After working hard on conducting detailed research and report activities regarding different companies, associations, leaders and events in Korea for one semester, the current edition of the Foreign Students World Reporters project has come to an end. We concluded with a small private party last Friday, December 13, to which only our mentors and closest friends were invited. Our team wanted to summarize the events of the last couple of months in a familiar atmosphere and express our gratitude to those who were teaching and guiding us with their good will and professional experience along the way.
The short, but significant program was led by our team mates, Patricia from Mozambique and Aylar from Turkmenistan. The two ladies lightened up the atmosphere of the whole evening by making jokes, telling anecdotes and reminding us of meaningful episodes we had experienced together during the course of the activities. After them warmly greeting the guests, the mic was passed to this semester’s project leader, Jana from Serbia, who also gave a brief welcoming speech, followed by our prominent mentor, Mr Sungjin Hwang. Shortly afterwards, Jana summarized the team progress in a final report presentation, praising the members for their determination without leaving out those points with room for improvement.
"I would like to thank everyone for taking their time to be here tonight, especially our mentors and project participants. Moreover, team leaders and members, thank you for staying with the program until the end. During the last 6 months, we wrote a total of 20 articles in English that were posted on our website. We visited 5 companies and 4 associations, conducted 8 interviews, organized and attended 5 special lectures and covered 5 other events. Looking at the original plan of the project, I can proudly say that we have accomplished almost everything we had initially planned. Even though due to unfavourable circumstances we couldn’t conduct some of the visits as we had hoped to, we wish that the next generation of Foreign Students World Reporters would successfully finish what we have started.
I am sorry if I pushed you too hard at times, as I am aware that we are not experts and there were times when we were struggling, however, I have always wanted us to perform as professionally as possible. I also realize that we are all students and, as such, we have an obligation to put school first at all costs. Therefore, thank you once again for dedicating your time to this project, you all did your best. Personally, I feel that I have learned a lot of new information about Korea and its society, and I believe that all of you did so, too. Therefore, I can say that that part of the project was successfully completed. What I wish we would have done better is sharing that newly-acquired knowledge with a larger audience and even translating the articles to some of our members' native languages, thus strengthening the connections between Korea and our representative countries. Frankly speaking, that was something we had planned to do on numerous occasions, but our busy schedule didn't allow us to achieve. Therefore, I hope that future participants will follow our footsteps, complete what we have left unfinished and surpass our results. Thank you.”
After watching a short recap video of all the project activities next, our trusted mentor, Mr Hwang, briefly presented his professional evaluation of the program. Finally, he announced that “Tonight is the time to party and enjoy!”, with a promise to organize an additional assessment meeting to discuss areas of improvement for future projects in depth. He was positive in his judgement, stating that no initiative is flawless from the start and the learning process always leaves room for improvement. “In one sentence, you are excellent!”
Following those remarks, the president of the project Mr Jinwoong Lee handed out the completion certificates together with small appreciation gifts to all the members who had successfully completed the project. Also, special awards were given to two of the participants who had expressed the most enthusiasm and dedication in their roles designated by the project leader: Margarita from Bulgaria was awarded best team leader and Dung from Vietnam - best team member. After the group photos were taken at the end of the ceremony, the rest of the evening was spent in a comfortable atmosphere. Food was provided by President Mr Lee and our dinner talk was filled with sharing memories and a good laugh, which eventually led us to each member adding their individual evaluation of the time spent working together.
Katya from Russia thanked all the guests and emphasized the importance of what we have learned and how its value will surely be of great help to our future careers, while Regina from Hungary pointed out how she always felt welcomed as part of the team and was able to experience many interesting endeavours thanks to the Foreign Students World Reporters’ initiative. Dalia from Egypt also expressed her gratitude to the mentors and the rest of the members for their help, teamwork and support, pointing out that she probably wouldn’t have had the chance to join such activities were it not for this project. Finally, Janith from Sri Lanka mentioned the various new qualities he was surprised to find out he had as well as all the challenges he had overcome thanks to the project, hoping to join again if time allows him.
Finally, the loudest applause and the warmest feeling of gratitude went to our mentor, Mr Sungchul Kim, who led us through the whole journey by constantly providing us with professional consultations and emotional support. After Mr Kim's closing speech, we all thanked each other for the hard work once again, ending the event with a delicious cake. We sincerely hope that our articles have contributed to a better understanding of Korea and we will continue to work diligently in our respective fields, hoping that the new project members will go even farther than we did. With this, we, the participants in the Foreign Students World Reporters 2019 project, wish everyone a happy and successful end of the year!
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