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Focus only on your own growth.
GapYear is a time for growth and happiness.
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55th Gap Year GapperKim Min-woo
Gap year period: May 2015 – May 2016 (12 months)
Around-the-world gap year: 145 cities in 53 countries
Currently in South Korea,
Each year, 60,000 middle and high school students drop out; 346,000 people in their twenties are idle because they have no dreams; and the one-year turnover rate after employment has entered the 40% range,75% of university students are not satisfied with university life, and over 80% of workers report not feeling happy.While many tell people to dream, to solve this problem which lacks practical methods and support,we aim to introduce the 'gap year' to South Korea.
Gap year (Gapyear)is a time to either combine or temporarily pause studies and work to undertake various activities such as volunteering, traveling, internships, education, and entrepreneurship,and to set the direction for the future; it is a culture encouraged in the United States, Europe, Japan, and elsewhere.
*Check the gap year website to explore a variety of experiences!(Click)
# Deciding to fulfill the dream I've had since childhood
Newspaper delivery,Pizza delivery, serving at family restaurants, selling water purifiers, etc.Since I was young, I worked whatever jobs came my way and lived each day intensely.Even while living so frantically, there was always a vague dream of 'traveling around the world' tucked away in a corner of my heart. But I kept listing various realistic reasons why I couldn't do it and buried that dream deep inside me.As time passed and I grew older, it wasn't until my late twenties that I finally made the decision.
Because I thought, 'No matter how much money I earn when I'm older, one million won spent on travel with the youth I have now is far more valuable than a billion won spent in old age.' When I suddenly said in my late twenties that I would travel the world, my family and people around me told me to build my credentials, save money for a long time, and that we should be living like worker ants for the future,They asked what I was doing, and because I had lived in the place where I was born without overseas experience, they warned me how dangerous the world is and criticized me for wanting to do something reckless; everyone I met discouraged me, butI decided to follow my convictions.
I wanted to fulfill the dream I had dreamed since childhood and create unforgettable memories in my lifeso I made a decision and took action.Humans are creatures whose thoughtsthe more they accumulate, the more things tend to fizzle out, and I knew that very well from experience, so even though I had no plan, I bought the plane ticket first.
I decided to travel the six continents of the globe for one year. Come to think of it,Of course, travel requires money. Iworked at a company, drove forklifts, and did various jobs,I stubbornly saved money. When I thought I had saved a certain amount, I calculated the money I could spend on traveland found that even if I saved, it would be hard to last more than six months.But I didn't want to give up traveling around the world because of money, so I decided to make the most of Couchsurfing, hitchhiking, and other ways to get free accommodation.
Quitting a stable, full-time job was not easy, but since it was my choice, after resigning I did not feel great fear or anxiety.More than anxiety, I was so excited thinking about my upcoming trip around the world that my heart raced and I had trouble sleeping.However, when it came time to actually leave on the round-the-world trip,A worry also lingered in a corner of my mind that something unpleasant might happen when traveling in unfamiliar lands, such as India, Africa, or crime-ridden South America.
A year-long trip around the world — the reckless challenges I could keep taking because I was young.
And so the trip around the world began. During the year-long journey around the world I gained countless experiences that I would never have had if I hadn't made the decision to leave.I gained them. I, who used to find even climbing the hill behind my neighborhood difficult,I climbed to the ABC of the Himalayas over seven nights and eight days, and I, who used to say the five-hour bus ride from Seoul to Busan was unbearably long, took buses for over 100 hours in South America.
Before traveling, I didn't even know what hitchhiking was, and I used to think there was no need to do dangerous things.In Albania, which is sometimes called the 'North Korea of Europe,' I even stopped a car in the middle of the night and crossed into Montenegro.Even in Africa, India, and South America—the places I had worried about most—my reckless challengescontinued.
In fact, I frequently encountered pickpockets during my travels, and I even once encountered an armed robber,and I also met someone who, high on drugs, picked a fight with me and tried to drag me away. At the time,of course I was scared and frightened. Even now, thinking about those moments sometimes makes my head spin, but as time passed they all became fragments of travel memories.During the trip my tablet, two cellphones, my wallet, clothes, and so on were stolen, but after the trip Igained an irreplaceable drive and boldness,and gained the confidence that there is nothing I couldn't do wherever I went.
If someone were to say to me again, 'I'll give you back what you've lost,'If someone were to say, 'I'll return everything you've lost if you give me your experiences,' I would, without the slightest hesitation, say this:I thought, 'Even if I were given ten times—no, a hundred times—what I lost, I would never trade it.'If I hadn't left, I wouldn't have known.The many experiences and people I might not have met are so deeply etched in my heart and mindthey remain as great memories, and these are my own experiences that cannot be exchanged for anything.
Worry and anxiety are temporary. Fearing that this might happen...Or fearing that will happen and becoming so scared that you don't take on challenges or move forward, you'll always stay in the same place or, rather,I think you'll become mentally weaker and regress.To be honest, after traveling compared to before I left on the trip,my health became somewhat worse.
Because it was a trip traveled on a small budget,I slept rough a lot and couldn't eat properly.I was bitten by bedbugs, leaving scars on my body, and my immunity declined.In the Philippines, together with local friends,we once went to a beach that friends had introduced us to, and there I was stung by a jellyfish; the next day my face swelled abnormally, so completelyI became like a different person. There was also a stinging pain, and my skin problems worsened and didn't heal for about two weeks, so at that timeI even developed social anxiety.A friend who was with me at the time half-jokingly, half-worriedly said, 'You're never getting married now.'He said it half as a joke and half out of concern.
But even this memory is precious to me now.It has taken its place as a cherished memory. Just as there is a downhill, there is an uphill,and afterward my skin settled again. The lowered immunityis something that can be restored anytime in Korea, and if I decide and exercise hard again, it can become muchbetter. However, even though my health worsened right after finishing the trip, the reason I could be happy and smile wasbecause I am certain that this experience made me grow mentally.
By nature I couldn't prepare thoroughly, so while traveling if I suddenly wanted to go somewhere without any information, I would just buy a plane or bus ticket and...often enter the destination that way. But because I traveled like this, I met a wider variety of new people and...was able to have many unexpected new experiences.
When I was in Korea,I could predict who I would meet and what I would do tomorrow, and by looking at the company menu I could even guess the food, thinking, 'Ah, tomorrow will be white rice with...'jangjorim and kimchi stew would be on the menu'—in that everyday life where I could even predict what I would eat.I was able to live an exciting life every day in which I couldn't easily predict who I'd meet tomorrow, where I'd go, or what episodes I'd experience. Every day was like a movie to the point where I could say, 'No way, man, I had something movie-like happen to me yesterday!'
I used to get nervous speaking English whenever I stood in front of foreigners, but because I had to save money while traveling,I naturally relied on Couchsurfing to stay at foreign friends' places.I also hitchhiked to save on transportation costs, and although my skills were clumsy,I made promotional videos for local travel agencies or organizations and received a modest fee,I bartered items I had with other travelers during the trip, and later sold my belongings to locals while...covering my travel expenses.Perhaps the reason I was able to live so tenaciously and take on countless challenges in a strange land was also...that I think it was possible because I was young.
Nepal earthquake: an unforgettable event that changed my life
While traveling the world and taking a gap year, I encountered an unforgettable scene that changed my life.A teacher who had lost his students in the Nepal earthquakewas on the plane to Nepal, tearfully saying that his students had lost their lives due to the earthquake,They said that even the few children left couldn't learn properly because the schools had collapsed, and asked for help for Nepal.A plea to do our best. It was unbearably painful yet deeply moving. Since then, Nepal has become inseparable from me.
Worldtraveling, if asked to tell my happiest memory I would, without hesitation, talk about helping a family in Nepal.I would tell the experience of helping them.While staying at a guesthouse in Kathmandu, Nepal, from dawn...I saw a family who, every day from dawn until nightfall, carried bricks and cleared the ruins of the earthquake.In particular, seeing a five-year-old child carrying bricks all day, every day...It broke my heart.
Immediately, without hesitation,I posted online to help this family, and many people showed interest and sponsored, so Mr. Rampumat's family...and supported so that his son and daughter, Rozen and Reshma, could attend school for two years, and Mr. Rampumat's...extended family was able to receive rice, oil, and clean water so they could have meals without worry for a while.
Mr. Rampumat, who worked silently every single day of the year without taking a day off and walked barefoot over the ruins, I pitied him and bought him shoes.I bought him shoes. He suddenly stared at me blankly. And what he said to me still...hasn't been erased from my mind.
The boy Rozen, who carried bricks, wearing a school uniform for the first time in his life...I can never forget the bright smile he gave. The smile this child showed me...That moment I saw it was the happiest time during my gap year.And his sister,Reshma contacted me a few months after starting school to say she had placed second in her class.I heard the news.My small action clearly brought about something, and I felt a sense of accomplishment.
Since then, to raise awareness about Nepal's horrific reality and to help Nepal,I met and persuaded more than 1,500 people around the world to be filmed for videos,I met them, persuaded them, and recorded them on video. I even persuaded cabin crew and passengers on airplanes to let me film.
Some might ask, "How could someone do that?"Others might say it's impressive, but I was an ordinary person in Korea—perhaps even more ordinary than most.This is the result achieved by someone who was ordinary. I didn't choose a gap year and simply lived in a small neighborhood of Incheon, Korea.If I had continued living in that neighborhood, such memories would probably never have existed in my life.If someone put me back at the crossroads just before I left on the trip, I would not hesitate for a single secondand I would choose the plane ticket again.
My world trip is over, but my gap year is not over yet
Although I finished my world trip and returned to Korea, I still feel that my gap year hasn't ended. I want to continue helping Nepal.Of course, this wasn't something someone ordered me to do, nor did anyone ask me to do it.I chose this because I wanted to, because I like them, and because I wanted to help the children.
Last AugustIf last August I helped two children and one family by collecting small donations, this time I will help more.I want to take action for the children and the people. So, the donation target amount for the Nepal project I started earlier this year...was fully met. From students who received pocket money trusting a person named Kim Minwoo, who isn't remarkable in any way...some even donated emergency savings they had secretly set aside from their wives, and a woman who had been saving little by little to buy a piece of clothing she so desperately wanted donated that moneyto each and every one, so many people kindly helped, and I am deeply grateful.
The warm hearts they shared...I want to pass them on intact and deliver them to the Nepali people who long for a warm helping hand.In my life, which has just passed the initial stage, the happiest and...this period, this gap year that will remain as the most beautiful memory, I want to further...I want to firmly enshrine this time as a beautiful memory.
# The Korean 'frog in a well' steps out into the world
As I mentioned earlier, I was living a life even more ordinary than most people.Born in a small neighborhood in Incheon and having spent my whole life here, not just as a frog in a well,I was living like a frog inhabiting yet another well within that well. However,I didn't leave my childhood dream of traveling the world as just a childhood dream; I made a decision and...I stepped out of the well.Thinking the narrow well was the whole world and living the same life every day, I went out of the well, roamed the world, and immersed myself completely,and naturally had countless diverse experiences.
A life that had always been passive, ''You have to go to this high school', 'Even if what you want to do doesn't require going to university..."College is good to attend. If you don't go, you'll be looked down on', 'If you wear clothes like that, you won't look stylish', ''What's with that hairstyle?' and so on. From living passively, swayed by people's comments about everything,I began to live a life where I am the main agent of my own life.
And because I was living according to others' standards rather than my own, I used to be filled with worries like 'What if I fail,'What if it doesn't work out, what if someone thinks poorly of me,' and similar concerns,These days: 'Failure? It's just part of the process. Someone thinking poorly of me? There are surely people who think well of me.'Just as when traveling, walking a bit more can lead you to a better route or a more wonderful destination,this challenge's failure is simply the act of discovering one path,and because of this challenge and failure I will discover a better path andthe confidence and positive thinking that 'it will be an opportunity for growth' increased even more.
Also, if I used to agonize a hundred times over whether or not to do something and make decisions with great difficulty,now, as long as it doesn't harm anyone, I can decide after just three or four considerations,becoming more decisive in making decisions. I realized our lives are not leisurely enough to live by worrying about each and every other person,and moreover, the precious time of youth is shrinking day by day.
However, I do not recommend starting recklessly without any plan just because others are doing it.To climb higher, you must push off more forcefully.If you're considering a gap-year period,I hope you think in advance about what you will do and how you will use your time, or write it down.You don't need a detailed plan. However,rather than living passively doing what someone else tells you, youshould be the agent of your life during that time, so you need your own goals and plans that will keep you alert.
You've probably heard this: 'If you don't live as you think, you'll end up thinking as you live.''When you write down your goals, the probability of achieving them is more than ten times higher than when you don't.'Write it down and keep thinking about it. Again, a gap year is not simply a time of aimless living.It isn't. That doesn't mean you need to live a complicated life at all. Rather, I hope you keep thinking about what you...you will do, what you want to do, and what kind of person you dream of becoming after this period.I hope you keep thinking about those things. Because of that thinking and those records, you will encounter a more mature, more grown version of yourself...I am confident you will meet that self.
I don't really like the saying 'Pain is youth.' After all, no one likes being in pain.No one does.What I want to say is 'Youth is about taking on challenges.'Everyone is youthful during their younger years. It's the most energetic time of life. At this most vibrant period...Shouldn't we, at least once during our youth, try living an active life rather than a passive one?
They say there are two kinds of challenges: those that many people have already passed through and...those that nobody has tried. Any kind of challenge is good. It's okay to fail.No—I think the term 'failure' is wrong. It's part of the process. Like when Edison spoke about the light bulb,he said it wasn't 10,000 failures but that he had discovered 10,000 ways that won't make the bulb light.Yourchallenges will become the foundation for your growth.
I want to say to everyone reading this: as time passes, our youth will naturally...our youth passes. That's why I hope you live a more proactive life before more time goes by.If you stop taking on challenges and stay in the same place, can you live a life that makes your heart race?
Many people say they want to live a life that makes their heart race. But if they don't challenge themselves with new things...If you don't take on challenges, there will be no more heart‑racing life for you. Without challenging yourself and trying new things...Simply saying, "I want to change only in my head without trying; I want to live an exciting life,"can be seen as being like wanting to receive a gold medal without even jumping off the diving board in a diving competition.So if you truly want to hear the heartbeat you desire, I recommend trying something new first, even if it isn't a grand challenge.
Don't just envy the challenges others take on that you see on TV or in books,take a deep breath and step onto the diving board. And don't worry,jump. Depending on the kind of new challenge and new attempt you choose,the height of your diving board could be 10 meters, 5 meters,or 3 meters. But in this game the height doesn't matter. Only that youactually 'jumped' matters.
Below is water. You may be scared andhesitate, but first try jumping. Around the water there arecountless friends and colleagues watching over you, and people who can help you whenever you are in danger.There are people.So don't worry.For at least one moment in your life,I hope you try living the life you truly wanted to live.
Take the challenge. Climb the diving board. Your pose when you jump doesn't matter at all. Youfor example, even if you jumped in an awkward pose, many people—though you hesitated and trembled but mustered the courage—will give a louder, more enthusiastic round of applause to your dive into the world than to a professional diver who executed a stylish pose and leapt in one go.First, jump. Be bold. Come out of the well. If you do,a new world will be waiting for you.
Now make a decision andMake a decision. And take action.Write down what you think, and put what you wrote into action through your body.I hope you follow through. After several months have passed, look back at yourself.You will surely smile when you see your transformed self. Youth Kim Min-woo, to you who are in your youthI sincerely and wholeheartedly support your challenge.
<100 Gap-Year Gappers>
'100 Gap-Year Gappers' are not mentors found on TV or in books.They are the stories of people who were a little ahead of me and who showed a little more courage.May the stories of 100 people who were in similar situations and faced similar worries be a small help to you at important decision moments in your life.
Recommendations and submissions for '100 Gap-Year Gappers' are always welcome.
Please leave a comment or message, or email marketing manager Da-young Choi (choi@koreagapyear.com)!