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Focus only on your own growth.
GapYear is a time for growth and happiness.
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Name: Kim Tae-jin
Countries active during the gap year: 20 countries excluding South Korea
Q. What motivated you to take a gap year, or how did you prepare for it?
"A Boring Story"
To begin my story, let's go back five years. In the summer of 2009, I was a fourth-year student at a regional private university.I had one semester left before graduation but had neither the company nor the job I wanted. I would grumble about why I had to do this, open a TOEIC book in the campus library, and often find myself daydreaming. Eventually the final semester began, and I ended up starting to submit job applications without even a TOEIC score.
© Korea Gapyear
Then I passed a large corporation's open recruitment. In 2010 I received a starting salary of over 30 million won and was able to own my first car. Perhaps my story could have ended there — a very boring story. In any case, at first becoming an office worker was novel and fun. But that enjoyment did not last long. The repetitive routine was boring and unsatisfying.
So I decided to quit my job.
Q. Please share your gap year experiences.
"Coffee Truck Nationwide Tour"
When I quit my job, I had only one goal,'Let's live happily!'
It was a rather vague goal. I simply thought about what might be fun, and since I liked 'travel, photography, people,' I decided to set off. But with no money, while looking for a used truck to raise funds, the idea of a coffee truck caught my eye. Over the next few weeks, my friend and I built the coffee truck and learned coffee by drinking dozens of cups a day. Soon the truck was finished and the recipes were completed. Around the time summer began, after trying running a business near Gwangju, we headed to Jeju Island. We slept in a tent, cooked food in a mess kit, sold coffee in our spare time, got kicked out sometimes, experienced our tent being blown away by a typhoon, and accumulated many really fun experiences and memories.
The journey started in Yeosu. We went around clockwise and returned to our hometown. We made many great memories. Along the way, there were newspaper articles, we appeared on the radio a few times, and even had a documentary made. After finishing the nationwide trip, my friend and I began to find our own paths.
© Korea Gapyear
"Wandering and the Beginning"
After that, I just wandered around for a few months. Nothing particularly caught my heart. Being only human, I started to feel impatient. I felt like I was falling behind others for no reason, financial pressure was growing, and the urge to start something quickly grew. So I began filling out job applications again. This time I passed the document screening for a larger conglomerate and a foreign company. However,While traveling to Seoul for interviews, I encountered something that made my heart flutter.
That thrilling opportunity was the 'working holiday'.
Although I reached the final interviews at both companies, my heart had already left Korea and was traveling the world. After getting the Canada visa and debating when to leave, my girlfriend said she wanted to join me, so we hurriedly went to Australia together. My first overseas trip had begun. After that, I worked at a factory for six months to save money for the world trip. As soon as the six months were up, we set off on the journey. That first overseas trip took me through 20 countries and ended at the end of last year.
© Korea Gapyear
Q. What changed after taking a gap year, or what did you gain from it?
The biggest thing I gained was the ability to focus on my own feelingsthat I was able to do.
I was able to concentrate on finding what my heart wants without worrying about social standards or other people's opinions, and even now I'm actively searching for work that makes my heart race.
AlsoMy perspective on the world has broadened.I can now view things from a variety of perspectives.
I discovered the true joy of travel, became completely captivated by the charm of coffee, found the pleasure of sharing my story with others through multiple lectures, and have even reached the stage of preparing a book.
Through these experiences and processes, I am learning how to find happiness.
© Korea Gapyear
Q. Lastly, what one thing would you like to say to young people planning a gap year?
You might think, 'Is this because I can afford it?' I quit a large company, I'm at a certain age, and I don't have a respectable job.
I consider myself rich in heart and experience, but I don't have what you would call 'money'.
My family was poor, so I began delivering newspapers with my mother when I entered high school. I have done dozens of part-time jobs—factory work, working at a pub, restaurants, manual labor, internet cafés, clothing sales, a design office, film production gigs, and more.
But why is that?
To put it simply, compared to when I worked at a large company...
I am a hundred times happier when I'm doing work that my heart is drawn to.
© Korea Gapyear
But such work that draws your heart does not simply come to you. I believe you find the work you truly want through the process of actively searching and gaining experience. I am still in that process. If I keep moving diligently according to what I want and where my heart leads, I believe I will be able to find truly enjoyable and fulfilling work.
The process may not always be enjoyable, but if you don't listen to what your heart says, it will be even harder to encounter that kind of work. A little...courageI hope there will be more young people who can take one step at a time toward what their hearts truly long for.
