South Korea: Cultural and Historical Experiences

Highlights of the Week

Meeting my Korean buddies was definitely  a highlight of the week. We were all assigned about 10 Korean buddies to help us adjust to life in Seoul. They are supposed to help us navigate the city, get to and from school, and just be our friends. I met about 6 of my buddies on Monday. We went to a traditional Korean meal and got to know each other better. Then we visited Gyeongbokgung Palace and the National Folk Museum of Korea with Yuri (one of my buddies). We had a great time and learned a lot about the history and culture of the Joseon Dynasty. The buildings are all well preserved and each of the historical sites has excellent resources for English speakers.

Lunch with buddy April

Gyeongbokgung Palace

National Folk Museum of Korea

Crystal and I with Yuri

Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday of this week was the Korean holiday Chuseok. It is their Thanksgiving. Many of the historical sites are open during this time for visitors. We went to the National Palace Museum of Korea and Jongmyo Shrine on Wednesday, the main day of Chuseok. There we saw more of the artifacts from the royalty and how life was inside the palace. The Jongmyo Shrine is a UNESCO site. Confucian memorial services for the Kings and Queens were held there.

Phoenix Design on Fabric National Palace Museum of Korea

Jongmyo Shrine

 On Thursday Professor Lee invited us to share a traditional Chuseok Meal with her and her sister's family for lunch. We ate a lot of delicious food and sat on the floor to eat.

Friday we visited Insadong a popular shopping area that is filled with small shops overflowing with traditional Korean crafts. There was a lot of pottery, paper goods, and inlaid boxes. There were also a lot of street food vendors selling all types of unique food items. It was a great place to shop for souvenirs.

Street Food

Street lined with Shops

Saturday we visited the Seoul Museum of Art, I happened to enjoy the art outside of the building more than what was inside.

High Points of the Week: spending time with my buddies, having a traditional Chuseok meal with Professor Lee, getting to see more of Seoul and learn more of the history of South Korea

Low Points of the Week: getting a cold

Challenges of the Week: finding vegetarian friendly food

I am looking forward to starting school tomorrow and meeting my students and teachers!

South Korean Culture Shock

Have you have any cultural shock the first week in Seoul? 

 Overall, I have experienced far less culture shock than I had anticipated. The time change was not as bad as I had expected, the food is great and the people are so nice and welcoming its hard to be shocked.
The one thing I would say was surprising is how welcoming people are to us as foreign exchange students/teachers. People are always trying to help us and get to know us. We have been assigned 10 buddies at Korea University who are here to support us and make sure we have activities to do and our experience here is great. I am surprised by the numbers of students who are willing to spend their free time helping us get acquainted with Seoul and South Korea. Everyone is so patient with my lack of language skills and are patient with me. I don't really feel like an outsider at all because people have been so willing to be open and friendly with me.
I think of course this may change as we get more acquainted with S. Korea, Seoul, and KU, but it has been a wonderful way to be greeted in a new city so far away from home.

What were some highlights of the week (cultural lessons and experiences)? 

Namsangol Traditional Korean Village

 Changdeokgung Palace

This week we went on a city tour and visited the  Namsangol Traditional Korean Village and Changdeokgung Palace. Both places were very beautiful and we learned about Korean history. I wish we could have stopped at more locations and I think I will take the tour bus again so that I can visit other places along the way. There are 5 palaces in Seoul and I would like to see the other 4. We have also eaten a lot of Korean food, which has all been great.

What are your thoughts regarding your upcoming teaching experiences after visiting the schools and meeting the teacher (challenges, surprises, excitement, etc)? 

I will be teaching at Seoul Global High School. We took a tour of the school and met the teachers. They were all very welcoming and kind. My co-teacher teaches World History and Korea History. The Principal met us and introduced us to the entire Korean faculty and gave us a gift. 

The school is a very prestigious school for the smartest students in South Korea to come to study and live.  Students take all of their classes in English. The level of their education seems to be very high. They are expected to take AP classes as after school activities. They also take International Law, International Economics, World History, Geography, among many other courses. The motto of the school is Scholastic Excellence, Honorable Character, Physical Strength. There are 10 other native English teachers who work at Seoul Global High School so that will be very comforting and helpful when we are feeling lost or unable to communicate with our co-teachers.
I am looking forward to observing classes and seeing what the students are learning and what types of resources they use in the classroom. The co-teachers said that they use a lot of different books, not just a typical textbook. Because they teach in English they have to order books specially for this school. I am also looking forward to meeting the students and getting to know them.
I think the biggest challenge will be meeting their high educational level and working in such a different environment from my internship.

Discuss also the biggest challenges facing you during student teaching and your time spent in Seoul.

I think the biggest challenge I will face regarding teaching is the very high level of education that these students are accustomed to learning. I hope that my background and experiences have prepared me enough to benefit the students.  Another challenge may be working with two co-teachers. We have one homeroom teacher we will work with and one or two other teachers we will work with in our content area. The school day is longer than in the U.S. from 7:40-4:10. We will teach about 15 hours a week, which I think will turn out to be a lot considering each teacher there only teaches about 12 hours a week. We will be observing classes and mid-terms for about 2 weeks before we begin teaching our own classes so I hope that after that time I will have a better grasp on what and how to teach these exceptional students.

Why Korea?

Why did you choose to do student teaching in Korea (and not in US)? 

I love to travel! I know that might not be a great reason to move to another country but I have a B.A. and M.A. in International Relations and my passion is to learn about the world and its people. I thought going to Seoul for student teaching would be a great opportunity to learn about another culture. This is a perfect combination of my history in international relations and my new career path in education.

I also really like Korean food!

What do you hope to gain from this experience? 

I hope that I can learn how to be a better teacher through being challenged with a different teaching environment.   I think I will learn to be more flexible, which is an essential skill for teachers. The challenges I will face being in a completely foreign environment will encourage me to think quickly and be open to adaptations in the classroom.

Why do you think that it is important as future teachers to have diverse cultural experiences and be prepared to think about curriculum and pedagogy globally?

 As our world becomes more interconnected it is essential for teachers and students to learn more about other cultures. Students from various nations are more present in our classrooms than ever, this makes learning about other cultures important. There is a move towards multicultural education and integrating cultural differences into the curriculum. International experiences like this help prepare teachers for addressing the growth of globalization and the impact that makes in the classroom. As teachers discuss different religions, cultures, and ethnicities they can draw from their personal experiences to create lessons. Traveling and teaching abroad helps teachers become more dynamic in their teaching. Oftentimes people become settled in their ways and approaches, when exposed to different teaching techniques and cultures teachers can gain new skills and techniques for the classroom. Teaching with an appreciation for global differences helps students become better global citizens and will prepare them for diverse college campuses and workplaces.