Hi everyone,

My name is Kathryn, and I am in my fifth year of undergrad at UO, majoring in Japanese (language-intensive) and minoring in Korean. I am also considering a major in Asian Studies. After graduation, I plan to work for the JET program and teach English abroad in Japan, and eventually teach English in South Korea, as well. Later on, I hope to become an elementary- or middle school-teacher and translator, and live and work in either country (or both!).

I am taking this class because I took KRN 315 (Intro to Korean Linguistics) a couple years ago to fill a requirement for my Korean minor and really liked the class, so I wanted to take the Japanese equivalent (in addition to fulfilling the requirement for my major). I have also taken several other Japanese linguistics classes with Professor Idemaru and found them immensely rewarding and enjoyed them a lot. In addition, being half-Japanese, I’ve always been interested in Japan and Japanese culture since I was very young, especially the language. My mom is Japanese and my dad is American, so growing up, my mom was my main access point to my Japanese heritage, even though she can’t speak it. Unfortunately, my high school did not offer Japanese classes, so my Japanese studies began when I started attending UO.

As of writing this post, I have been studying Japanese for about three years. I’ve also been studying Korean for almost five years now, and can speak it proficiently (I think.. ^^; ).

In my free time, I enjoy drawing, watching Korean and Japanese television dramas, playing video games, and re-watching Studio Ghibli films. My favorite anime/manga are Sailor Moon, 海月姫, and 月刊少女野崎くん. I also like listening to k-pop, though my favorite band is Arashi ♡ If you’re ever interested in song recs/want to learn more about them, feel free to ask me haha~

I’m looking forward to working with you all! よろしくお願いします！

(Below is a picture I drew of Arashi for a presentation I gave in my third-year Japanese class last spring term ^^ click to view full size~)