CURRENT MISSION

To live a life of adventure and purpose.

ABOUT ME

I was born in Korea, and I moved to the United States when I was nine. In the US, I've lived in Hawaii, South Florida, North Florida, Tennessee, Georgia, Washington, and Missouri. I have also lived independently in Ghana, Uganda, and China.

I have an unstructured year before I start medical school at Washington University School of Medicine in August 2017. I am using this year to travel and to work on some medicine-related projects.

PHILOSOPHY

Everyone is equally valuable. We exist on the Earth to connect with others and share ourselves. My life goal is to see the humanity and value in everyone I encounter and care for others with dignity and kindness to the best of my ability.

Why I’m on Couchsurfing

HOW I PARTICIPATE IN COUCHSURFING

COUCHSURFING EXPERIENCE

I've met some couchsurfers on the road, and I'm excited to meet some new people!

Interests

• traveling
• piano
• baseball
• basketball
• medicine

One Amazing Thing I’ve Done

When I moved to the state of Georgia during middle school, my classmates mocked my slanted eyes, ethnicity, and accent daily. I wished I was white, like my classmates. I was determined to make the bullying stop, so I did 200 push ups, 300 sit ups, sprints, and lifted weights everyday. Eventually, as my accent faded and I excelled at sports, the mistreatment ended.

However, both subtle and overt racism lingered, and I felt that I had been stripped of a community. My classmates still saw me first for my race rather than for the content of my character. I did not feel that I was Korean nor American. In search of my identity after graduation, I took a gap year, during which I volunteered in Ghana for four months and taught in China for six months. Living on a dollar a day, playing soccer barefoot on muddy fields, seeing the enthusiasm of my Chinese students, and spinning prayer wheels with Tibetan monks, I realized that the world is my community and embraced my role as a global citizen.

Since then, I have done some journalism http://pulitzercenter.org/projects/africa-uganda-healthcare-emergency-medicine, attempted to improve facets of medical care in developing countries through research and partnerships, and traveled the world. Currently conducting a multi-year project in Uganda to set a standard of care for H. Pylori management and helping on a World Health Organization implementation research grant to find the best methods to improve child immunization coverage.

Countries I’ve Visited

Albania, Belgium, Belize, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Indonesia, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kenya, Kosovo, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Netherlands, Nicaragua, Panama, Philippines, Rwanda, Singapore, Slovenia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates

Countries I’ve Lived In

China, Ghana, South Korea, Uganda, United States