KoreanClass101.com Blog

I’ve been a bit of a lousy orphanage volunteer these days. I am taking a class 3 nights a week, and buy with some other appointments on 2 days, so I haven’t been spending the kind of time I used to at the orphanage.

In a way, that’s OK since I will be leaving in August, and to kind of gradually make my exit it probably the healthiest and safest thing for those kids. But on the other hand, I’ve really missed them!

During a recent long weekend, I planned to spend the whole day with the orphans. They were going to some nearby beach. However, my friend Josh and I had to leave separately, and subsequently got stuck in a enormous traffic jam. Because of the holidays that week, the roads were absolutely jammed. We left the center of 서울 at around 8:30, and by 11:30, had barely made it out of the city limits into neighboring , 경기도. We did have 2 kids with us in Josh’s car, but all 80+ other kids were on a bus. They managed to get out ahead of the traffic, but we were NOT so lucky.

We decided to give up on the beach that day, and instead took the 2 kids we had to a lake. We had some lunch and rented rowboats. It was certainly fun, and a great chance to spend time with those 2 guys, but I am a little sad that I missed all the others ㅠ.ㅠ

My class will be over in a few weeks, and I can once again reclaim my schedule. I hope to tell a few more stories about those kids before the summer is out.

Hey everyone! matthew254 here and I’ve decided to reveal my true identity - my real name is “Matthew”. Yes, yes, I know - shocking, right? I’m excited to join the galaxy of stars known as KoreanClass101’s Blogging Team and can’t wait to get started. First, a small introduction of sorts.

I was born the same year that Star Wars: Return of the Jedi premiered and am originally from a city that neighbors the largest Army base in the world. I am currently a senior at the University of North Texas majoring in English as a Second Language for students Early Childhood through Fourth Grade. I grew up in Killeen, TX which houses over 100,000 people with an estimated 3% of the population being Korean. Doesn’t sound like much, but due to Fort Hood, and Killeen’s recession-resistant economy, it’s been cited as the 49th fastest growing city in America in 2007. I bring up my hometown largely due to the fact that it helps define me. Koreans (among other ethnic groups) have always been a part of my everyday life. I didn’t really know that Caucasians were the majority in America until high school geography class. As such, one develops a unique perspective of other cultures in an Army town like Killeen - it has been called the “Melting Pot” of Texas due to the sheer number of cultures, religions, races, and ethnicities represented.

On the language side, I started seriously studying Korean around March of 2007. I have a couple private tutors (more like friends really) that I meet once a week, as well as a small number of “just” friends to practice my Korean with. I enjoy Korean dramas, music, and especially history. Although I’m as white as they come, I genuinely feel a strong sense of comfort among Korean people.

So, now onto the good stuff. Nowhere in my introduction does it say that I am an expert on Korean culture nor would I ever claim to be one. I simply want this blog to be a place where cultural and linguistic differences can be discussed as a group in a safe, no-judgments-made environment. I encourage students from all levels (especially our more advanced learners) to participate and share their views. Each week I will present an observation and pose a question or two about it. I would like steal an idea from a great philosophy professor I once had: You don’t have to change your mind on any given subject - rather - just recognize that each of us has a cultural lens in which we see the world. I’ve always been partial to this idea; that an objective truth exists but before we see it, we look through lens that change our perspective.

So, having said all that, I eagerly look forward to next week’s post and I hope you do too. Until then!