Another thing getting used to was taking off our shoes before entering a house, school, or restaurant. Traditionally, Koreans would sleep on the floor and, therefore, it was unsanitary to wear the shoes that you wear outide on the dirty streets, and also on their sleeping areas in their home. So, it is very important to remember to take off shoes before entering your apartment, a restaurant, or at school (once you get into the office or after students get into their classroom). In the bathroom, there are always waterproof slippers available to put on, since the shower drains the water into the entire floor of the bathroom. This was definitely something that I had to get used to and was not in favor of at first. Now it seems normal, though, and not a big deal.
Being sick is also a huge deal in Korea. Students and sometimes teachers' temperatures are taken before entering the school each day, along with a squirt of hand sanitizer. Students will also go to the nurse's office for minor sickness or even to just check their height, or to relax if they feel that they are stressed out from studying in their class....seems very strange to me that they can do this, since in the US it would not be put up with! I think Koreans like to make sure that those younger than them feel nurtured and cared for and they understand how tough the education is.
Students usually go to a "hogwon" or private school after school. Which means some students will continue with school until 9 or 11pm at night studying math or English at the private schools. It seems that Korean students do not get much sleep, maybe 6 or sometimes less a night. They are also constantly studying for their midterms and other exams that help to place them in their high school and university (English, math and Korean seem to be the most important subjects for these exams). We have also been told that there are very few job opportunities for graduates because there are not enough jobs to service the population, which is why education is held as such a premium. Possibly for this reason, it seems like sports are not as important as an after-school activity in Korea compared to the US, although the Korean boys would love to switch studying for sports. Parents seem to be very strict with making sure their children are studying every chance they can get and put a lot of pressure on their kids to succeed. They feel that English is very important for students to learn in order to allow them to have better job opportunities in the future, which is similar to the US in that is is helpful to learn Spanish, or another language.
I have found that school discipline is very inconsistent. Teachers appear to be very strict (especially the male teachers); however, sometimes teachers will laugh when a student cheats and shouts out the answer when playing a review game, or when they are misbehaving. I have been told that if the student does something wrong but truly feels bad and are truly a bad student, the teacher should laugh and then the student will smile and laugh and that shows that they will not make the mistake in the future. Some teachers are very consistent I feel like, when others change class rules and do not care if the students do not do their homework or are distracting other students. When students are very bad, though, they are sent to our office where the gym teacher will yell very loud at them (even I get scared!). He will sometimes take out a huge wooden stick and have the students bend over as he hits them very very hard...it looks and sounds so painful. And then the students must do squats while counting to a certain number. Then they must hold themselves up in pushup position. These are just some of the punishments I have seen. But I have been told that hitting students with a stick in the classroom used to be more popular, while now the female teachers will usually just use the stick to hit the desk and get their attention. More parents are wanting the teachers to be more lenient and understanding with the students. From seeing the inconsistent discipline...the lenient and lack of punishment, and the far-stretched punishment...it is difficult for me to understand the school discipline here. This may be because Korean is very dynamic and everything is always changing. So new times may be changing the discipline and the way adults handle situations with the new generation changing so much. For example, some students will even get away with not wearing their school uniform and my co-teacher says that this is becoming more popular.
It is also common to see Koreans wear masks for their health...either when they are overcoming being sick or when sick, or at certain times when the air is not clean. I was told by my co-teacher that China's poor air circulation mixes with
the yellow sea (which is the west sea in-between China and Korea). Koreans actually check the weather to see how the air is and if they see that it is a little dirty from the Yellow Sea, they will wear masks that cover their mouth and nose when taking hikes or walks, or at festivals or airports where there are a lot of people, especially foreigners. However, I have noticed that Koreans tend to think that if foreigners are wearing the mask, that they might have swine flu. Swine flu is another big fear for Koreans, and another reason for wearing masks at airports. I am getting used to seeing the masks; however, it is still strange for me to see. I do not notice the air changing at all...I feel that it is very clean (although Seoul, being a huge city, is supposed to have filthier air). Also, Koreans do not want to be tan or get too much sun so they will wear long-sleeves everywhere, jackets even when it is very warm, long pants (this also might be because of the many evil mosquitos), and they will wear bandanas, visors or carry umbrellas to block the sun when walking, working, or swimming in the ocean.
What puzzles me is that it is sanitary to share food and eat/drink from the same bowl for Koreans, and to not always have soap or toilet paper in the bathrooms. I usually have no problem with the bathrooms, but it is smart to bring hand sanitizer and tp just in case. You are supposed to also put most tp into the garbage too, not the toilet. I also do not mind sharing the food, although we have our own plate for lunch at school. But sharing actually makes eating out at restaurants or at home more interesting and more of an event. Many side dishes are always included and many separate main meals are sometimes brought out at different times. It makes eating out less expensive beacause you are dividing the bill evenly with so many people (and it is generally very cheap to eat out), and you are able to try more foods when you share the entire meal.
Sometimes we will have a "pot luck dinner" with some of our EPIK friends in our building. It is actually a Canadian tradition. What you do is invite many people over to one person's apartment and then have everyone bring one small dish or drink. Everyone puts all the food and drinks in the middle and shares. I like the idea and since in Korea you usually eat meals on the floor...we are able to all sit in a circle on the floor and not have to find chairs and tables to use. Definitely a fun way to eat dinner, to celebrate the end of a busy teaching week and to catch up with friends! We just had one of these nights last Friday to celebrate our EPIK friends, Mike and Nate's birthdays.
Some other interesting things I learned at the EPIK meeting is that Koreans originated from Mongolians and are born with a blue birth mark that eventually diappears. Also, it is rare for the Eastern and Western side of Korea to be friends, marry, or get along because of the opposite political views and values. They truly do not like each other, and it is mainly because based on their feelings of how they should deal with the North Korans. Korans also hate Japan, but they do not mind people from Japan. I have heard similar feelings are toward China (not people from China though).
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