Community Service
This page shows the specific information regarding formal community services and volunteers Joonyong Choi did throughout his academic years. However, it DOES NOT include all community services since this page is dedicated to services with sufficient files, images, and information.
Youth Cultural Corporation (YCC)
The Youth Cultural Corporation (YCC) is a youth volunteering organization established in 2010 to yield expert-level youth cultural commentators who could guide and explain Korean culture and history to foreign tourists in tourist sites using English or Chinese. The YCC is under the Korea Foundation for International Cultural Exchange (KOFICE), which is an institution in charge of international cultural exchange designated by the Ministry of Culture, Sports, and Tourism of Korea. I joined the YCC commentator training program in 5th grade and became a formal youth cultural commentator in 6th grade. Since then, I have guided more than hundreds of tourists in Korea’s major tourist sites, such as Gyeongbokgung Palace, Namsan Hanok Village, and Deoksugung Palace. Participating in this volunteering activity for approximately seven years enhanced my knowledge of Korean culture and history as well as my English communication skills. Due to my exceptional performance for several years, one of my guiding stories was published as a single chapter in the Official Activity Booklet of YCC, as shown in the image below.
Mentoring Club (Daejeong Youth Center)
The Mentoring Club of the Daejeong Youth Center in the Daejeong-eup district is one of the major community services I have done throughout my high school years. I have attended the Daejeong Youth Center since 10th grade and have since led the mentoring club as the club’s President for more than two consecutive years. The objective of the mentoring club is to tutor young elementary and middle school students in the subjects they want to study and advise them about school curriculums or extracurricular activities. The club currently has ten student mentors and twelve mentees, enabling almost a one-to-one session for each mentee. As a result, our club is run by matching each mentor and mentee one-to-one at the beginning of the year considering their ages, schedules, and the subject that the mentee would like to study. I usually teach mathematics to my mentee, Ahyun, but occasionally teach her English as well. Due to our exceptional performance in tutoring and guiding young students to their passionate subjects or activities in the local community, the club also attained many supports and sponsorships. This year, the mentoring club now has a budget of more than $1,000, of which about $500 are from the Daejeong Youth Center and $500 from the Volunteering Activity Sponsorship Business Program of Jeju-do. Through the experience of leading and managing this local mentoring club, I attained firsthand experience of leading a large group of people responsibly and enhanced my ability to teach and communicate with others.
Youth Steering Committee
“Blue Wing” (Daejeong Youth Center)
The Youth Steering Committee of the Daejeong Youth Center, named “Blue Wing,” is a committee consisting of about fifteen approved local teenagers of the Daejeong-eup district. The committee is certified and sponsored by the local government of the Jeju Self-Governing Province. The mission of Blue Wing is to properly lead and conduct various activities and businesses of the Daejeong Youth Center, including clubs, campaigns, recreational events, volunteering activities, and mentoring sessions. In addition to the mission of managing the local youth center, Blue Wing also suggests policies or ideas regarding the issues related to adolescents’ academic life or safety. I have served as a Vice President of the Blue Wing for two consecutive years since I joined it in 10th grade. The main projects I have led and managed while serving as Vice President are the environmental awareness campaigns and the “Greenovation” business. During the two years, I held several environmental awareness campaigns at local festivals or events to inform the public and local community about the seriousness of environmental issues like pollution. In addition to campaigns, I proposed the “Greenovation” business to the city government of Seogwipo-si. The Greenovation business was about providing formal upcycling teaching sessions for youths to further enhance students’ interests and awareness in environmental issues by making them gain firsthand experience in upcycling. The business proposal eventually attained financial sponsorship from the city government, and I had a meeting with the mayor of Seogwipo-si regarding the business proposal, as seen in the images below. By participating in Blue Wing, I was able to enhance my leadership as well as the ability to persuade others as I proposed many activities, policies, and businesses to serve the well-being of local adolescents.
