A risk for a better future

Jaye Fong Start Date: Nov 19, 2017 - End Date: Mar 18, 2018
  • Seoul, South Korea

My Travel Story

by: Jaye Fong Start Date: Nov 19, 2017 - End Date: Mar 18, 2018

I am aged 22 and I am currently unemployed but finding ways to earn enough for me to have a chance to fulfill my dreams. And yes, the first picture is me after finishing my army and the second picture is before I enlist into army, before I met my love, before I want to live a fulfilling life for my girl. I never did wanted to be successful in life so I didn't want to attend university. But when I met my girl during my vacation in Korea and yes, during army, as I work as a clerk in army, I didn't need to do a lot of physical exercises and I am able to request for vacation leave, 14 days a year. Ever since I have more or less settled down with my love and began planning for our future. Because of money, it make me stressed out and I lost 17kg until now because of constant vomiting for a year due to stress. 

I graduated with a Diploma in Information Technology in Singapore and I am finding ways to earn or raise enough money for me to attend a University.

I have 2 paths I can choose, one with more suffering and risks (financially) but with a higher chance at successful future where I can earn more than what I need to survive a normal life and be the happiest while being with the one I love and doing what I love or one with just being to earn what I need, not more and never truly be able to give my love a better life and never be truly happy.

For the riskier path, I want to study in Korea. I want to attend a University in Korea to learn about software engineering and work in Korea.
Firstly, I love Korea for personal and career purposes. Korean language has always felt home to me, I have learnt it for 1.5 years and I have been using it to communicate with my Korean girlfriend. I just love the language. I have been to Korea several times for vacations before I met my girlfriend and also to visit her after I met her. You can never find that smile on my face when I am in Singapore. I am born and raised in Singapore yet I felt at home in Korea. There's this "home" feeling that I have never gotten in Singapore.
Secondly, studying in Korea's University will definitely bring me to more paths in Korea which eventually will help me in fulfilling my dream in life. My dream is to create a game/application development company in Korea which aims to create games or application for leisure and contribution purposes like education or to help with certain businesses or fields. We can take in requests from clients to build applications for their company uses etc. My company will be creating our own games and applications with our own ideas while accepting requests from clients if any.
Thirdly, Korea's University's cirriculum for degree definitely attracts and teaches me more things that I am interested and would help me in fulfilling my dreams. And also, while studying, it gives me more opportunities and chances to interact with Koreans to learn more about them. I want to do community work in Korea as it would not only help me in my resume, it would shape me into a more understanding person as well as allows me to interact with more Koreans of different age and capabilities. It also gives me more chances to use Korean and improve it.
Fourthly, studying here allows me to have a longer time to adapt to the country and learn more about it which will definitely help me when I am looking for a job before making a company. I would want to get employed for a period of time and when I have the experience and capabilities to make my own company, I would want to fulfil my dreams. 
Fifthly, it affirms my relationship with my girlfriend. My girlfriend gave up her dream of working in other countries and she didn't want to stay in Korea. Because of my dream, she is willing to stay in Korea for me. I need a lot of financial help and definitely starting anew in another country will be more tough in addition to my financial problems, I am willing to work hard and I want to take this risk knowing that I might have more problems here with no family to rely on other than my girlfriend but I don't even have to money to take this risk. And I can't... afford to waste my time slowly earning the money to study here. Korean males graduate from University at age 25 and they are already having a tough time looking for jobs. If I study there now, I need at least 1 year to study my Korean to get a higher efficiency level so I will have less problems understanding the lectures in Korean and 4 years to study the degree. I will graduate at 27. I am already 2 years slower compared to other graduates.. employment will only get harder as I will have less work experience compared to the other graduates. And I don't want to be a liability to my girl and rely on her. I want to be the one to give her a more comfortable life. After all, she gave up her dreams for me. I can't feel more sorry to her. 

For the safest yet never happy path, I am able to attend a Singapore's University (Singapore Institute of Technology) with little or no problems, financially wise, I won't be able to pay upfront the school fees so I would need to use a scheme which I would need to return the money back after I find a job. And I am able to live in my grandmother's house and eat her cooking to save money but relying on her is not what I would want to do as her is already 72 this year. The cirriculum in this University does not teach me more than what I can learn in Korea and looking for a job after this can be easy but I will definitely have a really low chance of fulfilling my dreams in Korea unless I strike the lottery. And.... my girl.. her dreams is to work in the medical field in other countries but not Singapore and she didn't want to stay in Korea as she couldn't fulfil her dreams properly. She is already willing to stay in Korea but asking her to come to Singapore and stay with me while not being that successful compared to if I am able to study in Korea. I am not a real man. I would rather she leave me to fulfil my dreams. I feel too sorry to stay with her and ask her to do all this. 

For my time plan, I will study Korean in Korea from next year 2018, April to Dec, take the Korean efficiency test (TOPIK) in January 2019, apply for Korean University and attend from March 2019 to March 2022.

For the accommodation in Korea it's about 300 USD per month (One room flat, almost the same price as dormitory yet with more privacy and security for my items as well as my own kitchen etc.) and 1760 USD per semester of Korean Language (10 weeks) which I will be taking 3 of them from next year April to Dec abd 4300 USD per semester of my Degree which there are 8 semesters. 

The final sum will be around 57680 USD. Even if I am willing to work hard and am willing to live a tougher life for a better chance at successing in the future. I am not able to afford this risk financially. Living a stable yet unhappy life in Singapore while not being to give my love a better life is not what I want to live as nor how would I define a man to his love. 

This crowdfunding is meant for bigger purposes and I understand. I didn't want to take away financial chances for other more bigger and meaningful purposes for this society but I am really stuck at a big wall. The money is just too huge for me to earn within a short period of time and taking more time to earn it, will only result in me getting older and less chances of fulfilling my dreams. I am sorry but I would really greatly appreciate it if I can get any help from you sirs and ma'ams. 

Nonetheless, thank you for your time in reading my story. Money is really something in my life that cause me great misery since I was born and I don't want to end up in bad conditions because of it. Thank you and sorry. I didn't post a picture of my love and on social media as I don't to cause any trouble or bad impressions for my girl. She has already suffered a lot because of me and as much as I want to give her a better life, I don't her to get any negative things because of me. I can't live without her but I am not willing to see her go down with me. I would rather die than to see her have any negative things because of me. I am sorry. I am really at my wit's end.

  • Seoul, South Korea