Thank you Elisha for your response! Your point on speaking English with/without a Korean accent reminded me of when I was attending local Korean school and learning Korean. I had a different experience where I felt the need to change how I spoke English to fit into how the rest of my peers pronounced English words. I’m guessing this was an effort to not stand out as whenever I pronounced an English word with an American accent, my classmates had a strong reaction (not necessarily in a negative sense but more so surprise). But I did notice during my years in Korea, that increasingly so, speaking English without a Korean accent is seen as the standard that students should be striving for. One of the reasons why I believe speaking English without a Korean accent is praised is due to the fact that it indicates extensive schooling (after school academies or tutoring) or experience outside Korea (living in an English predominant country) — which often indicates wealth and “status.” I agree with your point that these sentiments are political in nature.