My main reason to apply for study abroad program is to become surrounded in the Korean culture. I am a Korean American, and from the day I was born I have been away from my home country. I am not sure of the reasons my parents decided to start a family in America, but I have longed to speak the language and learn more about the cultures of a different countries. I have been told by previous abroad students, and they say you learn a great deal about yourself during your travels. They say you become independent and that the experience changes the way you look at the world. Sometimes Asian Americans and adoptee children have identity issues. It would be great to be able to break the comfort zone that I have in Minnesota and step into the very different and enormous city of Seoul. I also long to see the world, I have traveled to different countries and still my soul wants to see more. The study abroad program through the University of Minnesota has made that available to me and I am grateful for the opportunity. I will gain valuable skills in the language, allowing to speak in my native tongue to my family members, especially my elders. I will gain knowledge of different issues involved with such a large city. There is such a large population that leads to traffic nearly twenty-four hours a day. That must lead to a huge release of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. I plan on taking courses based on sciences, to further my knowledge of environmental problems and continue from the courses I have already taken. Also I hope to gain knowledge on architectural design to promote sustainable and environmental friendly living. I would like to take courses on urban development to branch off of architectural design. I want to break down the cultural barriers that I will face between Americans and Koreans. Understanding the culture would be best by immersing myself into the daily life of Koreans. With my interests in mind, the Yonsei program has many different courses available that relate to what I want to study. I was surprised looking through their course manual. I saw courses I did not know existed that related to what professors and mentors have told me would fit my major. I plan on heading into bio based products engineering, or environmental engineering. A quick explanation, I would like to help develop new technologies to promote sustainable living. I would like to help development of buildings that reuse waste water, use natural resources for energy such as solar panels, and wind powered cooling systems. With the growing concern for environmental issues, I believe this is a great field to be studying. With such great courses offered at Yonsei University, it only made sense for me to decide to stay for a full year. I have not experienced Korea for more than a span of a month, and to see the different seasons would be great. Also I do not know when I will have a chance to live there, my family is split between America and Korea, so it will be a good opportunity for me to spend as much time in Korea as I can.