Cultural Notes

Hi all,

Oooo- yes, it's an extra update this week and it's extra long! I am talking to Victoria online and got inspired to blog about some Korean culture, some funny anecdotes, etc. I finished planning my teacher classes for next week, but I still have to plan for regular classes next week. I'll do that later. Right now I have some down time- it's Thursday here which means I taught two classes this morning and will teach three classes after lunch. I was supposed to study some Korean with a teacher today, but I have to help a girl with an English speech she will be giving at a contest this Saturday.

Next week there aren't any Korean language classes and that is really really nice. I just get very tired with teaching and then going to class (which takes an hour), class (which takes an hour), and then coming back home (another hour)! The break in class is because te university has midterms- so all extra classes are cancelled. It will be nice to have the time off. However, the week after that we have a test for class. AND I am certian I will fail it. So, I need to study a lot next week. I'm not too concerned about the test, it doesn't mean much. If I pass I get a little certificate saying I passed and am allowed to move to the next level. Although, if I pass, I'll probably have a heart attack and won't be able to move up. If I fail, I'll just take the same level again. Since the class is over my head anyway in vocabulay and content, I feel like I don't have much to lose.

Hm, before I venture into any comments/analysis of Korean culture, I want to say thank you for everyone who is reading this, writes comments, e-mails and sends me things! I know I have a lot of support from home and it means a lot. The past three weeks I've been tired and out of it. I've missed everyone a lot, but everyone's support has been uber helpful and I am feeling much better.

Okay- some things I've noticed about Korean culture from a Western (biased) stance.

A. Koreans are very honest (blunt) and usually pretty accurate in their conclusions.
1. Today everyone keeps telling me, "You look tired." And since I did not get enough sleep last night I believe this is true.
2. My host siblings kept telling me how my host brother's English teacher has a husky voice and mimicking what it sounded like. I finally met the woman and they were 100% correct.
3. You look fat/thin today. Well, sometimes this might be true- or not. Generally Koreans do not have a problem talking about weight. It isn't unusual to be asked how much do you weigh?

An anecdote for when this is not true:
Scene: High School cafeteria, waiting in line for food. My co-teacher talking to gym teacher behind me.
Co-teacher: "This is the P.T. (Physical Training) teacher. He wants to attend your English class."
Me: "Oh! Great! Please come!"
Co-teacher: * smiling * "Uh, he says your pronunciation is not good."
Me: "My Korean pronunciation?" * confused since I didn't speak Korean... *
Co-teacher: "Uh...no, your English pronunciation."
Me: "Really? What?"
Co-teacher: "He says it sounds like konglish"
Me: "Oh, well, I don't know enough Korean for it to be konglish!"

** note ** konglish is a mix of Korean and English. Think Spanglish.

So, the gym teacher did some to my English class, where he proceeded to say I have bad pronunciation. Where the other teachers did an unussual thing- they lied to me and told me he said I had good pronunciation. (I only knew what he said, because of the say before.) But they also spent the next 5 minutes explaining to him that I had only lived in Korea for 3 months and grew up in America. I think he seemed satisfied- I'm not sure. Pretty rude, but I didn't let it get to me. Mostly I thought the whole situation was pretty interesting.

B. Koreans are very concerened about their appearance.
1. Clothes- always in good condition, designer if they can be, newest styles.
2. Hair- always done (even men)
3. Make-up- almost always. Someone asked me the other day if American don't wear make-up (because I don't). But I said that most did, I just didn't.
4. Body image- this does not just mean weight.
a. Double-eye lid surgey- very big here. Asians typically don't have the double eye-lid that Westerners do, and for some reason they
want it.
b. Calf surgery- this removes part of the calf muscle to make your legs look more slender. I think maybe making you "appear" taller.
c. Nose surgery- I think to make more of a bridge or something.

C. English education is EXTREMELY important
1. Private tutors- Korean parents pay through the roof for this.
2. Hagwons/academies- Ditto, private study places for kids
3. Some parents are able to send their children overseas
4. Some parents move overseas for this
5. English camps, etc.
6. Surgery- yes, it's true. Some children have the piece of skin under their
tongue cut/sliced, so they can pronunce the r and l sounds in English.
a. This is a very painful surgery as you can imagine, but it "works". Now, there are plenty of Asian children that live overseas (ahem, I'm an example) and I can pronunce the r and l sounds fine, without ever having my tongue detached from the lower part of my mouth (sorry Emily, I don't know the medical terms!). Yet, somehow this logic doesn't transfer over. Like any language, past a certian point, there is no way to master it completely and I think these sounds are an example of this. It's because these children grow up speaking a langauge that does not have these sounds, not the fact that their mouths cannot reproduce the sound.

Okay, I don't mean to "rag" on the culture here, but these are just some things I've noticed. And my history degree would not be any good, if I didn't recognize that I have a huge bias coming from a Western background. Generally I don't think these things are bad or wrong, but just a different perspective. Although, I'm not keen on on the surgery for children.

Please leave comments, I'd love to hear your responses! Plus, comments make me feel good! :)

-me