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#The dream of becoming an international professional became more concrete #Experience in planning and executing volunteer programs #Recognized the invaluable worth gained through volunteering
© Korea gapyear
For me, ''volunteering''—serving others—makes up the majority of my life. That''s why, since my first year of university, I don''t think I''ve missed a single semester of volunteering. The greatest value to me is helping, encouraging, and serving people. That value is something you can discover through volunteering to help others. Volunteering, in a way, requires investing something—whether labor, time, or money—and the value you gain when you make that investment is something that cannot be exchanged for anything else. Because I already understand the meaning of that value, I decided to take on the challenge of overseas volunteering, which I hadn''t tried before. As expected, the value I experienced this time was, I believe, more precious than any other. Knowing that value and wanting to experience it is why I participated in overseas volunteering.
- Volunteer activities in Bangkok, a warm city where NGOs from around the world gather / Lee Jae-yeon, Gap Year Gapper |
Q.Please introduce yourself.
A.Hello. I am Lee Jae-yeon, a 25-year-old university student enrolled at Yeungnam University.
Rather than a clichéd and obvious introduction that anyone can give, I think the adjectives that describe me are: ''someone who wants to give everyone abundant and overflowing love,'' ''someone who saves lives among the nations of the world,'' ''a global citizen with a cool head + a warm heart + diligent hands and feet,'' ''someone who strives to grow fiercely and do their best to become genuine,'' and ''someone who can go anywhere.'' These might be the words that characterize the person Lee Jae-yeon.I am Lee Jae-yeon, a university student preparing to become a future international professional with a clear purpose: to save lives. Even now, the title ''university student'' itself inspires me.
Q.I decided to spend a gap year doing volunteer work in Thailand. What motivated you to participate in overseas volunteering?
A. Whether it''s domestic volunteering or overseas, ''service''—serving others—occupies most of my life. For that reason, I don''t think there was a single semester since my first year of university when I didn''t volunteer. My greatest value is helping people, building them up, and serving them. That value is something you can discover through volunteering to help others. Volunteering requires investing something—whether labor, time, or money—and the value you gain from that investment is something that cannot be exchanged for anything else. Knowing that meaning, I decided to try overseas volunteering, which I hadn''t attempted before. As expected, the value I experienced this time was more precious than any other. I participated in overseas volunteering because I know that value and wanted to experience it.
© Korea gapyear
Q. How did you come across the gap year?
If there was a particular reason you chose the Bangkok volunteer program among the programs,
A. During my college years,One item on my bucket list is volunteering abroadIt was. Then, one summer in 2013, I applied at school for an overseas volunteer program to Africa and received the final acceptance notice for the African volunteer trip — only four people could go. However, that happy news was short-lived: because of my parents'' opposition to the idea of going to Africa and health issues, I had no choice but to give it up. I was very disappointed, but the day after I gave up the trip to Africa I immediately started looking for other overseas volunteer opportunities. The social enterprise I found, called ''Gap Year'', was perfectly suited to me. It had several advantages.
Unlike other overseas volunteer programs, it was possible to be dispatched individually, to design the volunteer program myself, it was more economical, I could hear the mentors'' stories, and because free and creative opportunities were open instead of following a fixed program, I applied right away.
There are two reasons I specifically chose the Bangkok volunteer program. First, I''m double-majoring in International Studies, and last semester I took classes like Communication and Culture in Southeast Asia, Colonialism, and Asian Nationalism, which made me curious about Thailand itself. Thailand — especially Bangkok — is the number-one tourist destination everyone wants to visit; it is the only country in Southeast Asia that was never colonized, and it is a country abundant in resources and potential — so why hasn''t it developed? Why don''t people live well? I was curious about that. If so, it must be a matter of the people''s ''consciousness'', and I really wanted to know about Thai people''s mindset. I wanted to talk with the people there and experience and engage with Thai culture.
Second, it was related to my dreams and vision concerning NGOs and children. I love children so much and want to help them, and I wanted not only to communicate in English, which I enjoy, but also to indirectly experience the practical work of an NGO. The Bangkok volunteer program felt like it was made for me — an optimized program for me.
During the Gap Year, meeting new people,encountering diverse cultures,
communicating and experiencing —to have fear is
to my youth in my twenties,a feeling of regret, I think.
Q.I decided to take about a one-month gap year. Have you had any previous experience with overseas volunteer work? Weren''t you afraid to participate?
A.This was my first time doing overseas volunteer work for about a month.In 2012 I lived in New York, USA for a year to receive missionary training, and I remember participating in the ''Kitchen Soup'' program there, which provided free meals to low-income workers when I had free time. It made me sad to see that New York isn''t just the wealthy, glamorous ''Manhattan'' that many people know, but also another side of New York—one we don''t know well—where so many people are in need. I realized there is no city or country without poverty. I will never forget the experience of serving the New York workers who couldn''t bathe or eat properly and spending time with them.
Because I''ve spent various gap years in different ways and for different lengths of time since I was young, I wasn''t afraid to participate at all. Rather, I was nervous, excited, and looking forward to it!I think being afraid to meet new people, encounter different cultures, communicate, and gain experiences during a gap year would be something I''d feel sorry about toward my youth in my twenties. ^^;
Q.When you said you were going to Thailand for your gap year, how did the people around you react?
A.Actually, the reactions from people around me weren''t very positive. Most adults and friends opposed it. Not simply because it was Thailand, or because I was participating in volunteer work, but because Thailand''s ''protests'' were in full swing. However, I think I would have greatly regretted it if I had not gone despite their objections. The protests in Thailand that I experienced firsthand were not as violent or dangerous as the media portrays. They posed no harm to foreigners; rather, many people gathered in a festive atmosphere, holding various events, and it was an amazing experience that could only be had during that time.
Q.What differences are there between conventional overseas volunteer programs and the gap year volunteer program?
A.As I mentioned earlier, I think gap year overseas volunteering has merits that are completely different from other overseas volunteer programs. By nature, I''m someone who dislikes being constrained or having things rigidly structured. I think the overseas volunteer programs we commonly know have limits. The available programs are predetermined, you have to worry about who you''re going with, and the period and location are arbitrarily fixed. Also, going on an overseas volunteer trip for a short time like one or two weeks is so brief that it feels awkward to even call it volunteering — I even feel sorry for the people there who would actually receive real help.
However,A major merit of the gap year volunteer program was that you can meet mentors before going and you can design your own program. I used my major in family welfare, which deals with sex and family each semester, to specifically plan a sex education program.Once I planned the program, it was fun and I became somewhat ambitious about the project itself, so I also planned a hygiene education program on my own. The hygiene education project I prepared and brought with me was applied to children in a Cambodian refugee camp residing in Thailand, producing beneficial effects for the beneficiaries, volunteers, and the organization. For me, planning the program myself and then implementing it was very meaningful. Before leaving for Thailand, I first designed the volunteer program based on recognition and understanding of the country and the target group, and seeing the effects when that plan was actually carried out there was fascinating.
© Korea gapyear
Q.Was there anything you personally prepared before participating in the gap year?
A. I often use ''VANK.'' VANK (Voluntary Agency Network of Korea) is a cyber-based private diplomatic organization that promotes our country around the world and responds to global issues. If you share your purpose for going abroad and your activities there, you can receive Korean promotional material kits for free. I frequently use this site to get free Korean promotional materials and to introduce Korea to foreign friends at school and whenever I travel abroad.www.prkorea.com/start.html)
Also, I prepared program plans. Rather than doing the project proposal alone, I prepared it by talking and sharing a lot with mentors in the gap year during the orientation held before leaving. By understanding the participating organizations and the local culture and analyzing the differences between those organizations and the place where I currently live, project ideas began to come up one by one. Narrowing down and concretizing these ideas, organizing goals and intentions, and writing analyses and expected effects turned out to be more enjoyable than I expected. I mainly planned a ''sex education'' volunteer program. My major is family welfare, and every semester I study topics related to sex and marriage, so I thought it would be helpful for the children in Thailand. Also, as I developed the project I became ambitious and used various materials to plan some hygiene education as well.
© Korea gapyear
If I prepared anything else separately, it was Korean souvenirs and gifts. Whenever I go abroad I prepare inexpensive gifts from nearby traditional markets or shops that sell Korean souvenirs, thinking about the people I will meet there. In Thailand, the friends I spent time with, the house director, and the office staff were very happy when I gave them gifts along with Korean postcards. In addition, a woman I''m close to does soap craft; she made about 50 pretty-shaped soaps at a low price, and I gave them to Thai children and Cambodian refugee children while doing hygiene education — they were so happy. Seeing that made me proud and I thought I had prepared well.
Q.What duties were you responsible for at the volunteer organization? I''d like to hear about the activities you did.
A.
9:00–11:00: Kindergarten assistant / English instruction at the center
12:30-2:30 English classes at a Cambodian refugee camp
4:00-5:00 Tutoring
5:00-5:30 Private tutoring for an international school student
I spent my time with a tighter schedule than I expected. I was mainly in charge of English education. The center usually operates from 9 AM to 5 PM. In my case, I had a schedule from 9 AM to 5:30 PM Monday through Friday. From 9 to 11 I worked as an assistant teacher in the kindergarten that cares for the center''s orphans. From morning I helped the cute children wash their faces, put on powder, and drink milk. Then when the main teacher took the class, I helped out in the background. About three times a week I led English classes myself focusing on vocabulary, coloring, and crafts. They were about 30–40 minutes, but teaching 38 children and trying to approach it from their perspective wasn''t easy. After class the kids ate lunch and took naps, and since it was hard for just two teachers to handle, I helped with that too. In the last week I also did dining hall volunteer work preparing fruit for the children. I will never forget peeling mangoes and papayas in the morning.
© Korea gapyear
Afterwards we ate lunch with the volunteers and center staff and began the afternoon schedule. Three times a week I went to meet the Cambodian refugee camp children who were under the center''s care. About a 10-minute motorcycle ride away there was a refugee camp where Cambodian refugees lived. I was told there was a school there, so I went thinking, ''Oh, there''s a separate school.''
When we think of a school in Korea, we usually picture a huge building, a bell, and classrooms. But when I went to what the Cambodian refugees called a ''school'', I was both shocked and felt sorry. None of the images I had of a school were there. They called it a school, but all it had was a mat and one desk and one chair. Around it were refugee homes, overflowing garbage, and lots of bugs... Personally, I found the volunteer work visiting the refugee camp three times a week more meaningful than the volunteering at the center. The Cambodian children were purer and more eager to learn English than any children I''ve met so far. If I were to describe the children with a color, I would say not white but transparent/colorless. They were that pure and cute, and I still miss them a lot.
Unlike the center''s themed, curriculum-based English classes, the refugee camp lessons were ones where I could plan and run the class as I saw fit. So I came up with more creative and efficient teaching methods for the short time we had. Thinking that the hygiene education I had prepared in Korea would be appreciated, I taught them when and how to wash by washing together and having them try using soap. The English classes were mostly for children aged 6–7, so during the two-hour sessions I used games, English chants, coloring, crafts, and repetition to keep them from getting bored. On the last day the children remembered most of the words and lesson content, and as an English teacher I felt really proud and happy.
On Fridays when we didn''t go to the refugee camp, we held cultural classes at a school next to the center. We taught Korean and introduced Korean culture. Some of the children there needed extra emotional support, so we focused on simple lessons. Besides Korean lessons, we played games, learned the ukulele together, and had fun classes including English and crafts.
From Monday to Friday, 4:00 to 5:30, I held private tutoring sessions. For about an hour I helped middle school girls with basic English and used crafts and games to spark their interest in English. Because I saw the students almost every day, we needed time to build rapport during the first week, so I tried hard to become close with them. Once we got quite close, I even gave a small prepared sex education session to them. They were shy, and since attitudes toward sex are different in Thailand and the lessons had to be delivered in English, it wasn''t easy to make the material easy for them to understand. When all the classes were over, the children wrote letters and at the farewell said ''thank you'' and that the teacher was precious; I felt very grateful and proud.
From 5 o''clock for about 30 minutes, I helped a girl who attends an international school with her homework and we spent time reading an English storybook together. The student''s mother worked at the center and liked Korea, and she took great care of me — I don''t know how grateful I was.
© Korea gapyear
Q.Were there any people you met while volunteering, or anyone who left a lasting impression?
A.I''m a people-centered person, so who I meet in my life is really important. There were valuable connections on this trip to Bangkok as well, butI think the person I remember most is probably the coordinator I worked with.The coordinator is mainly responsible for managing foreign volunteers and taking care of them. My coordinator was more particular and handled things more meticulously than anyone I''d met, so it was actually a bit difficult for me. The coordinator had been changed abruptly before departure, which also contributed, but in terms of work and interpersonal skills, they were the type that everyone found hard to deal with.
Not just me, but many other foreigners struggled too, but I felt that if I kept thinking it was hard or that I disliked it, it would only be to my detriment. So as time passed I tried to get along as best as I could and looked at it from a different perspective. Later I realized — I was so surprised to find out they were transgender. Still, this special experience was refreshing because I probably couldn''t have it at any other time. At a time when I''m preparing for employment, it even gave me the confidence that no matter what job I get, I could accept any kind of boss, haha.
Secondly, giThe people who left an impression on me are the directors/volunteers who worked with me at the center.Most of the kindergarten teachers at the center, as well as the work director and the house director, were incredibly generous and kind to me. In particular, the main kindergarten teacher showed such care by frying an egg for me at lunch every day because she worried I might not like the food. I will never forget the gift she gave me when I left for Korea and the tears she shed. The friends I volunteered with were two Norwegian girls. We taught classes together, traveled together for the most part, lived together, and had many precious experiences. We had the same major and similar ways of thinking, and I...
I personally had so much to learn.They were volunteering for a longer gap year of four months, which was longer than mine.Through my Norwegian friends I was able to indirectly learn about Nordic welfare systems. They also carried out a video project to promote their center, and compared to Korean students they were more proactive—I learned their open-minded attitude toward gap years and their leadership. After graduating from university, instead of coming from fear about finding a job, they came to Bangkok to volunteer out of boldness and curiosity about the world. I once treated them to Korean food and they loved it so much. It naturally became a cultural exchange and was truly enjoyable.
Another precious connection was my Thai church friends. I was so grateful for how interested they were in Korea and how well they took care of me. We traveled together, and through them I was able to learn about Thai culture, people, and customs. Since they were Thai, I was happy to enjoy local areas rather than tourist spots aimed at Koreans. I felt like I was truly becoming Thai. They took such good care of me—so much that I wondered if I deserved it—so I always called my Thai friends angels.
© Korea gapyear
Q.How was your leisure time apart from volunteer activities? (Daily life and travel)
A.Actually, I''m someone who enjoys having fun and eating well wherever I am—I''d be ashamed to be second best at that! While volunteering and working hard are important, I think that experiencing, traveling around, and seeing Thailand are also important parts of being a gap-year participant. So I think I traveled whenever I had free time. Not only did I visit famous temples and popular restaurants that tourists go to, but I also rode bicycles with Thai friends to the floating market. I took boat rides, read books in the park, and prepared classes. As a Christian, I attended worship every Sunday with Thai friends. I also enjoyed leisure activities like trying out famous restaurants and shopping.
What was surprising was that about five minutes from where I lived there was a ship called Logos Hope from GBA Ships, which is headquartered in Germany (www.gbaships.org/) isa large ship docked there. That ship is a book-fair missionary vessel that travels the world selling books. I bought books on that ship, met and talked with missionaries from around 50 different countries, and it was a truly precious experience.
Another memorable thing is that recently I became interested in cooking and attended a cooking school. At the school we spent time making famous Thai dishes like tom yum, pad thai, and green curry. Since Thailand is so renowned for its flavors and food, it was a great experience to try them. When I return home I plan to make some of these dishes for my family and friends using a few of the ingredients!
Q.Were there any difficulties while participating? (e.g., relationships, culture, food, etc.)
A.The hardest thing, as I mentioned before, was the strict coordinator. They were picky even about unnecessary tasks and had a personality that interfered in everything, which made working with them a bit burdensome — everyone of the volunteers found them difficult. Another hard thing was the food. Although there are many delicious dishes, the lunches and dinners at the center that I ate every day included rice that wasn''t great for daily eating and Thai seasonings and spices that were a bit challenging for me. Foods like chicken feet and innards were common, which I found a little hard to accept.
Also, every Saturday the coordinator, being from a Catholic group, pressured us to attend Mass, which I really disliked. Actually nobody forced us, but I hated being told to go every week (I went once and then didn''t go again, haha). Besides, since I have my own religion, I really didn''t want to attend Mass.
And something that surprised me a bit was Thailand''s culture of corporal punishment. At the school in the Cambodian refugee camp there was none of that, but here, every morning when going to kindergarten, if the children didn''t listen or made even a small mistake, the teachers would severely punish them with their hands. They hit the children hard enough to make a sound, and seeing the children crying was heartbreaking; it made me realize how important education is. The teacher told us that it''s part of the culture and to understand it, but thinking that such corporal punishment could lead children to hit each other and grow up violent was very sad.
Q.What would you say are the advantages or disadvantages of the volunteer work in Bangkok that you participated in?
A.If I had to pick advantages: this gap year involved volunteering of many different kinds and with various target groups. Not only English education but also sex education and hygiene education were carried out as planned, and the beneficiaries were not limited to young children; I was able to meet intellectually disabled children, Cambodian refugees, school-age children, and other age groups. For one week, besides educational volunteering, I also worked in the kitchen while the children were taking exams. They peeled 50 mangoes a day — I felt grateful to and impressed by the women running the restaurant. So although it was a short month, by meeting a variety of groups I think I learned how to treat children at this age and what to teach and tell them — age-appropriate, level-oriented education.
If I had to name what I regretted rather than a disadvantage, it was the one-month period I set for myself. If I had had a bit more time, I could have joined my Norwegian friends in a project at the same center located in Ranong/Chiang Mai. The center suggested it too, and I would have liked to go if time and circumstances had allowed, but in March I had to attend final semester classes and had already paid tuition, so I had no choice but to decline — that was my biggest regret.
Q. Before and after the gap year, if there are any differences? The changes I feel in myself
A.
Whenever I look at this picture, I think about how important youthful experiences are. Through this gap year I felt again that hands-on experience is more important than the knowledge I have in family welfare, child education, social welfare, and the like. Now the knowledge I know is linked through the gap-year experience, giving a feeling like the picture on the right. I believe this experience has the influence to change the world. So once again I felt the greatness of experience.
And my perspective on the world and my mindset about volunteering seem to have broadened a lot compared to before. I think I have come to realize again what volunteering means in my life and how I should serve and live with people throughout my life.
Q.You''ve safely completed your gap year and returned. What are your plans going forward?
A.The title the world has given me is "a Korean job seeker about to graduate." However, I''m not afraid of preparing for employment. It would be a lie to say I have no fear at all, but compared to my friends I''m relatively less anxious. If I don''t get a job right after graduation, I''m thinking of spending another gap year for about six months after graduating (if my family and boyfriend allow it, haha). My dream is to learn Chinese in China, or learn Spanish and South American culture in Latin America, or do an overseas internship or participate in another gap year program. I hope I find a job before then, but even if I don''t, I''ll be grateful for the opportunity and enthusiastically enjoy my gap year.
Even when it comes to employment, I''m thinking about places where I can further build my abilities and experience. I like English, so somewhere I can polish my English while learning how to carry out work — an English-related business. Or I''d like to work at a non-profit organization or social enterprise dealing with international relations and cooperation, or learn practical skills through hands-on work. After that, I want to save more money and attend graduate school for international development. I''ve become especially more interested in refugees and poverty... Seeing refugee children in Cambodia in particular seems to have deepened that interest.
What I dislike most is the typical Korean twenty-somethings who enter companies just to make money, accumulating credentials to get into those companies, studying for exams, and raising their TOEIC scores. It pains me to see people scrambling like that from their twenties without ever realizing the reason or purpose for living. I think such behavior is not respectful of the precious youth of your twenties, which will never come back.
A time to examine myself; a time to draw a clearer picture of the future.
Q. Lastly, what does "gap year" mean to me?
A.At first I didn''t know the term ''gap year,'' but through this ''gap year'' organization I learned about it and realized, ''I''ve actually been spending my gap year quite well!'' I felt grateful. These kinds of periods can, in some ways, be more necessary than the required courses you take at school, yet many people go through them without knowing.
© Korea gapyear
For me, a gap year is a time to reflect on myself and a time to envision the future more clearlyThat''s how I''d like to define it. Simply taking a leave of absence and temporarily pausing studies doesn''t mean my university life is resting; rather, within the many hours given as an extension, a gap year can be a time to consider who I am, what the purpose of my life is, how I can change the world, and how I can be of help to it. Also, through that process we can likely draw the visions for our future more clearly. I was also able to reconfirm and find the dreams and visions I had limited, and discover new dreams through my gap year. So, in a way, a gap year can be even more valuable than the major courses you study in school.
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