Updates: Korean classes and Volunteering with N. Korean Refugees

World Peace Gate – Olympic Park, Seoul

Long time no post, friends!

So much has happened since we’ve last met. I took Korean classes, started volunteering, went to the US for a bit, was the Maid of Honor for the first time in my best friend’s wedding, and have begun my second year as an elementary school English teacher! Let’s knock (some of) this out, shall we?

Korean Classes

So the Korean government can be pretty fantastic to foreigners in Korea thank you for paying my salary, benefits, rent, etc., and they also offer a free Korean language program for any foreigner legally residing in Korea. The Korean Immigration and Integration Program (KIIP) offers classes from Level 0 to Level 5 all over the peninsula. Unless you know absolutely no Korean, you should take the placement test to see where you’ll fit best. I went into the test completely blind, not having studied Korean since early 2015, and ended up in Level 4! Ayyeeee~ Level 4 was 100 hours of classes from May until August. There were multiple options and locations to choose from – anywhere from once a week for 7~8 hours at a time, 2 days/week for 3 hours each, 2 days/week for 4 hours each, etc. I opted for the 2 day a week option – which I kind of regret, in hindsight.

I work from 8:40 AM – 4:40 PM Monday – Friday and was taking Korean classes from 6:30 PM – 10:30 PM on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The closest place with 2 day/week PM slots was a 50 minute commute door-to-door. This meant getting off work, walking to a restaurant, stuffing down a meal, taking the metro, then a bus, hiking up the big hill to my building, trying to stay alive for 4 hours of learning, and then making the 50 minute trek back. It was exhausting, to say the least. I learned a whole lot, though! Took the test on August 19th and passed with flying colors *victory dance*. I’m still debating whether to register for Level 5 or not! If I do, I’m definitely going to do the once a week, option. I’ll be giving up half of my Saturday, but I won’t feel like a zombie during the workweek.

For more information about KIIP and signing up for classes, this is their extremely outdated and borderline useless website. For a bit of how-to guide, check out this link! By the way, the KIIP website is super finicky so you may only have success accessing it on IE or Safari, if at all. Sidenote: this program benefits you outside of language and cultural instruction. If you complete all 5 levels, you can get points towards changing your visa.

My KIIP Level 4 classmates and teacher!

Volunteering with North Korean Refugees

While scrolling through Facebook one day, I stumbled upon a delightful organization called Teach North Korean Refugees (TNKR). Their purpose is to provide North Korean Refugees with free English education so that they are better able to become global citizens. I’ve been waiting for an opportunity like this for years. Although my outlook on North-South reunification has become a lot more nuanced and better informed since 2011, my interest in working with and getting to know North Korean people hasn’t wavered.

Finally, this May, I applied to be a tutor for a minimum of 3 months. TNKR holds matching sessions where the tutors must formally introduce themselves to the group and based off of that, the refugees choose as many tutors as they’d like. Tutors must accept a minimum of 2 students, but my enthusiastic self opted for 3. TNKR recommends that you meet each student individually, twice monthly, for 90 minutes each. That came out to 6 meetings per month for me, plus planning from scratch, and teaching adults for the first time. *멘붕*

In summary…

I had a veeerryyy chill winter and was a bit of a homebody, which totally isn’t me. It was a much-needed break, but I wanted to feel productive again! Therefore, I let these things take over my life post-Japan in May until the end of August. I also went to the US and Canada for 2 weeks in that span of time, but that deserves its own post. I don’t really know how to do things in moderation…probably shouldn’t have put all of these things on my plate at once, along with working full-time and trying (but failing) to maintain a social life. I ended up mentally, physically, and emotionally drained more often than not. I also wasn’t able to see my beloved friends very often. However, I did come out of this feeling super fulfilled and productive; just very glad it’s over.

In short, that’s where I’ve been and what I’ve been doing instead of keeping up with this blog. All I have going on now is volunteer-tutoring 2 NK students, which is a lot more manageable and I am able to spread my social butterfly wings, once again 🙂

Here’s to doing things in moderation, productivity, and self-care.

Stay beautiful,

Christina ❤