The Death of Creativity in Korea

Remember this guy? And this one?

Remember how I broke my back to help build something really amazing that made me proud and excited to go to work every day? I just got word that Creativity School will close at the end of January. The University board was taken over by the publishing company that held a few of its seats and Creativity School was deemed unnecessary.

And so all I can do is spend a few minutes in gratitude for the time that I had there...strangely enough, all the people that were 'mine', Krisanne, Geoffrey, Lumina, Jill...would all have been gone by this February anyway. It almost feels a little like it existed just to be a vehicle for our growth and experience. BUT there is still something tragic about many people I love (my korean friends) losing their jobs and the fruits of their countless sleepless nights in the pursuit of excellence.

So here's to Hong Shilkjongnim. Elina. Erica. Sunny. Debby. Kitchen Teacher. Bus Teacher (haha). Library Teacher. Here's to all the people who stay and for whom the school closing does not just mean an early flight back to their real lives. Thanks for the years of paper bag costumes, concerts, beach sets, puppet shows and children's cd's, Changwehakkyo. Thanks for the little people that I loved and the countless lessons in humility and process. Thanks for teaching me how to teach and letting me explore things that other schools never would have allowed. Thanks for being forward thinking. It's so strange to be so removed and still have to let go.