90 days in South Korea
Words could not describe how awesome Summer 2011 had been! In fact it may be the one of the most memorable trip in my life! The journey could not be much more wonderful without the starting point of
Global Collaborative Summer Program 2011 in Kyung Hee University, Seoul Campus.
The GCSP 2011 in July has exposed us to a real globalized world. As the prominent lecturer Sir Paul Kennedy from the course Today and Tomorrow : The Big Transnational Trends Affecting Global Society in 21st Century noted : Now that we start learning to be global citizen, we learn to think outside of the box, to be more open-minded to any challenges ahead. And this is the truly globalized GCSP, where students from different background and culture learnt in the same classroom, and be lead to the right path in real life. We studied about the world trend, and applied it in the group assessments. That is where we learnt to know, to respect each other, and hence learn to live in harmony, not only in the classroom, but beyond it, in the world. This is the essence of education, and I strongly believe that GCSP has successfully nourished us with it.
Thanks to the knowledge and opportunity capitalized from GCSP, the internship in Korea Corporate Social Responsibility Centre has exposed me into Korean working culture – diligence and efficiency. Deeply indebted to the Business Networking International (BNI) Malaysia, I was linked to BNI Korea, thus the golden chance to meet charismatic Korean businessperson from different industries: eye specialist, coffin seller, and even military tank seller who deal with Central Intelligence Agency (etc)! Not forgetting the awesome August with exciting outdoor activities of Bungy Jump in Inje (a lifetime must-do thing!),
water rafting during heavy rain (definitely challenging!), and watching baseball game in Jamsil Baseball Stadium (Cheering for Doosan Bears in Korean language)!
When you think you have known South Korea well through the dynamic Seoul, it‟s just one side of this versatile country! In September I had backpacking trip together with the best travel mate ever, a French Korean called Paul from north to south, from city to countryside. It‟s definitely wonderful to travel with the sociable and well-experienced backpacker! Because of him, we watched Daegu IAAF World Championship 2011 for free! We watched how Usain Bolt, the world‟s fastest man sprinted, we were inspired by the perseverance of the disabled athlete in the wheelchair race, and the success from everyone‟s effort and teamwork. We went to Gulgolsa Temple in Gyeongju, also the World Sunmudo Centre to experience temple stay and Sunmudo, the Korean Zen martial arts.
Woke up at 4am, we attended morning chanting service, sitting and walking meditation, 108 4 bows and Sunmudo training. Trust me, it is a great wake-up call for us to stretch our body and mind besides doing exercise more regularly! Despite the muscle aches, it is definitely an enriching experience!
After moving around the cities: Jinju, Ulsan, Masan, we “camped” in the birds habitat reserve called Junam Wetlands Park, Changwon. Thanks to the Paul, we were hosted in a remote village in Hapcheon. It is definitely an interesting experience with no hot water and flushing toilet bowl in most of the houses (where the faeces and urine should be covered by the soil). We ate home-grown organic vegetables and fruits freshly plucked from their farm everyday (hence the best peppermint tea and corn ever!!). We fished, plucked chestnuts from the trees, cycled in the paddy fields, polished nails with flower petals and leaves. We
used Ondol , heating the room by the wood that we cut, played and dined with the talented, fun, and generous residents. Also, we enjoyed the picturesque sceneries around the village : Greenish paddy field and mountains during the daytime, breathtaking sunset view in the evening and fireflies at night. Thereafter from the mountain to the island, we went to Bijindo. We nearly failed to go back to the mainland Tongyeong if it was not the fisherman boat due to the strong typhoon! Not forget to mention, we watched the starriest ever sky (numerous stars!!) in Hadong Agyang-myeon, the 5th slow city in Korea with beautiful green
tea fields!
90 days seemed to be so short yet intensively fantastic! Jubilant July for summer program, awesome August for networking and outdoor activities, also splendid September for the backpacking trip! Thank you very much Kyung Hee University, HELP University College especially Ms. Dorothy Chen for the offer of GCSP, and hence the extension of stay for all the subsequent invaluable experiences! After-all the life path is determined by how you utilize and leverage on every single chance. So what are you waiting for? Be ready, get set, and go! For GCSP, and the underlying golden opportunities!
