From July 30 to August 3, ‘Hanbyeol Camp’, or ‘Star Camp’, was hosted by Sookmyung Interpretation Volunteers (SMIV) as the club’s means of talent donation. It was created for elementary students in Yongsan District who are interested in foreign languages. The program ran from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. each day at Queen Sunheon Building, and included one field trip. The camp was sponsored by Yongsan District who helped with recruiting participants and SMIV who provided instructors for the programs. The children were divided into five different groups leveled accordingly. Three were English class groupings, and the other two groups were Japanese and Chinese. Like the camp name, the camp aimed at having children shone like stars. That is, every child was mentored to shine like a precious star. SMIV named each class group, not according to level, but by constellations such as Dolphinus, Cygnus, and Lyra. The camp also offered students a chance to experience several cultural activities by visiting Multiculture Museum located in Eunpyeong District and cooking at Korean Food Institute in Sookmyung Women’s University. Cho Seohyeong, 3rd grade in Cheongpa Elementary School, said, “I joined the camp because I like Japanese, and I’m excited about the field trip.” SMIV club members also looked forward to the Hanbyeol Camp. Nam Youjeong, representative of SMIV, Department of English Language and Literature ’17 said that members increased the time of learning language in the camp so that children could leave the camp with increased foreign language abilities, even more so than last year’s camp when members focused more on culture experiences. While satisfaction with last year’s camp was good, Nam said, “This year’s application period closed in just five seconds after opening. I hope we have continued to fulfill parents’ and students’ expectations.” Even though Hanbyeol Camp is only in its infancy, the camp is popular with students and parents in Yongsan. The camp offers students a great opportunity to increase their language competency and shine like a star.
