I came to Korea to learn Korean. I ended up learning about the world

Geoffrey Chen, a former corporate lawyer from Australia, describes how studying Korean in Seoul broadened his understanding of countries and cultures beyond Korea. At Korea University’s Korean Language Center, he studied with classmates from Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and Turkey, and learned about the histories and identities they brought to class. Conversations about Koryo-in and his own ethnic Chinese background led him to reflect on identity and belonging. He says the international classroom became an exchange in which students and teachers learned from one another.

Chen grew up in Australia and New Zealand and identifies as an ethnic Chinese person.

He learned that Russian is widely spoken in Kazakhstan and other parts of the former Soviet Union.

As students advanced in Korean, their textbooks addressed politics, law, social issues, education, cultural traditions and social values.

Chen interviewed a Korean teacher who said teaching at the center gave her opportunities to listen to students and learn about cultures and countries around the world.

Published Nov 4, 2026 11:50 am KST

When I moved to Seoul to study Korean, I expected my education to be about Korea. I imagined improving my Korean, learning more about Korean society and gaining a deeper understanding of a country in which I hoped to build a future.

What I did not expect was that studying Korean would teach me so much about the rest of the world.

At times, my classroom at Korea University’s Korean Language Center has felt like a miniature United Nations. Over the past year, I have studied alongside people from countries including Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and Turkey.

I grew up in Australia and New Zealand, but these were places I had relatively little exposure to. But I realized multiculturalism has a geography. Migration patterns, geography and history inevitably shape which cultures we encounter in our everyday lives.

Korea's geographic proximity to Central and Northeast Asia and its growing cultural influence and educational opportunities bring together students who might otherwise have had little reason to cross paths. Our common goal is to learn Korean, but we also became each other's teachers.

Some of what I have learned has been simple. Before coming here, for example, I did not realise how widely Russian is spoken in Kazakhstan and other parts of the former Soviet Union. Other conversations have introduced me to histories and identities that I previously knew almost nothing about.

One of the most fascinating examples has been learning about the Koryo-in, ethnic Koreans from the former Soviet Union. Through them and in their communities, I began to learn about their complex history of migration, displacement and identity.

Their experiences also made me think about my own. As an ethnic Chinese person who grew up in a multicultural environment in Australia and New Zealand, I found something familiar in conversations about an ancestral identity connected to one country while being culturally shaped by another. Our histories are very different, yet those conversations reminded me that questions such as "Where are you from?" and "Where do you belong?" rarely have simple answers.

As our Korean has become more advanced, our textbooks have moved beyond to discussing politics, law, social issues, education, cultural traditions and social values. A lesson about Korea's political system, for example, can quickly become a discussion about how governments work in our own countries.

I was reminded of this when I interviewed one of my Korean teachers. When I asked what she enjoyed most about teaching at the center, one of her answers stayed with me. Teaching gave her the opportunity to listen to students and learn about cultures and countries around the world.

I had always assumed that we were the ones coming to Korea to learn. I had not thought as much about the exchange happening in the other direction. Her answer made me realise that an international classroom does not really have a single teacher or a single direction in which knowledge flows.

Perhaps that is the greatest value of learning in an international classroom. You begin by noticing obvious differences in food, languages, holidays and customs. Eventually, however, you encounter deeper ones in how people think about family, education, identity, success and the way a life should be lived.

International education is often described as an exchange between a student and a host country. I came to Korea and certainly learned about Korea. But I have also learned about Kazakhstan from Kazakhs, Mongolia from Mongolians and other countries from classmates who grew up there. They, in turn, have heard about Australia, New Zealand and China through people like me. Korean, strangely enough, has often been the language through which these conversations have taken place.

I came to Seoul expecting Korean to open a door into Korea. I did not expect so many doors to the rest of the world would also open.

Geoffrey Chen (gywchen@gmail.com) is a former corporate lawyer from Australia currently studying Korean at Korea University in Seoul.

来自澳大利亚的前公司律师杰弗里·陈（Geoffrey Chen）讲述了他在首尔学习韩语如何拓宽了他对韩国以外国家和文化的理解。在韩国大学韩语中心，他与来自哈萨克斯坦、蒙古、俄罗斯和土耳其的同学一起学习，了解他们各自的历史和身份认同。关于高丽文化和他自身华裔背景的讨论，让他开始反思身份认同和归属感。他说，国际化的课堂变成了一个交流的平台，师生们互相学习。

陈在澳大利亚和新西兰长大，她认为自己是华裔。

他了解到，俄语在哈萨克斯坦和前苏联其他地区广泛使用。

随着学生韩语水平的提高，他们的课本内容涵盖了政治、法律、社会问题、教育、文化传统和社会价值观。

陈采访了一位韩国教师，这位教师表示，在中心任教让她有机会倾听学生的心声，了解世界各地的文化和国家。

发布于2026年11月4日上午11:50（韩国标准时间）

我搬到首尔学习韩语时，期望我的教育能够围绕韩国展开。我设想自己能够提高韩语水平，更多地了解韩国社会，并对这个我希望未来扎根的国家有更深刻的认识。

令我意想不到的是，学习韩语竟然让我对世界其他地方有了如此多的了解。

有时，我在高丽大学韩语中心的教室感觉就像一个小型联合国。过去一年里，我曾与来自哈萨克斯坦、蒙古、俄罗斯和土耳其等国的同学一起学习。

我在澳大利亚和新西兰长大，但我对这些地方的了解相对较少。但我意识到多元文化是有地域性的。人口迁徙模式、地理环境和历史必然会影响我们日常生活中接触到的文化。

韩国地理位置毗邻中亚和东北亚，其日益增长的文化影响力以及丰富的教育资源，让原本可能鲜有交集的学生们走到了一起。我们共同的目标是学习韩语，但我们也成为了彼此的老师。

我学到的一些知识很简单。例如，来这里之前，我并不知道俄语在哈萨克斯坦和前苏联其他地区使用如此广泛。而另一些对话则让我了解了以前几乎一无所知的历史和文化。

其中最引人入胜的例子之一是了解高丽人，即来自前苏联的朝鲜族人。通过他们以及他们的社区，我开始了解他们复杂的迁徙、流离失所和身份认同历史。

他们的经历也让我反思自己的经历。作为一名在澳大利亚和新西兰多元文化环境中长大的华裔，我在他们的对话中找到了共鸣，他们谈到了与一个国家相连的祖先身份，同时又受到另一个国家的文化塑造。我们的历史截然不同，但这些对话提醒我，诸如“你来自哪里？”和“你属于哪里？”之类的问题很少有简单的答案。

随着我们韩语水平的提高，教材的内容也从单纯的政治课扩展到了政治、法律、社会问题、教育、文化传统和社会价值观等领域。例如，原本讲解韩国政治制度的课程，很快就能引出关于我们各自国家政府运作方式的讨论。

我采访一位韩国老师时，想起了这件事。当我问她最喜欢在中心教书的哪一点时，她的一个回答让我印象深刻。她说，教书让她有机会倾听学生的心声，了解世界各地的文化和国家。

我一直以为是我们来韩国学习，很少想到反过来的交流也是如此。她的回答让我意识到，国际课堂并非只有一位老师，知识的流动方向也并非单一。

或许，这正是国际课堂学习的最大价值所在。起初，你会注意到饮食、语言、节日和习俗等方面的明显差异。但最终，你会发现人们对家庭、教育、身份认同、成功以及生活方式的看法存在更深层次的差异。

国际教育通常被描述为学生与东道国之间的交流。我来到韩国，当然了解了韩国。但我也从哈萨克斯坦人那里了解了哈萨克斯坦，从蒙古人那里了解了蒙古，还从在其他国家长大的同学那里了解了其他国家。而他们又通过像我这样的人了解到了澳大利亚、新西兰和中国。奇怪的是，韩语往往是这些交流的常用语言。

我来首尔的时候，以为韩语会为我打开通往韩国的大门。但我没想到，通往世界其他地方的大门也会随之敞开。

Geoffrey Chen (gywchen@gmail.com) 是一位来自澳大利亚的前公司律师，目前在首尔的韩国大学学习韩语。