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#Growth through embracing new challenges #Learning to love myself; a sense of accomplishment #The importance of approaching others with an open heart
They were not interested in whether I was Asian or Western, what my educational background was, where I lived, or how much money I had.They simply saw me as a person named Yu Sujae. -Giving wings to the dreams of students in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam through Korean language education / Yu Sujae, gap-year "gapper" / 8-week gap year |
# I wanted to love myself a little.
After finishing my studies and a short stint working, I was about to start another course of study, but my uncle, who had seen me running non-stop, happened to have read CEO Ahn Si-jun''s book and recommended it. He said he would lend me the book before I left, but in the end I couldn''t borrow it. Bitter...
Through this gap year I primarily wanted to recover myself. I felt too exhausted from life. Before finishing something and then taking on another challenge...Because I felt like I was constantly whipping myself on without even knowing myself, not knowing what I live for or what I want to do.
Additionally,I wanted to love myself a little.I ended up failing the re-exam at the waitlist stage, and although I couldn''t show it outwardly, inwardly I felt very pathetic and pitiful toward myself.
# What I learned in Vietnam
1. I was able to take some pride in Korea.
I could feel that though Korea might be criticized or looked down upon at home, abroad it''s a culture that is recognized, desired, and genuinely liked by people.
2. I could take pride in myself.
Not pride in people liking me or following me, but I could hear my inner voice saying, "I''m really a good person," "I can treat others like this too," "I''m really a warm person."
Until then, my own assessment of myself had been endlessly harsh and coldly critical.So I couldn''t love myself, and I regarded myself as somehow lacking, as someone who needed to be filled with something more, constantly trying to fill myself with something that wasn''t myself. But that literally wasn''t mine. I couldn''t see what I already had,because I only looked at what I wanted to have, the gap caused by that I was bearing the self-deprecation alone.
Through this challenge and completely standing on my own, I was able to see only myself, and in the process the words of people who were seeing me for the first time in their lives became a great source of strength for me. They weren''t interested in whether I was Asian or Western, what my educational background was, where I lived, or how much money I had.They simply saw me as a person named Yu Sujae.
They saw my personality, and from my usual actions they could see what I was thinking and how I treated people. And they told me those things frankly in a natural atmosphere. Each of those words resonated deeply with me, and I was truly grateful. There was even a friend who misunderstood me as gay because I was so warm to others.I had never been treated like this in my life, so I was surprised at people who saw me that way, and twice as surprised that I had this side to myself.
3. I realized that taking on a challenge isn''t difficult.
When I thought of a challenge I assumed I had to start a business, go on an overseas trip to start something huge I''d never done, or even organize a flash mob. But the challenges I took were not like that. Haggling prices at a market, getting a foreign friend to say "Sujae, I love you," approaching strangers and listening to their stories, taking a road I hadn''t taken, reflecting on my life and turning it into an outline — all of these were challenges.
I realized that a challenge isn''t big and grand, but making a small change to something I habitually do.Even if you go to a part-time job every day, sending one text that says "I love you" to your parents on the way, taking a different bus than usual or biking to work, leaving 30 minutes earlier instead of an hour to take landscape photos — these can all be challenges.
# When I opened my heart and approached them, they also opened their hearts and welcomed me.
Looking back, these things might not be that difficult when you''re abroad. Simply going to a supermarket, eating pho, and buying coffee are easy things anyone can do. However...For me it was a really big challenge. I was a frog in a well who had never been abroad.I was afraid to take on new things and, not knowing what they were, I was busy running away blindly.Because encountering new things was really stressful for me, I was in a situation where I had to try even the smallest things no matter what.
And after about two months, I was able to adapt so naturally that I could take motorcycle taxis by myself. And even sitting on the back (which could be dangerous), I was enjoying the motorcycle itself.Even the market-haggling mission that was part of the gap year mission—I found myself haggling without realizing it and enjoying the process of taking photos with the shop owners.It wasn''t that I was forcing myself to overcome all of this through the gap year,I was amazed that I was enjoying these new things as they came to me.
And in the Korean lessons that began, I experienced for the first time what the students'' passion was like.Of course, the experience of teaching was new and astonishing, but the children''s enthusiasm for Korean was different from the foreign-language classes I remembered from high school. At first that passion felt burdensome and I wondered if I was really qualified to teach anything, but slowly I was moved by their enthusiasm and...I found myself teaching classes passionately with the kids without even realizing it.
Of course, the quality of my classes had many shortcomings even I could see. I studied Korean hard in high school, but I wasn''t a Korean literature major, so there were times I couldn''t properly explain grammar that might confuse the students, and I regretfully couldn''t provide more materials and expressions to the students. Nevertheless, I could learn from the students'' passion and I was able to enjoy volunteering and teaching for the first time.
Gap year was trulygoBefore doing it, I couldn''t approach foreigners casually and thought that living in Korea was being happy. However, after participating I found that more people than I thought are considerate toward foreigners (of course not everyone), and that people understand each other and live together. Especially among travelers, even more so.
Through the gap year I became used to taking on new challenges, and the sense of accomplishment from succeeding in those challenges helped me grow and love myself more. There were many moments during the 2–3 weeks when it was hard to endure and I really wanted to go back, but...In the end, all that time came together to give me a period where I could fully look at myself.
Also, I experienced countless new people, new languages, a new environment, and new situations. But if I had kept my heart closed in the midst of that, I would have gained nothing and returned immediately. However...When I opened my heart and approached first, they opened their hearts and welcomed me.I am grateful to the people I met locally and to the gap year for allowing me to learn new things and enjoy them.
My personal Vietnam itinerary
North / Ho Chi Minh - Hanoi - Sapa - Lao Cai - Hanoi - Ninh Binh - Ho Chi Minh
I flew from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi. And on the way back I took a sleeping bus. The result: definitely take a plane. Sleeping buses are a new experience but very tiring. When traveling from Hanoi to Sapa, I went with an American family.
They rented a van so there were plenty of seats. The road up to and down from Sapa is very rough, so bring motion-sickness medicine. Or at least bring a motion-sickness bag. I ended up throwing up on the way down. In Lao Cai, what impressed me most was seeing how the border with China runs along a single river.
There were Chinese people nearby, and when they told me you can walk across into Vietnam, my shock was like that of someone from an island nation. I realized that crossing into another country on foot could be that shocking. Afterwards I went to an area called Ninh Binh by taxi and it was really beautiful. However, taxis are quite expensive, so it''s better to use a travel agency or just rent a motorcycle when possible.
South / Ho Chi Minh – (Dalat), (Mui Ne) / Really wanted to go but impossible due to budget – Mekong Delta
I recommend visiting the Mekong Delta for just one day. Even a single day there will leave you exhausted. The reason is that you move by boat here and there; it''s fascinating at first, but after getting on and off two or three times it''s tiring. The canoe ride near the end is the most fun, and the rest is just scenery watching. Sometimes the route passes through mangrove forests, and they let you take photos from the boat''s bow then, so I strongly recommend taking pictures.
Ho Chi Minh city is fine to explore on foot. But if you plan a route from Saigon Zoo to Vincom Center or the Reunification Palace you''ll get exhausted walking, so just call an Uber motorbike. It only costs 10,000 dong and is more convenient than you''d think.
My own gap year TIP
(Language)
There isn''t a special method for studying beforehand. The best is studying abroad, next is a language academy; at minimum you should have studied for the CSAT English... Even if you can''t speak, make sure to work on your listening. If you can hear the language you can at least use a translator, but if you can''t hear it the translator won''t help.
You''ll essentially become mute. At first I could only understand but not speak, which crushed my confidence, but gradually as you remember words and piece together grammar you can at least stammer through a self-introduction. Later you''ll even joke with each other and laugh, so if you haven''t prepared at all, memorize high school vocabulary or at least watch American TV shows. Friends is difficult, so watch Game of Thrones instead. It''s very entertaining and the English is easy to hear.
(Accommodation)
The lodging is quite good. Surprisingly clean, Wi‑Fi works well though not as well as in Korea, and they clean every day. They even have four refrigerators, and if you buy a large bottle of water there''s a purifier so you can keep drinking.
However, if you have evening classes, buses stop running on weekdays so unless you take a taxi you''ll have to sleep at the volunteer site, and the condition there is really bad. For example, if you eat in the volunteer room cockroaches or rats may appear, so be careful.
Therefore, do your best to return and sleep at the places recommended by the gap year program, and if that''s too tiring there''s accommodation nearby that charges strictly 200,000 dong per day or 1,500,000 dong per month, so taking a day off there isn''t bad. You can also adjust at the beginning of class hours, so please consider that when arranging.
I wondered if I had misunderstood the English and thought it might be 15,000,000 dong, but I decided to trust the local coordinator who said 1,500,000 dong. This isn''t based on city prices but on a small neighborhood in the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh, so take note. For reference, 1,500,000 dong is about 80–90,000 won and 15,000,000 dong is about 800–900,000 won.
(Meals)
When you arrive at the lodging, for a few days use the tickets they give and try every item on the restaurant menu once. And after you''ve tried them all, just walk into the street markets and roughly read things like you would in English — they''ll understand roughly what you mean. That''s because some places have an enormous number of menu items (over 100 in a single restaurant).
Street food vendors in markets usually have one to three main items, displayed in large signs, so if you roughly read the words on the wall they''ll bring it to you. Ex) If it''s PHO BO the diacritics might be written above, but ignore them and read it as ''pho bo'' and they''ll serve noodle x number of people. So don''t worry about pointing or using body language — it''s not taken as an insult — if something looks good just go in, read if you can, or at least point and try lots of local food.
Having local friends is best... but if there''s nothing else, eat the free restaurant food provided at the lodging. Because nearby restaurants are usually much closer than the free lodging restaurant. Walking to that hot place every lunch will really wear you out. Eat tasty food as close as possible.When it comes to food, Vietnam really has a lot of delicious things to discover.
(Packing list)
Pack according to the weather. If it''s hot, shoes should definitely be sandals (assuming no mountain plans). Don''t bring books or notebooks since you won''t use them — buy a thin one if needed. Don''t take every medicine your grandmother gives you. You''re stronger than you think. You rarely get sick. You might get something occasionally, but at most you''ll need some headache medicine, and you won''t have to use pain patches unless you''re doing rural volunteer work.
Instead, bring extra towels for that space. You''ll shower every day. And even if it''s volunteer work, bring a few nice clothes. If you only wear shabby clothes because it''s ''volunteering'', you might later find yourself looking at photos from important moments where you look shabby and feel ashamed and regretful. (I did.)
(To prospective participants)
Korean classes are easier than you think. They like it when you create conversations around a topic or teach practical Korean using Korean videos. In particular, they like Running Man, Korean dramas, and K‑POP, so keep that in mind~
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