General Information

Site Name

Yanji International Cooperation Technical High School
Ideal Period of Service

1+ year

Accepts Men/Women

Male
Female

Location

Yanji, China

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Site's Purpose and Objectives

Yanji International Technical Cooperation Technical High School is technical school which teaches Electricity, Auto Mechanics, Computers, and Office English. The role of the Lay Missioner is teach about 15 hours a week of English conversation to the Office English students.

Ministry Opportunities

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Ministry Background

The school is run in cooperation between the Chinese government and the Salesian province of South Korea. SLMs cannot discuss religion other than in a general sense or identify themselves as being part of a religious organization. The school hopes to provide skills to the students most of whom will go abroad or other parts of China to work. Many of the Office English students already speak Korean and will work as Korean-Chinese translators after graduation. However, knowledge of English is an important skill that many employers look for.

Programs, Activities, Other Projects

The Salesians are also responsible for a sharing home for 7 orphans. Every weekend the Salesians do an activity with the kids and the SLMs can join. In addition the SLMs live near the sharing home and can visit the kids or help them with their English work.

Area Information

Yanji is city of about 400,000, small by Chinese standareds which is located in Jilin Province in Northeastern China about 25 miles from the North Korean border. The city while urban is surronded by rural areas. Yanji has lagged behind the development of the rest of China. There is little industry to speak of here and most of the money in the area comes from people working abroad who send back money especially ethnically Korean Chinese who work in South Korea. The Korean-Chinese make up the bulk of the student population at Yanji Tech and about 60% of the population of Yanji. English teaching is the main responsibility of the Missioners here whether at Yanji Tech or at other school or through tutoring.

Special Challenges/Conditions

The nature of the Chinese government requires that the Salesian are not identified as religious and that in general religion is not discussed. It is possible to describe religion in a technical matter but not proselytize among the students. Due to the heavy use of coal the air pollution here is quite bad and in general sanitation is quite poor. In addition virtually all meals are shared here among several people so it is important to get a Hepatatis A vaccination before leaving.

Major Duties

The main responsibility is teaching and planning English Conversation classes. Class time is about 13-15 hours a week at Yanji Tech but it is also possible to do additional teaching at other schools as well as private tutoring. Lesson planning requires a few hours each week. In addition there is the opportunity to play sports with the kids after school. This becomes more difficult during the frigid winter but there is also a new indoor gym that can be used in the winter.

Helpful Experience

Patience - students have limited English abilities and can be shy, but the desire to learn is there, creative and dedicated to forming lessons centered on conversation, open to foreign customs and culture - while much of China and other Asian nations have latched onto all things Western, Yanji’s culture remains largely Chinese and Korean...it is an authentic foreign experience.

Helpful Personal Qualities

Self-reliance: here no one is really ready to help you out. They tell you Friday morning that there's a ceremony Friday afternoon. You ask where it is and they tell you the place in Chinese. You asked how to get there, they either don't know or don't tell you. It's happened a couple of times where SLMs had to do it all on our own. And since teaching classes is on an individual basis, the SLM needs to be self-motivated and able to work on his own. Loose lips sink ships: Do to the nature of the working environment, it is essential that the SLM can self-censor his speech when interacting with others. Faith Convictions: The person needs to have ""inner convictions"" in his heart. If he's reliant on a religious community for his prayer life, it'll be hard here. You really are on your own for much of it.

Accomodations

With religious community:

No
If "no", where:

The school owns an apartment in the town of Yanji where SLMs stay. SLMs have stayed with the community in the past, but the norm is the apartment.
Private/Shared room:

Private
Private/Shared bathroom:

Private
Daily Mass/Eucharist

Yes

Contact Information

Community Rector/Director

Fr. Okju Francis Kim
Contact E-mail

myokju@gmail.com
Religious Congregation

SDB
Phone

(86)-433-291-0918, (86) 158-3499-1004 (Kim Okju)

Yanji International Cooperation Technical High School Verified listing

General Information

Accepts Men/Women

Location

Site's Purpose and Objectives

Ministry Opportunities

Gallery

Print

Ministry Background

Programs, Activities, Other Projects

Area Information

Special Challenges/Conditions

Major Duties

Helpful Experience

Helpful Personal Qualities

Accomodations

Contact Information

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General Information

Accepts Men/Women

Location

Listing Author

Site's Purpose and Objectives

Ministry Opportunities

Gallery

Print

Ministry Background

Programs, Activities, Other Projects

Area Information

Special Challenges/Conditions

Major Duties

Helpful Experience

Helpful Personal Qualities

Accomodations

Contact Information

Add a review