Jeong Hwa, a constantly changing life, a challenge with herself to improve, always!
Today I’m meeting Jeong Hwa. We enjoy one of the last few days of decent temperatures here in South Korea from her terrace in the Haebangchon area in Seoul, before the cold winter arrives.
“I was born in Busan, in the south of the country, 42 years ago, then, together with my family, I moved to live in Incheon, where some of the relatives on my mother’s side had a business in the motel industry. I was 6 when I moved near the capital.
I spent most of the time in Seoul, where I continued my studies. When I was in high school, I met a boy from Malaysia who came here for cultural exchange. I went to visit him in his homeland when I was about 18, it was the first time I traveled outside South Korea and I immediately fell in love with this new experience. I found it very interesting to explore a new country and discover a new culture totally different from mine. I was particularly intrigued by the Muslim religion: here in South Korea we are mostly either Christians or Buddhists, Islam was something totally new, which fascinated me a lot. A trip that changed my life, after this adventure I decided to become a tour guide, it was my dream! So I enrolled at the university to get a degree in tourism science.”
“But once I finished my studies, my life took a different direction. I became a real estate agent and at the same time I was selling handmade accessories online. Unfortunately at the time, especially in my country, Internet was not what it is today, e-commerce was just starting to develop and after a year I decided to quit this business.
From this experience I learned that I had a natural talent for selling and that I should deepen my knowledge in this matter, I also decided that I should improve my English. I was 28, I would have liked to go to Australia to study, but it was too expensive. I remembered my first trip and the past times in Malaysia, a land where different cultures live together, an interesting place and where English is spoken. So I applied for an English language school in Kuala Lumpur.”
The trait that fascinates me most in the people I meet here in South Korea is their determination to learn something new, continuously, they never stop, they are curious to learn. Truly unique energy and vitality of the Asian continent.
“My plan was to stay here for a year and return to Korea once I finish my studies. But I found myself spending another four years in Malaysia, where I attended an International Marketing University for three years. In addition to learning new projects on how to improve my sales skills, I was living a happy life: I felt like a teenager again, I did what I hadn’t done previously for lack of time, I felt free. Sometimes I guided some Korean tourists around the country.
Here I also met my boyfriend of the times, born in Iran. We went together to his native country and for about 6 months we lived in Tehran, where I learned the Farsi language. Everything was so interesting, I remember I previously studied a few things on the books about this country when I was at school here in Korea, but being there to experience this culture firsthand was so exciting, I really enjoyed their hospitality, I stayed with my boyfriend and his family for the entire sojourn in Iran. Then we returned together to Kuala Lumpur and here I focused on finishing my studies.”
Another thing that I appreciate very much and that I often notice is the adaptability of people like Jeong Hwa, something that I have been able to observe and admire in many other Asian cultures.
“I wish I had studied more and had a lot more work experience when I was younger. I tried to live in Dubai, but I still didn’t have enough professional knowledge to find a job here and in 2012 I returned to my home country, where I started working in a large multinational company: I was working at the marketing section dealing with the merchandise sold here in South Korea. I stayed for about eight years until a few months ago when I quit for health reasons. I liked the job, I learned a lot and my brilliant and rewarding career grew to become manager of the sales department, even if it was often very stressful: I always had to be available to the company, in my free time too, they contacted me even during my holidays if when I was traveling I couldn’t find the Wi-Fi to connect my laptop, I started to worry…”
“Starting my self-employment job was always a dream for me ever since I started studying marketing: whenever I was in a foreign country I was always looking for some ideas for a new business in Korea, import and sell here or take advantage of the “Korean Wave” and sell products abroad.” The “Korean Wave” is the phenomenon of great interest that the world is starting to have towards Korean culture, in terms of music, films, products (especially cosmetics) and beauty treatments. Well known for years here in many Asian countries, especially in the south-east, and starting to spread almost everywhere else on the planet nowadays.
“I am a person who loves challenges, although my life has had many ups and downs I keep trying new things, without fear. I recently started my own business, where I deal with beauty treatments, such as eyebrow tattoos and skincare.
I am also studying to become a Korean language teacher, which can be helpful to me as I am thinking of starting a new life and living in another country.”
Jeong Hwa is an extremely proactive person who never stops.
“Korean society is super fast, but there is a reason: we always feel compelled to do something, to be on the move, to learn something new, to keep busy both mentally and physically. It is as if we always wanted to improve ourselves, otherwise, there is the risk of letting go.
We always go fast because we have many things to do. This hyper-fast trend helps to develop our society more quickly, I see it as a positive feature, even if it causes stress because it is often hard to maintain these rhythms. Unfortunately, this lifestyle creates great competition at every level of our existence, I notice that there is less respect among people than a few years ago, for this reason.
Korean society is stubborn, it should learn to be more open-minded and think less about the judgment of others. But one good thing is that we take care of other people, even if they’re not part of the family or circle of friends.”
“I believe that sacrifices are important in life, sacrifices make me a happy person. I am a hard-working person. To get something you have to sacrifice time and energy. “ No pain no gain, they say…!
“I am satisfied with my life now, very satisfied. Money is not important to me, I do what I do to improve and enjoy my life. I don’t work for money but to gain experience and, thanks to this, become a stronger person and always learn new things. I like challenges, I don’t want to have someone tell me what to do or give me orders, it’s important to me, I think this is the freedom I want. I am a free spirit.”
“When I went to live in Malaysia, for a month I had some panic attacks, it was sometimes difficult to breathe or move. I was away from home and my whole life was changing. But I adapted and enjoyed living abroad, I still really like the idea and I think I could live forever outside my country. I love Korea but it’s not the lifestyle I want.
Living abroad has helped to make me a better and different person, it has opened my mind, an important experience that I recommend everyone to do … especially Koreans so that they can learn to communicate, live together and share with other people of a different culture from ours.
I would like to live a life with fewer rules, here everything is based on this, I would like to live quietly, near the sea, in a country where it is always summer!”
We end with what for Jeong Hwa is really important in life: “Studying new languages, learning new skills, traveling, getting involved, meeting new people from different countries and different cultures, learning to share…and always doing new experiences!”
