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#Changed to a proactive attitude of 'I'll try anything' #Discovered a new self and broadened my understanding of the world #Experienced life in Busan that exceeded expectations
There were many people around me who could give advice, but I wanted to discover a new version of myself in a new environment and have time to focus solely on myself. So I applied to Korea Gap Year’s ''Gapyear Stay'' program, which I had visited the website for and thought I would join someday.
- Haeundae! Gapyear Stay — the place of youth! / Lee Hyeju, gap-year gapper / 4 weeks of gap year |
Time to focus only on myself
I went through school without major difficulties and received good grades in my major courses, so I hardly thought about anything else. But as I neared graduation from university, I started worrying a lot about my career path. I wondered which of the many things I like would be best to make into my profession, but I couldn''t come to an easy answer.
There were many people around who could give advice, but I wanted to discover a new version of myself in a new environment,I wanted to have time to focus only on myself.So I applied to Korea Gap Year’s ''Gapyear Stay'' program, which I had visited the website for before and thought I would join someday.
Life in Busan was,
Life in Busan exceeded my expectations. Friends came to visit, I spent time with my younger sibling who was traveling alone with a ''Naeilro'' pass, and I wandered around with the guesthouse family... I visited almost all the worthwhile places in Busan — Dongbaek Island, Dalmaji-gil, Haedong Yonggungsa, Seomyeon, Nampo-dong, Gukje Market, Jagalchi Market, Hwangnyeongsan, Igidae, Gwangalli, and more — I was out and about so much that you could say I saw almost everywhere worth going.
My favorite place was Haeundae. Haeundae''s charm was that the beach was only five minutes away so you could see the sea anytime, and Dongbaek Island and Marine City, which have beautiful night views, were nearby. After coming back from outside, at night I could join chimaek (chicken-and-beer) parties or makgeolli parties held for applicants at the guesthouse, so I could talk with different people every day. For someone like me who loves drinks and people, it was something I looked forward to every day. Because of that I suffered the catastrophe of gaining 5 kg...
I wanted to learn more about the world.
While having a gap year in Busan and talking with many people, I made one resolution: to go on the vaguely dreamed ''backpacking trip around Europe within this year.'' Unlike the passive life I had lived until now,it was because I wanted to learn more about myself and the world by directly confronting things and experiencing them..
After returning home, whenever I had free time I went to bookstores and read books about traveling in Europe, and I started telling people around me about my resolution. Now I''m job-hunting to save money for the trip, and I plan to find a job in the apparel field I''ve always been interested in so I can happily save travel funds while doing work I like.
A month isn''t a long time, but it was enough to change my way of thinking.
Before having the gap year I was the kind of person who tried to decide ''what I will do'' first, but that changed to ''I''ll try anything.''
I strongly recommend it to those who want to have a gap year but are hesitating for one reason or another or are only getting vicarious satisfaction from others'' reviews (that was me before joining)! It''s a valuable experience.
