The Korean Dimension

Mary Hamilton Hall Collins

Adventures in South Korea

1995-2011

 Chapter 4

 JULY 17  ORIENTATION

The day after we arrived in Seoul there was the Orientation for new teachers at ELS…..most of us were also new to Korea.

Of course, we were on different time…14 hours difference between Central Daylight Time and Korean Time (no daylight time in Korea).  We were tired and a bit disoriented after flying halfway around the world.

At 8am the first morning in Korea we had to report to the hakwan (institute) for orientation. That meant getting up at 6, fixing and eating breakfast, walking down the mountain to the main street and attempting to catch the bus.

In 1995 you had to use bus tokens to pay for the bus ride.  These looked like coins…each one had a hole in the middle.  I never did know the reason for the hole.  Sometimes I thought the hole could be used to carry tokens on a string around your neck.  (The hole was probably to differentiate tokens from Korean coin currency.)

Tokens were available at a tiny booth next to the bus stop.  The booth opened (with an attendant….a real person…not a vending machine) at 7am.  Therefore I could pay Korean wan and get tokens on the first day.

It was cloudy and drizzling that morning….not a cold rain, however. This was the last of July.  It is usually in the low 90s with 98% humidity at that time of year.

We gathered at 8am…groggy from lack of sleep and jet lag.  They showed us maps of Korea and Seoul and explained where we were.  Then they talked about what was expected at the institute.

We were to be there at least 30 minutes before classes began.  We were to use the books that the hakwan published in all classes.  We were expected to make the students laugh and enjoy their classes.  Popular teachers would get the best classes.  Each set of classes lasted one month.  Teachers would teach different language levels each month.

Levels 1-9 were regular language speaking classes.  Students would stay in one level for 2 or 3 months.  Teachers would recommend when a student would progress to another level.

There are also classes for business men and women and professionals (mostly early morning…6:30am….or evening…7pm), daytime classes for housewives, and evening classes for university students (6 or 8pm).

We learned the rules and regulations.  Then we were given a desk.  There were about 10 of us as new teachers that day.  The hakwan had 85 teachers.  Many taught English.  Some taught Japanese or Chinese.

We did not have private offices.  Desks were cramped next to each other in large open rooms (no privacy partitions). 

Following this session they wanted us to have pictures taken…so they could post photos on the walls with the names of each teacher on the photo.  Of course today this would be easy…just digital cameras or smart phones and quickly take each teacher’s picture…and post them on a digital screen.

In 1995 we walked across the street (in a heavier rain) to a professional portrait studio.  Each teacher sat for a portrait (after trying to make our wet hair look 

presentable).  These photos would also be used for our visa cards.

Next we went to lunch.  We went to a small restaurant located in one of the business alleys behind the hakwan.  We had bee-bim-bop (a large bowl filled with rice, shredded beer and various vegetables (in small pieces). It is served with ko-chu-chang…a hot red pepper paste….and a long handled spoon. Koreans use the spoon to mix the paste into the food…mixing all of it together.

I tend to like eating bee-bim-bop without mixing the food into a red, tangy mixture.  However, Koreans expect you to make the mixture…and it irritates them when you don’t mix.  After all, the word “bee-bim-bop” means “mixture of food”.

Many times I would be at a restaurant and the ladies who worked there would come to my table, grab a spoon and mix the bee-bim-bop for me.  That was a bit irritating to me.  I finally had to learn to let this happen and be patient with this cultural difference.  After all it tasted good either way.

This restaurant was the same place that I learned to eat kal-gook-su. (See Chapter xxxxxx)

The main dish is served with pan-chon (several small dishes for each person…the dishes contain vegetables and kimchi)….and chopsticks are provided.  Usually there are small cups that can be filled with water.  Some places might serve soft drinks and tea as well.  If you ordered coffee, it was instant coffee (with sugar) served in a small paper cup.

After lunch we went on a walking tour.  We walked a number of blocks to a famous Buddhist temple.  This temple was popular with foreign tourists.  We saw the main worship space and the monks doing prayers.

They wanted us to walk to several more places.  However, it was pouring rain by the time we left the temple.  Next door was a formal Korean tea shop.  These were where people would go to relax and have conversation…much like the modern coffee shops of today.  (Starbucks, etc., did not exist in Korea at that time.)

We sat on the floor at low tables and had good Korean hot tea…and lot of conversation.  We kept watching the rain waiting for a chance to leave.  Over an hour later our orientation leaders decided we should make a run for the subway.

When we got to the subway we were so wet! I was so tired!

We went down the stairs (about two stories) to reach the subway ticket booths and the tracks.  There were no elevators in the subway stations at that time.

We were going to take the red line, then transfer to the orange line.

I had never been on a subway.  The only thing I knew about the subway is what I had seen on TV or movies about the New York City subway….that these were dangerous places…you could be mugged or attacked.  I was afraid to get on the subway.

I remember the other teachers pushing and pulling me onto the red line (Line 1) subway that first day.  I was so frightened! The subway was crowded and there were no seats available.  We stood and held on to the hand bars. Obviously I survived.

By the way, Seoul and the Korean subway are quite safe.  They are both very clean and well lighted.  In Seoul a woman can walk to the convenience store late at night at never worry about being accosted.  There are no drive-by shootings or school shootings (most citizens don’t have guns and there are strict gun regulations). 

Then we transferred to the orange line (Line 3) and rode to Tang-nee-moon station. This was the closest to our apartments…although it was probably at least a half mile walk to the apartments.

We lived in So-de-moon….up high hills that I liked to call the mountain.

We crossed a large intersection and found ourselves at the “shee-jong”…the local outdoor market. This was at street level…not up the mountain. By this time we were soaking wet and getting a bit chilly.This was not at all comfortable.

Remember….I was 49 and the other teachers were in their 20s….many had just graduated from university.  I was older and it was harder to walk.  Also, one of my least favorite things is to be wet.  This brought out allergies and lots of discomfort.  All I could think of was getting into the apartment, taking a hot shower and getting into dry clothes.

The leaders wanted to stop at many market stalls and show what you could get there.  The stalls did have canvas coverings but rain was dripping in around the edges.  You can get many things that you might want or need in the shee-jong (tent market.)  There were so many kinds of fresh vegetables,fruit and meats available.  This was like a farmers market.  Household items were available (not electronics is those days).  I managed to buy a number things at shee-jongs while in Korea.

Buying items in the shee-jongs is much less expensive than buying in a regular store.  If you are willing to walk several blocks to the shee-jong…and then carry what you bought all the way back home, then you could really save money

I believe that the food you get there is much better quality than what you could get in the small food stores at that time.

One item for sale in the shee-jong was real pig heads.  These were usually cooked for a special occasion or a festival.  Pig heads symbolized good luck.

We walked by several displays of pig heads.  The pig is smiling at you is a weird sort of way. Some pigs had an apple in their mouths. It was a bit shocking to see this….especially when I was tired, disoriented from jet lag, miserably wet and cold.  I will never forget the first time I saw the pig heads.  I still have dreams about them at times.

Next we climbed the mountain (high hill) to our apartments….as we carried our orientation materials, teachers books and anything we had bought at the shee-jong. 

Finally, I got into my apartment.  After the hot shower, I looked out the kitchen window. Through the rain I could see Tong-nee-moon station area and park.  On top of the hill was a national historic building and monument.  I’ll tell you more about the park and monument in another chapter.

Chapter 5