Gyeongju English Village
In July of 2007 I made the transition from teaching at an academy to a university. Suffice to say the move was a tough decision for me. I really enjoyed my life in Daegu and knew that the environment I would be heading into was going to be vastly different than the one I had grown accostomed to. I decided to take the plunge. The opportunity offered me a little more money, a lot more vacation, and my first ever working title (Visiting Professor). However, I think the latter is only aplicable on paper. I've only had a few students refer to me as professor and it just didn't feel right.
The Gyeongju English Village (GEV) is part of Daegu Catholic University. It's pretty much a campus on it's own. GEV is located in the heart of the Bomun Lake resort area in the city of Gyeongju. Gyeongju itself is a small tourist town being home to perhaps the most famous temple in Korea, Bulguksa Temple. Bomun Lake is just another tourist draw. It's an artificial lake filled with duck boats and lined with one resort after the other. GEV is about a stones throw from the lake and can house up to about 110 students. Students from the main campus in Hayan, which is about 45 minutes away, can come study English for one semester at GEV. All their classes are in English so the idea is to have as close to an immersion experience as possible without having to leave Korea. Whether it's very effective or not, I think the jury is still out on that one.
The teaching semesters, fall and spring, are only 14 weeks long. There are also two camps, one in the summer and the other in winter, which last 4 weeks. You can do the math but the rest of the time I'm typically on a beach, in a bar, or lugging my backpack from one country to the next. Since it's a year contract and I'm paid once a month I guess you could say it's paid vacation, also a first for me.
The dynamic at GEV is a unique one. Students fill the dormitory for 3 months and since it's a resort area there's really nowhere to go. We're all entrapped within this campus bubble. It has an effect on all of us, including the teachers, but the most interesting things to see is how the students interact with each other. It's like one giant episode of the Real World with a little Melrose Place mixed in there. I'd compare it to the likes of what Westerners experience in a summer camp back home. The drama, gossip, romances, and comradery all become intertwined in web of English study and culture clashing. Certainly makes life here entertaining.
