[Student Voices] Pulled Down to Earth
Published: 21 Apr. 2025, 09:24
Yoonchan Park, Shanghai High School International Division, Primary School
by Yoonchan Park, Shanghai High School International Division, Primary School
My first two weeks at school in Shanghai, I felt like I was floating through the vast darkness of space, alone. Every day I sat in the corner and ate lunch by myself. The cafeteria was full of loud chattering voices but it was just a blur of sound that I couldn’t follow. I was the only Korean in my grade and I couldn’t speak Chinese very well, which made it hard to reach across the invisible wall separating me from my classmates.
I tried talking with the other students. “Can I borrow a pencil?” But they didn’t even seem to notice me. At recess I went up to them and said, “Will you play with me?” They replied, “No.” Every rejection was like another brick added to the wall between me and my classmates.
One evening, I told my mom that I didn’t have any friends at school. She gave me simple but powerful advice: “Listen to what your classmates talk about and watch what they play at recess. Pay close attention to them.” This was like a light bulb flickering in the dark.
The next day I went to school and tried the method my mom suggested. I listened carefully to their conversations about basketball, cars, and books that had just come out. Then I tried to talk with my classmates about the topics they liked. For example, “Did you see Stephen Curry last night?” or “Did you know that the new Tesla model just came out?” For the first time, their heads turned in my direction and we had a short but meaningful conversation.
I continued to pay close attention to my classmates. Once, a ball hit a boy and nobody noticed but me. He was bleeding all over his face. I ran up to him and said, “Are you okay?” Then I helped him get to the nurse. Another time, I noticed that a classmate had forgotten his textbook. When I slid mine across the table, he whispered “Thank you!” After I heard that, it felt like the wall between us was beginning to crumble.
I tried to learn more about Chinese culture to get closer to my new friends. I searched on the internet, looked in Chinese books, and went to museums. My classmates noticed me working hard to understand their culture and asked me about my country, Korea. “How do you say ‘sorry’ in Korean?” “What food is delicious in Korea?” As we asked each other questions, we became closer every day.
Later that year, I wrote a book called “Dream Maker.” It was about a character exploring space and having problems finally going back to Earth. After the book was published, the principal asked me to do a presentation about it in front of the whole grade. Since then, my book has become one that students borrow the most from the school library. The story has drawn me and my classmates into the same orbit, linking our distant worlds at last.
If you want to make new friends in a strange place, the key is simple. Just open your heart and ears with courage and take the first step. Pay attention to their interests and their culture. Listen carefully to their conversations. Watch what they do to know more about what they like. Friendship isn’t something that just happens; it’s something that you make. Every small act connects us to each other. I was once floating in space, alone in the darkness, but I found a way to escape that loneliness, pulled down to Earth by the hands of my new friends.
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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