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Gangwon
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My Second Orientation
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By Jacob Spangler / Gangwon-do Hwacheon District Coordinator
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One of the duties of a Gangwon EPIK coordinator is to organize and facilitate an orientation for the newly hired teachers, which happened to be my first official duty in my new role as the coordinator of Hwacheon County. Like all native English teachers, I too attended an orientation upon arriving in Korea, one year ago. What a great experience I had attending a second orientation , only this time as an instructor with plenty of experience-based knowledge to share with our new arrivals.
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This summer¡¯s orientation, the second of a biannual event, was at Freya Condos in Yang Yang, from August 22 through 26. For five days and four nights, EPIK teachers and TaLK scholars came together for compulsory training. The event included lectures and gave teachers the opportunity to work with the supervisory staff of the Gangwon Provincial Office of Education, veteran instructors from across Gangwon-do, and other newly appointed native English teachers.
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The training ranged from such topics as team teaching to overcoming culture shock, all of which followed a general introduction to Gangwon-do EPIK led by Head Coordinator, Francesca Kim. She talked about the mission of the Gangwon EPIK program, the goals of the Korean educational establishment, and the broad expectations that are placed upon all native English teachers.
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The orientation was not all business; it also included many cultural events. One such event was the tour of Mount Seorak Biseondae, which is the tallest peak in mainland South Korea. The teachers were able to hike Mount Seorak and enjoy Korea¡¯s vast natural beauty, complimented by a large bronze statue of Buddha that greeted all the patrons of the surrounding park. After visiting Mount Seorak, the teachers were shuttled to the Gangwon International Language Institute (GILI) to enjoy a guided tour of the facility and to learn about its existing educational program for Korean students. After a busy and eventful day, everyone was given the opportunity to unwind and meditate at Naksansa. Kansans is a renowned Buddhist temple with a spectacular view of the Sea of Japan.
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Before the end of a successful orientation, teachers were awarded with a social event that included an outside buffet and karoke contest hosted by Joe Gomba, coordinator for Cheorwon County. But the music didn¡¯t stop there. The following day, teachers enjoyed a colorful performance of traditional Korean singing and dancing.
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Senior Supervisor Choi Sueng Myeong ended the orientation with some words of encouragement and helpful advice for our newly appointed teachers. Afterwards, each teacher was presented with a letter of appointment and met with their new co-teachers who had arrived from all across Gangwon-do.
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In fulfilling my first duty as an EPIK coordinator, I was honored to work with such a competent and hard-working head coordinator, a collection of unique district coordinators, and a highly motivated class of freshmen native English teachers. The success of our 2009 Summer EPIK and TaLK Orientation leaves me looking forward to the opportunity to help at our next and future orientations.
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Cultural Experience: Trip to Jeju Island
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By Peter Devine / Gangwon-do Donghae District Coordinator
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The fortunate members of the Donghae EPIK team were generously given a trip to Jeju-Do for a cultural experience. We certainly enjoyed the cultural aspects of the trip but we also enjoyed spending time with our fellow teachers. The trip took place from Tuesday November 17th to Thursday the 19th, with our bus leaving bright and early at 7:00am on Tuesday. We arrived in the mid afternoon with hopes of warmer weather than Donghae, but to no avail. With a quick stop by the seaside to see a spectacular rock formation, we were then off to a place that left us all a bit awestruck; Love Land. Love Land is a museum of sex education and a beautifully well manicured sculpture garden. These sculptures however did not leave much to our imaginations. Needless to say there were a lot of shocked faces, smiles, and laughs. Later that evening several people enjoyed a delicious Indian meal while others dined at one of Jeju-Do¡¯s black pig restaurants and drank HallaSan Soju. The following day we saw some amazing butterflies, a beautiful waterfall, and many of us got lost in a mirror maze. We also saw a horse show that was a reenactment of a battle involving Genghis Khan. In the afternoon we headed to a temple, a member of our team had this to say, ¡°I¡¯ve seen a lot of temples but that was the most stunning.¡± The following day was the highlight for many. We had a nice casual walk through an evergreen forest and then it was off to ride horses! Riding horses was the favorite of many. ¡°The horses were terrifyingly wonderful,¡± one teacher said. After three long but fun, educational, and amazing days, we were all happy to arrive back home safely in Donghae. We would all like to thank EPIK and the Donghae Board of Education for giving us this unique opportunity.
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