To Lee Hee Jung, a 20-year-old South Korean student at Yokohama National University, Japan is closer to her mother country than the United States not only geographically, but psychologically.
Along with her fondness of writing kanji, which both the Korean and Japanese languages use, a growing influx of modern Japanese culture into South Korea, including pop music and apparel brands, nourished a sense of familiarity with the neighboring country. So she decided to come here two years ago, instead of North America -- South Koreans' most popular destination for studying abroad.
"There is a wide gap between South Korea and the United States. Japan, on the other hand, is close on the map," said Lee, who, sporting a stylish white trench coat and short hair dyed light brown, fits right in Japan.