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National University of East Timor Prof. Choi Chang-won, center in the first row, poses with students of his Korean language class at the college in Dili, |
By Kim Jae-won
Prof. Choi Chang-won, 43, loves adventures and is taking up a new challenge on an island state a few thousand kilometers south of Korea.
In 2008 when he first visited East Timor on as a translator for a group of Korean businessmen earning $3,000 a week, he fell in love with the country.
"I was haunted by the attractions in the country during the trip. It was a land filled with new chances and opportunities. I thought this is where I should stay," said Choi during an interview The Korea Times in a Seoul restaurant recently.
The scholar ran a leadership program institute in Korea before he decided to set up a similar program in the country which suffered civil wars soon after it became independent from Indonesia in 2002 and previously suffered years of violence from that neighboring nation after East Timor declared itself an independent state in 1975.
Fortunately, the National University of East Timor (NUET) welcomed his suggestion and appointed him as the first foreign professor in the college. But, that was not the end of his adventures.
"The college had no money to pay me. I had to make money to make ends meet."
He got a couple of part-time jobs to finance his non-paid full-time teaching position. He worked for the East Timor government as an economic advisor and held a managerial position supervising workers at a port in the country. Sols, a non-government organization, provided him a rent free residence and food.
Choi currently teaches nine subjects in the college ranging from the Korean language to economics and statistics among others. Recently he was put in charge of establishing a Korean studies center in the college, which will provide a more organized program for local students.
To raise funds for the center, he visited Korea and asked local foundations and companies to donate. "East Timor has huge potential for growth. I hope many Korean institutions and companies show their support for the center, which will reward them hugely later.
