To bring our time to a close, we concluded Duke Engage Korea with a group trip to Jeju Island. With its lava stone coastlines, walkable mountains, and lush tropical flora, Jeju was truly the best place we could spend our last few days in Korea. Knowing that the end was so near, I felt the urge to make the most of every moment and draw out experiences as long as possible. I was taken back to the summer before I started college when I would drive around on warm summer nights blasting music with friends, trying to fully soak up the moment and block out the looming anxiety about what the future would bring. But, the transition of leaving Korea didn’t feel as sad as it did leaving high school. I wasn’t scared of what was ahead, instead I was excited for all the opportunities the future had in store for me to apply what I had learned over the summer.
Looking back at this summer, it is easy to focus on all that I wish I would have done differently. I wish I would have made more of an effort to learn Korean before starting the program so I had more of a baseline to practice with, I wish that I had gotten over my own fears and insecurities sooner in order to more easily form bonds with the kids we were teaching, and I wish I would have had the confidence to go out and explore the area on my own from the very start. However, all it takes is a brief skim through our shared album for those regrets to wash away and be replaced by a sense of internal joy and contentedness. Seeing the cheeky grins, the belly laughs, and the scenarios that are completely unintelligible without context warms my heart to the core and brings all the emotions and memories rushing back. Thus, while getting to enjoy Korea’s vast and beautiful culture was truly an invaluable experience, what stands out to me as the most impactful and most memorable parts of the program are the people I met and the relationships I formed.
I will never forget the kids I had the privilege of teaching, and in many ways I feel like they influenced me more than I did them. Namely, I have never met such responsible and genuinely empathetic children in my life, and so the more time I spent with them the more I wanted to better myself and live up to their standard. Additionally, hearing about all they have overcome and the incredible resilience they’ve displayed in spite of it all inspired me daily. I am so thankful for having the opportunity to interact with them, and it will live with me for the rest of my life. Participating fully in this experience would have been impossible, however, if not for my incredible team. I could not have asked for a better group of people to work with. Not only were they incredibly talented and able, but also compassionate and deeply caring. I would call each and every one of them my friends now, and they are individuals whom I feel equally comfortable opening up and cracking up with.
So, while goodbyes are always hard, for some reason it feels more okay to be leaving the program and Korea. Maybe that’s the mark of a truly exceptional experience when it so satisfies your expectations and wishes that you’re somehow more okay with letting it go. Who knows, but what I do know is that I am so glad that I got to be a part of Duke Engage Korea, and that I will always remember this experience of a lifetime.
– Josh Wagner
