Field Work Term Spotlight: Juhee Kim
Juhee Kim '29 studies Politics, Political Economics, and Conflict Studies at Bennington College. For her summer 2026 Field Work Term, Kim is an intern for Bush Radio 89.5 FM, Africa's oldest community radio station, as part of the Tilting Futures Program.
Wonder what it's like to do a Field Work Term abroad? Juhee shares about her interdisciplinary work in Cape Town
How does your Field Work Term relate to your studies at Bennington?
Going into this Field Work Term, I honestly expected it to diverge from my studies, since my academic Plan is centered around Politics, Political Economics, and Conflict Studies, and I was placed in the entertainment segment instead of the news team at Bush Radio. But it ended up relating to my studies in a way I didn't expect.
Interviewing artists and NGO representatives on Backchat (my segment) showed me a part of politics that gets overlooked in my classes: the way ordinary people turn their frustration and hope into political action through art and music. It made me realize that arts and politics aren't as separate as I thought, and now I want to bring media and arts work into my academic Plan going forward.
What does a typical day at your Field Work Term site look like?
A typical day at Bush Radio revolves around putting together our daily two-hour segment, Backchat. I work closely with the production team to choose interviewees, plan and script interviews, write blogs on what we discussed, film content for social media, and curate playlists tied to that day's topic. Some days also include going into town to talk to locals about what they want advocated for, attending live music events to get a feel for local music, or meeting with NGOs to talk about their work and recruit volunteers. For two weeks, my days also included logistics work, reviewing the station's economic sustainability plan and helping pitch it to funders.
What has surprised you most about your Field Work Term position?
What surprised me most was how much more I learned about political action from being placed in the entertainment segment than I think I would have in the news department. Through my interviews, I saw how music and art have been central to resistance and hope in South Africa, especially coming out of the history of apartheid.
What challenged me most, though, was the language barrier. South Africa has 12 official languages, and most of my coworkers communicated with each other in isiXhosa, which made me feel uncomfortable since I didn't want them to have to adapt to me as the outsider, but I also couldn't understand them. Working through that by asking my manager to teach me more about Xhosa culture and communication ended up being one of the most meaningful parts of my Field Work Term.
What do you hope to do for your next Field Work Term?
Going forward, I hope to keep exploring the intersection of arts and politics that this Field Work Term opened up for me. As I develop my Bennington Plan for sophomore year, I want to keep pursuing politics, political economics, and conflict studies, while also honing in on ethical human rights work, understanding the global politics, funding, and restorative approaches that come with it. I also want to take some VAPA classes to explore different mediums for showcasing what I'm learning about politics.