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Be Yourself, Stay Strong, Live Joyfully
A gap year is a time to step away from familiar daily life and reflect on yourself in a new environment. By living, learning, working, and connecting with people in a city you've dreamed of, you encounter a wider world than the one you knew. Along the way, you gradually discover what you love, where you feel at ease, and who you want to share your time with. The more ways of living you encounter, the broader the future you can imagine. Sometimes a single small experience opens the path ahead.
In 2008, at the age of 23, the founder of Korea GapYear set off on a trip around the world to find his path. As he traveled through many countries and met people living in many different ways, one idea became clear: just as you need to try on many outfits to find the right one, you need to experience different ways of living to find a life that fits you. Around the world, many young people were already exploring their lives through travel, work, volunteering, and learning. Perhaps Korean youth also needed time to step off a predetermined path and experience a different life. Korea GapYear began from that question.
From the beginning, the idea of a gap year was not easily accepted. In Korea at the time, many people asked, “Should young people really be taking time off?” and “Why pursue other experiences when they should be getting a job?” Proposals to introduce a gap year system and culture were also not readily embraced. So we took action ourselves. We visited organizations across Korea to explain why a gap year was needed, and we met educational institutions, NGOs, and companies around the world to create programs that Korean participants could experience. Little by little, new options began to emerge—travel, volunteering, internships, education, and one-month stays.
At first, a gap year felt unfamiliar, but one by one, more people began to choose it. Some lived abroad on their own for the first time. Others tried work they had never imagined. They made friends with people they had just met, tried again at something they had failed, and discovered sides of themselves they never expected. And when they returned, they began to share their stories
“It was the happiest time of my life.”
“I felt how much I had changed after coming back.”
One person’s story became a new option for someone else, and little by little, the gap year began to take root as a culture of its own.
Starting with the gap year, Korea GapYear has created many ways for people to experience a new life—one-month stays, youth villages, local living, career consulting, life schools, art stays, and volunteer travel. The names and formats differ, but what we want to create is the same: stepping away from a familiar life, meeting new people and environments, living with joy, and discovering possibilities you didn’t know you had. And through that experience, choosing the life ahead a little more as yourself. Korea GapYear does not treat a new experience as just another travel product. We are turning it into a culture that more people can choose in their own lives.
Korea GapYear now works with young people around the world, not only in Korea. Since our founding, we have developed more than 1,800 projects in 60 countries and provided diverse experiences and opportunities to more than 2,000 participants from Korea and abroad each year. Today we collaborate with universities, companies, NGOs, and educational institutions across Asia, Europe, and North America, expanding the scope of our work. Beyond creating experiences for Korean youth to live and learn around the world, we are also building projects that help young people from overseas experience Korea and Asia and expand their own possibilities. Across nationality and region, Korea GapYear is building a global gap year culture so that more young people can meet new people and environments, understand their own lives, and design a life of their own in a wider world.
Korea GapYear will continue to develop diverse projects around the world, expand global partnerships, implement sustainable growth models, and design personalized curricula tailored to each individual. Through these efforts, Korea GapYear aims to go beyond being just a youth program provider and establish itself as a leading force for social innovation.
Korea GapYear was the first to introduce the "Gap Year" culture to Korea and officially define the term in Korean, continuing to establish the culture as a social enterprise. Holding multiple trademarks related to Gap Year, we are dedicated to ensuring that the culture takes root correctly and healthily in Korean society. Currently, around 2,000 participants each year take their Gap Year through Korea GapYear to explore their own time and path, and we continue to offer various support projects to offer Gap Year opportunities to even more young people.
Our experiences and changes have been recognized by various places.
Hosted by KOICA
Hosted by the Seoul Social Economy Center
Hosted by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and
the Korea Social Enterprise Promotion Agency
Recipient of a Government Award for Contributions to the Promotion of the Social Economy (Outstanding Enterprise), presented by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (Korea)
Selected as an Outstanding Enterprise
at the Social Design Demo Day,
organised
by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy
and the Korea Institute of Design Promotion
Recognised as an Outstanding Enterprise
in the Social Economy Sector
by the Korea Productivity Center
An Officially Certified
Creative and Innovative Social Enterprise
by the Ministry of Employment and Labor (Korea)
Accredited by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (Korea) and the Korea Regional Culture Promotion Agency
Hosted by the Beautiful Store
Hosted by the Merry Year Foundation
Youth and Social Entrepreneur Development Programme
Organized by the Ministry of Health and Welfare (Korea)
For Contribution to the Promotion of the Australian Working Holiday Programme
Korea GapYear is a social innovation enterprise that first defined, established, and championed the Gap Year culture in Korea, providing young people with the time and space to dream and explore their future.
Over the past 10 years, approximately 13,000 participants have taken the time for self-reflection and experienced personal growth through our diverse Gap Year projects. Participants rated the impact on their lives at an average of 94 points and overall satisfaction at 97 points.
All 500+ overseas Gap Year projects run by Korea GapYear undergo evaluation with over 200 quality checklists to ensure high educational standards and safety. At the same time, participants can join at an average of 30% lower cost compared to other organizations.
The founders of Korea GapYear have received the Minister of Foreign Affairs Award twice and the Minister of Health and Welfare Award. In addition, they have served as policy advisors to the Blue House and led the Jeju Gap Year Project, earning recognition both domestically and internationally.
Appointed as a Policy Advisor to the Blue House
Led the Jeju Youth GapYear Project
Author of “Travel Is the Best Education”, recommended by PD Na Young Seok
“GapYear” has been selected as a major travel keyword every year by Trend Korea, Expedia Korea, and others.
Gap Years are essential for addressing challenges such as job preparation, career uncertainty, early resignation, job mismatch, rebuilding self-esteem, and post-retirement planning.
Implemented in Seoul, Jeju, Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, Jeonnam, Jeonbuk, Mokpo, Daegu, Gwangju, and other regions
Implemented across 34 developed countries, including the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, and Japan.
Universities including Harvard, MIT, Yale, New York University, and the University of Tokyo recommend taking a Gap Year.
“Building Confidence Through Gap Year”
Gap Year featured by major media outlets including The Chosun Ilbo, JoongAng Ilbo, and Yonhap News
“A Pause in My Life”
Featured on MBC Current Events Magazine 2580, introducing the Gap Year concept
A Break for Your Resume?
A Gap Year for Your Life.
A Break for Your Resume?
A Gap Year for Your Life.
A Gap Year is a period when you pause or continue studies or work while exploring activities such as volunteering, travel, career exploration, education, internships, and entrepreneurship—to discover your interests and aptitudes and set a direction for the future.
Home
Take a step out of your comfort zone.
Challenge yourself for your own sake.
Feel complete freedom.
Be happy.
