Do you want to know what I’d like to be? An ‘Interactive Leader’
The Challenge of Middle and High School Students in Incheon
Those in school now are the young generation. They enjoy all of the benefits of advanced information and communication technology and experience global culture from an earlier age, and they have a worldview different from their parents’. I had a chance to meet students who are enthusiastically preparing for the global age and hear their aspirations.
Writer Kim Ha-neul
Photos Jang Hyeon-seon
Songdo-dong in Yeonsu, where vacant lots are much more dominant than buildings. I think people staring at this vast expanse of space would have more future-oriented points of view. As does Kim Jae-min (18), Daegun High School. These are times when something will be created from nothing.
Last year, he participated in the education session of the Model UN Climate Change Conference 2013 with other students from Incheon. The session was held to nurture future talent in education after Yeonsu-gu was designated a Special District for the Globalization of Education.
The students had a new experience learning about international meetings and interactive discussions, while preparing for the conference through the Incheon Model United Nations 2013 (IMUN). The global news and issues they heard about helped those students feel like they live in a global era. Kim said, “I was able to meet friends who have a keen interest and show enthusiasm about international issues. We were of like mind on those issues. We gathered here the hard way so we should do something more.” Hunger, the environment, war and peace, the things that he learned from the international conference had a huge impact on Kim, leaving him rather astounded. He felt obliged to share the invaluable experience with more students. So he started to create student-centered festivals and gatherings. More middle and high school students in Incheon began to pay more attention to Kim.
In fact, Kim is a college prep student like other students who cannot escape the college entrance exam. He spends most of his time studying. In that situation, it would be natural to think the world they view belongs to adults.
He said, “I have little time to pay attention to what goes on in the world, what happens and what view I should take. That is the reality. Through activities preparing for the conference, I learned passion. I visited State University of New York, Korea, to rent a place during the gathering. We discussed lots of issues. We encouraged and helped one another.”
This is partly because Kim’s vision is to become an interactive politician based on heartfelt communication. What he learned most while taking the lead in planning and holding the event including small debates and presentations was interaction.
“When I got closer to the officials of the Secretariat, the staff and participants, I could communicate with them. This explains why participants who shared the same feelings organize clubs and communicate with younger students.” He added, “We can make it only when we dream of our visions, put them into action, and pursue them with passion and aspiration. It is self-confidence. I hope to share my experience with students in Yeonsu-gu.”
