The World Shooting Championships were held in Changwon. About 300 people volunteered for this contest. As it was an international contest, people volunteering needed specific abilities such as English or computer certifications. We met Choi Eunju (22 years old) who worked as a translator from the 31st of August to the 9th of September.

Q : What was the trigger to apply for this volunteering job and where did you get this information?

Working for the World Festival was on my bucket lists. I think that this kind of big festival can help me learn many things and get good experience. I was unable to volunteer at the Pyeong Chang Olympics game though and similar opportunities didn’t come to me easily. I kept waiting for another chance and I knew that Changwon was preparing World Shooting Championships. I instantly thought that I have to apply to volunteer when they post on the internet about it.

Q : There’s many departments. What was your assignment?

I applied to be a registration guide. But it was changed to protocol activities when I visited there on my first day. I mainly met VIP guests and helped them with what they needed such as hotel check in, finding a seat for them, and translating. I felt honored to help them because there were not many chances to meet this kind of high ranking people in my life.

Q : What were some difficulties you ran into?

The difficulties were that I had to focus on everything that the VIP wanted because my small mistakes could cause a bad situation for other workers or a bad impression of Changwon. I always worried that my words were not conveyed as I would have liked. Phrases that I have never heard also made me be embarrassed. The most hard thing was that I had to wake up early in the morning everyday (laughing). But there were lots of positive things as well. I could use English there much more than at university. And learning how to greet to foreigners naturally in their culture was also interesting.

Q : Did you encounter a situation that felt absurd?

There’s an announcer who explains the rules or progress of the game to the audience and a camera man who films games to broadcast on TV. Basically, the announcer does her job near the side of stadium to not disturb the camera man. But one day, the camera man filmed a game around the announcer and he asked me to tell her to move on to another place such as the middle of the stadium because she was blocking the game from the camera. I translated what he had said to me and made her move there. My supervisor came to me a few days later and yelled at me because I asked the announcer to go in the middle of the stadium and disturbed VIPs watching the game. I didn’t know that the center of the stadium bleachers was for VIP people. My other responsibility was making sure that the VIP seating stayed empty. Everything for VIPs and competitors were different so players were not permitted to sit in the VIP seating area. I found a player sitting in a VIP seat one day. I politely explained about the stadium rules but he disregarded what I said and didn’t follow it. These two cases were the most embarrassing situations for me.

Q : You completed one item from your bucket list. What’s next?

To be honest, 500 items are left on my bucket lists (smiling). I’m planning to travel by myself for the first time this winter. I will take the Trans-Siberian Express to the Czech Republic to skydive during vacation. I’d like to experience as much as I can. I think that experiences are important for me because I want to be a teacher. I can tell my future students various stories. These will help them be better humans. Being a happy person was my dream in the past but now I want to be a role model who can affect positive change in others

Picture during The World Shooting Championships

By Park-Junho, cup-reporter

박준호  micheeen12@naver.com

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