KAIST’s newest English professor, Josalyn Knapic, spoke to The KAIST Herald about her experiences before and at KAIST, and introduced her upcoming Creative Writing class, which will be opening next semester.

Please introduce yourself to our readers. How and why did you decide to start teaching in Korea and at KAIST?

I’m from the United States. I received my undergraduate degree in creative writing in Chicago and worked there for many years in higher education administration and in various roles for literary magazines. Chicago is a multicultural place, which allowed me to meet people from all over the world, and I became interested in Korean culture and language. While studying for my Master of Fine Arts degree in Virginia, I started to get into Korean and Asian American literature, particularly women writers, and my university gave me a grant to [go] to Korea for some research. That's when I knew, okay, I want to live in Korea. I need to make this transition. I decided I wanted to work with international students, since I [had previously] held assistantships in the student affairs department during my graduate study.

Before coming to Korea, I got my TEFL/TESOL certification and tried to get a university position, but it was pretty hard. I worked in an elementary school in Daejeon for a year, but luckily, I was able to get a university position after that in Songdo, Incheon, [where] I taught academic English to students in STEM. I actually really missed living in Daejeon! I also wanted to work at a school that emphasized STEM, and globalization, so I was very happy when I came to KAIST because it’s an environment that I feel comfortable teaching in.

What are your first impressions of KAIST and its students?

My first impression of KAIST was actually the trees and mountains, because Songdo is so flat! I really missed being able to see all the natural greenery and visit neighborhoods that felt more traditional; [in Songdo] everything is manmade and brand new.

I think my experience in the university is a little different because [I’ve only been here during] COVID. But, so far, students have been really great, although at first, they are very nervous to speak English, [especially since I teach] mostly freshmen. I try to create an open and inclusive learning environment so students can feel safe to speak out and say their opinion about any topic that we cover. It’s also important to create rapport in the classrooms, so I really like it when students know each other personally and share ideas with each other. We’re all learning from each other. 

I [also try to] talk a lot about multiculturalism. I think [Korean students do] want to make international friends. But the culture barrier is a little bit hard [to navigate] because it makes it difficult to share ideas and opinions. 

What have been the most fun and the most difficult moments of teaching this semester?

I think it’s always challenging to teach a new course at a new school. But reflection as a professor and feedback from students are really important, so I always try to invest time to build relationships with the students and to [adjust] my teaching methods for different classes.

A memorable moment was [during student] presentations [where they had to advertise leisure activities]; one thing that I noticed was that many of them went into the mechanics of the activity, rather than other aspects. Students also focused on activities that involve innovative technology, for example VR. What I love about teaching STEM students is that my brain does not work the way that their brains work, so it really makes me think differently about the world. Hearing about different perspectives from the students makes the class fun. 

We have heard that you plan to open a new creative writing class next semester. What will the class focus on, and who is it aimed at?

I’m very excited to teach creative writing. To be honest, I didn’t think it was possible in Korea, but the Department of Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS) asked me to [open it]. I plan to aim the class at students who are at least comfortable in reading English literature, who are not necessarily writers already. The class is going to be an introduction to different genres of creative writing, including nonfiction, fiction, and poetry. Most importantly, in this class, we are going to learn how to read like writers. We will focus on the craft of writing, and I believe that good reading makes good writing, so we will also read multicultural literature. Along with that, we will do freewriting exercises, learn how to workshop our own creative work, and go through the process of revision. Hopefully this class will help students become a better critic of their own work, whether that’s writing for pleasure or writing for academia in the future.

Why is creative writing an important skill for people to gain?

For STEM majors, it’s important to be an original thinker. And to stimulate that, one needs to practice creativity. As leading innovators at KAIST, it’s also important to focus on inquiry and curiosity in a safe space. What I mean is, I want students to be able to take risks in their writing and explore subjects that are meaningful to them — themselves, the world(s) they live in. That is why I plan to use the SU grading system for this class. I think creative writing is a chance for students to loosen their restraints and trust their instincts, and hopefully they can take that skill into any part of academia. 

Do you plan to stay at KAIST long term? Is there anything here that you would like to work on or improve?

I think for now I am really happy with where I am at. Hopefully in the future, I can develop more rapport with students and if the creative writing class goes well, hopefully it’ll open up [the possibility] to teach more classes like that.

Since I enjoy  working with international students, this is a good chance for me to work in an international environment. I also get to use my degree, which, as an arts major, you cannot say very often!

[Talking about ISSS] Actually, that’s something that I’m interested in later, since I worked in higher education administration for a really long time [in the US], and consider that a strength of mine. I would like to get involved with projects or extracurriculars, or even  program coordination. Working with students in a supporting role is just as rewarding as in a teaching role.

As a final question, do you have a favorite book or piece of literature?

Oh my gosh, that is difficult to say. I gravitate to literature that is cross-genre. I like experimental work that plays with language and form, which informs my own writing. Mainly I’m drawn to modern or contemporary prose or poetry that explores and contemplates the human condition in an intensely personal way.