FLAS spotlight: Margaret Hong

Margaret Hong received a Foreign Language and Area Studies (FLAS) Fellowship from the Center for East Asian Studies to study Korean. Read more about her experience below.

My interest has always been with women's rights in the context of East Asia, particularly South Korea. As a Korean-American myself, I hope to further understand the relationship between a state and its female populace. Language training has deepened my understanding of the nuances and cultural implications when conversing in Korean. The scholarship has allowed me to gain a new perspective on Korean culture and further my research in understanding the significance of womanhood and body in South Korean society.

Through this experience, I learned to be humble and more aware of my own privilege and stance when researching any nation or culture. As a researcher, dedication and perseverance are crucial; however, always striving to be more aware and careful with my topics and considering how others might regard them is a necessary skill to learn.