Kim Hyunseok

Kim Hyunseok “For the sake of all the good people you can endure any inconveniences”

I am an adult, I have already served in the army and got the first higher education at home. But in the modern world it is not enough. So I seriously thought about a second degree. In Korea, I almost completed my studies of a lawyer, but I did not defend my graduation project. I was on a linguistic practice in Yakutia back in 2005, and I really liked it in here. I started to collect information, especially about the level of education. And by all accounts it appeared that law faculty of NEFU - was that I needed. I had raised money for education for four years, and finally, in 2010, I came back to Yakutsk. The city has changed a lot over the last five years, has grown prettier, and new beautiful stone houses appeared, the traffic on the roads brightened. A frost still remained as it was on my mind. My home town is in the south of Korea, the coldest temperature in winter is 2-3 degrees below zero. And the snow is a great event, the children enjoyed it very much. In Yakutia snow falls in October and lays more than six months!

And I immediately faced a lot of challenges. Before coming to Russia, I was sure that my Russian is at a proper level. But in Korea, I had no language practice. So in the first place I started to study Russian all over again. And in 2011, I was able to pass the exam and win admission in law faculty.

The second problem is study. Last year I slept only 3-4 hours a day. If it takes 4-5 hours ordinary students to learn the material, it takes me two times more. Well, at least classmates help me. This year is easier. But still I’m afraid of seminars.
And another problem is food that is fundamentally different from ours. Therefore we are very happy when packages come from Korea. I, for example, lost 10 pounds in the last two years. By the way, an interesting observation: for some reason all the Korean guys here lose weight, and on the contrary girls gain weight!

My dream is to take the master degree after finishing undergraduate studies. Mom, of course, wants me to come home as quickly as possible. But she respects my choice and do not rush me.
Many of my friends asked me, "Why Yakutsk? You're smart, you can go to any university of Russia!" And I answer: "It's all about people. Sometimes, you sit at a party, then you go out to severe frost, and you're still warm. Because warmth is in your soul after communication with good people". For the sake of all the good people you can endure both the cold and the heat!

Maria Makarova

The Komsomolka