TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Four middle schools from the Tucson Unified School District are participating in the Tucson Korea Ambassador Program (TKAP). The program builds cultural, language, and friendship ties between students who live more than 6,000 miles apart.
40 students from Ulleung and Yeongyang, two small regions in South Korea, landed in Tucson on Friday for TKAP. They’ll live with their host families for the next three weeks.
“Welcome to the United States and the great state of Arizona and the beautiful Tucson Unified School District," said TUSD Superintendent Dr. Gabriel Trujillo at the opening ceremony for students.
The schools participating in TKAP are Dodge Traditional Magnet Middle School, Magee Middle School, Dietz K-8 and University High School.
Yoon Lee, TKAP’s program director for Asian Pacific American & Refugee Services at TUSD says her goal is for students to understand and appreciate the differences in each other's cultures.
“The cultures are so different. They want to know how different, what is the difference, how they can adapt something positive and make them better people. At the same time, I want TUSD students to also learn the differences in cultures through the Korean students," said Lee.
Soewoo is one of the 40 students who are in the United States for the first time. He comes from a small island in South Korea and says he’s honored to have this opportunity.
“I checked YouTube videos about America before coming here. But actually, when I got here I saw many differences between the videos and real life. So it’s really important to be here and experience it on my own," said Soewee.
Each student from Korea is partnered with a TUSD student daily.
“My favorite thing about TKAP is probably the connections that we make with people and how long these friendships last even after the program," said Louie Arvizu, a Dodge Middle School student who is hosting a Korean student at home.
Students will visit a few local sites during their stay like the Desert Museum and Colossal Cave. They will also attend a Lunar New Year Celebration at Cholla High School.
“I believe the biggest joy is they’re building friendships together and they are connected with social media before and after the program," said Lee.
The program is expanding. Next month, 11 high school students from South Korea will arrive in Tucson to experience the program at Saguaro High School. They will stay for one week.
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Jacqueline Aguilar is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9. Born and raised in Yuma, AZ., she is no stranger to the unforgiving Arizona heat. Now this U of A wildcat is excited to be back in Tucson and is looking forward to involving herself in the community. Share your story ideas with Jacqueline by emailing jacqueline.aguilar@kgun9.com or connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
