"It was hell," Sung Bae Jeon says, laughing, as she describes what it was like to attend high school in Seoul, South Korea. Jeon's school day began at 7:30 a.m. and ended at 10 p.m. She attended school for 15 hours Monday through Friday, plus another eight hours on Saturday.

With the heavy workload and strict discipline from her teachers, college in America wouldn't seem that difficult. But Jeon thinks differently.

"In Korean high schools, the teachers forced me to study," she says. "Now I don't have anyone telling me to study, so it makes it more difficult."

Jeon, a graduate student, is studying geography at Kent State. She has a bachelor's degree in geography from Kyung Hee University. Her father, a former visiting professor at Kent State, advised her to enroll to pursue a master's degree.

Jeon has had to become accustomed to many aspects of American life. In Korea, it is basic etiquette to bow to the elderly, and it is unheard of to enter a house without removing your shoes. Physical contact in friendships is greater in Korea as well.

"In Korea, I can hold hands with one of my girlfriends," she says. "But in America, they would think I am a lesbian."

The most challenging part of living in America that Jeon has had to adjust to is the English language.

"I am the only Korean person in my classes, and my professors all speak English, so it is difficult to understand them," she says.

Jeon has no regrets about coming to the United States except that she has missed some important events in the lives of her family and friends.

"My sister had a baby while I was here," she says. "I wish I could have been there so I could have seen it."