Continuing my life journey and how I was led, Part 6 deals with our experiences in South Korea. It is another part of an upcoming book or website section entitled Divinely Led.
Part 6: Teaching in Korea
Early Korean Experiences
This section describes our early Korean experiences.
Korea was a totally new experience – having never been to Asia. Culture shock is a recognized phenomenon that happens to foreigners, and we were not exempt, even though we weren’t fully aware of it happening.
Culture shock is a psychological feeling of disorientation, confusion, or anxiety experienced when encountering an unfamiliar cultural environment, way of life, or social setting. It arises when a person’s familiar habits, language, and social norms are suddenly challenged by different foreign or local customs. With time, adjustment, acceptance and adaptation occurs.
Upon arrival at Incheon International Airport on October 18, 2001, we were met by Matt and Joanne, whom we had met at our home in Thornlands and who were instrumental in us being hired. We stopped at a fast-food restaurant for a bite to eat before being driven to Cheonan, about an hour away, where the university was. The school provided accommodation, which for us was a furnished apartment a short walk from work.
Our job for the first few months was the adjacent language academy – Alex would teach the adults early in the morning and late afternoon and I was to teach the children starting when regular school ended, around 5 pm and going to 8 or 9 pm. This was just a short-term situation with the plan to be transferred to the university when the new school year started in March.
Koreans are very hard workers and drive their children hard to study and perform. Academic achievement is extremely important and this constant pressure to study hard and excel has caused mental and emotional problems for many young people. Korean bosses can also be very demanding, as was the case with our bosses at the academy. Luckily, these jobs were only short-term because they would not have been viable for a longer time.
The teaching staff consisted of both English-speaking foreigners and Koreans. After a couple of hours of teaching we would all have a dinner in the staffroom, which we ordered ahead of time from take-away restaurants. Much of Korean food was very spicy, but some “edible” foods could be found, including a few western foods.
Teaching the children was a bit challenging for me and I was glad that it wasn’t for long. Alex enjoyed working with the adults and made some good friends. But the schedule was demanding and annual leave very short, so he too was looking forward to being transferred to the university.
The school took us foreign teachers on occasional trips, which were interesting and educational. The first bus trip that Alex and I went on with the group was to a Buddhist temple. It was quite a large area with autumn trees and quite a few Buddha statues. At that time Korea was 30% Buddhist and 30% Christian so Buddhist statues and Christian churches were easily visible. Buddhism was quite foreign to us (Alex got very interested in it years later), so this contributed to our culture shock.
One thing that we noticed about the Koreans was their generosity. Fruit sellers would always add an extra mandarin or whatever we were buying to what we took home. A part and parcel of each trip was a cone of ice cream after lunch and a tangible gift on leaving the bus. These gifts were not just trinkets but included towels with inscribed lettering and date and a lovely tea set. I don’t remember the other gifts, but there was always kind thought behind them.
Another highlight in the spring of the year was delicious strawberries that we could buy. They came in a sizable Styrofoam box and were quite inexpensive. We enjoyed them while they lasted.
To transfer to the university from the language academy, I needed a different work visa to the one I had and needed to leave the country to get it. So the university arranged and paid for for both of us to go to Guam – a US territory. It was just before the Easter weekend and also coincided with my 50th birthday.
A consulate worker agreed to make a special trip to the office to accommodate us on Good Friday. Having fulfilled the main purpose of our trip, we had a couple of days to explore the island which was an interesting experience. We walked along the beach, bought some local food and chatted to a few of the vendors.
Our flight back was in the wee hours of Sunday morning, and we got back to Cheonan around sunrise – the time when some Christians were observing Easter sunrise services.
Our next Korean chapter lasted about three years working at Korea Nazarene University.
For other information on divine leading, see Spirit Helpers and Guides
Here is a short reflection on being divinely led.