Hero English

In addition to my art & design creative work that I do, I also work hard at martial arts.

Just like my art work, its not a hobby - its a way of life, and also a means to make a living.

Here on the right, is a logo I created in Photoshop for HERO ENGLISH MOOSUL KWAN. It is a design I intend to use in the near future for my original version of the ESL-dojo concept.

But first, a little background on Hero English.

In 2011, I left my role as art professor in the CGD department at Chungkang College of Cultural Industries, and left South Korea altogether, and went back to my home of origin in the USA with my new wife (its hard to start a marriage and lose a good job at the same time!) and there discovered that getting a new job in the Obama-era/post-2008 world-financial-crisis America proved to be impossible. So, at some point, I realized that in order to get a job I'd have to give one to myself!

With the help of some friends in Korea and Europe, I was able to put together some clients (ESL students) for teaching conversational English every morning using VOIP technology as a virtual classroom communication platform: Thus, Hero English was born!

I would teach English as a Second/Foreign Language as a native-speaker to clients of many ages and walks of life, from primary school students to university students, from workers in massive companies to the small business entrepreneurs. All different kinds of folks. Some from Asia, others from South America, and the Middle East and even Europe.

See that little astronaut guy with his glass helmet being part of the "O" in Hero? His name is Space Boid. I created him in 2011 in an illustration that depicts him staking a claim on a little planet. "Boid" is a combination of boy-android. He is a little astronaut explorer - with a little bouncy dongle on his head to show which direction he is looking.

The 'Hero English' name came to me in inspiration when thinking about this brave little hero-explorer character and wanting to use him as the corporate mascot; and it also came from the idea that I wanted to be the hero for those ESL learners who needed a conversationalist teacher to guide and save them in their need for English for either their academic or professional life. And so, the name was established in 2012.

In 2013, however, that was the time I would need Hero English to save me. I had taken a job with a martial arts school far away and decided to move my new wife and new born son approximately 1,000 miles away. Unfortunately, I was treated extremely poorly - and even though I am accustomed to hard work - I labored like a slave with pay that was well under minimum wage...and well under living expenses. It was not as we had agreed upon in many respects, and after 5 months, I decided to get out, but I had no job and my wife could not work. I ended up taking another martial art job with Young Champions of America in the evenings, and doing Hero English online teaching in the mornings just to make enough to feed and shelter our family.

Fast forward now some years, and I am back in South Korea and don't recruit new students under the Hero English page anymore, but have instead extended the Hero English business concept to merge with my martial arts teaching experience.

Here once again, our Space Boid has returned but this time in a martial art training uniform ('dobok' in Korean). He is joined by his colorful fellows doing a synchronized Karate form together.

The logo is the Yin-Yang symbol that is common to find in many Oriental martial art symbolism and philosophy. The blue and red indicate the connection to Korean martial heritage/legacy. Inside the circle is a burst or brilliance representing enlightenment, learning and discovery. The yin-yang looks like a circle medallion and connects to the character mascot Space Boid's fish-bowl astro helmet: So, when people see either the character or the logo, they will connect it Hero English Martial Arts.

#chungkangcollege #entrepreneur #ESL #charactermascot #characterart #logodesign #corporateidentitydesign #martialarts #graphicdesign