Tuesday I found out that I am going to spend the next year of my life in Gumi, Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea. Gumi is a suburban town of about 300,000 people and is known as Korea's industrial center, the home of both Samsung and LG. Happily for me, Gumi is only a 30 minute bus ride from Daegu (the 4th largest city in Korea) where one of my friends, Sophia, was placed.
Being in Gumi means I have all the community of a smaller town, but with all the opportunity of a large city. One of my main requests for placement was the ability to travel and Gumi is connected to all the rest of Korea through the rail and express bus system. I can be in Seoul in 3 hours and Gwangju in 3 and a half. I was excited to find out Gumi is also the home of Samsungwon orphanage, birthplace of Kkoom, a nonprofit dedicated to improving the lives of Korean orphans through outreach and education. I want to use this opportunity to bring service into my life in Korea in a big way.
In Gumi I'm going to teach at a public, co-ed middle school of about 700 students. Until I am actually at the school I won't know more about the actual number of students I'm teaching or my teaching schedule. However, I'm already envisioning the many art projects and activities I want to work into my lessons. I also won't know whether I'm teaching from a textbook and what my homestay family is like until I actually arrive in Gumi.
In my year I hope to develop my independence through writing and traveling. I hope to develop my humility, my generosity, my perseverance through working with my students and volunteering. But I also hope to be watchful for the unexpected moments and events which can be more transformational than anything I myself could plan. So I am excited to discover what Gumi has in store for me.
As I write this I am, of course, sitting in a cafe eating a delicious 컵빙수 (batbingsu in a cup). This one is ice, rice cake (yum!), red beans, pinneaple, peach, and condensed milk — delicious. We just got our stipend for the next week so I can afford to escape Jungwon again. Not that the building is so horrible, but with 4 hours of Korean class each morning and lesson planning to look forward to all afternoon a change of scenery is not just welcome, but necessary. I've tried a couple of the cafes in Goesan now and I admire this one for its large windows and acoustic 90s music.
Today I have a special mission. Besides catching up on my blogging I need to memorize a speech for Korean class. This speech is 20% of our grade based on fluency and intonation. I've been doing pretty well with accuracy, but speaking on the spot is not my strong suit. Just glad this is memorization and not improvisation. Wish me luck!
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