The Ultimate Guide to Boseong, South Korea: Sleep It!

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To read the Ultimate Boseong Guide post about lodging, please click HERE to be redirected!

Thanks, and happy travels!

~Nomadic Madda

The Ultimate Guide to Boseong, South Korea: Find It!

Sorry, we've moved!

No Excuses Just Travel has recently relocated to http://www.noexcusesjusttravel.org.  

To read the Ultimate Boseong Guide post on access and transport, please click HERE to be redirected!

Thanks, and happy travels!

~Nomadic Madda

English Camps in Korea & How To Develop A Successful One

The idea of coursework during summer and winter vacations is quite foreign to most westerners--as is a school year that starts in March!  Unlike the west, schools in Korea begin their school year on or around March 1st.  Students are then in school until the end of July, taking their summer vacation throughout the month of August.  The second semester spans from the end of August until Christmas, and the students have a long winter break for all of January.  Weirdly enough, they come back for the first week of February for graduation, but then go on break again (for Lunar New Year) until the new school year begins in March.

However, students aren't free to relax, go on vacation, or even really get much of a break during these "vacation" periods because they are required to attend "camps".  Camps (and for us native English teachers, English camps, specifically) are additional special courses that students must enroll in during their summer and winter vacation times.

This is similar to how kindergarten started out as completely optional in the USA--wait.  Did you even know kindergarten was optional in the USA?  In fact, even today only 16 states mandate kindergarten enrollment!  Today, kindergarten is seen as such a norm and necessity we don't even question the idea of enrolling our children in it.  Parents don't want their children to be "left behind" their classmates academically and socially upon entering 1st grade, so the idea not enrolling them isn't even given a second thought.

This is essentially the mentality behind Korean summer and winter courses, as well as the hagwon  (학원: Korean private school/academy) obsession pushed upon Korean students today.  Parents, and many times even the students themselves, are so obsessed with getting that extra leg-up against their peers that they're willing to sacrifice nearly any and all free time.  Of course (just like kindergarten enrollment in the States), when everyone does it, it eventually becomes expected.  To not attend winter or summer camp would be seen as quite strange or lazy.

Most native English teachers (NETs) are asked to teach two weeks of camp in the winter, and two in the summer.  Some schools condense it into one, and others have even extended it into three or four.  It all depends on the needs of the school and the teacher's mandated vacation time, which is why teachers at different schools will have different breaks and camp requirements.  As contracted public school teachers in Jeollanamdo, our contracts entitle us to 24 paid vacation days in winter and 8 in summer.   This means that for the long winter break of January and February, any days that are not in my 24 approved days I must be in school as I'm being paid for them.  Most schools will have teachers "desk warm" during that time (no classes to teach, just required to be present in the office), though the school has the right to utilize us for camp classes during those days if they so desire.

Same Town, Same Year...New School!

Wow, long time no blog, hey?

As I'm still sitting here in the tea fields, you can safely assume I've renewed for another year of teaching down here in Boseong, Jeollanamdo.  I had a great year at my elementary schools and high school, and the town of Boseong truly feels like home.  When it came time to renew my contract, there was no doubt I wanted to do a second year!

Sadly, funding was cut for my elementary school at the county level, so I wasn't able to stay there for a second year.  What followed were some rather anxious few months as I waited to hear from my coordinator (and probably drove him crazy) about my new school.  I had initially applied for a switch to an elementary school in Suncheon, but the day before our new placements were officially announced, my old co-teacher from my vocational high school reached out to me.  Her new school, the academy high school in Boseong, had received unexpected funding for a Native English Teacher (NET)!  We had a quick get-together that evening after school and decided to call the main office first thing the next morning to catch them before making the placement announcements.  Somehow, all the pieces fell into place and I was able to stay in Boseong!  As great as Suncheon would have been, staying in a town I knew in my same apartment and working with a co-teacher I know I already get along with fantastically just seemed like the most logical choice.

Now I am happily settled in at my new high school, which is just across the river from my apartment complex.  This school hasn't had a NET since 2010, so both the students and staff were buzzing on the day of my arrival.  Especially the students, who are absolutely adorable and so polite.  Judging from their reactions, you'd think I was Beyonce or Taylor Swift!  The boys battle one another to say hello, and the girls shyly wave and dissolve into a mess of giggled when I say, "Hi!" in return.  I even got a marriage proposal on my second day, but all the girls in the class told him they wouldn't "accept" our relationship as he was unworthy. Poor guy!  They crushed his dreams harder and far more swiftly than even I could!  I'm sure it will all die down by the end of the semester as I go from Dazzling Celebrity Foreigner to Regular English Teacher.

The school itself is beautiful--it looks like something out of a Korean TV drama!  The campus is fairly large, and there are many new buildings.  As an academy high school, there are dorms for students who live in the countryside or whose parents want them to focus more on their studies.  Our classes begin at 8:30AM and while 7th period ends at 4:15PM, the students don't get to go home until 10PM or sometimes even 11PM!  Both lunch and dinner are served on campus, and students spend their evenings in "self-study," which is supervised by teachers.  In fact, many of the teachers who live 30-60min away in Gwangju actually stay in the teacher's dorm building during the week because of their supervision duties.  Both the students and teachers work very hard and incredibly long hours.

Yes, this is actually my school.  Yes, it actually looks like this.  Who said country living wasn't cool?

Teaching in Rural Korea (And Why "One School" Sometimes Means "Three")

Before I left the USA, the one thing I was the most excited about was getting my placement.  I was constantly online searching all over Jeollanamdo (전라남도), trying to see what regions and cities there were, and what life was like there.  When I finally received my packet from Canadian Connections, I had been placed in my second choice: Boseong county (보성군)!

In hindsight, I'm actually very, very glad I ended up here and not Yeosu (여수), which was my first choice on my application.  Yeosu is a beautiful, larger costal town about a 75min drive from me, but nothing quite has the beauty and charm of a rural town in the Korean countryside.  Boseong county has a population of about 63,000, but the town of Boseong itself is only around 9,000-10,000.  It's actually around the same size as my hometown of Cedarburg, Wisconsin.

Swung by the tea fields on a rainy day...You can imagine what it looks like on a sunny one!  Stunning.

In total, those 63,000 people are spread out over 256mi^2, or (663km^2), which means once you leave the towns, it's relatively sparse.  Children have to be bused all over the region to attend school, and as a result, many schools have a very small number of students.  For us teachers, this often means teaching at more than one school.  This both cuts costs for the schools, since they split the cost of an English teacher among themselves, and makes it easier to ensure all students in the region are receiving English education with a native speaker.

Bonding on Your Teacher's Trip, and How Not to Die.

Back in September my co-workers and I had a meeting to discuss our school trip.  There were many ideas on the table, ranging from island hikes to temple visits to traveling to multiple cities, but I didn't know quite what was in store for me until I was picked up on Thursday morning.  Our itinerary, a five page packet, was written entirely in Korean.  I couldn't be bothered to translate it, so I opted to just roll with whatever was thrown my way.

Fellow foreign teachers in Korea, consider this your warming: regardless of their age, all of your Korean co-teachers can out eat, drink, and party you.  The activities are never-ending. They will not stop, and they will not show you any mercy.

Our general route from Boseong to Geumodo...followed by Yeosu, Suncheon Bay, and the Naganeupseong Folk Village.

The morning began innocently enough.  After managing a last-minute washing machine delivery (don't ask), two of my other co-workers and I were picked up bright at early by our school's bus driver, Seokoh-ssi.  His van had two seats in the front and an open back, so my two co-teachers kicked off their shoes and sat on blankets while I was ushered into the front seat.

Start Saving for a Ticket to Visit Korea, Because I'm Not Coming Home.

You guys, I'm so, so sorry, but I absolutely love Korea.

Please remind me of this in 5 months when I'm homesick and lonely, craving Mequon Taco Bell and have gotten sick of rice.

About a month ago, I bought a one-way ticket and hopped on a plane, traveling over 30 hours to get here.  I'd never been to Korea before, I don't speak or read the language, and I knew a grand total of four people in a country of 50 million.

Officially the last photograph of me in the USA.

I haven't had a chance to truly sit down and study the language yet, but I now know a handful of phrases and am able to (slowly) read and write.  In the span of a week my circle of friends and family has expanded to eighteen.  In Korean culture, friends are made by being "introduced" by a mutual friend.  Striking up a casual conversation with a stranger is strange and uncomfortable, but with an introduction, people are quick to be friendly and keep in touch on KakaoTalk*.  For example: my friend from college, CJ, introduced me to his friend D on Sunday.  D brought along another friend, B, who I ended up grabbing lunch and hanging out with on Tuesday when my other friends were busy.