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lastat06513
Joined: 18 Mar 2003
Location: Sensus amo Caesar , etiamnunc victus amo uni plebian
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 Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 6:37 pm Post subject: Are there any North Koreans in your class? |
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I used to teach at an adult language institute near Seoul Station and it wasn't until after I left there that I found out some of my students were in fact North Korean (about 15 total in the whole institute).
Some seemed like average Korean college students, but they were very outgiong in trying to speak compared to the other students and always attend the class (on time!).
Are there any North Koreans in your school that you know about? and how do they respond to learning and speaking English?
________________________
Blast from the Past~~
From the 1996 Presdiential Campaign Trail
Clinton's Campaign speech at the Democratic Convention.
"To all the lovely ladies out there- Show me your "issue" and I'll show you
"progress"  |
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Grotto
Joined: 21 Mar 2004
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| Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 7:45 pm Post subject: 15? |
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Wow 15 North Koreans in your class and you didnt turn them in for being spies 
They sound like a good group of students. |
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Jack Bauer
Joined: 18 Jun 2004
Location: LA Counter-Terrorist Unit, between 6:00 pm and 7:00 pm
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| Posted: Sat Jun 19, 2004 7:52 pm Post subject: |
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| Jack Bauer says that yes, He-of-the-Big-Hair's third wife's nephew's second-cousin's goldfish was in the tank in all hallway outside one of his classrooms in the Humanities building of the uni where he teaches. Does that count? |
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Yesterday
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Land of the Morning DongChim (Kancho)
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 12:37 pm Post subject: Re: Are there any North Koreans in your class? |
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| lastat06513 wrote: |
I found out some of my students were in fact North Korean (about 15 total in the whole institute).
Some seemed like average Korean college students, but they were very outgiong in trying to speak compared to the other students and always attend the class (on time!). |
Outgoing?
Are you sure you weren't being fooled? Most North koreans who have arrived in the South live about 3 hours south of Seoul here -....
Nestled in the South Korean countryside, about three hours from the capital, Seoul, is the government resettlement centre for North Korean defectors, Hanawon.
There is a good reason for this - the threat of kidnap, or personal attacks against individual North Koreans, (by South Koreans) is ever-present, despite improved ties between the two nations.
Even when they leave the centre, defectors are placed under special protection for five years. Usually, a district police officer visits the defector or a family on a regular basis.
If the students in your class were in fact from the North - they would have been smaller and much, much quieter and more shy than the other students - therefore easier to tell them apart....
South Korea's National Intelligence Service says approx only 1,900 - 2600 North Koreans have defected to the South since the 1950-53 Korean War, half of them in the past five years.
570 North Korean defectors had arrived in South Korea this year as of July 11, 583 North Koreans defected to the south in 2003 and 240 during 2000.
Compare this to Koreas population of 45,000,000 and you will notice that the chances of having 15 in your class would be highly unlikely.
however yes - a year ago I did have one 12 year old North Korean at my school (special Government school - not institute) - however it was very easy to tell the boy apart from the other students - he had the body of a 6 year old - although his age was 12. His behavior was also very different to that of the other students. It was also further down south not Seoul. |
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oldfort
Joined: 09 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 1:08 pm Post subject: Re: Are there any North Koreans in your class? |
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| Yesterday wrote: |
however yes - a year ago I did have one 12 year old North Korean at my school (special Government school - not institute) - however it was very easy to tell the boy apart from the other students - he had the body of a 6 year old - although his age was 12. His behavior was also very different to that of the other students. |
How so? I'd assume more withdrawn, but beyond that, can't imagine. Did he become more talkative all of a sudden? I'd love to read more, if you don't mind typing it. |
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JacktheCat
Joined: 08 May 2004
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 5:12 pm Post subject: |
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Never met any North Koreans here in South Korea.
But met quite a number during my sojourn in China.
Very different from South Koreans. Withdrawn and shy. Really watched what they said and kept their emtions under control.
Could get only a few to open up and tell me about life in North Korea. |
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Barking Mad Lord Snapcase
Joined: 04 Nov 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 7:49 pm Post subject: Re: Are there any North Koreans in your class? |
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| Yesterday wrote: |
Nestled in the South Korean countryside, about three hours from the capital, Seoul, is the government resettlement centre for North Korean defectors, Hanawon.
There is a good reason for this - the threat of kidnap, or personal attacks against individual North Koreans, (by South Koreans) is ever-present, despite improved ties between the two nations. |
Now why would South Koreans be so unkind to their "brothers"?  |
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Sucker
Joined: 11 Feb 2003
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| Posted: Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:17 pm Post subject: |
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There is one at the university where I am studying. Apparently he is really domineering in class and acts inappropriately in social situations so the foreign teachers really don��t like having him in their classes. He tends to show stalker like ��affection�� towards his teachers.
However this is just one guy, so I don��t think we can make any generalizations about NK student behavior based off of him. |
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Yesterday
Joined: 15 Aug 2003
Location: Land of the Morning DongChim (Kancho)
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| Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 2:02 am Post subject: Re: Are there any North Koreans in your class? |
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[quote="oldfort"]
| Yesterday wrote: |
Did he become more talkative all of a sudden? I'd love to read more, if you don't mind typing it. |
Okay - I've been busy but here is some of what I can remember -
Apart from looking about 6 years younger than his age - he was extremely quiet - but he really looked up to..., adored and respected the foreign teachers - he also always looked people in the eyes as if constantly studying every person with an attention that seemed as if he was full of a wisdom and patience that was beyong his age.
Sometimes - (in and out of class) he would become talkative - othertimes - it would seem as if he was in dreamworld - happy to just sit, stare into space and watch the world go by.
Strange habits - he had no knowledge of the "law of possessions" as he would constantly take anything that caught his curiosity - often just taking something belonging to someone else and walking off... at other times - he would offer the person one of his own personal items that he no longer wanted and then take the other persons items - wehther they wanted to trade or not.
Also he had no sense of privacy, etc. On one occasion I took a few of the elementary boys to the beach to play - and some of them wanting to take a swim took their socks and shoes off and went in the water - still wearing shorts and shirts - this kid without hesitation completely stripped off naked before dashing into the water after the other kids. Of course the others starting laughing at him etc etc - at which kinda confused he emerged back from the water - put his underpants back on then went back into the water.
He was often the centre of jokes and harassment/bullying - but he seemed to handle it quite well - and did make many friends.
..................................... |
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oldfort
Joined: 09 Oct 2003
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| Posted: Mon Jun 21, 2004 5:50 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks, Yesterday, that's really interesting, especially the ignorance of possession and modesty. Really makes me wonder what living conditions developed these traits. The North Korean reality is so sketchy most of the time; it fascinates me, that I cannot know what is really going on up there.
Anyway, thanks! Glad to hear that your student made friends, too. |
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