South Korean Students

• For most Christian Koreans, going to church is a very important social, cultural, and religious event. Don't be offended if they do not want to go to church with you and go instead to their own Korean church.
• Christian Korean students often want to go to church 3 or 4 times a week (Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday). Church services on Friday end at about 10:00 p.m.
• The monthly homestay fee that students pay only include the cost of transportation to and from school. Students usually find their own rides to church since transportation to church is not included in their homestay fee.

Cars:

• Many Koreans buy cars after they have been in Tulsa for a few months. Please reduce the amount they pay per month for their homestay accordingly since you will not need to provide transportation for them.

Food:

• Students want to eat 3 meals each day including breakfast. Please provide students with breakfast even if they have to prepare it themselves.
• The Korean diet includes more fresh foods and less processed foods than that of most Americans. In fact, there are many things they will eat just because they are "healthy" and "good for you".
• Some of the healthy foods Koreans like don't smell so great such as kimchi and fish or seaweed based products. If these odors bother you, try to reach a compromise with the student about how to keep the smell down.
• Korean students are shocked at how sweet American desserts and sodas are. They will probably not want to eat much dessert if it's very sweet.
• Let your student know when you are going grocery shopping. Ask them if they'd like to come along or if there's anything special they might like. Perhaps ask them to help you plan a meal for one night out of the week so that you can get an idea of what types of foods they feel comfortable with. There are several Asian and Korean markets in Tulsa. Since food is a very big part of culture, get to know your student and his or her culture better by taking a field trip with them to an Asian or Korean market.

Smoking:

• The trend lately for Korean college students has been social smoking. Of course, this develops into an addiction that is hard to break. Even if the student wrote on their homestay application that they are a non-smoker, this might not be true in reality.
• My suggestion would be to assume that your student smokes and make rules as if they do. For example, you could make rules for your house that might include no smoking inside (especially in bed), no smoking where children can see them, no smoking within 10 feet of the house, etc.

Temperature:

• Many students find American homes to be too cold all year round. Please be sensitive to this difference. Show them how to close the vents in their bedroom if it's too cold in the summer. Ask them if they need extra blankets at night during the winter.