Chaemin '26

The central idea is about economic backgrounds and how it differs here at a boarding school from our lives before which connects to our spending of money. When I was in Korea, the standards of the rich and poor were different from here of a boarding schools in America. The average salary in South Korea is way lower than in the USA, and people had very different financial backgrounds than Phillips Exeter Academy. There was no financial aid provided in my old school, it was not as diverse as here. I played differently in South Korea and most of the money that I spent came from my parents and who paid for us. Here, I am the one choosing whether or not I want to spend the money in the first place, and if I do, how and where I am going to spend it. I had a very difficult time starting to manage my own money due to my inclination toward spending money if I had the choice. The fluctuation of currency in KRW (Korean Won) to USD (US dollars) where 20% of the value in KRW decreased in 2 months made it hard for me to visualize how much the product costs. Also, for me, 1 USD was worth between 1200-1400 KRW. This caused me to underestimate the value of a USD as it has a lower number. With my parents making money in KRW, I had to check the currency every time before buying products. I want to host a workshop about assimilating into the new culture and new money where people from international backgrounds use different currencies.