Did you know that our university's educational ideology, Cheongchul Eoram(청출어람), means a spirit that is achieved by boosting infinite potential as an educator? Last winter, there were people who had done this with a high spirit of challenge and dedication. It's the Jakarta Overseas Education Volunteer Corps of KNUE, and let's find out about the journey together. From preparing for classes to departure, local activities, and returning home, the interviews of the members were summarized.
1. 2022. 10.~11. preparing for classes
In the middle of the semester, the members met from time to time to prepare for local activities. Activities to be prepared are largely divided into two, the first is classes and the second is cultural performances.
In the case of classes, teams were divided into elementary and secondary schools. And they were fully prepared to select topics, write plans, purchase supplies, and repeat demonstrative classes. In the case of cultural performances, the members aimed to introducce Korean culture as well as joy and laughter to children. Because most of the students in Jakarta international school did not spend their childhood in Korea. They practiced Byeoljubujeon(별주부전) and Kongji Patjwijeon(콩쥐팥쥐) on each team.
2. 2022. 12.18 departure
3. 2022.12.20.~12.30 10 nights and 12 days in Jakarta, Indonesia
These are four local activities; classes, cultural performances, special lectures, and tourism.
Class: The members had the opportunity to prepare for classes on their own and perform alone in individually assigned classes. Class topics could stimulate students' mathematical and scientific fields or promote personality development. Like ‘Making infinite cubes with Zion paper’, ‘Sorting solutions using indicators’, ‘Designing my own business card’, ‘Praise shower’. The members also experienced attending others’ classes, simple physical education activities or PBL(problem based learning) class assistants. For example, ‘the Conflict Handling’ class was conducted for 17 children, creating a physical environment in which children could face and talk close to each other, and then share their conflicts and deal with them. After that, by preparing a simple conflict situation play, the children learned about the right attitude when resolving conflicts by thinking from the perspective of others.
Cultural Performance: Elementary team performed ‘Byeoljubujeon’ and secondary team performed ‘Kongji Patjwijeon’. In Byeoljubujeon, they inserted activities in which children sitting in the auditorium came out to the stage to catch a rabbit running away. It made fun by adding modern elements to existing contents, so that students can participate.
Special Lecture: The members were able to explore various career paths of teachers through special lectures by JIKS(Jakarta Indonesia Korean School) principal and grade department head teachers under the theme of 'Educational Form of Korean International School' and 'School Event Planning and Educational Administration.'
Culture tour: The members used the weekend to go sightseeing, and buy delicious fruits. Like the local market, traditional clothes, mosques, and the National Zoo and Safari.
Interview Yoon Sang-hoon, majoring in technical education
Q1. What is the most memorable thing while volunteering overseas?
A1. I remember the mentoring that was conducted by matching local students at Jakarta Korean International School. My mentee was a secondyear middle school girl, who was really pure and so nice that I wanted to say more and more things. Talking to my mentee student, I think I also gained more strength. Also, I can’t forget the bond between the members. We used to go shopping at the department store after school. Then, I remember coming back to the hotel and chatting with the members while sharing the food.
Q2. What do you want to say to KNUE students who are considering volunteering for overseas education?
A2. In a word, I want to say that I recommend it no matter what. You don't have time to hesitate about it!! Please apply!!
We would dream of becoming an overseas volunteer or an exchange student at least once. I think there is no university that has better access to overseas volunteer work than ours. This is because the number of students is small, but there are many volunteer opportunities, so it is relatively easy to be selected. As the grade goes up, there is no headspace so please apply for overseas education service once in the first and second grades. And you can get a chance to get close to people from various departments while staying together during volunteer work. Also, I was able to think vividly about my teaching life in the future through communication with the teacher there, and able to enlarge my experience.
Now, we searched for KNUE for Overseas Education Volunteers in Jakarta. In addition to Jakarta, our university has cooperated with various countries such as Rwanda, the United States, Australia, and Thailand. So if you are interested in these activities, you can get information from the KNUE-Student Support Notice website. Experience overseas education and broaden your knowledge! Why don’t you practice Cheongchul Eoram during this summer vacation?
(This article was written with the report from the Department of Foreign Cooperation of KNUE.)