From Classroom to Legacy: 18 Years with Professor Thomas St. John
Professor Thomas St. John is renowned for his unique and entertaining English courses at Sungkyunkwan University (SKKU). With his signature humor-filled informative lectures, Professor Thomas has been loved by SKKU students for years. He is a famous professor offering courses that students compete to register for. As he marks his 18th year at SKKU, Professor Thomas shares some words with the Kingos.
Who is Professor Thomas?
Q1. Please introduce yourself.
My name is Thomas St. John, and I have been teaching at SKKU for 18 years. I have lived in South Korea since 1992 and have enjoyed my life here and at SKKU ever since. I teach English Writing, Debate, Business Communication, Entrepreneurship English, Sports English, and lots more. I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge about English to SKKU students.
Q2. What kind of student were you when you were young?
I was always an average student. No one around me, especially my fellow students and teachers, expected me to go live abroad because I was just a very average student with average grades. I had good ability, but I never applied myself. I decided to enhance my grades because I wanted to study in a foreign country. I was always unsure of what I wanted to be when I was young. However, having my father as a high school teacher, I always heard stories about teaching students and life lessons growing up. When I came to Korea, the opportunity presented itself, and I was able to work as a professor here at SKKU.
Q3. How did you come to Korea and SKKU?
I wanted to come overseas for one year before getting a job in the United States to see what the other side of the world looked like. While looking for a country to visit, a Korean friend in my dormitory taught me Korean, and I learned to write my name in Korean in about thirty minutes. I want to give credit to Sejong the Great for bringing me here. When I came to Korea, I worked multiple jobs, such as a journalist, television show host, and more, before landing at SKKU. One day, I met someone working at SKKU at a Thanksgiving party. He told me that the university was in search of English professors, and I decided to apply for the job.
Q4. What difficulties did you encounter while living in a foreign country?
Settling here would have been much easier if I started living in Korea in 2024. However, in 1992, when I came to Korea, I was one of the very few foreigners here, and Korea had just opened its doors to foreigners. There were no translations, and everything was written in Korean with no English subtitles. I had to learn many things, including Korean, and improve myself to survive here. Other than that, there are no specific difficulties in living in South Korea because it is, after all, an excellent place to live.
Thomas St. John, 18 Years With SKKU
Q5. Where did you learn your teaching skills?
I always wanted to do something different and had an excellent opportunity to grasp a position as a professor, and I have been working here ever since. Before that, in the mid 90’s, I worked as a host of a television show on KBS. On my first attempt with the camera, I was unbelievably nervous and anxious. I didn’t know how to move, react, and speak in front of the camera. Because I was so terrible at presenting, the host producer scheduled a tutor for me to teach me how to present in a better way. She basically taught me how to act, have confidence, and use my voice clearly. This was the experience where I learned every skill I use to teach today, at SKKU.
Q6. You are known for your popularity during class registrations. What makes your lectures so unique and popular?
I try to teach how I would like someone to teach me. I used to be a student and have had good and bad teachers. I try to make the classes exciting while showing the students how they can use this information in life. Most students take my classes because they must and not because they want to. If you and I must be here, we could use the class time to help your future and present.
Q7. You were the first professor to teach Sports English at SKKU. How did you establish this course?
Sports was the biggest thing that kept me in Korea. When I came to Korea in the 1990s, I remember the country being so gray and everyone in suits walking around emotionlessly. However, when these people went to the baseball stadiums, they became their true selves. I was able to see the real Koreans. When I came to SKKU, I volunteered to teach Sports English because I have loved sports ever since.
Q8. Tell us one memory you cherish from your life at SKKU.
I have many good memories, especially of students telling me my class helped them. If I had to choose just one thing, it would be the day I was interviewed for the job. I had not fully graduated from graduate school at the time, although I was scheduled to have my diploma by the first day at SKKU. Even though I was not fully ready for the job due to the diploma, the interviewer still saw the potential in me. He allowed me to put my resume ahead of everyone else’s, ultimately hiring me. The phone call when I was in a taxi leaving the university campus asking me to come back and sign the contract for the job immediately will be unforgettable.
Q9. Is there any difference between the person Thomas and Professor Thomas St. John?
The most significant difference is my voice. As a professor, I try to project my voice so that students can get my message clearly. Other than that, I try to make myself comfortable during class because the students also feel comfortable when I am comfortable. My job is to teach, and I try to make it as fun and exciting as possible.
From Thomas, to SKKU
Q10. 10 years from now, how do you imagine yourself?
I may have more gray hair but hope to remain a SKKU professor. I have had students come back and visit me after graduating from SKKU, which is one of the fruits of being a teacher. In 10 years, I hope to be still teaching here.
Q11. Is there anything you would like to say to your students?
If you are a freshman or sophomore, you need to study presentation. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can never do presentations for you. Companies in the future will want people who can do presentations. You even need presentation skills to meet a boyfriend or girlfriend. AI will replace many jobs shortly. However, the one thing AI will never be able to do is present. AI can talk, pitch, and everything but never communicate and present like humans. I hope my class will be one of the places where you will learn how to present.
Q12. Dear Kingos, Sincerely, Professor Thomas St. John
Look at yourself in the mirror, find out what you need, and figure out your problems. It will not be easy, but you need to fix whatever problem you have. Whether it is love, earning money, English, or any problem you have in your life, attack it. By the time you graduate, you can be a much better person, and when you look in the mirror later, you will have become a happier person.