A native of Lakewood, California, Kenneth Harley, never thought he would be creating such huge waves of influence on the other side of the world. Before flying all the way over to Korea in 2004, Harley was a teacher at an urban elementary school in Kansas City until he was invited to teach English at a small elementary school in a rural town of Korea.

Creating ‘Something’ Out Of Nothing
When Harley arrived in Suk Jung Elementary School in Suk Jung-ri on June 30, 2004, however, the situation he faced was just a little bit different from that many English teachers usually face. The school did not have any books that Harley could use as textbooks. The school’s English program was at a halt and the students had had trust issues with a previous teacher. Harley simply had a lot to rebuild.

Although the company that invited Harley to teach English was supportive to find Harley the books he needed, Harley decided to take a more proactive approach by initiating a book drive. In the beginning of his campaign, Harley called 7,000 publishers to ask for their donation. Harley also wrote to a Catholic Knights of Columbus organization in Wisconsin, which raised over 1,200 books. Ever since then, Harley has been carrying out an active grassroots campaign asking donations from large service organizations and small and large book publishers.

The book drive was a huge success. Many private donors in America sent books and particularly Korean adoptees who are American citizens actively helped out. Harley said, “Unlike the media coverage nowadays, people in America like to give the world including Korea a little chance that they had.” Harley added, “The kids couldn’t believe Americans or anybody would care so much for them” after they received brand new books from America.

Making It Fun To Speak English
After successfully building a library of English books, Harley’s main mission began: bringing up students’ ability to communicate in English. Harley believes in a principle that students not only learn English through books but through actions. For instance, his students would learn how to listen on the foot while playing dodge ball and baseball and speaking English out on the exercise field. One day, Harley found out that students liked Spider Man. Harley found the Spider Man song, abridged the lyrics, and had students sing along as he played the pipe organ. Harley believes that if kids have fun and trust, they are willing to speak. Harley’s effort has been focused on making students think English is fun.

Harley’s effort was introduced on major Korean TV networks such as KBS
and MBC 8 times and the school was featured 12 times as well. Parents started sending their children to Suk Jung Elementary School. Harley says the number of students jumped from 120 to 155 by the time he left the school.

Although his effort was getting paid off and Harley loved his students, he says he had to move to Seoul because he developed bronchitis living in a wet house. He is now teaching at Hwawon Middle School in Seoul. He initiated the same book drive campaign and already had 600 books promised in the first few days of the campaign. Although Harley misses his old students, he continues to enjoy his life in Korea and taking even more new initiatives such as working as the director of school's Drama Club, where students will perform plays in English.

Below is the letter Harley wrote to ask for book donations:

Dear friends of the Hwawon Middle School in Gangseo-gu Seoul South Korea,

It is a beautiful late summer morning in the working class neighborhood of Gangseo-gu, Seoul, South Korea. A light, sweet cool breeze is filtering into the teacher's lounge, along with the brightness of sun and a little peace that comes in The Land of Morning Calm...

Students are outside two floors beneath me outside on the all sand exercise field (for some reason grass fields just aren't affordable here for most public schools to maintain). Some of the teens are playing soccer and laughing and yelling at one another. Others are in line doing exercises to maintain their fitness. Yes, even in Korea these middle schoolers are tempted to eat pizza and cheeseburgers and gain a little weight!

This is a peaceful, yet, busy day as the Korean English teachers of Hwawon Middle School are focused on preparing their future lessons while listening to English news broadcasts from the Voice of America and CNN.

Hwawon Middle School is located in the western part of Seoul on a small mountain with surrounding hills. The school is located on a hill overlooking a valley of houses, businesses, schools, and lush hills with vegetation. The Hwawon Middle School area is an example of a thriving working class area in Seoul where parents work hard to try to get what they can for their kids, as there is always hope when children can learn!

The school was opened in 1996 and the teachers and administrators have been working hard to make their school of the highest quality. We have over 800 students here studying English and all other necessary subjects. The school has 5 English teachers that are Koreans and 1 English speaking teacher from America.

Matter of fact, intensity of work and study, seems to be the main theme for all activity that goes on here at Hwawon Middle School:

Students study 9-12 hours a day on the average in Korea. Parents work long hours to raise money for their children's college and private lessons to get them ready for college. The teachers prepare with an intensity and work longer hours than I have seen many teachers work in America. Life is at frenetic pace here as Korean adults want to educate their progenies and children want to fulfill their dreams.

I can tell you a story of a family that works over 15 hours a day at a little Korean cleaners. The store is not even tall enough for them to walk around with their full stature; yet, the humble husband and wife keep ironing, washing, sewing and doing what they can to earn and save money so that their son will be able to go to college here. For there is not many (if any) scholarships available so that working children can go to college. If the parents don't save and send their children then no college for the intelligent boy or girl and no opportunity for a better life.

Koreans really are living the American dream here, which is doing everything they can so that their children can have a future and the chance at prosperity and a better life.

With this in mind, that is why I am here in Korea.

I want to teach my students how to be excellent in speaking, reading, and writing English. I want the children of many schools to come to our library at Hwawon Middle School and explore the world while learning with materials that they just can't afford to have their parents buy.

Parents work so hard here to have their children learn English so that someday their children, can join the beauty of the world community in a global economy. They want their children to have a chance and library books could a precious commodity and a boon to the students in our region as they study English for hope and for a multicultural and tolerant future world.

Here are some of our practical needs. We have little materials and are trying to build a library from square one:

---We need easy reading library books from grade 2 American or grade 3 ESL to help new learners of English.
---We need middle school reading books of fiction covering a variety of teenage topics
---We need non-fiction easy reading and teenage focusing on a variety of scientific, philosophy, history topics.
--We need reference books, such as dictionaries, English to Korean dictionaries and reference materials like CIA Factbook, world maps, globes, etc.
---We need magazines in English and other periodicals
---We need animation books, comic books in English
---We need videos in English with English subtitles for DVD or VCD.
---We need English CD Audiobooks for early readers or teenagers
---We need games such, as Scrabble, Boggle, other word games and Monopoly, and games in English.

This is just a start but as you can read, we have quite a project on our hands and we hope you will stretch your hands out to reach our hands, the friendly hands of our teachers, parents and children here in Korea!

Please look at our website for more information:

www.freewebs.com/hwawon website

Please send us some of the things we need for our kids to:


School Address:

Hwawon Middle School

San 144-4, Hwagok 7 dong, Gangseo-gu, Seoul, Korea

(02)2695-8441


Thanks very much for all that you can do to help us and our students!

Kenneth Harley :-)
Hwawon Middle School