Could you tell us about your journey to UCLA?
My journey to UCLA started very early. My aunt was studying at UCLA as a PhD student, and she brought me some UCLA T-shirts when she visited me in Korea. Since then, I loved studying English and dreamed of studying abroad. I had the opportunity to study as an exchange student at Princeton University when I was a junior in college, and that experience strengthened my decision to pursue a PhD in English. When I won the Fulbright fellowship and was admitted to UCLA, I excitedly flew to California!
Can you speak a little bit about your career and how it has progressed since graduating from UCLA?
I graduated in the year of COVID-19 and returned to Korea to work as a BK21 postdoctoral fellow in “Interaction English Studies in the Era of AI” at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU) in the following year. Since everything was happening via Zoom, I was able to present at multiple international conferences throughout the whole year and was connected with colleagues all around the world. I also worked hard to get published and successfully secured this tenure-track job at SKKU when it became available.
How do you think UCLA prepares students to fill positions that have a global reach and influence?
I really appreciate the global tone of the curricula and the professors’ perspectives in the English department at UCLA. I was delightfully surprised by the global, diverse aspects of racial demographics and the geography of English literature taught in the graduate seminars. The Fulbright community at UCLA was also very nice and friendly. We met almost every quarter and had field trips to NASA and Huntington with friends and colleagues from around the world.
Are you involved in any international UCLA alumni groups or support networks?
Not really, but some of my Bruin friends are now located in South Korea, and I have met some UCLA alumni at SKKU. They are all nice, and I would love to connect with more Bruins!