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[People’s Gap Year] “Change from Myself” Woo Joong-sik

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Name: Woo Joong-sik
Occupation: College student
Type of departure: Working holiday (Australia)

Q. What led you to take a gap year and how did you prepare for it?
A. When I was a third year student in college, I was lucky enough to spend a year as an exchange student in Shanghai, China, and met friends from various countries.
At that time, I personally felt not only the color of my skin and eyes, but also the indescribable diversity of values and cultural differences.

And at that time, I thought that traveling was something to be done, so I traveled to over 20 cities in China by train for over 40 hours with friends or alone, and I thought that if nearby China was this fun, how much more fun it would be to travel to a country other than Asia alone. However, when I came back to Korea a year later and became a fourth year student, I felt the pressure of being a dead year student.

The plan I had when I was in China to go on a working holiday in Australia after one semester, learn English, meet friends from different countries I met in China, and travel alone was canceled because I was in my fourth year and had to do something. I vaguely thought that I had to do something, but I didn’t know what to do, so I started following what others were doing. Commonly referred to as TOEIC, certifications, etc. When I thought about getting a job like that and what I wanted to do, I really didn’t know. I’ve lived with this country for 25 years, so how could I not know this? I also thought that the jobs I had decided on were not things I really wanted to do, but things I thought would be okay after hearing stories from my parents and relatives. So I decided to go on a working holiday in Australia, or my own gap year, thinking that if I did the things I really wanted to do one by one, I would be able to learn a little bit about myself.

[People's Gap Year] "Change from Myself" Woo Joong-sik

The biggest part of the preparation process was persuading my parents, who were worried about me at the time when I had to get a job. However, when I told my parents that I would spend a year alone, traveling to new environments and new places to find myself in my life that would last until I was 80, my parents did not 100% approve, but they allowed me. With this, my preparations were complete, and after a two-month study abroad in the Philippines, I am now in Australia.

Q. What kind of gap year did you have?
A. I would like to tell you about my current experience as the 10th week of my Australian working holiday visa. Before coming to Australia, my plan was to improve my English skills and experience culture with various friends. However, when I actually came here, the academy I went to to improve my English skills was different from what I thought, but most of my friends were Korean, Chinese, and Japanese, and the rest were South American. And since I did not want to invest that much money in an English academy that was not even a school, I decided to find a private tutor while creating an environment where I could use English.

First, I tried to find a foreign share through the well-known Sun Brisbane, but most of them had one or two foreigners and five Koreans. I decided that this was different from what I had thought, so I contacted foreign house owners on the Australian community ‘Gumtree’ and started working out, and now I live with friends from Brazil, Colombia, and Italy. I like that there is no shared living room, and I have created an environment where I can use English from the beginning at home. I study with a tutor for 6 hours a week to improve my English skills, and I study with the tutor at a time that is convenient for me. I went to an academy for a short time and found that it has the advantage of being able to make friends, but I thought that I could make friends in other places as well. Also, when I came to Brisbane and looked into it, there are a lot of free English classes in Brisbane compared to other areas. There are free classes at the YWCA and classes at churches, so I don’t go to an academy right now, but I continue to create opportunities to use English through free classes with a private tutor.

Still, I think it’s not enough, so I go to Chinese language clubs and soccer clubs through the Australian community sites ‘Gumtree’ and ‘Meet up’. I use these community sites to meet Australian friends that are hard to meet, and I meet a few friends that I get along with and hang out with them. And when I heard that there was a buddy program at the UQ University Korean Language Department in Australia, I went to see the professor in charge and explained the situation, and the professor gave me permission, so I am currently observing classes and participating in the buddy program.
They say that where there is a will, there is a way. If you want to do something, don’t hesitate, find out, and do it. I also tend to hesitate before making important decisions, and this time spent hesitating is the most wasted.

Lastly, the most important thing! At first, I worked at a sushi shop in Brisbane for about 7 weeks with the help of a high school classmate. I was happy to start working just a week after coming to Australia, but as I worked, I realized that it wasn’t what I wanted. First of all, it was a cash job where I didn’t have to use English, paid little per hour, and didn’t include pension. So I quit that place and am currently preparing to work at a place owned by an Australian. It’s been a little over a week since I started looking for a job, and although it’s my problem that I can’t speak English, I’m not going to go to a Korean job where I can easily find one and work without even receiving the basic hourly wage. I want to tell young people who are hesitating like me to give it a try if they are hesitating! Let’s have just 1g more courage!

Q. Lastly, what would you like to say to young people who are planning a gap year?
A. It’s a little embarrassing to say this when you haven’t accomplished anything. However, if someone is in the same situation as me and doesn’t know what to do, I would like to ask them to first pursue a change in their current life. That change could be traveling with me or trying one thing you’ve always wanted to do. I also worried a lot before coming to Australia. I was worried that it would be an escape from reality. I was worried that I would fall behind my friends.

However, once I did it, I felt at ease. Let’s believe in ourselves and do it! If we don’t believe in ourselves, who will believe in us?

We are still young! Even if what we did doesn’t work out, we won’t regret it later and say, “Ah! I should have tried it!” Let’s believe in ourselves and do it! I’m going to live until I’m 80, so I don’t think investing a year to find out who I am for myself is a waste of time. Change is scary, but change doesn’t come just because we wait for it. Let’s invest in ourselves with just a little more courage! It doesn’t matter if we are different from others! Happiness is not absolute, it is subjective!

Let’s cheer up, youth. And let’s be brave. Change is mine. Let’s be the main character in my life! Don’t worry about others~