My Short Stay with Songgokians in 2021

Lee Hye-won Department of Tourism and Management at Halla University

Please introduce yourself briefly!

Hello! My name is Lee Hye-won, an education trainee at Songgok Tourism High School in the first semester of 2021. I am a senior student in the Department of Tourism Management at Halla University. I am about to graduate this August. I was the homeroom teacher of the 7th class of the second year. I taught sophomores at Culinary Science and Hotel & Tourism departments.

Tell us about your first impression of Songgok Tourism High School.

For orientation, I visited the school the week before the training, gathered in an English-only classroom, and moved to the auditorium. The view from the 6th floor was magnificent. So, my first impression of Songgok Tourism High School was that it was a ‘pretty school.’ After lunch with the teachers on the first day of the training in earnest, I went for a walk to the cherry blossom garden. The garden I saw up close was even prettier. I felt naturally healed when I looked at the playground during the training period.

What was the most memorable thing you did while at Songgok Tourism High School?

On the third Friday, the class had a party, and it was the happiest moment as a trainee. Due to Covid19, I was only able to see classmates for two weeks, and in my case, I was also in charge of the second year, so there was no interaction with the first and third graders. That is why the 2nd year school week was incredibly precious. The most memorable day was April 23, when I spent time with my homeroom class and made good memories.

I am curious about your high school life.

I was an uninterestingly ordinary high school student who worked hard at school. I went to a liberal arts high school, which was rather strict. I went to school by 8 o’clock, and after the 7th period, I took supplementary classes for two subjects for 50 minutes each. After dinner, I had self-study until 10 o’clock. I went to school in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays from the second year and studied autonomously until 4 o’clock. Of course, I often went to karaoke with my friends or ate out during self-study time (^^). Still, since I spend a lot of time with my friends, there are so many memorable things, and to this day, I meet regularly with my high school friends and keep in touch every day and get along well. I hope you all make many good memories with your friends and have a good school life!

Please tell me what classes you take in college and your activities.

Since I am attending the Department of Tourism Management, many subjects overlap with your study subjects. Although learning contents are different, I took classes such as tourism school theory, resource theory, and food and beverage management, just like general tourism subjects. I want to highlight domestic and overseas field trips as a departmental activity. It will be difficult for the time being due to the coronavirus. Still, I went to Jeju Island and Japan, and it was a time to learn and think a lot as a tourism student, not just traveling. In addition, I experienced volunteer work at the 2018 Pyeongchang Winter Olympics, a Canadian working holiday, and outside activities through a one-and-a-half-year leave of absence. If you are entering a university, we hope you will enjoy a variety of extracurricular activities and on-campus activities as well!

Lastly, please say anything or advice to students who want to go to school or get a job!

After graduating from high school, whether going to college or finding a job, I hope you enjoy every moment and live a life that values yourself as the best! Anyone can fail and wander, but I hope you don’t get too discouraged and use that as a foundation to run towards your goal. I like the word YOLO (You Only Live Once) very much. I hope you can enjoy your school life as happy as you want. Don’t forget that I will always support you. :)

Baek Ga-gyeong