Sejong City has been home to the KDI School for more than two years already. As the administrative heart of Korea, it is also home to government ministries, public research institutes, and other national agencies. In this environment, students of the School, especially those coming from different corners of the globe can catch a glimpse of government at work.

But one student, Rony Rodrigo Maximiliano Rodriguez Ramirez (2016 MDP) from Nicaragua went even further and got a chance to go behind the walls of Sejong City Hall and “experience” a typical day in the life of a government worker in a special promotional video produced by the Sejong City Government.

Rony, who is currently representative of the campus Econometrics Club, says this was his first time being involved in a formal video shoot. But on cam, he was a natural in drawing laughs and showing a lighthearted take on the hard work and dedication of Korean government employees. On top of that, this native Spanish speaker delivered the script entirely in Korean!

THE GLOBE talked with Sejong City’s “Nicaragua-ssi” about his experience. Here’s an excerpt of our interview:

Q.  How did you become involved in the Sejong City promotion video? What was the general concept for it?

A.  The general idea of the video is “a foreigner has a one-day work at the City Hall of Sejong and he faces a lot of problems while working there.” Even though the video is intended to be a funny video, actually, it represents a lot of common problems in the Korean labor market (e.g., work overtime at night, lunch time)… I just received the information from Students Affairs and they asked if I was willing to participate in the video. I accepted the opportunity, and I went to the City Hall in order to know more about the video.  The people in charge of the video gave me the script and I just had to practice it.

Q.  How was the experience for you overall?

A.  This is my first time in a formal video shooting. It was an interesting experience and I was a bit nervous at the beginning but after all, I tried to be natural. While making the video, I was thinking “What am I doing here?” since I felt that I was doing a really bad job.

Q.  In the video, you showed how an "inside view" of working in the Korean government. Any insights you''d like to share from this experience?

 A.  For sure, as a lot of people might know, Korean Modern Society has a culture rooted in working a lot. The interesting part of this experience is that I got to know more about this side of the Korean Culture. In general, working until very late is still one issue to be tackled and I felt that a lot people from the government shared this idea. Even though, I cannot generalize this statement nor give a profound proof about it, I think that this inside view gave me more ideas and tools to share and to debate about it. Additionally, this happens not only in the Korean Government but also in a vast majority of Korean private enterprises. 

Q.  Would you want to work in Korea now that you saw how the working culture can be? Any lessons for foreigners who might want to work in Korea?

A.  First, the way that a foreigner is integrated to the Korean working environment is way more different compare to a Korean national… I would like to be part of a more academic-oriented environment. If I get an opportunity to be part of a research center, I would take the opportunity. Regarding the foreigner who might want to work in Korea, I think that I am not the best person to respond or give an advice about this issue but for sure, I think that it is necessary to acknowledge that the working culture is really different and you might face troubles trying to understand what these situations happen. If your desire is to work in a Korean company just be aware of these issues.

Q.  Any message to Korean workers now that you have seen this kind of environment?

A.  Korean workers know completely what they have. Like other countries, Korea also has its own labor market characteristics and problems. The main issue regarding the labor market I would say that is the overtime working experiences. As culture changes, institutions change, and I think that in order to make an equilibrium between life and work, it is necessary to express and debate about these issues. This might help to construct a better environment for Korean workers.

Q.  What was your reaction when the video came out? What did your friends (here in Korea and back home) say about your appearance?

A.  I strongly believe that I am not a good actor but it was better that I expected. I think that all the credits should go to the video director. He did a good job editing the video so I did not look that bad as I expected. In general, the reactions were good. My Korean friends said good things about it and my friends back home were guessing about the contents since they do not speak Korean language. I promise them to translate the video into Spanish but, for the moment, is an unfulfilled promise.

Q.  Are you open to appearing in such videos again in the future? Will there be future videos with you in it?

A.  I am not sure about that; I cannot predict anything related to future videos. I am open to appearing in more video but I do have to improve my acting and language skills. However, I prefer to be focused on my studies.

By Ranel Ram Cheng [2016 MPP The Philippines]