A journey to meet my inner self

The EBS International Documentary Festival, or the EIDF, held its 4^th annual festival in August this year. As one of the major broadcasting companies in South Korea, EBS has a potential power of reaching out to over 48 million pairs of eyeballs.  Since the commercial movie theaters have long been turning a cold shoulder to low-budget, independent documentaries, the fact that EBS actually broadcasts all of the works presented in the EIDF is especially encouraging both to the documentary-loving audience and the producers and directors who are committed to making quality documentaries. 

I was fortunate enough to be part of this excellent festival as a volunteering English interpreter.  It’s truly daunting to try to list all the hilarious moments I gained through the EIDF, since the list would be endless.  In short, though, I think my EDIF experience was like a journey that I embarked upon with the goal of finding out who I truly am; the whole experience exposed a lot of my inner self that I’d been unable to unveil all by myself.  To be more specific, I think my EDIF experience could be evaluated in the following three categories: meeting new people, learning new skills, and opening myself up to the world beyond the confines of South Korea. 

First and foremost, the EIDF experience earned me a genuine web of close human networks.  I was able to meet plenty of upbeat, creative documentary producers and directors who came to the festival. They were such rare individuals who had the ability to see things in the world that are barely visible to ordinary people.  Plus, the integrity and commitment that they have about their profession – making documentaries that speak the truth – were indeed admirable.

Second, I’ve learned a few things that I hadn’t noticed stored inside me before.  In particular, being an interpreter itself was really fun and I was surprised to realize that I feel quite happy when I’m up on the stage, talking to the audience.  Contrary to my worry that I might make some suicidal blunders on stage due to the anxiety of having to speak in front of a huge audience, I felt fairly calm and greatly enjoyed myself.  It’s always exhilarating to find some hidden talents that you hadn’t even known existed inside you before. 

Lastly, I started opening myself up to the world beyond the confines of South Korea. Without being exposed to interactions with people outside of Korea, it’s not easy to be aware of one’s identity that encompasses a lot more than an individual identity; the beauty of globalization is that it gives us this big frame of picture in which we’re reminded of the bigger groups we’re part of: family, school, city, nationality, and ethnicity. 

In sum, the EDIF gave me a wonderful packet of gifts full of enchanting memories, new friends, and the roadmap to find out ways of getting closer to my true self.  I’m glad that I was part of it and would like to send my best regards to those who made my EDIF experience all the more perfect. 

-Hwang Ji-sun (International Studies, 3) volunteered at the 4^th EBS International Documentary Festival (EDIF) as an English interpreter from Aug. 27^th to Sep. 2^nd, 2007.