KoreanClass101.com Blog

Today I’d like to share something else that sometimes bothers me about the orphanage. Last time, I talked about the sanitation of the home. Thanks for your replies!

Living in Korea has certainly taught me to look at things with different eyes. So much of what goes on here is related to culture, and it is easy to draw conclusions about right or wrong. I am trying to figure out how to walk the line.

Today’s issue though is as much about culture as it is about staffing crunch at the orphanage.  Social services isn’t a very glamorous job anywhere in the world, and I’m sure it is hard to find high-quality employees to care for the children at the orphanage.  Ideally there would be 2 adults to watch the 22 elementary boys that I work closely with.  However, this doesn’t always happen.  If someone is sick, or unable to come in, often the kids are on their own.  Then the 6th grade boys are in charge.  I should say, that when they run the show, at least the younger kids eventually do their homework, shower, pick up their clothes, etc.. but it’s not always smooth.  Sometimes they resort of rather strange enforcement measures!  One day one 6th grade boy had a a spray bottle!  He would tell a younger boy to do something, and then spray him like a dog when he wouldn’t do it right away!

Or sometimes the 10 preschool kids (birth - kindergarten) are left alone with  5th grade girl to watch them!  Now, I know some 5th graders could handle that, but not many can.  And the girl who gets that responsibility isn’t known for her tenderness!

Children in Korea have substantially more freedom than their American counterparts.  Really young kids criss-cross the city on bus and subway to go back and forth from school to 학원 (tutoring centers) all day long.  Groups of kids can be found in the busiest parts of the city with no adult chaperone in sight.  I think this plays into what happens at the orphanage, and coupled with the staffing issues gives the kid a lot of independent alone time.  That can be a good thing, but these kids who don’t have parents, or have very poor relationships with their parents desperately need adults to guide them!  Those kids really are just raised by slightly older kids!

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Hi everyone. I’m back with another mind map, and it’s about the month of February. These are the things that come to my mind as I think of the 2nd month of the year. Would you please share with me what you usually think of when it’s February?

The weather at my house has been very cold (by California standards) this past week. We have had snow several times, although it did not stick. Yes, that is my favorite kind of snow, the stuff that says hello and then leaves. The snow in my wife’s hometown (여수시) is similar; it typically does not stick for too long. One thing that winter and snow do bring with them is skiing.

I never learned to ski growing up as it wasn’t very accessible, it was expensive, and my parents aren’t skiers. We now live fairly close to a small ski resort and the local schools offer skiing every Friday during the ski season, so my children have all learned how to ski. The Korean children that we have had in our house have also been skiers, including the boy living with us now. He says that he learned to ski when he was 10 or 11 (음력으로). He is also from 여수 and had to travel about four hours to 무주 in order to ski.

For the most part I believe that skiing is a sport/recreation reserved for those people with more disposable income than the average person. This is probably more true in Korea than here in the United States. The same could be said for golf. Interestingly, I have heard of Koreans taking golf trips to China because it is cheaper there, trip included. I wonder if skiing is the same? I know skiers here that travel to different resorts, Park City, Lake Tahoe, etc. for the experience. How far would you travel to ski? The boy with us now, he has travelled half way around the world and is enjoying California skiing.