The Saddest Thing

Having finished 924 students' speaking tests today, I let the students finish watching a movie and sat in the back having a nice talk with Co-Teacher #3, Kim Young-Ju, aka Big Mama--the older mother-figure in the English Department.

Lately she's been sleeping in the back of my class a lot, which is on one hand of course annoying because it's distracting to the students, whose awareness of lack of sleep is perpetual, especially the boys. Usually, I politely tell her she's more than welcome to go to the resting room for class; which she usually politely accepts with an appreciative smile and an apologetic raise of the eyebrow.

On the other hand, it's more than understandable. I have major issues with this humidity, and also fatigue; and this woman probably has twenty years on me. This is in addition to the fact that she is a homeroom teacher, which means she's in school from 7:30am until 10pm during the week, AND on Saturdays. I would be a zombie, a bitch, or crazy; probably all three. If she wants to sleep, so be it.

Today, she had come back to life. I came to the back of the room to commence on our ritual, and she smiled, shaking her head and started a conversation about how I've been seeing an acupuncturist. We talked jimjilbangs (Korean bathhouses), summer plans, and finally set on the class curriculum. I told her of my plans, and she delightedly thanked me again for giving her copies of my powerpoints and talked about how much she learns in my class too.

Then, we turned and looked at the students who were immersed in the American romantic comedy I let them watch to distract them while I gave speaking tests.

"The thing that really gets me about Americans," she says emphatically, "when I see people that really love each other, I wonder why it the culture to leave each other. Everybody always leaving. Even when they don't really want to. Leaving."

"Yeah, well that's the movies for you--they need to get back together to make money."

"No, no. Real people too. That not Korea culture."

"I suppose you're right. We do do that," I replied genuinely.

"I feel saddest, that Korea students love western culture so much that they are doing this too. This Korea generation I see do this too."


It is true--Korean students want to emulate western culture so much, they buy t-shirts with western words on them, strive for the whitest skin possible, and feel genuinely depressed when they feel far from this ideal; they've even surpassed us in the cosmetic surgery department. I guess I have found it disturbing thus far, during my time here--cosmetic ads here, whitening cremes there, and girls AND boys carrying mirrors everyday to class--but, our all too common sad and cynical ideals about relationships and love and security too?

"You're right, that is the saddest thing."