Practicing Service Leadership, Volunteer Group in Sookmyung
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Practicing Service Leadership, Volunteer Group in Sookmyung
  • Shin Won Sora
  • 승인 2009.04.03 22:28
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Sookmyung Women’s University (SMU) has five volunteer leadership groups which are included under the Office of Social Services.  Those are Sookmyung Interpretation Volunteers, Sookmyung Knowledge Volunteers, Sookmyung Environment Volunteers, Sookmyung SIWA Volunteers and Sookmyung Medical Volunteers.  Those groups are doing their best to improve SMU’s image in and outside of school with their self-sacrificing minds and with their talent.  The Sookmyung Times (SMT) met three of them; SIWA Volunteers, Sookmyung Environment Volunteers, and Sookmyung Knowledge Volunteers.

SIWA Volunteers
Answered by CHO IN KYUNG (CHO), 5th representative of SIWA (Seoul International Women’s Association)

 

SMT - What kind of volunteer work does SIWA do? And what is the most worthwhile experience you can gain through doing volunteer work as a member of SIWA?
CHO: We diffuse Korean culture in the ‘Rainbow Camp’ for one month during the summer vacation.  The Rainbow Camp is held in Albany, New York, U.S.A. for Korean adopted children, which is the biggest camp for them.  There are still many Korean children who are adopted at an early age.  SIWA conveys Korean culture through 5 classes: history, Hangul, traditional animation, dance and music, and Korea Today.  The ages of the adopted children varies from 3 to 18.  Their appearance is same as ours but they don’t know the Korean language and they think differently, like Americans.  It is very difficult to prepare every class in English.  However, we feel great when they have interest in Korea and show their attachment to it through the class.

SMT- Before going to the U.S.A. for volunteer work, do SIWA provide any training?  
CHO: First of all, studying English is necessary because all classes use English.  We have an intensive course for it in January and February.  Also, we prepare five classes from March to May.  Each class has a topic.  In my case, I was in charge of the history class.  The topic of the history class last year was Yi Sun-sin and the turtle ship.  We made media for the topic and a model of the turtle ship in class.  In addition, we prepared a masque dance for the music and dance class which is popular with children.  Korean adopted children could have a chance to learn how to dance a masked dance.  We also presented Korean food.

SMT- Are there any worries for Korean adopted children?
CHO: During the camp, we stay in Korean adoptees’ families’ houses.  Some Korean adoptees do not think that they are Korean.  We don’t try to make them aware of the fact that they are Korean.  We just make an effort to give them a chance to accept Korean culture without antipathy as they grow up. 

SMT-After the camp, SIWA participates in a New York governmental program and goes to Ivy League universities for reporting.  Could you tell us about that specifically?
CHO: When the camp was finished, we learned about U.S.A. and Korea’s situation from specialists and had group discussions.  It was a little challenging but we were given a valuable chance to broaden our knowledge.  After that, we had a week for experiencing culture.  Last year, we went to New York, Washington and Niagara Falls.  We visited New York’s Columbia University, Times Square and Central Park.  Also, we went to various museums, the Capitol and the White House. 

SMT-Does SIWA do other volunteer work in the semester?
CHO: We go to the Holtilsan center and volunteer for the disabled every Saturday; helping them to bath, take walks and have meals together.  The year that we spent doing volunteer work was arduous, but it was a priceless experience.  Also, we helped organize the Bazaar which was held under the sponsorship of SIWA.  Besides, we do many kinds of leadership group activities.  And I want to tell readers that we do our recruiting in November.

Sookmyung Environment Volunteers
Answered by RYU SOO HYUN (RYU) of Sookmyung Environment Volunteers

SMT- Please, introduce Sookmyung Environment Volunteers to Sookmyungians.
RYU: Our group focuses on the ‘environment,’ one of the most controversial issues in the 21st century, with an eco-systematical approach.  This not only recognizes the importance of our environment but represents SMU's 'Service Culture.'  Through various activities, members of our group are acknowledged as 'environment keepers' with systematic and high spirits.

SMT- What important events are you planning for this year?
RYU: Many of the events we are planning are related to ENERGY.  Among them, the campaign called ‘MUST SAVE the ENERGY’ is planned to inform Sookmyungians of the importance of saving energy and is held once or twice in the semester.  38 leadership groups take part in this campaign and we are playing the main role and maintaining the campaign.  Especially, this year, we are planning to participate in a national volunteer festival which is held under the Joongang Ilbo, a newspaper published in Seoul, Korea.  We are going to introduce SMU outside of our school and experience many kinds of volunteer activities to realize their value.

SMT- What can Sookmyuingians do for the environment in SMU?
RYU: We are sure that SMU has one of the cleanest campuses of any university in Seoul; however, occasionally, we find some students disrupting our environment.  For example, after class, some students leave trash on their desks and it makes many students upset.  For a cleaner campus environment, we urge you to take your own trash away with you.  One more thing we recommend is that when you are the last person to leave the class, please check that the electronic equipment such as lights and computers are turned off.  By doing this we don’t have to waste unnecessary electricity, it’ll be helpful for our school’s finances and we’ll be rewarded with a better campus environment.

SMT- Please, explain more of the programs you run.
RYU: On ‘Green Day’ we clean the road near SMU regularly.  We find it really worthwhile when residents of the area applaud us for keeping the road neat.  Through these ‘Green Day’ activities, we feel we are the ambassadors of SMU.  The ‘Campus Watch Program’ is also a big event we do every Monday, Wednesday and Friday.  To take part in economizing electric power, at 8:00 P.M. we go around empty classrooms and check whether the lights and other electric appliances are turned off.  We go to almost every building from Queen Sunheon Building and Myungshin Building to the College of Science.  We check and write down the detailed conditions of the classrooms and send the list to the Office of Social Services and the Maintenance Service Center.  Then they inform the last person who used the classroom.

 

 


Sookmyung Knowledge Volunteers
Answered by Kim Hye Su (KIM) of Sookmyung Knowledge Volunteers

SMT- Please introduces Sookmyung Knowledge Volunteers to Sookmyungians.
KIM: Our group is for those people who are isolated from the educational society in this globalized and informational era.  We help people to face our rapidly changing society, and eventually take part in social life more actively.  With the group members' knowledge, we spread the volunteering spirit to society as a campus culture.

SMT-What is the toughest thing about teaching children?
KIM: To understand and feel sympathy with our students would be the hardest thing.  And sometimes, young boys especially act rashly and talk back.  They seem not to accept us as teachers.  However, as time goes by, they open their hearts to us and tell us about their lives.

SMT- When was the most worthwhile time as a Knowledge Volunteer?
KIM: There were several times I was proud but it must be the last week of our activities.  When the last time was over, my students said to me “Will you come next semester, teacher?” and”Will you come again next year?”  When I heard these words, I felt that I did something meaningful for them and I had made a positive impression on them.  Also, our group’s activities became famous in Yongsan-gu and number of institutes asked us to teach them.  For now we are attending seven institutes, but from this semester we are going to attend eight.  We feel proud that we are improving not only Sookmyung Knowledge Volunteers but are promoting SMU outside of our school.

SMT- What is Sookmyung Knowledge Volunteers’ own specialty compared to other groups?
KIM: There are almost 40 leadership groups in SMU.  I think each group has their purpose and features which allow SMU to develop.  In the case of our group, we are the only leadership group who does volunteer work related to ‘knowledge.’  In addition, our group members, including freshmen, sophomores and juniors get along well, so we can get good companionship through our group.

SMT- Please, tell me about more activities you do
KIM: We are continuously telling Sookmyungians about the importance of knowledge volunteers. We select new members and assign them where to go during March.  From the first day of work, we do our volunteer activities for 13 weeks; the total time is 26 hours.  Sometimes, we do our activities in the vacation too.  In May, a composition contest is held between the eight institutes in which we do our volunteer work.  In November we hold a sports meeting for them.  During the summer vacation we go to an ice-rink to create a more intimate relationship between us and our students.  We are supported by the KT&G Social Foundation and we take part in the program of volunteer work so we can get new experiences.  We also take part in the program sponsored by Samsung Life.  2009 is the 6th year since our group was founded.  At the end of the year we will hold ‘Homecoming day’ and invite our seniors.


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