Korea GapYear Tips

[People’s Gap Year] “If you’re determined, make some fun memories.” Yeom Jeong-gyu

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Name: Yeom Jeong-gyu
Current Occupation: Web Designer
Primarily Worked in: Australia / Brisbane, Alice Springs, Melbourne, Adelaide, Sydney, Great Barrier Reef, Hamilton Island

Q. Please tell us about your gap year experience or how you prepared for it.
There wasn’t a specific reason for taking a gap year. After graduating from high school and attending university, I gained a lot of part-time work experience, and after my military service, I started working right away. My experiences ranged from working at ski resorts, bars, stage sets, performing arts staff, broadcast set design, craft lighting, and as a web designer.

Stage design, my first major, ignited a childhood dream of working at the Sydney Opera House in Australia. Coinciding with a time when I needed a break from work, I applied for an Australian visa without hesitation. As soon as my visa was approved, I quit my job, informed everyone around me and my parents three weeks before my departure, and set off for Australia.

Q.Tell me about your gap year experience.
I spent the first month in a homestay in Brisbane, then worked on a farm for 88 days to obtain a second visa. After securing my second visa, I moved to Kings Canyon Resort in the desert of Alice Springs, where I worked for four months. As the only Korean on the team, I used English extensively, which greatly improved my English skills.

There, I met two German friends and embarked on a month-long road trip. From Uluru to Alice Springs to Adelaide to Melbourne to Sydney to Brisbane, that month of driving with them was a life-changing experience. After completing my trip, I immediately went to Hamilton Island Resort in the Great Barrier Reef region to spend four months living by the sea.

Q. Finally, what advice would you give to young people planning a gap year?
Looking around, it seems like my peers feel a lot of pressure to achieve something. In my case, I started with the simple desire to experience living in Australia. However, as I gained experience, I often found that I achieved better results than those who just wanted to try various things but never got started.

If you want to go abroad and experience something new, don’t act as if you’ve always lived your life. Instead, embrace the challenges and experiences, fully enjoy them, and create positive memories. Many people in Korea may have been afraid to take on new challenges due to work or school pressures. I believe that feeling that pressure in another country will prevent you from achieving anything.

And if you’ve decided to go, I hope you create some fun, life-changing memories.