Memories of living in Korea in the 1970s
Laren Metzer is from the United States and lives near Sacramento, California. For over thirty years he worked in state government, retiring in 2014. He has a master’s degree in history and a long-standing interest in Korean history and culture. –ED
It was a cold winter day in January 1976 when I first arrived in South Korea at Gimpo International Airport. I had recently been selected to join the Peace Corps and teach English conversation and composition at a college or university.
The Peace Corps was established in 1961 by U.S. President John Kennedy. From the beginning, the three goals of the Peace Corps were to offer assistance to developing countries, to provide information to the host nation about American culture, and to teach Americans about foreign cultures. In South Korea, the Peace Corps existed from 1966 to 1981 and focused on teaching English and health education.
My Peace Corps training, which lasted for the first ten weeks, was held in Cheongju, North Chungcheong Province. The Peace Corps had acquired a Korean-style inn called “Daerimjang” and converted it into a training center for new volunteers. Each day of training included four hours in learning the Korean language, two hours about TEFL and TESOL techniques, and two hours about various aspects of Korean culture. We learned about Korean history, food, music, art, religion, politics, and society in general. It was all very interesting yet a bit overwhelming at the same time. At the end of training, every volunteer was placed at a college or university. I was assigned to Gongju Teacher’s College in Gongju, South Chungcheong Province.
Gongju in the mid-1970s was a very interesting place, especially for someone like me who had a strong interest in Korean history. At that time, Gongju was considered a town because its’ population of about 40,000 did not qualify it for city status. Gongju had just one paved road that went north to south through the town. The main business area was only a few blocks wide and included the central market where I spent many hours fascinated by all the products available for purchase. The town was well-known for its historical park situated on the Gum River and for the recently discovered tomb of King Muryeong. There was no regular bus service within the town except for the bus that took students back and forth from the Teacher’s College. As a result, I walked most everywhere I needed to go in the town. Although Gongju lacked any train service, it did have a bus station that provided travel to Seoul and to nearby cities such as Daejeon, Nonsan, Buyeo, and Cheonan. From Daejeon, I was able to travel to almost anywhere in the country.
Life at the Teacher’s College was also very interesting. Although I was a native speaker, I had never taught English before so my teaching style was rather rough at first. In time, however, with the patience of the students, I became a diligent if not always polished English teacher. Each day, Monday through Friday and half a day on Saturday, I taught English conversation and composition classes. Most of the classes were with the freshmen and sophomore students although I did have one composition class for the juniors. I had no classes with the seniors until my second year at the college when I taught American literature. The students were very friendly toward me even if they struggled to communicate in English.
As I was the only American (actually, the only foreigner) in Gongju at that time, there were many demands on my time outside of the college. I had invitations almost every evening and weekend from students, faculty, and other people in the town. Some only wanted to practice their English, but others were curious about American people and culture. I even found the time to add to my teaching load by agreeing to teach twice a week at Buk Middle School where I co-taught with a local English teacher. The middle school environment was so different than the college and very stimulating.
I learned a great deal about Korean culture and society by living those two years with a local family, the Hwangs. Mr. Hwang was a tennis coach at the local junior college while his wife took care of the household and two young boys. I had my own bedroom at their house and usually took meals by myself, but in time I became a part of the family in a way and they graciously shared Korean culture with me.
As a whole, my experiences as a Peace Corps volunteer were some of the most memorable of my life. I have returned to South Korea a number of times since then and enjoyed the beauty and grace of the country and its people.
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