Why South Korea? A question I have been asked many times and one I'm sure I'll be asked again. Not really a complicated story but there were and are several events/reasons that led me to this point...
Firstly, I used to be of those people that never really understood 'travelling' per se. I was young and fresh out of college (18), wondering that quintessential question - what did I want to do with my life? I enjoyed studying Psychology and Sociology at A-Level and I knew I somehow wanted to work with children. Child Psychology was a definite contender but I wondered if I could deal with counselling 'troubled' children day-in day-out for the rest of my life. I decided to take a year out - so I got another job and started volunteering. At work I met this incredible guy called Chester. A fitness instructer with this absolute passion for life. Chester spoke about marrying his girlfriend and travelling the world. It may sound cliche but it would be an understatement to say he was friendly, outgoing and always had time for people. But then Chester developed Testicular cancer and his plans were put on hold. After undergoing the appropriate treatment he started to get his life back on track.
By this point I had decided to study teaching at University. I had done some tutoring during Secondary school and remembered enjoying it. Nevertheless, teaching was initially one of those careers that seemed alien to me - why would I want to be a teacher when I've just spent most of my life in the education system? I think it ended up being a collection of people mentioning I would suit being a teacher (mainly due to my 'bossy' nature) that I realised it somehow made sense to me. The course looked organised and sounded more interesting than many of the other 'Business' degrees.
During my first year at Uni, Chester regressed and quite suddenly passed away. He was just 24 when he died. I remember thinking how unfair for someone like him to be gone and what a shame it was he couldn't realise his dreams. It made me start thinking about what it was I would regret not doing if my time was limited. During the summer I luckily landed a job teaching English at a language school and, despite being thrown into the deep end, had the most incredible time (and subsequently returned for the following 2 summers!). I also took an extended trip to Malaysia and Singapore and loved experiencing the different cultures and food! Singapore, in particular, struck me as a place I called see myself actually living in. Despite being small, it was beautiful, the food was delicious and varied and the weather was glorious all year round. It made me realise I wanted to travel more, but in a meaningful way. Travelling + Teaching = the perfect solution!
So, again, why South Korea? Ok, originally I intended to go to China as I wanted to explore my roots yet the prospects did not seem as promising. I'd watched a few Korean dramas (dubbed) by this point and had taken an interest in the culture, including the food! Then I heard stories from friends who had taught there and started to research the opportunities and came across EPIK (English Program in Korea) and it all seemed too good to be true....
But here we are - it miraculously came together and all the hard work and tears paid off! So far it's been a blast - I feel like I've adjusted quite well. Prior to coming here I spent 10 weeks volunteering in Ghana. We constructed a school and taught at the local schools. Living in a 'developing' country made me appreciate how priviledge I was. Therefore, whilst the culture is of course different in South Korea (dynamic has been used to describe it many a times), it is not so different that you cannot find your 'home comforts'. The food is healthy, delicious and most importantly, cheap and the country beautiful and reaped in history. What more do you want!?
