Just to try something a little bit different, I’ve decided to interview some of my mission co-workers who are working with me in the PROK. It is interesting to hear about some of the different ministries they have been involved with here in Korea. Watch for more excerpts from these interviews in upcoming blogs.
I want to start off with my colleague Thomas Smith, since he has just completed his term and is on his way back to USA this month. Thomas is a Global Ministries Intern from the Disciples of Christ in the USA. He arrived in Korea in August 2019 and for most of his time here he was working in the English language program at Yangmuri church in Haenam, which is quite far from Seoul, on the southern tip of Korea.
John: What are some of the things you’ve been involved in while you were here?
Thomas: Mostly teaching ESL to students, ranging from about age 6 to 16, but sometimes as old as 18.
John: What did you find the most challenging?
Thomas: The really little kids spoke absolutely no English, so communicating with them and keeping them under control was nearly impossible. Teaching the older kids was definitely easier, and talking to them. I had some great conversations with them. I remember one girl said, “I’m mad because I am hungry.” I said, “You mean you are hangry,” which is a new word that you get when you push “hungry” and “angry” together. That got a laugh!
John: How did the kids receive you?
Thomas: In the beginning they were very shy and reserved, apprehensive about me. But we eased into it though, and we got very friendly. I would walk into the class and the kids would cheer. They would say, “Hello, Thomas Teacher!”
John: Was there anything you found surprising, or that you weren’t well prepared for.
Thomas: The fact that almost everyone speaks enough English for me to navigate. The signs are in English, menus are in English, the heavy presence of English here. That’s what I was really nervous about, not being able to communicate. I was thinking, “I don’t speak the language, how am I going to be able get around?” But I was able to get along. No problem at all - or, it was much less problematic than I was expecting. It was not always easy, but I was able to navigate.
John: Is there anything you wish you had prepared yourself better for, before you came here?
Thomas: I wish there was a way - or a better program I should say - so I could learn more of the language in advance, because I’m not retaining all that much. I have a learning disability that makes studying languages and complicated mathematics very difficult. However, once I do learn things, they are with me forever.
John: Does that give you special insight as a teacher?
Thomas: Yes, oh absolutely yes. I can empathize with children having difficulty learning English, because I have had that difficulty, not just trying to learn Korean, but Spanish, trying to learn biblical Greek, all the languages that I’ve tried to learn.
John: Can you give any specific examples?
Thomas: The kids I have are aged 8 to 10, some of them are just starting to know enough English to effectively communicate. When I give out the worksheets that we use, I am able to ask the right questions to get them on the right path. I’ll ask the girl who knows nothing about it, “What about this Martha?” She’ll say, “I don’t know.” I’ll say, “Just take a guess.” And usually she guesses correctly. And I can get them started and then after that they can pick up on it. For that age group, it’s mostly nouns and verbs really. When they get older its adjectives and adverbs. Actually, explaining conjunctions is very difficult. When to use “and” and when to use “but,” and “so” and “because,” is very hard to explain. Obviously it’s not difficult for us to pick up on, but explaining it to someone who doesn’t know the language is difficult. These are very simple things, but for some reason they are very complicated. So realizing that, and also just the empathy and patience that I have because I’ve also been in their position, enables me to be a better teacher.
John: Have your experiences here in Korea given you any new insights into the world?
Thomas: At some level, white privilege seems to exist everywhere in the world. That kind of goes hand in hand with the fact that there is a lot of xenophobia in America these days. Ironically, right now it is directed against Asian Americans because of covid coming from China, that sort of thing. I don’t really encounter any of that here. People actually go out of their way to talk to me and to be friendly to me, and help me more than anything else. No one tries to swindle me or take advantage of me. On three different occasions I have left my credit card in a store. I always get it back. I remember one time when it was winter shortly after I arrived here, and I was on my way back to my house, and I had my gloves in my back pocket and they fell out and I didn’t realize it, and one women picks them up and runs after me and stops me, and says, “You dropped your gloves!” That’s something I would do, but in the United States a lot of people would just ignore it.
John: Can you tell me in your own words why the Global Ministries Internship Program is important?
Thomas: I think the real motivation behind the program is to establish ecumenical relations and to solidify a global sense of solidarity among different churches. That’s one way to unify a world that is very divided. With modern transportation etc., the world has become very international, but there is still a lot of resistance. It is human nature to be afraid of what is different. One way to get around that is to immerse yourself in it, which is what Global Ministries did by sending me here. I am from a country where I am not only from the majority, but I am from the controlling majority, so coming here helped me see things differenty.
John: This raises a couple of questions for me: what did the Korean side get from it, what do the people in the States gain from your experience?
Thomas: I’m not sure what the Koreans get from it ... well, when I was teaching in Haenam, it is very homogeneous. I wasn’t aware of another single foreigner down there. These kids have suddenly now had interaction with an outside foreigner, and we had a good relationship. They would run up to me when they saw me on the street and hold my hand; in class, they would wait for me to arrive and follow me around. Back home, I’ll of course be relaying the situation to them, and telling them about all the great experiences I’ve had in Korea, possibly I’m going back to a situation that is tumultuous, especially after that terrible shooting in North Atlanta.
John: What is the most important thing you learned here in Korea?
Thomas: How to make rice - that will come in handy (laughing) ... Seriously, seeing a church full of hospitality, the support was there for everybody. I see the churches in the USA, there’s a lot of conflict and politics and racism, even in supposedly inclusive churches. The church at Haenam, I don’t see a lot of that there. The congregation is exploding, its getting bigger and bigger. I wouldn’t call it a mega-church, but there are a lot of people there. The English program, it’s free, and it’s available to everyone in the community, for kids I mean. It has gotten a lot of people into the church. I don’t really like evangelizing, I think it’s very detrimental most of the time and it’s off-putting. But this kind of outreach to the community is great, because it provides a service, and if it gets people in through the door, that’s great, but even if it doesn’t, it is still doing a good thing and that’s what the church is all about - or should be all about.
John: Is there anything else you want to say?
Thomas: Going back to the U.S. is going to be a big adjustment!
SPECIAL NOTE FROM JOHN:
Join me on Wed., June 23 for my upcoming webinar
with the United Church of Canada:
“Intercultural Encounters of a Mission Co-worker in Korea”
7 pm Eastern Time
I will send around another announcement
to confirm the details when the date gets closer
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