이름 : 전용길
Current occupation: I quit my joba life that makes me happyI am taking a gap year to find it.
Q.Please tell us about the reason you decided to take a gap year and the preparation process.
At thirtyHaving a gap year in my life at thirty was not as easy as it sounds.
I had to consider many things—money, status, time. But I boldly quit my job and took a gap year because I wanted to find what I truly love as soon as possible and live a happier life even one day sooner. That doesn't mean I wasted the past 30 years; I worked very hard and lived passionately.
However, much of my life until then had been lived out of obligation—as a son in my family and as a man in South Korea. I lived with thoughts like 'I must earn money quickly to be filial to my parents' and 'I must buy a house to prepare for marriage.' After 30 years of that, when it came time to prepare for marriage my mind was confused, because I would have to live again as a husband and as a father.
So I wanted to try many experiences before it got too late, and in thatwhat Iwanted to find what I like and figure it out for myself.
Thus, as the first step toward a life for myself—a life in which I am happy—I decided to take a gap year.
The process of preparing for a gap year was a daily commitment to myself and a process of persuading my family and people around me.
No matter how firm my decision and even after I quit the company, leaving a community and starting life on my own was not easy. So I had to continuously instill confidence in myself that I could do it. One way I did this was by finding a mentor who could help, and by repeatedly sharing my plans with others I held myself accountable and gained courage from their support.
Secondly, persuading those around me—especially my family—was important. My father and I, like many father-son relationships, rarely communicated; we exchanged only one or two words a day on average. So I mustered the courage to start a conversation. I talked as much as possible about the financial aspects, duration, and activities of my plans. Perhaps seeing my passion, my parents allowed my decision to take a gap year.
Q.Please tell us about your gap year experiences.
When I first quit my job I wanted to do so many things. I wanted to learn dance, try sports, do volunteer work, learn English, and travel the world. Among those, the first thing I chose wasEnglishIt was. Later I needed English skills to travel around the world. So my first gap year was studying English at a language school in the Philippines.
Most language schools are divided into three types of classes—one-on-one, small group (1:4), and large group (1:8)—and you study three hours for each, a total of nine hours a day. The school I attended was the same. The one-on-one classes were especially fun. Besides studying, once you get a bit close you do free-talking, and sometimes that time became even more valuable. Some days we talked about love, other days about money, and from travel stories to conversations about science and war, we could talk about a wide range of topics. Topics like science, war, or politics could be difficult, but talking comfortably within what both knew made it not burdensome.
ⓒKoreaGapyear
In our country, because age is important and people use honorific language, it can be hard to become close with people who have a big age difference, but English itself has no honorifics, so people interact without formality and you can become close regardless of country or age, making it a very enjoyable and fun time.
Not only I, but many students struggled because their English didn't seem to improve. We studied hard and used English all day—so why didn't it get better? The answer is that it did improve, but our expectations were far too high. Knowing this, I enjoyed my time at the school. I couldn't speak English fluently, but I eliminated my fear of English and gained confidence. If I keep studying hard and face challenges with this confidence, won't I be able to speak fluent English later? In that sense, my first language-study experience wasConfidencethat became a big springboard.
ⓒKoreaGapyear
Q.What changes occurred after taking a gap year, or what did you gain from the gap year?
While studying at the language school, some friends asked me questions.
“Are you happier now than when you were working?", "Is learning English fun?”
Each time my answer was the same. "If I were still at the company, how could I have experienced suchemotionsand how could I have met you all?” Not only did I say that, but actuallyI realized how life changes when I do what I love.I was able to realize that. I had only taken one courageous step forward, but it opened up opportunities for me to gain more things. I could learn English, meet and communicate with people from various countries and ages, and furthermore feel joy and happiness.
This is the most common concern among workers.
“This job doesn't suit me. But if I quit, I don't know what I should do.”
“If I quit it will be hard to get hired again.”
“Still, money is important.”
I think many office workers would agree: money isn't everything. But people lack the courage or can't shake off the lure of money. After all, they have to pay this month's credit card bill.
I'm not much different either. But because I didn't know what to do, I took time for myself, thought things through, and to find what I like and what I'm good at,a gap yearI took.
And if I find even one thing I like in that time, then I will run passionately without looking back.
Lately I often hear, “You look young. You look happy.” It seems my choice wasn't wrong.
Through two months of gap-year life, I will spend the remaining year or so more interestingly, enjoyably, and happily.
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