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Jon Christian

안녕하세요! My name is Jon. Home is the United States, where I’m from a tiny town in Georgia. I’ve been living in Korea for six years, and my expat time is coming to an end. I’ve been accepted to graduate school back home where I will study International Policy. Like many, if not most, expats in Korea, I’ve been an English teacher. My story is pretty common to the English teachers in Korea. I began teaching in an after-school English center (학원; hagwon) before moving and accepting a position in a public school for the past four years.Professionally, I’ve been a teacher. On the weekends, I’ve learned to go hiking and follow soccer. South Korea’s highest mainland mountain is Jirisan at 1,915 meters. I can see the mountain from the city I’ve lived in, and I’ve managed to climb it 15 times in four years. South Korea has 17 mountainous national parks, and I’ve visited and climbed to the highest accessible point of each of them. I also had a season ticket to the soccer team I support, the Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors. Being an expat has changed me. Coming from the rural American South, there aren’t a lot of opportunities to meet other people. Before coming to Korea, I didn’t really care about hiking and soccer. I never interacted with people outside of my home. On June 1, I will officially repatriate, but I’m not sure I’ll ever be able to stop #ExpatLife.