I am from South Korea and my academic background is in Archaeology, with a special interest in Greenland's cultural heritage. Currently I am in the University of Greenland, studying for MSc in West Nordic Studies.
My first trip to the Arctic was in 2010. I travelled to Greenland and Iceland in the summer of 2010 afterwards I totally fell in love with the Arctic area. I therefore decided to come back to Greenland and started to study West Nordic Studies. Furthermore I have always wanted to have broader knowledge about not only Greenland but also other Arctic areas and Arctic issues.
After my first semester of Master’s degree, I got a great opportunity to work as an intern at UArctic Research Liaison and Thematic Networks Office, Thule Institute in Oulu, Finland. So another exciting journey from Greenland to Finland has started and it was an absolutely amazing experience. This was my very first visit to Finland. I was fascinated by beautiful nature in Finland. There is long winter however lots of snow used to light up during the dark and long night. There are tall and big trees, which have not been able to see in Greenland make typical picturesque scenery of Northern European winter. My camera has never stopped working to capture beautiful Finnish nature even on my way to and from work.
During the internship, Fulbright Arctic Symposium was the biggest event that I have ever experienced at the Thule Institute. As an intern and also a member of the organisers, I had a lot of chances to be involved in the Symposium from a very close distance. It was a very nice experience to meet Arctic scholars and experts from various fields in one place. For me, this valuable experience became a good way to start in the Arctic field and this has encouraged my research.
At the Thule Institute, all staff (professors, researchers and coordinators) have always faced me with smiley faces so I could work always happily and effectively during my internship. In addtion, I had a great opportunity to meet all staff from UArctic International Secretariat for a short business trip to Rovaniemi.
Thank you very much for giving me this awesome opportunity. I sincerely hope to see again all people I have ever met during the internship and I am pretty sure about it because I will stick to the Arctic from now on. My Journey to the Arctic will continue.