The first interview

                             Interview Preparation

       After I finished the second Accounting test, I begin to prepare my first interview which I never did before, I think it is also a challenging and experience for me in the United States. My first interviewee I will meet come from South Korea, he is also my friend’s roommate. On Thursday, we switched our own cell phone number and we made a reservation for a library meeting room where is one of the most important elements in the interview because I found most of interview happened in quiet places. For the first interview, I prepared 12 questions to ask him within 1 hour. My goal is to learn more knowledge about South Korea in culture, economy and lifestyle.

                              How did you approach people?

       For the three interviewees, I asked my friend to help me to find. Both of them have roommates come from South Korea and Germany. My friend gave his roommate’s cell phone number and I conducted with him on Thursday. Luckily, he agreed to help me to finish my first interview.

                     When, Where, and How did you Conduct the Interview?

       I did the first interview around 5 pm at the meeting room in the Lawrence Hall. Before I went to Lawrence Hall, I bought two cups of coffee for us to relieve. When I arrived at my friend’s room, the Korean guy was sleeping, so I wait for him wake up for half an hour. I discussed some details about interview with my friend who is also takes English 191. After he wake up, we went to the meeting room to find a good spot. After a while, I introduced this assignment to him and he thought he was ready. I prepared around 12 questions for this interview, we followed these questions one by one for 45 minutes. 

                                Interview Report

       The first entire interview went very well. For this interview, I prepared 12 questions picked from lists on posts and other questions not related to this interview. Basically, the interviewee I interviewed who is a exchange student come from South Korea major in finance. The guy finished his three years’ study in University of Seoul while he chose to study in the United States for one year. During the interview, I found the guy is vey outgoing because he answered all the questions I answered and he did not care about some sensitive problems right now. He thought he could also achieve much knowledge from talking with me. 

       Anyway, when I finished my interview, I found out the main points I recorded during the interview and wrote the transcript as follows.

                             Whom did you Interview?

       I interviewed Young who comes from South Korea in the capital of Seoul. Young is 24 years old and he is an exchange student major in Accounting.

                                 Country Report

       “South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea is a sovereign state in the southern part of the Korean Peninsula. The name "Korea" is derived from Goryeo, a dynasty which ruled in the middle Ages. Its neighbors are China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. South Korea lies in the north temperate zone with a predominantly mountainous terrain. It covers a total area of 99,392 square kilometers and has a population of 50 million. The capital and largest city is Seoul, with a population of 9,794,304.”(South Korea 2012) South Korea has a technically advanced transport network consisting of high-speed railways, highways, bus routes, ferry services, and air routes that criss-cross the country. Korea Expressway Corporation operates the toll highways and service amenities en route. “Aerospace research, Robotics and Biotechnology are very famous in South Korea. Korean cuisine or hansik has evolved through centuries of social and political change. Korean cuisine is largely based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, fish and meats. Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes, banchan , which accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice. Every meal is accompanied by numerous banchan. Kimchi, a fermented, usually spicy vegetable dish is commonly served at every meal and is one of the best known Korean dishes.” (South Korea 2012) “Football has traditionally been regarded as the most popular sport in Korea. Recent polling indicates that a majority, 40.6%, of South Korean sports fans continue to self-identify as football fans, with baseball ranked second at 25.3% of respondents. However, the polling did not indicate the extent to which respondents follow both sports. The national football team became the first team in the Asian Football Confederation to reach the FIFA World Cup semi-finals in the 2002 FIFA World Cup, jointly hosted by South Korea and Japan.” (South Korea 2012)

 

Transcript

Y=Yang (me)

S=Young

Y: Hi boy, my name is Yang Qu and I am your roommate’s friend. It is honor to interview you.

S: I am Young Jin Song. Nice to meet you.

Y: Nice to meet you too. OK, let we start.

S: I am ready.

Y: Could you tell me about yourself? (your name, home country)

S: I am Young Jin Song and I come from Seoul where the capital of South Korea is. I like play soccer on my free time. My major is management. I came here to study Accounting class. This is my junior year and I will go back when I graduate.

Y: What are you planning to do after school?

S: When I graduate?

Y: No, I mean when you finish class what you will to do?

S: I will play soccer with my friends. Sometimes, I play computer games and use Facebook

Y: Why did you choose to study at St. Cloud University?

S: Because St. Cloud University is nice. I realized the benefits when I came to here.

Y: Where you know this University?

S: I search the University Web Page.

Y: What are you studying now?

S: Basically, I take three accounting classes. They are ACCT 291, ACCT 292 and ACCT 381 and I need to pass all of them. Except those three classes I also take some ESL classes.\

Y: Oh, my God. You are so creasy, those three accounting classes are so difficult. Are you good at accounting?

S: Yes. My major is accounting when I studied in South Korea, so I need continue to take it.

Y: I also take Accounting 291, but I think it is a little bit difficult.

Y: What is the difference in educational systems between your country and North America?

S: In the Korea, students in college should focus on the lecture made by professor carefully and you cannot speak during the lecture. I can only do the notes. Compare to the US, I found students are free to do whatever if they want, they can participate in the class. How about your home country?

Y: Anyway, I did not take any major courses in China because I did enter into college in China and I just studied IELTS in Nanjing Normal University and passed it on May in 2011. I am a normal student in St. Cloud State University now.

S: I thought you are exchange student.

Y: Well, I hope so, I often miss my hometown.

Y: Would you like to tell me about your country?

S: South Korea locate in Asian and South Korea near the China and Japan. After 1950s, with the rapid development of economy, South Korea becomes the top 10 strong countries in the World. There are also some famous companies, such as Samsung and LG.

Y: Could you tell me about your country’s traditional process regarding marriage?

S: If a guy and a girl fall in love, they should get allowance from their own parents and then get married. Is it same in China?

Y: I think so because China and South Korea have same culture background.

Y: Can you tell me about activities that young people like to do in your country?

S: In Korea, K-pop is very popular among the young people.

Y: Sorry, can you spell it?

S: It is fine. That is K-p-o-p.

Y: What are major holidays in your country?

S: In Korea, Thanksgiving day and New Year’s day is common. We call these two festivals in Korea language like chu-suk, Sul Nal.

Y: What you guys commonly to do in these festivals?

S: Basically, I often visit my grandpa and grandma’s house and do the food together.

Y: What is your traditional food?

S: In Korea, Kinchi is very famous that made of vegetables. And Bulgogi is also famous that made of meat.

Y: How to spell it?

S: That is B-u-l-g-o-g-i.

Y: How is the political system of your country structured?

S: I think Korea’s government consists of Administration, president and law system. It a little bit difficult.

Y: Ok, Let us star the last question>

S: That is fine.

Y: What’s considered offensive in your country?

S: Oh, my God. That is difficult. Let me think about it for a while.

Y: Alright.

S: I think the most offensive problem in South Korea is North Korea.

Y: Why you do not like it?

S: Personally, I do not like North Korea’s government but I like their people. The leader named Kim Jong-un is a dictatorship. People in the North Korea live very hard.

Y: Ok, we have finished this interview and thank you for your corporation.

S: You are welcome.

Y: Have nice day.

S: You too.

Work Cited:

South Korea. October 17, 2012.

       http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Korea