There are a number of social, cultural and political differences between Korea and the U.S. But, the most interesting difference that I, a senior undergraduate from Korea studying political science and economics at the University of Minnesota, noticed is that native students like to get involved in and be passionate about national politics while many Korean students are just not really interested in national politics in general.

 During the four years living in the U.S., specifically in New York and Minnesota, I have seen so many American students actively participating in political events and raising their voices to protect their political rights. They motivated me to get involved in American politics, and now I am actively working as an intern at the Minnesota Public Interest Research Group. MPIRG is a grassroots, non-partisan, nonprofit, student-directed organization that empowers and trains students and engages the community to take collective action in the public interest throughout the state of Minnesota.

The current issue that we are focusing on now is the two constitutional amendments that will appear on the ballot on the upcoming Election Day on Nov. 6th, 2012. With MPIRG, I am working for raising awareness about how the two amendments would threaten the principles of democracy among the University students and leading students to take action and practice their voting rights.

It’s a great pleasure and fulfilling experience for me to be part of an organization that has helped motivate me to become an active participant in local politics and does meaningful work in its community. I would like to encourage other students to join us in representing students’ voices over the issues that matter most to us.