Asia Hope Camp Organization

Acopia is a Korean language school officially recognized by the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education. At the same time, it operates as an entertainment agency. It offered exactly what I was looking for: a perfect experience combining Korean language education and K-pop trainee programs.

In ACOPIA, I was responsible for making at least one video or/and article per week. On Monday's I was looking for art galleries, that I can visit and write about their current exhibitions. I had to make a whole plan: where to go, what to see, find most important parts of the exhibition and look for information about the paintings/sculptures and so on. If I collected all the necessary information, that allowed me to visit the gallery next day, I was ready to work, and the work was way easier on Thursday ;) Of course I was not doing this all by myself, my colleague Sabrina, a Swiss Intern was doing this with me. We shared the task between each other and work always went smoothly. On Tuesday's shift I was required to go out and visit that art gallery I chose on Monday. I had to make photos, collect information about the paintings, sculptures, that I photographed. If videos were allowed I was also shooting short videos. If I had everything that was needed to write and article or/and video I was prepared for my Thursday's shift. On Thursday with all collected information I could sit down with my laptop and start writing and article and make a video. After 3 hours of work, usually I was done with all of my work, but sometimes 3 hours were too short so I had to postpone it, and finish it all on Monday. Sometimes on Saturday I was coming to the office, and writing articles about Korea. Sightseeing, travel information, education, kpop and just articles about what is currently happening in Korea (like Cherry Blossom is coming or what to wear during winter in Korea) :) It was great to have that scheduled work because no one had to tell me what to do. I knew exactly what I have to do to complete my weekly tasks. Coming to Korea for 6 months obligate me to attend the univeristy. While applying to ACOPIA, they immediately suggested me the language school they cooperate with. Of course, I signed up to that one :) In the morning I was a student learning Korean at the University, and at the afternoon I was an Intern in a Kpop Entertainment. Being an Intern in ACOPIA required me to stay in their share house during my internship. I didn't complain since the house is located near Hongdae, bus stops are 2 minutes away from home, and subway 10 minutes. Many convenient stores around the house, cool grocery store on the corner and even 2 cafes almost in the building of the ACOPIA house. In the house, I lived in quadruple room. I was lucky to have a lower bed ㅎㅎㅎ my roommates in the room were Japanese girls, on a Trainee Program. Even though the communication had been hard sometimes because of the language barrier. They speak Korean well and I don't but just YET, I had a really good relationship with them and I am gonna miss them so bad. But in the house were also another Intern from Mongolia, and surprisingly she was born in Poland! What a coincidence! I had a really good experience in working at ACOPIA. As a very ambitious and creative person, ACOPIA gave me the opportunity to develop my inner skills. ACOPIA's staff and of course our CEO were always helpful for me. During my work, and outside of the office I always could count on them. Even when I got into the Entertainment as an Actor, my boss offered me help, if I will ever need it one. So even though I won't be an intern anymore, I can count on him in the future. That's great to have that people by your side, and make contacts and acquaintances while you live in a foreign country. I am glad I could have an opportunity to work in ACOPIA. I could see the other side of kpop entertainment, where young passionate people work for they dreams, an environment that I will also got a chance to work as an artist. I am very grateful and full of joy. I met people from all around the world, I got an experience in a field I have never dreamed of to work in, I developed myself in many different ways and what is more important, due to the internship, my dreams become a reality, and this was my goal, I reached. I'm so proud of myself and cannot wait to come back to Korea in April this year and start to work in my dream field.

Hi, this is Kira from Denmark. I have been an intern at Asia Hope Camp Organization (ACOPIA) for two months where I have learned a lot. For the past two months I have been a part of Asia Hope Camp Organization (ACOPIA) staff where I have had the opportunity to write articles and film videos for ACOPIA’S Youtube channel, about things that I find interesting about the Korean culture. This has been a great chance to experience and write about a lot of interesting things. My fluency in Danish has also helped me with social media marketing where I have been promoting ACOPIA through my private SNS and through their own Facebook page. I have experienced a lot in the time I have spent here in Korea therefor I have made great memories while working in a different culture. I have also become more understanding and gotten a lot of knowledge about the Korean culture which has helped me with living here. It has also been a fun experience to interact with the other interns everyone is so sweet and helpful. It is great to be able to talk to others who has more knowledge as an intern and can help you with a lot of different things. Korean and the Asian culture in general is very different from what culture I am used to in Denmark, therefor I had a lot to get used to. Thankfully I have been here once before in 2018 which helped me not to get a big culture shock. ACOPIA has also helped me get a better understanding of the Korean culture and I have had a great experience getting to know this amazing culture here in Korea. My trip to Korea and working as an intern at ACOPIA has made me more independent. I have learned to take care of myself while being in a new country which I found very healing and freeing from my daily life in Denmark. When I get home to my family and friends I will feel like a different person because I have had this great opportunity where I could self-develop and challenge myself.

My name is Nadia. I graduated 6 months ago but I have decided to continue the adventure abroad with ACOPIA to gain more international experiences. I am specialized in International Humanitarian Law and I wanted to try gaining experience in the project management field specializing in cross-cultural exchanges. I have already worked in several professional positions in humanities in French NGOs such as French Red Cross and Emmaus. I have also volunteered in refugee camps in Italy and Paris, France. During my Master’s Degree Internship, I worked in Cambodia in an NGO, Taramana helping children in slums for 6 months. This experience has changed aspects of my life. Indeed, my views of life and my future have changed and henceforth I know that I want to work in the human rights fields. But why Acopia ? As I said previously, all experiences are good and Acopia is an interesting organization that focuses on the cross cultural exchanges abroad especially between Japan and South Korea.And I think all of us know that being open minded and understanding cultures are the key to lasting peace.Acopia proposes a multidisciplinary experience where you can have the opportunity working in different activities, such as communications, project management or marketing. Acopia organizes work camps around the world; especially between South Korea and Japan in order to encourage cultural exchanges between others. So you can help create your own camp with partnerships abroad, help in the management sector and promote all programs at Acopia.

My name is Taylor, and I’m an American student from Goucher College in Baltimore, MD. I’m an English major, Business Management minor and, needing an internship for my degree, I chose to work here in South Korea. I became very interested in Korean culture a few years back, around the same time I developed an interest in NGO work. Now more on interning at ACOPIA… During orientation, hearing about the multitude of responsibilities was overwhelming, but I soon figured out that the office and the job are both very relaxed. As an intern, there's actually a lot of freedom to align your work with your academic interests and personal skills (like media/web design, video production, marketing, foreign language, etc). We are all expected to begin projects in our home countries, including finding partner organizations and marketing outlets. The work isn’t hard, but it’s time-consuming and tedious. Most interns are also expected to give language lessons to local students, whether in English or a native language. I actually find a lot of joy in preparing lessons for my students and getting to know them. Currently I work with a Japanese woman preparing to take the TOEIC exam this winter. I also mentor the director of ACOPIA, working on casual English conversation and formal documentation. So why ACOPIA?… ACOPIA provides an actual program, so they don’t expect you to figure everything out by yourself. They will help orient you to the city and the culture, they provide housing for you, and your supervisor at the office is also the person that can show you the best restaurants and even help you when you’re sick or injured. If, like me, you haven’t traveled alone before, a program like this is very helpful and comforting.