In July 2017, Community Central Hall welcomed Yongwan Choi (Wayne) a student from the Graduate School for Social Innovation Business at Hanshin University in South Korea. Wayne’s internship at Community Central Hall has been a great experience for staff and service users, who were able to learn fascinating things about South Korea.
Wayne submitted his thesis last week on Civil Community Facilities in South Korea and compares them to those found in Scotland. We would like to congratulate Wayne on the completion of his thesis and wish him all the best for the future!
Below is Wayne’s post on his internship at Community Central Hall.
Unforgettable Summer at Community Central Hall
20/7/2017 – 14/8/2017
What famous Scottish things would you introduce to your foreign friends? If someone asks me, I would talk about ‘bagpipes’, ‘Irn-bru’, ‘haggis’… and mostly about its warm and well-developed community. Thanks to the interesting things and warm people who welcomed me during the internship, I was able to spend an unforgettable summer in Scotland.
I am a graduate school student in Korea studying cooperatives and social enterprises. Every summer vacation, our school selects a student and supports them on an internship abroad. I was worried because it was the first place, but I could ease my mind thanks to the kind people who helped me on the bus on my way to the dormitory. In Korea, people usually think about British people as silent and blunt. However, I thought about the warmth and kindness of the Scottish people.
On the first week, the internship began with me looking around CCH. I was impressed by the size of Happy Days Nursery and the service, which is better than the public facilities. It was also interesting to look at the printing process of Footprint, which is a social enterprise as competitive as a profit-seeking company. I thought these efforts and competitiveness are the strengths of CCH.
Every Tuesday and Thursday, I went outside with the young people from the Youth Base. On Tuesdays we participated in community gardening. Although I experienced ‘urban farming’ in Korea, it was harder than I thought. On Thursdays we were able to enjoy various outdoor activities including visiting the zoo and the trampoline park. During my internship, the 40th anniversary sports competition was held in CCH. I participated in the process of preparing for the games, it was very enjoyable. It was a lovely event that many local residents joined in. After the sports day, I received a certificate, which was just a small piece of coated paper, but I was so proud and have still kept it at home.
After work, I enjoyed visiting beautiful places like parks, gardens, museums and libraries. The summer daytime in Scotland is much longer than Koreas, so every time I left the office at around 5PM, I felt like I was going home right after lunch. Every day I was readied to walk and walk. During my internship, John gave me a lot of food for dinner, so I ate more than usual, but I lost a weight of 4kgs (8.8 pounds). I think it was because I walked a lot. Books borrowed from the Mitchell library were helpful in writing my thesis. At Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum, I was able to appreciate a picture of Dali, one of my favourite artists. The staffs of CCH recommended some places to visit in Glasgow and gave the opportunities to visit them. I want to thank them again. Visiting Glasgow City Chambers, I learnt about the history of Glasgow, although there is a lot more things I need to learn. For example, I first learned about the origin of Nelson Mandela Street.
Time passed quickly and in the blink of an eye the end of the 4 weeks came. It was not a long time, but I was able to take a look at CCH with the care of the staff. Moreover, I could visit great and beautiful places. Most of all, I was also able to feel the warmth and hospitality of Scottish people. Thanks to the internship in CCH, I finished my graduate thesis about civil community facilities comparing the case of Korea and Scotland. Last summer was one of the most beautiful memories in my life and I hope the people in CCH and Maryhill are always healthy and happy.
Yongwan Choi, Student of Graduate School for Social Innovation Business,
Hanshin University, South Korea