A mere mention of the words"South Korea” and "Education”in the same sentence and many will look at you in utter shock or even go an extra mile to project a laughter of mockery towards you. Take for instance, when he was asked where he dreamed of studying, "The United States!” 20 year old Danny answered without even second guessing himself. However though, the uncertain nature of lifeseems to have set him in a completely opposite direction, SOUTH KOREA!Little did he know that the time he spent in this part of the world he hardly gave a minute of his thoughts for and despised would change his entire perception of it.

He arrived shortly before the beginning of the fall semester and he craved home and felt devastated like any of us would, especially when you put into consideration the noticeable change of environment but this didn’t last a minute.”

I’m not sure if it’s a large warm-hearted Rwandan community that I found or frequent visits from the Rwandan embassy in SouthKorea that made this usually long and humdrum time short”, Danny recalls with a smile. He found a home away from home.

Now in his second semester, a promising engineering student, a member of RDS-KN (Rwanda Diaspora South Korea Network) and more other planned fulfillments, Danny feels fortunate and proud of the new family he found 6687 miles away from home.

The bond between Rwandans living and studying in Korea as well as the whole of Asia has been strengthened further by the formation of the RDS-KN. This body was formed by Rwandans in Korea with full support of the Rwandan embassy in Korea with an aim of providing support and cultivating love between Rwandans in Korea.

Most of All, all Rwandans in Korea are perceived and taken as Rwandans without even the slightest thought on racial differences or anything else in that category.

Yet according to the media, this has proven unachievable among some other Rwandan Diasporas around the world, where some Rwandans are still considered superior or inferior to others. Members of this body also share a common visionof a more developed and economically enhanced Rwanda.

Much should be expected from Rwandan students studying abroad but much more is guaranteed to be obtained from the ones in Korea. There may seem to be a vast number of differences between Rwanda and Korea especially in terms of development but similarities also balance up.

Korea transformed from a third world country into a developed country in the shortest period known to human kind. Now, there must be methods or ways that the Koreans applied to achieve this and for as long as Rwanda is in need of this transformation, these methods and ways will always be of vital importance to us.

And here they are, young and ambitious Rwandans not only learning the Korean methods but also mastering and excelling in them. "There must be a secret behind this tremendous rate of development and we are here to get it, learn it and apply it to our own” a Rwandan student was heard saying in one of their IT laboratories.

Many might find little credence to whether these so called "secrets” are really being procured. I felt the same way until I carried out a survey of my own. Despite the highly advanced laboratories, multi PhD holding professors and other academic facilities, professors still go an extra mile to provide assignments, course works and projects to sharpen the students’ skills further.

A typical day in Danny’s week begins at 7 am and settles around 8 pm in the night. That is 12 hours full of lectures, group works and practical assignments. As if that’s not enough, he goes ahead to work on the provided assignments all night, going to rest around 3 am.

"Now, that’s the kind of spirit, us Rwandans need” Danny says calmly. A fresh graduate from South Korea does not only live with a batch of skills in his field of study but also an extra skill of language since it’s a required necessity for their courses. Rwandan students are often heard speaking in this seemingly impossible to learn language during their meetings. so, when these young men and women are being rewarded for their hard work be sure to say that they deserve it.

With all the good things going on, the incessant lack of knowledge about Rwanda by Koreans still poses a challenge or a discomfort among Rwandans in Korea. "Before, one could not walk a kilometer without being asked where Rwanda was or if it was a country or a city.”

These kinds of questions, Danny says, always made him and other Rwandans agitated but thanks to the increasing Rwandan community, all that is now changing. Members of the RDS-KN are now holding exhibitions to demonstrate our culture in various parts of Korea.

With all the continuous support from the Rwandan embassy and the hard work from the RDS-KN; there is no doubt whatsoever that Rwanda’s relations with South Korea are in for the better

When Danny was asked the same question he was asked a few years ago, he still answered quickly and with no hesitation but this time the answer was different….SOUTH KOREA.

Jack Ngarambe. Ngarajack@ khu.ac.kr
010-8683-8355
South Korea.
UNDERGRADUATE KYUNG HEE UNIVERSITY
Architectural Engineering