An American Love Affair

This is a post that I've been considering for many months. It's one that's bound to provoke heated reactions from certain groups of people and quick judgments from others, so I ask you this: If you are easily offended by constructive criticism, please don't read this entry. It really is as simple as that. I'm not here to instigate a fight and have no interest in discussing politics. What I am interested in doing is sharing an opinion about a situation in Korea that even their national educational networks have questioned in the past six months.


The Sun Rises and Sets With America - For Koreans


For the first two years at my school, we had two Kiwis and myself (a South African) as the native English speakers. While my school never told any of us to use American accents in lessons - they even allowed us to use British spelling - there were always murmurings of how the school "needs an American teacher." Why? Why was an American teacher "needed?" If anything, the students needed to be exposed to the other Englishes of the world. What could an American do that we couldn't?


Two years later, one Kiwi left and the unicorn arrived: The school finally had it's American teacher. Part of me was tempted to ask if we commoners of the English world were expected to bow, scrape and grovel in his presence since apparently he was a better teacher than us by sheer virtue of his nationality. He can do no wrong. He's never at fault and any disputes with him as a native speaker are firmly the fault of the other party. Why? Because he's an American. At least, that's the reason that is never quite voiced but always hinted at. It's not entirely his fault though.


Now, before I continue, I want to clarify that this post is NOT to bash Americans. I have many - ok, some - American friends and, yes, I have spent some time in the US - 6 months to be exact. The way that Americans are viewed in Korea is more to do with the pedestal that Koreans have placed them on rather than the people themselves. Somehow, America has come to be seen as faultless, which is greatly ironic considering how derogatory so many Korean people can be of the American teachers here.


The Prejudice


There is a very strong prejudice in Korea that American teachers - or American educated teachers - are better than those from anywhere else in the world. Unless you happen to have graduated from Oxford or Cambridge, a degree from a non-American (and some Canadian) university is seen as little more than a certificate of some irrelevant course. Somehow, this makes us less qualified than our American counterparts even if we hold more relevant and higher qualifications for the job.


So many of the job advertisements in Korea either openly state "American and Canadian teachers only" or they subtly inform applicants of this with the less openly racist comment of "Bachelors degree from a North American university." Really? You would rather hire someone with little to no teaching experience - and possibly even a degree not related to education or even English studies - simply because they were born in the right country? A country that, let's face it, doesn't automatically have a superior education system all-round although it has many top-quality institutions.


KiwiKat once told me that a recruiter was very keen to help place her in a job because she's extremely experienced - she's taught in Korea for 11 years - and is actually a qualified teacher. She was perfect for just about any job but being from New Zealand was a serious mark on her resume because her accent wasn't "right." It wasn't until she got him on the phone so that he could hear just how neutral - and lovely! - her accent is that he agreed to bat for her. It's disgusting that credentials are insufficient in the face of an accent.


My favourite job posting was with a recruitment company that stated, in bold letters, at the top of its home page:
                    1. You MUST be from a country where ENGLISH is the ONLY official language.
                    2. Only NORTH AMERICAN teachers may apply.
My first response when I saw this? Morons. Not only are they being racist - racism does NOT only refer to skin colour - but they haven't even bothered to do their research. Anyone with half a brain cell and an internet connection could tell you that the second requirement negates the first one. The company would have looked less idiotic if they had said that only Bigfoot, Nessie, unicorns, dragons, and other mythical creatures may apply.  If you're not quite understanding why yet, I'll spell it out: North America consists of the U.S.A., Canada and Mexico. The third one is easy: Mexico uses Spanish. However, the U.S.A. has NO official language although English is widely used and Canada has TWO official languages. Thus, based on requirement 1, only teachers from England actually qualified.


Discrimination


EBS, the national educational network in Korea, did a four-part investigation into exactly this in November 2013. They looked at why schools and parents prefer American teachers and accents as well as if teachers from other countries have experienced discrimination when applying for jobs in Korea. The responses to both of these questions were overwhelming: For the first, after interviewing parents and teachers, the reason was little more than "it's the accent we're used to and what we hear on TV" while an overwhelming "YES" was the response to the second question.


Have I experienced discrimination? Yes. In applying for university positions - with four years of university teaching experience in SA, 3.5 years at a top level high school in Korea, a total of 10 years of teaching experience and a Masters degree in Applied Linguistics (specializing in ESL) - I was consistently told that "I was not quite what they were looking for." Ironically, I recently met someone who was appointed in one of the positions for which I applied and I asked him what his qualifications are: A BComm in Accounting with 4 years of teaching in a vocational high school in Korea - and American. He didn't graduate from a top university in the U.S. either, but apparently he was what they were looking for. What, aside from an accent, made him better suited for the job?


As a side note, I - and many other non-Americans - have experienced more difficulty with Americans not understanding other Englishes and accents than anyone else. We've had to repeat ourselves numerous times, slow down our speech and simplify our language in many situations for many Americans to understand what we're actually saying. In contrast, we're all familiar with both American and British spellings as well as Americanism because we're exposed to them daily. This doesn't make our English wrong or worse, though.


Sure, some accents are harder on the ear and can be very thick but American accents are not all high society and polished either! Have you heard those southern accents? What about the strong New York accents? Many American accents can sound extremely abrasive, abrupt and, to be honest, somewhat rude simply because of volume and the way some people speak. There are also many flaws in the American education system just like there are flaws in the Korean systems and those in other countries.


The answer is not quite as simple as telling someone to go home if they don't like the situation and yet, this seems to be the acceptable solution. Even my boyfriend, who considers himself to be open-minded and who lived in America for 10 years, constantly tells me how wonderful America is. He idolises the country and yet he can't tell me what the U.S. does that makes it so fantastic. In addition, he seems to have little interest in travelling abroad unless it's back to America. I don't understand how people can be so narrow-minded.


The Outcome


Korea is going to drive away well-qualified and highly experienced teachers if it persists with its superficiality and limited views of what to consider when appointing EFL teachers. In my case, I'm simply tired of being the go-to native English teacher at my school while people fall over themselves in their desire to be as American as possible.


Being American doesn't mean that you can teach English anymore than having a degree does. It's time for Korea to get over this one-sided love affair and obsession that they have with America and start focusing on what's really important. This is true of other areas of Korean society: Attending Seoul National University does not mean that you are smarter or better than someone who graduates from a lower ranking university. Being "beautiful" does not make you better and the unhealthy drive to achieve external beauty here is concerning to say the least. Big eyes, an oval face and weighing 40kg doesn't make you better than the person next you; if anything, it probably means you have less self-confidence and consider appearance to be your only strength.


In looking for a new job, I saw a post for a company that presents itself well on paper - until you look at their website! They seem to hire only female staff, which is not a problem in itself. However, the staff are introduced dressed in two outfits: a short black skirt with white blouse and a group photo in which they're all dressed in dresses (presumably of their own choice) that seem to serve no real purpose other than to emphasize their appearance and figures. My reaction? I won't even consider working for a company where the appearance of the staff seems more important than the ability to do the job. Accents are similar to this.


I truly hope that Koreans grow up and start to place emphasis on the important things like a quality education with highly-qualified staff rather than staff who come from the country that you perceive to be better than all others. After all, an American accent isn't going to stop you from speaking English poorly; it's just going to help you to speak poorly with an American accent.

National Geographic Exhibition (9 July)

M’s friend who is the manager at T.G.I. Friday’s has offered us discount coupons to the National Geographic Exhibition in Jeonju this weekend.  Always keen for an excursion, we agree to go to Jeonju for lunch and then the exhibition.  Since I have to work on the writing textbook for school this weekend, I can’t afford to spend an entire day in Jeonju but an afternoon’s respite is certainly appreciated.

We head straight to T.G.I. Friday’s where we’re faced with difficult decisions regarding which of the restaurant’s mouth-watering meals to order.  On our way out, we see M’s friend who greets us and fetches the coupons for us and we’re soon on our way to the Sori Arts Centre for the exhibition.  

Let's Exhibit!

The photos at the exhibition are spectacular and some of the views are simply breathtaking.  Unfortunately, the audio commentary is only available in Korean as are the explanations of each photo displayed beside the prints.  This puts a definite damper on our tour as we like to know more about what we are looking at.  In addition, the exhibition venue is unbearably hot on the second floor and we find ourselves rushing slightly in order to get back out into the cool air.  Before we know it, we’re on our way back to the intercity bus terminal and back to Gunsan, which means back to working on the textbook for me.  Since two of my co-teachers will be away for the entire summer vacation, the book has to be finished by this coming Wednesday so I already know that I’ll be spending the whole of tomorrow working on the editing and formatting of the book.

Dinner With the Mayor (1 June)

I often work late at school.  There have been a couple of days where my colleagues have actually had to tell me to go home so that they can lock the office.  Today, I’m given a key to the office and told that I can now stay as late as I like but that I should go home at the end of school.

The Kiwis and I leave school at 16:00 and head to City Hall.  All of the NETs in Gunsan have been invited to a dinner with the Mayor of Gunsan.  The catch is that we first have to attend a “short training” session which turns out to be us all introducing ourselves (although we know most of the EPIK teachers in our city), a short speech by several prominent people, a couples of clips of various foreign teachers introducing their schools and classes, a video clip of the Mayor’s plans for Gunsan and then a Q & A for which we are completely unprepared.  Apparently, the Mayor would like to know how to improve working and living situations for foreigners and is relying on us to give him suggestions.  Although we come up for a few things, the general consensus is that if the Gunsan Office of Education had told us in advance that this is the main purpose of what we were told was a training session, it would have been more beneficial for everyone present. 

Gunsan: The City the Whole World is Watching!

The video clip that we’re shown, however, is quite entertaining.  In the video, the cheesy North American accented voice (because North America is the reference for all English-related things in Korea) informs us that Gunsan is the “new Dubai” and “the city that the whole world is watching”.  There is also a great map of the world with arrows showing planes heading from major countries around the world directly to Gunsan; within Korea, all roads lead to Gunsan and we can’t help but laugh at this video which also reminds of Gunsan’s slogan: The Dreamhub. 

There are a couple of reasons that this video is so entertaining:

1.      Gunsan has a population of approximately 300 000 people.  I’m uncertain as to whether or not this number include the huge US Air Base in Gunsan too, which, if it does, would make the size of the city even smaller.

2.      Gunsan boasts two cinemas, two large market stores, two parks and let’s not forget the Saemangeum Seawall.  Obviously, we also have lots of coffee shops, restaurants and boutique type stores but these are our main sites.  Although I’ve never been to Dubai, I’m fairly certain that is has far more attractions than Gunsan. 

3.      The US Air Base in Gunsan is apparently the second largest in Korea.  Consequently, many of us have heard on numerous occasions that this makes us a prime target for a North Korean attack after wiping out the base in Seoul.  Whether or not there’s any truth to this story remains unclear.  What is clear, however, is that it would seem that only North Korea would be watching Gunsan as many people outside of Gunsan – especially outside of our province – don’t even have a clue where this prime city is!

4.      The arrows showing planes from around the world going straight to Gunsan is a farce.  Gunsan has a small domestic airport – on the air base apparently – that only seems to have daily flights to Jeju. 

One thing you cannot deny, however, is that Koreans dream big and, in all fairness, there has been a lot of development in Gunsan over the last few years.  The section where Catfish lives, for example, and the area around the cinemas, Lotte Mart and where the Arts Centre is being built were rice fields until about six years ago – there weren’t even buses to those areas then because it was just fields.  If Gunsan continues it’s development boom in this manner, it could very well become a major city although it doesn’t have a beach since it’s an industrial port.

Please Take Advantage

We’re shuffled out of City Hall and onto a bus to take us to a samgyeopsal restaurant for dinner.  Here, the conversation turns lively and foreign teachers seem to scramble for seats away from the prominent people.  Catfish and I end up sitting across from Peter Jung, the head of the Gunsan English Learning Centre that is next to my school, and the Mayor’s assistant.  The meat is not yet even on the grill and the alcohol is already flowing.  We’re introduced to Baek Soju, which seems to be even stronger than regular soju.  Shot after shot, our glasses keep being refilled despite our attempts to just sip our soju. 

Suddenly, the Mayor’s assistant is indicating for me to follow him and to bring my shot glass.  He takes me over to the Mayor and motions for me to pour a drink for the Mayor.  One of the interpreters then tells me that the Korean custom is for the Mayor to now pour me a drink in return then we have a brief chat.  The Mayor, via the interpreter, asks me the usual questions: How old am I?  Do I like Korea?  How long have I been here?  Do I have a boyfriend?  He then tells me to “take advantage and find a Korean boyfriend” at which point I excuse myself. 

Towards the end of the evening, Catfish is approached by two of the interpreters who offer to teach her and I Korean – something that Catfish asked about during the earlier Q & A session.  After a short chat and exchange of numbers, we excuse ourselves and tipsily leave with some friends to our Kiwi-mom’s apartment for birthday cake to celebrate Catfish’s upcoming birthday on Friday.

Monte Cristo Comes to Jeonju (15 May)

Having studied classical music all through school, I’m a big fan of musicals.  I love the theatre in general but musical theatre is definitely my favourite!  Cute doctor told me about going to Seoul to watch Monte Cristo a few weeks ago and I decided that it was time for me to watch a theatre performance in Korea.  Fortunately, I don’t have to go to Seoul to watch Monte Cristo as the show was on, with the Seoul cast, at the Sori Arts Centre in Jeonju.  Gunsan is in the process of building a similar Arts Centre and we’re hoping that shows like this will come to Gunsan eventually.

M booked the tickets online and we travel together to Jeonju on a pleasant Sunday afternoon to watch the show.  The sets are impressive, the costumes are colourful and detailed, the choreography is energetic and the singing is mesmerising.  Overall, the show is extremely engaging and well-performed.  Just over two hours later, I’m satisfied that I’ve had my musical fix to last me at least a few weeks and we’re soon on our way to meet Catfish in downtown Jeonju for an hour or two of shopping – especially shoe shopping.

Happy Birthday, Buddha (10 May)

Today is Buddha’s birthday and a public holiday in the ROK.  Since Buddhism is a fairly dominant religion here, there are guaranteed to be celebrations taking place at the various temples.  One of the closest major temples to Gunsan is Geumsansa where I did a temple stay in mid-February.  I meet Catfish, M and NZ1’s wife at E-mart at 10:00am and we head to Geumsansa for the day.

Disappointments and Creepy Men

Unfortunately, the temple is busy but rather disappointing.  There are hundreds of people and the temple has been decorated with many lotus lanterns but, if you’re not Buddhist, there’s little in which to participate at the festival.  Consequently, we take a quick walk around the grounds, take several photos and decide it’s time for lunch.  A brief moment of entertainment arises when an ajeossi strikes up a conversation with Catfish.  She manages to answer all of his questions in Korean and proceeds to do a happy dance to celebrate after the man walks away.  While I film the dance, he decides to return for a photo with the pretty blonde Migook (American) – creepy photos that he also asks us to take using his phone.  We don’t even want to know what happened to those photos….  Kudos to Catfish for still managing to smile and pose with this creep!

Lunch is a pleasant affair at T.G.I. Friday’s in Jeonju where M’s friend makes our second round of JuneBug’s even stronger than usual leading to a very entertaining drive back to Gunsan.

Dodge Ball…Korean Style (2 May)

As of today, my working day starts at 7:50am instead of 8:50am.  While the very early start, especially in winter, can be tough, it’s also great to finish school at 15:50 instead of 16:50.  The total number of hours hasn’t changed but, mentally, the day now feels shorter.  As a bonus, to ease us all into this new schedule, this week is mid-term exams so little mental effort is required.   As an extra bonus, from my perspective anyway, today is also a staff sports day or rather…sports afternoon.

Catfish’s school, and others, often seem to do staff bonding activities.  My school, however, is special – seriously!  As a specialised high school, my teachers honestly have a lot of extra lessons and therefore more work, which means little time to really socialise all together.  Today is one of the rare occasions when my colleagues will all change into their sports gear and have a friendly competition involving games of volleyball and dodge ball.  It’s been years since I’ve played volleyball and, let’s face it, I’m not the most athletic person around but I’m pretty much game for anything and willing to have a go. 

Figuring Out the Rules

The Kiwis and I are placed on a team with 6 other teachers and we simply follow the instructions of when to serve and where to stand.  It’s a confusing two games but still fun.  After a brief snack, we’re soon setting up for dodge ball – a game that proves to be far more complicated than I anticipated.  With limited explanations, we’re well into the second game before I finally figure out the Korean rules. 

Each team chooses a “queen” whom all of the team members have to protect.  However, we can’t let the other team know who this chosen queen is so we also have to have a mock queen with whom to attempt to mislead the opposition.  If we’re hit by a ball, we stand on the outside of the square and we can help to catch and pass the ball to our teams – this was the confusing part as it differs significantly from the rules by which we played at summer camp in the US, which is my only other experience with playing dodge ball.  Overall, however, it’s an entertaining afternoon of friendly competition and my teams walk away with a prize each – a tube of toothpaste. 

Jonmyo Kings’ Memorial in Jongno-gu (1 May)

Each year there is a memorial service for the Kings of Korea.  Our friend M has told us about the service this year and we’re meeting her and another friend of hers today at the subway station closest to Jonmyo in Jongno neighbourhood, Seoul.  As we enter the impressive gates of the site, M tells us that we are not allowed to walk on the brick path before us as it is reserved for the kings: the row on the right is for the kings, the middle row is for the ancestors and the row on the left is for the kings’ sons.  To walk on the path in the middle is to bring bad luck (to whom, I’m not sure) and we’re not eligible to walk on the kings’ path.  We make our way around the path, stopping to pose for a few photos along the way, and eventually find the location where the first of the ceremonies is underway.

There are so many people present that it’s rather difficult to get decent photos of the ceremony.  M briefly explains all of the proceedings before us: The square of ‘guards’ to our right are patiently awaiting their turn while the group to our left are performing their ceremonial movements.  In this courtyard, there are 16 rooms – one for every king – and each king must be honoured individually with a feast and certain rites.  The traditional hanbok and uniforms of everyone participating in the festival are beautiful and it’s a truly special sight to behold.  The traditional Korean music that fills the air is also spectacular, and I’m amazed to learn that traditional Korean music such as this consists of only five notes.

When the ceremony ends in the courtyard, crowds scurry to get prime locations beyond the courtyard’s walls for the procession that’s about to take place.  Since we’re unaware that this is what is happening until most of the people have already left, we don’t get good positions for photos.  Fortunately, many of the people involved in the parade are only too willing to pause for photos when they see us.  We have the same experience outside the main entrance of Jonmyo where a much larger procession enters and we’re amused to see even a few foreigners dressed in traditional Korean outfits and participating in the parade.

Seoul Antics

From here, we move to Gwangwamun, which is in front of Gyeongbokgung Palace.  We’re planning to go to a Karsh photo exhibition at the Sejong Centre of Performing Arts so we move directly there.  Since we’re early, we stop at a restaurant called “Good Restaurant” for the most delicious kimchi jigae (kimchi stew) that I’ve yet had in Korea.  After lunch, we still have time to kill so we look around the statues of King Sejong (probably the most famous – at least among the foreigners – of the Korean kings as he is the one who created Hangeul, the current Korean writing system).  We find a booth filled with traditional Korean outfits that we can try on and pose for photos with and Catfish and I are soon dancing around as usual in our red and yellow garb. 

Karsh Exhibition

After playing in the water fountains in front of the centre, we finally head into the Arts Centre for the exhibition.  Karsh is a famous (Turkish?) photographer who photographer hundreds of celebrities in his career.  The photos are amazing and we only wish that we could understand the short descriptions that accompany each photo.  After a long day, Catfish and I again say goodbye to M and her friend and head back to Euljiro-sam-ga station to retrieve our bags from lockers.  Unfortunately, we get very turned around in the station and it takes us much longer than anticipated to find the lockers in which we’ve stowed our bags.  Even more frustrating is that we can’t figure out how to open these particular lockers since the instructions are entirely in Korean.  Fortunately, Catfish has only to bat her blue eyes in the direction of a young Korean guy who happily helps us and we’re soon on our way to the express bus terminal and then on to Gunsan.

PSY Rocks! (23 April)

After a morning spent doing prep for school, I meet M at E-mart at 3:30 – the first of our meeting points before heading to Jeonju for a Korean singer’s concert.   We then pick up Catfish and head to the meeting point for the fourth person – another American – before finally leaving Gunsan at 16:30.  Unfortunately, there are major roadworks happening on the highway to Jeonju which, although amusing to watch cars reversing and driving the wrong way down onramps, means we only get to Jeonju at 17:20.  Since the concert starts at 19:00, we’re hoping to have a quick dinner at T.G.I. Friday’s before finally heading to the concert venue.

Although we manage to get to Jeonju’s Sori Arts Centre by 18:55, it’s after 19:00 by the time we finally find the correct door to get to our seats and the concert has clearly begun.  I’m still a little bit hesitant about this concert because we’ve only ever heard one of Psy’s songs, which I didn’t particularly like.  After three or four infectious songs, however, it’s hard not to join the jovial mood of the rest of the crowd as Psy performs an amazing jazz number that could easily have been part of some big Broadway musical or even straight from the 1920s itself. 

Over the next two hours, Psy performs a variety of hip hop and pop numbers including hilarious impersonations of hit songs by the Wonder Girls, Girls’ Generation, Burlesque and Beyonce’s Single Ladies – all with complete costumes!  Catfish and I are in agreement that Psy could very easily have done a full show of impersonations and we would have happily paid 60,000 won for the tickets.  He’s an extremely gifted performer and one who, incredibly, can keep the audience entertained for a considerable length of time complete with serious costume changes, impressive props and sets. 

We anticipate the concert ending by 21:30.  When Psy returns to the stage for his encore, we can’t even begin to predict the 90 minute encore that’s about to follow.  Psy looks exhausted – and pretty drunk.  His ‘water’ bottle actually contains soju and he downs it on stage between songs.  When his lengthy encore finally ends, the venue clears out within minutes – something I’ve never seen happen before.  We dawdle and take our time because, from a foreign perspective, we’re anticipating long queues of cars leaving the parking lot; surprisingly, we’re one of the last cars in the parking lot and the venue is almost deserted as we happily settle in for the drive back to Gunsan.

A Little Perspective (15 April)

Having taught in South Africa for several years, I’m used to student discipline being one of the biggest parts of my job.  My school in Korea has been rather easy in this regard…which is why we were all shocked to the core at the scandal that occurred at school last night.  I barely make it into the school this morning before one of my co-teachers, who is clearly bursting at the seams to share the news, pulls me aside and fills me in on shocking news.  Your school may have had problems but could it possibly be any worse than this…

Scandal Abounds

Bearing in mind that this is one of the most elite schools in my province, behaviour is seldom a problem.  Last night’s events, however, were so shocking that it was necessary for the parents of the students concerned to be summoned to school immediately and the homeroom teacher was required to fill out a detailed incident report.  From cities nearly three hours away, distraught parents rushed to school, late at night, demonstrating the severity of this incident and the students concerned with dealt with rather strictly.  Communications continued until close to midnight and it was agreed that a disciplinary hearing will be held to determine the most appropriate form of discipline for the two disgraced students.  Disappointment was evident in the faces of all and teary promises that this would never happen again.  

Such a terrible crime must surely involve underage drinking, smoking, drugs or some other illegal activity.  It’s far, far worse than anything you could possibly imagine and the students were stupid enough to be caught doing taking part in this illicit activity outside the store across the road from the school (in front of my apartment building!) – in full school uniform!

What, exactly, was their crime?

They were caught kissing!

The vice-principal apparently saw the students kiss, told them to stop and they ignored him then tried to run away.  Naturally, like any scored educator, he chased them and caught the boy – one of my best and sweetest students.

My colleagues are shocked but I can’t stop at the ludicrous hardline approach the school has taken.  One of my colleagues commented that “these students have had a relationship – they were smooching.  What if they now have a baby!”  I tried to reason with my colleagues by pointing out that teachers back home have caught students doing far worse than kissing but they were not amused.  I hope that next time the students have enough common sense to at least go behind the building to kiss.

Understanding a New Perspective

The reaction of my Korean colleagues is somewhat understandable:  Public Displays of Affection are frowned upon in Korea; kissing is something intimate and should be reserved for the bedroom or, at the very least, the privacy of your own home.   Even holding hands is frowned upon by some older Koreans.  

Statistically, most Koreans live at home until they get married.  Unlike Western countries where a 30 year old man living at home with his parents would most likely be labelled a ‘loser’, in Korea, this is quite common for both sexes.  A lot of Koreans will try to convince you that high school students are not having sex and I’ve had many older Koreans try to convince me that pre-marital sex just does not happen in Korea.  Of course, this is contradicted by the sheer number of Love Motels that exist in every city – particularly in university areas – and exist for the sole purpose of renting rooms by the hour.  Since so many young Koreans live with their parents until marriage, getting down to the dirty deed in the comfort of one’s own home is not exactly possible – enter a lucrative business opportunity that caters to this natural human need.  Love Motels are pretty decent accommodation, however, and can be great places to stay overnight for a reasonable price.  

I should probably also add, as so many other bloggers before me have commented at length, that Koreans do not ‘date’ – they have relationships.  My colleague’s comment of the possibility of these students having a baby since they’ve ‘smooched’ is a direct reflection of the conservatism that is so evident at times in Korea.  Since kissing is reserved for the bedroom, along with other things, this reflects her train of thought: the students kissed, therefore they’re in a committed relationship, and (despite their denial of teenagers having sex) are probably doing other relationship matters too.   

As a homeroom teacher, my colleague is like a substitute parent for this boy (who is in 11^th grade in high school) and therefore feels that she has failed.  Since the students spend more time at school than they do at home, she is responsible for his moral guidance and ensuring that he (and other students in her class) toe the line.  From a Korean perspective, his behaviour is a direct reflection of her failure to provide this guidance – something that the vice-principal did not hesitate to tell her.  She was hauled over the coals and told to increase her vigilance of her students.  If the students had been caught having sex, she would probably have been fired, charged with negligence and never allowed to teach again.

This preservation of innocence is simultaneously frustrating and endearing. It’s endearing to meet adult Koreans who are still pure and Korean men generally have a reputation for being very sweet and considerate of their partners – they make sure their girlfriend is never bored, will go out of their way to make sure that you’re always entertained, are true gentlemen, even insist on carrying your handbag and will generally bend over backwards to make you happy.  I’m not saying that this is necessarily ideal but it is certainly different from the Western approach.  

A Foreing View

The frustrating downside, however, is that many grown men in Korea can still seem rather childlike at times.  I can’t help but look at my students and wonder how on earth they would function if they ever live or work outside of Korea.  While the sweet, gentle and innocent approach may be universal in Korea, such behaviour outside of Korea would, perhaps, be laughed at.  My high school students don’t really know how to talk to members of the opposite sex and this is something that seems to continue into adulthood for many.  Granted, the reasons for this apparent shyness may have more to do with Confucianism than anything else, but it can be frustrating for many foreigners.   Girls seem to be programmed to be cute in Korean culture and are viewed as fragile and emotional but many Korean men – which explains why some of the male teachers at my school treat me the way they do.  

Of course, this is not to say that all Korean men are like this or even that all Korean women are meek and mild.  I’m also not saying that it’s necessarily a bad thing – just different and the cause of many interesting (and frustrating) misunderstandings when Koreans and foreigners engage with one another.

The scandal at my school is true eye opener.  However, after having dealt with teenagers swearing at me and students assaulting teachers at my previous school, I’m truly grateful that something so minor in my own culture is the extent of the ‘serious discipline problems’ at my school here in Korea.  

Teacher Training in Buan (24 - 25 February)

Part of our contracts with EPIK state that we have to complete a certain number of ‘training sessions’ during the course of the year: This Thursday and Friday is part of the required training.  NZ1, NZ2, Catfish, another South African and I meet at the Intercity Bus Terminal in Gunsan to catch the 8am bus to Jeonju.  We arrive in Jeonju’s Bus Terminal where it’s just a short taxi ride to the designated meeting place before getting on yet another bus to Buan – a little town only an hour south of Gunsan but which will take us roughly 90 minutes to reach. 

Our first stop in Buan is at a restaurant for lunch where shellfish soup is on the menu so I’m starving by the time we reach the resort where we’ll be spending the night.  We have a full schedule ahead of us and waste no time getting to the conference room where we’re subjected to several hours of lectures by other GETs who supposedly have words of wisdom to impart with the rest of us.  I try to get involved in the lectures but, honestly, I feel like I’m wasting my time.  I can honestly say that the only thing I learn over the course of the two days is that I’m increasingly embarrassed by the behaviour of so many other foreigners ‘teaching’ in Korea. 

I’m grateful that the ‘training’ session is only two days and by lunch time on the Friday, I find myself wishing that I could just go home.  We still have a cultural experience involving a trip to Naeso Temple in Buan.  Much as I enjoy these cultural experiences, I really just want to take a bus back to Jeonju and back to school where, even sleeping at my desk, I’m being more productive than sitting through another minute of foreigners trashing Korea, Koreans and EPIK in general.   Naeso Temple is pretty but, having just experienced a temple stay at Geumsansa, I can’t help being disappointed in my surroundings – the mountains behind the temple, however, are magnificent!

Surprise Happenings in Jeonju

We’re finally on the bus heading back to Jeonju where Catfish an I decide that we’re in need of Western food for dinner.  She proposes dinner in Jeonju before heading home to Gunsan and promptly goes to ask the coordinator if she can recommend some restaurants.  We decide on Outback Steakhouse  which is one of the places at which we can use the vouchers that we won for our teaching videos back in November. At the bus terminal, we say goodbye to the kiwis before taking a taxi to the restaurant in downtown Jeonju where we ravenously attack a platter of ribs, chicken, quesadillas and more.

With our hunger sated, we head back to the bus terminal and are confused by the massive protest happening in the streets of Jeonju heading downtown.  We’re starting to wonder if these are students protesting and what is happening – particularly since the line of protestors seems never ending.  Unfortunately, we’re not able to find out any information.  Back at the bus terminal, the smell of turpentine is strong and we notice people washing off paint on the stairs of the terminal: apparently the protestors paintballed the terminal which makes us even more confused as to what is going on and whether or not it’s safe for us to go into the terminal.   Across the road, several police men are dressed in full riot gear and heading in the direction of the bus terminal which serves only to increase our curiosity as to what is going on.

What Happened?

We follow them into the terminal, with Catfish taking several photos of them, and discover that it’s business as usual inside.  We decide to purchase tickets and get out of Jeonju as quickly as possible.  Tickets in hand, Catfish approaches several people determined to find someone who speaks English.  She finally finds a young student who, in very broken English, attempts to tell us that someone is striking.  We thank him and move away only to hear his friends (who have returned from wherever they’d gone) cheering him on with big ‘bro’ hugs about having spoken to the foreigners.

Still not entirely sure what is happening outside, Catfish approaches a woman outside on the platform and again asks what happened at the terminal: Her eyes widen, she ums and ahs for a few seconds while frantically backing away with profuse apologies of “no, no, no, sorry” as she turns and flees.  Not to be deterred, we get on the bus and Catfish asks the two women sitting behind us what happened.  With the help of their Korean-English dictionaries on their mobile phones, they manage to convey that the protest is over the inhumane treatment of pigs and cows recently affected by Foot and Mouth Disease (Korea simply buried infected animals alive much to the disgust of many people).  We thank them for their explanations and settle back to enjoy the final bus trip of the day, eager to be home once more.

All in a Monk’s Day (20 February)

Determined to have a full temple experience, I force myself to get up at 3:00am to prepare for the pre-dawn ceremony which is the first of the day’s prayers at the temple.  The 3:30am call is optional and only half of the girls decide to get up for this experience while the rest opt for an extra hour’s sleep.  We quickly dress and put away our beds before meeting ByungWoo and the temple staff outside to be shepherded to the main temple where we’ll get to participate in the ceremony.  It’s not as cold as we’d expected at this hour.  Nevertheless, there’s a definite hustle to get seats directly next to the heaters in the main temple.  Once again, I can’t help wondering what made the monks decide to give in to modern items like heaters for the cold winter months considering the simplicity of the rest of their lives….

Disappointingly, this ceremony seems to be over in less than 20 minutes and we’re soon bowing our way out of the main temple and heading back to our sleeping quarters where the remaining AK members are woken to join the rest of the morning’s activities.  Apparently the room where we slept is actually a meditation room and so it is needed for part of the morning's activities which means that the early wake up call is no longer entirely optional much to the apparent disgust of several foreigners who are struggling to wake up – my guess is that it’s the same group of girls who were considerate enough to only go to sleep at around 2:00am this morning thanks to their constant chatter and laughing for nearly four hours last night.

And Now for 108 Bows

As irritable foreigners wipe sleep from their eyes, our monk greets us with some unexpected news which ByungWoo translates since the temple’s translator is not yet present: It’s time for us to do 108 bows.  The regret in ByungWoo’s voice is echoed in the moans heard around the room as I take in the general Ah crap! expressions around me.  I’d been told about the 108 bows that we’d have to do when making our Buddhist prayer beads but nobody had mentioned the 108 full bows that are part of the morning prayers.  In addition, no one seems to have considered that such rigorous exercise at an hour when we’re barely awake is tantamount to torture for many a foreigner – it’s the equivalent of flogging us or locking us in the stocks.  Nonetheless, our monk cracks the bamboo stick and the bows begin.

Each crack of the bamboo stick signals the start of a full bow.  Many of you are probably thinking that our reluctance to perform 108 full bows is a bit churlish since your idea of a bow is probably bending from the waist which, after four months, I’m used to now doing on a daily basis.  Allow me to clarify that a full bow means bending into a kneel on the ground, bending over, raising your hands on either side of your head and then standing up only to repeat this motion over and over again.  Not only is it tough on your thighs and knees but the speed at which you move from one bow to the next is rather quick – 108 bows takes less than 15 minutes.  The speed is just too fast for me and I’m disappointed that I only manage to do 64 bows before having to excuse myself for fresh air and a respite from the stifling heat of the room.  Even with the doors open, the room is unbearably hot.

After the agony of 108 bows, we’re introduced to meditation and our monk teaches us the correct posture for mediation.  I’d always thought that meditation involved closed eyes but according to our monk, it involves squinting at your nose – closed eyes means that you’ve fallen asleep and that earns you a reprimand from the meditation master.  Meditation is followed by group massages as dictated by our monk.  By 6:00am, we’re starving and grateful that it’s breakfast time even if it is a traditional Korean breakfast.  As much as I like kimchi, I’ve never eaten if for breakfast and I’m a bit hesitant about this meal which is also going to be eaten in the traditional monk style – Baru Gongyang.   We’re assigned to two groups: One will collect all of the breakfast things from the dining room and the second group will return the breakfast things and take care of the dishes.  My group hastens to fetch breakfast and, when we return, our monk selects people to serve the various parts of the meal and we’re shown how to serve these things and how to receive them.  We’re also shown how to set out the bowls correctly on the place mat.

Baru Gongyang

There are four bowls in the set and they all fold away neatly into one another.  The first (and smallest) bowl is placed in top left hand corner and is used for the side dishes – this means the kimchi and vegetables in the meal.  The second smallest bowl is placed beside it and is the water bowl – this is the water that you use to clean your bowls and the water that you ultimately have to drink.  The second largest bowl is placed in the bottom right corner and is used for soup while the largest bowl, naturally, is used for rice and remains in the bottom left corner of the mat. 

With our bowls in place, we’re ready to get the ‘cleaning’ water.  I’ve already heard about the process involved in this meal and can’t help sending a rather fervent prayer that the previous person cleaned these bowls thoroughly.  I’m grateful though to have been told that the water used to clean the bowls also has to be drunk at the end of the meal so when we’re told to decide how much water we think we’ll need to clean our bowls, I’m careful to consider the ultimate action in this meal and accept less than half a bowl of water as opposed to the full bowl of the person sitting beside me.  The water is poured into our rice bowls where it is swirled around before being transferred to the soup bowl then the side dish bowl and finally the water bowl where the chopsticks and spoon are also cleaned.  From here, we have soup and rice served to us and we’re invited to help ourselves to side dishes.  We’re reminded to take radish which ultimately becomes our scrubbing brush when it’s time to do our dishes. 

I can already hear several foreigners complaining about the meal ahead as we’re reminded to only take as much as we will eat since the monks don’t believe in wasting food: Everything in your bowls must be eaten so it’s advisable to choose your food carefully.  The meal is tastier than expected although it simply feels strange to be eating soup, rice and kimchi so early in the morning.  We’re told that everything that the monks do is done as quietly as possible and we’re encouraged to make no noise while eating.  I’m disappointed to hear several foreigners grumble, complain and ignore this as the clatter of chopsticks and spoons continue to echo around the small meditation room in which we sit. 

Scrub Little Radish, Scrub!

After our meal, it’s time to do our dishes.  Once again, I’m semi-grateful to have already been told what doing the dishes involves in this particular meal and I feel slightly disgusted at the thought of what lies ahead.  We pour water from our water bowls into our rice bowls and use the slice of radish as a quasi-scrubbing brush to scrape the remnants of rice from the sides of the bowl.  Once the rice bowl is clean, we transfer the water to the soup and side dish bowls respectively repeating the cleaning process with each bowl before finally eating the radish and drinking the water.  Many people are thoroughly grossed out by the idea of drinking this water but, as KiwiKat has already explained, it is all just food and it’s food that you’ve just eaten – assuming, of course, that the previous person who used those bowls cleaned them thoroughly.

Touring the Grounds

After breakfast, we’re given just over an hour of free time.  Most people seem to opt to use this time to get some more sleep but I’m wide awake at this point even though it’s barely after 7:00am so I decide to explore the temple grounds a bit more.  I’m amazed at how many Korean visitors there already are on the temple grounds but the relatively peace and tranquillity of the morning is thoroughly enjoyable as I wander from temple to temple reading the notes about each building and thinking about how much history is contained in some of the buildings.  I may know next to nothing about Buddhism itself but that doesn’t mean I don’t appreciate the beauty of my surroundings and I'm reminded of just how much I enjoy the early hours of the morning - if only I could get myself out of bed at this time more often.

At 8:20, we once again meet in front of the meditation room where people are just waking up for the second time in over four hours and we assemble for our tour of the temple grounds – the same self-guided tour I’ve just taken.  The community work segment of our itinerary involves chopping logs of wood but sadly this seems to be more of an experience to simply try to chop wood than any real interest in doing community service and most foreigners don’t even bother to try and chop a log of wood.  The final part of the tour is the monks’ graveyard which, although very small, has an incredible sense of history surrounding it.  With the tour done, it’s time for a meditation walk in the pine forest where we’re shown a beautiful love tree and told that anyone wanting more love in their lives should stand beneath this tree.  The walk ends with a brief meditation in the most tranquil and beautiful parts of the forest and I have a sudden desire to stay in this spot all day.  Unfortunately, our meditation is short and we’re soon heading back to the main temple grounds for the final part of the temple stay experience: Making Buddhist prayer beads. 

108 Bows: Round Two

Back in the meditation room, before being shown how to make the prayer beads, we’re first offered tea and rice cake in celebration of Mariah’s 30^th birthday.  Our monk has dubbed her Mariah Carey since she first pointed out that her first name is pronounced the same way as that of Mariah Carey – and not Maria as so many Koreans apparently say.  She’s given three large candles to blow out while we all sing “Happy Birthday” and the ‘birthday’ cake is handed out.  I genuinely like rice cake and this is some of the tastiest rice cake I’ve had in Korea.  With the celebrations done, the monk gets down to the business of demonstrating how to make the prayer beads.

This Is How We Do It...

Before we can even place one bead on the string, we first have to do three full bows to Buddha.  Once we’ve done the introductory bows, we have to do a full bow for every bead that we place on the string; there are 108 beads so a bow for every bead, three introductory and three concluding bows means a total of 114 bows just to make one set of prayer beads.  We’re each given a packet of beads, a cloth to work on, an hour to make the prayer beads and the option of which temple we’d like to use.  Most people opt for the main temple which has large heaters in it but I choose the oldest temple because I like the sense of history and I’m fascinated by the three enormous statues in this particular temple.  Fortunately, there are also some heaters in this temple although the weather is rather mild for a winter’s day. 

Working at my own pace, I’m determined to do all of the bows this time although prostrating myself to Buddha just feels odd.  I’m not overly religious but I do feel a slight sense of guilt with each bow and the cross around my neck weighs heavy on my conscious.  Midway through the making of our prayer beads, a monk comes in to do the midday chants.  It’s rather relaxing listening to the rhythmic chant of the prayer and I find myself moving in sync with the rhythm of his chanting.  Unfortunately, I also find myself the midday entertainment for a number of Koreans who have come into the temple for the midday chants.  I’m the last person in this particular temple to finish my prayer beads but I feel a great sense of accomplishment knowing that I’ve actually done this as I head back to the meditation room where we’ll be helped to finish off our beads. 

Back in the meditation room, I’m asked if there are definitely only 108 beads on my string.  I’ve used all of the beads in the packet we were given and I’ve just assumed that this means there are 108 beads on the string.  Once again, I experience that assuming anything in Korea only leads to screw ups as I count the beads carefully and discover that there are, in fact, 144 on my string.  I did an extra 30 bows for beads that I must now remove in order to have a correct strand.  I reluctantly pull of the extra beads and hand the string to an ajumma who finishes off my strand of prayer beads by putting on the decorative and mother beads before tying a knot, burning the edge of the string and handing it back to me.  With the final activity now over, we have lunch where a random ajumma seems fascinated to see so many waegooks in monastic wear.  She walks up to us with a camera and starts taking photos of us as we stand in a line waiting to wash our lunch dishes before collecting our bags, returning our monastic wear and heading to the AK bus for the trip home.  

Temple Life (19 February)

Mariah and I arrive in the meditation room where the AK group is mid-orientation.  We quickly take a seat while our monk demonstrates the correct way to walk on the temple grounds.  Whenever we walk to the dining room or between temples, we should walk in single file, approximately four feet apart and with our right hand folded over our left in front of us.  We’ve missed most of the orientation so the only other temple etiquette we hear about is that there is no talking in the dining room, restrooms or shower rooms.

Lotus Lanterns 

The first activity following the orientation session is the making of lotus lanterns.  The temple volunteers provide each group of four with a lantern frame and baskets of leaves prepared from crepe paper.  I’m not the most artistic person but seriously, how hard can it be to glue leaves onto a frame in straight lines – apparently a lot more difficult that it first seems….  Finding the correct placing for the top row of leaves is perhaps the most difficult part of the lantern as you need to be careful not to cover too much of the opening where the candle needs space to breathe.  As we diligently glue pieces of craft paper to our lanterns, our monk takes the time to chat to a few of us and helps me glue and stick pieces of paper to my frame. 

With our lotus lanterns finished, the final step is for us to write a wish for 2011 on the paper provided which is then stapled to the bottom of our lanterns.  We then hang the finished lanterns on the ropes outside and have a 40 minute break to wander around the temple grounds.  It’s a great opportunity to take some photos and I’m mesmerised by the tranquillity and overall beauty of the location.  I’ve always loved forests and mountains because they’re so peaceful – Geumsan is no exception!

At 17:30 we meet for dinner which is served in the dining room.  It’s a bibimbap style dinner although I’m not entirely sure that this is actually bibimpbap.  In addition, the soup is tofu and bean curd – fermented bean curd.  Eating dinner in total silence is slightly unnerving: I’m so used to meals taking only a few minutes and trying to do several other things while eating that I find it rather strange to simply sit and eat dinner in silence at a table.  It seems this is a shared feeling judging by the agonised expressions of many people around me.  Our monk takes it upon himself to inspect our dishes too before we’re allowed to wash them.  The monks don’t believe in wasting food so every last grain of rice must be eaten – something many foreigners don’t seem too happy to hear.  Several people ignore this instruction and discard much of their dinner in the nearby trashcan simply because they don’t like the taste of the food; it would’ve been preferable to simply take less food than to discard so much of it.

Calling All Corners of the Earth...

We don’t all have time to wash our own dishes as we’re hurried to the next part of the temple experience.  There are four percussion instruments on the temple grounds and these are played daily, at regular intervals, and numerous times.  It’s time for our monk to tell us about each of these instruments and demonstrate two of them.  Briefly, the four instruments represent land, air, water and the underworld.  The first of these, the large drum, is made of cowhide and buffalo hide and is played to summon all earthbound creatures to the world of enlightenment.  Two monks demonstrate this particular drum with the most amazing, rapid and long drumming I’ve heard – the total playing time had to have been at least seven minutes. 

The second instrument is a suspended wooden fish that is hollowed out from the bottom.  Drumsticks are played with the hollowed out part to summon all of the aquatic beings in the world and the sound that results is similar to a drum being played underwater.  The cloud shaped gong is the third of the instruments.  Also suspended, it is made of iron and is used to summon all airborne creatures while the final instrument is a large bell that is approximately 30cm thick, three metres high and perhaps four metres in circumference.  This bell is used to summon all beings suffering in the netherworlds and you do not want to be standing next to the bell when it is struck with the suspended log.  In groups of four, we all have a chance to strike this bell seven times as part of the day’s ritual.  According to Geumsansa’s website, “the playing of these four instruments is symbolic of the Bodhisattva dedication to relieving all forms of life of their burdens and sufferings, and to lead them into a pain-free world of liberation”.

The cloud shaped gong for summoning
airborne creatures to enlightenment.

    

Having learnt about the percussion instruments, we follow our monk and tour leaders to the Main Buddha Hall where several monks are preparing for the evening’s chanting to the Buddhas, Bodhisattvas and Predecessors.  Although interesting to observe, apart from doing full bows several times in 20 minutes, there is limited comprehension as to what has just happened.  This is further exemplified by the confused bows foreigners make just before leaving the temple: Each person bows in a different direction – some bow to a Buddha, some to a Bodhisattva, some bow to the monks while others, like me, simply give a confused bow that is inadvertently aimed at a blank wall.  The monks take little notice of our departure as they continue their chanting for several hours into the night while we file away for the next activity on our itinerary. 

Meditational Walks by Lantern Light

We return to our meditation room to find our lanterns aglow and casting a beautiful light across the building beside it.  We collect our lanterns and once again line up to head back to the main courtyard where we’ll do a meditational walk.  As we walk, our monk tells us to focus on the wish that we wrote on the piece of paper stapled to our lanterns – by focusing on this wish while we walk, it will be granted.  My wish is for good health in 2011 – so Korean as many people point out.  Our walk leads us around a pagoda several times before being lead up and around the oldest temple and back to our home base where it is now time for tea and conversation with our Buddhist monk. 

Evening Tea

We’re encouraged to ask as many questions as we like whether they are about Buddhism, monks or even Korea in general.  Our monk obliges us with answers to many personal questions too such as: How long have you been a monk (20 years) and why did you become a monk? (to find out who I am).  I find it rather difficult to understand why he became a monk to find out who he is and, at 18 years of age, to be so sure of his course of life.  Despite my difficulty in understanding this, however, I’m also a little envious of his conviction that this is the right decision for him.  At 29 years of age, I still doubt my path in life and lack even a fraction of the conviction that this man demonstrates every time he opens his mouth.  It’s an interesting conversation and one that leads me to question a few things in my own life. 

The sound of the monks’ chanting floats across the courtyard from the Main Buddha Hall and provides a sense of tranquillity unlike anything I’ve ever experienced.  In the hour of down time that we have before lights out at 22:00, we prepare our beds, take cold showers and have a moment to reflect on everything that has happened and the many new experiences of the last six hours.  We’re reminded of the pre-dawn ceremony in the morning and many people frantically set alarm clocks for 3:00am.  It’s been a long and exhausting day – so tiring that I barely realise that the text message I’m sending KiwiKat about ByungWoo has actually gone to ByungWoo instead.  Maybe it’s a sign that cellular phones don’t belong in temples and that after the day’s excitement, a good night’s rest – or rather five hours of sleep – is sorely needed if I’m going to be up at 3:00am.