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Focus only on your own growth.
GapYear is a time for growth and happiness.
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(C) Gstar Entertainment
In the West, the gap year, which became common among students,is now also for working adults.
The gap year is recognized as an important and necessary period. Not only for employees,it is also a period that middle-aged people take.
As a period, its necessity and effects are increasingly being recognized.
However, Korean students still cannot rest and continue to run very quickly. In that atmosphere, confidently
there are people who have their own gap year—not a leave of absence but a gap year as working adults. One such person, recently on Gag Concert,
is the beautiful comedienne Jang Hyo-in of the popular segment 'Dugeun Dugeun'. I met her in person to hear about her brave and bold gap year
and heard her story.This is the story of her working adult gap year spent on a working holiday in Japan.
Q.At the time you had even passed the comedian recruitment exam, was there a special reason that made you decide to take a gap year?
A.I majored in tourism interpretation. Even so, I had a passport but had never used it.
I was also a very fearful person. I studied Japanese a little for fun. I did not plan to travel, but once I went to Japan for a performance. Even though I had studied, I could not get a word out. That made me determined. "I will prepare for another year with these people, study more, and converse with them next year."That was the beginning.
Even after studying for two or three years, 'Ohayou gozaimasu (hello)' and 'Arigatou gozaimasu (thank you)' still would not come out.I was shy and I had unnecessary worries about whether these people would understand me when I talked to them.After finishing a performance in Tokyo, I went to Japan again for a performance in Osaka.
"That's it," I thought, and decided to do what I could not do back then.I'll try.By then I could roughly understand what those people were saying. Before, I couldn't understand at all.At that time I comforted myself.Yes, it's better than last year.I had the courage to at least try to say something.Next year I'll try traveling alone. I actually went on that trip the following year.
© Korea Gapyear
Q.How was your trip to Japan?
A.I traveled with a friend who didn't speak any Japanese. I had to take care of that friend. While traveling with a sense of responsibility, I started to ask about trivial things. My friend looked only at me, and I spoke in Japanese: "Where is the restroom?" It made sense! The moment I said that and received an answer, it became my first communication. Oh my, what is this? It was a whole new world.So that day, my friend and I confidently ran around everywhere.
© Korea Gapyear
At thirty, facing reality. Listen to the small voices!
Q.Before spending a gap year in Japan—before making the decision—there must have been opposition from the people around you.
A. (Before taking a gap year) There were really only two reactions.Go or don't go.My parents also said not to go. But I listened to the small voice saying 'go' because it was what I wanted to hear. At that time I especially consulted comedian Park Ji-sun about my concerns.
When I said, 'I'm thinking about studying abroad,' she immediately said, 'Sis, that's such a great idea—if not now, when?' When I said I was scared, Jisun told me that she had studied a lot but really wanted to try studying abroad at least once; because her work is so busy and she didn't feel she could enjoy herself wholeheartedly, she regretted that she couldn't do it now,Even if you want to do it someday, you don't know when that 'someday' will come, so if you even slightly intend to go, it's right to go now.When I heard that, nothing else anyone said registered anymore.
Because I heard what I wanted to hear. There was someone who supported me like that. Actually, I sought out only people who told me encouraging things (laughs). After that,I looked for people who could help me. Even after I returned to Korea,I think I left after making plans of over a year for how I could start working again.
Q.You said your parents strongly opposed it—how did you overcome their opposition?
A. Actually, when I told my parents, I had already obtained the visa. Even while doing broadcasting I had been preparing for a working holiday for a long time. I had all the documents ready and just had to wait for the day to get the visa. Then I was accepted.So. After getting the visa, I organized all the briefing materials that could persuade my parents about how I would live going forward—practical plans about money, language schools, and daily life—and I told them as soon as I received the visa.
Of course my parents were worried. I was thirty—an age to get married and work—so suddenly saying I would study abroad worried them. So I told them everything: I wouldn't take money from them and would work part-time. I'd try living there and come back if it didn't work out. After all, it's not easy to find a job even in Korea, so they worried whether a foreigner could find work abroad. I said I would stay for just three months because the short language school had a three-month course. I promised I'd only do that and come back.
But once I went, it was manageable. Even if it wasn't comfortable, by doing part-time work I could earn money to cover meals and transportation, so I decided I'd stay six months. Then time passed and I planned to fill ten months. Then I completed a year and came back (laughs).I imagine my parents must have been very anxious,but for me it was a very precious and valuable time.
I traveled, met new people, and since I work in comedy I often watched performances. Those new experiences were fun.Being able to enjoy things you usually do in school even though I was the age of a working adult.With this part-time job I earned money, saved on living expenses, traveled alone, approached strangers first, and even made friends.
© KBS Gag Concert
She who changed and grew during her gap year.
Q.Did anything change after you took a gap year?
A. I went abroad.'Confidence' — the confidence that I really faced things on my own and succeeded.I think gaining it was the biggest thing.Just the fact that I went to a foreign country where I had no connections and carved out even a little for myself greatly increased my confidence, and I feel much more relaxed when I'm on air.I stopped only focusing on myself and my outlook widened a lot.Even if you become busier inside, you become more relaxed in some ways. You also start thinking more. Whether it's a working holiday, studying abroad, or traveling alone, I think a gap year gives you a lot.
There's nothing like it for self-reflection and personal growth. During the 12 years of schooling, our lives are carried out under the protection of school, home, and private academies.We don't really get to choose any of that ourselves. I think a gap year is what can break that pattern.Moving from being passive to active happens only through awakening, and even if someone suggests you try it, what's really important is that you grab the opportunity and try it yourself.
Her final words to us.
I often tell my friends and students.Whether it's studying abroad or traveling alone, find your own path..
Personally, I really dislike manuals or self-help books. After all, those books are self-improvement guides aimed at the reader. I think that telling someone 'do this' is an order.It amounts to nothing more than saying, 'I lived like this, so follow me.' That's why I thought a lot about that point when I wrote this book.You may encounter situations like this in your life. This is how it was for me; please keep that in mind.I wrote the book in an essay format like that. So, rather than advice...I want to say that what matters is what you want and whether you can truly be happy.
Comedian Jang Hyo-in's Japan Working Holiday Survival Story
Funny enough, when I decided to study abroad, someone made me an offer at a perfect time after hearing about it. I went and later published a book, but before that they advised me to record everything, so...I always kept records during my study abroad.As soon as I returned I organized everything, met with a publisher, and published the book. I think it was the right thing to do.
Anyway, leaving a record and creating something that can help many people—those with fond memories or those who are knocking on doors but are afraid—feels like a really good thing. It means a lot to me. In particular, there were no books about the Japan working holiday. There are many books about Canada or Australia, but none about Japan, so I struggled a lot while preparing to study abroad.
The bold woman who confidently declares, 'I am happy'!
Q. Final question. This is the question I wanted to ask: Are you happy?
A. First, I have no regrets. I have never had any regrets—not even for a single moment.The love and happiness I am enjoying now from being on broadcast are not things I can get just by choosing them. They are given to me, so I am grateful every day. And the fact that I feel that gratitude—if I hadn't faced those hardships, I wouldn't have been able to feel grateful; I would have taken it for granted.
Now, more than feeling humble, I'm happy that what I'm saying can reach many people and that happiness keeps building. Actually, I'm happiest when I talk about living my life without regrets. So for those about to take on a new challenge, I hope they can proudly speak of their happiness without regret to others, and I believe they will be able to.
Her gap-year behind-the-scenes story has already been published as a book and has become a guide for those planning a working holiday in Japan — "Comedian Jang Hyo-in's Survival Story on a Japan Working Holiday".True to her comedian nature, she spoke with witty charm and we laughed throughout the interview.Throughout the interview, I could sense how much she loves herself and how confident she is. I hope many people will be inspired by her story of bravely investing one year in herself to gain experience, and I look forward to her impressive and dignified future endeavors.
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HAMTORI.Editor
onlyhaedun@gmail.com