Paju English Village
My, I'm a post-happy one today, aren't I? Just pulling up some pictures of Paju, Korea, my "home." (My definition of home is: 1.Where I live and 2.Where my parents live.)
This time, it's pictures of "English Village" in Paju.
"English Village" is something of a new phenomenon in Korea. An English village is an educational facility, aimed at speaking and using English, at a village scale. It's like a big playground that students pay a minimal fee to go in, then go into an English-speaking environment. There are several English Villages over Korea, and this one in Paju is one of the newest.
I think English villages can be useful; most students don't normally get a chance to talk to a native English speaker, or if they do, are very shy about it. Here they can speak to "villagers," in the safe, controlled environment. It'd be especially useful as a mood-booster for future foreign exchange students and corporate employees for international job/project, a.k.a. expatriation.
Welcom to Paju English Village!
"Stones" greet you at the door.
First thing to do is to go to immigration office, then buy your "flight" ticket, to through "airport" with your "immigration forms," get stamped... and you're in "English village" already! Whoa, there are international arrivals from Paris, New York, and Tokyo every hour... ^_^
(I love how they replicated the atmosphere of Incheon International Airport.)
Streets of English Village are cute. Looking downhill on Market Street...
Looking uphill. (note the tracks)
Artistic Street.
City Hall.
Outdoor Theatre.
Sports facilities.
Little homes.
Chinese restaurant.
Museum, convenience store, bookstore, pub (what?) pizza shop... basically, anything you'd expect in a stereotypical village. And everyone speaks English (though I swear some of them must have been Russians or something; had accent as thick as honey).
Student dorms, for week- or month-long English Village experience.
Employee housings, for people who were hired from overseas. I met a New Zealander, talked to him; he said he knew nothing abuot Korea, but he loved to travel, and he heard about this English Village thing; he applied, and was hired. That sounds so easy... I wonder if they're still hiring? O_o
The sad thing about English villages is that there have been "scandals" in some areas. One is that most English Villages are severely lacking in security system, which is true, and needs to be fixed for the safety of students. Another is that Paju English Village, specifically, is lacking in handicap-friendly environment (wheelchair access, mainly); it needs to be fixed, because this is a public educational facility built with taxpayers' money. The last is of teachers or employees sexually harassing students. It seems to me that most reported "scandals" involving foreign teachers are merely cultural misunderstandings due to hostility on the part of the students. The ones involving Korean employees, however... there is no excuse for them, and they seriously need to stay away from intoxicating substances. Shame!
Moving on.
There are little things that add to the reality of the village.
Classic telephone booth.
Not-so-classic, but nonetheless cute telephone booth.
Fire hydrants.
This does NOT make the village more beautiful. Shame! Let's not do this!
Wooden benches.
And mail boxes? Huh?
That's right! There is a post office, a police station, and an infirmary right in the English village. They're called "role playgrounds."
Annnnnd...
Ta-da! Tram, beautiful tram! Fun and adventurous tram...which was not running on the day I was there (Monday). Maybe they run only on weekends. (*sigh*)
Note the sign by the rail there: "This is going to TRAM."
Tram. (*snicker*) Is that a verb? If it is, it sounds so weird.
What a fun place!
When you're done with all your English village experiences, all you have to do is
Walk out. No immigration procedure required.
And you'll leave this charming village behind.
(Gotta love the location -- up on the hills!)
This time, it's pictures of "English Village" in Paju.
"English Village" is something of a new phenomenon in Korea. An English village is an educational facility, aimed at speaking and using English, at a village scale. It's like a big playground that students pay a minimal fee to go in, then go into an English-speaking environment. There are several English Villages over Korea, and this one in Paju is one of the newest.
I think English villages can be useful; most students don't normally get a chance to talk to a native English speaker, or if they do, are very shy about it. Here they can speak to "villagers," in the safe, controlled environment. It'd be especially useful as a mood-booster for future foreign exchange students and corporate employees for international job/project, a.k.a. expatriation.
Welcom to Paju English Village!
"Stones" greet you at the door.
First thing to do is to go to immigration office, then buy your "flight" ticket, to through "airport" with your "immigration forms," get stamped... and you're in "English village" already! Whoa, there are international arrivals from Paris, New York, and Tokyo every hour... ^_^
(I love how they replicated the atmosphere of Incheon International Airport.)
Streets of English Village are cute. Looking downhill on Market Street...
Looking uphill. (note the tracks)
Artistic Street.
City Hall.
Outdoor Theatre.
Sports facilities.
Little homes.
Chinese restaurant.
Museum, convenience store, bookstore, pub (what?) pizza shop... basically, anything you'd expect in a stereotypical village. And everyone speaks English (though I swear some of them must have been Russians or something; had accent as thick as honey).
Student dorms, for week- or month-long English Village experience.
Employee housings, for people who were hired from overseas. I met a New Zealander, talked to him; he said he knew nothing abuot Korea, but he loved to travel, and he heard about this English Village thing; he applied, and was hired. That sounds so easy... I wonder if they're still hiring? O_o
The sad thing about English villages is that there have been "scandals" in some areas. One is that most English Villages are severely lacking in security system, which is true, and needs to be fixed for the safety of students. Another is that Paju English Village, specifically, is lacking in handicap-friendly environment (wheelchair access, mainly); it needs to be fixed, because this is a public educational facility built with taxpayers' money. The last is of teachers or employees sexually harassing students. It seems to me that most reported "scandals" involving foreign teachers are merely cultural misunderstandings due to hostility on the part of the students. The ones involving Korean employees, however... there is no excuse for them, and they seriously need to stay away from intoxicating substances. Shame!
Moving on.
There are little things that add to the reality of the village.
Classic telephone booth.
Not-so-classic, but nonetheless cute telephone booth.
Fire hydrants.
This does NOT make the village more beautiful. Shame! Let's not do this!
Wooden benches.
And mail boxes? Huh?
That's right! There is a post office, a police station, and an infirmary right in the English village. They're called "role playgrounds."
Annnnnd...
Ta-da! Tram, beautiful tram! Fun and adventurous tram...which was not running on the day I was there (Monday). Maybe they run only on weekends. (*sigh*)
Note the sign by the rail there: "This is going to TRAM."
Tram. (*snicker*) Is that a verb? If it is, it sounds so weird.
What a fun place!
When you're done with all your English village experiences, all you have to do is
Walk out. No immigration procedure required.
And you'll leave this charming village behind.
(Gotta love the location -- up on the hills!)