한국에 가자: High School

I visited a high school on Friday!
One of the KUBA groups had this as an event. I love visiting schools in different countries, so I was really happy about this event. One KU student graduated from this high school.
It took over an hour to get there. We went by subway, which was crowded and hot. I was still sick and recovering from a fever that day, so it was exhausting. We finally arrived around 3:00 pm.
We went to a foreign language high school outside of Seoul. It's not a regular school. You have to apply to get in, so your GPA must be good and you have to do an interview. Because it's a foreign language school, more emphasis is put on language acquisition. Also, the school offers majors. This particular school offers majors in: English, Chinese, and Japanese. Everybody learns English and an additional language (as in normal high schools), but the major puts more emphasis on that particular language. I know several KU students who graduated from foreign language high schools. One of my friends studied English and French. Different schools offer different languages.
Actually, at this foreign language school I talked to a few students who I thought were fantastic at English. Their pronunciation was excellent, too. They sounded American to me. I found out that some of them had lived in the U.S. or Japan for a couple years when they were younger. Each major was represented in this group.

Actually, I've met a number of oversees Koreans at Korea University. I've met exchange students who are American and were adopted from Korea. I've met international students who are American and have Korean heritage. I've met exchange students who are Korean and grew up in Germany, as well as some who are German and have one parent who is Korean. One exchange student is Korean but grew up in China and now goes to college in Hong Kong. She did all her schooling in English. She sounds American to me. Her parents now live in Korea so she's living with them for the semester that she's here, but she plans to stay in Hong Kong because she likes it and feels more comfortable there. Her friend is Korean and grew up in Malaysia. This reminds me of my T.A. from my Korean class at my university in New York. I was surprised when I realized she's an international student. I was convinced that she's Korean-American because her English is perfect and she has an American accent. She told me that she grew up in Hong Kong, where she went to a British school. Again, she did all her schooling in English and now attends an American university. Back to KU, this week I met a student who is Korean, but I found out he grew up in Bangladesh. His English is great. I also know a KU student who is Korean and she also speaks English because she grew up in the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and China. There are many Koreans who grew up or come from or live outside of Korea. This reminds me of when I learned about the Korean diaspora around the world in one of my classes two years ago.
I know a number of people who come from more than one country or background. My friend is from Singapore and Australia, another is from Singapore but goes to school in Hong Kong, and so on. A couple weeks ago, my professor was discussing what it means to be Korean. Bloodline and language come to mind. But is there more to it? What about ethnic Koreans living outside of Korea? The children of Korean immigrants? What about Korean children who were adopted by a family abroad? What is their identity? and so on. His son, for example, has a Korean father and a Korean-Canadian mother and has the citizenship of three countries: the U.S., Canada, and South Korea. Increasingly there are more people like this in our world. I myself am a dual citizen.

The importance of education and English skills in Korea is apparent in different parts of the world. I may have mentioned this already, but the most international students at my university in the U.S. are from South Korea and China. At home, I can overhear more than half a dozen conversations in Korean by walking across campus. Some flyers are in Korean, and there are clubs for Korean students, those of Korean heritage, Korean drumming, and Korean Christians. I've met a couple Korean students at my university who also went to high school in the U.S. For example, one of my Korean language partners last semester is from Busan, and attended a private girls' high school in the U.S. Her English isn't perfect though. Actually, she was saying that she plans on taking a class on business Korean, but that it may be too hard. In some ways, she's not that proficient in Korean anymore, but she's not that good at English either. While I'm quite impressed with the English skills of some Koreans, most people do not seem to be completely fluent. A lot of people aren't that good at English or have limited English. Although KU students have to take a certain number of courses in English, it is not easy and definitely challenging for most. At my university at home too, I hear Korean a lot because for the most part the Korean students keep to themselves and don't feel comfortable or confident in using English. My Korean friend who I met in the U.S. is rare because she branched out and got to know other students. I think she's special. Her brother spent two years studying in the U.S. as well, and I could communicate with him in English, but he said it was really difficult and that he admired Koreans who got to know others who don't speak Korean. Although everybody studies English, their skills vary. I'm sure there are some Koreans who studied in Korea who have better English skills than some who studied in the U.S. for a few years. You never know. Most students know some English but don't expect everyone to be perfect at it. Korean and English are completely different languages after all.

Anyway
Here are some photos.

We were given a short presentation on Korea and then on the school.

Here is the daily schedule for this particular foreign language high school

I know that Korean students are in school for a long time and spend a great amount of time studying, but I still have trouble imagining it. I went to school in Massachussetts. I went to a great public high school in a good school system, and the day lasted from 8:00 am to 2:35 pm. I can't fathom having to stay in school all day, especially as late as 10:00 pm.

Although some students at my high school were stressed or were taking all AP courses, I found my senior year easier than the previous years. It was fairly easy and quite enjoyable. When I was a high school student, I sometimes went shopping or watched movies after school, and I usually had appointments and club activities in the afternoons. I guess that isn't possible when you have school until 10. In addition, since students spend such a great amount of time at school, I can imagine that victims of bullying have a very hard time.

We ate dinner at this foreign language school. So far, the students I had spoken with were in their second year. High school consists of three years in Korea. A third year student, a senior, stopped by our table to talk to her friends. I was told several times by the students that being a senior at a high school in South Korea is hell. This senior told me that she often studied until 2:00 am and then had to get up for school at 6:00 am. How can you live like that?

Senior year is really critical because of the suneung (some links to articles are here). At the high school I visited, we viewed the classrooms of first year and second year students. However, there is a different building for third year students. It's important for them to focus on studying.

I was told that some students get sick from being under too much stress.

Also, the school is open on weekends if students want to go there to study.

Of course there was a slide on K-Pop. Girls' Generation, TVXQ, and PSY were mentioned in this case. I'm so happy!!! TVXQ deserves recognition! At the start of the semester for my Korean language class in the U.S., my teacher had examples of Girls' Generation, 2NE1, Wonder Girls, Big Bang, Super Junior, PSY, and Rain. No TVXQ or JYJ. Excuse me??!!!

For weeks I've been preparing for a post on the abundance of screens in South Korea. Hopefully it will appear on this blog in the next few weeks. Unfortunately, this picture came out quite dark