Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends

Authored By:

Tiara Harris

Program Leader here, writing about our formidable group of esports students! They came wielding keyboards and headsets, but these last few weeks they proved their combat skills extend beyond the digital realm. Archery, swordplay, taekwondo, and even traditional criminal interrogation are no strangers to our talented global navigators!

We spent our first week learning the ins and outs of the esports world, and then our second week gearing up for an online tournament at a PC cafe run by Gen.G, one of Korea's prominent esports companies. Students split off into teams of 4 and will test their skills in a competition at the end of the program. If the tournament’s anything like our navigators’ practice skirmishes, we’re in for an exciting showdown!​

Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends

Our next excursion took us to Gyeongbokgung Palace in central Seoul. We rented hanbok, Korea's traditional dress, so we could both look the part and also enter the palace grounds for free! As we left the rental shop, a student spotted wooden swords behind the counter and tentatively asked if they were available for rent. In almost no time at all, swords dangled from multiple students' skirts and tunics. Armed and ready for battle, we made our way to the palace grounds. Though the rain dampened our spirits a bit, we loved creating epic photos while wearing traditional garb in a famous historic site. We truly felt like characters from a film!

Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends
Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends

Soon after, we tried our hands and feet at taekwondo, a martial art the arose from the combination of various Eastern fighting styles. Gen.G students joined the global navigators to kick and punch their stresses away. Instructors even handed out wooden boards and asked students to write worries or dreams on the surfaces. Some of our navigators' worries included school stress and future worries, while their dreams include success and good health. Navigators then held these boards firmly before one another and their partners broke the board in half with a quick punch! Our instructors told us breaking the boards would either reduce the stress or bring our dreams to reality. True or not, breaking the board certainly let off some stream!

Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends
 
Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends

Our most recent experience with conflict arose during a trip to Yongin Folk Village, a traditional-style theme park that's also the site of various dramas. We noticed one of the buildings had a large courtyard filled with strange instruments, and the students took turns figuring them out. Our tour guide made her rounds to explain the devices' use in torture or criminal persecution. Our navigators had a great time trying out the devices' intended use (to a safe extent) and completed their reenactment of the traditional judicial system by locking their Program Leader in jail! 

Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends
 
Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends
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Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends

Of course, these last three weeks have taught students more than the art of war. Navigating a foreign country forged strong bonds between the navigators, and taught them how to cooperate with people from different backgrounds. We'll miss our warriors after this program comes to a close, but the skills and experience they accumulated on this trip with stay with them for a lifetime.

Photo for blog post Formidable Foes, Fierce Friends