Hwaejin Chung is a second-year majoring in the 3–2 Engineering program with a minor in Spanish. After his first year at Oberlin, he returned to Korea to serve his mandatory 18 months in the military. Upon returning this fall, Hwaejin has a newfound sense of pride in his home country and has since reconnected with lacrosse, a sport he would not be playing at Oberlin if it weren’t for a lacrosse helmet in the background of a Zoom call.
The sun had fallen under the mountains hours before Hwaejin Chung reached the final checkpoint. His feet were swollen, his uniform drenched in sweat, and 45 pounds of gear was pressing into his back. For 11 hours, he had trudged through 40 kilometers of uneven, gruesome terrain as part of his Korean military training.
“It was all a mental battle rather than a physical one,” Chung said. “You have to keep telling yourself not to give up.”
It was a taxing trial. Chung’s endurance and strength were stretched to unforeseen levels. Yet this was only a small piece of his transcontinental journey. From growing up in Korea, to moving in with a host family in Minnesota and discovering lacrosse, to finishing his first year at Oberlin, and finally moving back to Korea to serve a country he had become estranged from Chung experienced a journey that has shaped the course of his life and brought him closer to the cultures he was raised in, even if they are thousands of miles apart.
In the summer of 2013, Chung’s life was reimagined. At 11 years old, he moved from Korea to Saint Paul, MN to begin his journey as an international student in America. A few years prior, Chung’s cousin had made the decision to study in the U.S. Upon hearing she had enjoyed her time, Chung’s parents subtly floated the idea to him.
“One day, out of the blue, they said, ‘Hey, would you be interested in studying in the U.S.?’” Chung said. “I was like, ‘I don’t know, maybe, that would be kind of fun.’ And then one idea led to another, and I was there on the plane.”
The decision to come to America was motivated by the strain of Korea’s rigorous education system. Chung remembers having finals and midterms in elementary school, going to afternoon school for tutoring every day, all while going to English academies to strengthen his language skills on top of everything else.
For Chung, the U.S. allowed for more than one path to success. It was a place where one did not have to go through such demanding academic trials at such a young age.
“When I came [to America], kids were just being kids,” Chung said. “Sure, they were going to school and learning, but studying was not their whole entire life.”
With less time devoted to school, Chung had the opportunity to explore and develop his other interests and pastimes. Rather quickly, Chung was introduced to lacrosse.
“Lacrosse is not really that big in Korea,” Chung said. “I did not know about it until I first came here.”
Chung’s next-door neighbor was an avid lacrosse fan. After seeing him play outside, Chung decided to ask him what he was doing.
“He explained [the game] to me,” Chung said. “He had a second stick that he would let me borrow. We played catch and shot on hockey nets.”
Heading into seventh grade, Chung transferred schools. This meant finding a new host family, becoming reacclimated with his environment, and meeting an entirely new group of peers at school. But, for the first time, his school offered lacrosse as a sport.
“I was like, ‘Oh, I remember lacrosse, I want to try it out,’” Chung said. “I started playing in seventh grade and fell in love with it ever since.”
Throughout high school, Chung remained infatuated with the game, but when deciding on a college to attend, lacrosse was not his main goal. Rather, Chung wanted to focus on pursuing his education.
After applying to many small liberal arts schools, Chung settled on Oberlin. At the time, in the aftermath of COVID-19, events for incoming first-year students were all on Zoom.
Chung was on a Zoom call with Matthew Huang, OC ’22, a member of the lacrosse team. Huang noticed a lacrosse helmet in the background of Chung’s virtual screen and asked if he was interested in playing at Oberlin. Chung jumped at the opportunity, and a few days later — after a call with Head Men’s Lacrosse Coach Ryan Polak — he earned a spot on the roster.
Chung’s first year at Oberlin was full of triumphs. He grew and bonded with his lacrosse teammates all while maintaining good grades in class. Despite this, something loomed over him: his required military service.
Every Korean male aged 18–35 is obligated to serve an 18-month term in the military. It is common for men to enlist after their first year of college. Chung followed suit and set off back to his homeland, where he was assigned to the 1st Infantry Division Basic Camp.
“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was not always fun,” Chung said when talking about his first few months at camp. “But it also was not always terrible.”
Mere months after becoming accustomed to the prototypical college schedule, Chung learned to follow an entirely new daily routine, one that differed from his previous year of class, lifting, and lacrosse practice.
Chung woke up at 6:30 a.m. every day to the same alarm (which he admittedly hates), went to formation, did a daily check-in, and ate breakfast. Next came the afternoon tasks of training in chemical warfare, working out in combat equipment, and cleaning the barracks thoroughly. One day he even had to dig up an entire turf soccer field to create a parking lot for his superior officers. Then came lunchtime, and after that, it was time to repeat the same daily training until 5:30 when it was time for dinner, minimal freetime, another check of the barracks, and bed. Days were tedious and tiresome.
In his limited freetime, Chung relished the opportunity to read books and grow closer with his battalion through games like chess and Rummikub. When he arrived back on campus, Chung learned from fourth-year teammate Joe Barocas that Rummikub is a Jewish game.
“Somehow a Jewish game ended up in our military barracks and we played it a lot,” Chung said.
Chung bonded with and forged new friendships with Korean men who were undergoing the same stark lifestyle changes. To this day, when Chung visits Korea, he makes time for drinks with men from his battalion. Looking back on his time in the service, Chung relishes in the bonds he created and the lifelong confidence the experience instilled in him.
“Now that I’m done with it, I can confidently say that I’m grateful for it,” Chung said. “I came to America at such a young age, and I have been living with American host families for a super long time. I’ve been Americanized.”
But at first, he admitted that he had his qualms.
“When I had to go back, I was really mad for a while,” Chung said. “‘I haven’t actually lived in Korea for years. I’m basically American. What do I owe to this country?’”
It was hard for Chung to come to terms with involuntary serving, as it was contrary to the American military ideals he had grown accustomed to.
“In [the U.S.] military, you sign up for [it] initially because you want to,” Chung said. “But in Korea, I would say like 95 percent of the people sign up because they have to, not because they want to.”
However, the life-changing experience, even with the demanding, forceful schedule, reconnected Chung with his cultural roots in Korea — the place where his family has been for many generations.
“By actually going back to the service, meeting people and making friends with people in Korea, I got back in touch with my culture,” Chung said. “I am very glad I was able to do that and very proud to say that I have served my country.”
Chung returned to campus physically the same — something he and Coach Polak shared a laugh about when Coach Polak jokingly asked if he would come back at 6’2” and 200 pounds: he is still 5’9” and 165 pounds.
Chung does not feel ashamed of who he is and where he came from. After coming to America at 11 years old and completing his military service at 20, nothing can deter Chung from the overarching confidence his conflicting yet strengthening cultural journey has instilled in him.
“Coming back to America this past fall has been different just because I am very solidified of my identity now,” Chung said on returning from his service. “I am Korean, and there is no shame in it. I can be whatever I want, and I can express anything I want that’s Korean. I think overall, I’m much more confident in myself.”
