By John Hopkins
Lockport Union-Sun & Journal
TONAWANDA —
A group of five South Korean professionals and business people have been taking in the scenes in Erie and Niagara counties for the past four days. But, while there was some sightseeing on their itinerary, their main purpose was to get a unique cultural and vocational experience.
Visitors to the North Tonawanda Farmer’s Market may have noticed the four men and one woman from Gangwon Province on Saturday morning, where they were escorted by North Tonawanda councilman Dennis Pasiak, who speaks Korean.
“The market was cool,” said Young Jae Choi, who stayed with Ryan and Patti Schoenfeld in Lockport. “Everything was so cheap, cheaper than I expected. The people are friendly.”
During their visit to the market, the group also had an opportunity to visit with John Long, the market’s manager.
The Korean group is led by Min si Chung, and includes Boo Gil Bae, Young Jae Choi, Hyunkook Lee, and Eun-Jung Sim. Their occupations include university administration, retail sales, international trade and agricultural cooperative management. Tour stops have incorporated all of their backgrounds.
Guests of the Rotary Club of Lockport, the South Koreans are in the United States as part of the Rotary’s Group Study Exchange program. They have been staying with local families.
Saturday was an agriculture-filled day, with stops at Singer Farms in Appleton, the Sun Orchard Fruit Company and the Bittner family in Burt, Robinson Farm in Lockport an Gasport View Dairy Farm.
“Rotary was proud of Niagara's agriculture enough to encourage me to schedule the whole of Saturday for market and farm visits for the whole group,” said North Tonawanda resident Paul Lehman, who is group study exchange chairman and a Lockport Rotarian.
The stops left a positive impression on the guests.
“(Saturday) was a lot of fun,” said Choi. “The farms, the different kinds; vegetable, dairy. It was good to see how they process food. It was quite interesting.”
Ryan Schoenfeld, who is principal at Georger Southard Elementary School in Lockport, said the group was very receptive of everything they saw during their visit. Speaking for the Korean who is involved in agriculture, Schoenfeld said he appeared “impressed with everything” he had seen.
While the differences between the two cultures was evident, the visitors also commented on differences in land features.
“There’s not as much room in Korea, so they build up a lot more,” Schoenfeld explained. “They also noted that it’s much flatter here.”
They arrived Wednesday evening and the local tour began Thursday morning in Lockport for a Lockport Locks and Erie Canal Cruises boat ride, followed by a visit to the Erie Canal Discovery Center in Lockport.
Schoenfeld said there was “some familiarity” within the group about the famous canal, and one of the Koreans noted there is discussion in their homeland of building their own canal.
Thursday’s activities concluded with a picnic dinner and presentation at Lockport’s Spring Lake Winery.
Friday featured a day of vocational experiences in both individual and group settings. Included in the group outings were visits in Lockport to Niagara County Produce and Schoenfeld’s school.
“It was about a half-hour visit for two in the group,” Schoenfeld said. “They said it was different from the schools they have in Korea but they said it also had a lot to offer.”
There was also an extended visit at the University at Buffalo to get a quick sense of what life is like on an American state university campus. A walking tour of campus including the student union, classroom buildings, Center for the Arts and Athletic Facilities.
The group had an opportunity to see how they and their countrymen are perceived in the United States, with a visit to U.B.’s Asian Studies program. Another meeting at U.B. was arranged with John Wood, Associate Vice Provost for International Education.
They wrapped up their tour of Erie and Niagara counties today. Their next stop is Batavia, and form there they will head to Jamestown. There is also a trip to Canada planned.
In 2011, a GSE team from District 7090, Western New York and a portion of Ontario, will travel to South Korea, District 3730. There will be an opportunity for local non-Rotarian members of the community to apply.
