I am able to come to South Korea through a program called CIEE abroad. While I am here, my program offers opportunities for me to volunteer with local communities. I was incredibly excited to work with the Jongro Senior Citizens Welfare Center this summer. Sadly, COVID-19 restrictions in South Korea have caused the volunteer experience to be cancelled.
The Jongro Senior Citizens Welfare Center is one of the biggest senior care centers in South Korea. The center offers several programs to senior citizens. One of the biggest programs run by the center is that it provides working experience and volunteer opportunities to citizens, like teaching and learning English.
English is the third most commonly-spoken language in the world. Despite it's prevelence, English was not always taught everywhere. Even in places where it was taught, it wasn't always taught in-depth. Because of this lack of instruction, many senior citizens in Korea do not have English skills. Many senior citizens have family members who speak English and this causes them to want to learn the language. Also, some people would just like to spend their time learning another langauge!
