Chimi Wangmo, 24, is undergoing her master’s degree at the Hanyang University in Seoul, South Korea. She is one of the few Bhutanese students who was awarded Korean government scholarship to pursue undergraduate studies.
Chimi said her first year in Korea was not easy. “I am a vegetarian. Koreans usually have meat and lots of sea food,” she said, adding that it was hard for her to find vegetarian food. “The other challenge was the language. It is really hard to communicate with people even in English,” she added.
However, as the time went by she said got adjusted to the environment. Having lived in Korea for five years now, she speaks fluent Korean language.
Taking advantage of her language skills, she works as a part-time teacher. She started teaching since March this year and has taught in middle, elementary, high school and kindergartens.
When BBS visited her, she was teaching at the Seoul Gaewoong Elementary School.
“I teach about Bhutan- its location, about the King, Bhutanese language. They also learned Bhutanese phrases like, Kuzuzangpo, Ga dey bay yea, Tashi delek.
“I also teach them about Bhutanese currency and also conduct quizzes on Bhutan. I also make them wear Gho and Kira. And teach them make bookmarks using Bhutanese textiles and Bhutan flag,” said Chimi.
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Chimi described her teaching as fun and exciting. She said the students were very competitive and hard working. While they studied for exams Chimi wanted them to have fun and go easy. Some of the students shared that they learned some basic facts and figures about Bhutan.
Most of the students said that they would love to visit Bhutan when they grew up and had enough money.
According to the School the programme was organized mainly to give exposure to Korean students about other countries and their cultures. “Nowadays, the number of foreigners is rapidly increasing and I think it is important to understand about other countries,” said the Programme Coordinator and also a teacher, Saerim Kim. “I invited many foreigners through Seoul Global Center. It is the first time about Bhutan,” she added.
Meanwhile, there is also a Consulate in Seoul for the Bhutanese people living in Korea and also to strengthen the relationship between the two Countries. The Honorary Consul General is Hanyoung Kim, a passionate man, who loves Bhutan and has been to Bhutan numerous times since the early 1980s.
When BBS team visited the Consulate he said: “Welcome home, this is your small home.” He had so many exciting and interesting stories to share about Bhutan and the Bhutanese. He said he was working on to build a Cultural Centre of Bhutan in Seoul.
He said there were so many similarities between the two countries. “Because of this Bhutanese students do not face difficulty living in Korea.”
Besides looking after the welfare of the students, the Consulate is also working on several other projects to further strengthen the relationship between the two countries.
“Develop a cultural and deeper relationship between the two countries.” The Consul General said that he was looking forward to next Asian Games to be held in Incheon, South Korea next year. “My target is one gold medal for Bhutan,” he added.
He also said that, to explore other areas of co-operation between the two countries, the Consulate is also working on developing agriculture sector in Bhutan.
Meanwhile, like Chimi Wangmo, there are six Bhutanese students undergoing vocational training and another 4 in different universities across Korea.
