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A Mentoring Class Filled with Laughter andDreams of a Brighter Future in Korea TheaudiovisualroomatGwansanMiddleSchoolinAnsanwasfilledwiththejoyfullaughterofstudents.Formany,itwasthefirsttimeinawhilethataclasswasconductedintheirnativelanguage,whichsparkedahighlevelofinterestandengagement.WitheachwordfromlecturerKomilovBekhzod,theroomburstintoapplauseandcheers.All91studentseagerlyaskedquestions,participatedwithenthusiasm,andsmiledthroughoutthesession.GwansanMiddleSchool,wherethelecturetookplace,isapublicschoolinwhichapproximately86%ofthestudentscomefrommulticulturalbackgrounds.ManyofthemarrivedinKoreamidwaythroughtheireducation%u2014eitheraccompanyingtheirparentsorduetovariouspersonalcircumstances%u2014withoutcompletingtheirstudiesintheirhomecountries.Havingspenttheirearlyyearsabroad,manyofthesestudentsstillfacedifficultieswiththeKoreanlanguageandstruggletonavigatecareerchoiceswithinKoreansociety.MentorBekhzoddeliveredaheartfeltlectureaimedathelpingthemrecognizetheirpotentialandenvisionabrighterfuture.Hissincereadviceandrelatablestoriesofferedmeaningfulencouragementandhopetostudentsstillfindingtheirfootinginanewandunfamiliarenvironment.HavingarrivedinKoreaattheageof20,KomilovBekhzodfromUzbekistanhasspentnearly13yearsbuildingasuccessfullifeasaforeignresident.Sincehisuniversitydays,hehasactivelyparticipatedinextracurricularactivitiesandearnedrecognitioninvariousways%u2014includingwinninganationalKoreanspeechcontest.Currently,heworksasatranslatorandfocusesonITconsultingandbusinessdevelopmentfordevelopingcountries.Afterearningamaster%u2019sdegreeinKoreanLanguageEducationfromSeoulNationalUniversity,hejoinedamajorglobalcompany,wherehecontinuestobuildastableandmeaningfulcareer.Inhismentoringactivitiesforadolescentsfromimmigrantbackgrounds,BekhzodemphasizesthatthemostcrucialfactorforsuccessfullysettlinginKoreansocietyismasteringthelanguage.%u201cThestudentsarealreadynaturallyexposedtoKoreansociety,sonomatterwhatpaththeychoose,masteringtheKoreanlanguageisamust.They%u2019realreadyfluentintheirnativelanguage,andiftheycanbecomeproficientinKorean,they%u2019llhaveatremendousadvantage.Itmightfeelunfamiliarandchallengingnow,butoncetheydevelopstrongKoreanskills,itwillgreatlybenefitthem%u2014notonlyintheirstudiesbutalsoinplanningtheirfuturecareers.%u201dBekhzodlecturewasthoughtfullydesignedtohelpstudentspersonallyexperiencetheimportanceoflearningKorean.Herepeatedlyemphasizedthatmasteringthelanguagewasthekeytohisownsuccess%u2014frombeinganordinaryinternationalstudenttorepresentingKoreaabroadaspartofadelegation,meetingthepresident,andjoiningamajorcompany.Tosparkthestudents%u2019interest,heledalivetranslationactivity.Duringtheinteractivesession,whichincludedmemory-basedactivities,studentseagerlyraisedtheirhandsandparticipatedwithenergyandlaughter.Bekhzodshared,%u201cIknowalltoowellthedifficultiesandlonelinessoflivinginKoreawithoutknowingthelanguage,%u201dandexpressedhisheartfelthopethatthislecturewouldserveasasteppingstoneforthestudentsastheybuildtheirfutures.TosupportimmigrantsinsettlingsmoothlyinKorea,theMinistryofJusticeoperatesthe%u201cSocialIntegrationImmigrantMentorGroup,%u201dconsistingofimmigrantswhohavesuccessfullyadaptedtoKoreansociety.ThethirdcohortoftheMentorGroup,madeupof39mentorsfrom21countries,servesasareliableguidefornewcomersbyactivelyparticipatinginvarioussocialintegrationprograms.OnJuly2,KomilovBekhzod,amentorfromUzbekistan,gavealectureatGwansanMiddleSchoolinAnsan,Gyeonggi-do.HesharedpracticaltipsandheartfeltadvicewithstudentsbeginninganewlifeinKorea,offeringamessageofhopefortheirdreamsandfuture.Let%u2019stakeacloserlookatthelectureheldthatday.%u201cI Can Do It Too!%u201d%u2013 Stories of Children Dreaming of a Future in KoreaMentoring Lecture for Adolescents from Multicultural Backgrounds23