Activities at Daegu Metropolitan Office of Education


Jaejin Yang
Coordinator, Daegu MOE
Like a 54-square Rubix Cube, Korea often baffles the most cosmopolitan of us. A culture heavily dependent on intuition and prudence, it¡¯s the unassuming peninsula that often grinds the unprepared foreigner. In execution, the history-dense traditions and customs of Chosun are elegant and deceptively simple. The DMOE works to simplify the realities and ease assimilation for our NTs. Support for diverse programs that strengthen and educate our unique community is the mission of the DMOE.
Perhaps the greatest attraction of our biannual welcoming dinner is the all-you-can-eat buffet and all-you-can-drink beer. But the dinner¡¯s chief goal is for NTs to network and address difficulties with each other, and their coordinators/district supervisors. Eighty-four teachers attended in March 2010, and 140 teachers attended in October, forging a strong support group against the intimidation of a foreign country.



Following Korean culture, we promote the ¡°we¡± and the ¡°our¡± from our teachers. Established in August 2009, The Critical Friends Group (CFG) localizes the hundreds of native teachers in Daegu into small communities of 3-4 teachers. The purpose is to enhance the quality of NT classes by sharpening and developing teaching skills through peer observation, reflection, and frequent communication.

Every term, outstanding teachers are recognized from the open classes and are then invited to teach various English classes and programs of the DMOE or other English related projects such as creating tests, editing DMOE publications, or to lecture at orientations and trainings.

The DMOE works with other government bodies as well. We partner with Daegu tourism to sponsor the ¡°Familiarization Tour,¡± a one-day trip of famous sights and attractions of Daegu. This year¡¯s guest list of 74 teachers followed an itinerary which included¡¦
a) Mt. Palgong: famous for trekking and fall foliage
b) Gu-am Farm: making traditional rice cakes and egg holders. Picking cherry tomatoes in a greenhouse
c) Herbhillz: an ¡°eco theme-park¡± with various herb plants, trees, gardens, and animals.
d) Daegu Herbal Medicine Village: Learn about Korean herbal medicine and experience cutting and packaging herbal medicine.



This year we were also able to hand out over 300 free tickets to the Korea in Motion Festival in Daegu, a series of concerts and performances highlighting aspects of traditional and modern Korean culture.


Finally, the DMOE sponsors a Korean Language and Culture class. Currently, 134 Native Teachers are enrolled in one of three levels meeting every Friday, 90 minutes a week. These classes were an instant hit since its creation in spring 2010 with 64 inaugural participants compared to the anticipated 30. The instructors are certified teachers who specialize in teaching Korean to foreigners. The Educational Broadcasting System (EBS) recently filmed one of our classes and interviewed one of the native teachers.


These are some of the programs that the DMOE currently sponsors. It¡¯s our goal to narrow the cultural gaps that exist between the native teacher and Korea. This is to help NT¡¯s maximize their Korean experience and to promote Korea¡¯s image abroad.