International Student Profile: Pureun Kim
By James Ensor, News Editor //
Most students who attend High Point University didn’t spend their senior year of high school in a foreign country all alone; however, Pureun Kim isn’t your typical student.
“I’m from Daegu, South Korea,” Kim said.
Kim was originally born in England before moving to South Korea for 12 years.
“I was far behind in terms of speaking Korean,” Kim said. “My grandmother taught me Korean through the bible.”
During his time in South Korea, his father introduced him to golf.
“It’s different in South Korea if you are a student-athlete,” Kim said. “You don’t have to go to school because they want you to dedicate yourself to one thing. I was playing golf all day long, every day that I was there.”
Before coming to HPU, Kim attended high school in Gainesville, Florida.
“My dad is a professor in South Korea,” Kim said. “He had the opportunity to be a visiting scholar at the University of Florida, so my family and I went with him.”
While in the United States, Kim experienced school for the first time.
“I came to the U.S. and realized I had to go to school,” Kim said. “I didn’t know anything other than golf and I couldn’t speak English.”
In Florida, Kim found a high school with an English as a Second Language (ESL) program.
“I was very nervous about school work,” Kim said. “I had never done anything like it, and the first year of high school was the toughest for me.”
After pushing through the first year, Kim realized he could excel in both school and golf.
“I worked really hard through high school in both school and golf,” Kim said. “I really wanted to get into college and play golf as well.”
After working in Florida for a year, Kim’s father had to return to South Korea. Two years after, the rest of his family also had to return to South Korea, leaving him to finish his senior year of high school by himself.
“I had to live in an apartment by myself,” Kim said. “It wasn’t easy.”
During high school Kim was playing golf in Indiana when Greg Flesher, head golf coach for HPU, recruited him.
“I played really well that day in Indiana,” Kim said. “Coach Greg sent me a letter asking me to visit HPU.”
After visiting campus, Kim made the decision to attend HPU.
“I came here and loved it,” Kim said.
At HPU, Kim is a freshman majoring in computer science and physics. He is involved with the D1 golf team in addition to being a math tutor.
“My dedication to school and golf has helped me at HPU,” Kim said. “Without the dedication, I would have quit.”
Although his future after graduating is unclear at the moment, Kim plans to stay dedicated and continue to push forward into his future. Kim is sure that his future will be successful because of the resources HPU has for him.
“I like the environment, students and faculty,” Kim said. “Every faculty member is dedicated to helping students learn, and I can always go to their office hours to talk to them, even if I don’t have questions.”