COMPCIERGE USA
Yu-Jin Jeon

A student from Kyungpook National University in Daegu, South Korea, Yu-Jin Jeon applied to the Washington Internship Program on July 8, 2005 and requested a placement in the hospitality field. Yu-Jin majored in French language and literature and also studied French at the Herald Language Institute; in addition, she took English classes at the Pagoda Language School and worked as a receptionist at the Y&B Foreign Language School. Yu-Jin traveled to France, Spain, and Portugal, worked in customer service at TGI Fridays, and did volunteer work with the handicapped – all of which sensitized her to a range of cultural, linguistic, and personal needs in preparation for a career in hotel or airline work. On September 8 the Washington Internship Program placed Yu-Jin at Compcierge USA, a marketing firm dealing with the hospitality industry. (The previous summer, WIP placed Elizabeth Ford at this same company; Elizabeth is a U.S. citizen from Virginia Commonwealth University who had been studying marketing and advertising abroad at Westminster University in London, England. Compcierge USA was delighted with this excellent intern who was paid a stipend of $500 a month; Elizabeth was also placed by WIP at the American Youth Symphony.) Yu-Jin had some difficulties getting a J1 visa, but WIP and KNU were able to resolve these problems, so Yu-Jin started what was scheduled to be a year-long internship in early January of 2006.

The Washington Internship Program arranged for Yu-Jin to rent a room in nearby Silver Spring, Maryland within the home of another WIP intern, Jennifer Kiessling, who had studied at the University of California in Los Angeles, Hastings College of Law, and Meiji Gakuin University in Japan. In that Jennifer is a young lawyer, the Washington Internship Program placed her at an internship she requested within the U.S. Merritt Systems Protection Board in the office of the General Council. Jennifer and her husband had traveled extensively and therefore requested from WIP an international student as a tenant, and Yu-Jin was thrilled to live in the home of this young American couple. In that Yu-Jin’s English is a bit weak, the director of the Washington Internship Program hoped that living in an American household – in combination with two English classes Yu-Jin took through WIP – would improve Yu-Jin’s English to the point where she could succeed at an internship where the last student did so well. Below is Yu-Jin’s experience translated from Korean into English by another KNU intern (Ji-Hoon Jeong) supplemented by excerpts from WIP’s report.

“Honestly, I wasn’t really interested in an internship program at first. I was actually preparing for English study abroad, but then I found the Washington Internship Program on the KNU webpage. After WIP accepted me, I talked with Dean Lorne Hwang about the program – who explained that a demanding internship could be even tougher than military service in Korea. I hesitated a bit, but I made up my mind to be ready for the hardest experience I would have in the United States because I believed I was young enough to face such a challenge.”

Interns Jennifer Kiessling (left) and Yu-Jin Jeon      Yu-Jin with John Kiessling (husband of Jennifer)

“I’ll never forget the feeling I had upon arrival in the United States where everything was new, and I felt really excited about a whole new world. First I stayed with a Korean intern, and one of my closest friends was also in Washington, so I didn’t feel alone. Shortly after arriving in America, I got a call from Dr. Bayer at the Washington Internship Program saying that one of the interns wanted to rent a room, so I decided to live there. Jennifer and her husband were so nice and kind. They gave me a ride in the car and full cooperation whenever I asked for help.”

“I worked as an intern at Compcierge USA, which dealt with marketing and hospitality. Among other tasks, I handled the input of customer information into a database. On my memorable first day of work, the thoughtful staff took me to a Korean restaurant. I worked at my internship three days a week and six hours a day. I learned the computer programs the firm uses. However, I had a hard time due to my imperfect English, which prevented me from doing my job perfectly. However, I believed I could overcome such obstacles as long as I kept trying.”

“I was impressed by the Americans’ open-minded lifestyle. In the United States, people seem to care less for others than do Koreans. For example, a lot of people riding on the metro and buses in Washington are reading newspapers rather than chatting with friends. I guess they prefer not to waste time, and I found myself starting to grab books or newspapers before going to work like the Washingtonians.”


Yu-Jin with a friend in New York City on New Years

“During the New Year season, I went to New York City. I’ll never forget the great time I had in Times Square. I felt as though I were in a dream while walking down Broadway. Manhattan is very different from Washington. I couldn’t take my eyes off all the tall buildings. I learned why New York City is so beloved by millions of people.”

“In retrospect, I guess perfecting my English was impossible while staying in Washington for just one year. Nevertheless, the experiences I had in D.C. will be of great help during the rest of my live as I cope with new situations. The United States is often called the ‘land of opportunity.’ There are a lot of things that I can do, and I believe everything is up to me. Chances won’t usually come to me if I wait around passively: I must find them myself, so the internship and life in Washington taught me good lessons in this regard.”

MURASAKI JAPANESE RESTAURANT

Yu-Jin worked part-time in a paid capacity at Murasaki Japanese Restaurant on Wisconsin Avenue, and balancing responsibilities with her internship may have caused problems. Compcierge originally wanted Yu-Jin to work five days a week rather than three, and difficulties at the internship resulted in supervisors requesting another intern to replace Yu-Jin. They decided that Yu-Jin should come to the office just one day a week (Mondays) for meetings while doing all other assignments at home. Although Yu-Jin was initially happy with the new schedule, the director of the Washington Internship Program explained that working at home was a partial dismissal, and missing office interaction would be a loss for Yu-Jin – who didn’t need to come all the way to America to work at a Japanese restaurant. To Yu-Jin’s credit, she agreed with this assessment and worked hard to do better on all tasks, which Compcierge presented as a prerequisite for returning to work more days each week. Yu-Jin fought to keep her internship, and she generally succeeded. Students from abroad sometimes mistake the informality of the American workplace for a sign that punctuality and diligence aren’t required. On the contrary, high standards and the expectation of initiative (rather than simply following orders) are important aspects of the American work ethic. Friendliness across lines of class and hierarchical authority should not be confused with low expectations. Yu-Jin learned this lesson and kept her internship. WIP was proud that she rose to the challenge.

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