Stuck Between Hemispheres
Hi,
Longtime WSO lurker/avid reader here. I think I'm in a pretty unique situation right now, and was wondering if anyone could provide some advice. I am currently a sophomore at a top target. I've been interested in finance since senior year of high school, but some factors have really taken my focus away from finance recently. I studied abroad in South Korea this summer (had been wanting to visit for a really long time) and had an extraordinary experience there; I felt almost eerily at home there and was extremely satisfied and fulfilled by life there. My experience in Korea was positive enough that I am looking to find a way to go back in an attempt to figure out whether it might actually make sense for me to pursue a serious stay there (hope the experience I had there wasn't simply a big study abroad party that is not reflective of real life there, although I feel like that was not the case). Given these circumstances, it seems that it might make sense for me to look for an internship in Korea this summer in finance, or at least in business (I am aware that a good internship will be incredibly hard to find). However, pursuing Korea this summer might be a big risk because I'd be giving up a chance to go for a BB SA or at least an IBD boutique position in the U.S. Given all of this, how might I best proceed? At the end of the day, if for example I do some sort of business related internship outside of finance in Korea this summer, will that significantly hamper my chances for a good finance career in the U.S. if I decide to stop pursuing Korea after doing that internship? By the way, I've been learning Korean for a few years now, and although I'm far from fluency I think I'm pretty good on an absolute scale. Thanks in advance!