When: May 19th and 20th
Last year South of Seoul worked with the fabulous Pyeongtaek Youth Center on two camps and this year we are helping with 4! Two for grade school and two for middle school. This year all camps will be overnight, weekend events at Mu Bongsan in northeastern Pyeongtaek. This place is fantastic. We can hardly believe we are lucky enough to make camps like this free for our community.
Last years was our first-time out-of-the-gate and we were nervous about how it would go. We shouldn’t have worried, the kids loved it! It was an honor to see so many happy, smiling, excited kids building friendships and having the time of their lives. At times we might have even become a little teary. It was a bit of magic. Since it worked so well, Pyeongtaek Youth Center came back to us again this year and asked if we would be interested in having 4 camps this time around and of course we jumped on the opportunity.
They will be hosted at Mu Bongsan on Saturday and stay there through the night. There will be:
- tons of fun indoor activities to get to know each other
- outdoor activities like nurf archery war. (There will be two activities but they are not set in stone yet. The “nurf” archery is the one that’s solid)
- plenty of food and snacks
- a coffee shop for when they want a bit extra (They will need won for this. We hadn’t expected kids to take advantage of the coffee shop last year but many did so send 10,000 won along for their hot chocolate or strawberry shakes.)
- lots of space to play and express themselves
What we loved about the experience was how much effort Pyeongtaek Youth Center put into the details. They had:
- excellent, caring counselors who helped the kids cross the language barriers
- a schedule that was a nice balance of busy and relaxed
- stunning modern camp facility
- comfortable rooms for all the kids
- kids were always occupied but also had time to get to know each other.
On Sunday students will get up early, eat breakfast and head over to Anjeongri to take part in the One Heart Festival. This will give the Korean students a chance to learn more about where the English speaking students live and experience the community together. Parents will pick-up their kids from there.
You can read more about last years Middle School Camp by clicking here.