POE News
Mona Shin, Gyeongbuk Coordinator
Welcome New Teachers!
It's been an exciting first semester so far for EPIK in Gyeongbuk province. With the arrival of over 180 new teachers in February and March, the EPIK community in our province has really grown! From May 13th to 14th, all new teachers attended the two day, one night In-Service training provided by EPIK in beautiful and historic Gyeongju. They attended lectures and workshops on lesson planning, lesson demonstrations, and teaching techniques. Throughout the training, our new teachers proved to be incredibly diverse and talented, and are sure to be valuable additions to our English program in Gyeongbuk. Welcome!
Dokdo Field Trip
This past May, 52 EPIK teachers were chosen to attend a three day, two night field trip sponsored by the Gyeongbuk Provincial Office to the islands of Uleungdo and Dokdo. They were accompanied by TaLK scholars and staff from Gyeongbuk University of Foreign Studies who served as guides.
While there were some concerns about stormy weather continuing from the days previous, the group was fortunate to enjoy sun and shine throughout the entire three days. The packed schedule featured an array of activities, sights and foods that were unforgettable. The group first visited the Dokdo Museum to learn about the many pieces of historical evidence behind Korea's territorial claim over the Dokdo islets. They then climbed to the Dokdo Observatory to take in a spectacular view of Uleungdo and its surrounding ocean. In the following days, the group took a tour around mysterious Uleungdo to see its whimsically shaped rocks and hear about its local folklore, huffed and puffed up a trail to see beautiful Bongrae Falls, and hiked surrounded by lush green life to once again see the view from Nasujeon.
The menu for the trip featured a variety of dishes special to Uleungdo, like the bibimbap with local vegetables in Nari Basin and bulgogi made from herb-fed, island beef. The group also heard two special lectures on the Dokdo conflict, and met with the middle school and high school students of Uleungdo. Finally, the highlight of the trip was of course being able to land on Dokdo! With only twenty minutes on dock, the group hurried to take snapshots of each other touching the famous islets, and even managed to take a group picture with the governor of Gyeongbuk Province who happened to be in Uleungdo for his re-election campaign that day. Lucky them!
All in all, everyone in attendance had an amazing time, and learned most importantly that¡¦Dokdo is Korea's!
Five Regional Coordinators Appointed
Gyeongbuk Province has recently appointed 5 excellent EPIK teachers as our Regional Coordinators. Their names are Shadi Mirza, Lee Lalka, Nadia Hugo, Scott Williams, and Andrew Lim. They are all highly recommended EPIK teachers with a wealth of local knowledge and classroom experience, and as volunteers, they have a serious interest in helping their local colleagues. The Regional Coordinator role is to be the primary, local point of contact for basic questions and advice, and as experienced EPIK teachers, they will have valuable advice about co-teaching conflicts, teaching techniques, and local life. Our Regional Coordinators will also be producing a monthly newsletter for the EPIK teachers in our province with local news, teaching ideas, and other helpful information. This and many more ideas are being planned for our province! Gyeongbuk POE and our RCs are committed to making EPIK a better program in Gyeongbuk, and suggestions from our teachers are always welcomed.