A team from Honam University just wrapped a volunteer mission in Indonesia, combining disaster recovery work in SD Cikahuripan with a cultural showcase. We caught up with administrative staff member Kim Hyunji, who accompanied the 30-person delegation of 26 students and 4 faculty members, to hear how it went. Their goal: build hope through service, then celebrate it through culture.
Rebuilding SD Negeri Cikahuripan After the Flood
The team’s first stop was Sukabumi, a region they chose deliberately. Kim explained they “thought the Sukabumi was one of the most underdeveloped neighborhoods in Indonesia” and believed they “would be very helpful for them.”
Partnering with the Canaan Farmer’s Institute, the group focused on SD Negeri Cikahuripan. A flash flood had devastated the elementary school in late 2025. Kim summed up the mission’s dual purpose: “The first one is building hopes to elementary schools, elementary school kids. And the last one was building deeper connections.”
The renovation work was hands-on and extensive. Volunteers “renovated their washrooms and flower gardens and the classroom as well, plus tackled a full round of wall painting.”
Beyond construction, students led practical safety lessons for the children. They taught “how to wash hands and how to brush their teeth and how to fall properly without getting hurt, alongside CPR and basic Korean rhythms.”
Bringing K-Pop and Taekwon-mu to Cihampelas Walk
After Sukabumi, the team traveled to Bandung for a cultural exchange with Indonesia University of Education (UPI). They also madea public performance at Cihampelas Walk (Ciwalk), one of the city’s busiest outdoor shopping and entertainment strips. Staging a show there took real logistical work. Kim said, planning took “almost two months to prepare, including getting permission and access to the square and deciding what performance we should do.”
The final lineup blended distinct Korean art forms for the open-air crowd. Samulnori, the traditional Korean percussion, opened the show. High-energy K-pop dance came next, drawing in passersby with its choreography. Taekwondo followed, showcasing the discipline’s precision and power. The set closed with Taekwon-mu, a fusion performance that layers K-pop rhythm over taekwondo movement, blending martial-arts discipline with dance.
The goal wasn’t just entertainment. For Kim, the performance served a bigger cultural mission, introducing shoppers and passersby to Korean tradition alongside its modern pop culture.
“We want Indonesian people to get to know about Korean culture more than before and we also hope that Korea and Indonesia can have more deeper connections through this cultural experience.”
A Hard Goodbye — and Hope for a Return
Saying goodbye proved to be the mission’s toughest moment. Kim recalled “it was so hard to say goodbye to the elementary school kids on the last day, as the children were crying a lot.”
No sequel trip is confirmed yet. But Kim left the door open for one.
“Hopefully we will come again, but we don’t have any specific plans yet. But we hope that if people remember us and want us to come back, we will, for sure.”
In just two weeks, Honam University showed how cultural exchange grows strongest when it’s rooted in service and shared hope.
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