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#Emotional release, regained my former self #Improved self-awareness and expressive ability #Feeling rejuvenated and brighter again
Meeting people who thought similarly to me and even having a short conversation with them was encouraging. I also enjoyed hearing other people''s stories and observing how the locals lived. I felt and learned a lot from seeing differences in culture, ways of living, appearances, and many other things.
-1:1 Consulting to Find My Dream |
Q.Hello! Please introduce yourself.
I''m not doing anything at the moment, but I''m someone who is trying to start something new.
I worked for about two years.I worked at one company for about a year and a half, left under unfavorable circumstances, and then did part-time work for about nine months.
I majored in digital content at university. I learned a variety of fields, from website development to design and video production. The work I did wasn''t exactly in my major, but it was related. Since the company produced educational content, I created materials to educate young children and reworked developed stories.
Q.How did you get started with the work?
I knew someone who offered me an assistant instructor role helping teach video editing to people with hearing impairments. Through that work, I assisted with character production for the educational content company that person ran. Through those activities I naturally came into contact with cultural and artistic activities, and I was attracted to the idea that children could be educated and helped through play and culture rather than rote instruction, so after graduation I started working at that person''s company.
Q.Why did you quit your job?
The work The job itself was new and good. But midway, the company changed its nature to a social enterpriseand income disappeared.I went eight months without receiving a salary.I struggled and endured in my own way, but relationships gradually deteriorated and I eventually left. After I left, I started working part-time doing telephone counseling.
Q.How did you find out about Korea Gap Year?
By chance I saw on Naver''s main page ''"Seven Times for People in Their Twenties"'' I read the article. Around me, I was the only person saying they were going on a trip, but seeing someone doing what I wanted to do encouraged me. So I became curious about the gap year and visited the website.
Q.Did you quit your job to take a gap year?
At first, I planned to prepare for a social welfare certification as soon as I quit my job. The work of helping children through cultural and artistic activities, which I became interested in while working, basically required a social welfare certificate. So I started a part-time job to study and work at the same time, butI got buried in work and ended up only working..
I tried to quit the part-time job, butI didn''t have the courage.. Because I was hurt at my first job — where I worked with someone I trusted — I quit the part-time job and was uncertain about what to choose nextconfidenceI needed it.In the meantime, I gained strength from reading the post.
Q.However, not the volunteer or travel programs of Korea Gap Year,1:1 consultingyou participated in, right? Was there a particular reason?
At first, when I looked at the Korea Gap Year website I wanted to travel, so I looked at many overseas programs. I looked at everything from internships to volunteering and overseas trips.I wanted to do them all, but among them,what do I really need?I became worried about that. While thinking about it, I came across the consulting and applied with the mindset of ''at least this.''
Q.What were you most concerned about when you received the consulting?
Because I didn''t know anything, I hoped someone would help set my path. I also wanted to hear stories from someone who had actually been on the trip.
And it was hard to pick the hardest thing because at that time,everything was difficult.Working was hard and everything was just hard. I worked to earn money like others and met people in my free time, but I felt like none of that meant anything. Actually, I used to be the type who did well when I tried something, but after leaving the workplace on bad terms I wondered if I could do anything well, and I lost confidence in relationships too.
Q.Were you able to get help for those difficulties and worries through the consulting?
At first I thought it would be like the career counseling you get in high school—finding my tendencies and advising me.
But it wasn''t. They asked what kind of work I had done and why I quit, and at the time it was too painful to talk about the work. So I cried a lot. Then,the emotions I had been suppressing were released.As the counseling proceeded, I was able to recognize myself again. I had been pretending not to notice my struggles and rejecting them, but by talking and properly acknowledging my emotions I was able to reorganize my thoughts, and that led me to make plans to travel.
Q.It wasn''t a simple trip, and during the consulting,a missionyou received a mission and went, right? What was the mission and why did you receive it?
The mission was to take photos with 100 people I met at the travel destination.Yes.The reason is that I...expressionI didn''t express it very much (laughs).
When I first received the mission, back then...I had lived in Australia for a year on a working holiday, so I thought I could easily take photos of a hundred people.
Q.How did you prepare for your departure?
I didn''t really prepare much. I only decided to go to Turkey. I planned the rest of the route after arriving in Turkey: Austria - Prague - Paris - Lisbon - Barcelona - Venice - Rome - Sri Lanka - Thailand. I traveled over three months.
Q.Since you had working-holiday experience, weren''t you afraid or worried?
When I went to Australia, I wasn''t afraid because I didn''t know anything, but for this trip I was very scared starting two weeks before departure.I was very scared starting two weeks before.I kept regretting it a lot, thinking, ''Should I have told people I''m going for one month instead of three?''
I don''t know why it scared me so much at the time, but my biggest worry was getting into an accident abroad. Still, since I''d already told everyone, I couldn''t not go, and I honestly went to the airport crying. When I arrived in Turkey, I did fine after that (laughs).For accommodation, I booked the next place as needed and moved, or since it was the low season I found places by walking around and checking in person.
Q.I''m curious how you felt when you first arrived in Turkey with the mission of ''taking photos with 100 people.''
At first, I was really just scared.Of all things, I carelessly watched a movie on the plane and it was about someone being kidnapped at their travel destination (laughs). Also...I always kept a diary while traveling, and if you look at what I wrote on the first day...''I''m scared. I feel like I''m going for no reason.''It was nothing but that.
Q.What caused that fear to change?
I arrived at my accommodation in Turkey at dawn. The next day, while wondering where to go in Istanbul, a Korean woman at the hostel approached me and said, ''If it''s your first time here, do you want to go somewhere together?'' I went out with her, and while sightseeing I naturally began to feel better.
Q.Were there any difficulties when carrying out the mission?
The mission was harder than I expected. It wasn''t easy to approach people, so I really waited quite a while before starting.
First missionI did that when I''d been in Istanbul for about six days. Even though I had been there six days, I felt I should take at least one (photo), and someone first asked me to take a family photo, so I took it for them and asked them to take one with me too.the first photoSo I ended up taking it.After that I developed my own know‑how. When I asked men or couples, they didn’t refuse and happily joined in.
Q.What was the most difficult thing during your trip?
When I arrived at the next destination without having booked accommodation.You have to walk around for hours and work hard to find a guesthouse. While doing that I realized I had too many excuses back in Korea. I used to give up things like, ''I''ll get up early on Saturday to see an exhibition,'' ''I should read a book,'' ''I want to paint as a hobby,'' and so on, all because I said I didn''t have time.On the trip you have to keep trying until it works — there’s nothing that can’t be done.It was hard, but at the same time I gained a lot of courage.
Q.What did you like the most?
Meeting people who thought similarly to me and even briefly talking with them gave me strength. Also,I enjoyed listening to other people’s stories and seeing how the locals lived. The culture is different, the ways of living are different, people look different,and many other things— I felt and learned a lot by seeing them.
For example, in Spain people are very lively, so it was fascinating to see how happily they worked from wherever they were. One day I was walking and people had gathered to enjoy a silent disco (a party where participants wear wireless headphones rather than playing music loudly through speakers). It was funny to see kids and adults alike absorbed in their own music, but at the same timeI liked that they could freely express what they wanted to express.It was nice to see.
Q.Did you feel yourself changing during the trip?
I said I’m not good at expressing myself. One related thing was that when a stranger asked me for something I often couldn’t refuse because I felt I had to be considerate. I went on the trip thinking I shouldn’t do that. But people don’t change easily, right?
Two days after arriving in Turkey, I happened to meet some Koreans and we had a meal; since we were at the same accommodation we had another drink. I wanted to sleep, but I couldn’t leave that gathering. It wasn’t easy for me.So in the end I couldn’t get up (leave).(laughs). There was a friend my age there who said to me, ''Travel isn’t social life, so you don’t have to force yourself to do things you don’t want to do.'' Hearing that made me upset with myself but also helped me reset my mind. After that, when I was with fellow travelers I met naturally,I expressed my own intentions..Little by little..
Q. What changes did you notice when you compare before and after taking a gap year?
Before,my self-awarenesswas very lacking. And going on trips and wanting to work in design were things I had wanted to do for a long time, but I kept hesitating.
Theseworrieswere too big for me, and it was hard to get help elsewhere. Looking back, I think I wanted to hear from someone who had real experience, and in that senseconsulting and the trip were very helpful.
Now,my old selfI think I''ve found it again. Before going on the trip, when I was struggling because of my job, people often asked ''What''s wrong today?'' Before I started working, people used to say ''Is something good happening today?'' I''ve found that version of myself again.
Q.What are your plans for the future?
I''ll turn it into a portfolio. And I want to work in a design-related job. After that, I want to keep up my hobbies consistently. I kept drawing while traveling, and I want to find a style of drawing that''s uniquely mine.
Q.Do you now feel confident in your job search?
It''s not that I lack confidence like before, and I don''t have major fears. It''s just the worry of ''I''m good at this, but what if they don''t hire me?'' (laughs) The kinds of fears that used to bother me are gone now.
Q. What does a gap year mean to you?
A time to feel young again.
As you get older, your thinking gets older too. In the past I never imagined I would be like this.
Through the gap year, I think I was able to find my former bright, lively, and healthy self again.
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