Yeoreobun, Annyeonghaseyo! (Hello everyone!)

My name is Jeong Sowon and I’m from Seoul, South Korea. I am the Korean Coordinator for International Relations (CIR) at Ishikawa Foundation for International Exchange (IFIE) which I joined in April, 2011. Please feel free to call me ‘Sowon’.

Seoul is a big metropolitan city but I feel that Kanazawa is also a lively city with a lot of hustle and bustle. For me, it was a case of ‘love-at-first sight’ with Ishikawa as I fell in love with Ishikawa and Kanazawa’s special ambience created by a perfectly balanced blend of its metropolitan atmosphere and rich traditional aspects. Talking about the things I love, I should make a mention of sweets and sushi! I feel that I’m really lucky to be in Ishikawa because when it comes to the variety of sweets, Ishikawa can easily match Tokyo; and the sushi here is absolutely the best!! Can’t get luckier than that! (LOL)

By the way, have you heard of Talchum?! When I was at the university I met a lot of people through my Talchum dance circle. Talchum is a traditional folk dance of Korea where performers wear masks indicating their roles or characters in the play. This traditional dance was also used in the Korean movie “The King and The Clown”. I hope that I will have an opportunity to introduce this dance to the people of Ishikawa sometime during my time in Kanazawa. Keep your fingers crossed!

Before coming to Ishikawa as a CIR, I had been to Tokyo for sightseeing on two occasions and I had also studied in Beppu for 1 year on an exchange programme. I was a big fan of Japanese animations when I was an elementary school student and I always wanted to go to Japan. That is why I decided to major in Japanese at the university and studied many things about Japan. Today, it feels like a dream that I, who was really inspired by Japan as a child once, have this wonderful opportunity to introduce Korea to the Japanese people. I hope that I will be able to participate in many delightful international exchanges here in Ishikawa and share these pleasant exchanges with all of you. Let’s talk together as much as we can!

Kamsahamnida! (Thank you!)