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My Korean Heritage

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Hello! My name is Hyunji. I was born in Korea, but our family is currently living in the United States. Even though I have been here for almost my entire life, I still have been carrying on my Korean traditions. My parents have taught me Korean culture and traditions, because our original nationally is South Korean. I had attended a Korean Dual language program at Third Street Elementary for four years and my parents have made me speak Korean at home, since I was very young. I have learned many things about my language, culture, and traditions that I will pass on to the younger generation, and I hope that you will also learn about my family past and my backgrounds. My father’s family’s last name is Song. Our original hometown is Yeosan in South Korea. My great, great grandfather ran an aquaculture industry in Yongin. He was a member of the city council. My grandfather’s family moved to Suwon in 1945. He has four brothers and four sisters. When the Korean conflict started, the eldest brother joined the army, and he passed away in the battlefield. My grandfather graduated from the college of Agriculture, and ran a fertilizer industry. Later on, he got married to my grandmother and had three children, two boys and one girl. One of the boys was my dad who was the oldest. My dad’s name is Suyoung, he was born and grew up in Suwon, but he graduated from Yonsei University in Seoul, South Korea. His major is economics, but during his stay at university my dad met my mom. And they got married. Presently, my grandfather has moved to the countryside and manages an organic farm and also makes different types of tea. My mother’s family’s last name is Seo. Her family’s name is from Dalsung, South Korea. My mother’s great grandfather moved to Seoul, Korea, and her family has lived there since then. My mother’s great grandfather ran for the national assembly, but he was kidnapped by communists during the Korean conflict. Also, my mother’s family was very good at sports and art. My great, great grandfather, Sangchun Seo, was a pioneer in weight lifting, he majored physical education at the Tokyo University. After graduating, he taught physical education at Hwuimoon High School. He was the first president of the weightlifting union, and he established the gymnastic association, the Korean wrestling association, and the tennis association. He created a newspaper called the Hyundai Daily, and he wrote the books Weightlifting and How to Improve Your Strength. My great grandfather was the first person who did gymnastics in Korea and his brother was a boxing athlete. He took part in the Olympic games three times, although he couldn’t reach his goal of 1st place, he won 5th place at the Olympics. Later on, my grandfather founded a hotel, The Ambassador, with his cousin in Seoul. He retired as a vice president at the hotel, and he passed away in 1998. My grandfather on my mom’s side was born in Seoul. He studied electricity at Yonsei University, He worked as a engineer and met my grandmother, later on. They had three children two girls and one boy. The oldest girl was my mom. My mom, Seiyoung, was born in Seoul, South Korea. When my mom was very little my great aunt gave my mom’s family a opportunity to move to California, but her family did

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