KOREA FOUNDATION

Letters from AKF 

An Unforgettable Experience 

[ AKF 3rd ] Shania JENIFFER 

Hello, I’m Shania, and I was a member of the 3rd ASEAN-Korea Futurist (AKF) team. AKF was an opportunity for me to develop myself as a student and a person, and it was also a huge chance to represent and promote my home country, Indonesia, to people from all around the world. 

   At first, I was concerned that I might not get along well with the other participants. But thankfully, the other AKF team members reached out to me first. During my time with the AKF, whenever we handled a subject related to Indonesia, I proudly participated in the conversation and talked about my homeland with other team members, who all came from different countries. In the process, I became especially close with the Korean members of the team, and I was extremely happy since I realized that my Korean language skills were improving every day. I’m still not sure if I contributed a lot as a team member when carrying out our various missions, but I can say with confidence that this entire experience was an unforgettable and enjoyable one for me. 

   The biggest mission of AKF team was the one about traditional games. It was particularly memorable because it was a mission that we had to complete by working together with other teams. Through this mission, my team members and I were able to spend a lot of time with members of the other teams, which allowed us to get closer to one another and share a lot of meaningful experiences. Due to school work, I wasn’t able to participate in the ASEAN Cooking Class mission, but I was certainly glad when I heard from other team members that the mission was a success and a lot of fun. At the same time, I felt a bit sorry and sad since I couldn’t participate. 

   Participating in this year’s AKF program was definitely a life-changing experience that had a positive impact on my life. Being a part of the AKF team and participating in various missions hosted by the ASEAN Culture House was certainly the proudest and most meaningful thing I’ve ever done during my time in Korea. It was such a fun and rewarding experience, and if the opportunity presented itself, I would like to be a part of it once again.