Welcoming 15-year-old exchange student DoHeyong Kim into their home, the Skylstad family of North Bend planned to learn a thing or two about the Korean culture

It turns out that the Skylstads also had some teaching of their own to do, as they showed Kim, locally known as “D.J.,” the basics of being an American kid.

D.J. was among 19 students from the vicinity of Snoqualmie’s sister city, Gangjin, South Korea, who paired with families throughout the Valley.

To earn a ticket to the Valley, D.J. competed with other interested students in a test of their English writing skills. Scoring high, D.J. got the chance to see how an average American family functions through the Skylstads.

“The focus was American day-to-day life,” Steve Skylstad said. “We’re gonna want to see sights, but overall, do what we do.”

New ways

The Korean students arrived with books and homework in hand to study during their winter vacation to Snoqualmie. Unlike American teenagers who take all opportunities to hang out with friends and watch TV, exchange students use free time to catch up on sleep or finish the school work from home.

“In Korea it’s all about education,” mom Tracy Skylstad said.

Exhange students study hard for a final test after their high school graduation. The test determines which university students go to, what social status they fall in, who they hang out with and what job possibilities they can explore.

“It all comes down to that one test,” Tracy said. “Even when they have their summer and winter breaks, they spend that time studying, so they can pass their test.”

Reminding D.J. that he is on vacation Tracy and her family found that things that are expected of American teens, such as chores like doing the laundry, or socializing with friends, aren’t usually pushed at Korean teens.

“We’re learning a lot about his culture,” Tracy said. “Of course all the students are fairly shy but he’s blossoming and I think we’re growing on him.”

As one of the family, D.J. joined host siblings Conner, 14, who attends Twin Falls Middle School and Lucy, 8, a student at Opstad Elementary School, in work and play.

“We’re going to teach him how to do laundry tonight,” Tracy said after dinner at a local Mexican restaurant. “The women do all that there (in Korea), and the cooking.”

Also a rarity for D.J., the Skylstad’s gave him his first sleepover experience when Conner invited a friend over.

“They don’t have friends spending the night,” Tracy added. “They listen to music and text message, (but) they don’t get together in a social aspect.”

Not so in the Skylstad home.

“We’ve taught him card games and he follows me around a lot,” Conner said. “I guess you could say we’re teaching him how to be an American teenager.”

Opening up

Valley residents Andrea McCabe and Bob Pajer welcomed Jin Yeong Lee, a 15-year-old girl, into their home.

Shyer than the young man they had taken in the year before, McCabe said Lee has a different dynamic.

Explaining how Lee and a few girlfriends had plans to go to the nearby Starbucks, McCabe offered to walk them there. However, Lee said plans were cancelled after some of the students’ families decided to take them out to Snoqualmie Falls instead.

“Since three of the girls couldn’t go, no one was going to go,” McCabe laughed. “It was an all or nothing kind of thing — it’s a girl thing, the way they do everything together.”

As two weeks passed, McCabe saw Lee’s shyness disappear. She speaks up more, has improved her English and is more comfortable in asking questions.

“We’re doing simple things,” McCabe said. “We took her to Seattle, walked her around Pike Place. We’re trying to figure out if it’s something a 15-year-old would want to do.”

Home away from home

D.J.’s new home in the United States mirrors his Korean one. He has a family of four, just like the Skylstads. Like his host siblings, he is a third year black belt in the Korean martial art of Tae Kwon Doe.

Not worried about meals, Steve said D.J. will pretty much eat anything.

“But we’ve learned that he really likes Twinkies and my peanut butter cookies,” Tracy added.

While D.J. doesn’t speak much English, he smiles frequently. Asked what he thought of his host country’s cuisine, “I like it the same as Korean food,” he said.

Unlike Americans who eat when it’s time to eat, D.J. will eat when he’s hungry, which is smarter, Tracy said.

Connecting both Conner and D.J. at the hip is their interest for music.

“He’s taught me a lot of words and I got 4 gigs of music off of him,” Conner said.

Going into Seattle over the long Martin Luther King, Jr., Day weekend to visit the Experience Music Project, Tracy said it was a big thing for both their family and D.J.

“While you’re in Washington, you have to visit Seattle,” Tracy said.

While at the EMP, D.J. enjoyed the Guitar Gallery but he surprised Steve and Tracy when he, Conner and Lucy performed in the Sound Lab, an interactive guide through music and instruments where they were able to perform for an audience of thousands.

Coming out of his shell, D.J. became the vocals of their makeshift band.

“My children didn’t sing any of the words. D.J. was watching the monitor and was singing,” Tracy said.

Following the EMP, the Skylstads took D.J. up the Space Needle, which he seem to enjoy the most.

“He took a lot of pictures and thought it was really cool,” Tracy said.

After a long day in Seattle, Tracy said that experiences like that are the ones her family is supposed to have with D.J.

“It’s interesting to just realize what the cultural differences are, and what their focus is,” she said. “We show him how to have fun,”

D.J. and his fellow Gangjin students will explore the Valley through Saturday, Feb. 6, when they return to Gangjin.