A Day of English with Subaek Elementary School was a complete success and accomplished all of the ideals that both the Non Commissioned Officers Association (NCOA Korea-Dragon Hill Chapter) and the ROK NCOs of CFC set out to do.
For NCOA Korea, this was not the first time for an English Camp. This is actually the fifth iteration of an English Camp partnered with ROK Service members of Combined Force Command (CFC). This was however, the first time that we have conducted English Camp far away from our Garrison at Yongsan.
The purpose for conducting our English Camp is threefold. First is the community service for our members who are active duty and retired service members. This is important to us as we want to give back to the community which has given to us. Second is the fact that the community benefits from our presence here in Korea. That fact that we can touch lives in the community serves as a positive outlook for the Korean youth of today living and working side by side with Americans who are committed to the defense of the Korean peninsula. Lastly, it is a great opportunity for US and ROK service members both active and retired to work together in the community. This is paramount to strengthening the ROK/US partnership that has been going strong for over 60 years.
After some consideration for the need to branch out further into the Korean community away from the Seoul Area, it was decided that the Subaek elementary school in Kangwon Province was an excellent location and setting for the next English Camp. This gave rural children an opportunity to spend some time with native English speakers; an opportunity that is fairy difficult for them to achieve in the countryside tucked away in the valley of the Hoengseong area.
On this English Camp, we had over 20 US volunteers and 18 ROK volunteers make the 2 hour trek to Subaek-ri and were greeted by 52 children eagerly awaiting a fun day of English. The school was broken down into three groups: Kindergarten, first and second grade, and third through sixth grade. The purpose of the English Camp is not to teach the children English but to encourage them to have fun with learning English in their future studies. The Camp started with events such as T-shirt designs and face painting to give the students a comfortable feel before going into tougher blocks of instruction such as counting, word games and American culture. In every class, a Korean member was partnered with two American members. This served to assist with the language barrier and also to give the children a feeling of togetherness. After a few blocks, the children were ready for lunch, which was a custom American Barbecue of hot dogs and hamburgers. This was put together by our Camp support team made of up 5 ROK NCOs and 1 US NCO. The children enjoyed a delicious meal together with their volunteer American and Korean teachers.
Prior to the lunch break several of our volunteers had the opportunity to make Kimchee and Kim Bap. After lunch, the camp resumed for another few hours. The day ended with a Group Photo session and a Certificate of Partnership was presented to the School Principal. In addition the children presented each of the Volunteers with a handmade Fan as a Souvenir. Then, it was time to say our goodbyes and get back on the bus to Seoul.
In the end, the children of the camp were so very happy and gained a great experience of sharing a day with our volunteers. The volunteers got the better end of the bargain as they not only had as much fun as the children, but they also felt their worth in doing something great for the community in which we live. This is what our partnership is all about.
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