Northern Advocate
  • Northern Advocate home
  • Latest news
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Sport
  • Property
  • Video
  • Death notices
  • Classifieds

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • On The Up
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
  • Sport
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Residential property listings

Locations

  • Far North
  • Kaitaia
  • Kaikohe
  • Bay of Islands
  • Whangārei
  • Kaipara
  • Mangawhai
  • Dargaville

Media

  • Video
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-Editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whangārei
  • Dargaville

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Northern Advocate

Bream Bay College teacher to share Korean knowledge

Northern Advocate
28 Oct, 2017 12:00 AM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  Sign in here

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save

    Share this article

Northland teacher Holly McDonald in South Korea, during her recent visit. Photo / Supplied

Northland teacher Holly McDonald in South Korea, during her recent visit. Photo / Supplied

Holly McDonald is bringing home an invaluable souvenir from her trip to South Korea.

The Northland teacher returned home this month with newfound knowledge of the Asian country and is ready to share it with her students.

After a long fascination with the country and its complex history, the Bream Bay College teacher applied for the Asia New Zealand Foundation's 2017 Korean Studies Workshop to explore the intercultural issues of South Korea and share her new knowledge with her students.

As one of nine Kiwi candidates selected for the Seoul-based workshop, Ms McDonald visited historical and cultural sites, attended lectures covering Korean culture and society and visited schools.

The workshop was based in South Korea's capital, Seoul, where they spent most of their time exploring.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

They also spent a night down south in Gyeongju, went to World Heritage site Yangdongmaeul, the Hyundai factory in Ulsan and Korea Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) where they learnt about ICT use in schools and had first-hand experience in a "future classroom".

"The highlight of the trip for me was visiting PSCORE (People for Successful Corean Reunification) and having the chance to listen to a man speak about his life as a North Korean defector and having the opportunity to ask him questions about life in North Korea."

As a part of the workshop, Ms McDonald also visited the Demilitarised Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea - who are still officially at war - and went on a tour of a tunnel dug by North Korea as an infiltration point into South Korea.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It felt very safe and was a well-established tourist attraction ... The DMZ illustrates the horrors of the Korean War as well as the wishes and hopes for the future."

With the recent nuclear developments in North Korea, and its threats towards and from the US, Ms McDonald said most people in South Korea weren't phased because they have been dealing with tension since the end of the Korean War more than 50 years ago.

This workshop was Ms McDonald's first experience in a country where English was not the first language.

"South Korea opened my eyes to a totally different way of life. The city of Seoul and surrounds has a population of 25 million people, I didn't realise what this would 'look' like until I was there."

The geography, environmental and social studies teacher said "taking what I have learned on this trip into the classroom will not be challenging".

Ms McDonald has a real passion for environmental sustainability and is "excited" to teach her students at Bream Bay College about the Cheonggyecheon Stream environmental rehabilitation project.

The 11km-long, once polluted stream covered by concrete and roads, has been transformed and now runs through downtown Seoul and is a "source of pride for the people".

"I have learnt so much while away and can't wait to share it with the students."

Save

    Share this article

Latest from Northern Advocate

Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime


Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales
Northern Advocate

Far North homes without power after severe gales

More than 170 customers south of Cape Rēinga are still without power.

17 Jul 08:26 AM
'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi
Northern Advocate

'Economic growth is key': Luxon discusses Northland's potential with iwi

17 Jul 06:02 AM
Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime
Northern Advocate

Northland businesses unite for CCTV initiative to combat crime

17 Jul 04:00 AM


Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
Sponsored

Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

06 Jul 09:47 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • The Northern Advocate e-edition
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Subscribe to the Northern Advocate
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The Northern Advocate
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP