The Winners of the ‘Wildflower Home Vlog Contest’

Managing Editor Ahn So-hyun

sohyun_ovo@naver.com

Due to COVID-19, ‘Wild Flower’, which was an overseas exchange program at Busan University of Foreign Studies, could not proceed. However, a countermeasure was prepared for students who wanted to participate in the Wildflower program, namely a ‘Vlog (Video + Blog)’ contest. The students were tasked with recording their preparations and activities in their own homes. The Vlog had to include the process of select the country and learning about life in that country. The Woeseong Times interviewed two students who won an excellence award at the Wildflower Vlog Contest.

-Kim Min-seo (Dept. of Vietnamese Language ’18)

She is learning French culture through YouTube. 

Provided by Kim Min-seo

1. Would you give us a general overview of your Vlog?

The video shows the reason why I chose the topic and country, then shows the process of studying the language and culture in France. The video content that I selected is ‘K-food’, and I used ‘YouTube’ which is popular all over the world as a way to promote K-food. The presentation in the video introduced a way to introduce K-food by combining eating and cooking broadcasts.

2. Why did you choose France for the Wildflower project?

It is true that K-food is gaining popularity all over the world, but I still think it is rare to find people who actually cook Korean food in other countries. While thinking about this content, I found a French person who likes Korean food on YouTube. Also, I am interested in traveling to France, so I chose this country.

3. What have you realized or found interesting while learning about French culture?

I studied French restaurant culture, and there were two interesting things that I remember. First, in France, it is rude to wave or make other gestures when calling a member of staff, so people call the staff when they pass by. Second, when paying by credit card, the customer does not go to the counter. Instead, the server takes the card reader to the customer’s seat and they pay at the table. Is it very different from our country, Korea? While preparing for this video, I learned a lot of new things, so I think it was beneficial.

4. What message would you like to send to our university students through the Wildflower Project?

When I was a freshman, I saw a lot of my classmates going abroad through Wildflower programs. I think the biggest advantage of this program is that I can introduce Korea to a lot of people while taking part in the program. When COVID-19 ends, I hope that students will participate in the Wildflower program.

-Lee Hyun-seo (Dept. of Indian Studies ’19)

She is currently a senior in Dept. of Indian Studies. 

Provided by Lee Hyeon-seo

1. Please tell us why you chose India and your topic.

India was the first country that came to mind when I selected a country because my major is Indian studies and I am interested in business management. India is a country that can make endless progress and is known as the ‘Blue Ocean.’ I wanted to sell Korean street food in India. So I decided to sell ‘Carp Bread!’

2. Why did you choose carp bread among the street foods in Korea? And what are the effects of selling carp bread in India?

There is a ‘Caste System’ in India, and there are foods that can be eaten together according to rank. Foods made of water and steam can only be eaten with the same caste, whilst all foods made of milk curd can be eaten together by all castes. Carp bread is made with flour, so this also has no distinction, and the ingredients are easy to get in India. Also, I thought that this would be the most suitable snack because you can change the fillings inside the bread into spicy ones that Indians may like.

3. What did you find interesting while learning about India and its culture?

The culture of India is very different from Korea, so everything was new and amazing to me. It was surprising that there were foods that were eaten only by the same caste, but the most surprising thing I learned was religious culture. Most people in India believe in Hinduism, but they cannot choose the religion by themselves. If their parents are Hindi, then their children should also be Hindi. Of course, they can convert their religion, but they have to get permission from the state. That is why most Indians are Hindi!

4. Did you have any trouble making the Vlog yourself?

I have never made a Vlog before, so it took me a longtime because I was not very good at anything from filming to editing. I found it really awkward to film myself and have my face in the video. However, the more I did it, the more I got used to it. Most of all, it was really complicated to edit, but it was fun to add music and effects and actually by the end I got really interested in editing this Vlog.