Meet the Malay-Speaking Korean Flight Attendant Who Left Home to Live in M’sia

However, for Jeong Yeonji, the grass is was greener on the other side as five years ago, she moved from South Korea to Malaysia, where she currently works as an AirAsia X flight attendant. She said, “I don’t regret even coming and working here in Malaysia for one second!”

Rojak Daily spoke to the bubbly 29-year-old to learn more about her life in Malaysia, why she moved here, and how to adjust to cultural differences. She also shares her experiences on TikTok (frequently in Malay), where she currently boasts 114.6K followers and 1.8M likes.

Back in 2019, Yeonji had a boring job (her words, not ours) as an office assistant in Seoul, and her contract with that company was about to end. She also worked as a Pilates Instructor, which she enjoyed.

“I had a lot of thoughts about my future and was debating between continuing to work in Korea or experiencing living in a different country. So, I decided to learn English more, and that’s how I met my current roommate, Shah, on a language exchange website."

“She is a Malaysian who works as a Korean-Malay interpreter (we actually interviewed her before about her cool job), so we had a lot of conversations about each other’s country and culture,” she explained.

This made Yeonji more curious about Malaysia each day. A few months after that, she came to Malaysia for a holiday for the first time, and to her surprise, a cafe staff member at KLIA said ”Annyeonghaseyo” to her in Korean.

The staff told Yeonji, "I like Korean dramas so much that I learnt Korean by myself!" That moment gave Yeonji a great first impression of our country, which has diverse cultures and friendly people and where most Malaysians speak English. She explained, “In Korea, we don’t usually make small talk with strangers. Hence, I decided to stay longer. A week of vacation turned into five years!”

Learning our local lingo

Yeonji explained, “In Korea, we learn English at school and even attend academy centres to take the TOEIC program (English-language proficiency test), but most Koreans can’t speak English. I was like that too. I decided to focus even more on my speaking skills after moving to Malaysia.”

She shared that, to be honest, she wasn’t interested in learning Malay at first since most Malaysians speak English. “But one day, I saw a YouTube video of a foreigner who lives in Korea and speaks perfect Korean. I thought I lived in Malaysia, but I couldn't speak their language. How arrogant of me! That's why I started to study Bahasa Malaysia.” Props to her because not everyone thinks like this!

Yeonji found a teacher through Twitter and took classes for half a year to learn basic grammar and sentence structure. “The other day a random guy asked me how to get to Bukit Bintang, and then we had a conversation in BM. It was a very basic and casual conversation, but I was pretty proud of myself.”

In this video, watch Yeonji adorably try to speak Malay:

@yeonji_my jangan masuk live saya ♥️ #live #malaysia #korea ♬ original sound - Yeonji • 연지

She also said her favourite Malaysian dishes are kangkong belacan, ais kacang, nasi goreng kampung and USA, as well as sardin & kentang.

@yeonji_my

Dia kata saya kontol

♬ original sound - yeonji_my - Yeonji • 연지

The journey of becoming a flight attendant

Yeonji first worked as a content moderator at an international company in Bayan Lepas, Penang. “Basically, what I did was to filter out violations in videos on social media. I enjoyed working there, but it got difficult at times, especially when sensitive content appeared, such as the week after the Itaewon Halloween incident. I had a hard time then and felt like I wanted to quit.”

This led Yeonji to pursue her dream of becoming a flight attendant. A few years prior, she had an interview with Qatar Airways, but it didn’t go well due to poor English comprehension. This only increased her determination to study harder and prepare for other interviews.

She shared, “One day, I saw AirAsia X was going to have an open day for all nationalities after Covid.” On an open day, applicants go to the airline’s HQ and submit their CVs in person, followed by a series of stages like height and arm reach check, grooming check, catwalk group discussions, and solo interviews.

“Unfortunately, I didn't have a TOEIC certificate, one of their core requirements. I registered for the TOEIC exam right away and studied hard for three days as the open day was to be held the following week.”

She practiced common questions and went shopping for foundation, lipstick, a blouse, and a skirt for her grooming check, as it’s very important to look neat and perfect for a cabin crew interview.

“At the time I was living in Penang but I had no choice. I booked a flight ticket to KL and took the exam. I’m very introverted but I tried hard to be extroverted during the interview. I put a smile on my face all the time. I think that's why I got picked because the recruiters are always watching your every action,” added Yeonji.

Yeonji now cites her favourite part of her job as giving visitors a good first impression of Malaysia and Korea, as most of her flights are KUL-ICN. When you visit another country, the first impression of that country starts from the flight journey,” she explained. This also allows her to frequently visit her hometown, Suwon, and her flights are obviously free. She’s living the dream!

Life in Malaysia

Speaking about the differences between the two countries, Yeonji said she was also amazed that many people wear traditional clothes like baju kurung and saree as everyday wear. “I don’t even remember when I last wore my hanbok, Korean traditional clothes,” she laughed.

One of the things she loves most about Malaysia is that she doesn’t really have to care much about her style and makeup as she did in Korea.

“If you are a Korean, you would know how stressful it is to look good all the time as people judge you based on your looks. When I lived in Korea, I would put on some makeup even though I only went to the convenience store. In Malaysia, no one really cares how you look since everyone seems very accepting, and it also has changed my perspective on being judgemental!”

For those looking to move here, Yeonji shared some advice: “Living in a different country is not going to be easy. There will be culture differences, language barrier, different religion do’s and don'ts, or just simply being homesick. However, once you get past that barrier, you will be exposed to so many wonderful things that Malaysia has to offer.”

She ended by saying, “I strongly recommend it. I met good people, tried new food, experienced new cultures, and broadened my perspective on a multicultural society. I think Malaysia is a great country to start living in if you have never lived abroad since it’s a country rich with culture and friendly people who are always willing to help!”

We’re glad you love Malaysia as much as we do, Yeonji! Malaysia Boleh!

Follow Yeonji on Instagram and TikTok.

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