52nd GapperYeom Bo-yeol

Gap year period: August 2014 ~ March 2015 (8 months)

World trip to 60 cities in 22 countries

Currently, South Korea,

Each year 60,000 middle and high school students drop out of school, 346,000 people in their 20s are idle because they have no dreams, and the job turnover rate within one year of employment has reached the 40% range,75% of university students are dissatisfied with college life, and more than 80% of office workers report not feeling happy.Many people tell them to 'dream', but there are no practical methods or support to solve this problem,we aim to introduce the 'gap year' to South Korea.

'Gap year' (Gapyear)It is a time to either combine or temporarily pause study and work and engage in various activities such as volunteering, travel, internships, education, and entrepreneurship,to set the direction for the future; this is a culture encouraged in the U.S., Europe, Japan, and elsewhere.

*Visit the Gap Year homepage to explore a variety of experiences!

# Even If You Have Nothing, If You Have Youth You're Not a Beggar — The Start of the Youth-Beggar

After graduating from university, I suddenly realized I was 27. It was very different from the 27 I had imagined in my twenties. I hadn't achieved or built anything. So after thinking it over, I considered a working holiday for the money and to learn English.Our family motto is 'Your life is your life, my life is my life.' I felt I should tell my mother, so I said I was thinking about going on a working holiday, and she suggested that rather than a working holiday, why not travel around the world and come back.

I had thought I'd perfect myself as a person by thirty and then become an actor, so a thirty-year-old who had traveled the world seemed cooler than one who had done a working holiday. And because I was doing theater, I had lived like a beggar for a long time. One day, surviving a month on a tray of eggs, I felt pitiful but not unhappy. The phrase that came to mind then was 'youth-beggar.' I thought, 'Even if you have nothing, if you have youth you're not a beggar.' Maybe that's why I could leave without much hesitation.

# Preparing for a Round-the-World Trip: Raising Funds

1I started living on my own when I was six. At twenty I moved to Seoul and lived in a goshiwon that cost about 200,000 won a month. I lived there for about three months while preparing for theater and film school entrance exams and doing modeling work. I didn't realize how hard goshiwon life would be — I became depressed, lonely, and lethargic. So I decided I couldn't keep living like that and asked a friend who lived at a nearby goshiwon to move in together. The two of us pooled our deposits and rented a semi-basement room with a 2,000,000 won deposit and a 430,000 won monthly rent.After that, I always lived with between two and ten people, and over seven years I shared close quarters with more than 40 people.

Then at 23 I went to the military. I received a grade 4 physical rating due to a minor disability. But I didn't think I could support myself if assigned to public service work. The pay for public service wouldn't even cover rent, and as someone in that position I wouldn't be able to earn a living. So I researched industrial service assignments, prepared for six months, and secured a position in an industrial service.

After being discharged, while attending university I formed a theater club with a junior in a similar situation, and we got an empty classroom. We took an abandoned mattress into that classroom and ate and slept there for a semester. The money I had saved that way was about 10,000,000 won.But 10,000,000 won seemed a bit short for traveling the world.I thought, 'If I'm leaving to travel the world, I won't need a home in Korea, right?' So I withdrew the deposit from the place I was living.

# "Mom, I'm so tired. Am I doing this right?"

I had never dreamed of traveling or actually taken a trip, so I knew nothing about the act of travel. I didn't know what to do when I went, what I should feel, what to bring, or what to leave behind. So I worried about the unknowns—successes and failures of traveling the world and the pain I might feel there. Without knowledge and information, you can't prevent or respond to the risks that may come. But I...In fact, I'm not the kind of person who worries or fears things before they happen; I just thought, 'Let's leave and see.'

Maybe because I left without much worry, the first one to two months after starting the trip were extremely hard and I went through a lot of wandering.What am I doing here? Why am I doing this? While spending amounts of money I had never spent in Korea, what am I getting out of this? Am I going in the right direction and doing the right thing? I had so many worries like that.

When I lost my wallet, my scooter broke down, and I spent a time wandering in LA, I called my mother. I asked why she suggested a world trip to me, whether she wanted me to travel alone through such hardship, and whether I was doing the right thing.She said she wanted me to have those kinds of worries. There will be so many times in life when I have to make decisions about such concerns, so she hoped I would practice worrying and deciding through traveling.

I cried a lot then. NowI was being driven by my desire to immediately gain, learn, feel, and realize something. My mother who suggested the world trip to me, the love that waited for me in Korea, and other people weren't chasing me, but I was chasing myself. After that, I think I began to learn about traveling little by little with a peaceful heart. In that way I slowly faced myself and overcame the fears, anxieties, and worries within me.

# Endless Wandering, Failures, and the Happiness Found Among People

I traveled roughly 4,000 miles around the western United States by scooter, then continued east and returned to Korea via Central America, South America, Europe, North Africa, Turkey, and India. Over eight months I visited 22 countries and 60 cities.At first, because it was a world trip I wanted to look cool. I wanted to do something others hadn't done—something uncommon and not easy. So I chose to tour the U.S. by scooter. Even though some people had toured Europe and Asia by scooter, no one had traveled the American continent that way. While traveling the West I gave up halfway; fear overwhelmed the difficulty.

In truth, whatever the reason, it was giving up and a failure. That failure made me resolve not to give up.Failure isn't anything else; the moment you give up on yourself, that is failure. If you haven't given up, failure is just a fall and not the end. You can get up again and keep running. Only those who endure to the end can see that end.Whether or not what I wanted awaited at the end doesn't really matter. Just having not given up and making it to the end is satisfying. If what I wanted is there, it's not something to take for granted but something to be grateful for!

From South America I went to Europe. Because my loved one was coming to Europe, I went to meet them. In Europe I traveled for them, focusing on what they wanted to see, hear, and keep. I had never traveled before, nor had I ever traveled with my loved one. That our first trip together was to Europe felt so dramatic and romantic. After that happy month and a half ended, my loved one returned to Korea from Prague, Czech Republic. Afterward I had many thoughts. At the time there were so many reasons we had to part, but now I can hardly think of any reasons why we shouldn't have. In any case, we parted in Budapest, Hungary. Thanks to that person, my solo trip hadn't felt lonely. But when they left and I was alone, an unimaginable loneliness came over me.

I wandered again through Hungary, Greece, and Egypt. Then I met people in Dahab, Egypt.There I learned how to travel with others instead of alone. I went to Dahab for healing and truly came back healed. I dove into the deep, dark Blue Hole and consoled myself there. I still can't forget the feeling of that deep abyss embracing me.Although it is an area where IS had a presence and is officially off-limits to tourists, in reality Dahab itself was more peaceful than any other place in Egypt.

After that I went to Turkey and met a close junior. They said they wanted to travel after graduation, so I invited them to come to Turkey and travel together. Their reason for traveling was people—they travel to meet people. Until then I had traveled alone and believed solo travel was the only true travel. But in Dahab I felt the happiness of being with others, and curious about my junior's way of traveling, I traveled to meet people. In Turkey I met many people and was happy. This is why, after returning to Korea, I organize and go on many trips with others. Passing through Turkey and finally India, I finished my world trip and returned to Korea—this was the end of my gap year.

# Machu Picchu, Peru: The Worst and Best Memories at the Same Time

I walked all the way to Machu Picchu. It was one of the three reasons I wanted to come to South America, so I wanted to visit it in a special way. At first I wanted to do the Inca Trail, but I hesitated at the high price and was shaken when I learned there were so many bookings that I would have to wait another week. Around that time a very skinny Korean man arrived at the hostel. He said he was going to walk to Machu Picchu over four nights and five days via a mountain called Salkantay. I decided to join him right away.

On the first day of the trek I felt something was wrong. Cusco, Peru is already at 3,399 meters above sea level, but Salkantay is a high mountain at 6,271 meters. As it turned out, the man I met was a mountaineer who had conquered Everest. The hike was an extremely difficult course, as if to mock me for setting off wearing only a windbreaker and Nike sneakers. The air was thin at high altitude, rain soaked me and my body temperature fell, a strap on my bag snapped after only an hour of climbing so I dragged it, and after eight hours of hiking I collapsed at base camp as if fainting. That night the guide looked at my condition and said I couldn't reach the summit like that and should give up and ride a horse up. I was so exhausted that I agreed. Even when I went to sleep, the lack of oxygen made me wake up and fall asleep repeatedly through the night until morning.

I sat on the hill like my soul had left my body when the guide told me to get on a horse. I asked the older man if anyone had died from altitude sickness; he said no. I asked the guide how many people had given up like me; he said six, including me.At that moment I suddenly remembered my failed scooter trip around the U.S. If I gave up this time too, I thought I would be very disappointed in myself. That earlier giving up had weighed on my mind and hurt me throughout the trip. Although people were quitting because of their condition and altitude sickness, I didn't want to be one of those six.

于是我告诉向导，我不骑马了。我徒步走了四晚五天，终于抵达马丘比丘。我们登上马丘比丘的那天下着大雨，眼前一片白茫茫。那并不是我梦中的马丘比丘。不过，这也没关系，因为我没有放弃。我徒步来到这里，抵达了自己一直想去的地方，所以心满意足。后来，上午十点左右，仿佛施了魔法一般，云雾被吸到了天空中。雨停了，云散了，我梦中的马丘比丘终于出现在眼前。

我想我从来没有像那样哭过。当时我不明白那些眼泪意味着什么——不知道那是喜悦还是幸福的泪水。现在我明白了：那是如释重负的泪水，是感恩的泪水。我觉得自己很幸运，生命竟能如此闪耀……前往马丘比丘的四晚五天，是最艰难的旅程；而望见马丘比丘的那一刻，则是最幸福的时刻。

# 间隔年之后：我收获了一颗更坚韧、能多承受一些的心

如果比较间隔年前后的我，……我觉得，间隔年让我离自己更近了一点。我比以前更了解自己是谁、喜欢什么、想要什么。随着我一点一点地认识自己，我也收获了自信。与其拿未知的牌下注，不如用自己熟悉的牌下注，这样胜算更大，也能让自己更加大胆。我至少已经对自己手里有什么牌有了一些了解。不过，我仍然会动摇、徘徊、挣扎。但我觉得，自己正在努力培养一颗更沉稳、能够多坚持一会儿的心。

因此，结束间隔年后，我一直在尝试做各种事情。过去我只梦想着成为演员，环游世界拓宽了我的视野，也让我有了更多想做的事。我以自己的名义和许多人一起旅行、写书、举办摄影展、开展旅行讲座；还通过一个名为“Ploproject”的项目，给别人送花，传递情感与灵感。我做兼职赚钱；为了追寻最初的演员梦，也会拍摄广告、电影和电视剧……我无法用单一的职业来描述自己现在做的事，但我的终极目标是体验和了解更多这个世界，成为一名能让人哭、也能让人笑的演员。

# 给即将开启间隔年的你：不要接受别人设定的界限——真正去挑战自己的极限！

试着去体验自己的极限吧。这真的没有你想的那么容易。我说的是你自己的极限，而不是别人设定的界限。为此，你必须不断迎接挑战，不能轻易放弃。在众多挑战中，自然会有一些最终不得不放弃的事。在走到那一步之前，你也会有成千上万次犹豫。如果你是在经历这一切之后才决定放弃，这段过程也能成为肥沃的土壤——你会获得放手的勇气，以及不轻言放弃的毅力。

慢慢来，去试探自己的极限。你会惊讶地发现，自己能做到的事情有很多。不挑战自己，就无法衡量自己的极限；放弃了，就看不到终点。只有坚持到底的人才能看见终点。挑战自己的极限，不放弃，并坚持到底——我想，没有什么比这更伟大、更了不起了。通过旅行，在无数的环境和处境中看见真实的自己。我希望你也能拥有这样的时光。

我总是对那些正在苦苦挣扎的人说：“不会摇摆的指南针，无法指向正确的方向。”有一天，我被竹林里摇曳的竹子所映出的景色和发出的声响深深吸引，久久地站在那里。那时我想：如果那些摇曳的事物如此美丽，那么正在摇摆的我们一定也很美。青春本就是摇摆不定的，所以才美丽。

所以，希望你不要因为挣扎、忧虑或徘徊而失去自信。动摇意味着你正走在正确的方向上。反过来说，如果你毫不动摇，只凭固执和执拗一路前行，反而更有可能走错方向。你应该时常质疑自己、审视自己，从中有所发现。问问自己，正在走的路是否正确，是否真的是自己想走的路。它不必是一条捷径，也不必是很多人走过的路。有时，走错路后遇见的美景，反而更加珍贵，也会深深地留在记忆里。希望你会摇摆，却不失去自信；不放弃，继续朝正确的方向前进，最终抵达终点。

最后，希望你不要责怪自己的环境。最近出现了“金汤匙”和“泥汤匙”这样的说法，用来形容家庭背景，我觉得这非常令人难过。看到养育我们的爱竟然要用经济条件来评判，我心里很不是滋味。我们长大成人，靠的难道不是父母的心意，而不是钱吗？那么，衡量的标准不也应该是心意，而不是金钱吗？我想，这种想法源于对环境的责怪。我之所以尝试独自旅行，其中一个原因就是想感受完全由自己承担责任，而不去责怪环境。

不要责怪别人，而要独自承担自己所做决定的全部责任。旅行能让这一切成为可能。在陌生的环境中，有许多事情需要你做决定，而选择之后，责任也会立刻随之而来。通过这些经历，我想自己学会了责怪自己，而不是责怪环境。如果当时再谨慎一点，如果再多做一些调查，如果能早一点起床，如果能早一点抵达，等等——你会在责怪各种情况和自己、而不是责怪别人的过程中了解自己。你会发现，自己比想象中更笨拙、更自满，也更懒惰。就这样，你似乎也在逐渐成长。

希望我们想一想，自己是怎样的孩子，又是怎样的容器。在责怪养育我们的那把“汤匙”之前，何不先看看那个将要盛放这把汤匙的容器呢？

《100人的间隔年》简介

《100人的间隔年》讲述的并不是电视或书本中的导师。这是一些比我多一点勇气、比我早一点行动的人们的故事。我们希望，100位曾有相似处境、怀有相似烦恼的人们的故事，能在你面临人生重要抉择时，为你提供一点帮助。

我们随时欢迎你推荐或投稿，参与“100人的间隔年”。

欢迎留言或发送消息，也可以给我们的营销经理崔多英发邮件（choi@koreagapyear.com）！