Alondra Enid González Delgado, a 27-year-old from Juncos, Puerto Rico, moved to Seoul after falling in love with South Korea through Korean dramas she began watching during the Covid-19 pandemic, when streaming platforms took over her home. She first visited the country in 2023 on a three-week tourist trip arranged with her parents’ financial help, flying through New York and Turkey.
The Gyeongbokgung Palace of the Joseon dynasty, built in the 14th century and associated with King Taejo, was her favorite attraction, and the group dressed in hanbok, the traditional clothing. Back in Puerto Rico, she researched language programs and found that a Korean-language visa lets a student live there up to two years. In August of last year she began a Korean-language program at Sejong University, where she has completed five of six levels with four hours of daily classes, five days a week.
She holds a fashion design bachelor’s from Universidad Ana G. Mendez and a master’s in illustration from Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, which she studied in 2022. She lives alone in a small 'goshiwon' apartment and is paying for her studies with her savings and her parents’ help, without working because work permission requires approval from the university and immigration.