Joshua Liberman is a 4th year at the University of Virginia majoring in Biology with minors in Korean and Spanish. Josh has received the honor of being selected as one of around 500 finalists out of an applicant pool exceeding 5,000 students for the Korean program of the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS). This scholarship entails a fully funded 8-week trip to Korea financed by the U.S. Department of State and supported by the American Councils for International Education with the goal of establishing critical language abilities and cross-cultural competence in American college students. In his time at the University, Josh has had the pleasure of taking 6 semesters of Korean language courses alongside 2 semesters of Korean literature and cinema classes, providing him with the background to embark on this cultural journey. Josh plans to take this time to improve his Korean language skills, explore the beauty of Korean culture, and to create international connections that last a lifetime. He would like to thank the Department of East Asian Languages, Literatures, and Cultures and particularly the Korean Department faculty and staff for all their support and hard work which set the intellectual foundation for Josh to win this scholarship. He believes this life changing opportunity would not have been possible for him without them, and this recognition is theirs just as much as it is his. Josh is grateful to be able to experience this exciting program and intends to empower and encourage other students to continue their studies of Korea and East Asia beyond CLS and graduation.