as i entered my last class of the day (a two hour level 5 intensive con class), i saw that only one student had arrived. said student is really lovely and one of the best, most diligent students i've taught thus far. she never misses class and is always on time. as no other students were around, we decided to just talk. no book. just free talking. the students generally appreciate this, as they are quite curious and really prefer to delve into discussion with their scandalous foreign teacher, hoping to learn a tiny morsel of personal info (which i generally let them grapple for, so as to keep them talking and me actively listening, often letting my mind drift, often more than just momentarily, into the gutter). the first hour passed quite slowly and i felt that if i allowed my eyes to close, my head would soon smack down into the glass desk. when break time arrived, i gladly got up and tried to wake myself up. when i returned to class, facing another possibly dull-as-fuck 50 minutes, i asked my student what she had been doing with her writing teacher. she said that they had discussed race and stereotypes. perfect, i thought, i can easily prattle on for 50 minutes about this.
she told me that most koreans were generally quite prejudice and/or scared of black people. now, i already knew this fact, but had never actually had a korean admit it to me. i asked why. she didn't really know, but said that she thought it related to the notion that 'blacks are poor and uneducated.' i listened. i also asked about the feelings that koreans have towards southeast asians (filipinos, vietnamese, thais) and towards the chinese. i have discussed these stereotypes with other teachers, as well as my mum. it seems that they are prejudice against southeast asians because they are poor and a lot of them are working illegally in korea. she told me that a lot of koreans dislike this group because they take jobs away from the koreans, but then defended this group by saying that the koreans don't even want those jobs in the first place, as they are the 3-D jobs: dirty, dangerous, and she couldnt remember the third D. as the economy falls, though, more koreans are losing their salary-man positions and are turning to these types of employment, but hide it from their families, as it is a sign of poverty and disgrace to take on a manual job here. this further deepens the issue of appearance being so incredibly important in korea. it doesn't matter what the truth is, just as long as you are able to put on a facade that you have a good job and have a lot of money and are happy, as money buys happiness here, at least on the outside. i never thought that a society could compete with los angeles for superficiality.
my student also told me that koreans felt the same way towards black people in korea as americans felt towards asians and 'yellow people' in america. i told her that this was perhaps true in parts of the US, except that there aren't loads of asian people all over the country. the bigger racial issue in the states, i told her, is that of black vs. white. christ, every night i watch the nbc nightly news and every night for the last week or ten days, i have seen this issue of a white cop vs. black professor. it needs to end. black, white, yellow, pink, who gives a fuck. and for that matter, who gives a fuck how much money and material shit you have. y'all know i love to shop, but at the end of the day, its just shit that can burn up in a fire. and then what good is it?
as this girl seemed really interested and not overly biased one way or another in regard to races, i asked her if she would marry a foreigner. she said that in this case, it wasn't an issue of race, but an issue of culture. i asked her if she would marry a korean who was raised in america. she said no, as america and korea are completely different and she just couldn't understand american culture enough to be married to an american, albeit a korean-american.
i asked her how she felt about having foreign teachers, if there were any major differences between foreign teachers and korean teachers. she said that korean teachers grade their students based on emotions more than performance. she had a german teacher who gave her friend a poor grade because the friend slept in class and didnt do her homework. the friend went to the german teacher's office to beg for her to change the grade. the teacher said no, as she hadn't performed. my student said that had that been a korean teacher, the grade would have been changed after much begging and perhaps a bit of cash.
interesting, no?
this girl is really quite inquisitive and last week, after being asked, 'if you could speak english like a native speaker, what would you do?,' she took the opportunity to turn the question more into, 'if you were a native english speaker, what would you do?' she answered it by saying that she would like to see seoul through a foreigner's eyes. i found this really interesting and have thought about this comment the last few days as i stroll through the city, bumping into ajoumas, being gawked at by ajoushis, and smelling the disgusting blend of old kimchi and the remnants of last night's sam gep sal. i proceeded to ask my student what she thought when she saw foreigners, as she is a native korean and is accustomed to seeing street after street full of koreans, only occasionally to be peppered with foreign faces. she said that when she sees foreigners, she wonders why they are here, why they would leave america in order to live in korea, as america to koreans is a place that is better for living. the legend of the so-called american dream has reached korea and clearly to them, all americans are living examples of such legend. when they leave the promised land, the koreans don't understand. i must admit, ive been asked this question several times. it tends to come off quite rudely, though not intended in that manner, as 'what are you doing here?' perhaps i should say, 'im a drug dealer,' just for reaction. or maybe i could say that i sell my body. (on an aside, i had a student tell me that if she could have any job, she would be a drug seller. i corrected her by saying that the proper term was 'drug dealer.' she thanked me. she also told me that ecstasy would be her drug of choice for sale. interesting. proper, innocent koreans discussing drugs.)
my student also found it interesting that foreigners would come to work in a far-away country, leaving their family and friends behind. she said that she thought western people were really independent and adventurous and that they could really take care of themselves. on the other hand, though, she thought that this could be seen as selfish, as western people tend to not take care of their parents when they get old. i agreed and told her how, in general, once your parents get feeble, you throw them in a nursing home. (mother, im pretty sure that if you ever turn into an ajouma with a big f-ing visor protecting you from the sun, i WILL throw you in a home.) she said that if she found a job in a foreign country, her parents wouldn't support her and basically wouldn't allow her to go. i inquired about this. she said that parents don't really have retirement funds in korea, no money under the bed or in a box in the bank, nor in stocks in the kopsi. they put all their money into their children while they are growing up, expecting that their massive investment in time and money will come to fruition and their children will take care of them upon retirement age. i've had several students tell me that their parents are having birthdays soon. of course i ask them what gifts they will get for them. it is always money. never gifts. ALWAYS cash. it's strange to me. my parents give me and my bro money for birthdays and holidays, never gifts. but i NEVER give them cash (not that i ever have it), but i would feel like a slug, like i was being lazy in my child-like duties to give them some cultural gift from some random place in the world. i think the only time i ever give my parents money is if i am out of the country and mail home a bit of foreign currency because its prettier than the greenback.
it really was an interesting class. sometimes i feel like i can't really talk to students, as they tend to be prudish or really conservative and i have to watch my mouth. if i truly spoke my mind, i would most certainly scare the hell out of my students and probably get closed to being fired. but this girl seems pretty interested in the west, even if she doesn't agree with everything about it. its amazing how much the culture we are raised in influences everything we do. i went to the gym tonight and as i was gathering my stuff in the locker room to go home, a rather chubby korean lady stripped off like it was nobody's business. i am certainly no shrinking violet, but even if i had a bod like gisele, i would still walk my sweaty self home and get naked and shower in the privacy of my own home. i do not show this off to just anybody, especially nasty old ajoumas who need to do some personal grooming.
bleckkkkk i've gone too far. again.
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