韩国姑娘文珊娜：刻在生命里的“昆明印记” | Kunming in the Eyes of a Korean Girl

“I really like the city of Kunming and genuinely consider it my home.” If you were to look at any of Sanna Moon's ID documents, you would clearly see that she is Korean. However, having grown up in Kunming, the Spring City has had a huge impact on her life.

安家昆明很心安

Sanna's father is Korean. More than ten years ago, she moved with her family from South Korea to Kunming for her father’s work. Sanna has been living in Kunming for as long as she can remember. The Green Lake Park, Golden Horse and Jade Rooster Memorial Archway, and Dounan Flower Market…her footprints can be found on every corner of the city.

“Before the pandemic, I would go back to South Korea with my parents to visit my grandparents during school vacation each year. Even though I was back in my home country, I would still miss Kunming very much.” Like many other girls her age, when she’s not studying, 18-year-old Sanna likes to go shopping and share good food with friends. In Korea, Sanna is not allowed to go out after dark unless accompanied by her parents, but this is never the case in Kunming. “They don’t worry about my safety in Kunming, that’s why I feel freer here,” Sanna said.

Many of Sanna's close Korean friends have experiences of living in China. “Those who have lived here have a more objective view towards China, so I feel more comfortable around them,” she said. Some Korean people’s understandings of China come from local media reports, which leads to biased attitudes towards China. “I hope that after the pandemic, more foreigners will come to see the real China,” she added.

“学霸”的归属感

When she was in junior high school in Kunming, she found out that quite a few of her classmates were very enthusiastic about Korean language. With the approval of the school, Sanna and her mother set up a Korean language interest class at her school, providing a free learning platform for her classmates and friends interested in Korean. After learning that some Korean students in Kunming were under academic pressure due to language barriers, Sanna's mother offered free tutoring and also extended a helping hand to help them better cope with their studies and life in China.

Although this took up her spare time, her academic performance was not affected at all. She passed the high school entrance examination and was admitted to the senior high school ( in Chenggong) affiliated to Yunnan University with distinction. This also made her attachment to Kunming grow stronger.

For the most part, Sanna uses Chinese in her daily life, but she still uses Korean to speak with her parents. This language environment has endowed her with great language abilities: having just graduated from senior high school, she has already obtained level 6 certificates for language proficiency in both Chinese and Korean, and she also scored 111 points (out of 120) on TOFEL.

After completing high school, she took the American College Test, and scored 34 (out of 36). She applied for and was accepted by some of the world most renowned universities, including New York University, University of Toronto and University of Wisconsin–Madison. For Sanna, studying has never caused her any stress or pressure; instead, it has been more of a habit than hard work. “I enjoy studying. When it comes to the subjects I like, I always try my best.” Behind her good academic performance is of course talent and hard work, but more importantly, her love for learning.

Surprisingly, Sanna, who has always been good at the science subjects, chose media programs when applying for university. “I want to do what I really like to do rather than what I ‘should’ do,” she said.

In a couple of months, Sanna will start her new life at New York University. She is looking forward to the future and is curious about what it might bring. “When I get there, I think that I will mostly hang out with my Chinese classmates at first, and then gradually integrate into other circles.” This is how Sanna finds a home away from home.