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Korean Job Discussion Forums "The Internet's Meeting Place for ESL/EFL Teachers from Around the World!"
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makushi
Joined: 08 Jun 2003
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 8:38 pm Post subject: |
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Dr. Buck, you da man.
To further your point: So I'm watching the movie 'Enemy at the Gate' which based on a true story set during the battle of Stalingrad.
There's a seen where the Russian hero is dreaming about his grandfather and how his grandfather taught him to hunt and shoot. In the seen the little boy is alone in the woods with his grandfather who teaches him how to set a trap, patiently wait for the target, and then the importance of taking the right shot.
One of my Korean family members looks over and says. "Don't you think his grandfather was cruel?"
I came pretty close to spontaneously combusting. I mean here the grandfather is teaching him the the skills that are allowing this boy to survive in his current situation, and at the same time creating a real lasting bond with his grandson. And all my Korean relative can see is that the "poor boy" was uncomfortable.
I can safely say that most north American men would love to have a grandfather like the one portrayed in the movie and share those kinds of experiences.
Mine taught me to fight, fish, work on cars, play cards, climb a ladder, fix a roof, and all sorts of things that I don't use in my 9-5 life but have definitely added to the quality of life I lived.
I could ramble forever on this, but suffice it to say...good post brother!
Last edited by makushi on Wed Jul 09, 2003 9:23 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Velvet Sea
Joined: 09 Jun 2003
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 9:23 pm Post subject: |
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I have never seen a car seat here. I have seen small children sleeping in the back window of a car on several times. |
I guess this goes along with other safety regulations. The seat belt regulation is fairly new to Korea as well. I remember in the 70's I would stand up between the front seats between my parents (not for highway driving... not that that makes it alright). It seemed perfectly OK at the time. I worked for Early Childhood Development Depart. in Canada, and DMV and DOT have an extensive websites on Child Car Safety. Is there even a place where parents in Korea can learn the hazards and risks of not having a car seat? I'm sure if Korean parents were more aware that they would be more concerned. It could really be a matter of education. I know it can be frustrating to see a culture that seems quite advanced and then these things we assume that they should know are not engrained in society.
Another thing:
When I was in the Gambia, Africa, the communities cared for the children. Children roamed the streets at night and it wasn't just the responsibility of the parents to look out for their safety it was the community members.
Does anybody see this in Korea? Maybe not so much in Seoul, but in the rural areas, where people in these communities are more familair with each other.
Last edited by Velvet Sea on Wed Jul 09, 2003 9:28 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Trinny
Joined: 01 Feb 2003
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 9:26 pm Post subject: |
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I have a story about Canadians vs Koreans to rebutt your claims. I am not criticising you guys or saying that I am perfect, but just trying to make a point that not all the North Americans are Mr. red green type of power tool guys or ladies.
- One of my Canadian relatives keeps two lap dogs in her tiny apartment in downtown Vancouver.
- I have had one Great Dame for a pet.
- Another Canadian relatives thinks of planting geranium (sp? annual plant ) in a pot as gardening. She is afraid of touching soil. Meanwhile a pot of hosta she got from her client is sitting on her front porch all summer. She doesn't know it will thrive in her garden as an outdoor plant.
- This stupid Korean girl (me) almost lost one of her finger from an infection, touching and mixing soil in her bare hands. I was reprimanded from my GP for not wearing protective gloves.
- One of my Canadian girl friends gets really freaked out by bugs and bought a propane-powered mosquito zapper. She sprays pesticide on her grass every summer, while I am digging dandelions one by one just to keep up with appearance. Does she understand what kind of damage it does to environment? |
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jaderedux
Joined: 10 Jan 2003 Location: Lurking outside Seoul
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 9:55 pm Post subject: |
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Back in North America, the spawn of Buck will be masters of swimming, canoeing, rapelling and rockclimbing, archery, small engine dirt bike mechanics, horseback riding, and woodsmanship.
They will know where milk comes from because will have milked a cow. They will have shot and killed a deer with a deadly rifle and then gutted it out. They will have caught fish, filleted them, and fried them up on a beach. They will know how to use a chainsaw and an axe. They will know how to drive a truck even if their little legs can't reach the pedals since dad will make blocks for them. They will know how to use all the power tools in the old man's workshop and they will know how to apply their creativity with them They will have a garden and know where their food comes from, and thus, they will be the kind of people that are not afraid to get their hands dirty. They won't be afraid of the dark because they will have spent time a real wilderness out camping. They will have as many mongrel pets as they want--real dogs--not the grotesque lap dogs here, but larger ones--and these animals they will learn to care care of in sickness and health and thus develop compassion and also a sense of reality with other living things.
They will accomplish these things by the age of 12, just like their father did! |
Ummmm...what if they hate that stuff? What if they like art and ballet and god forbid are a vegetarian...
What if they hate snakes .....I am not critizing you but you can take both ways to an extreme.... I mean felling a deer with your bare hands and gutting with your teeth can be a bit extreme too....(okay that was exageration to make a point) but I think you get the idea.
Jade |
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OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 10:59 pm Post subject: |
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Have any of us heard of Korean children who were killed in car accidents, abducted by strangers, etc? Of course we only have the rosy national papers to read in English, but I don't think I've seen any such stories on the local TV news. And I have met many, many Koreans (even been a member of several ajummas' groups) and never heard their stories or their friends' stories of how their youngest perished in a car accident. Does it really happen? Do Koreans just pretend the child never existed? Do I have to get a lot closer to Koreans to learn about this? |
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dogbert
Joined: 29 Jan 2003 Location: Killbox 90210
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 11:04 pm Post subject: |
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OiGirl wrote: |
Have any of us heard of Korean children who were killed in car accidents, abducted by strangers, etc? Of course we only have the rosy national papers to read in English, but I don't think I've seen any such stories on the local TV news. And I have met many, many Koreans (even been a member of several ajummas' groups) and never heard their stories or their friends' stories of how their youngest perished in a car accident. Does it really happen? Do Koreans just pretend the child never existed? Do I have to get a lot closer to Koreans to learn about this? |
Not to be nitpicky, but the Korean news media (TV and papers, at least) have been chock-full lately of stories of Korean children abducted and sometimes killed by strangers and by their teachers even.
Also, the Korean TV news usually will show car accidents and give a body count. |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 11:05 pm Post subject: |
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OiGirl wrote: |
Have any of us heard of Korean children who were killed in car accidents, abducted by strangers, etc? Of course we only have the rosy national papers to read in English, but I don't think I've seen any such stories on the local TV news. And I have met many, many Koreans (even been a member of several ajummas' groups) and never heard their stories or their friends' stories of how their youngest perished in a car accident. Does it really happen? Do Koreans just pretend the child never existed? Do I have to get a lot closer to Koreans to learn about this? |
Holy cow! Watch the Korean news. For the last couple of months kidnapping has been all the rage. It's not only kids that are being kidnapped, but still. . .
Stories of car accidents and related deaths are on nightly. |
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OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun
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Posted: Wed Jul 09, 2003 11:15 pm Post subject: |
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Ok, I definately missed the kiddie body count in the TV news. I will plant myself with my dictionary in front of the TV tonight, I promise! |
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mokpochica
Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Location: Ann Arbor, MI
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2003 11:01 pm Post subject: |
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I know 5 people personally that have been hit by cars (3 of them children). Fortunately, all of them have survived. I know of more just from the 2 years I've been living in Korea. One of my friends went to a piano hagwon where a child was run over and killed by their piano van driver. 2 students from a friend's middle school were hit by cars this year. One of them has been hospitalized for months. The other died the day he was hit.
It happens a lot. |
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makushi
Joined: 08 Jun 2003
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Posted: Thu Jul 10, 2003 11:31 pm Post subject: |
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According to the latest OECD numbers, Korea ranks #2 in the world for the highest rate of traffic related fatalities for children aged 0-14.
Way to go Reds! |
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OiGirl
Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Location: Hoke-y-gun
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2003 5:42 am Post subject: |
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Dogbert wrote: |
Also, the Korean TV news usually will show car accidents and give a body count. |
the_beaver wrote: |
Stories of car accidents and related deaths are on nightly. |
This is so cool...I was watching the news and there was a piece about a high school girl who was killed in a terrible car accident. Well, er, it's not cool that a high school girl died, or course, but that I understood.
Thank you Dogbert and Beaver for the top-down context and the motivation I needed to understand the news. |
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coolsage
Joined: 28 Jan 2003 Location: The overcast afternoon of the soul
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2003 10:06 am Post subject: Our Children and our Korean experience |
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Truth is, many, if not most, well-to do Korean parents, can't wait to send (or accompany) their little darlings overseas, because they know that they will receive: a more rounded education, not merely rote-learning, but also the ability to do their own thinking, a quality absent from the Korean system; the opportunity to socialize, without being confined to their own gender until they're 19; and a happy absence from the still-pervasive corporal-punishment- Confucian mind-set that has died out , thankfully, in every land except this one. It's changing, I see it and it can't come fast enough. |
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steroidmaximus
Joined: 27 Jan 2003 Location: GangWon-Do
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2003 4:35 pm Post subject: |
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well all in all this has been a very interesting thread, despite the flaring tempers.
As a new parent, I think of this often. I do think there are some things to be learned from the Korean system: the kids should put a bit more time into their studies. I do think the Korean system goes overboard: as a teacher, I know how many hakwans the kiddies go to, and I think it is scandalous. They should play more, and not in the classroom. The classroom should be seen as a place of learning, with some socializing, and here I disagree with JH: if all the kids only play, socialize and goof off in class, I think it reduces the educational value of schooling in general, for the kids will only associate the classroom with goofing off and not learning.
I do think a big problem with the Korean parenting style is the lack of participation in the kid's life. Like was stated earlier, I don't want my kid to grow up to be a wuss, and my daughter is going to learn how to fish, camp, be self sufficient basically, and capable of independant critical thought. It irks me to no end to see kids running around without supervision all the time, especially the 11:00 out on rollerblades without protective gear variety, or sitting in front of those mini video games out by the corner supa variety. Those boys and girls are between 6-10, and my IMHO, should be in bed.
Also, the running around the restaurant screaming and staring while their parent's gab variety are pretty damned annoying, and I've seen this too often. Being taught acceptable public behaviour is important. WhenI was 4-5, if I stared or pointed at someone because they were different, I was reprimanded by my folks. If I ran around in a public space, I got an earful or a smack to the ass. Korean parents don't do this, and it explains I think the lack of social awareness so predominent toda |
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jh
Joined: 04 Jul 2003 Location: Seoul
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2003 8:18 pm Post subject: |
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steroidmaximus wrote: |
They should play more, and not in the classroom. The classroom should be seen as a place of learning, with some socializing, and here I disagree with JH: |
Huh? I do not condone playing in the classroom. For the amount of money I pay for my child's education, I should think that they learn something. The big hope for us all as educators (sure ESL teachers are educators too, aren't we?) is that our kids will come to realize that "Learning IS fun!".
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I do think a big problem with the Korean parenting style is the lack of participation in the kid's life. |
Depending on your point of view, right? Compared to Western countries, Korean moms might be seen to spend more time with their children than their foreign counterparts. At my hagwon and looking at most of my friends, stay at home moms are the rule, not the exception. Of course dynamic socio-economic factors influence and indicate that this is rapidly changing.
Quote: |
Also, the running around the restaurant screaming and staring while their parent's gab variety are pretty damned annoying, and I've seen this too often. Being taught acceptable public behaviour is important. WhenI was 4-5, if I stared or pointed at someone because they were different, I was reprimanded by my folks. If I ran around in a public space, I got an earful or a smack to the ass. Korean parents don't do this, and it explains I think the lack of social awareness so predominent today |
Certainly, this is a cultural thing. It is frowned upon and not accepted in other countries. This is Korea. This is the culture. Sure some may say too indulgent. But again, this is according to other cultural norms.
I would dare say that rather than a lack of social awareness by Koreans of Korean society, we are perhaps TOO aware (5000 years, right?). Perhaps, it's a case of foreigners still learning to assimilate (for those making an effort, as some couldn't care less, yes?). |
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the_beaver
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
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Posted: Fri Jul 11, 2003 8:20 pm Post subject: |
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jh wrote: |
(5000 years, right?) |
wrong |
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