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This is my fifth trip to Seoul over a span of slightly more than a decade. In each trip, I gained new perspectives of the city and saw the developments particularly in its tourism promotion and the cleanliness of the environment. The 2018 trip to Seoul was unique because I had the opportunity to speak to Koreans from different walks of life and I saw new portraits of Seoul-life.

1) Students

Prior to this trip, I had heard of the stressful Korean education system from my Korean-language Teacher, Korean students and friends. As it turned out, the sharing by high-school students from Young-il High School, verified what I had been told. The reality of the stiff competition to get to good universities and the attendance at after-school academies to level up, are facts of life that the students had accepted. In many moments of the school visits, I had to remind myself to listen and watch the sharing by the students, and not being over-empathetic in my response. Notwithstanding that it was the student leaders who spoke to us, the sincerity of the students’ concerns for their future and the voicing of the need to give their best in their academic pursuits, and the ambition to want to make a change to the education system –

all these painted a positive picture of intrinsic motivation in the reality of external pressures. As I looked back at the way my colleagues had to push the unmotivated students of the tail-end classes to work hard for the upcoming national examination, I cannot help but wish they could just have a bit of such motivation of the Korean students. Yet, we are constantly reminded not to add (examination) stress onto them.

2) H.O.T. educator

Given that the Korean teachers’ career development pathway is not as diverse as ours, salary package is not as wide-ranged as ours, promotion is tied to seniority in service and the posting is decided by its Ministry of education, I can imagine that one must really be passionate in teaching and grounded in the mission to be an educator, in order to continue in the profession. A sharing from a Happy-Ordinary-Teacher in Sungrye Elementary School was heartwarming. She explained she had given up the opportunity for promotion with little pay difference so that she could spend more time with her family. We saw her passion in her teaching and enthusiasm in hosting us, and that to me, was a portrait of a H.O.T educator. It challenged me to think if I would still be H.O.T like her if my salary and PD or posting opportunities were to be reduced one day.

3) Small-eatery owner and worker

Prior to the trip, I had heard that some restaurants do not welcome solo-diners and some restaurants designate areas for solo-diners. The dinner at a small unattractive eatery in Namdaemun market was an intriguing experience. True enough, I was not allowed to enter the main dining area and I was asked to sit at an unattractive spot supposedly for solo-diners. However, that also created opportunity for conversation with the owner and her assistant. The owner initially looked fierce and I was a little nervous being the eatery alone. With my limited Korean and the assistant limited chinese, the conversation started when I thanked them (in Korean) for the meal. That immediately changed the atmosphere and we managed to strike an interesting conversation on the food and how I got to know about the restaurant through internet recommendation. The owner and assistant became friendly when we could communicate. I think I was given extra food and I think they take pride in what they serve; I could not finish my dinner and had to apologise for wasting food. In a few separate encounters in the trip, shop owners showed friendliness when they hear that I could speak their language. Language broke the barrier and common means of communication is so important in bringing people together and preventing misunderstanding.

4) Singaporean who lives in South Korea

We met a Singaporean who has called South Korea home. It was from our conversation with him that we gained insights on the real day-to-day challenges of the Korean people in things like employment, education, cost of living, administration styles, hierarchy in the work place. All of these were compared to how things are in Singapore. There is indeed no perfect economy, no best society and no ideal world that we can hope to set our homes and families in. We learn to thrive in where we are put, try to work with people who cross our paths and adapt in order to survive in the environment. The thing that holds us rooted in the changing and harsh environment is our values and beliefs. Those are things that should not change.

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Design - Innovation - Service - Team (Desmond)

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Design - Innovation - Service - Team (Desmond)

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I am really impressed with what the Koreans can do after the industrial and cultural visits. They are meticulous with every single detail and spare no effort in creating the best products to meet the needs of their consumers.

In my opinion, three key elements appear to contribute to the successes of the corporations.

1st, design. Users must first be attracted to the products before they can even have the opportunity to explore its functions and usability. As such, design becomes a critical aspect of every product. The souvenir design competition showcase at DDP was really an eye-opener and the value of good design can certainly be appreciated looking at the number of souvenirs bought by our team at the end of the visit.

2nd, innovation. For a company to stay competitive and successful, it must continue to innovate and develop new products, catering to not only its existing customers but also potential consumers whom might not already be using their products. Samsung is one company who has been doing that, churning out new and improved products regularly. From their showcase, we can see the efforts put in to leverage technology in developing consumer-centric products that will meet everyday needs covering leisure, education and work. The experience at MBC World was really memorable too. While I am no Kpop/Kdrama fan, I enjoyed the experience immensely due to the innovative and creative use of technology such as AR and holograms to enhance visitor experience.

3rd, service. Sometimes, I found myself buying something that I might not have intended to buy initially. And I was actually enticed by the helpfulness and sincerity of the service staff to open my wallet to give the product a try. I was really impressed by the service standard at Sulwhasoo. The environment was tastefully designed and the staff was sincere in helping us understand the company and its products better. We were treated like VIPs throughout the entire visit. I think all companies in Singapore, especially those in the service industry, must pay greater attention to this human factor and not underestimate the impact of good service on the company performance. It is not only about training but more a culture that needs to be engendered over time.

Finally, I would like to pay tribute to everyone in our team for their contribution to a very enriching and enjoyable learning journey. The experience felt "highly natural, while being highly engineered." It would certainly not be possible without each of us chipping in ideas, volunteering our services, embracing and putting aside our differences, keeping a look out for one another, and, last but not least, working together as a cohesive team towards our common objectives!

Kudos to RV Group B!

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I am thankful for having been allocated to MLS RV Group B. From planning to execution, everyone has tapped on their strengths to contribute to creating a fruitful learning experience for all. The fact that we have been able to carry out all the major activities we planned for goes to show that the planning has been adequate, given the limited runway that we had. Though we might have differences in beliefs and clashes might have occured, they happened because we care and want the best for the team.

Benjamin Franklin supposedly once said “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail.” But I think that does not mean that we need to come up with the perfect plan. The only constant in life is change. Things do not always go according to plan and we often need to adapt to last minute challenges hurled at us. If everything is so predictable, where would the fun in life be? Are our students equipped with the ability to handle change and rebound from failures?

I think that in Singapore, we are a bit too obsessed with not failing. Failure seems a taboo and we try to plan our education to allow smooth paths of success for most. Often, many valuable lessons are learnt from our own mistakes. By overly protecting our students, are we limiting their learning? Looking at the children from Sungmisan swinging from the still rings with just a thin cushion below them triggered me to think about how cushioned our Singaporean children’s lives have become. Playgrounds nowadays do no have sand in them and have cushioned flooring. You can hardly find swings nowadays, and playground slides are far from exciting. Looking at students from Youngil High School take ownership of their own presentations made me think about how we might have over prepared our students with extensive rehearsals whenever they need to make presentations for a major event. Looking at the harshness of the Korean work industry made me think about how Singaporean graduates can go to a job interview with no prior work experience and expect a $4000 salary. Has the life of Singaporeans become more and more sheltered and are we contributing to creating a Durian generation in Singapore?

I think we need to break away from the thinking that failure is always bad. Sometimes you can plan and consider a problem from every possible angle but you will never know unless you physically try. If we are tied down by fear of failure, we will have difficulty progressing. As MMs we need to be open to exploring new ideas. Dare to try, dare to fail, for the sake of teaching our students better. Of course we do not need to risk everything we have like Johnathan from On the Grill. Sound planning, coupled with calculated risks should make learning more exciting for both teachers and students. The concept of “Productive Failure in Mathematical Problem Solving” by Dr Manu Kapur is an example of an interesting approach of using failure to enhance learning.

Only when you have experienced failure, can you better appreciate the sweetness and the value of the success you have achieved. Only when you have tasted disappointment from Two Two Chicken, can you learn from your prior experience and be spurred to work hard, towards the Kyochun Chicken in life, and be able to better cherish the flavour of success.

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“Do what you can’t and experience the beauty of the mistakes you make.” is one my favourite quotes from Daniel Pink and is something I believe we have a lot to learn or ourselves as educators and as students.

During the sharing at Sungmisan Village, I was awed by the fact that what was shared was not only what has been successfully implemented but also projects that failed the test of time. I appreciated the fact that there was the spirit of embracing and supporting different ideas for the good of the community. What I appreciated even more was the fact that the mistakes or failed projects were not “swept under the carpet” but was still acknowledged for being a good idea perhaps at that point in time and the value that is in the lessons that were gained from the experiences.

Meeting Jonathan from On The Grill was also a refreshing experience for me. The grit and determination to succeed despite numerous setbacks is something I hope to see in all of my teachers and students. Sometimes I feel like we give up too easily in making our dreams a reality. I feel that it’s about wanting to make things happen and taking action. I believe that each one of us has something that we are meant to do, some difference we are meant to make somewhere. And when we realise what it is, we cannot wait around for things to happen, we should make them happen. As entrepreneurs do.

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Roza
My learning journey to Korea was an enriching one. There were many firsts for me in this trip.  It was the first time that I ever travelled with colleagues/friends only.   I got to observe and experience “working and learning in a team of new colleagues”.  All were kind to look out for each other and concerned about our well-being.  In any collaboration, there bound to be differences, similarities and challenging moments but the learning point is, we learnt to adopt, adapt and compromise to reach a win-win situation.
I was amazed at many things in Korea.  Firstly, its education system and approaches in the three schools that we visited.  Be it private, public or alternative schools, parents, teachers and students were highly competitive on academic achievements.

The students in Youngil High were very authentic, candid and confident; they were given the liberty to speak their mind and chose how they would learnt in the classroom.  The school is quite flexible in its discipline.  On the contrary, our students are “very well- trained” and go through a few rounds of rehearsals before a presentation or performance.

Sungrye Elementary employed innovative practices in its curriculum such as ICT-based lessons.  The school is well-supported in terms of financial resources.  The classrooms were well-equipped with a large, suspended monitor, two desktops (one monitor facing the students), a printer, a long L-shaped teacher’s table and sturdy, student-friendly tables and chairs; and simple things like hooks at the side of the table and on the ledge of the whiteboard.  All these, I believe aid in teaching and classroom management.

I find the alternative education in Sungmisan School, a refreshing idea and a courageous one.  It certainly needs a lot of buying-in from the community and the government.  The school prioritizes authentic and hands-on learning.  In my previous school, we did farming with the Primary One students.  We grew groundnuts in a plot outside our ground floor classrooms.  The students learnt to loosen the soil, sow the seeds, water the plants, remove the weeds, cultivate the plant and harvest the groundnuts at the end of three months.  We integrated English, Mathematics, Science, CCE and SEL competencies in the activity.  Personally, it was a joy; teaching and learning were meaningful.  Unfortunately, it was not followed up with other authentic learning at the progressive levels.  For Sungmisan to actively take the students through authentic learning from elementary to high school is no mean feat. Kudos to Sungmisan!

John Dewey believed that learning by doing enabled students to develop their problem-solving skills. They could then clarify the learning and apply it in their future lives. He inspired many educators to explore and develop the concept of experiential learning.

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I have always wondered why Kpop could take over the Jpop and how come the Korean brands are taking over many of the markets from electronics to applicances and even automobiles. What I learnt from this trip is that the Koreans have done a wonderful job in marketing in all levels. Korean tourism board doing all they can to promote Kculture, Kpop, Kfood and Kcorporations. Many of the industrial tours we signed up for could be found on the korean tourism website.
Corporations also do their part in making sure that these tours are educational and enjoyable. These tours are not just catered for tourist, we could also see group of korean students visiting them. The staff on duty made sure that these tours were conducted smoothly and they paid very close attention to small details to make sure they capture the interests of every visitor. We could see the pride they have for the job they are doing. The DMZ and Sulhwasoo guides even went the extra miles to provide more details during the tour and I could see that they are carefully selected and well trained.
Even for schools, we could see schools putting effort to market their schools either through their programmes or even the cause they believe in. Youngil High, for e.g., invested money on rural lands so that their students can have meaningful volunteering activities, which is counted for university admission.
Hence, it is through this close attention to details and wonderful marketing that make Korea so special.
How can we then bring it back to our line of work? Marketing and publicity is gaining traction in secondary schools with the new PSLE scoring system. More schools will now be in the same band and it is important for every school to be distinctive in the new secondary landscape.
We, as MM, will need to "major on both the major and the minor" for school to stay relevant. The questions for us to ask ourselves will be:
1)How can we position our distinctive programmes to attract students; and
2) How can we meet the diverse needs of the prospective students by paying attention to small details which allow for flexibility to accommodate everyone?

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This RV trip to Korea has an enlightening one to me. To have 10 colleagues from different backgrounds, coming together to plan something from nothing is already a remarkable achievement, what's more valuable than to spend 7D6N together to visit schools, industrial places and even cultural places.  All these experiences have wow-ed me in different ways.

Sculptures can be found anywhere in Korea, especially in front of a building. This one found at DDP is one of the few that I liked.

What does it mean to me?
1) See things at different angles
2) Be flexible
3) 做人要能屈能伸 [translation - to be adaptable to different situations]

1) As MMs, we are expected to see things at a broader aspect. We want to drive our programmes successfully and sometimes we need to work collaboratively.  But how many a times do we see things from a different perspective, from another's person's angle?  Not much, but I must say, after this trip, it has to be deliberate, so that it is a win-win for all parties within the organisation.

2) Be flexible in all that we do. There has to be more than 1 way of solving/ approaching the issue. There is no need for me to be adamant about how something has to be done.

3) To be adaptable in different situations is especially true in my area of work. In this technology age, there is no absolute promise that something can work for sure.  If Plan A fails, plan B has to be activated. In one of the scenes of the HK show - Triumph in the Skies, the actor said, as a pilot, there must always be a plan B in our pockets.  Putting into perspective, as a MM, in all programmes we plan, we need a Plan B for just in case.  I do not want to fail my team, I do not want my programme/ production to fail.  While I can cover all possible aspects with Plans B, C or D, there is still a possibility of failure.  When this comes true, I will then have to think quickly on my toes already.  To be really adaptable is then the ultimate challenge.

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Glen
During the visit to Korea, the team was able to see multiple ways in which innovation took place.
There are various leading consumer electronics companies originating from Korea that continually impress the world with their products. The visit to the Samsung Delight was testament to the company’s vision and commitment to innovation. At the exhibition, we could see how years of planning and execution of their vision has culminated in such an eye-opening technological display. And we can see that the company is not resting on its laurels and is constantly innovating and diversifying. One example is that we can see how they envision the neat ecosystem of the Samsung products in every aspect of the household, and even going into the areas of Education and Sports.

However, in the midst of marvelling at the current state they are in, we should also take a step back and consider the time frame and runway the company had in the lead up to its current state.
Was it a mere few years that allowed them to build up such an innovative culture? Do we expect ourselves to follow in their footsteps in trying to emulate them and yet expect almost “instantaneous” results?

I find myself reflecting on how sometimes we can be obsessed with this pursuit of wanting the best outcome without fully considering the climb that is required before we can reach that summit. We simply want to head to the top via a rocket. Where is the talk of the process of struggling, recalibrating and working with others before we reach the summit? Are we sometimes pushing ourselves too hard and in the process set unrealistic expectations?

Therefore, it is important to acknowledge that while we pursuit any particular end state culture, we need to also enjoy the process of how we work towards it, and last but not least, do not expect instant results as culture shift is a non trivial matter that takes time.

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The RV trip had been filled with enriching experiences for me with one highlight after another. I will sum up my learning in 3 points.
1) goes beyond our comfort zone
2) understanding the power of team
3) turning constraints to opportunities

The industrial visits that were planned gave us opportunities to try new things that are out of our comfort area. Trying out new media, do hip hop dance, experience broadcasting and even do funny actions with Samsung gadgets. Though it was uncomfortable in the beginning , it turned out to be one of the most memorable ones. New things and changes may lead us to wonderful experiences. Most importantly is the willingness to try.
2) Understanding the power of team
The itineary was planned by a number of us from different background. Some of us are better in map reading and they helped to lesd the way, while others are better in sourcing gifts and planning visits. Just like what Dr Kelvin Tan had commented in one of his tutorial class, a team is made up of people with different abilities. They help to contribute in the areas they are good at and work towards a common goal. We should not underestimate the capacity that team effort could bring.
3) constraint to opportunities
During the travel, its amazing to see how the Koreans manage to recover so quickly after the Korean war. Inspired by Samsung- who never rest in her laurels, one who keeps inventing and re-inventing, DDP museum- using what they had as a base and create something new out of it, and the different market places where the stall holders relentlessly trying to attract our attention hoping to have business with them. Though competition is stiff, the resilience, creativity turn constraints to opportunities.

Reflecting on the learning also brings about more questions. If change is a constant, what should remain unchange? What is the role of an educator to enable our future generation to continue create a meaningful tomorrow?

The Tree at Gyeongbokgung Palace

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Connectedness

The industrial visits that we attended (e.g. Samsung D’light, Sulwhasoo Flagship shop, MBC World), it seems that these area focus on customers experience. That include the organised tour where the staff showed us around, the staff is ready to answer questions regarding their product that their company offers. This made me think back to our school context. We are in our own department, expert in that area. How confident are we when we need to talk about our school as a whole unit, how do we present our school as such that the ‘dots’ are connected. The programmes that our school have, are they related or are they just program that runs by itself?

Prof Ng Pak Tee talked about System thinking on connectedness which is essential to gel things (units) together. We have to be / stay connected to ensure success in a system. The challenge is how? By talking to people, listen and accept other members’ viewpoints, the initiative (heart) to find out more. One of team members brought up that sometimes it is not how good the other country is doing regarding the tours, it is ourselves that we do not even know it exists in Singapore. I would like to highlight that it is the connectedness we have among one another. If just one small portion in the system is not linked or gel, the vitality in the system will not flow.

Again, I would like to use this picture taken at Dorasan train station, the rail way line from South Korea to Europe can be possible, if and only if North Korea opens its rail network to connect up the rest of the World.

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Connecting
I am always drawn to themes and issues that question the humanness in all of us. It is an important topic for many of us to come together to discuss critically and creatively think about ideas to revive our hearts and human spirit. Basically, we need to take care of our life world. We have been focusing so much on the systems that run our world. Nobody will challenge the fact that we are efficient but can we really be proud of how quickly we have progressed if our 8 year olds are not dreaming and have lost the sparkle in their eyes?

Dr Low Guat Tin mentioned that we should major in the major things, explaining that we spend too much time and effort on, sometimes, the stuff that actually makes us waste time when we already don't have much to spare. Through this trip, I realised that we need to reevaluate the statement. I think, in fact, we do need to major in the minor things. We should be meticulous in thinking about the school experience - right from when the child enters the school gates all the way through the school day - every small detail, matters. The school curriculum should embody the kind of care, humility and professionalism that is deep, genuine and conscious; not superficial and definitely not because the Principal wants it that way. Are we looking into the food that is served to the kids, are we looking into maximising the amount of smiles and laughters we hear along the corridors? Are we seriously looking into the stress level of our kids and are we serious about the seriousness of how exhausted they are?

As a challenge, I think either at school or national level, we need to consider setting up parent support groups, that is, we need to support parents and educate parents about child development and how these impact culture and the Singapore identity. We need to be in shared conversations and collaboration and start thinking of our youths as citizens of the world for the world.

Photo taken in Myeondong, 2018.