Gyeonggi Provincial Office of Education

You know you

live in Korea

when…

GEPIK

Bibimbap Newsletter

„GEPIK Bibimbap News‟ refers to the many and various backgrounds to which our community belongs to.

Our hope is that the GEPIK teachers will blend in harmoniously for support, advice and friendships.

ISSUE SEVEN - September/October 2011

Art Provided The

P e r f e c t L e g a c y

Pg. 2

Pg. 4

We’ve heard all the rumors too but we’re here to rescue you from

rumor-overload! Firstly, GEPIK is NOT ending any time soon! Despite what you may have heard, GEPIK will continue to work with roughly 1,500 teachers next year. So breathe a sigh of relief, the program will NOT be over anytime soon! Secondly, if your school is telling you that they have no more money left and your contract will be terminated, we want to let you know that this is NOT allowed. By signing a one-year contract with GEPIK, even with the current budget changes, your school CANNOT terminate your contract early. If this is happening to you or someone you know, please contact your district coordinator, who will help clear up any misunderstandings (see pg. 7 for coordinator contact details). Like we always say, don’t believe everything that you hear or read.

The

GEPIK

Rumor

Mill

Happy Fall, GEPIK Teachers!! Hope you are all enjoying the fall scenery as

your prepare for the dreadful cold that is about to creep up on us. It’s quite nice to see the leaves changing colors and the cool breeze is finally relieving us from the HOT HOT HOT summer we had. It’s time to pack away your shorts and t-shirts and also time to bring out your scarves and sweaters. It’s time to prepare for change. With that being said, there also have been a few changes within GEPIK over these past few months. Some of us have been struggling to adjust to these changes, while others are just letting things flow and take its course. Among these changes, the former GEPIK head coordinator, Dain Bae, resigned and I,

Ary Kim, was appointed to take on the position as the head coordinator of this program. I have to admit it’s been a bit overwhelming with so much going on within GEPIK. I doubted myself at first and wasn’t ready to take on this role. However, I’ve come to realize that this job isn’t just about me. It’s not about whether I can do well or not. It’s about GEPIK, it’s about ALL of us within this program.

GEPIK isn’t just about how well I do my job to lead this program, but it’s also about how well our teachers do at their respective schools. Therefore, it is important that we support each other. I want to thank our GEPIK teachers for the support you have given to me and the district coordinators, and in return, we hope to give back to you the same support. It’s important that we work together as one team so that this program may develop and flourish. Let’s continue to do our best in our respective work-places and focus on fulfilling our roles.

감사합니다 (Thank you), GEPIK teachers.

Thoughts from the

“Is GEPIK over?”...”By this time next year, will GEPIK be obsolete?”… “I heard that contracts are being ter-minated early or mid -contract”

…and so on and so forth.

Pg. 6

In this Issue

New Head Coordinator

By Andrew T. Osborne

By Paul M. Graham

Booting

the Newbie Blues

On some days, I find

myself thinking “What

in the world am I even

teaching these kids?”

While on others it

feels like I‟ve hit the

educational jackpot. As Native Lan-

guage Instructors in Korea, we are often at a loss of

how exactly this system functions. In this environment, I often

wonder how I can maximize my effectiveness in minimal time.

Although it is still evolving, I have worked out a few ways to

evaluate my level of teaching and the extent of my effectiveness

through three primary windows of focus.

First, emphasizing cultural education and building a

perception of the English-speaking world beyond the

classroom. A great way to do this for the students is

through the annual English Camp. Te goal here seems to be

bringing a realization that the English world actually exists

beyond the classroom through different activities like

musical chairs, „swop meets‟, face-painting... the whole nine. During this summer‟s English Camp, my goals were

simple: utilizing this opportunity to build relationships with

the students and fostering natural learning through „sneaky

studying‟. The first, is purely based upon our own day-to-day

motivation, while the latter takes a bit more preparation. I

chose to teach my students „comparatives and superlatives‟.

Although they never knew the names of the terms they were

learning, through our „mini-Olympics‟ they were able to successfully

demonstrate that they: a) understood and b) could use each term suc-

cessfully. Along with English Camp, we have started a pen-pal exchange

program to create relationships between our students and the English

speaking world. This has proven to be a very successful motivator in the

children‟s personal interested of learning English.

Next, is pursuing „Conversation Activation‟ among each level of language

learner. For the students who are bolder and posses a higher level of

ability, they are able to come in and speak with me during lunch about

any topic of their choice. For the more shy students, or those at the

lower level, they can write to me through our English website or reply

to the diaries that I post on there.

Finally, I evaluate my own English abilities by the degree of real-world

English I use in the classroom or hear my students using. My three

areas of major focus are: resisting the English-y, using common

expressions, and expecting students to communicate outside of the

textbook in English.

Through these areas of focus, I am able to wrap my mind around

what it is I am accomplishing now and how I am contributing to the

future of my student‟s English education, as well as my specific English program. Whatever your work situation may be, I urge you

to outline how you can best use your time here and use that to

evaluate and motivate yourself toward a successful and purposeful

teaching experience!

Kelsey Phillips

Gwangmyeong Elementary School

Gwangju Hanam

Maximizing

My Effectiveness

in the Classroom

**Editor’s Note: Know an outstanding teacher in your area? Nominate them to be the next GEPIK Teacher of the Month by emailing us (gepikbibimbap@gmail.com) their name and email.

Classroom Management Curious about what’s going on in other GEPIK classrooms? Read about other’s’ experiences and receive tips and advice on how to improve your classes! Share your tips and strategies by sending an e-mail to gepikbibimbap@gmaiil.com. We would love to hear from you!

2

Do you have any nicknames your students call you by? Good question! Besides a good chunk of my 6th graders calling me “Bee Killer Teacher” for having dis-posed of a few wasps and bees that had brutally attacked us day after day during one particular class, I have a few common teacher nick-names, like “Sam”, or “Karen Sam”. But the one that’s really caught on

is “카레-Teacher” which in Korean

means “Curry Teacher”. I get a kick out of that one.

What do you get most out of in being a GEPIK teacher? I find that the greatest advantage of working in the GEPIK program is hat I have other teachers to talk to. We can talk about classes, lesson plans, contracts, Korean life, and everything in between. It’s comforting to know that even when I feel as if no one can understand what I’m dealing with, in actuality, someone can. As teach-ers in the same program I think that we do a good job of connecting with each other, whether it be online, on the phone, or in person; sharing whatever knowledge that we have to make each others lives a bit easier.

What is one of the funniest incidents or most memorable from your time in Korea? Most of my most memorable moments in this country happened (where else?) at school. I have a rule in my classroom: Everyone has to participate. You don’t have to be the best; you just have to put forth an effort. About two months or so into my first contract with my current school, I was teaching one of my 6th grade classes. One of my students wasn’t repeating after me with the class during our “Listen and Repeat” segment. When this hap-pens, the student has to repeat after me alone. Me: “Repeat after me please: I’m thirsty.” Student: (inaudible mumbling) Me: “I’m THIRSTY” Student: (low mumbling) “I’m thirsty” Co-Teacher: (rushes over) Uh, Ka-ren, he is…deaf. Me: (silence) Deaf. My kid is DEAF. Two months in and I had NO clue before that moment. No one told me anything about it. I felt AWFUL. The bad part is that even though he’s deaf his pronunciation was better than half of the class! And to put more salt in the wound, at the end of class he wasn’t even mad at me; he just said “Bye, teacher.”, which made me feel even worse. That weekend I went to Kyobo Bookstore, bought a Korean sign language book, went home and studied. That Monday when I saw him at school I signed “hello” to him in Korean. He signed back to me with a big grin on his face. I can’t fully describe how I felt at that moment. Definitely my most memorable experience in Korea.

What do you like about your area and your school? I really like my area because it’s close enough to Seoul to get there in a reasonable amount of time, but not so near that you get all of the drawbacks of actually living there. It suits me well. Besides being blessed with a co-teacher who is one of the sweetest women I have ever met, the reason that I like my school is easy: my kids. I love them. There are times when they can be the rowdiest bunch of children on the face of the planet! However they’re the reason that I don’t spend each week living only for the weekend. As a teacher, there are times when we can spend hours and hours preparing something that may or may not be a hit in class. It’s a lot of work, but for me, the mere possibility of it going over well with my students is worth the time and effort.

Naeson Elementary School 1.5 years at current school

Uiwang

**Editor’s Note: Know an outstanding teacher in your area? Nominate them to be the next GEPIK Teacher of the Month by emailing us (gepikbibimbap@gmail.com) their name and email.

Lesson-planning does help – No one likes lesson-

planning, including myself. However, I find that spending time researching and rounding out ideas for specific

lessons helps in the long run to make organization and teaching more free-flowing and less stressful. Having a

plan setup before I start each day is a godsend as I‟m not frantically rushing to figure out what I‟m going to do

each morning with the possibility that I will not be fully prepared for each class. Benjamin Franklin once said,

“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.”

Take chances, be creative, prepare back-up plans, never forget you were young once, and have

fun! – Did you like your boring teachers? Probably not, so why teach like them? Why be the run-of-the-mill

teacher when you can be so much more than that? Yes, it may be easier, but you‟ll soon probably discover

that you won‟t like your job for very long. Thus, it‟s time to have some fun and take some chances.

We all have to ability to influence children‟s lives and make a positive impact in their learning; it‟s a great responsibility. It‟s also one of the most amaz-

ing things in the world to see your students smile, laugh, and learn at the same time. Thus, in order to reach many of the students in a way that they

remember what you are endeavoring hard to teach them, lessons must contain creative, out-of-the-box ideas and activities that foster fun, variety, and

learning at the same time. Anyone can make or use a Powerpoint presentation or game, but from experience, I‟ve realized students grow bored after

awhile and/or are not challenged enough; therefore, it‟s time to take some pedagogical chances. Motion

creates emotion. Creating out-of-your-seat activities that can foster profound learning and be joyously used

over and over again amid different lessons and topics, now there‟s something. When students learn while

doing something fun that‟s out of the ordinary, it ultimately triggers positive emotions that synchronously

make it easier for students to remember specific information and easier for you to teach it; it‟s a win-win.

However, when you take a chance, it‟s always good to have a back-up plan just incase your idea bombs.

Although, if you gauge your students thoroughly, this will rarely occur. Lastly, in being creative, have fun and

never forget you were young once. In doing so you‟ll surely be able to boot the newbie blues and begin to

experience an over-flowering fountain of joy on a daily basis that will aid you in your teaching and develop-

ing connections with your students whom you‟ll soon begin to cherish.

Paul Monroe Graham, Wolgot Elementary School, Gimpo

6 Steps to Create a Lesson Plan 1. Objective -Start At The End – Decide what the

children should know by the end of the lesson. The

student will be able to….

2. Introduction – The Hook – Think of an engag-

ing idea that presents the objective. Humor, Media, Music.

3. Direct Instruction –“You Can Give a Man a Fish…” - Give them

what they need to know. Powerpoint, Listening, Choral Speaking,

Textbook CD-ROM.

4. Practice – “But if You Teach That Man To Fish…” - Design an ac-

tivity that allows them to master what they learned. Games, Sur-

veys, Role Playing.

5. Assessment – Check that they understand and can perform inde-

pendently. Exit Questions, Quizs, Projects.

6. Reflect – Reinvent the Wheel - What went well? What didn‟t?

Take notes and revise your lesson plan.

Have you mastered these basic steps? Then it‟s time to level up your peda-

gogical game! Look up a man named Howard Gardner. He developed an

idea called, “The Theory of Multiple Intelligences”. It says, “It‟s not how

smart you are its how you are smart.” There are many ways (nine) to be

smart. Some people excel at one and struggle

at others; some are medicore at all of them.

Vary your activities by incorporating and com-

bining different “intelligences” into your les-

sons.

Instead of playing bomb games (interpersonal,

linguistic) every class, teach them an English

song and dance routine (musical, kinesthetic).

Better yet, let them choreograph their own!

Print a paragraph onto a puzzle template. Cut it out and have the students

piece it together and then make one of their own (spatial, intrapersonal).

By blending intelligences into lessons, more students will be motivated be-

cause there is a higher chance that

there is an activity they enjoy. Be-

havior will improve. Students will

enhance their self-efficacy if they

can succeed in activites that are

catered towards their intelligences.

Jeremy White,

Hyunsan Elementary School

Goyang

Curious about what’s going on in other GEPIK classrooms? Read about other’s’ experiences and receive tips and advice on how to improve your classes! Share your tips and strategies by sending an e-mail to gepikbibimbap@gmaiil.com. We would love to hear from you!

Booting the Newbie Blues Some of us GEPIKans may have experienced something like this in one way or another

during our first day or even our first week, especially for beleaguered, unexperienced newbies who have been thrown in charge of a classroom in a foreign country without

much guidance on what to do or where to begin in order to become an effective English

teacher. Many are desperate to become a successful teacher and overcome what I‟ve

aptly termed as the “newbie blues.” Thus, in order to make it easier booting the newbie

blues, I‟ve elaborated on a few tips that have helped me pave a smooth road to success teaching English in Korea.

Co-teacher communication – Getting on the same page as your co-teacher in what he/she wants to do and

wants you to do concerning each class session is vital. Since co-teachers can be unpredictably called into a morning meeting up until the commence-

ment of the first class, implementing discussions a day in advance would be the smartest thing. Even if you discern you are going to bother your co-

teacher, make the utmost effort to have a discussion with him/her even if it‟s going to be rather brief concerning the touchstones of each lesson.

You‟ll quickly discover that this will eliminate confusion in the classroom concerning your roles, allow for instructional fluidity without uncomfortable

pauses, and lower your stress in regards to knowing what you‟ll exactly need to prepare and do. However, if there are severe language barriers, try

your best to commence discussions anyway; it will probably end up with you being more assertive in lesson planning and taking on the primary role in

leading the class, but at least you‟ll know. Ultimately, the students are those who benefit the most when the

co-teacher and native English teacher are both on the same page.

“Your Facebook

status was then

quickly changed

from ‘I heart Ko-

rea!’ to ‘What am I

doing here?!?!?’”

3

You know you live

in Korea if/when…

Su-Won Hwaseong Fortress (Gyeonggi-do Suwon-si)

- Traditional buildings where the Korean kings and

queens used to live are very delicate and elaborate.

The Hwaseong Fortress is a place which the 22nd

king of Joeon Dynasty. Feel the

spirit of his strong power from

the Fortress!

Have you already visited all the popular places in Seoul? Getting bored of hanging out in the same old spots; Myeong-dong, Hongdae, Itaewon, etc.? If you’re looking for a change and want to do something that offers more culture, Gyeonggi Province is just the place to do it. There are many worthwhile places to visit, check out some places that made our list!

Heyri Art Valley (Gyeonggi-do Paju-s) - The Heyri Art Valley is com-posed of 380 or so painters, musi-cians, writers, and architects who run their own workshops, galler-ies, and theaters displaying their work. Various exhibitions and hands-on programs are offered year round .

Paju Book City (Gyeonggi-do Paju-si)

- If you want to see some in-

teresting architectures, visit

the Paju Book City. It will take

about 3~4 hours to look around

the beautiful architecture; you

can take a break at the book

café in the City.

Life & Culture

...you go to the toilet to sit but find you need to squat. - Chantal Michael

...you reach straight for chopsticks instead of a

fork when cake is served. Chrissy Barnes

...you miss kimchi while on vacation. Andrew Saab

...you see a cell-phone shop, real es-tate office and Paris Baguette on every corner. ...someone is visiting your place and needs a napkin, so you offer them a roll of bath-room tissue.

- Johan Young

...you can walk down the street at night with-out feeling unsafe ...you carry a toothbrush in your breast pocket when you go out for the day. ...you bow at everyone when you return to your home country on holi-days. ...you use scissors to cut food.

- Andrew Smith

...you like having corn on your pizza. - BJ Thompson

...your seafood din-ner is still moving. - James Melbourne

...you always hand items with your right hand and your left hand on your right forearm. - Andrew Hill

...you start pro-nouncing words in Konglish. - Dante Threats

...you eat purple rice, hot soup in summer and pickles with pizza without even blinking.

4

After living and working in Korea for any period

of time, our teachers have begun to pick up on and get used to all of the funny, bizarre, amazing and just plain…random things that they may encounter in their day-to-day experiences. We asked, and got some answers so…

Curious about what’s going on in other GEPIK classrooms? Read about other’s’ experiences and receive tips and advice on how to improve your classes! Share your tips and strategies by sending an e-mail to gepikbibimbap@gmaiil.com. We would love to hear from you!

Garden of Morning Calm (아침고요수목원)

(Gyeonggi-do Gapyeong-si)

- You don’t need to go up on the mountains to get a view

of blossom trees in autumn. The Garden of Morning

Calm is very beautiful place for photogra-

phers; the variety of flowers and multi-

colored trees will be the perfect models.

The romantic starlight will welcome you

during the winter!

Anyang Art Park

Gyeonggi-do Anyang-si)

Since the autumn season is nice

and cool, many people go hik-

ing. If you are also interested in

hiking but not sure where to go,

the Anyang Art Park is the

perfect place for hike begin-

ners. Enjoy the 52 beautiful works of art

created by famous local

and overseas artists!

5

Special Korean Fall Seasonal Foods

Octopus (낙지;Nak-ji)

Have you tried live octopus? Octopus meat is a great source of vitamin B12, selenium, zinc and iron that are beneficial to the body. It also prevents cancer and Lessens symptoms of asthma. Go to Noryangjin Fish Market in Seoul to find the fresh-est octopus! Try some live octopus with plum wine too! If you find hard to eat live octopus, boiled or spicy octopus dishes arae also very tasty.

“SOME Gift ideas for your co-workers”

Sharing some gifts with co-workers is one of the good ways to build and to maintain a good rapport with them. However, it’s difficult to select the things that they will like or enjoy right? Here are some gift ideas to help your choice!

★ Something from home to share your cul-

ture. May Korean teachers are curious about other cultures (especially your culture) and want to know about it. Get some small sou-venirs from back home, cowboy hats, traditional instruments, honey, famous coffee or teas, chocolate,

wine/whisky, cigars and etc.

★ Something small and not expensive,

but meaningful enough to show your heart. Talk with your co-workers to know their interest and get something that is related to their interest. Maybe some Aro-matic candles, cell phone or key

chains, Ties/Scarves, T-shirts and etc.

★ Something yummy to boost up

the energy. Working with students make teachers exhausted easily. Maybe get some sweets like Krispy Cream or Dunkin Donuts, Fruits, Cookies or candies to keep

them smiling.

★ Something unique and special

to make them remember you. The things that they cannot easily get will make them impressed. Maybe bring some Home-made Ginger-bread Cookies or Cakes, Organic Gochujang and Doenjang, health products (vitamins or some kind of supplements).

Honey Maximowiczia tea

(O-Mi-Ja Cha):

Omija, a widely used medicinal herb

is good for curing kidney disease,

coughing and asthma.

Plum tea (Mae-shil Cha):

Plum cleans your intestine

and maintains blood sugar

levels and digestive health.

Citron tea (You-Ja Cha): Citron has vitamins C found more than in oranges, which helps to prevent colds and known to be very good for

sore throat plus it also helps to enhance good skin condi-

tions.

Jujube tea (Dae-Chu Cha): Jujube contains vital minerals,

such as manganese, iron,

phosphorus and calcium.

These elements work syner-

gistically to create general

health and well being and

bolster the immune system.

Korean

Hot Teas

1

2

3

4

5

Enjoy these delicious teas to keep

Instructions

Seasonal Health Tips P

re

pa

rin

g f

or

Win

te

r

and

Curious about what’s going on in other GEPIK classrooms? Read about other’s’ experiences and receive tips and advice on how to improve your classes! Share your tips and strategies by sending an e-mail to gepikbibimbap@gmaiil.com. We would love to hear from you!

In a big bowl, put the flour and the chopped kimchi.

Put the Kimchi juice squeezed from Kimchi and

some water in the bowl. Do not put too much

water; make it a little be thick like yogurt.

Mix them all together.

Put some oil and 1 ladle of the mix on a pan.

Wait until the Jeon gets darker and flip it over.

Now, it’s ready to serve!

*serve with some soy sauce.

The Easiest Jeon Making Recipe

Jeon(전) is also called Bu-chim-gae(부침개)

It is a traditional Korean pan-cake. On rainy days, Korean people love to eat

Jeon when there is no where to go but still want to spend time with friends

and family. The “drunken rice” drink, Mak-guhl-li, is the perfect drink for

Jeon. There are many kinds of Jeon you can make but the most famous one

is Kimchi Jeon, There is also Chives Jeon, and Seafood Jeon. Since we are all

Kimchi lovers, here’s the simplest and the easiest Jeon making recipe for you.

Have some Jeon House Party on a rainy day!

Ingredients (for 2 people):

1 cup of flour

1 cup of chopped Kimchi

1/2 cup of Kimchi juice

Cool water

Oil

Provided The Perfect Legacy

This section is about bridging our GEPIK teachers, coordinators, and Gyeonggi province together—like a true GEPIK Bibimbap. If there is anything you would like to share based on something special about your district, or related to GEPIK teachers and district coordinators, please send it to gepikbibimbap@gmail.com

As I began to organize and pack up my desk at school a few weeks before my contract fin-ished, I started to think about legacy: How would my time and impact at my school be re-membered? It can be incredibly difficult to wrap up one’s life in Korea, especially after a long time abroad. I had been living and working in the ROK for nearly six years; however, I can say without doubt that working at Bumgye Middle School in Anyang, for the past three years, was the most rewarding time both personally and professionally of my life. I wanted to express my gratitude to the students, teachers, administration, and most importantly, to the principal; for it was they, through their endless kindness, enthusiasm, and generosity who ensured that my teaching was successful. After some thought, and knowing there are several popular traditional gift ideas in Korea (rice cakes are a good example), I decided to go with a more non-traditional one: two of my father’s paintings.

Shopping Vocabulary

비싸 (bi-ssa) = expensive

영수중 (young-soo-joong) = receipt

환불 (hwan-bool) = return

교환 (gyo-hwan) = exchange

My father lived in Korea for nearly a year in 2009. He accompanied my mother who taught at Dangdong Elementary School in Gunpo at the same time. He is a former art teacher and ac-complished painter and during his stay in Korea painted some of his most beautiful works. He was, of course, inspired by Korea’s stunning natural beauty, the mountains, valleys, rivers, and flora. I chose two of his pastel and ink works, entitled Memories of Korea and Spring in Anyang, as gifts. These are impressions of the beautiful springtime flowers that can be found in the bushes sounding the cities of Anyang and Gunpo. I presented the works on my last day at school when giving my farewell address over the school’s TV system. I felt that they were well received. Principal immediately had the paintings hung in the school’s English

ART

It comforts me to think about those two paintings at Bumgye Middle School and what they represent. For me, they embody the positive feelings of a foreign teacher’s Korean immer-sion experience; for the school, hopefully, they are a reminder of their former English teacher and inspire future generations of students. Years from now, when I return to Korea, what a welcome sight it would be to see those two paintings still hanging at my old school. Andrew T. Osborne, GEPIK Alumni Bumgye Middle School , Anyang

Useful Shopping Phrases

object) ~있어요? (object) ~어디에 있어요?

(object) ~it sseo yo? object) uh-di-ae-it-suh-yo? Do you have (object)? Where can I find (object)?

이것은 얼마예요? 몇시에 닫아요?

Ee guts eun uhl mah ye yo? Myuht shi ae dahd ah yo? How much is this? What time do you close?

너무 비싸요. 좀 깎아 주세요.

That’s too expensive. jom-gga-gga-ju-se-yo. Nuh moo bee ssah yo. Please give me a discount.

Korean

Korner Practice your Korean with these shopping phrases!

6 GEPIK CONNeXion

Whether you print it out or jot it down, keep

this list with you because these are some of

the most important contacts that every GEPIK

teacher should know. Keep it handy because

you never know when you'll need it if a situa-

tion should arise.

National Tax Service:

www.nts.go.kr/eng/

Foreigner helpline: 1588-0560 or 02-2076-5711

National Pension Service:

www.nps.or.kr

Call center: 1355

Korea Immigration service:

www.immigration.go.kr

Call center: 1345

National Health Insurance Company:

www.nhic.or.kr/portal/site/eng

Call center: 1577-1000

or 02-390-2000 (English service)

Labor board: 1350 (press 7 for English)

Call center: 132 (for civil action; contract dis-

putes)

Ministry of Employment and Labor:

www.moel.go.kr/english/main.jsp

Call center: 031-345-5000

Police station/traffic accident hotline: 112

Emergency rescue/Fire brigade: 119

Coast guard: 122

Ambulance: 129

International operator: 077

Translation: 1588-6544

3456 (volunteer service)

Ask anything/info: 120

Cell/mobile phone: Area code + 120

(02 for Seoul / 031 for Gyeonggi-do)

Tourist/travel information

and emergency interpretation service:

Landline telephone: 1330

Cell/mobile phone: Area code + 1330

(02 for Seoul / 031 for Gyeonggi-do)

Korea post office:

Call center: 1300

Cyber post office: www.epost.go.kr

I first came to Korea in 2005 with a hunger for travelling and a curiosity about the teaching profession. While I enjoyed the experience of living in a new culture, I found out rather quickly that I didn’t know much about teaching. The GEPIK program’s brief orientation upon my

arrival felt all too short – it helped immensely with many of the different cultural expectations I’d be faced with, but I didn’t feel I would measure up as a teacher. And in the beginning I didn’t. But with the friendship and patience of my first co-teacher, I was able to move past those first few awkward months. As I gradually grew in confidence and ability, I came to enjoy teaching. Before I knew it, 2 years had passed. My girlfriend (now fiancée) and I felt that teaching was what we wanted to do, (and we missed smoked bacon, cheese and Tim Hortons) so we made the decision to move back to Can-ada to pursue our teaching degrees. Our last few weeks were a blur of farewell meetings, dinners and parties. We collected many mementos of our time here and our friends and family back home were enthusiastic about our return. We were prepared to go home.

However, I was not prepared for missing my Korean life as much as I did. I never

really went through the typical “Reverse Culture Shock”, but I did catch myself tell-

ing too many “this one time in Korea” stories. Of course, how could I not? My time

in Korea had changed me profoundly on a personal and professional level. Over

time, my fiancée and I would often reminisce about 닭도리탕, public transportation

and the camaraderie we shared with our coworkers and friends here.

While we were in Korea we missed the comforts of home - at home, we missed all

the Korean comforts. So when there was an opportunity to move back to Korea, we

jumped at the chance.

Our past year in Korea has been fun. It’s been great to revisit everything and everyone we missed. And it’s been enlightening to put our re-cent education into practice. But we find our-selves once again going to farewell parties, col-lecting more souvenirs, and saying our goodbyes. We’re now busying ourselves with preparations for our future. But at the same time, as I look for-ward, I think to myself: “We’ll always have Paris Korea.”

Leif Raiha, GEPIK Alumni Tanbeol Middle School, Gwangju Hanam

Coordinators Coordinators

This section is about bridging our GEPIK teachers, coordinators, and Gyeonggi province together—like a true GEPIK Bibimbap. If there is anything you would like to share based on something special about your district, or related to GEPIK teachers and district coordinators, please send it to gepikbibimbap@gmail.com

Q: I have five paid leave days left. My contract ends in September and I would like to use my remaining paid leave days to leave early before my contract ends. Is this possible? A: No. According to your contract, you have to complete the full 365 working days. Your paid vacation days are valid only during the time when school, classes and/or camps are not in session. Leaving before the end of your contract means that you have not fulfilled the full contract term, so please be sure to manage your vacation time well!

Q: I had wonderful experience in Korea, but I’ve decided not to renew my con-tract this year. I have found a new job in China and would like to fly to directly to China instead of going back home after my contract. If the flight ticket to China is cheaper, can my school just reimburse me for this instead? A: No. In your contract, it clearly states that the school is only responsible for reimbursing your airplane ticket to your home country (more specifically, the closest airport to your home city. The cost, whether it is cheaper or not, is irrelevant as the school is only re-sponsible for your flight home. Please note, that the airfare reimbursement to and from your home country is offered by GEPIK out of good faith and is not an invitation to travel else-where once your contract term ends.

Who do I call?! Who do I call?! Important contact info Important contact info

for our teachers...for our teachers...

Looking Back: Looking Back:

Time with Time with

at the

at the OfficeOffice

7

Coor-

Thank you to our contributors… Page 2: Karen Paige, Kelsey Phillips Page 3: Jeremy White, Paul Monroe Graham Page 4: Chrissy Barnes, Andrew Saab, Johan Young, Andrew Hill, Dante Threats, BJ Thompson, Andrew Smith, Chantal Michael, James Melbourne Page 5: Andrew T. Osborne Page 6: Leif Raiha

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? We are open to your GEPIK stories and experiences! E-mail us at gepikbibimbap@gmail.com. You never know! It might be your story in the next issue!

Team BBB: GEPIK Coordinators

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Ary KimAry Kim

One achievement or skill you are proud of? Being bilingual (Korean and Eng-lish). It got me the coordinator job with GEPIK, and look at me now! Becoming the head coordinator has got to be one of my best achievements.

What would I find in your refrigerator right now?

Nothing but Spam, kimchi and 옥수수 수염차 (corn leaf tea).

Ary Kim was tagged in I hate travelling whether it be a 10 hour plane ride or just a mere 10 minute walk’s album.

Thank you for all your hard work...Thank you for all your hard work...

Dain Bae

Anna Choi

Grace Hwang

Bo Hong

Ary Kim added Superhero Superpowers - TELEPORTATION

Most challenging time as a coordinator? I don’t have a specific time span, but I guess the most challenging thing is keeping the coordinators moti-vated. I, myself, often find myself falling into this routine where I feel so un-motivated. I try to surround myself with positive energy so that I can also become a motivating person for my coordinator team.

I LOVE 유재석 (Yoo Jae Seok)!!!

Ary Kim likes 2ne1, BigBang, Beast, Mblaq, 4men, Vibe, and 박정현 to

favorite singers.

First thought after winning the lottery? HIDE!!

Ary Kim likes to sit at a café for hours and go people watching; observe the way people dress, the way they talk, the way they walk, and just how people interact with each other.

Is listening to Gym Class Heroes “Stereo Hearts now.

Blood type: A Birthday: September 16 Birthplace: TAMUNING, GUAM, USA!! Nationality: U.S.A. Eye color/hair color: Dark Brown Favorite color: Yellow Favorite subject in school: English

Coordinator 114

...you will be missed~!...you will be missed~!