Live Update thru web forum

        It was a nice 3 day weekend. I had work on Saturday but Saturday work is always very laid back and no trouble at all. I enjoy going to Nampo-dong and feeling the nice morning breeze wake me up. Its a calm before the steady work begins. After working I went home where I enjoyed my first day of rested in sleep in over a week.


As the Rain Season is in loom for the people of Korea I am bracing myself for the trying time ahead. This week is going to be busy. I have 3 open classes starting on Wednesday and ending on Friday. I will be happy when I can say goodbye to Korean parents.

So I want to open a web forum and this is the only place I know where I can do it.

I have some personal feelings about Open class that I will briefly share. I want to pose this as a problem I face and want to hear your thoughts.


I feel that many of my judgements about Korean people are fair. I have been here for 3 years and can in all honesty say that I don't like the go go nature of this society. I can also say that I don't like being judged unfairly or treated poorly whether its disrespected by kids or mis understood by co-workers etc.

I am an English speaker, I am an educator, and whether I want to like it or not I need to adapt to certain cultural practices and rules but the core of my culture can't be changed.

Example, I truly believe in educating kids whether its to show respect, learn English, or just how to behave in society. I grew up with the notion of fixing wrongs and making rights. In Korea the truth is plain and simple that regards of how much Korean teachers want to educate their students its all a ploy to make money. The underlining belief in my system is that the more students the merrier. The more jobs one has the better, depending on where one lives the better that person maybe.


Koreans are always interested about where I live, if I am married, how much I make, and other non-important trivial things like that. I am not saying it doesn't happen in America but I wasn't exposed to it..



here is my view-
when there is open class I feel that all eyes are on me-the foreigner. The overpaid, tall man who is speaking a language the parents may not be able to understand and the expectations that these parents have are way to high. They are making me feel like everything I am is all about their kid and its a selfish  viewpoint. I am there to show their kids how to speak the fundamental ABCs and my life outside of ESL is insignificant.


On a different note-if I eat like an American taking big bites or not sharing one fish (there are 2 fish on the plate) than my wife thinks I am being greedy and a pig. I need to share and slow down. I need to take smaller bites etc etc. I don't understand this because I come from a different background. I do know that regardless of how I feel about Korean people and their beliefs they can think whatever they want.


frankly, I don't care and I couldn't give a shit what some grandma in Korea thinks about me. The only problem is that I am trying my best to educate people so therefore I should care and at the same time they should change their world view as well.


What's your take on this? I may be looking into this too deeply but I also may be on to something that is the core of education-a true development of understanding that can go both ways.

The Korean way of learning ESL is one way. Learn and remember. They may not be able to incorporate new responses.
Hi how are you?

I am fine, and you?


We don't necessarily say things like that and that's what real education is like to me. I was teaching a grammar lesson today and realized that I want to throw the book out the window in order to show how meaningless Grammar is. That's another story...