At the age of 61, Noh Jong Soon is still full of energy. The female teacher also decided to extend her working time in the central province of Nghe An because she loves this land and considers it her second home.

A special teacher

This time last year, teacher Noh Jong Soon, a volunteer from the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) came to Vietnam and participated in a short training course before attending the Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technology College to work as a volunteer in the field of training.

“I think I had a really happy time. But what I feel happy and meaningful is when I see that my efforts have brought results and the students' Korean language ability has improved," said Noh Jong Soon.

Noh Jong Soon is currently a Korean teacher at Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technology College. Source: Nghe An newspaper

In addition to taking on the job of teaching Korean, Noh also teaches Korean culture and participates in orientation classes for Vietnamese workers planning to go to Korea to work. To enrich her lessons, she spent a lot of time studying and exploring the culture, customs, and habits of Nghe An as well as many other provinces and cities.

Noh's colleagues were very surprised because even though she was over 60 years old, after only nearly 1 month of coming to work in Vinh, Noh was able to ride an electric bicycle by herself to explore Quang Trung Temple, Uncle Ho's hometown. Lakes, and museums in Vinh, and has quite a bit of knowledge about the places she has visited. Over the past year, she also went to Sa Pa, Hue, and many other places and landscapes in Vietnam.

Her love was passed on to her husband and sons who are working in the television industry in Korea and the three of them had a trip to Nghe An to explore this land together. Noh also said that being away from her hometown, husband, and children made her miss home many times. But her family is the driving force for her to stick with this job, because every day she receives positive encouragement from her husband and children, encouraging her to try to chase her dream.

A lesson about Korean culture from teacher Noh and her students. Source: Nghe An newspaper

Before coming to Vietnam, teacher Noh Jong Soon used to be an ordinary civil servant, working at an administrative agency in Jeonbuk province. However, in addition to daily work, she often participates in volunteer activities on weekends in human resources recruitment departments. This was also the opportunity for her to become a volunteer with the KOICA and then register to volunteer to teach Korean in Vietnam.

Teacher Noh Jong Soon added that her coming to Nghe An was completely accidental, due to the organization's assignment. However, from the first time she arrived, she had a lot of love for this land.

“After working in Nghe An, I had many opportunities to go on business trips to other provinces and cities. However, after only staying for a few days, I missed work, missed Vinh and just wanted to return, like returning to my own home," Noh Jong Soon shared.

Bring positive energy to students

Coming to work at Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technology College, even though it is only a volunteer role, teacher Noh Jong Soon's work schedule is often full every day of the week. After nearly a year of working with the students here, Noh Jong Soon is called by the students and colleagues by a very simple name, Noh. Although she understands very little Vietnamese, Noh said that she especially enjoys being called "Mrs".

"It is the love of the students that gives me the motivation to stick with this job," Noh confided.

At the age of 61, Noh always brings positive energy to her students. Source: Nghe An newspaper

Ngan Van Thiet - a second-year student in the Korean Department, shared many memories with this special teacher. Just over a week ago, my classmates and I went to her house to visit and she cooked many Korean specialties. Occasionally, the class also went with her to explore many famous restaurants in Vinh.

"I think what I appreciate most about her is the positive energy she always transmits to her students. Personally, I used to come from a poor commune of Tuong Duong district so I was quite timid. However, by studying with her and communicating regularly with her, I feel more confident and my foreign language skills have improved significantly. She also gave me a lot of advice when she knew that I wanted to go to Korea to work after graduating," Thiet said.

Bonding with new students and colleagues, teacher Noh Jong Soon also confided that she received many things from this job. Maybe that's why, even though she is the oldest teacher in the school, she never seems to run out of energy.

On the contrary, it is her scientific, meticulous, and responsible attitude and way of working that is even more appreciated and admired by her colleagues.

"Many people also ask why I have such positive energy. There are many reasons, but the most important reason is my attitude, and positive thinking, and I personally want to change myself and my job, renew myself, and try new fields. Working in Vietnam helps me establish many relationships with locals and is an opportunity for me to make new friends and colleagues as well as students," Noh added.

A Korean Teacher Considers Nghe An Her Second Homeland

In addition to the classroom work of a Korean language and Korean culture teacher, recently teacher Noh Jong Soon along with KOICA completed the first project she directly implemented at school, which is the inauguration of a Korean language practice room, considered the most modern practice room in the country, with 100% imported equipment.

Putting this project into operation is also the reason why she decided to volunteer to stay with Vietnam - Korea Industrial Technology College for another year. Because, she believes that, when she has devoted a lot of effort to the project, she can help the school operate the practice room effectively and give her more opportunities to support the students with their work, and they can listen, speak, read, and write Korean fluently.

Love for Nghe An is the motivation for teacher Noh Jong Soon to extend her working time. Source: Nghe An newspaper

Extending her working time, Noh Jong Soon eagerly waited for her first Vietnamese Teachers' Day celebration in Vietnam. That is the day she wears the traditional Vietnamese ao dai given by the school, participates in cultural and artistic exchange activities, receives meaningful wishes from students and once again understand and feel more fully the Vietnamese's tradition of "respecting teachers and respecting morality".

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