Tyrell D’Angelo Jean

It has so far been ten months since I entered Korea and embarked on this journey of becoming a 24th generation TaLK scholar. I knew the experience that awaited me would be both challenging and rewarding, but I could never have guessed just how much my life would change by deciding to come to Korea during this time.

In regards to Covid-19, I believe that Korea has been one of the safest places to be, because of the thorough contract tracing efforts, and the strict quarantine and testing guidelines. In the beginning of my time here in Korea, there was a big surge in covid cases, and Korea quickly became one of the countries with the most cases in the entire world. However, after the population took precautions against the virus as a whole, the number of daily infections steadily dropped, and Korea soon became one of the safest places to live. While there was a shortage of masks for a short time, I never once experienced a shortage of toilet paper living here in Korea, and for that reason alone I knew I had made the right decision to move here.

That is not to say that I’ve let myself become relaxed when it comes to taking precautions, or that there haven’t been times when I’ve been anxious because of the spread of the virus. There have been a few resurgences of covid-19, and currently Korea is experiencing another, just as almost the entire world is. However, even in the toughest of times, it’s been easy to trust that there will be better times ahead in regards to containment of the virus. I have and will continue to do my part to social distance and follow the KCDC guidelines until those times are upon us.

In the past, many talk scholars have taken the opportunity to travel to neighboring countries such as Japan, the Philippines, etc. during school vacation while they were here in Korea. Before coming to Korea, this was my plan as well. I wanted to see as many countries as I could before my journey here was over, but for a very obvious reason this is not able to happen. We are currently living in a world where non-essential travel is almost impossible, and is definitely not recommended. However, I have not been disappointed in just seeing sights here in Korea, as there is much to experience and much to learn just within my own province! I live in the Jeollanamdo region of South Korea, a province at the very bottom of the west coast of Korea. Though my school placement is in the Sinan-gun region, I was lucky enough to be able to reside in a beautiful city called Mokpo. Mokpo is both four hours away from Seoul and four hours away from Busan by bus. However, is not a very rural city, as we even have a KTX stop here. But it is not commonly a travel destination people have in their minds when they decide they want to visit South Korea, as many people do not even know this city exists. Before I came to Korea, I am sad to say that I was one of these people! :( When people come to Korea for vacation or long term stay, they usually come to visit or stay in the more well-known cities here in Korea such as Seoul, Busan, Jeju, or maybe even Daegu. Most likely they have never heard of the Jeollanamdo province, and they’ve absolutely never heard of a little city in that province called Mokpo. However, this city has a rich history, and it is well known for having some of the best food in Korea. There are many natural and historical spots to tour, and there are many restaurants and cafes that I would absolutely recommend everyone visit if they ever decided to come to Korea!

I teach on an island in Sinan-gun called Aphaedo (압해도). It is a beautiful island, even though it is quite rural. My largest class is 12 students, and my smallest is around 8 students. Since our school is so small, we have often been exempt from the partial and full school closures that other schools are subjected to. In the beginning of the school year we had to adjust to teaching online for just about a month, but since then we’ve had only in person classes. In my opinion, it is definitely more fulfilling than teaching online, and we can accurately gauge just how much our students are learning. However, even though we teach in person, we do our best to implement social distancing measures, and we wear our masks at all times!

My students are the reason I am happy so extremely happy to come to school everyday. They are eager to learn, and as a whole they are a very respectful group. Though I teach at an English center and my schedule is sometimes unpredictable, I can always count on teaching grades 3-6 curriculum classes and an after school class every week.

My after school class hasn’t suffered because of the covid-19 situation in Korea, because I teach a group of just 2 students. Teaching such a small group of students was daunting at first, and it took trials and errors to learn how to properly prepare an effective and fun lesson for such a small class, but eventually it became easier, and I look forward to teaching this class every week! The contents of my after school lessons have been all up to me, so I can be creative and I have free reign on what I want to teach. I’ve taught a wide range of lessons in my after school class. I was able to teach things that are important for society as a whole (such as learning about nature and recycling), and I’ve been able to teach fun lessons that involve playing games that we love (such as learning colors and numbers through UNO). When my time is over, I’m going to miss teaching my after school class the most, because I’ve been able to bond and form deep relationships with my students since there are only 2. In addition, I teach with a co-teacher who I only see during my after school classes, and so it’s been nice to get to know her over this past year. I am so grateful for all of my co-teachers, as they have made my transition to living in Korea easy, and they have helped me as best they could with everything I needed.

My school is also an English center, so I’ve had the opportunity to be a guest teacher at many elementary schools within the Sinan-gun region of South Korea. There are situations where we host students from other schools at our school, or we travel by boat to teach our program at their school. If there is not a bridge from their school’s island to my school's island, then we must travel to them. This opportunity has been wonderful, because I’ve gotten to travel to so many beautiful islands in Korea that I wouldn’t have traveled to otherwise. I even had the pleasure of teaching on the beautiful island of Heuksando (흑산도). This island is so far from the mainland of Korea that I honestly questioned how the people who live here are able to speak Korean!

For many of the students on these extremely rural islands in Sinan-gun, I am the first person who they’ve ever met who is not Korean. And so there is a power and pressure within that situation. I have the power to provide a new perspective, not only as an American, but as a black person as well. There are many stereotypes that students hold within their minds because they’ve only seen foreigners through the lenses of the media, so I am able to put a rest to those stereotypes and show that we are all individuals, and no two people are exactly the same. But there is also the pressure to make a good impression and to show that learning English can be fun and not a daunting experience at all.

This year in Mokpo has changed my life in the best ways possible. I used to consider myself a very open minded person, but moving here to Korea has opened my mind even more. It was my first time living in a different state, let alone a different country, from my family! I’ve matured such a great deal within this year. I’ve had to pay all of my own bills, sign my own contracts, and make my own decisions. This experience has made me become more self-sufficient and independent, and I have embraced all of the changes that I’ve seen within myself because of this program. I would assume that choosing to teach in rural Korea as a foreigner is not a popular decision, but choosing to do this has changed my life for the better, and for that, I am eternally grateful for this opportunity.