Page 30 - ELITE PLUS MAGAZINE VOL13

The style was another challenge. The author has been workingin journalism for more than 20 years. ... Infected Language was embellished with well crafted language. I aspired to deliver this beauty to Thai readersand professors in my second year. When I spoke Thai to them, they were nice and patient in trying to understand me. That was a unique appeal of the Thai language for me.”For foreigners learning Thai, Prof Park suggests finding Thai friends who can speak Thai with them. “Thai grammar is not complicated, you just need a chance to practise.”Jintana Buddhametta was one of Prof Park’s Thai friends who played a significant role in her life.“When I was fourth year student, I was a teacher’s assistant assigned to take care of foreign professors. And that led me to get to know Ajarn Jintana. She persuaded me to continue my studies, but since my family was not well-to-do, I was supposed to find a job instead. But Ajarn Jintana came to my house and convinced my mother of what I could be if I continued studying.”Apart from now being head of the Thai department at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, Prof Park is a translator and interpreter for important Thai-Korean diplomatic events. When former president Lee Myung-bak visited Thailand, she was the interpreter for his meeting with former Thai prime minister28 Elite+