Latest Rotary Club of Farragut international ‘swap’
A Kinson ‘exchange:’ Tory hosting South Korean student, while his daughter exchanges to Seoul
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Bill Nichols, left, Rotary Club of Farragut’s Rotary Youth Exchange Outbound chairman, and RYE host father/RCF member Tory Kinson, right, welcomed RYE student Junoo Choi of Seoul, South Korea, to their club meeting in Farragut Community Center Wednesday, Aug. 23. Junoo, 17, sponsored by RCF, will be spending the 2023-24 school year as a Bearden High School junior. - Tammy Cheek
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Valerie Kinson, Tory’s daughter and BHS Class of 2023 graduate, prepares for her trip to Seoul as an RYE 2023-24 student. - Tammy Cheek
While Valerie Kinson, daughter of Rotary Club of Farragut member Tory Kinson, departs Friday, Sept. 1, to Seoul, South Korea, as part of the club’s Rotary Youth Exchange program, South Korean 17-year-old RYE junior Junoo Choi will be living with the Kinson family and attending Bearden High School for the 2023-24 school year.
Junoo arrived at McGhee-Tyson Airport Sunday, Aug. 6, to start his new adventure living with Tory and Monica Kinson.
“Junoo seems to be adjusting well,” Tory told RCF Past President Tom King, public image chairman with the club. “He loves basketball. (He) plays it every chance he gets and also plays the piano and likes to teach piano to kids.
“He was recently commended by the Seoul 6 Police Department for saving a woman who was being assaulted by a drunk,” Tory told King.
While adjusting, Junoo said he is “so nervous” about the stay. Hailing from Seoul, he is the son of Jung Won Choi and Gyu Young Kim and brother to Eun Jae Choi.
Junoo said he wanted to participate in the RYE program because he wanted to learn more about the American culture and learn more English. He will return to his home country in September 2024.
Valerie Kinson, 18, graduated from BHS last May, but she will be attending high school again, this time as a senior at Asan Gangseo High School in Seoul, where she will be a student until August 2024.
“I’m so excited,” she said. “I’ve been trying to cram as much (culture) from Junoo before I go. I’m definitely trying to get all that culture down before I immerse myself in it.
“(Junoo is) already warning me about stuff: behavior stuff, mannerisms and how to culturally adapt,” Valerie added. “A whole new environment I’m going to be in.
“I’m just so excited to meet new friends. I’m starting to be fluent in Korean and hoping this year will really solidify that for me because, right now, I have basic levels.”
Valerie also is excited to try the foods in Seoul.
“I’ve had Korean food here, but I can only imagine it where I am going,” she said. “I’m halfway packed now, but by a week from Friday I will be on that plane.”
While she is getting tips from Junoo, Valerie is helping him acclimate to East Tennessee and BHS, where she helped him choose classes and translations.
“It’s really a fun experience having him at my house,” she said.
