On-Site Experience
On-site experiential learning. In theory, it meant going out beyond the school walls to discover things that couldn't be taught in a classroom. But in reality...
“Playground!”
“I’m all for playgrounds too!”
“Sorry, but Seoul’s turn.”
“Cut it out, Gyeonggi-do playgrounds are the best. Can you handle the safari?”
“Huh? Do you really live near a station?”
Everyone was howling about playgrounds. That was only natural. In our endless, tightly scheduled lives, playgrounds were the one legal excuse to escape for fun. So they were fighting over whether it should be the playground in Seoul or the one in Gyeonggi-do. Then a new candidate appeared. “Guys, what about a water park?”
“Water park?”
“It’s not summer vacation yet, so it might not be so bad…”
“What water park?”
“Then we’d end up at a valley too?”
“A valley… but the sea isn’t bad, right?”
“True… and the train gets us there fast.”
“No… if it’s a valley, then…”
Our class was heating up fast. But then our teacher called for attention and the mood cooled a little. “Unfortunately, this on-site experiential learning is banned from playgrounds, water parks, valleys, and the sea. You’re too old for that stuff anyway. We’re already deciding together as a class, right?”
“No way! This is outrageous!”
“That decision was made at the parents’ meeting. You can talk to your parents if you like. Anyway, starting over from the beginning, you all know the rules.”
“Aigoo… is this real?”
“The mood just dropped…”
Once everyone realized their dream locations were off the table, the excitement faded and the room grew quiet. “But if none of you decide, the school will choose for you.”
“Where?”
“Obviously a museum or science center. The science center is in Gwacheon, so it takes forever and is a pain. Pick quickly.”
The teacher’s words barely finished before the class erupted again. “Let’s try again!”
“Yeah, yeah! Where should we go?”
“Why don’t we go to Jeju on a day trip today?!”
“That’s actually a really good idea!”
The class came alive once more. But the high spirits didn’t last long. “Teacher! I…”
“No, traveling in a big group is too hard.”
“What if we just go to the Han River?”
“There’s nothing to experience there. We need something to write a report about.”
They shot down everyone’s idea again and again. Eventually the mood grew even gloomier. “Then what if we just don’t go on the on-site learning at all?”
“Yeah. Nothing works, nothing works…”
Our teacher spoke softly. “You all seem to have a hard time finding the right spot, so let me give you a tip.”
The tip lit up every eye and everyone leaned in. “If I were you, I’d go to Gyeongbokgung Palace in Gwanghwamun.”
The word palace made everyone droop like dried fish. “What… so we always end up at Gyeongbokgung no matter what?”
“We’ve been there since middle school…”
“We went there a lot in middle school too!”
I honestly wasn’t a big fan of Gyeongbokgung. Sure, the photos were nice, but it wasn’t exactly thrilling. Still, I quietly listened to everyone’s complaints. “You kids are still little, you know.”
“Huh?”
“Well, if you’ve been on the on-site learning and then head straight to hagwon, how many of you actually go?”
“Almost all of us don’t.”
“You?”
“I don’t either.”
Even the number-one student in our class who always topped the tests didn’t go to hagwon. “Look, you don’t go to hagwon. That means that day is free time for all of you, right?”
“Yes…”
“Watch. I’ll show you a map and explain.”
Our teacher brought up a map on the monitor. “Here’s Gyeongbokgung Palace. Everyone remember which subway line it’s on?”
“Yes.”
“And you know this? It’s only about twenty-five minutes by subway from Myeongdong and Hongdae.”
“What?!”
Our teacher marked the exact travel times to both places. It really wasn’t far. “So this is the important part. The instructions say you have to be back by two o’clock. Who knows why?”
“…”
No one answered. Our teacher continued. “Because you need to write a report on the place you visit. And look, you already know a lot about Gyeongbokgung, don’t you?”
“…”
“The kids from other classes will be busy taking pictures and doing research there. But you already know the spot, so you can just go to the important places and snap the right photos.”
“But is that okay?”
“Of course. You take the photos and write the report together. What’s the problem? After you finish everything…”
“…”
“The on-site experiential learning is over. Do you understand now?”
“…”
“Completely free time…?”
“Correct.”
After a short silence, the class exploded. “Waaaaah!!!”
“To Gyeongbokgung Palace!”
“Legally heading to Hongdae? I can’t stand it!”
“Kyahouu!!!”
The location was finally decided amid lively chatter. “Gyeongbokgung Palace…”
“Why? Siwoo doesn’t like it?”
I muttered it under my breath, but Sia overheard and gave me a tiny start. I quickly explained so she wouldn’t misunderstand. “That’s not it. We went to Gyeongbokgung together in middle school, remember? That’s why I was saying it.”
“We weren’t in the same class then, but we still went as a group and met up, right?”
“Yeah.”
In middle school, our classes had overlapped during the on-site learning, but we still caught up and took photos together. “This time I thought we could have a proper fun.”
“That’s right! Ah! This time we have to wear hanboks!”
“Hanboks? Can we borrow them?”
“Yes! In middle school we had to wear uniforms, so we couldn’t wear hanboks back then. But now we can!”
“Yeah, that would be nice…”
While Sia was imagining herself in a hanbok. “Everyone, the destination’s decided. Now you need to form teams. The basic rule is four people per team.”
“Huh? Teacher, won’t a guy be left out?”
Our class had one extra guy. “That’s for you to figure out.”
“A… so how do we…”
While I was pondering, a voice cut in. “Teacher! We already decided our teams!”
“Already? You guys are coordinating with your phones?!”
“Hehe…”
“Yeah… that’s talent too. Tell me.”
“Well…”
Right at the end of the names. “Siwoo and Sia, that’s five of us!”
“Huh? Five? You’re really doing that?”
“Yes!”
“Siwoo agrees?”
Everyone’s eyes turned to me. Especially Sia’s gaze felt the strongest. It was clear they wanted me to say yes. “…Yeah.”
“Got it. Well, Siwoo will do fine.”
“Okay… yes…”
I became Sia’s designated partner. But the real problem was… “Fufu…”
“Is Sia’s hairstyle this good?”
“That hairpin is so pretty!”
“I don’t know! Just stick them all in!”
The three of us in the same team… were basically Sia’s dedicated fans. Of course they meant no harm since they were helping Sia. But the constant comments were… “Siwoo! Take good care of Sia!”
“Sia worries about you so much!”
“Yeah! She was worried sick when you caught a cold!”
They kept saying stuff to me. Of course the words were true. But they were too much. Still… since Sia wanted it, I didn’t mind. Then. “This time we’ll be able to walk just the two of us properly. I’m looking forward to it!”
“Yeah…”
Sia’s words made all my worries vanish. I smiled at her face. Honestly, I wanted to say I liked her right then. But I’d already promised to make her fall for me, so I was holding back to enjoy the moment. I knew pretending to ignore her feelings was wrong. Yet I was dying to see how she’d react. My conscience and curiosity battled. In the end, curiosity won and I stayed quiet. Later, when Sia found out… well, I’d think of something. The class became noisy again while we formed teams for the report. It settled once everything was decided. “Everyone’s ready. Don’t get too relaxed just because the test’s over, okay!”
“Yes!”
“Now use the remaining time to discuss what you want to do as teams.”
Everyone gathered in their groups and started talking. We were already together, so we jumped right in. “…?”
Since I was the only guy, there wasn’t much to say. Meanwhile. “Where do you guys want to go after?”
“I want to go to Hongdae for once…”
“I’m going to Myeongdong…”
“Hongdae over Myeongdong.”
“…”
“Yeah, let’s go to that new café in Hongdae.”
“Sure!”
Everyone seemed more focused on planning after the learning than during it. I was wondering if that was how it always worked. Then Sia spoke first. “I have to go with Siwoo.”
“Eh…?”
She said it casually, but my stomach dropped. Was it okay to invite me? Would I make things awkward? “A, of course.”
“If Sia says so.”
The class nodded as if it was obvious. I was a little startled, but the plans moved forward smoothly after that. We had already covered everything at Gyeongbokgung, so deciding the rest was quick. Once all plans were set, we left the classroom for the hallway. “Siwoo, come here for a second.”
A girl from our team called me aside.