‘An Exciting and Long Awaited Reunion after 2 years of Distance’ 

τhe beauty of beloved Autumn is celebrated through memorable events such as the Seoul fireworks festival and Cheonggyecheon Lantern Festival. Still, there is one more celebration, one of the most anticipated parties of 2022, with the reunion of foreign teachers from all over South Korea after more than two years. Since the beginning of the pandemic in late 2019, due to COVID-19 regulations, Korvia could not gather and celebrate the success and journey of the teachers. Thus, this Korvia Fall party of 2022 was even more special for all the Korvia members and all the English teachers who overcame many challenges faced during the pandemic. 

This special event took place on a sunny Saturday in early October 2022 (08/10/22) in the vibrant city district of Itaewon (이태원), located in the region of Yongsan-gu in Seoul. Well known for its diversity and energetic vibe, Itaewon is home to various food, shopping malls, and a perfect spot for tourists who love to party. With Streets packed with vehicles and subways filled with people eagerly waiting to enjoy the fireworks festival after years, the atmosphere in Seoul felt brighter than ever.

Korvia made sure to organize an event that would become a memorable experience for everyone who attended the party, which took place in the Westernized theme bar, Bronz Lounge (Formerly known as Lazy Cat, 서울 용산구 이태원로 179, Seoul). Volunteer teachers and some Korvia team members welcomed the guests at the bar’s entrance with warm smiles while waving the white and blue Korvia flags. With around 150 guests attending, various raffle prizes, music, food, and drinks, the party finally started around 1:30 PM. Firstly, the guests were given a name tag sticker to write their names on and instructions to check in online by scanning the QR-code on posters for the party to get a purple ticket for the raffle. In addition, everyone could get a free drink coupon card by following Korvia on Instagram. Another free drink coupon card was given to anyone who followed Korvia’s Sponsor’s YouTube Channel, Korean Safari, the sponsor for the first prize of the raffle—a new iPad. 

Korean Safari is a platform that explores Korean culture through nature expeditions, adventures, and trips in South Korea. During the party, they interviewed teachers about their experiences living in Korea and how their lives have progressed since they moved to South Korea. As for new teachers, their hopes and wishes for the future life in a country that would soon become their new home. 

One of the Korvia members came up with a fantastic idea to hang a few maps of South Korea around the bar with different colour stickers for various cities around the country. Teachers had their own colour stickers that matched the town they were from, making it easier for them to approach other teachers from the same city and/or region and make new friends. The event progressed nicely, with teachers and Korvia members enjoying the serene vibe while enjoying the lovely music, delicious food and refreshing drinks. 

Before the start of the raffle drawing, the Korvia members did not forget to celebrate the birthday of one of their team members, and along with all the teachers and guests, everyone sang “Happy Birthday!” together. This cute celebration gesture was followed by the raffle drawing starting around 3:30 PM. The prizes for the raffle were 10, including skincare products, BTS Uno Cards, Dalgona (달고나) kit from the popular tv show ‘Squid Game’… and an iPad for the first prize. 

All the guests participated enthusiastically during the raffle draw, with words of encouragement from the Korvia members and loud applause from the guests for the winners. The party wrapped up around 5:00 PM with some teachers staying longer to hang out with Korvia members, some going out to enjoy the rest of their evening with newly made friendships, and others heading up to see the breathtaking scenery of the fireworks by the Han River. 

Being at this occasion and witnessing people reuniting after a long time, recruiters hugging the teachers who now have become their friends showed the beautiful community and friendships created throughout the years. One of the teachers expressed her feelings about teaching in Korea as life-changing and how she “would never go back to America” as she feels at home in South Korea. The kindness of people, the relationship between the teachers, and the supportive community can be described by this one humbling quote by Marian Wright Edelman; “Education is improving the lives of others and leaving your community and world better than you found it.” The success of the Korvia parties is evidence of the celebration of the achievements of both teachers and the Korvia team members; therefore, you will have more exciting parties to look forward to in the future while creating and building a bigger community each year.

“Education is improving the lives of others and leaving your community and world better than you found it”

BY: Sahara Arachchige

Sahara is our intern here at Korvia and has an international background from Italy and the UK! She assists with social media postings and management. Also, she supports Korvia parties and webinar events.