Calum Wilson

Have you heard of Yeongdong? I hadn’t either. So upon finding out I was placed there, a small town in the Chungbuk province, I was met with an onslaught of nerves and doubt. My imagination ran into a wild panic at the thought of living in rural Korea with my non-existent Korean. It was a far cry from the city life I had first envisioned for myself here. I internally rationalised that this would provide a great motivator to improve my language skills.

My fears weren’t quelled for long, however, as I was then told that I would be teaching at five different schools. Along with my lack of Korean, I also had no formal teaching experience.

When I finally moved into Yeongdong, I was pleasantly surprised. It was much more sizable and cosy than I had initially imagined. Its people were also incredibly welcoming and kind. I was met with the same reception at my schools by all the staff and students too. All of this aided me in maneuvering the transitioning process to settle into my new life here.

In the beginning, I could never have imagined reaching this point. I remember on my first day, I visited all of my schools with my main co-teacher to introduce myself. The staff had been quite used to the previous native teacher who was KoreanAmerican and able to speak fluent Korean. A tall white boy from Scotland was definitely a shock. The little doubts that stealthily crept at the back of my mind were beginning to blossom as the day pressed on.

It was after meeting my final school that the sky’s dark clouds that had been forming throughout the day finally broke out into torrents of rain. Not to be melodramatic, but I had definitely felt then that the weather had been mocking me. My exhausted mind convinced itself it was to be a bad omen for what was to come.

On the drive home, I was sheepishly peeking at flights to Scotland on my phone. The imposter syndrome that had been niggling at the back of my head had fully anchored its gnawing weight into my mindset. I felt like a fraud for not relishing in the positivity I thought I should have been feeling. I was ashamed that I hadn’t immediately assimilated into Korea. It seems quite daft now looking back.

In the building excitement prior to moving here, we probably all envisioned our new perfect lives here. Naturally, reality often has a different path set in store for us from what we imagined. It is important, then, to prepare for the challenges and surprises that moving here will present us. Otherwise, these hurdles can harbour feelings of resentment towards the experience. It is completely normal to go through these emotions and therefore, remaining open-minded and adaptable is the most valuable skill you can have here.

I have very quickly come to love my rural town and my schools. My fears of being lonely were quickly alleviated as I have found good friends within the native English teacher community and through my Korean co-workers. An important thing to remember too, if you are in a rural placement, is that Korea is a fairly small country with incredible transport links. With every weekend, I’ve managed to embark on some new adventure. But Yeongdong already feels so much like home that towards the end of my busy trips, I long for the cosy nature of my town.