The 30 days of the gap year I obsessively dug into myself - Haeundae Gap Year Stay, a place full of youth! / Lee Han-gyeol, a gap-year participant |
"I don''t clearly remember how I learned about Korea Gap Year"
I must have discovered Korea Gap Year through an article I found while searching for some word, and out of curiosity I visited the site and looked through it carefully. Among the various programs, the ''Haeundae Gap Year Stay'' particularly caught my eye.
At that time I was planning ''what to do after quitting the second company I had entered with difficulty,'' so if I was going to plan and worry anyway,in a city I loveI thought I''d spend time there. Besides, not just staying in Haeundae for a few days but actually living there even briefly was one of my bucket list items, so I didn''t hesitate to apply for the program and participated for the month of September.
"I promised that when I left I''d sort out my complicated thoughts and come back.
I thought one month would be enough. In a situation where my thoughts weren''t yet properly organized, Irealized I couldn''t do anything, so I needed to sort them out. In fact I could have traveled around Busan, but I didn''t take a proper trip. Not ''couldn''t'' but ''didn''t.'' To be honest, I never once thought I should ''travel'' while participating in this program. I didn''t plan things like hunting for famous restaurants or making travel itineraries — I packed to live for 30 days.
After arriving, unpacking, and hearing the general tasks, I started from the next day. The guesthouse manager and the gappers I spent time with during this gap year stay were younger than me, but the fact that despite their young age they were already willing to work with such an awakened mindset stimulated me a lot.
I thought that age doesn''t matter in life,but sometimes I envied and was even impressed by their youth. I thought I had done many social activities, but in some ways I saw my shortcomings compared to them and learned a lot from them.
"The time I spent worrying about myself was sometimes unbearably painful.
I had worked in advertising and marketing, and since what I want to do in the future is to build my own brand, I decided to quietly endure and learn everything from A to Z by participating in this program. It was a time to experience how much more effort and time it takes than it appears from the outside.
I could learn that if I had my own brand I would have to work many times harder than this, or that I should approach it with such a mindset. I learned that even a trivial thing can move a customer or cause dissatisfaction,by experiencing it firsthand.I began to understand the points advertisers and bosses had been making during company life.
I realized feelings and thoughts you can''t know unless you put yourself in the other person''s shoes. And I spent a lot of time contemplating ''myself,'' but sometimes this time was so painful that my head felt like it would explode, and I didn''t want to think, so I walked around Haeundae near my accommodation a lot.
Walking calmed my mind. Then with a calmer heart I would mull over ''me'' again. Facing ''myself'' is truly painful. As a person I''m not perfect, so there are clearly shortcomings, but I tend to overlook this and package only my good points, hypnotizing myself. Facing myself straight on...to confrontI realized how difficult, distressing, and lonely that is.
"I''m so grateful to the friends who made calm, gentle memories for me."
It was good to gain insights about myself, but looking back now I regret that I didn''t become very close with the younger gappers I worked with. We could have gone out and hung out together, but I was so overwhelmed thinking only of myself that I feel sorry I couldn''t take care of them more as the eldest sister. I remember the few times we did go out together — eating together, driving to Hwangnyeongsan, and hanging out at the unmanned cafe in Gijang. I''m so thankful to those friends who made gentle memories for me; I''m suddenly curious what insights they might have gained.
Busan travel tips I learned during the gap year
1. Haeundae — On Friday, Saturday, and Sunday evenings you can enjoy busking in Haeundae.
2. Good places for walks near Haeundae like Dalmaji-gil, Dongbaek Island, and APEC.
3. The fun of finding vintage items cheaply at the secondhand shops inside Nampo-dong’s Gukje Market!
4. Drive near Songjeong Beach and stroll while enjoying coffee at a roadside cafe.
5. Chatting away while eating sashimi and drinking soju at Gwangalli Waterfront Park.
6. Walk the Igidae–Oryukdo hiking course.
