Koreanisms

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The peace sign. A famous symbol all over the world, but nowhere is it more prevalent than in Korea (and possibly all of Korea’s Asian neighbors - as I saw it being used just as much in Japan this past weekend). In 90% of the photos that are taken in Korea/of Korean people - there will inevitably be a peace sign in the mix.

Paper, rock, scissors - the ultimate decider. In my W level classes, every time we are doing presentations where the kids are required to speak in front of the class - they inevitably fight over the order in which they present. How else could such arguments be settled, but with such solid and conclusive logic as scissors cut paper, paper covers rock…

Vowels. Hangul, the Korean alphabet, is all phonetic. And it strictly follows the vowel, consonant, vowel rule. As such, Koreans have a hard time ending words with consonant sounds. I’m not an English teacher, I am an Englishee teacher. (They also like to put an “s” onto the end of everything - singular and plural).

All naturale… Make-up = foreigner, or famous person. No make-up = beauty/Korean. I overslept last week, consequently having to just throw on clothes and grab a cab to work. Was not wearing any make-up, looked the way I felt (which was rather sick), and still had bedhead. Of course the children noticed, and when one girl, Sarah, started saying that I wasn’t wearing make-up and I expected her to inform me that I looked tired or not good, she said that I looked much prettier and more Korean. I received the same comment from a second student, while my American co-teachers just asked me if I felt OK and said I looked tired… (I love when people say you look tired - everyone knows that is code for “you look like crap today”)

Dancing girls. Often, when a new business opens - think cell phone store or restaurant - to promote the grand opening - scantily clad girls are placed outside alongside blowup decorations as they dance to blaring Korean pop/techno music. It is amusing, but really annoying if it happens to be taking place directly below the window of your work area during school hours…

Because of the poverty that once perpetrated the country and the terrible conditions immediately following the Korean War, many Korean babies did not survive to see a first birthday. Consequently, nowadays a child’s first birthday is extremely important - and Korean families celebrate by throwing a great party. What is great about these parties, is the gift time. The child, although barely crawling, is placed in front of various objects - money, a ball, Whichever object the baby crawls to and picks up (has to actually be able to get a hold of it) reveals the future of the child. Money for example = business or success, a ball means he/she will be good at athletics and when I asked what happens if the kid goes to all of the objects and tries to take them, since I think that’s what I would do, I was told this meant greed.

Walking anywhere with my foreign companions who LOOK foreign is a treat. Specifically my black friend Andre from New York and my white, blonde friend Todd from Texas. Whenever Korean children see such a foreigner, two things take place: 1) They run up to you and say “hello! Or hi!” because they finally have someone to practice their English on (and yes, they spend hours upon hours learning the language, but can only seem to muster the courage to say “hi” before giggling and running away) and 2) They immediately assume you are a teacher.

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