Levan Ratiani, Global Korea Scholarship Student from Georgia
Georgia is at the crossroad of where Europe meets Asia. Georgia has a unique cultural heritage, cuisine, history, hospitality, amongst its many attractions. Levan Ratiani is the one of the two Georgian students in the Busan University of Foreign Studies. He is well known for his positive energy with warm and friendly attitude toward himself and people around him. He loves to bake desserts and cook. He has experience working in the field of chemistry. "From the day I arrived in Korea I felt like I was in my homeland," said Levan. After hearing this, it led to the question, what do Georgia and Korea have in common? The Woeseong Times took time and arranged four interview sessions with Levan. Let's explore Georgia!
Q1. Could you tell me about yourself?
A.Hello, my name is Levan Ratiani. It is my first-time visiting Korea. Nice to meet you. I am from Georgia. I came to Korea to get a Master's degree and I am currently studying Korean at a language school. I can speak five languages; Svan, Georgian, Russian, and English, as well as Korean. I am optimistic, hardworking, and organized, and I always try to be positive. My hobby is woodworking. In particular, I am good at making wooden dolls. Also, I like to do some random things.
Q2. Where is your favorite place in Georgia?
A.My favorite place is Svaneti. This is my parent's hometown. Every summer and winter I visit there. It is a mountain region. There are a lot of castles. Every surname represents an individual tower built in this region. Each tower requires a lot of materials for construction and it takes ten years to built Most of them were built in the twelfth century. The towers were built for two reasons; One is for protection and the other is to use the windows of the tower to throw rocks or shoot out of for defence. There are about five floors in this tower. The first floor is for agriculture. The second floor is mainly used to store food and the third floor is the living area. The fourth is battle floor. The fifth floor, if there is a fifth floor, is for protection.
Q3. What does Georgia's military look like, and could you briefly tell us about the relationship with Russia?
A.In the first century, Georgia was divided into small countries. Finally in the third century it became one country. King Pharnavaz was the first king in Georgia. But king Bagret Ⅲ united Georgia in start of 11th Georgia had an open war with Russia from 1992 to 1993. Georgia lost this war and lost one of the regions, as a result. In 2008, Russia took over another part of Georgia's land. Russia now has twenty percent of Georgia's land.
Borders change often these days. Since 2008 Russia has made new camps. Hopefully there will be no wars, but I feel like There is a possility that Russia will start war with Georgia again Russia even has all the military resources and power like tanks, nuclear weapons, military and many more resources. In last year of school, 12th grade, all Georgia man must take a medical examination for military. If you have three kids, you do not have to go to military. In Georgia, one must go to the military to do service before the age of thirty, but if you are aged thirty-one or older you do not have to go. Some people who are doing military service can also attend college or university at the same time. They split their time, spending a few days a week at university and a few days a week in the military. One could also serve as a guard, work in a police station or carry out patrols. Wages are around twenty-five dollars a month.
Q4. What are Georgian schools like?
A.In Georgia, students stay at the same school from years one through to twelve unless you transfer to a different school. The school time schedule is different depending on your time choice. One group of students take classes from 9am to 2pm and another group takes classes from 2pm to 7pm. On average, there are about 25 students per class. There is a homeroom teacher who teaches a main subject and carries out student counseling. One class lasts for 45 minutes. There is a ten-minute break between each class for the first four classes, after which the break time increases to fifteen minutes. There is no lunch time, so students should eat their lunch during the break time. Public school is free and private schools cost around $7,000 a semester.
Q5. What is the biggest cultural difference between Georgia and Korea?
A.The most significant cultural difference I have felt in Korea is about clothes. Korea has a unique clothing trend and people buy their clothes based on that trend. On the other hand, in Georgia we tend not to follow trends in clothing. People do not like wearing similar styles. We dress according to our personal preferences. Our trend is that there is no trend. Sometimes we make clothes and wear them, by buying fabric, and asking a designer to make clothes. Moreover, I have never seen anyone lining up to buy a new product in my country. Even if people buy a new product, it is not because it is new, but because they like it. Perhaps it is due to our culture that values individualism more than society. There are also cultural similarities between Georgia and Korea. For example, like Korea, Georgia also has a culture of paying congratulatory money at weddings and giving condolence money at funerals. In addition, the method of performing ancestral rites is similar. For example, they prepare ritual food, pray and pour alcohol into the tomb.
Q6. How did you learn about Korea, and why did you come here?
A.I was influenced by my sister. She is learning Korean, and she likes Korean culture. So, I became interested in Korea, too. As I learned more about Korea, I discovered similarities between Korea and Georgia. It made me more curious. I encountered Korea through TV shows, brochures, and videos. Mainly, I watched many Korean films and dramas. It helped me to get used to Korean culture and language. As I got used to Korean culture and language, I started to feel more comfortable with Korean culture. Therefore, I wanted to come to Korea and fortunately, I got a chance to come to Korea on the Global Korea Scholarship program. So, I came to Korea and I am currently studying at a language school.
Q7. What was the most difficult language to learn, and what is the most effective way to learn a language as a multi lingual user?
A.Listening is the most helpful way to learn a language. For instance, I learned English, Russian, and Korean by listening. If you listen to a language often, it will become familiar, and then it will be easier to learn. Furthermore, it will help you to speak if you are used to hearing. But, of course, writing is a different area. Writing does not improve unless you study properly and practice it regularly. I studied the language in the order of listening, speaking, and writing. Therefore, I recommend everyone to learn a language through listening since I find it the most efficient way to learn it. The most difficult language for me to learn was Russian. Due to difficult grammar and sentence structure, it was hard to learn. In comparison, English was the easiest language to learn. It was because I heard English a lot, so I was used to it. Having said that, the sentence and grammar structure between Georgian and Korean is much more similar than between Georgian and English, so it was not that difficult to learn Korean, either.