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Sean's Year in Morton — A Rotary Youth Exchange Story
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What does it feel like to leave your home in Busan, South Korea, land in the cornfields of Central Illinois, and call it home for a year? In this episode, we sit down with Sean Kim — a high school senior from South Korea who spent nearly 12 months in Morton as part of the Rotary International Youth Exchange program — along with Sue Colby, Youth Exchange Chair for Rotary District 6460, to wrap up one of the most meaningful episodes we've recorded here at MUSE.
Sean talks openly about arriving in Morton expecting Chicago suburbs and finding cornfields instead, the loneliness of those first few months before finding his people, falling in love with Mexican food, and the Midwestern wave that caught him completely off guard. He gives honest, thoughtful advice to future exchange students, calls out the friends and families who made his year what it was, and shares what he's taking home with him — not just in his suitcase, but in who he's become.
Sue walks us through how the Rotary Youth Exchange program actually works — from the three-year cycle of application, exchange, and rebound, to the challenges of rebuilding the program in a post-COVID world. She also shares why she believes this program is one of the most powerful tools for building peace that exists today.
This one got a little emotional at the end. We think you'll understand why.
🔗 Learn more about Rotary Youth Exchange District 6460: www.rotarydistrict6460.org
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Ben: Welcome to Morton Musing News, where we bring you events, highlight the voices, and celebrate the unique charm of our community. From local happenings and business spotlights to heartfelt interviews with people who make Morton special, this is your go-to source for staying connected with all things Morton Tune in and let's discover what makes our town truly remarkable, one story at a time
Hello, hello, and welcome back to another riveting episode of Morton Muse and News. It is 9,100 degrees outside right now But we are in the cool confines of Muse on Queenwood. And I'm here with two friends of mine, and a very, very important episode for me, 'cause it involves some experiences that I've had over the last four months with somebody, and I'll introduce my guests here in just a second.
But first, I wanted to go ahead and touch base with a couple of the most previous episodes and some statistics about Morton Muse and News. [00:01:00] The first statistic that I'm proud to share is 2,607 total downloads, with the top episodes being Katrina Fitzpatrick and Bob Hornsby's episode, Tom Van Ness's episode about grief.
He has his own podcast series that is pretty fascinating. And a third epis- episode at about fall of two years ago now, Miss Delfonzo and Owen Riesberg won, and the cross-country team at the Morton Junior High School won state championship, and I had them in here for an interview about that process of being an athlete, being a coach, going to state and winning.
And the top episodes in the last three months are about Jute & Jade, the new interior design... Well, it's not new. It's a relocation of an interior design mother and daughter pair, and fresh floral shop here in the old... What was it called? It was called the, um- The Flickingers. Thank you. The Flickingers building.
Beautiful new materials and construction design over here on the south side of town. [00:02:00] Additionally Play Street Cafe, which is over here in the Field Shopping Center. That is one of our other top episodes downloaded in the last three months. We have episodes downloaded in 36 countries, 305 cities.
Most people are getting their episodes from Apple Podcasts, 38%. 25% of people are going to my website, and that's in the show notes. You can find our website there for Morton Muse and News. Another 15% from Facebook. And where I get all my podcasts from, Spotify. Another 5% from Spotify. Enough of that, and this is my chance to introduce my two guests.
I have here with me today in the studio Sue Colby. Say hi, Sue.
Sue: Hi.
Ben: And Hyun Suk, right? Yeah. Did I pronounce that right? Yeah. So this is Sean Kim from South Korea, and I, I asked Sean to be a guest on this on this podcast because he is now kind of closing a chapter on his 12-month experience. Was it 12 months?
Sean: Almost, yeah.
Ben: His almost 12-month experience of being a foreign exchange student [00:03:00] from South Korea to Morton, Illinois, and graduating his senior year at Morton High School. And Sue's role inside of all of that is that she is the... Uh, maybe you can fill in the blank here. Is it a director position? What is the title of that?
Sue: The youth exchange chair-
Ben: Youth exchange chair ...
Sue: for District 6460-
Ben: Okay ...
Sue: in Rotary International.
Ben: Okay And so I've got a series of questions for Sean to kind of wrap up his almost 12-month experience, and then questions specifically for Sue about that, that role of being the youth exchange chair, and how maybe we can get more people involved, or at least more people familiar with what's going on with Rotary and the youth exchange program.
So, um, right out of the gate, Sean, tell the listeners a little bit about who Sean is at the age of 16 when you're deciding that you wanna do Rotary Exchange. So about a year ago.
Sean: Oh.
Ben: Yeah, in South Korea. Okay.
Sean: About a year ago I was, [00:04:00] that's John Kim, Hyunjong Kim, in, back in Korea, Busan, which is second biggest city.
I like to play basketball with my friends. I was involved in school basketball team and one club basketball team in my city. And I had quite a few role at my school. I was class chair my s- freshman year, and then I was serving at the broadcast team at the school, so we were in charge of, like, all the broadsc- broadcasting in our school, and,
Ben: So, like, documenting with cameras the activities that the students are doing?
Sean: Yeah. Is, am I thinking of that right? We organized student events, et cetera, and then our main job was broadcasting from, um, like announcing school events and whatnot stuff from teachers.
Ben: Okay, okay. Yeah. So part of the public relations and advocating for what students' activities and what's going on?
Yeah, in school, yeah. Okay. Sounds great. Sue, give us a little bit of background of yourself for the [00:05:00] listeners who may not already know you.
Sue: Oh, okay. I have been in Morton for 45 or 6 years. Transplanted from the Chicago suburbs and came down here for a job, and turned into a marriage and life.
So, um, started a small business back in '94, Vintage Optical, which is thriving today under new ownership. I've retired, and with all my retirement time I like to spend it facilitating youth exchange, uh, opportunities for students in our district, which is West Central Illinois.
Ben: Okay. All right. And how long have you been doing that for, since retirement?
Sue: This role, Youth Exchange has many opportunities for service under Rotary International. I started as a mom that said, "This is a great program. I think I'd like to [00:06:00] get my daughter to go."
Ben: Okay.
Sue: And she was an exchange student back in 2008.
Ben: Okay. 2008. So you've been involved since then- Yes ... in some capacity.
Sue: That was what got me started saying, "I need to give back," because the opportunity afforded her was something that was life-changing, and I saw the benefit- And I said, "Well, I need to provide that opportunity to other students." And so, you know, the role that I played was called a youth exchange officer.
In every town that hosts an exchange student, every club has an individual that manages the student is their legal guardian when they're in the country, and provides the support and connection between the school, the host families, and our club.
Ben: Okay.
Sue: Um, and then-
Ben: And the inspiration behind all of that was just, like, the gratitude of paying it forward- Yeah, yeah
for the experience your daughter had?
Sue: Yeah, absolutely. Is that... Okay. And and doing the youth exchange [00:07:00] officer role connected me with some young people very closely. I was their mentor and their guide and also the bad cop. G- You know, we have a good cop, too, but, sometimes kids make choices just like our kids do, and they need redirection and support, and so that's what our role is.
Okay. Um, then a few years ago, I was asked to move up to the vice chair position, which is just a little bit more administrative type of work. And now for the last year, I've been in the chair position, which is more administrative work. You just
Ben: keep on going up into the administrative
Sue: chain?
Yeah, this is the head of our district, which is about 50 rotary clubs and all the students are underneath my rule.
Ben: Okay. Yeah.
Sue: I'm kidding.
Ben: Y- Your, your guidance. Yeah. Yeah, your leadership. Okay. Yeah. All right. Yeah. Let's do a microphone check and make sure that we're about this close to the microphone, so come closer to [00:08:00] it.
Yes. Yeah, you wanna be closer. At least, like- I don't wanna
Sue: fall off ... like,
Ben: a... Yeah, a fist's way. Okay. And I'll edit all that out, so there you go. All right, Sean, back to you. Question about your... Would you call it an assignment, like, when you got chosen to go to Morton, Illinois? I- Is that the right terminology, when you were assigned to Morton, or when you were picked for Morton, Illinois?
Yeah. When you found out that you were gonna spending, be spending your senior year there, what were some of the thoughts that you had going through your head? I think I've spoken with you about this before in the past. Did you think that Morton was really close to Chicago?
Sean: Yeah. When I look up-
Ben: Come closer to the microphone
Sean: when I look up the Morton, Illinois on the map, it looked like it really close to Chicago.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: And also back in Korea people- Don't, don't really know about other small areas, but it li- it, but Chicago in Illinois.
Ben: You're saying people in South Korea don't know about Morton, Illinois?
Sean: No.
Unfortunately, no.
Ben: He said, "No."
Sean: I don't think so. So, um, yeah. [00:09:00] So most of-
Ben: So going into it, you thought you were gonna be close to the city.
Sean: Yeah, I thought- Okay ... I'm in Chicago suburb.
Ben: And you thought, and you were gonna be excited about that.
Sean: Yeah. '
Ben: Cause Busan is a city of how many million people, where you're from?
Um,
Sean: 3.5 million.
Ben: Okay. A
Sean: little bit more.
Ben: So you're- you're used to that urban environment. You get assigned to Morton. You're thinking, "Yes, Chicago Bulls." Yeah. Like I'm, I'm gonna be close to the city, right?
Sean: Yeah, I was thinking um, go up to Chicago and hang out every weekend.
Ben: Yeah. And that, that kinda stems me over to my next part of the question, which is, like, how did that then compare to the reality of
Have you seen those, like, Instagram and Facebook things? Like, "Hey, this is the, y- the meme," or, "This is the Instagram version of it, and this is the reality version of it." Oh, yeah, yeah. How did that compare to the reality of you coming to Morton, Illinois? Obviously not going to Chicago every weekend.
Sean: No. Yeah if I go to Chicago every week, it would be a [00:10:00] lot of gas money and time.
Ben: Yeah, yeah.
Sean: So unfortunately, I not been able to doing that, so it's more like, Was- ... it's really different than I thought-
Ben: Yeah ...
Sean: what it would be. But I think there are some positive part of experiencing real Midwesterners' life, you know?
Okay.
Ben: How long did it take for you to get to that positive observation? I would imagine that at first you were probably disappointed. I mean, if it were me coming from a city, thinking that I'm going to a foreign exchange program in another city- Mm ... of a culture that's totally different than mine, I'd be excited about that.
Mm. And then to have that switch when I get there, that realization of, "Oh, I am not gonna be in Chicago," that had to be probably disappointing at first. How long did it take, or what was an experience that you had somewhere early on when you first arrived where you were like, "Okay, this could be cool"?[00:11:00]
Sean: Yeah definitely I would say like it's a disappointment or like-
Ben: Oh, you didn't feel disappointment?
Sean: Yeah, 'cause I was kinda like ready to get out of my like- Your- ... what I used to, you know? Okay. Like urban thing, city.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: And I knew it would be the same 'cause it, I knew it, it's not gonna be like Chicago.
Ben: Yeah. So. I love that about you. Thank you. I mean, that, that, that- Yeah ... that's a certain kind of personality characteristic. I don't think I would be like that. I would be disappointed, for one. Mm-hmm. But it would take me some time to come to the observation of like, "Oh, this could be cool, too." Yeah. So neat that you see that as, like, just an open door of possibility.
Like, "Oh, yeah. Whatever. I'll go downstate, Midwest, away from the city, and I'll just make the best of it."
Sean: Yeah, but definitely I was surprised. The first day I came here, I drove Peoria Airport to my ho- first host family's house. I saw lots of corn field on the way. [00:12:00] I was like, "Oh."
Ben: That's a lot of corn.
Sean: Yeah, that's a lot of corn. I was impressed. But then second day, I visited Morton Bank, and then Morton Ro- Rotary, and then, like, s- look around the town a little bit, and I met some people, and then that gave me positive reinforcement.
Ben: Yeah. Ooh, good word.
Sean: Yeah. Thank you, of, like, how my exchange year is gonna be.
Like, everyone was, like, really friendly, and then town look... Town was pretty small, but, like, it also has really good vibe, so.
Ben: That's a good youthful word, huh, Sue? I think my generation or maybe even your generation would say charm. But vibe and charm are probably, synonyms of each other. Mm-hmm.
So, what was the biggest cultural discomfort or shock for you coming from urban South Korea to rural Illinois?
Sean: Public transfo- [00:13:00] tr- public tr- transportation-
Ben: Yeah ...
Sean: most of the time.
Ben: Yeah, you've talked about that.
Sean: Like, yeah, in my city there's, uh, um, lots of subway lines, and then there's tons of buses.
They even... we have, like, shared public bike and e- electric scooters all over the street.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: So we could use them to get there, get anywhere we want. But in Morton, I find it's kinda uncomfortable to live in Midwest without vehicle, so like- Which
Ben: of course you couldn't have because, you know- Did not
you don't have a license. You don't have a car.
Sean: Mm-hmm.
Ben: So that added that level of difficulty, right? Yeah. A little bit handicapped in the way of being able to get around and go and doing stuff-
Sean: Mm-hmm ... '
Ben: cause you don't have a car. Yeah. Okay. Okay. I'm gonna jump over to you, Sue. Okay. I've got a question about Rotary.
For the people who have never heard of Rotary International Youth Exchange, can you give us a little bit of an elevator pitch? I think they get- Sure ... the general sense of it, but how would you explain it- Rotary- ... to somebody who would be interested? ...
Sue: International started in Evanston, Illinois by a gentleman, Called Paul [00:14:00] Harris, and he was a businessman that wanted to connect with other business people in Chicago and create a method in which to support the needs of the community philanthropic needs.
And so from that simple four men began in 1920 a an international fellowship of businesspeople, also including women in the '80s. And- It took
Ben: a while to get there, huh?
Sue: It took a while- Oh, man ... for women to be included, but now we're about 50% of the population of Rotarians around the world.
Ben: As it should be.
Sue: Yeah. And I think there's, like, 1.2 million Rotarians worldwide, and we have seven areas of focus. You know, m- maternal and child health, polio eradication, water security. Oh, I'm going to fail here. Education [00:15:00] and literacy, and, um, peace building, which is a key element of the youth exchange program.
Ben: Okay.
Sue: One of our youth exchange students years ago said, "You know, if everybody went on exchange, there would be no more wars because we cannot kill our best friends." And it's a true statement in that. And so, youth exchange is one of the missions of Rotary, to build peace and fellowship around the world.
Ben: As you were talking about that kind of fellowship, about youth exchange being like a tool to spread peace, Sean, you're over here nodding your head. What are your thoughts and comments on that kind of sentiment? You've now experienced what it's like to go from your home country your bubble, your comfort zone, to another country.
What are your thoughts on... can you reinforce that sentiment? Can you say, you know, a- as a matter of fact, that, "Yeah, now that I... Now that I've gone to America," or, or if you were to have ventured off to a European country, that [00:16:00] it w- that that would stand to be true?
Sean: Yeah. For sure, for sure. The youth exchange- connects like all the world.
Connects- I think youth exchange connects all the worlds with um, it's really like great opportunity to like make life- lifetime friends
Ben: I mean, 'cause you now have friends from... Where's Tobias from, Toby?
Sean: Toby's from Sweden.
Ben: Some of your other friends. Thea?
Sean: Thea is from Norway.
Ben: And so you've met these people internationally.
Yeah. I mean, if you were to put a pin on a map of like, "I've got friends in this country"- Yeah, exactly ... you'd have pins all over the place now- Yeah ... just from this one-year experience.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: And I remember very early on you showed me a picture of you on a stage. Your parent rotary organization in South Korea, there's some sort of a ceremony where you guys are receiving your designation as to where you're going, and you were in front of the stage and you were holding an American flag.
Mm. And some of your peers, your South Korean peers, were holding flags of the [00:17:00] destination countries to which they're assigned to. Yeah. And it was quite a Norman Rockwell style, I'm not sure if you're familiar with that artist. A very wholesome picture that made the world kind of shrink down into a one photo, because there's flags from all of these countries throughout.
Mm-hmm. And I remember being really, really i- impressed with that. And so, that brings me to, Switching back over to you, Sean, let's talk about some of the things that I know you're passionate about. Let's talk food.
Um, for the listeners who don't know, Sean has been living with, with me and Katie and Finley, and Genevieve for almost four months now. And we know that... Something that I've observed about Sean is every single time Katie makes something, and she's a good cook, Sean, you do a really good job, and I f- I think I've told you about this he smells it real deeply, almost like a meditation.
And there's so much information being gathered- Yeah ... just in this smell. It's like your eyes are closed, and your chin's up a little bit, and you're just breathing it in. And I [00:18:00] I experience this ob- this observation, and I look at it in a foreign way because I don't do that. But I, looking at it in an appreciative way because I can see the appreciation in your eyes.
Let's talk a little bit about food. What have you come to experience here with food from maybe the Midwest or food from the United States in general?
Sean: Yeah, first of all, I haven't really had Mexican food back home
Ben: So you've never had Mexican food prior to your visit here? It's just not available in South Korea?
Sean: No. Okay. There is not much Mexican restaurant back home. But then I tried Taco Bell here, and then- Maybe a Mexican restaurant like La Fiesta.
Ben: Yeah, Sean likes La Fiesta.
Sean: And I I could say I fell in love with Mexican food.
Ben: Yeah?
Sean: Yeah, I really like it.
Ben: Is that gonna be something that you bring, uh, story-wise back home and talk to your friends about? Yeah, for sure. "Man, you gotta have a cheesy [00:19:00] burrito," or-
Sean: Mm-hmm.
Ben: How would you explain it to them?
Sean: Um-
Ben: I mean, in, in a Korean food way, what would you compare it to?
A cheesy burrito. Let's go with a cheesy burrito.
Sean: Oh, there's like sea- seaweed roll.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: Like, we roll rice and multiple ingredients, like, carrots and, like, egg, like some sort of like, protein.
Ben: Yeah, yeah.
Sean: Then we roll it, roll it in the seaweed.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: I think that's fairly close, but, like-
Ben: But you don't cover it in cheese.
Sean: You don't cover it in cheese.
Ben: I think there's magic in that. Yeah. In that cheese. Okay, besides Mexican food, give me one more.
Sean: Like, family food-wise-
Ben: Mm-hmm ...
Sean: I really like the charcuterie that Katie makes.
Ben: Oh, okay.
Sean: And then also ribs that Katie and Nick Esser, my first host dad, makes. Oh, yeah, I really like those two, I could say.
Yeah.
Ben: [00:20:00] Props to Nick's ribs, huh? Okay.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: Are those what's in the fridge at home right now? Do you have ribs? Yeah, yeah. Yeah. He's got some leftovers from when he went to dinner the other night. That's great. Sue, can you walk us through the process of if a student, or maybe a parent for that matter is interested in finding out more information, who would they go to?
Maybe there's a website drop or an email address somewhere in there. Mm-hmm.
Sue: Youth Exchange students, we try and tell them it's a three-year program, and that first year is the application to become an exchange student. It's not an automatic thing. There's a couple of interviews to go through and a long application once they pass through the interview process.
Once the student has completed the long-form interview, they're entered into the program, and they begin a year about six more months of preparation before they leave on exchange. That time is [00:21:00] spent attending Rotary meetings. They're invited to come to our fun weekends so that the students get to know other exchange students who are gonna go through the same process.
And our district events that Rotary International- hosts that give the students a sense of what Rotary is. We're a service organization, and so we're trying to instill the love of service in these young people. So that first year is a really a preparatory year. At the end of that year in August, the students depart on exchange, and they spend a year abroad attending a high school.
They do not receive credit for that high school attendance in a foreign country unless it's prior arranged with their own school district, and that's something outside of Rotary's purview.
Ben: So that would be something that a parent would need to double check or-
Sue: Right ...
Ben: if that was interest-
Sue: They would want it
an interest of theirs. Yeah.
Ben: They
Sue: would want [00:22:00] to pursue that with their own school district to see whether or not the foreign language credit would transfer- Mm-hmm ... maybe a, a geography or whatever. So we don't make any promises about that. Some students tend to year abroad, and then they come back and repeat that year in high school because they've not gotten any credits to transfer.
Ben: They've essentially taken a year off of American school- Right ... to have a cultural experience- Right ... and then they come back. Sean, is that your case? D- d- does your work here, your academic work here in the United States, does that carry, does that mean anything back home in South Korea?
Sean: No, it doesn't count.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: So it's technically gap year for me. Okay. So I have to yeah, cover it up.
Ben: Are you gonna go back to South Korea and attend what is, like, your senior year, or are you done?
Sean: Um-
Ben: Have you already had, had your senior year of South Korean high school?
Sean: No, I was, Before I come here, I was middle of my junior year.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: So when I go back, I have to attend [00:23:00] my high school for one and half year.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: Yeah, to graduate.
Ben: Okay. Oh.
Sue: Yeah. So, that is true around the world, no matter where the students go. It's really not a guarantee that their credits will transfer. That being said, many students, knowing they're going to do an exchange program, will load up on their classes to get ahead.
There's some opportunity for a gap year, where a student has graduated from high school and then applied for the, you know- They can apply for the program, get enough credits to graduate, and if they're no more than 18 and a half upon departure, they can still do the year abroad.
Ben: Okay.
Sue: And so once they get done with their exchange year, they come back to our district and we call them rebound students.
And a rebound-
Ben: This is the year after they've experienced their cultural exchange ... yes,
Sue: they're, they're back. They-
Ben: So this is what you're getting ready to get [00:24:00] into, right, Sean?
Sue: Yeah. He's gonna be a rebound- Okay ... when he gets back. And so the clubs that- Go ahead and
Ben: pull your microphone closer to you ...
Sue: the clubs that hosted Sean's exchange are going to take him and use him for their future students, because he's now an expert.
He's he's had the experience of living abroad, of engaging in a different culture, and he's gonna be the best resource for the students that are-
Ben: Preparing
Sue: for outbound ... anticipating and going- Uh-huh ... on exchange. So that cycle, that three-year cycle, and then we do utilize some for different programs that they're invaluable because they get it.
They get-
Ben: Yeah ...
Sue: the whole-
Ben: Experience ...
Sue: experience, and they're great advocates for us. They're our best advertising. And a lot of times they're off to college, and so-
Ben: Yeah ...
Sue: uh, we try and keep them engaged at the collegiate level and beyond. But-
Ben: Okay ...
Sue: [00:25:00] yeah, it's, it's usually we call it a three-year program.
Ben: So Sean, let's pretend here for a second that I am preparing to be an outbound student. You are preparing to be an advisor or a guide of the cultural exchange experience. What would be one of the things... Let's pretend I'm a South Korean kid.
Sean: Okay.
Ben: And you're talking to me peer to peer, and you're...
and I've been assigned to go to the United States. Let's just pick Pittsburgh or... Not Morton, right? May- but I want this to be, like a question about maybe United States culture and not specifically to Morton necessarily, but both can be true. What would be some of the advice, what would be some of the things that you would share with me preparing to be an outbound foreign exchange student to the United States?
I'd be like, "Yo, Sean, what's it, what's it like there?"
Sean: Um, I'll probably, I'll probably tell you be [00:26:00] ready to soak every cultural difference.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: And then there's definitely lonely time-
Ben: Okay ...
Sean: in there. 'Cause the first few month are... You don't have really close friends group, but then the other kids in the school, they've seen each other for, like-
Ben: Yeah
Sean: a whole school year, you know? So I think I'll tell to be prepare about that, be ready about that. And then also I told you about the other kid who was wanting to be an exchange student. There's lots of people that are working for them to have successful exchange year.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: So I'll probably tell you to be aw- be aware of, like, how many people are, like, like working for you, like putting effort for you.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: To, like, try not to let them down, you know?
Ben: This sounds like two sides to a coin to me. On one hand you're saying... I mean, you did say be prepared to absorb this cultural, these cultural [00:27:00] differences. Yeah. But you said at times it can be lonely- Mm-hmm ... especially initially.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: But the other side of that coin is to be aware of the team that you have that is kind of like your support network.
Yeah. That involves rotary people, your host family, likely your school administrators. Mm-hmm. And it's just a matter of time. For each kid it's gonna be different. Two months, three months of attending school before you start to develop those friendships that make it that much more easy- Yeah ... to go to school and socialize.
Sean: Mm-hmm.
Ben: Is that accurate, would you say?
Sean: Yes. I think, For exchange students, they need to like, they need some time and then effort to like, to break into the friends group, 'cause they've seen each other- Mm-hmm ... over time than me.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: So yeah, I think the effort, effort is important.
Ben: How was that vibe from the Morton High School youth in looking at you as a foreign exchange student?[00:28:00]
Would you say generally or on the whole, were they mostly welcoming? What was the vibe? What was the energy there when you introduced yourself to somebody in a classroom? You're in, y- you know, you're in, oh, PE or something like that, and, "Oh, hi, I'm Sean," and they immediately are gonna recognize your accent.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: And then you're gonna tell them, "I'm from South Korea." Mm. What's the general response from people in high school? I
Sean: think that way I was really lucky 'cause every time people notice I'm from South Korea and I'm exchange students, like, people are, like, always welcoming me. And they're like, mm, they try to ask me some question about my country, and then they're, like, being curious, and then try to talk to me.
Like, in that way, like, it was really helpful on them. So that way I feel like I'm, I was really lucky.
Ben: Now's a good chance to do some name-dropping. I think I talked to you about this on the ride over. I mean, you've got some friends who you're close to now. Mm-hmm. Um, let's call out some names for these people who made your stay here in the United [00:29:00] States, that meaningful and that more comfortable for you.
Sean: Okay. Obviously I have to say thank you to the Vandermer family. They're hosting me right now.
Ben: Thanks, Sean.
Sean: Yeah. Yeah, we've had lots of good memories together the last time. And then also my rotary supporters I would say, like Soo, my district chair, and then Brian Johnson, my YEO, and then Wayne Mano, my YEC, my counselor.
They've been a great supporter and great advisor. They also my second and first host family Essers, Nick Esser, and Carly Esser. Also Julie Heim and Andreas Heim. Yeah. Also, um, my friends. I should start with Noah Harris, 'cause, um, he was my first school friend. Um, Noah and I had, um, first [00:30:00] RP class first semester.
Ben: Was he one of the first ones to come up to you and be like, "Hey"?
Sean: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Noah was, um, first one to come up to me, and then, like- Um, yeah, try to be nice to me.
Ben: He probably introduced you to some of his friends, be like- Yeah, yeah ... "Oh, this is Sean."
Sean: Mm-hmm. So-
Ben: That helps to have a person like that-
Sean: Yeah ... an advocate.
Noah actually gave me lots of connection with other friends, like cross country team, and then my best friends, Eli Wilson and Astro- Astro VanZant was one of them Yeah. So I really appreciate Noah. Then also as I mentioned, Eli Wilson and his family has been like one of the one of the biggest supporter of me throughout the year.
That he always gives me a ride. We always hang out together. So has, has your Van Zant and Van Zant family. So I really appreciate to them. And also for the first few months, [00:31:00] Jeffers, Ben Jeffer and Miles Jeffer and his family have been really great supporter. I mean, they're also great supporter still, but like, yeah.
Sue: Mm-hmm.
Sean: They helped me a lot, like adjusting to the school and make some friends. So yeah, I should, I should remember, like, what they-
Ben: Yeah, you're gonna take that back with you ... taught
Sean: me. Yeah. Mm-hmm.
Ben: Yeah. Sounds meaningful. I mean, 'cause it's the people, right? Yeah. I know we talked about food, and food is great.
But in the end, you- you're not gonna be able to talk about Taco Bell the way that you're talking about the Chafers or, or Ashervanes. You know what I mean? Yes. It's, that's a human experience. Mm-hmm. So there's, there's probably something very meaningful there. Yeah. A lot of emotion built up inside of all that, right?
Mm-hmm. Um, Sue, quick question about the overall, the larger picture of the rotary program. How is it changing? Is, how is it evolving and adjusting to the times, whatever that might mean? What are some changes right now that the Rotary Inter- International Foreign [00:32:00] Exchange program is currently trying to work its way through?
Sue: Well, uh, COVID was not helpful- Oh, I bet ... for our youth exchange. We basically closed down the program at that time and waited a year or two and reopened it. And in doing so, some of that continuity was lost. And we're trying to regain the numbers and the level of exchanges that we had prior to COVID.
In our district, we've had as many as 14 or 15 inbound students from all over the world spread about 50 clubs. Um- And
Ben: this
Sue: is
Ben: pre-COVID, or
Sue: is this current? Pre-COVID.
Ben: Okay.
Sue: Post-COVID, Sean, how many students do we have inbounds?
Sean: Right now?
Sue: Mm-hmm.
Sean: Um, six, including me.
Sue: Right. So that's a big drop in numbers.
We will host [00:33:00] seven inbound students this coming school year which is up one, but it's nowhere near the levels. And, you know, the volume of students that we can exchange with directly impacts our imp- our, our effect, as well as- Keeping the larger program viable. There's a break point where-
Ben: Yeah
Sue: if we don't have the numbers of students, we don't have the resources to provide youth exchange programs. Right.
Ben: One or two students wouldn't be efficient.
Sue: It doesn't work.
Ben: Okay. Yes.
Sue: So that's a big struggle right now. And, you know, in the environment that we're in right now as well politically, people looking at the US and saying, "Do I wanna send my kid here as a Brown person or as just being, quote, unquote, 'foreign'"?
Ben: [00:34:00] Right.
Sue: I could understand parents' hesitancy. And I do love the fact that the World Cup has brought people from all over the world to the US, and they're surprised that we're wonderful. We're great, you know? Yeah. But, but, uh, media has painted a tough picture as well. So I don't know if I answered your question.
Ben: I, I think you did. I think the question was, like, what are the larger struggles and which ways are, is R- Rotary trying to adjust for the times? And I didn't really give you many specifics, but some of that is geopolitical, some of that is just post-COVID economics and stuff like that.
And it, it seems like for many entities, COVID was kind of a shutdown, and coming out of COVID kinda takes a while. And so v- learning to kinda readjust, there are some critical masses to deal with and contend with to make sure that you can facilitate this role of being a guider inside of a foreign exchange program, to be able to do that [00:35:00] efficiently.
Can't happen if it's just one person. There has to be so many people. That does bring me to a kind of an interesting sentiment, though. You mentioned the World Cup, and how, for whatever reasons, if that's social media or geopolitics people's impressions of the United States. Sean, this question is coming over to you.
Um, what do you think that people back in South Korea most misunderstand, or perhaps even you misunderstood prior to coming to the United States? And this is really close to a question from Alyssa Williams, the director at the library. She said "What is something that is not like you thought it would be?
Perhaps a stereotype that was changed when you finally landed in the United States."
Sean: First of all, I should say people in South Korea don't really know about how large these cornfields are.
Ben: That's great.
Sean: Mm. I think that's most minder- [00:36:00] misunderstanding part. Then second of all, when recall myself back home, like South Korea, Incheon people don't really... Or when people picture about the Illinois, what people think about is Chicago-
Ben: Yeah ...
Sean: and the Chicago suburbs, or like big towns like, well, um, movies, and like series- Mm-hmm
shows to publics. So in that way, Morton is pretty different. Mm-hmm. You know, very smaller, and then not many high-rise buildings.
Ben: Mm-hmm.
Sean: Mm.
Ben: So those are answers about to that question that are about like the geographical sense- Yeah ... the physical makeup. Do you have anything to speak on in regards to the personality of the United States or the personality of the people, cultural kinds of sentiments?
Do you have any observations about stereotypes that maybe South [00:37:00] Koreans have about the culture of America that once you got here were maybe, you know, you had to refocus and were a little bit different than what the previous perception was?
Sean: Oh, okay. Um- It's a kind of sensitive topic.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: But like-
Ben: Yeah, let's dive into that.
That's a good one right there.
Sean: Yeah, when I look up the Morton it says 90 something percent of population is white.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: So I was kind of worried about races-
Ben: Yeah ...
Sean: racism 'cause of, um, you know, in like social medias and on YouTube-
Ben: Mm ...
Sean: like they show people about like how like Asian get like racist.
Mm-hmm. Like discriminated, so I was kinda like worried about it 'cause I knew there are not many like Asian population or like people of color in Morton. Mm-hmm. So [00:38:00] that's the one thing I was really worried about. But then yeah, the first day my worry was just like all gone.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: People were so friendly.
It
Ben: took no time.
Sean: Yeah. Oh,
Ben: good.
Sean: Now I'm really admiring like the culture of Midwest and how people are like so friendly to each other, and like even like when I drive through my neighbor- neighborhood, like people just wave hands to each other- Mm-hmm ... like even like we don't, we don't know who they are, you know?
Ben: I re- I remember going home once with you sitting in the passenger seat, and somebody waved at me, and you were like, "Do you know that guy?" And I was like, "No, I don't know that guy."
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: You, you asked me the question of like, "Well, why did he wave at you?" And I was like, "I don't know. Let's just..."
Sean: Yeah,
Ben: exactly.
"Why did you wave back?" " 'Cause he waved at me."
Sean: Yeah, so back home, like if I wave to like random people-
Ben: Yeah ...
Sean: like people think like I'm like weird. But now I found myself like wave to like random people who I don't know.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: So I [00:39:00] really like the cultural like, cultural like difference. They're like people like being really friendly to each other.
Ben: You gonna take that back to South Korea and just start waving at people? Probably not.
Sean: Probably not.
Ben: Uh, to kinda go back to Soo, one of your statements about critical mass, there needs to be more than just one Sean ... in South Korea waving around in order for that to carry on, I guess. Um, Soo, I thought it'd be pertinent to give you the opportunity to ask Sean any questions.
You've been working with Sean for 12 months now, nearly 12 months now and you've known him from the very beginning. You've known him likely longer than anybody else who's been here in the United States. Thoughts from you to Sean? Questions or perhaps even a statement, an observation?
Sue: One observation I will make is that Sean's experience here has been fairly typical in terms of the broader exchange students.
They arrive, and they've not... They've s- maybe studied English for [00:40:00] 12 years, but they've not spoken it, nor has it been spoken 100% of the time to them. And so that first month or two, being able to navigate language, I think is one of the s- strongest indicators of success because when a student arrives and they're really focused on building their language skill, that communication and that opening is invaluable.
Ben: Right.
Sue: And Sean got off the plane speaking pretty good English right off the bat, so that was really great. And we did have an experience of racism in Morton, didn't we? Do you remember that?
Sean: Oh, yeah.
Sue: Yeah.
Sean: Well, now I don't, I don't think that person was from Morton.
Sue: Right.
Ben: They were just-
Sue: Yeah ... in Morton.
Yeah But, but it was, it was really just, uh, uh- Disturbing? It really upset me-
Ben: Upsetting, yeah ...
Sue: that that [00:41:00] it happened to you, especially as early in your exchange as it was. Mm. It was s- within the first week or two. You were walking along, and you were a little lost.
Ben: Yeah.
Sue: You were trying to find your way back home, and you called me, and you said, "I think I've had somebody yell a racist slur."
And I said, "Probably."
Ben: What, just driving from their car?
Sue: Yeah. Yeah.
Ben: Yeah. A common
Sue: pickup trick, you know.
Ben: Yeah, I'll pick-
Sue: And-
Ben: Okay ...
Sue: yeah. So, and, uh, that- Did not color your openness. It did not stop you from making friends. It did not... And I told you at the time, this is not a normal person. This is someone who is-
Ben: Dealing with
Sue: some stuff
wrong-minded. Yeah. Yeah. So-
Ben: Well, it, it must not have stuck with him very much, 'cause when you said- Yes, it did. It did ... "Hey, there was an event that happened," he looked at you like, "What are you talking about?" Yeah, yeah. "It was, nobody treated me... Oh yeah, that one guy in the truck."
Sue: That one guy. Yeah. So, um, [00:42:00] so saying
Ben: that- So props to you
yeah.
Sue: Yeah. Saying that I give you a lot of credit for your ability to pivot, to move on, to know that this was not the usual person that you're gonna meet. And and, the strength of any exchange is, a lot of it is on your shoulders. And so it's I'm gonna give you a lot of credit for being as mature and open and available to your community.
You've, you've en- engaged so much with our club. Even came out for one of our service projects picking up- Was that the picking up the trash? ... garbage along the side of the road. Yeah. And we were one of four of us that were picking up garbage- ... on the side of the road. Poor Sean. He,
Ben: he- He was there with a smile, though.
Sue: Yes. Yeah. And, and it was early morning, and it was hard work, but, you know, he was right there with us [00:43:00] and helping along the way, so...
Ben: Sean we're kinda wrapping things up here. I have just really one more question for you, and it's like a honey and vinegar kinda question. You know, the honey being the sweetest thing, vinegar being bitter.
Mm-hmm. You know, let's start with the bitter. What's one of your toughest, hardest experiences that you've had here? And then we'll lighten that up with a honey experience, like, what's gonna be something that you really, really miss about either the United States or Morton in general?
Let's start with the vinegar. What, what was a hard thing that you endured while you were here, one of the hardest?
Sean: Um, I should say, um, well, my experience in general wasn't like... Was really enjoyable and fun. Well, like, my first few month was, like, pretty hard before I found my my friends group, like, like mentioned earlier.
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: [00:44:00] Like, people are like more than a small town. People are, like, known each other and, like, for at least-
Ben: Who knows how long?
Yeah.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: A decade. You know, some of these kids have been going to kindergarten
Sean: together Have known each other a long time, you know?
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: So it's kinda hard to, like, break into that gap. Also the winter season, as I mentioned earlier, basketball is probably only my hobby, and I really love basketball.
And then, Due to some of the restriction of being a exchange student, I couldn't... I wasn't able to play on the team.
Ben: Mm.
Sean: So that was, like, pretty hard time for me. Yeah, but I'm glad that ended really well.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: I-
Ben: Here, here comes the eternal optimist of Sean. He, he takes the bitter of the vinegar experience and he's like, "But I'm glad it happened that way."
Sean: Yeah. Um, yeah I wasn't able to be on the team. But eventually I [00:45:00] got to know the kids on the basketball team, and then actually they helped me a lot, I think... Also I think in winter season, winter basketball season, I think that's the period that I got most improvement on my English.
Ben: Mm.
Sean: So, I
Ben: mean- Because you were surround around... surrounded by the basketball team?
Sean: Yeah. Okay. 'Cause I, I was, like, travel with them.
Ben: Right. You just couldn't play, but you were traveling with them?
Sean: Mm-hmm.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: And then also I was exposed by English, like, more than, like, when I was... when I'm just... when I am being home.
Ben: Okay. So- Yeah. So before we get to your experience of Honey, one of your favorite most memorable experiences, I feel like somewhere in there is a little token of advice that might be able to be passed on to a future exchange student. You s- you've mentioned couple of times now that the tougher part of the experience is at the initial part.
Mm. And maybe it's due to language or getting into friendship groups or getting involved. Mm-hmm. Somewhere in there [00:46:00] is advice better told from you than from me or Sue, because you've experienced it. What would you, what would you say to somebody about those initial two or three months when coming into the United States as part of their exchange program?
Or for that matter a United States student going outbound to another culture. Mm. There's an important period there in the first two or three months.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: What would you say in regards to, struggling with language or getting involved and finding a friendship circle? Go.
Sean: I don't think I did really good job about this because I think I should have, like, more, um...
I think I should have more... How do I say this?
Ben: You're looking for a word. Yeah. Uh, this is my favorite thing when I'm hanging out with you. When Sean looks up into the ceiling and he's like, "Oh, there's a word up there somewhere- ... that I, um-
Been braver?
Sean: Yeah, I think I should've been more braver [00:47:00] in, like, engaging people- Mm ... and asking people to, like, go, go hang out, you know?
Ben: Yeah.
Sean: So I think going out first to friends, people- Yeah ...
Ben: is important. Oh, like approaching somebody?
Sean: Approaching somebody. Ah, gotcha. Yeah, exactly, yeah. But I don't think I did a really good job on this, 'cause I, I was more waiting, my friends- For them to come to you
to ask me, you know? Uh-huh. Like, I was more, like, waiting to, like, people to, Like, ask me question or try to be my friend.
Ben: Mm-hmm.
Sean: But for me it's really luckily there are, like, some people who wanted to be friends with me, and they try to talk to me first. But I don't think it would be, like, case for everybody.
Mm-hmm. I think I was just lucky. So I think if I have been approaching to more people and tried to more engaging, then it would've been, like, more more, like, colorful experience.
Ben: Ooh, colorful. Look at you. [00:48:00] Good use.
Sean: Thank you. So I think that's important to, like, be more engaging and be more braver.
Ben: Okay.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: Back to the honey experience. What's gonna be one of the most memorable things? I'm talking fast-forward 25 years, you know. You're way deep in the future- Mm-hmm ... and maybe you're in the United States at that point in time. Maybe you're in South Korea, and maybe you're in some other part of the world.
Who knows? And somebody mentions, "Oh, the Midwest," or somebody mentions Illinois or the United States. You're gonna be like, "I went there once," and then you're gonna share a memory, or you're gonna have a sentiment, a thought about it all. What would that be?
Sean: Um, there's, like, so many things coming up to my mind.
Ben: Give me two. Um- He's gonna be like, "Mexican food and..."
Sean: One is definitely, um, the trips with my families.
Ben: Where did you go?
Sean: I went to, um... My favorite [00:49:00] destination was, um, I could say three. Um, LA and Chicago and Madison, Wisconsin. Those three are my best experience, like really fun time there. I see many beautiful things, fun things, have nice time with family.
Those nice trip- nice trips. And then second part I should say my friends. I really like the, um, Yesterday I went to water park with my friends.
Ben: So just outings with friends.
Sean: Outing with my friends, yeah. I, I don't think I could pick one. Yeah. Those are like, all of them are like to, like meaningful times.
I think I have only one year with my friends. That made my experience more valuable-
Ben: Mm-hmm ...
Sean: like more memorable, so.
Ben: You, you are wise beyond your years. I mean, to know that there's a, not an infinite amount of [00:50:00] time- Mm-hmm ... you know, for you in that experience. You've got just one year- Yeah ... and for you to reflect on that and know, like, I might be tired or, you know, whatever.
Mm. I just did a bunch of things yesterday and I'm- ... a little bit exhausted or sun burnt. Yeah. I should still go out and do something today.
Sean: Mm-hmm. '
Ben: Cause, your days are limited.
Sean: Yeah.
Ben: Yeah. Well, Sean it's been, we've spent 70 hours in a minivan together. Yeah. Driving out to California. Yeah. It's been a great adventure for me.
I have tons of thanks to you for sharing your experiences with my family and with me. And know that the small experiences, the times out on the pontoon- ... fishing or having a charco- charcuterie board- ... stuff like that, those will not be lost and forgotten. Those are very important to me. I have, I have gifts from my two friends.
Sean, I have a journal. I am a writer. Oh. Um, a, a book nook nerd, and so I have a Hayakuka leather bound journal, and a really, really awesome, my favorite pen. [00:51:00] Sue, can you pass that on to him? Sure. And then Sue, similarly, my, my favorite pen, the Sarasa Zebra pen. That's a fabulous pen right there.
Sean: Thank you.
Thank you so much. Thank
Ben: you. You're very welcome. Um, any last closing thoughts or sentiments from either of you before we wrap things up?
Sean: Um, I'll say it's been a great year. Thanks to my families and my friends and Rotarians who's been supporting me throughout the year. And then, um- If I go back to the time that I choose, I'll definitely do this again.
And then I wish more, more kids or, like, more families could experience these valuable times. And yeah. And then also thank you so much, Ben, for inviting me and Sue for your podcast. Yeah,
Ben: yeah. Yeah. W- uh, listeners can't see this, but Sean's getting a [00:52:00] little sentimental in the eyes. And I think we got a lot of mirror neurons going on right now.
Everybody's getting a little bit teary-eyed. Um, Sue, closing thoughts?
Sue: I just wanna say that as Sean has indicated, the opportunity is amazing, and I encourage young people to step out of their comfort zone like Sean did, and take a step or- towards something that m- may not be clear in the moment, but when you look back on your opportunity that you, that you take to do something as brave as Sean has done you will have no regrets.
So enjoy en- enjoy the opportunity that, Rotary International affords students.
Ben: And so Sue if people have questions and wanted to get in contact with you, do you have an email address or anything like that we can share?
Sue: Yeah. The district website is
www.rotarydistrict6460.org. And there's all [00:53:00] kinds of information about youth exchange, about hosting exchange students, and about the opportunity of joining Rotary itself.
Ben: And I'll make sure that I include that website address in the show notes, so if anybody's interested, they can just kinda go down there.
Sue, if you can send me that website address later, I would appreciate it. Thank you, Sean. Thank you, Sue. Thank you, listeners. And with that, we're gonna sign off. Hey, this is Ben. Thanks for listening to this episode of Morton Mews and News. I'm excited to share more stories with you, but I need your help to keep the content growing and engaging.
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