Settlement

I was born in a rural city in South Korea. I lived there until I was 9 years old and then my family moved to Seoul. Seoul is a big city and the capital of South Korea. I lived in Seoul until I decided to immigrate.

I married my husband in 2007 and then we emigrated to Australia. We lived in Australia for over a year. Suddenly, Australia’s immigration laws changed so we went back to South Korea. I had a son in 2011. In Korea, children are pressured to learn too much from an early age so many Korean children get a lot of stress starting from childhood. After having a son, we prepared to immigrate to Canada because we didn’t want our son to grow up in a competitive Korea. My family immigrated to Canada in 2013 and we got permanent residency in 2014.

When I first came to Canada, I did a lot of work in different fields, such as government offices and banks. I also rented houses. It was hard because the culture and language were different from what I was used to. I didn’t speak English very well so it was too hard for me to talk on the phone. I didn’t understand people on the phone so I have to go to specific places and check the information I had been given several times. It took me several hours to complete the work I was given. Also, when I changed my driver’s license from Korean to Canadian, I was given an eye test. At that time, I didn’t understand some of the things the examiner was telling me, so I called my friend. She spoke English very well and she helped with the interpretation over the phone.

Now, everything is much better but it’s still not easy to learn a second language. I’m always trying so I believe that one day it will be better than it is now. When I think of my future in Canada, I get a little excited. This excitement gives me good energy!