Yujung Kim (34) moved from South Korea to Dublin in 2015 and sees similarities between Irish and Korean culture because of their histories. While Ireland gained its independence in 1919, South Korea was granted its independence from Japan in 1945.
“I feel that Irish people are similar to Korean people. I feel very comfortable with Irish people. I feel it’s not too open-minded but conservative in the mind, and we like drinking and have some humour,” Kim says.
Kim decided to move to Ireland after working with Irish people in a pub in her home city of Daegu, a four-hour drive south of Seoul. According to Kim, Daegu has a large Irish population, as there is strong demand for English teachers in South Korea.
“They were very nice and I got to know more about Ireland. I felt that it’s a really good place to live, and then wanted to try living there.”
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Most children in South Korea attend tutoring classes after school, which has become a multi-billion industry – with government regulation mandating that classes must stop at 10pm. Kim had been tutored in English since was in primary school. Her family also briefly lived in Nanjing in China for her father’s job, where she attended a British international school. Kim went on to study English literature and Chinese translation at university.
Initially Kim planned to stay in Ireland for a year. She had previously spent a year in Australia, and, being fluent in English, was not daunted by the big move.
Kim says it is quite normal for young South Koreans to move abroad and work for a short period. Big employers in South Korea value this experience, because it tends to enhance good language and social skills.
After just a few months in Dublin, Kim met her future husband while out in a pub with friends.
“I was just standing, and then you know when you order a drink you kind of chat with people around you ...?”
Kim’s husband is German, and after dating for a year the couple decided to move to his home city of Hamburg. However, Kim was not happy there, and they ended up moving back to Dublin after 18 months. The Germans she met were not interested in making new friends and, not being a student, Kim struggled to meet people. “I missed the warmth from Irish people,” she says.
The pair married in Germany before moving back to Dublin, and in 2020 welcomed their daughter.
While Kim is very fond of Irish people, she admits she doesn’t have many Irish friends apart from her co-workers, with whom she shares happy times and sad times alike. Kim works for National College of Ireland’s Early Learning Initiative, carrying out home visits for mothers and babies, while her husband works in IT.
“It’s difficult to make Irish friends, but they’re nice and easy to talk to in the road or something, but it’s not like you become friends for a minute.”
Kim also made friends in Ireland through meet-ups for international people. After her daughter’s arrival, she got to know some of the other parents at the nursery. Now, she counts friends from all over the world: Argentina, Ukraine, Poland, China and Singapore.
Not having family close to help out with childcare can be challenging, but Kim has not considered moving back to South Korea since having her daughter. “Here, there are many more people from different cultures, so it might be easier for her to adapt. In Korea, if you go to normal school, it’s only Korean people. As she’s mixed, because my husband is German ... I think she would feel more comfortable here.”
Though Kim is aware of an increase in racist attacks over the past few years, she says she hasn’t faced more racism than she did before.
“My daughter’s friend’s mum is Indian, and she thinks she faces racism more often. She told me stories and actually it was quite shocking, because they come to you and harass you because you are Indian, and so on.”
Kim thinks her family will stay in Ireland for the foreseeable future.
“My daughter is in a good school. I think Ireland is very good for raising a baby because there are so many events for kids, and if you go to the library there are many free events.”
Every Sunday, Kim takes her daughter to Korean school.
“Before my daughter was born, it was a bit hard to get to know Korean people, because if I went to English classes there weren’t Korean people. But now [that] my daughter goes to Korean school from when she was three, I get to see them every week.”
Being part of this community in Dublin also means that Kim can take part in community celebrations of Korean holidays, such as Lunar New Year and the Harvest Festival.
“We celebrate all together wearing traditional clothes, so after that I don’t really feel left out from cultural things. I like going to the events like Lunar New Year because I can see that people who are Irish or not Asian ... come, enjoying the festival together. I feel that maybe they will think about us more positively.”
This year, Kim will be attending the Hill Street Family Resource Centre Lunar New Year Community Celebration on February 22nd. Kim is involved with the centre through her work.
We would like to hear from people who have moved to Ireland in the past 10 years. To get involved, email newtotheparish@irishtimes.com or tweet @newtotheparish
