New Camera

I just got a great new camera, a Canon EOS 600D. I've been having fun playing around with it. I like being able to do justice to some of the unique, eye-catching images I am privy to living in Korea. I'm also looking forward to using it while visiting other Asian countries in a few months. Here are some shots from last weekend:

the street in Gagnam 

into the subway

Ttukseom Resort Station

the sun going down and a train passing by

Jackie, William, Jeremy, and Audrey

at Rainbow, our favorite spot

neon lights, people trickling in

table=canvas

a rear-view of the reggae band

They may be young, but they're not colorblind

Today, after teaching a math lesson involving flag stickers to my four and five-year-olds (Korean six), I was giving an impromptu lesson on flags of the world. “Where are we now?...What colors are the South Korean flag?” They could do that pretty well. “And, where is Austin Teacher from?” “AUSTRALIA!” “No…” “CANADA!!” “No…” “MIGUK!!!” “Yes...Miguk in English is AMERICA…what colors are the American flag?”…They seemed to get it. “Now, one more time…who is from America?” I asked, just to make sure we were clear. “AASHI!” one of the boys yelled, pointing to the only Indian child in the class. “Um, no, AUSTIN TEACHER is from America” I said, jabbing my finger at the flag. Way to make it awkward…and so much for trying to make my students globally aware. :)

The Voices in My Head

As I’ve mentioned in previous posts, the end of our last Kindergarten semester was marked by a musical production. My class did Peter Pan. Just imagine for a second what it would take to get a class of American kids to memorize a musical in Mandarin. Needless to say, it was a challenge. How do you get a bunch of seven-year-olds who barely speak English to memorize a 30-minute English musical? By doing a lot of yelling and threatening that we would not be allowed to do if we were teaching in America. And, by practicing over and over and over and over.

Towards the end, I would come home at night and find that the musical was playing, on repeat, in my head. Not just my lines, but all of the lines. Trust me, after practicing with the kids for hours on end the last thing I wanted on my mind was a steady stream of “Look out, it’s Captain Hook! He’s trying to shoot us with the cannon!…” Sometimes the songs would be playing in the background “Yo ho yo ho a pirates life for me…”

As mildly disturbed by this as I was (having uncontrollable voices in your head is usually not considered to be a good thing), I knew it was a passing phase. The semester would be over soon enough and my head would be free to return to the thoughts that normal people have; about friends, money, laundry, whatever, and if a song were stuck in my head, it would be one that I actually liked…or so I thought.

The kids I’m teaching are younger now, and I’m not sure if it’s their age or just my new Korean co-teacher’s personal teaching style, but my teaching these days seems to revolve in large part around teaching the kids songs, songs about playgrounds, animals, letters, fingers, etc. This can be cute (how could happily singing children not be cute?), and fun, a nice break from worksheets. But sometimes it can be a little too much.

We will practice the songs with the kids, and to reinforce their learning we will play them as background music during lunchtime, morning circle, and playtime. The same songs are on repeat throughout my morning, songs that I never liked to begin with. My co-teacher comes into my classroom carrying the CD player and I cringe. Please, just let me teach math, phonics, anything else. And, to top it all off, the voices in my head are back.

I wake up on a Saturday morning and what do I hear? “This little duck that I once new, a little yellow duck with a feather on his head, he leads the others with a quack quack quack…” I’m not sure what is worse, pirates or quacking.  All I know is that I’ve had enough of both of them to last me a lifetime.

Spa Day in Korea

Last weekend, feeling under the weather (everyone at school has been sick) I decided to venture into the spa part of my gym. I use the gym, Bobos Sporex, frequently, but have only peeked into the shower part of the locker room (it takes me about five minutes to walk home from the gym, so I just shower there).

Inside the locker room at Bobos, there are glass doors leading to shower area. There are rows of showers, some requiring you to sit on a stool, as well as a hot pool of water, a cold pool of water, and a steam room.

I’m not sure if I’ve mentioned this before, but spas are very popular in Korea. There are many public “jimjilbangs,” which can be used for only a few thousand won, and even slept in. One of the first things that foreigners will tell you when describing jimjilbangs is how “very naked” they are. Koreans of all ages use the facilities completely unclothed. I don’t think they would let you wear a swimsuit if you tried.

The spa at my gym is no exception, which was fine with me, but I was very aware of the lingering glances of the older Korean woman that were sharing the facilities with me that Sunday afternoon. I’m sure they were just curious as to what a waygook (foreigner) looks like unclothed. They were all polite, however, as Korean woman tend to be.

I was instructed by one of the woman to shower upon entering, which I did, and then relaxed into the hot pool. Meanwhile, the other woman meandered throughout the steamy, cave-like corridors, hair wrapped in towels, chatting with one-another.

It took a little getting used to, but was a very pleasant experience. I can see why this is such a favorable past time in Korea. I mean, after working like a maniac in frigid weather all week, who wouldn’t want to spend a couple hours at a spa with friends, naked and engulfed in steam?

White Day

          Happy White Day everyone! For those of you who don’t know what White Day is, it is a Korean holiday celebrated on March 14^th, exactly one month after Valentine’s Day. In Korea, it is traditional for girls to give their boyfriend chocolate, etc. on Valentine’s Day. Then, one month later, it’s the guys’ turns. I read somewhere that the guys are suppose to spend three times as much on their girlfriends as was spent on them.

          If you hadn’t already noticed, Korea is a very “couply” country. Relationships are very common, and couples like to celebrate their coupledom by taking an array of couple pictures, wearing matching outfits, etc. Here are some examples (the first couples' shirts say "falling in love, this is my boyfriend/girlfriend," in case you were wondering):

          In case you don’t happen to be in a relationship, never fear, because a month from now, on April 14^th, there is “Black Day.” On this day, single people get together and celebrate their singledom by eating “jajangmyeon,” noodles with black bean sauce. I heard a rumor that this meal is suppose to help you attract members of the opposite sex, but don’t quote me on that.

The End of an Era

We are going through a transition time at school right now. The semester has ended, which was marked by the completion of our Kindergarten musicals, and a graduation ceremony. I was very sad to say goodbye to “my kids,” Salmon Class. I have been spent most of my mornings and early afternoons with them for the past six months. Some shots of them in their graduation gowns (taken in the classroom, with their parents in the background):

Lucy, Sophia, Julia

Eddie, Sonic, Chris

Salmon Class

They have made a lasting impression on me, and I hope that any influence that I’ve had on their young lives has been more positive than negative (which is all I can really hope for, right?). That being said, I’m also excited at the prospect of a new class, and having a fresh start now that I have a much firmer grasp on the art of controlling Korean kindergarteners.

Last week was Spring Break, which meant no Kindergarten, but the teachers still had to come in in the mornings to complete various mindless tasks. Mine was making conversation questions and answers for storybooks. The most challenging books to write ten questions about were the ones that were less than ten words. I just ended up getting a lot of my material from the pictures. (“What is Sally wearing?” “Sally is wearing jeans.”) etc, etc.

Next week, all the classes will be different. Some kids are leaving, new kids are coming, and the ones that are staying will change levels. This is true for both elementary and kindergarten. We have been given very little information about what will be happening text week, in terms of who will be teaching which classes and whatnot. Our school tends not to tell us what is going to happen until it is actually happening. This seems to be a general Korean tendency.

I do, however, know that I will be teaching Lobster Class for kindergarten, which will mainly consist of a class of kids that I taught once a week last semester, Blowfish Class. They are Korean six, which makes them four and five American age. My “sister class,” which I will teach once a day, will be Angelfish Class, the youngest class at EOS. They are two and three American age. They are SO cute, and SOOO small. I taught them once a week last semester and spent a good portion of the time baffling over the fact that these babies were in school, in uniform, sitting at the desk completing phonics worksheets.

Another change that is taking place is that about half of the teachers are leaving. All of the teachers are on a yearlong contract, and it is up to both you and the school whether or not you sign on for another year. There are four new Korean teachers and one new Native Teacher, Leanne, who is also from California. Represent. The new teachers have been observing these past few days and all seem very nice.

And so it goes…I have a little over five months left on my contract, and I’m feeling really positive about the rest of my time in Korea. I have formed some great friendships and have had some unforgettable experiences. With the end in sight, a lot of potential opportunities are presenting themselves and I look forward to seeing where this Asian adventure will take me.

One Shot at the “Good Life”

An article I read last month in The Economist helped me to put my current job in perspective. “The One-Shot Society”* described the education system in South Korea, which places a huge emphasis on college entrance exams. This is because, in South Korea, a degree is required to do pretty much anything, and 100% of parents want their children to go to college. The single set of multiple-choice tests, taken at the end of high school, determine whether or not a student gets into a “good” university, a mediocre university, or any university at all.

In Korea, it is unlikely that one will change jobs, as this is frowned upon. Also, prestigious companies directly recruit from prestigious universities, and promote from within. Therefore, in Korea, one’s life and livelihood is basically determined by the series of tests taken at the end of high school. (Hence, you have parents paying to have native-English-speakers flown across the world to teach their four-year-old the difference between long and short vowels.)

As the article explains, there are benefits and drawbacks, of course, to this system. On one-hand, it is fair and efficient. The test-results are clear and non-negotiable. Also, while wealthy parents can offer their children an advantage with expensive private schooling, they will still have to prove themselves on exam-day, guaranteeing that a child’s success is based on ability instead of legacy. Also, poor yet intelligent and hard-working Koreans are able to rise up in the ranks.

This system has resulted in an extraordinarily high level of education in South Korea. Parents know how important it is to prepare their children for exam day, and go to great lengths to do so. Huge amounts of time and money (Seoul families spend an average of 16% of their income on private tuition) are devoted to a child’s education. Therefore, “The country is pretty much the leading nation in the scoring system run by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). In 2009 it came fourth after Shanghai, Singapore and Hong Kong, but those are cities rather than full-sized countries” (p. 54).

This highly educated populace has in turn fueled a soaring economy. The country was only recently in poverty, and is developing at an astounding rate. “The country has risen from barefoot to broadband since 1960, and last year, despite the global slowdown, its economy grew by 6.2%. In the age of the knowledge economy, education is economic destiny. So the system has had far-reaching and beneficial consequences” (p. 54).

However, there is also a dark-side to the South-Korean miracle. The cons to the education system include a high youth suicide-rate, greater than America’s and twice that of China, which one can imagine to be due to the incredible amount of pressure placed on children by society and their families, 100% of which desire for their child to attend a university. “In one survey a fifth of Korean middle and high school students said they felt tempted to commit suicide. In 2009 a tragic 202 actually did so” (p. 55).

            In addition, due to the high cost of raising children in this society, South Korea is facing a dramatic decline in population. Korean children go an array of private academies, where they practice English, math, science, piano, art, Korean, taekwondo, Chinese, guitar, jump-rope, robotics, etc. Many of these academies cost around $1,000 a month, and some attend quite a few. When I’ve asked them, many of my students have listed five or six. “Parents engage in an educational arms race. Those with only one child can afford higher fees, so they bid up the price of the best hagwon” (p.55). This has resulted in families having much fewer children, in order to be able to devote more resources into the ones that they do have.

“Since 1960 the fertility rate in Korea has fallen faster than nearly anywhere on earth, from six children per woman to 1.15 in 2009” (p. 55). If each Korean woman continues to have only one baby, each generation will be half the size of the one before it. The dramatically shrinking population is a huge problem in Korea, one that has prompted many to rethink the system. While there is much to be said as to what South Korea has achieved as a result of it’s education system, it seems that a change will soon be necessary, so that it's citizens will be offered more than one shot at the "Good Life."

*I have only included some key points from this article. To read the rest of “The One-Shot Society,” published in the December 17^th-30^th edition of The Economist, click here.