No Korean

As a foreign teacher, I am told not to speak Korean to the children.

After 10 months in Korea, Andrew had picked up a few Korean phrases. One time he spoke to a kid in Korean when his mother was around. The mother went to Jinna, upset that Andrew was speaking Korean. The foreign teachers are not supposed to know, let alone speak, Korean.

But that being said, it's hard to teach class without knowing any Korean at all. Sometimes I will be talking, and the kids don't even know that I am addressing them. Jason said that it's helpful to learn a few words to use in class - just be careful not to use Korean when the moms are around.

I sat with the kids during lunch today. Jay and Dan, smart kids - but troublemakers, talked to me in Korean. I responded with "hello" and "thank you" in Korean, and they lost it. Until now, I had never said a Korean word at the school. They would talk in Korean, and I would mimic them. Everything I said was the best joke in the world.

Jason speaks the best Korean of any white person I have met - he's been here nine years and is married to Korean. But he doesn't speak very well, by his own account. Everyone comes to Korea with the mindset that they are going to learn Korean, but as soon as they realize they don't have to learn it, then they lose their motivation. It's also not very motivating to learn Korean when the only Korean-speaking country is Korea.