Newsletter

Docent Activities Were Full of Excitement from the Start

In February 2018, I heard that I had passed the exam to be in the first class of junior docents. In fact, until then, I knew very little about Dokdo. Thinking that I could use this opportunity to study hard to learn about Dokdo from prominent scholars and professors, I took my first step as a docent. We prepared a special event for the opening ceremony – the “Dokdo is Our Land” flash mob. I will probably never forget this flash mob. This is because I was able to become closer with new friends while laughing and chatting after the flash mob, even though it was awkward to dance with strangers at first. After passing the exam to be a junior docent, we spent one-month learning about Dokdo and explanatory skills while practicing the dance for the flash mob. At last, we held the opening ceremony on February 27, 2018, where we performed the flash mob in front our parents and I demonstrated docent explanations with a few of my friends. After finishing the much-awaited opening ceremony, I felt proud and decided to work hard for this job. It was the moment during which I thought about my expectations for the year to come as a junior docent and my heart pounded with excitement.

A Growing Sense of Responsibility and Affection Towards Dokdo while Spreading the Word about Dokdo

After the opening ceremony, my full-fledged activities as a junior docent at the Dokdo Experience Center began. I really learned a lot about history and nature while preparing exhibit explanations. When I led tours, some visitors would ask questions to which I did not know the answers. Each time, my knowledge piled up, as I studied and learned more information little by little. It is no exaggeration to say that my activities as a docent helped me learn more about our nation’s history. At the same time, I had a many concerns while preparing exhibit explanations. How can I explain things so that visitors can understand the information more easily? How can I make it less boring? What should I do to make it more interesting? Such worries prompted me to figure out how to think on the level of my young friends and how to communicate to a wide variety of people. However, not everything was good. Some days I found it hard to speak because of less responsive audiences and there were many days during which I was exhausted. However, I did not give up and overcame my weaknesses. Such experiences helped me to learn how to cope with a variety of situations, which served as an occasion for me to grow even further. Above all, nothing was more valuable than what I felt when my young friends would comfortably approach me after listening to my explanations, solving quizzes and asking questions. At first, I focused on the explanations because I was inexperienced. However, as I proceeded, I was able to accumulate my own special expertise which afforded me more time to interact with the visitors. Various experiences that I had while speaking freed me from my fears of making presentations in front of large groups of people and fostered in me a patriotic spirit. As I spoke in the history room, I was able to study our country’s proud history and precious land which helped foster my patriotic spirit. And throughout this year, I came to grow one “hope.” I hope to meet someone who grows to feel the same way that I feel, as a result of my explanations.

History Learned Through Experiences

It was a great experience to present exhibit explanations while working as a junior docent at the Dokdo Experience Center for one year, but other various experiences also remain in my memory. Soon after I began working as a junior docent, I was fortunate enough to take part in cutting the tape at the opening ceremony of the 2018 Dokdo Exhibition, “Our Land Dokdo That Came to Gwanghwamun Gate.” There I was able to meet many people devoted to the cause of Dokdo, including the head of the Dokdo Research Institute, painter Lee Jong-sang, superintendent of the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Cho Hee-yeon, and the director of the National Museum of Korean Contemporary History, Chu Chin-oh. Through meetings with these individuals, I had time to think about Dokdo once again and gain strength for my upcoming activities as a junior docent. I attended the exhibition, “Pictures and Stories of Japanese Military Comfort Women,” where I met Mrs. Lee Yong-su and heard her story. This experience allowed me to feel closer to the pain of our history and think about our country’s role for the future. I took a trip to Ganghwado Island with my junior docent friends and was able to learn more about the island’s history and culture thanks to Dr. Seo Hi-jong, who accompanied us to explain everything in detail. In addition, I had really profitable time during which I learned a lot from many lectures and tours, including a lecture by Prof. Yuji Hosaka. Yet what impressed me most was that I took part in the shooting of the YTN documentary, “Republic of Korea Dokdo: Who’s Who,” on Dokdo Day. I happened to meet a YTN producer at the opening ceremony of the Dokdo special exhibition hall in Gwanghwamun Gate marking the anniversary of the March 1st Independence Movement, and the meeting was followed by the filming. It was exhausting to film the program but novelty was greater. Watching television later, we were embarrassed to hear that we were called the “little heroes protecting Dokdo.” However, the embarrassment was short-lived and it became an occasion for me to renew my ambitions to live up to the title and work even harder. Various experiences through activities as a junior docent became huge events for me, a student. Though these activities, I think I gained a broader vision for history that I would not have been able to access at school. I want to express my appreciation for having the opportunity to experience and study the history of Northeast Asia and the diverse problems in Northeast Asia that are still in progress beyond Dokdo and say it was quite a meaningful experience.

Opening Eyes to History Through Activities as a Junior Docent at the Dokdo Experience Center

My one year-long experience as a junior docent at the Dokdo Experience Center is too great to be contained in such a limited space. I saw, experienced, felt, and learned so much. I would like to express my gratitude towards Go Gil-jeong in the experience center, and those at the Northeast Asian History Foundation who provided me with this great opportunity through this essay. I cordially ask the foundation to provide more students with opportunities to learn the importance of our nation’s history, just like it gave us the precious opportunity of becoming the first class of junior docents at the Dokdo Experience Center. My activity in the last year was a meaningful an experience that could never be bought with money. Based on these experiences, I will try hard to study our history, including the problem surrounding Dokdo while being proud about it.