A Note from the founders of the Horizon: launching the Horizon

Panorama view of Jeju English Edu City

Attending international schools in Jeju English Edu City is viewed as a privilege by many in Korea. The schools in this city recruit students through rigorous admission tests and interviews; only students who went through the tests/interviews can enjoy the “privileges” as a student of the schools: global education in American, Canadian, or British curriculum, diverse extracurricular activities, and so on.

However, we, the founders of the Horizon, have noticed problems in JEEC. Located deep down in a town remote from the downtown, JEEC can become literally an isolated place where it is difficult for us to see and feel what is happening on this island. Moreover, there is a gap between the Jeju residents and the students in JEEC. Most students of JEEC are not Jeju local people (despite a special admission law recruiting 10 % of the students from Jeju residents). Many residents do not think of JEEC students as belonging to Jeju Island, only itinerary visitors who spend three or four years there. In other words, we are living and would live in an island on Jeju Island unless we eagerly search for opportunities to go beyond our comfort zone and dedicate ourselves to serving the community of Jeju Island.

Moreover, the schools in JEEC have not been able to cooperate and share each other’s thoughts actively. Most students in JEEC are busy with their schools’ activities. Compared with the students attending international schools in Seoul or Gyeonggi Province, the schools in JEEC have not made any kind of an association that plans and shares events. This has resulted in a situation where students in JEEC hardly share an identity as a group. We see this as problematic because this kind of identity is the foundation that enables us to share ideas and develop a vision for a social change.

These are the reasons why we are launching the Horizon. As the founders of three different schools in JEEC, we are going to do our utmost to encourage our friends in the schools to participate in this interschool magazine. This will be the first step for us to create an identity “we are JEEC students.” We believe and hope that this identity will spawn a desire in the hearts of many current and future students in JEEC to understand the history and social issues in Jeju Island, cooperate to solve a problem, and benefit this island. These engagement experiences are crucial to our growth as responsible citizens and leaders who can bring out changes anywhere we would go and live. Thus, we consider ourselves builders of a platform through which ideas are shared, burgeon, and bear fruits.