I am Professor Vincenzo Campitelli
My inspirations are my students and teaching
Cub-reporter Kim Han-deul
sswante88@naver.com
Professor Vincenzo Campitelli, who teaches Italian and Latin, has been selected as an excellent foreign language professor from BUFSians from almost all the courses he teaches. He is also well known for his genuine love and support towards BUFSians. His sincere heart for wishing the best for his BUFSians and people around him always makes people want to be around him. BUFSians really love and appreciate to have him here at the BUFS. The journey he had becoming Italian professor in South Korea and what perspective he has about his years spent in South Korea is also answered through out this interview. The inspiration he gives when teaching is unmatched. The Woeseong Times acted and interviewed Professor Campitelli who was in Italy during summer through online meeting.
Q1. What is your full name and what do you do for a living?
A I am Vincenzo Campitelli and I have been teaching Italian since 2006 and Latin since 2008. I have been a diplomat since 2015. I work for Italian embassy.
Q2. What languages do you speak?
A Italian is my native language. I attended a foreign language high school so I can speak three languages which are English, French, and Spanish, as well as two ancient languages which are ancient Latin and Brazilian Portuguese. My dream was to be a sports journalist. I also speak a little Chinese and Korean and a very little bit of Turkish and Serbian.
Q3. What purpose did you have coming to Korea? Before coming to Korea what did you do for a living?
A I was a high school teacher in Italy. I taught philosophy and history. I met the head of the department in BUFS. The Head of the department of BUFS also studied in Rome and six months later I moved to Korea.
Q4. Did coming to Korea give you a new perspective? What is something special about Korea?
A About working I would say no, because I can be a professor in Korea or any other country. I also had teaching job offers from Venezuela, China, etc. Since I have been in Korea, I have bought my house and I want to spend all my life in Busan. I enjoy Busan. One day I might be Vincenzo Halbae in Korea. Korea is a country where I plan my future to be. I came to Korea for the experience, but Korea is the only country where I wanted to spend the rest of my life at. I decided to concentrate on it. I also worked in Ireland, China, and other countries but I never had this feeling in those countries.
Q5. What are the ups and downs of working in Korea?
A The biggest downside is the communication barrier. Speaking two different languages and having a cultural difference can be difficult. I sometimes must repeat myself two to three times. Also, the distance between Italy and Korea is huge. On the other hand, China and Japan are only two-hour plane rides. The plane journey to Italy goes from Seoul to Abu-Dhabi and then to Rome, a total of 26 hours of traveling now. At the moment there are no direct flights available. On the positive side, Busan is a safe city. I have spent time in several cities and countries, and I can say it is not so safe in those places. There are drug-addicts and there is crime so when it is dark it is not safe to walk around some places. Busan is safer. There is less pollution and the cost of living is not so expensive compared to Seoul. Seoul is polluted and there is lots of traffic.
Q6. How did you study Korean? What are some know-hows?
A I studied Korean by myself in Korea. My Korean is mainly in speaking. Korean is not related to any ancient languages like Latin or other European modern languages such as Italian, English, etc. Teaching languages using English would be hard for my students to understand. It would be difficult for the students to understand the Latin language, grammar, language structure, and culture. I felt like the students would only understand 50 percent of Latin when I teach in English, and you know, they might sleep in class ha-ha. If you sleep once it is alright, just find a better place to sleep.
Q7. How was teaching this year? What do you prepare when you teach? After working what do you do? What do you do on weekends?
A The first semester I had great communication with students and so I think the second semester will be a lot easier. When I start teaching the first semester, I plan for my second semester. The planning takes around two or three months. During online classes during the pandemic, it took time because of adapting to technology when teaching. I love teaching and I love planning new activities about special foreign languages. I will keep preparing this way. Once I planned from 6am to 8pm for a class which is held once a week for two hours. This class took one month to plan. I find the planning part fun. I think the teacher is like an artist. I plan on doing an Italian week and holding an Italian speaking contest in the second semester. I think if the teacher finds it hard to plan for the classes, then he or she should think of another path because planning itself is so important sometimes more than the teaching. I was also blessed with a fantastic teaching assistant. Gaia Bonetti was a God's blessing, always kind and suggesting teaching ideas. She is a good friend and colleague. She also came to my Latin class. She said she enjoyed coming to my class and she also wanted to see how students react when I talk in Korean. During the weekend I plan the classes for next week on weekdays I like to find new places to eat. I listen to Italian radio and play a football game on the play station. I also enjoy playing Subbuteo Table Football. Sometimes I like to watch horror movies.
Q8. When trying to get a job in Korea what did you have to prepare? What did you have to do?
A Prepare your r sum in Korean style and ask Koreans for advice! Personally, it was not hard to get a visa in 2006. I only had to sign a contract with BUFS. Seventeen years ago, I just sent my r sum to BUFS, so it was very easy back then. These days it is much harder and there is more official paperwork needed.
Q9. What is the most memorable and surprising memory in Korea and what are the memories, if any, you wish that you rather did not have?
A My first MT with my students was the most memorable and surprising memory. The male students were dressed like females, eating and drinking. I enjoyed myself with the students like a senior several times in 2007 and in the years after, except of course when COVID-19 was around. If someone asked me to remove the memory it would be that and the 2014 disaster in Kyeongju during BUFS orientation. I heard the news on the TV and prayed that my students were not there. I thought to myself "Please no…"
Q10. What are your motivations in life? What makes you happy?
A The first one is to be a good person. The second, to be a good professor. When I meet a person, I am an enthusiastic person. I am always 100% sure about my mission in Korea and I know that I will be the same person I am now even in 50 years. I am so happy to be a teacher! Students are my happiness! The same happiness I met 16 years ago. The day I do not feel happy I will move to a different country!