
Evan Franulovich 5:30
Oh.
Sojung Jun 5:32
...issues, and also some about immigrants.
Evan Franulovich 5:35
Sure. Right, so do you do intercultural communications from all the different perspectives, all the different peoples around the world? I mean, do you kind of look through things, through, say, Middle Eastern, African, Latin American, all those different?
Sojung Jun 5:54
Well, I would say the prime lens that we look through is the US, and through the US, we view a lot of these different social issues and news...
Evan Franulovich 6:10
Oh, okay.
Sojung Jun 6:11
...all over the place in the global world.
Evan Franulovich 6:13
Sure.
Sojung Jun 6:14
And yeah, so that's why immigrants, gender issues is here, and maybe poverty and also some income.
Evan Franulovich 6:14
Sure. So have you found that coming to the US, has it been what you expected, or has it been a lot different? I mean, you've been here many times you said before we started rolling. This is your fifth time?
Sojung Jun 6:37
Sixth time.
Evan Franulovich 6:38
Sixth time in the US. That amazing. Tell everybody why you've been here so many times.
Sojung Jun 6:44
Okay.
Evan Franulovich 6:46
Yeah, because that's kind of cool.
Sojung Jun 6:48
Oh, thank you.
Evan Franulovich 6:49
Yeah.
Sojung Jun 6:49
Yeah, I think so too. And so the reason why I came here fifth times before I started studying abroad in Seattle is because of my family who was studying abroad in Seattle. Which is my sister and brother. Yeah, they are an older brother, and an older sister of mine, and they went to UW.
Evan Franulovich 6:49
Both of them went to UW?
Sojung Jun 6:53
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 6:53
As freshmen, or did they start a community college as well?
Sojung Jun 7:10
They started at a community college.
Evan Franulovich 7:21
Did they start at Seattle Colleges?
Sojung Jun 7:25
Yes, my sister did, and my brother started at Bellevue College.
Evan Franulovich 7:29
Okay.
Sojung Jun 7:30
Is it a community college?
Evan Franulovich 7:32
Yes, Bellevue is a community college as well.
Sojung Jun 7:33
Okay.
Evan Franulovich 7:35
Just on other side of the lake.
Sojung Jun 7:37
Yeah. So they both started at community college, and then they transferred.
Evan Franulovich 7:42
Very cool.
Sojung Jun 7:43
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 7:43
And so when you traveled here to visit them, did you hang out with them? Go to classes with them?
Sojung Jun 7:49
I didn't get to just actually go to their classes, but I went to Suzzallo Library.
Evan Franulovich 7:56
Sure.
Sojung Jun 7:57
Beautiful. And, yeah, I think it was just pretty much about shopping and other traveling, not only about classes.
Evan Franulovich 8:07
So you did some touristy kinds of traveling?
Sojung Jun 8:09
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 8:10
Where'd you go?
Sojung Jun 8:11
Well, hmm, Gas Works Park, Space Needle.
Evan Franulovich 8:15
Oh, okay.
Sojung Jun 8:16
And also the Amazon spear.
Evan Franulovich 8:20
Yes.
Sojung Jun 8:23
And also Green Lake.
Evan Franulovich 8:27
Oh, green lake is great. Yeah, I really like that area.
Sojung Jun 8:30
I really like it.
Evan Franulovich 8:32
And what time of year was it?
Sojung Jun 8:33
So the first time...
Evan Franulovich 8:37
Sure.
Sojung Jun 8:38
...the first time was 2018.
Evan Franulovich 8:41
Okay.
Sojung Jun 8:41
And at that time I was 12 years old.
Evan Franulovich 8:48
Yeah.
Sojung Jun 8:48
And the second time was 2020, during COVID, I think. No, that was 2021. So right after COVID. Summer and winter, twice in a year. Then it was 2023 in the summer. So in the summer, I visited as a vacation, and then winter I get to here to study abroad.
Evan Franulovich 9:34
Right. Yeah, so you've kind of experienced most of the seasons already.
Sojung Jun 9:37
Oh, yeah.
Evan Franulovich 9:38
That's great. Which is your favorite?
Sojung Jun 9:41
Oh, I have to say it's summer.
Evan Franulovich 9:43
Of course.
Sojung Jun 9:44
But I love Seattle's winter too.
Evan Franulovich 9:47
Why?
Sojung Jun 9:48
Well, I think there is a specific and certain atmosphere that we can only feel in the wintertime, especially in the Pacific Northwest.
Evan Franulovich 10:00
I agree.
Sojung Jun 10:00
A lot of people say it's too depressing, gloomy, raining. I mean, I agree to some point, but still, it's just romantic.
Evan Franulovich 10:12
Yeah, this year has been a little bit wetter than I remember last winter. So each season changes a little bit, but it really generally isn't as bad as most people say it is. Seattle's not too bad.
Sojung Jun 10:25
Seems really beautiful.
Evan Franulovich 10:26
Yeah, the darkest and the longest day of the year, It can be dark for a long time, but that changes pretty quickly. Like this weekend, it felt like spring was in the air.
Sojung Jun 10:39
Yes!
Evan Franulovich 10:40
And it's just now March.
Sojung Jun 10:41
Yeah, I think that was Saturday. It was really sunny. Oh, I loved it.
Evan Franulovich 10:45
It was beautiful.
Sojung Jun 10:47
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 10:47
I was actually down in Oregon visiting, and it was two days in a row of just glorious weather. It's really nice.
Sojung Jun 10:55
Really nice.
Evan Franulovich 10:56
Well, very cool. So you're doing business major. You've been here a few times. So are your brother and sister both business majors as well?
Sojung Jun 11:04
No, that's the fun part, actually. So my brother is majored in Anthropology.
Evan Franulovich 11:10
Oh, cool!
Sojung Jun 11:10
And minor in global health. So he is working in the healthcare field. And my sister, you wanna guess? It's one of the STEM majors.
Evan Franulovich 11:23
Is she a...? Let's see biochemistry, maybe?
Sojung Jun 11:27
You got it.
Evan Franulovich 11:28
This wasn't rehearsed at all. I just guessed that.
Sojung Jun 11:33
That is impressive. Yeah, she is biochemistry major, and she works at UDub.
Evan Franulovich 11:39
Oh, very good.
Sojung Jun 11:40
Yeah, medicine.
Evan Franulovich 11:41
Nice. Yeah, good school to go to if you're interested in that field, for sure. You can start that here at Seattle Colleges, if you like. One of our former podcast guests and a high school completion plus student, she did biochemistry here and now is transferring to University of Washington. You started off not as a high school student though, right? You graduated from school in Korea?
Sojung Jun 12:07
Mhmm.
Evan Franulovich 12:07
Did you go to a private or a public school?
Sojung Jun 12:08
I went to private.
Evan Franulovich 12:10
You went to a private school.
Sojung Jun 12:11
But I dropped out.
Evan Franulovich 12:14
You did?
Sojung Jun 12:14
Yeah, and but I have my high school diploma, and we have a little behind scenes over that. Is it okay if I share?
Evan Franulovich 12:23
Sure, please.
Sojung Jun 12:26
I was only able to attend to my high school about a year.
Evan Franulovich 12:33
Okay.
Sojung Jun 12:34
And then I had to drop out due to my health issues.
Evan Franulovich 12:37
Oh, sure, yeah.
Sojung Jun 12:38
So in Korea, we have this one system, it's like similar to GED.
Evan Franulovich 12:46
Okay, make sense.
Sojung Jun 12:48
High school completion, for the high school graduation diploma. So I took the test, got it, graduated, two years early. And then I'm here in Seattle.
Evan Franulovich 13:00
And you knew all along that you always wanted to come to the US and study, or did you only consider because your brother and sister had been here before? Or at what point in your life did you know you wanted to...?
Sojung Jun 13:14
I would say, I've always thought about studying abroad, especially the US.
Evan Franulovich 13:21
Okay.
Sojung Jun 13:22
Not only because my sister and my brother is here, but also I wanted my life to be global, broad, colorful. And I thought that studying abroad can be one way to start my journey as global abroad.
Evan Franulovich 13:44
Sure.
Sojung Jun 13:45
Yeah. And when I got to attend to my high school, I didn't know, of course, I didn't know I'm going to drop out in like a year. And so at the time, my goal was graduating my high school and then go to four year university. Which my school was good at, because we have that international student program.
Evan Franulovich 14:11
Gotcha.
Sojung Jun 14:12
So a lot of students go to NYU.
Evan Franulovich 14:15
Oh, wow.
Sojung Jun 14:15
Yeah, go to good schools. And I was preparing for that, and boom, you have to take a rest. Yeah, things happen. And yeah, but there's a way. I took a test, another test, and I'm here in Seattle really happily. I'm doing really good.
Evan Franulovich 14:34
That's cool. Did you apply anywhere else, or did you only apply to Seattle Colleges?
Sojung Jun 14:40
I only applied to Seattle Colleges.
Evan Franulovich 14:41
That's good. We wonder about why people find us, how they found us. Obviously, you had siblings, that makes it easier. But you know, Seattle area has a number of schools around it, so sometimes people apply elsewhere as well. Well, cool. Did you use an agent in the process of applying, or did you apply directly yourself?
Sojung Jun 15:07
Surprisingly, I did it myself.
Evan Franulovich 15:09
You did, yeah.
Sojung Jun 15:11
Yeah, starting from the scratch, just by myself, everything.
Evan Franulovich 15:15
How hard was it?
Sojung Jun 15:18
It's not very hard. To be honest, it's just copy and paste your address, your birthday, your name, and just checking that you have committed a crime or not.
Evan Franulovich 15:37
It's pretty easy. Some people get a little intimidated. There's a lot of things you got to do, so they'll use an agent, which is a great way to go as well. There's services that they offer, but you didn't, and that worked out great as well. So consider your options. So let's talk about your visa process. You know, one of the things everybody always asks about because they're nervous or they just need more information. Once you got your I-20 from us after you applied, how long did it take before you were able to get into the embassy to do your interview?
Sojung Jun 16:07
I would say, it took about two weeks.
Evan Franulovich 16:14
Oh, that's pretty fast.
Sojung Jun 16:15
A week to two weeks.
Evan Franulovich 16:18
Yeah, that's great. And when you did go, how long was your interview?
Sojung Jun 16:23
Oh, at in the embassy, I think less than 10 minutes.
Evan Franulovich 16:30
Oh, super fast.
Sojung Jun 16:31
Yeah, because I prepared all the documents.
Evan Franulovich 16:34
Smart girl.
Sojung Jun 16:35
Yes, exactly.
Evan Franulovich 16:37
And did they actually look at your documents?
Sojung Jun 16:39
Yes. But the thing is, they usually want to see only the documents that are actually required for the process. So for example, my high school completion diploma wasn't required documents. But of course, I knew that they will need it. I am still in an age that should be in a high school right now, but I'm in embassy, so they might be curious. So I took it, check it with me. And of course, I couldn't give it to them directly, because we just want to see the papers that we asked. And when she asked, 'Oh, what about your high school?' Yeah, and everything went well.
Evan Franulovich 17:27
That's good. What kind of questions did they ask you?
Sojung Jun 17:31
Um, they were asking me about, why did you choose Seattle?
Evan Franulovich 17:37
The city or the school?
Sojung Jun 17:38
Both.
Evan Franulovich 17:39
Okay.
Sojung Jun 17:39
Why Seattle, and why Seattle Central College? And I remember I was answering, Seattle has a lot of big companies. You know, as a business major student, I think there'll be a lot of advantage for me.
Evan Franulovich 17:54
It's true.
Sojung Jun 17:58
And I tended to not answer, because my sister and brother is there, because they might be, they might give them like a fishy, you know...
Evan Franulovich 18:15
Oh, I think that might be a positive thing. Your family's already here.
Sojung Jun 18:19
And there might be a clue of, 'Oh, so you want to settle down without visa,' like this kind of situation, so I just want to prevent it.
Evan Franulovich 18:27
Sure, sure. Now, do you live with your brother and sister?
Sojung Jun 18:30
I live with my sister, and my brother is living with his wife.
Evan Franulovich 18:36
Oh, very good. That's nice, because then you don't have to worry about housing, food. I mean, you do have to worry about food a little bit. Yeah, you don't need a separate apartment or something like that. That's really great. And that, I think that looks really good when you go in for your visa interview, it's like, 'Hey, I'm gonna live with my my sister's, she's already there.' That work makes a lot of sense. Well, so you got it on your first try?
Sojung Jun 18:57
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 18:57
Everything good. And then how long from the time you got your visa before you got on an airplane?
Sojung Jun 19:03
Oh, got the visa and the airplane? I think...two weeks.
Evan Franulovich 19:09
Oh, so it all happened pretty fast.
Sojung Jun 19:11
Yeah, it happened really fast. And yeah, I remember I was getting little anxious about, 'Oh, what if I didn't get my visa before my plane', because I accidentally, or not accidentally booked my plane ticket already. So what if I don't get my passport from them? But it happened. Everything went well.
Evan Franulovich 19:42
So a lot of people might be in the same boat as you. They've gone through their visa interview, they got their visa, and now they're just waiting to get on a plane. How did you spend your time between preparing to go? What advice would you give them like when you're preparing to go? What kinds of things they should remember to do?
Sojung Jun 20:02
I remember I was enjoying Korean foods a lot that I will miss.
Evan Franulovich 20:08
Hey, we have good Korean food here. It's not quite the same. I've been to Seoul, so I know how good that it is.
Sojung Jun 20:15
It's so great. Yeah, thank you for pointing that out. I was packing a lot of things. And since it was in the winter, so you know, a lot of clothing items were bulky.
Evan Franulovich 20:29
Sure, yeah.
Sojung Jun 20:30
So I need to push it down. And when speaking of packing my luggages, I remember I was taking a lot of stationary items, which including pens and pencil cases.
Evan Franulovich 20:48
Oh.
Sojung Jun 20:49
Which you might find interesting, because you know, we have all the pens in the US as well.
Evan Franulovich 20:56
Sure.
Sojung Jun 20:57
But I would say. I am kind of like a stationary nerd. I have my favorite pen company. Yeah, specific pen.
Evan Franulovich 21:11
No, that's cool. I think that's great.
Sojung Jun 21:12
Yeah. So yeah, I remember I was going to the Korean Costco, and then buying all the stationary items, including the highlighters.
Evan Franulovich 21:24
Oh my gosh.
Sojung Jun 21:25
Yeah. But you know, it's just small. Yeah, it's not that big to pack so stationary items, and then hair items.
Evan Franulovich 21:35
Of course.
Sojung Jun 21:37
Yeah. And also, I would say some items that can make you comfortable.
Evan Franulovich 21:47
Right.
Sojung Jun 21:48
Maybe it can be your favorite key chain.
Evan Franulovich 21:52
Right.
Sojung Jun 21:53
Maybe your favorite backpack. It can be your pencil, yeah. And also, it can be your anything.
Evan Franulovich 22:01
Yeah, sure. Because, yeah, you're going away for far away, and you want to be comfortable while you're here. I mean, you have family here, which is kind of nice. So do you find that you don't really miss home too much? Do you miss mom and dad?
Sojung Jun 22:17
Hmm, I would say, when I first came here, I missed them, a little bit. But now...I love them, but I don't really miss them.
Evan Franulovich 22:36
I get it.
Sojung Jun 22:37
And also they've visited Seattle. They actually came back to Korea on Saturday, on last Saturday.
Evan Franulovich 22:49
They were just here.
Sojung Jun 22:51
Yes, how long were they here? They were staying here about two months.
Evan Franulovich 22:58
Okay, two months. That's a long time.
Sojung Jun 23:00
Yeah, as the visa allows.
Evan Franulovich 23:04
Are they retired, or are they able to work from here?
Sojung Jun 23:06
Oh, they were able to work here remote.
Evan Franulovich 23:10
Very good. Yeah, yeah. Well, that's nice. Did you guys just do touristy things with them, or did they just sit and, you know, hang out with you?
Sojung Jun 23:19
Half and a half. We went to Bainbridge Island, we went to Renton, we went to Ruston in Tacoma.
Evan Franulovich 23:30
Okay.
Sojung Jun 23:31
Which is a beautiful town.
Evan Franulovich 23:32
Yeah, yeah.
Sojung Jun 23:33
And also, we just, you know, we were just staying home, cooking some Korean food, enjoying Christmas and the New Year's day together.
Evan Franulovich 23:43
That's really cool.
Sojung Jun 23:44
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 23:44
Was that their first time in the US?
Sojung Jun 23:46
No, they have been.
Evan Franulovich 23:49
Were they international students when they were younger?
Sojung Jun 23:52
No.
Evan Franulovich 23:53
Oh, they weren't.
Sojung Jun 23:54
They weren't.
Evan Franulovich 23:55
Three of their kids, three kids total. You're all in the US now.
Sojung Jun 23:59
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 24:00
So that you're very supportive of you guys going off to... that's really interesting. So now they're just home by themselves?
Sojung Jun 24:06
Yeah, with the cat.
Evan Franulovich 24:09
Of course. Do you guys have any pets here?
Sojung Jun 24:13
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 24:13
You do?
Sojung Jun 24:14
I do.
Evan Franulovich 24:14
You're the first international student I've interviewed that has a pet, or at least that I've asked maybe.
Sojung Jun 24:19
We have two kittens in our home. It's just lovely. And so their name is Poppy and Berry.
Evan Franulovich 24:27
Okay, do you speak to them in English or in Korean?
Sojung Jun 24:30
I want to say that our cats are bilingual.
Evan Franulovich 24:35
They have bilingual cats.
Sojung Jun 24:36
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 24:37
That's great.
Sojung Jun 24:38
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 24:38
So I got my cat from China, in Chengdu when I lived in China, and I brought him back to the United States. So when we got here, you know, he didn't speak any English, so we had to really work on that. He only speaks Chinese. It was great, though.
Sojung Jun 24:52
Okay.
Evan Franulovich 24:52
Frank, he's a big baby, cries a lot, but he's a good cat.
Sojung Jun 24:56
Okay.
Evan Franulovich 24:57
Well, that's cool. You're the first one that's had an animal. What do you do for fun, like, are you involved with clubs or extracurricular activities? Do you do leadership?
Sojung Jun 25:08
Oh, that's a good question. I'm a member of PTK, which is Phi Theta Kappa. Which is our honor society that to an international student might be unfamiliar with the concept of what is an honor society.
Evan Franulovich 25:27
Tell them.
Sojung Jun 25:27
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 25:28
What is it? What is PTK?
Sojung Jun 25:29
So PTK is a organization with community colleges in the US. And I believe that Phi Theta Kappa is the largest honor society in the US. It's a big organization, and so we have mainly have two projects going on along the corridor, which one is HIA, it's stands for 'Honors in Action.'
Evan Franulovich 26:02
Okay.
Sojung Jun 26:02
And it's basically about the research about our community. So last time we were doing a research about homelessness and sleep deprivation.
Evan Franulovich 26:13
Oh, that's a real problem.
Sojung Jun 26:18
Yeah, and for the other one is called college project, which is actually doing something. So, for example, now we are doing clothing donations. Our Tigers closet is up there on the third floor.
Evan Franulovich 26:40
Yeah, that is great. So I'm not really sure I understand, though. So did you say clothes?
Sojung Jun 26:45
Yeah, clothes.
Evan Franulovich 26:46
So you're collecting clothes.
Sojung Jun 26:47
Yeah, to donate.
Evan Franulovich 26:48
To students or to anybody in the community?
Sojung Jun 26:50
To the community.
Evan Franulovich 26:52
Okay.
Sojung Jun 26:52
So it's like a one center in our community that needs clothing donations. And, yeah, I think I forgot the name of that organization, but I remember that the organization was for women and who are single moms.
Evan Franulovich 27:20
So where do you get your donations from? How are you finding people to donate?
Sojung Jun 27:24
So we have been promoting our project with posters, flyers, and through our social media.
Evan Franulovich 27:33
Okay.
Sojung Jun 27:33
And we have the actual physical place that has that clothing box and then room and the posters. So we are collecting the clothes, waiting for students.
Evan Franulovich 27:47
So if you're already here in Seattle, if you're a Seattle listener or a student here at Seattle, where can they just contact you? Or do they just go? Which room do they go to to donate clothes?
Sojung Jun 28:02
You can contact me.
Evan Franulovich 28:03
Okay. Yeah, you said social media site. You got a social media site?
Sojung Jun 28:10
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 28:10
Which is the social media site that they can go to?
Sojung Jun 28:15
We have our own Instagram account. It's called Seattle Central PTK.
Evan Franulovich 28:20
Good to know.
Sojung Jun 28:20
Yeah. And yeah, you can find a lot of information there. And also you can DM us to ask a questions. And also they have, it has our president email on the bio.
Evan Franulovich 28:34
Who is the president?
Sojung Jun 28:34
It's Thomas.
Evan Franulovich 28:38
International student?
Sojung Jun 28:39
Yeah, International. He's from Taiwan.
Evan Franulovich 28:41
Yeah, I should interview him. Wow, there you go.
Sojung Jun 28:44
We should do like, a Phi Theta Kappa...
Evan Franulovich 28:46
I think that's a great idea.
Sojung Jun 28:47
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 28:48
Especially since Phi Theta Kappa, you guys need to really look into this when you're here, it is an honor society, so not just anybody can get in. You do have to maintain a certain GPA.
Sojung Jun 29:00
3.3 GPA.
Evan Franulovich 29:03
3.3 GPA. I'm a little unclear on this sometimes, do you have to be invited in, or can you just apply to get in?
Sojung Jun 29:07
Um, so it can be both.
Evan Franulovich 29:10
It can be both.
Sojung Jun 29:12
If you have average BA of over then 3.3 then we will automatically send you invitations to join our PTK in our chapter in our college. But if you didn't get an invitation, even if you have 3.3 GPA, then you can also contact us in order to join sure.
Evan Franulovich 29:37
And there is a website for Phi Theta Kappa, you can check out. Just do a Google search for Phi Theta Kappa. It's a really great organization, because not only can you get some leadership experience, but you can also get a scholarship, right?
Sojung Jun 29:49
Yes, yes.
Evan Franulovich 29:50
Have you applied for a scholarship through Phi Theta Kappa?
Sojung Jun 29:52
Not yet. I think I heard that is quite competitive. But there's a lot of scholarships that you can apply to, and I've actually seen somebody who won the scholarship, which is great.
Evan Franulovich 30:12
I agree.
Sojung Jun 30:12
Yeah, there's possibilities.
Evan Franulovich 30:14
In fact, one of the young women from Tunisia, she was an alumni from here. I just interviewed her a few weeks ago, and she got a rather generous Phi Theta Kappa scholarship. And she'd been an officer with Phi Theta Kappa, so she got great experience. She got a scholarship through it. Yeah. Really cool organization.
Sojung Jun 30:36
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 30:37
How many members are there here at Central?
Sojung Jun 30:40
When it comes to members, then I would say about 20.
Evan Franulovich 30:46
Okay, so it's not a huge group. Why don't more people join?
Sojung Jun 30:50
Umm...
Evan Franulovich 30:52
Maybe they just don't know about it.
Sojung Jun 30:54
Some of them are, but I believe there are more members because it's the process. They don't need to show up practically to the meetings. Yeah, so we don't know even if you are actually a member, but you're part of us. So for the officers, we have President of PTK in our chapter. And we have Vice President of College project and vice president of HIA and Vice President of Public Affairs, which I applied for, I hope I could get in. And we have advisor who is a professor.
Evan Franulovich 31:40
Right.
Sojung Jun 31:41
So these are the working people and the members. We've seen a lot of members, that's why I say about 20 or 25 but I think there would be more.
Evan Franulovich 31:55
Sure, there's probably a list out there of people who do it. But if you're not part of it, if you're a student that has a GPA that's worthy, please consider applying. It's a great place to go and meet good people, maybe get a scholarship opportunity. So yeah, lots of great, great choices.
Sojung Jun 32:16
Yeah, and we've been doing a lot of workshops, weekly, bi weekly.
Evan Franulovich 32:20
What kind of workshops?
Sojung Jun 32:23
This month it was about job readiness and resume.
Evan Franulovich 32:31
Yeah, yeah.
Sojung Jun 32:31
A lot of careers and also, yeah, transferring as well.
Evan Franulovich 32:35
Right. If you're going to do OPT, having a good resume put together is a really great idea. I mean, even if down the road, you open your own business and you don't really need a resume, it's still a good skill, I think. And yeah, and I think networking is one of the best parts. Meet good people that are like minded. Well, that sounds great, so you're busy with that. And what else are you doing as far as extracurricular?
Sojung Jun 32:58
Extracurricular? I am about to start a volunteer work that is for our community, which is, which is called Reading Partners.
Evan Franulovich 33:12
Oh, cool.
Sojung Jun 33:13
So it is about helping children literacy to making a like, a little tutor sessions, you know, reading books, maybe helping them study.
Evan Franulovich 33:26
And where do you do that? Will they come to campus, or do you have to go to their school?
Sojung Jun 33:31
Oh, yeah, we have to go to their school. And then there's a lot of reading centers in our community.
Evan Franulovich 33:37
Okay.
Sojung Jun 33:38
Some in Northgate, some in university, UDistrict, some in Capitol Hill.
Evan Franulovich 33:44
And how much time do you give to that or will you give to that effort?
Sojung Jun 33:50
It is about, I believe it was about two hours in a week, four hours in a week. But I have to check again, because my tutor orientation session is also coming up. Yeah, orientation.
Evan Franulovich 34:10
Oh, so, so when you apply for it and you get it, do they give you credit as well the volunteer credit? Because I know you, some people do it for, like, a class almost, where you get what's called...anyway, you get class credit. But in your case, you're not doing it.
Sojung Jun 34:30
Yeah, it's not for credit.
Evan Franulovich 34:33
And it's unpaid. So it's all just out of the goodness of your heart?
Sojung Jun 34:38
Mhmm.
Evan Franulovich 34:39
Nice!
Sojung Jun 34:40
Thank you!
Evan Franulovich 34:41
That's really cool. And do your brother and sister do this kind of thing as well? Is that how you heard about it?
Sojung Jun 34:50
I have no idea.
Evan Franulovich 34:54
You should talk to your brother and sister.
Sojung Jun 34:55
Yes, I think so. But I because my sister was in North Seattle College. It was during the pandemic, so she didn't get to do a lot of extra credits.
Evan Franulovich 35:11
Did you consider North over Central? Or did you consider South?
Sojung Jun 35:14
Oh, that's a good question, because at first I considered north.
Evan Franulovich 35:19
Okay.
Sojung Jun 35:20
Yeah, I live closer to the North Campus.
Evan Franulovich 35:23
Northgate area?
Sojung Jun 35:24
Yeah. And also my sister went there. So my sister said, 'NSC was really good. You have to apply, you have to go there too.' And then it turns out that I have to go to Central Campus in order to take SCIE classes. Then Central is nice.
Evan Franulovich 35:44
That's pretty cool.
Sojung Jun 35:45
Yes, I really like the location and the diversity that we have. We have a lot of students from North and South, and also some from Kent, Renton.
Evan Franulovich 35:59
Right, right. So if you don't understand what she just said. No, you said it well, I just want to make sure that. SCIE is our institute of English. So if you are a second language user, like English is not your first language. You may, depending on your scores of your English proficiency test. You may have to start there and do a little time before you're college ready, which is what she did, and that program is housed here at the central campus.
Sojung Jun 36:31
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 36:31
So you would need to start here. But if your heart really wants to go to South or North, which we encourage you, know you could start here, do your English and then head over there if you want to. Yeah, but if you end up loving Central staying is always an option as as well. It's kind of the nice thing about the program. Your English is so good, it kind of.
Sojung Jun 36:50
Thank you!
Evan Franulovich 36:51
I didn't remember that we had met SCIE, because I was like, 'Well, your English is so good.' So did you feel confident with your English when you first got here, or were you really nervous about your English?
Sojung Jun 37:03
I would say I wasn't that confident with my English. Yeah, I weren't. No, I weren't. It's because I was not...I would say, because my brother and sister, they graduated UW, they are proficient, they are fluent.
Evan Franulovich 37:28
Their English is great.
Sojung Jun 37:29
Yeah. So they were a clear object of comparing with me and my sister and brother. So, yeah, I wasn't confident, but I got helped from SCIE a lot, and now I think I'm not 100% confident. But why not? It's just part of language. It's just yeah.
Evan Franulovich 37:56
Yeah, It seems like you've picked it up really fast. See, you told me you started at level three, so I kind of figured that's like intermediate. I wouldn't call you an intermediate speaker. Good job. When you're sitting around home with your sister, do you speak in Korean? Or do you speak in English?
Sojung Jun 38:11
We speak in Korean?
Evan Franulovich 38:12
Oh, you do.
Sojung Jun 38:12
So sometimes she speaks in speaks in English, which I found kind of cringe, really. So one thing about English, about me, is that it has its own atmosphere, or that impression of like confident. So that's why, if I imagine me speaking English, then maybe I would imagine me with sunglasses.
Evan Franulovich 38:44
You know what I mean?
That's what I do everyday.
Sojung Jun 38:47
Yeah. So it's just, so sometimes she speaks in English, then I would immediately respond back in Korean. Speaking Korean or not was, but I don't say those kind of things, but I just personally found it kind of cringe, but only for my sister.
Evan Franulovich 39:09
Okay. That makes total sense. Oh, wait, that means it's trivia talk. So the Trivia Time, we ask you five different questions. If you get them, all right, you make it on our wall of fame. And if you don't, it's okay, you'll just cry yourself tonight. No, it's just for fun. So, all right. Question number one: Since we're talking about Korean, you got to test your Korean. So question number one: What does 'Dwi Huryeo Chagi' mean?
Sojung Jun 39:52
Sorry?
Evan Franulovich 39:55
How about we just make it easier, because my I'm probably butchering your language. How about we just say. What is a 'Chagi'?
Sojung Jun 40:01
'Chagi', so as a verb?
Evan Franulovich 40:04
Yeah.
Sojung Jun 40:05
'Chagi' means kick.
Evan Franulovich 40:07
Yes! She's really Korean.
Sojung Jun 40:11
Yay! I'm certified.
Evan Franulovich 40:13
All right, here's another Korean question. You ready? How many degrees of black belt are there in taekwondo?
Sojung Jun 40:21
How many degrees of black belt?
Evan Franulovich 40:23
In World Federation Taekwondo?
Sojung Jun 40:26
Whoa.
Evan Franulovich 40:29
It's the national sport of Korea.
Sojung Jun 40:31
It is, it is.
Evan Franulovich 40:32
No pressure.
Sojung Jun 40:33
Oh, okay, how many levels?
Evan Franulovich 40:35
Yeah, how many dans are there in black belt?
Sojung Jun 40:38
Oh, okay. Um, I'm not so sure, because I've never gotten to learn Taekwondo.
Evan Franulovich 40:47
It's so funny. I've interviewed number of Korean students, and none of them have done Taekwondo. That's so crazy. So there are nine levels of black belt in World Taekwondo Federation. Have you been to the Kukkiwon?
Sojung Jun 41:01
Cookie one?
Evan Franulovich 41:02
In Seoul?
Sojung Jun 41:03
I don't think so.
Evan Franulovich 41:06
You definitely gotta go. It's really great. There's a great little museum there. They got the great training floor. I was a Taekwondo instructor for like seven years, so that's why, I'm big fan of Korea. Yeah, I went to Kukkiwon when I was there. You know, we did some...
Sojung Jun 41:21
Oh, Kukkiwon! Oh, now I got it. Okay.
Evan Franulovich 41:24
I'm just saying it wrong.
Sojung Jun 41:26
It's okay. I just heard it's cookie something.
Evan Franulovich 41:30
K-u-k-k-i-w-o-n.
Sojung Jun 41:33
Yeah, It's my ear.
Evan Franulovich 41:34
My Chinese is better than my Korean. Very good. Nice job. All right. Question number three: You are in the state of Washington. What is the capital city of the state of Washington?
Sojung Jun 41:48
Oh, that's a really difficult question.
Evan Franulovich 41:50
That is a difficult question.
Sojung Jun 41:52
Seattle?
Evan Franulovich 41:53
Seattle is not the capital.
Sojung Jun 41:55
Oh! Edmonds?
Evan Franulovich 41:58
No, the capital in Washington starts with an O.
Sojung Jun 42:02
O?
Evan Franulovich 42:03
And it's south of here.
Sojung Jun 42:05
South of here.
Evan Franulovich 42:07
It's a cute little town, actually.
Sojung Jun 42:10
Othello?
Evan Franulovich 42:11
Good guess. It's Olympia.
Sojung Jun 42:13
Oh, Olympia!
Evan Franulovich 42:15
So if you haven't been to Olympia and you get a chance, you should definitely check it out. You can take Amtrak, which is our train right down to Olympia only takes about a couple hours maybe it's really great.
Sojung Jun 42:25
Yeah, that's so cool.
Evan Franulovich 42:26
Yeah.
Sojung Jun 42:27
I would definitely check it out.
Evan Franulovich 42:28
Okay. Question number four: As an international student, if you are going to maintain your visa status, how many credits do you have to take each quarter?
Sojung Jun 42:41
At least 12 credits.
Evan Franulovich 42:43
Yes! And how many of those credits have to be in either in person classes or hybrid classes?
Sojung Jun 42:50
Oh, I just said 12, right?
Evan Franulovich 42:57
12 is the total.
Sojung Jun 42:57
Yeah, and I believe seven.
Evan Franulovich 43:01
Yes! All right, great. So the last question, and this is a really hard question, is, what was the last movie you saw in the theaters?
Sojung Jun 43:12
In the theaters, not in my home?
Evan Franulovich 43:15
Well, if you don't go to the theater, then yeah, what did you see at home?
Sojung Jun 43:18
Um, in the theaters I watched 'Wicked.'
Evan Franulovich 43:24
Oh, what'd you think?
Sojung Jun 43:26
I loved it.
Evan Franulovich 43:27
Yeah, it was up for a lot of Academy Awards. Yeah, it's, uh, I haven't seen it yet, so I'm kind of curious.
Sojung Jun 43:34
It is really good.
Evan Franulovich 43:37
Good singing.
Sojung Jun 43:38
Yeah, singing, comedy.
Evan Franulovich 43:40
Sure.
Sojung Jun 43:41
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 43:42
Did you know, have you seen the Broadway play?
Sojung Jun 43:46
Not yet. But I've loved to in the future.
Evan Franulovich 43:50
Cool. Did you watch the Academy Awards?
Sojung Jun 43:54
On live I didn't. I just checked some of the clips that are pops up on the short forum.
Evan Franulovich 44:01
Look at the dresses.
Sojung Jun 44:03
He won this award, she won this award.
Evan Franulovich 44:04
Yeah, yeah.
Sojung Jun 44:05
Congratulations and beautiful dresses.
Evan Franulovich 44:07
So who's your favorite Korean actress?
Sojung Jun 44:10
Oh, that's a really great question, because I am a movie nerd.
Evan Franulovich 44:14
Me too.
Sojung Jun 44:17
Oh, I would like to say my favorite Korean actors...only one?
Evan Franulovich 44:23
Gotta narrow it down.
Sojung Jun 44:25
Yeah, it is hard. I'm really serious, sorry.
Evan Franulovich 44:34
Well, while you're thinking about it, have you seen squid game?
Sojung Jun 44:36
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 44:37
Of course, everybody's seen it.
Sojung Jun 44:38
Yeah.
Evan Franulovich 44:39
That was kind of my big intro to Korean cinema or television, I was like, 'Whoa, this is crazy.' Oh, it was really fun to watch, though. And did you see parasite?
Sojung Jun 44:49
Yes, I did.
Evan Franulovich 44:50
Would you think?
Sojung Jun 44:50
I liked it. I really loved it.
Evan Franulovich 44:53
Yeah, cool.
Sojung Jun 44:54
And also, a new movie from that same director, Bong Joon Ho is coming out this Thursday, I think. It's called Mickey 17. Oh, and their main main character is Robert Pattinson from Twilight. Washington!
Evan Franulovich 45:21
So, did he come to the US to direct it? Was it shot in Korea?
Sojung Jun 45:25
I heard they shot in a lot of different locations. So they are in Korea promoting the movie.
Evan Franulovich 45:33
Cool.
Sojung Jun 45:33
And I probably think they also have Mark Ruffalo In the movie.
Evan Franulovich 45:39
I love Mark Ruffalo. That's so great. Check it out. Say the name of the movie again?
Sojung Jun 45:46
Mickey 17.
Evan Franulovich 45:48
Mickey 17. All right, so it's just coming out. Wow, very cool. I will check it out too. Do you know if it's going to open in Seattle soon?
Sojung Jun 45:56
Uhmm.
Evan Franulovich 45:57
Oh, good. So you can see it right here in the city of Seattle or anywhere else in the US. Wow, very cool. Well, you did pretty well on your questions. Good job. Before wrapping it up, the final things I have you do is, we invite our international student guests to say a few words in their first language. Now, we've had a few Korean guests already, but you know, everybody says things a little bit differently, like my English is definitely different than the English they speak down in Georgia. So maybe you know, 10-15, seconds worth whatever you could say hi to your mom and dad, or you can give words of wisdom or whatever you want to do.
Sojung Jun 46:34
Okay, um, can you do 3-2-1?
No, wait a minute. 1-2-3.
*Sojung's advice in Korean*
Evan Franulovich 47:08
Very nice. And then, of course, the last question of the day is, you've been through the process. You've traveled all this way. You have siblings who've been international students. If you were going to give advice to those kids back in your region that are thinking about coming to Seattle, maybe they're thinking about a community college, but they're not really sure. What kind of advice would you give them?
Sojung Jun 47:30
I would like to say that starting at the community college and then considering transfer to four year university is really common and also really great option to think about, and also have enough time to think about your major, your future career. Especially for the Korean people, I know we really like the name dropping. I know name matters to us, but I would like to say community college is really great, yeah. And to be honest, I was also the one who really obsessed with the names of especially when it comes to school, but I found all the experiences really helpful and useful and meaningful here. Yeah, come to Seattle, start your own journey, and don't be afraid of anything.
Evan Franulovich 48:32
Yeah, good advice. And actually, what she's saying, you know, if you are interested in names, and there's a lot of cultures around the world that you know that's kind of important to them. The nice thing about community colleges is you do two years, and then you transfer into your last two years, your junior and senior year, and in the end, when you get your bachelor's degree, it will say the name of the institution where you transfer to. So if she ends up going to the University of Washington, she's not going to have a diploma that says, you know, Seattle Colleges. She'll have one that says University of Washington, which is a nationally ranked division one research institution, fantastic school. So you get your start here, you save a lot of money, save some time, maybe then go and get your name brand diploma wherever you want. We've had students go to Columbia, University of California. So yeah, the sky is kind of the limit. Keep your grades high and your choices are unlimited really. So cool. Nice job. Where was the dream school? You know, of those four year schools, like, did you want to go to Harvard or something?
Sojung Jun 49:38
When I was in Korea in my high school, I was thinking about University of Pennsylvania, top business school. And also UW, because my sister and brother went there. And also Fosters is a really good school.
Evan Franulovich 49:56
A great business school.
Sojung Jun 49:58
I remember that too. Those two was my top like target schools, but for now it's UC Berkeley, Haas Business School seems really fun and really great. And still, Foster School is in my mind. And yeah, especially, mostly the West Coast.
Evan Franulovich 50:18
Right, right. Have you been down to San Francisco to visit. Not yet, great city. Yeah. I mean, I hope you'll stay in Seattle, because it's a great place, but San Francisco is a really nice place to be. My three favorite cities in the US are New York, San Francisco and then Seattle. Great cities.
Sojung Jun 50:35
I love that combination. I want to go to San Francisco and New York too.
Evan Franulovich 50:39
For sure. While you're here, you get a vacation quarter, take your time, go off and see the world.
Sojung Jun 50:45
Yes.
Evan Franulovich 50:45
It's wonderful. Well, thanks so much for all your time and all your information. We really appreciate it.
Sojung Jun 50:50
I hope this helps.
Evan Franulovich 50:52
It helped me. Can't speak for these guys out in the world. But no, I think it's always super interesting and great. Thanks so much for coming. Hey guys, don't forget Seattle Colleges 'Conversations with!' Every Wednesday here. We interview staff and students and people around the world. So come learn about being an international student, about community colleges, about the great city of Seattle we'd love to have you. Don't forget to like, share and subscribe please. Good luck with the rest of your year.
Sojung Jun 51:22
Thank you so much.
Evan Franulovich 51:23
Enjoy your summer. Bye guys.
Sojung Jun 51:28
Bye!
Evan Franulovich 51:29
'Conversations with!' is painstakingly crafted for you by the Seattle Colleges International Programs department and supported by the lovely folks here on our campus. This show is produced and edited by me, Evan Franulovich. We welcome your emails and questions about coming to Seattle Colleges. Please reach out to us via our website or just give us a rating and a review on Apple podcasts as this helps others discover the show. Also, don't forget to follow us on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok or YouTube at Seattle Colleges Intl, that's Seattle Colleges Intl. And be sure to check out all of the shows here on 'Conversations with!' Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next week.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai