Name: Son Jae-eun
Gap year period: Sep 2013 – Jul 2014
Countries active during the gap year: Cambodia, Thailand, Italy
Moment
I spent about a year on a gap year, moving from Cambodia and Thailand through Korea to Italy.
It could be considered long, but it felt short.
At least for me, time passed at five centimeters per second.
That doesn't mean time passed just because it was fun. The greater the fun, the greater the hardship I endured.
The start was simple. At some point I just thought life was boring. Even after entering university, the endless cram school routine, the extracurricular activities everyone does, and school life all became the same and my days became nothing special. So, within my abilities, I quickly prepared for a gap year. As a result, I was living in Cambodia just two and a half weeks after deciding.
People often ask about my parents' reaction to such a big decision.
In fact, my parents' opinion wasn't important to me in making my decision. I thought it was a major decision in my life. I only thought about myself and my life, I trusted myself. Afterwards, when I asked my parents, I was very fortunate to receive their willing permission.
Only later did I learn that my parents believed in me because I had already trusted myself.
© KoreaGapyear
Cambodia
It can be summarized in three words: English, conversation, travel.
First,My English skills weren't good. But I had to use English around the clock. At first I faced tremendous pressure, stress, and incomprehensible native accents. I cried a lot. But at some point I began to hear and speak. I think it was after I overcame my fear and just started talking. Later, introducing Korea in English became really enjoyable.
Second,It was about conversation. I worked at an international NGO, and the friends at the place where I lived also belonged to NGOs. So most conversations centered on global issues. Debating over a single remark by Obama was an everyday occurrence, and we were busy voicing opinions about the terrorist attack in Kenya that had happened at the time. Lunch with colleagues, dinner with roommates. I was taken aback by topics I had never encountered or cared about in my life. But gradually, by being with friends, I became interested in such issues. I started checking the Wall Street Journal in the morning, discussing, expressing opinions, and broadening my perspective. Thanks to that, it became a habit to look up articles on such issues and organize my thoughts. I learned that simply taking an interest and organizing your thoughts can broaden your perspective.
Thirdly,It was travel. The special thing about traveling in Cambodia is that it’s raw and untouched. Because not many tourists visit yet, you can see nature that feels alive. If you’re lucky, you can even see wild elephants. I once got hooked on jungle trekking. Thanks to that, I used up all the malaria pills I had brought. But once you see the greatness and grandeur of nature, you can’t help but be captivated by it. I was truly fortunate to have experienced how wonderful it can be to lose yourself in such nature and feel its wonders.
ⓒKoreaGapyear
Thailand
"Between hardship, adversity, and professionalism"
Honestly, Thailand was just hard. Ah, all I can think is that it was really hard.
In Thailand, when I worked at an NGO, I used a motorcycle to commute.
One day, while turning a corner, I made a mistake and crashed straight into a ditch with a bang! It was the first time in my life I’d been taken away in an ambulance, and the first time I’d ever bled so much. It was then I realized you really don’t know when you might die.
This was truly a rather importantturning pointbecame one. Life really is unpredictable.I should use the time given to me in a way that suits me, and, if possible, enjoy it.It was from that time that I began to think that.
However, I think that even without experiencing something dangerous, if you remember and live by that idea, it alone will greatly change your attitude toward life.
When I was working at the NGO in Thailand, I had a supervisor.
The supervisor had worked as a well-known international consultant and as a journalist, and was a Chinese-American who could speak six languages fluently. He was semi-retired and had come to the NGO to help out. I truly respected his professionalism and abilities. At the same time, however, he was the person who made the two worst months of my life.
ⓒKoreaGapyear
I worked as this person’s assistant. The project I was doing overlapped with his work, so we ended up working together. Ah... the days with that supervisor filled me with malice, malice, and more malice, turning what could have been pleasant days into hellish ones. His analytical skills, cool-headedness about work, and problem-identification abilities were truly excellent, but he had no respect for people at all. The gap in ability that I could not close no matter how hard I tried plunged me into self-reproach. Furthermore, his feedback caused me to lose confidence. He was such a workaholic and self-centered person that not only I but other volunteers avoided him. There wasn’t even a single photo of him with the other volunteers over three months. He worked on weekends and continued working at home after hours. I knew this because he lived right across from my room. His voice calling my name would make me feel almost neurotic.
However, thanks to him I began to think seriously about professionalism. At least in the way he worked,there were things to learn—many of them. I try not to forget them even now. In addition, I gained the confidence that any company life would be easier than that. That was the consolation my colleagues who worked with me all gave me: they said you wouldn’t have a boss like that in the real world. Although the feelings of self-reproach and loss of confidence at the time were indescribable, thanks to it I was able to think more seriously and painfully realizean experienceit was.
ⓒKoreaGapyear
Korea
"Gratitude"
After living in Thailand, a month and a half in Korea felt like heaven. What more is there to say? It was, by no means,The gratitude, thankfulness, and happiness for things I wouldn't have known without those experiences were so great they were hard to express in words.I realized anew how special Korea, home, family, and friends were.
Italy
"Is this a dream or reality?"
I wanted to try making a bag. I liked leather, so I went to a place where they make leather bags.
I was happy to discover the true joy of creating. Understanding the value of making something carefully stitch by stitch changed the way I looked at things. Of course, it felt like studying and I realized that school is school in that you have to keep up with what you learn on your own, but the fact that the place was a workshop made it special.
Early in the morning I loved the smell of the workshop and the scenery. Also everything from the way the tools were laid out to the leather. Above all, the sense of accomplishment each time something was completed was indescribable. I had never studied this hard before, but strangely, leathercraft workdesirecontinued to arise. So I did many tests and went around looking at bags enthusiastically. Making something and finishing it was truly wonderful. If you've made even a small item, you'll know that the sense of accomplishment makes all the stress and difficult parts worthwhile.
In Italy I really focused solely on leathercraft. And I fully enjoyed life in Florence, as if I were being rewarded for all the hardships I'd endured. The city of Florence was beautiful, the workshop was nice, and above all I met so many people there. That made it possible to enjoy each day even more.
"How did I, overnight, somehow go from Cambodia and Thailand to Italy?" On my way to school early in the morning, looking at the Duomo, I thought this a lot. My life was so good that I was confused whether this happy life was a dream or reality.Perhaps these were joys I would not have known without having suffered.I thought that. Looking back on everything in Italy, I realized that although it was hard then, because of that I can smile now, which made me smile again.
ⓒKoreaGapyear
So many things happened, and I miss the roughly one-year journey that felt so short. Above all, I think it's because I have no regrets.
Although the longing is great, thanks to the one-year gap year, each day is enjoyable now.
Maybe all those events and little pieces of moments came together to form what exists now.
So I can't pick any single moment as the most memorable. Every fun moment and every difficult moment came together to bring me here.
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