Interview with Dr. Victoria H. Jo

In September 2009, the Catholic University of Korea (CUK) reorganized the Institute of Foreign Language Education (IFLE) and created the new International Language Education Center (ILEC). Dr. Victoria H. Jo was appointed the ILEC's first director.

Dr. Jo was born in Korea but moved to the United States when she was five years old. She completed her BA and MA in Education and her Ph. D. in Higher Education Administration at the University of Pennsylvania. The death of a close family member brought her back to Korea where she has found her mission: the GEO program.

This is her story.

Dr. Victoria H. Jo, Director of ILEC

You specialized in Higher Education Administration but now you are teaching English at CUK. Has the transition been difficult?

Well, I already taught English to undergraduate students for two years in the US while pursuing my PhD. Truth to be told, I believe that I am an innate teacher, as I told you in class. Definitely I had to go through a really tough time during my first year in Korea. But now, more than five years later, I am feeling quite comfortable with teaching. Comparing my first five years as a faculty member of IFLE with last year as the Director of ILEC, I would have to say that last year was the PHYSICALLY hardest time for me.


ILEC was inaugurated at the same time the GEO program commenced. Did you have something to do with that?

It was the President and Vice-President of the CUK who came up with the GEO Program. They felt thoroughly sorry for students who went abroad to take language courses under great financial difficulties. Seeing that, they decided to provide our students with the opportunity to concentrate on studying English without going abroad. Thus, Prof. Nicolaas le Roux (Assistant Director of ILEC), Prof. Hee-Woo Park (Dean of the Office of School Affairs) and I met for a couple of months to outline the program. Later, ILEC’s other faculty members helped us to complete the curriculum. The Summer GEO Program of 2009 was the fruit of those efforts.


How did the Summer GEO Program turn out?

I think we got a better result than what we had expected while preparing the program. First of all, the fact that most participants thought the GEO to be quite efficient and effective made the professors and me happy. However, it was unfortunate that we had to run the program at a private training institute in Yongin and not in the Songsim Campus because the construction of the International Hub encountered some delays. Nevertheless, the different environment led the participants to concentrate solely on the program. Thus, the construction delays turned out to be a blessing in disguise. Withstanding the inconveniences, the participants  in the Summer Program were active and focused on their classes and activities. Without their passion and exuberance, the program and activities would have been useless no matter how good they were conceptualized. During the preparation of this program, the ILEC faculty members and I emphasized on building the students' confidence in themselves while improving their English skills at the same time. Based on these two goals, we can view the summer program as a great success.


What is the main difference between the Summer and Winter GEO programs? 

In the Summer, only Songsim students could take part in the program. This time, during the winter, students from all three campuses of our school ---Songsim, Songeui and Songsin--- will join. Thus, we interviewed all the participants-to-be pretty strictly and tried to accommodate all of them in a harmonious way. This winter, students will be in teams of Blue, Red and Green. Each team consists of participants from various levels, therefore, we expect they will compete quite equally. That is what we think will be really interesting and exciting!

As in the previous program, we emphasize two things: the first one is for the students to feel confident. I have personally seen so many students have difficulty in speaking foreign languages because they’re so much worried about the grammar. Of course, it’s true that the grammar is really important in language learning. Still, that is not everything. All the professors and I sincerely hope they will communicate and express what they want to say even though it is a little bit grammatically incorrect. That is what we want every single participant to get from this program.

The second one is for the students to be better persons. If the participants thinks that they will study English only here, I would firmly say to them: “Throw away that stupid idea immediately!” These days, people study English very hard so that they can have a broader perspective; a globalized person with a globalized perspective/mind, that’s what they need to be. GLOBALIZATION is nothing but an open point of view; seeing the rest of the world as our neighbor.

She was very serious about independence.

Could you give us some advice as a mentor?

I would like to tell you just two things. First of all, I advise you to get serious. You are a student and an adult. If you decide to do something, no matter what it is, it has to be a prudent decision. After making a decision, you have to do your very best so that you can get the best result. We should all remember that our efforts will not bear fruit unless we are prudent about our decision in life.

You also have to be independent. In the US, it is common to stay away from our parents when we turn eighteen years old. In Korea, it is common for people to stay with, or to depend on, their parents even though they are in their thirties; that was a sort of culture shock to me. Being independent will be good for you and your parents, too.

Reporter: Paul LEE
Photographer: Ji-hye Oh