I’ve been applying for many jobs recently, the majority of which are back in Korea. I’d like to keep learning the language, and I think I might flourish in a different school environment. Or at least continue to tread water for another year or two.
I’ve been looking in to working at a winter camp for the month of January, and then possibly returning to work for a public school with SMOE in March.
If I am successful in any of these applications, it will mean the return of Strayblog better than now. I hope I haven’t lost all of you. Stick with me.
I recently came across this program for studying Korean at Geumgang University outside of Seoul. The following is all I know about it, so I can’t recommend it one way or another. It might be interesting to check out, what with the advertised free tuition, room and board, and a possible stipend:
Korean Language Program
The Korean Language Program, offered by the Geumgang Language Center, is open to those foreign students, including ethnic Koreans, who are interested in the Korean language and culture. Applicants must be fluent speakers of English, Japanese, or Chinese, and they should
(1) be currently enrolled in university studies,
(2) be on leave from university studies, or
(3) have graduated from university.
This program has primarily been designed with a view to promoting a better understanding of Korean culture on the part of foreigners and to creating an environment where Korean students will be exposed to foreign languages (English, Japanese, and Chinese) and cultures.
Admission to the Program
The successful applicant will be offered a furnished dormitory room, which is shared with a Korean student, and provided with free meals in the school cafeteria. Moreover, they will receive further financial support provided that they meet the scholarship regulations of the Geumgnag Language Center.
I. Application and Screening Procedure
A. Documents Required
(1) A completed application form with scanned photo (download)
(2) A dormitory application form (download)
(3) A statement of purpose (download)
(4) Student consent form (download)
(5) An official academic transcript from the last school attended.
(6) A copy of the applicant’s passport and (if possible) alien registration card
(7) Recommendation
(8) A certificate of health (Tuberculosis (TB) and Hepatitis A,B,C, HIV testing are required)
B. Screening
(1) Screening of the documents submitted
(2) Telephone interview
(3) Admission notification
C. After getting an admission
(1) 5 identification photographs (3cmx4cm)
(2) Health insurance plan for a student studying abroad (if available): Participants in Student Health Insurance Plan is mandatory for Geumgang University Korean Language Program students, unless proof of comparable coverage (effective for the full academic year in Korea) is presented. In the absence of a waiver, your portion of the insurance will be assessed when you arrive on campus. The approximate rate for a full academic year is 130~150 USD, which is subject to change depending on currency fluctuation.
II. Program Description
The Korean Language Program is offered twice a year during the spring semester and the fall semester, each of which consists of a 16-week session. Classes are offered at three level: beginner, intermediate and advanced level of proficiency. After successfully completing each level, students will receive a certificate of completion.
(1) Spring session: Starts from March 1st and lasts for 16 weeks.
(2) Fall session: Starts from September 1st and lasts for 16 weeks.
C. Class Schedules
(1) Classes meet four days a week, from Tuesday through Friday.
(2) Korean Cultural classes are offered once a month.
D. Tuition and Scholarships
(1) Tuition is free for all participants in this program.
(2) Participants in this program may receive up to as financial support 200,000 Korean won every month.
III. Further Information
For further information, please visit the home page (http://www.ggu.ac.kr) or contact, keun seok Kim at:
I, like many people, love the Flight of the Conchords. One of my favourite FOTC songs is “Carol Brown” (Ex-girlfriends):
In honour of this great song, I have written a poem about my ex-girlfriends. It may not be as good, but it is a mostly accurate depiction of my fairly tragic and sad relationship history. No real names have been used.
Stray Blog’s Ex-Girlfriends
Kristy, she refused to kiss me.
Why would she lie and only kiss other guys?
I thought for sure our love was fate
But what I had with Kate didn’t survive Grade eight.
In high school I may have had a shot with Fay
Instead I chose to turn around and run the other way
When I saw Fay a different day
I ran a different way.
I was a little late with Mary
When I asked her out she was already with Harry
So I made a call to Carrie
But she was already with Larry.
I met Eve
on New Year’s Eve
I figured she liked me … or maybe Steve.
But I called the next day
And she said it was okay…
Steve was a bit gay.
Eve and I revelled
But we became dishevelled
After I told people she could be the devil.
When she found out, not a word was said
instead
she poured a full beer on my head.
And then came Valerie
She preferred Mallory.
So I got job with Tina and a salary.
We had fun
until the work was done.
Jacquelyn I liked the most
But she broke my heart
with a facebook post.
And finally, Eileen,
we had a good thing
until she decided
to move to Beijing.
I’ve lost no more girlfriends,
so I guess it’s
The End
Well that brought back a lot of things I’d repressed.
These days I am working at improving my 한글 typing speed. I searched and searched for a Typing Tutor program that included Korean but I could only find the software for Macs.
My first step was buying keyboard stickers at a Korean bookstore – the kind with the 한글 and English characters on them. But that was a waste of money – I’ve found it to be better to just memorize where all the letters are – it’s not that hard and it keeps your laptop clean.
For 한글 typing practice I use this site: it’s meant for Korean kids, but it’s fine for me. Click on 자리 연습 to get started.
All of this practice reminds me of the days in Elementary School when I joined the “Almena” Typing Cult of the English Alphabet. Don’t tell me you don’t remember chanting the following phrases in unison with nary a turned-on computer in sight:
Quick Ask Zoe
What Stops X-Rays?
Even Dogs Can’t
Red Fish Vanish
Then Grow Bigger
Yaks hear noises
Under Jack’s mattress
I keep ,s
Over long .s
Peanuts, Peanuts
As a little kid I was brainwashed by Almena’s keyboard indoctrination. But 68 words per minute later, selling my soul was a small price to pay.
Just as Koreans must spend 2 years in the army, Canadians are required to spend 1 year teaching English in Korea. It’s sort of like the missionary work that is required from those annoying guys from the Church of Latter Day Saints in white shirts and ties that try and convert you on the street or knock on your door at inopportune times.
Yes, friends, we are spreading a different type of Gospel, the Gospel of English. And, yes, my students usually reacted the same way to me as I do when I open the front door to the question: Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and personal saviour?
Cringe…
All that aside, having done my obligatory year in Korea, I thought I’d talk a little about things that I’m really glad that I did while I was there. Things that made my time ultimately worthwhile.
1) Worked in a Public School – I believe that working in the public school system gives you more of a bird’s eye view of Korean society and provides for a more authentically “Korean” experience. Because you are the lone foreigner working at a school, you get a chance to interact with Korean men and women of all ages and experiences. You also are viewed as a very novel entity and can get “celebrity” treatment. I got treated great by my school, and I was free to teach whatever I wanted without any micromanagement. Parents were a non-issue. The most interesting thing about teaching in a public school is that it allows you to compare a Korean high school to your own high school. You might find unbelievable differences, I know I did. And you get so much more time off than at a hagwon – consider 21 vacation days plus all national holidays, plus midterm/final weeks off, and random activity days. Oh and my school paid me to fly to Jeju Island for a 4 day all-expenses paid school field trip.
2) Went to North Korea: Going on an Adventure Korea bus tour of North Korea was one of the most interesting things that I did. Although the tours were canceled two days after I went, I heard that they were re-opened in August 2009. Don’t be scared, and don’t listen to South Koreans who tell you not to. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see something that most people on the planet won’t, and can’t see. As long as you follow the guidellines of the tour, you won’t get shot.
3) Did my best to learn the language. There are so many good reasons to learn Korean while you are there. Don’t be one of those teachers that lives in Korea for 10 years and still has no clue – you’ve got your whole life to speak English. Knowing some Korean will make your job easier – especially if you are in a situation like mine where most of the students speak no English. It can bridge huge communication gaps, and your students will think it’s funny and pay attention to you. Keysekkee … Hajima! (Okay…no matter how many times I thought it, I never said “Don’t do that you a**hole” in class). Free Korean tutors abound, and it will definitely help you meet more locals. If you can ever reach a functional level of spoken Korean, I would imagine that the business opportunities available to you would expand exponentially. Exponential expansion. That sounds funny. So please, turn off the English TV that you can watch back home, and stop abjectly wasting Korean taxpayers’ money, not to mention your life, on Facebooking/Youtubing/spacing out at work. You’ve got time, learn something. (Trust me, at a public school, you have the opportunity to waste hundreds of hours of your life – don’t do it!)
This is my first post-Korea post. A post post? Yes I’m back. I was reflecting on some of my entries from my year in Korea, which I completed 3 weeks ago, and it was a bit sad seeing all the empty days on my blog calendar. I also thought it would be a travesty against nature and God and Dave’s ESL Cafe and Cass commercials to not at least attempt to reflect on my time teaching something known as ”ESL” in Korea. I just hope some of my regular readers hadn’t lost all hope, because this isn’t quite over. I hope Korea hasn’t changed too much over the past 3 weeks, because I know I haven’t. Unemployed and generally listless, I’ve certainly regressed and have likely totally fallen out of touch with the K-Pop scene. (Although I have been using 이효리’s delightful “U Go Girl” song to practice my Korean – in case I ever need to think out loud in Korean: How’s this? And How’s That? And How should I style my hair today?) I would be willing to wager that I am the first human being to ever use that video for strictly academic purposes, and I’m sticking by that story.
I’ve had a few strange thoughts pass through my brain since I’ve been back in Canada, one of these being the difference between the formality of the 7 levels Korean language and my native tongue, which I believe is still English, although after a year in Asia, it will never be the same.
I actually find myself wishing my younger friends would refer to me using a higher form of English, although one doesn’t really exist. Isn’t English just a bit too casual on the whole? I got to thinking that it would be nice if they addressed me using Shakespearean English out of respect….
Bryan, it is nice to see thine face again. It has been many moons since thou hast presenced our residence. I shall treat thee to the finest maiden in all the land and a delicious alpaca leg from one I slaughtered this afternoon in mine backyard.
Well, that was a poor attempt at Shakespearean, and I can’t be sure that there were alpacas during the bard’s time, but my friend has some and they look delicious.
I made a ridiculous promise a little while back on here to write 20 posts during my last 20 days in Korea. What was I thinking there?
In the meantime I’ve been working at another school – 2 days left of work in Korea. I’m doing a middle-school summer camp with boys and girls, and although they are a bit more advanced from the boys at my technical high school, it hasn’t made me want to stay and teach English in Korea. It’s kinda the same, with a bit more yakking.
Unfortunately for my readers, my brain has already left this country and continent, and I am no longer motivated to blog here. As such, my left-over thoughts will be expunged when I return to Canada next Tuesday.
See you on the other side.Thanks for your time. Tip your waiter.
For all 5 of you that are currently watching the Swimming World Championships in Rome, here is a treat from Roboseyo’s blog. It’s a link to a video of Korean swimmer Park Taehwan’s gold medal performance in Beijing, with the benefit of a questionably accurate English translation. Funny stuff.
I haven’t been paying attention to them, but for kicks today I asked a Korean student how Park Taehwan was doing. Answer? “He failed. The German beat him.”
That seems a bit harsh, but nonetheless it limits Korean gloating and chants of Daehanminguk, so I declare it to be a good thing. I can’t decide whether USA, USA, USA! or Daehanminguk, clap clap clap clap clap is more annoying.. Thoughts on which is the more irritating cheer?
Continuing on with the sports theme, my next post will delve into the anatomical mystery surrounding why exactly Black people jump so high. (The real answer you won’t find from a shady source like an encyclopedia, but as told by a Korean student, may surprise you)
I wanted to write something creative and amusing today, but instead I found myself unable to stop reading the articles here. I’ve worked my way through 19 stories written by American college students. The breadth and width of human experience is just as impressive as the quality of writing.
I’m envious of the authors’ ability to express their inner thoughts with such clarity … my writing seems like fast food while theirs is fine dining. Anyways, I’d suggest you find out on your own … reading the work of these bright young people filled me with optimism.
Nice things they said…
On traveling…Traveling increases your references, your truths, your capacity for understanding and your ability to comprehend others.
On the cruelty of something called “Organic Chemistry”…Here is an example of my thought process as I attempted a homework problem: O.K. N,N-dimethylbutanamide is hydrolyzed faster in aqueous sodium hydroxide solution than is butanamide itself. Why? Why would it hydrolize faster? I don’t even know what all those words mean; I shouldn’t even be taking this class; for some reason this is so much more difficult than the rest of my classes; maybe it’s just because I’m not that interested; maybe I should drop out and then I would have more time to spend with my friends; maybe I need to take more humanities classes; let’s see, what other work do I have . . . MATT, FOCUS, oh, right, I should just do this now, and then I can do other things, BUT I DON’T CARE
One year has come and gone. Tomorrow is my last day working within the confines of “My Technical High School”, aka the Harvard Fanshawe College of Korean high schools. What a strange year! I wonder if there are any readers that have stuck through this year with me – now would be a good time to mention yourselves. I appreciate all of the readership that this blog has developed… say what you will about a Korean technical high school, but it did provide ample material for this outlet.
I really hope that I didn’t scare anyone away from coming to Korea to teach … Because although my situation was a bit difficult, I’ve found that the vast majority of ESL teachers in Korea find it to be a good experience. In the end, my job was not all that difficult I suppose – the students were pretty harmless! The difficult thing about this position, for me anyways, is that it’s tough to tell whether you are making any impact on your students,or whether you are just a dancing monkey putting in time until the hagwon learning begins. And seeing each group of students once a week for around 40 minutes? I’m honestly not sure if it’s worth it. Maybe other ESL teachers totally disagree with me. Those of you who are staying in Korea and renewing your contract in a public school, I would guess it is because of two reasons: you like your kids and you like the money. But are you a real teacher … or just a very expensive gimmick? Do you care? I know what I have been!
I do feel that I have succeeded in some ways more as a cultural ambassador than an English teacher. One thing that my school lacks (other than feelings of humanity and joy) is cultural diversity. The students don’t learn a lot about other countries’ cultures, geographies, histories, or sports, and by and large the environment, like Korea itself, is very homogeneous.
In this case, being a token foreigner isn’t all that bad. My students now realize that there are no kangaroos in Canada, and that not all foreigners have blue eyes. They now know that black people aren’t necessarily dirty, and that school actually has the potential to be fun every third Thursday. Gasp!
And I learned about mehmey – god bless mehmey (spelling?). (Mehmey is the little bamboo weapon that teachers carry around to intimidate students. And to strike swiftly with vengeance. So maybe God, don’t bless Mehmey. Maybe puppies?)
