Recently I’ve had a variety of people ask me for information about Korea. One was a student heading over to train with the Korean Olympic Tae Kwan Do team. Tae Kwan Do is a traditional Korean martial art. Another was a student thinking about teaching English in Korea. A third was an accountant who will be teaching in her field at a Korean University next year.
I realized that since many people find out about me and my experiences through this blog, it would be good for me to post my suggestions here. Perhaps even those not considering working in Korea will find something interesting to them. The movies are at the end of the post!
For learning about the differences between U.S. and Korean culture, I found American/Korean Contrasts: Patterns and Expectations in the U.S. and Korea by Susan Oak and Virginia Martin to be a great read. The book takes situations you might experience (dinner at someone’s home, a classroom lecture, a baby shower) and explains how an American and then how a Korean would experience that event. I found it just as fascinating to read someone’s interpretation of the U.S. events as the Korean ones! Another very short book is Living in South Korea by Rob White and Kyoung-mi Kim, which covers all the basics.
For learning the Korean language, I can recommend Teach Yourself Korean by Mark Vincent and Jaehoon Yeon. This series comes at various levels; I chose “all around confidence”. The CDs were easy to understand and apparently gave one a decent accent. I only got half way through the book before I left, but it gave me the ability to speak and understand the basics.
For anyone thinking of teaching English in Korea, you need to read the U.S. State Department’s Guide to Teaching English in Korea. It is located at http://travel.state.gov/travel/living/teaching/teaching_1240.html . There are also a variety of websites dedicated to the Korean TESOL/ESL teacher community that are worth reading if you will be teaching in a hagwon (private English tutoring site). Dave’s ESL cafe is the most popular.
For those who enjoy film, let me recommend two, which I’m happy to loan, or they seem to be fairly available in the U.S. First, SWIRI, which is a Hollywood-like spy movie about a North Korean agent who infiltrates South Korea. It has suspense, romance, and insight into the costs of the long North-South division (1999). Second, and completely different is A Thousand Cranes (also known as Beyond the Years or Chun Nyun Hack on www.imdb.com), a much more traditional, much slower paced story about a traveling musician’s family. This shows the changes in Korea as it modernized and features a very traditional Korean folk music called pansori (sort of like opera) (2007).
Happy reading, watching, and traveling!
June 10, 2009
Author: Beth Salerno
This week I had two sharp reminders of my time in South Korea. The first was unpleasant. The former President of South Korea, Roh Moo-hyun, jumped to his death last weekend. President Roh was serving when I arrived in Korea and his face was a daily presence in my morning newspaper. To see his face over such horrible news was discordant. There is a picture of one of the 31 official government mourning altars, filled with white chrysanthemums, at http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/05/26/200905260052.asp . I think it says a great deal about rapidly changing Korea that the parents are performing traditional ancestral bows before President Roh’s photograph while the younger Koreans are simply standing with their heads bowed. As you can see in the picture of him, President Roh was still fairly young (62 I believe). Koreans seem to be in shock. They have my sympathy.
My other reminder was more joyful, less newsworthy and very simple. A colleague from Pyeongtaek University who came to the U.S. gave me seeds for a common Korean plant - kaenip. This is sometimes translated as sesame leaf or perilla but does not seem to be either. It is commonly eaten raw, usually wrapped around a piece of hot grilled meat. It has a slightly lemony, very tangy taste unlike anything else.
The seeds all germinated and I now have a dozen plants at varying stages of growth. It seems to need a lot of water and really dislikes cold temperatures (much like basil I suspect). So I am babying it before I expose it to my May NH garden (our last frost date is June 15!). But I’ve already torn off a few leaves when I want the smell and taste of Korea. And I’m looking forward to the 4 foot tall plants providing enough leaves for a party, with grilled meat and gochujang (hot Korean pepper paste).
In one month, I will have been home a full year. (I returned from Korea in late June 2008). Sometimes the experience feels terribly far away, as if it happened to someone else. But news stories, where I “know” all the people and understand the issues, can immediately bring me back. Kaenip leaves apparently have the same effect, tasting of evenings shared with colleagues over good food and drink.
May 25, 2009
Author: Beth Salerno
In my home I now have a remarkable number of Korean objects. They range from a small brass bell in the shape of a Korean temple to a 1930s pear wood and maple chest on chest with distinctive Korean metalwork. Some were gifts - including a rice paper fan with landscape painting and honorific calligraphy done by a student’s mother. Others I bought as reminders of my trip, like the lava rocks from Jeju island.
Yet much of what I brought home with me is less tangible. For months, whenever I handed anything to anyone, I did so with one hand on the opposite elbow, a common Korean gesture of respect. The rules of hierarchy were so clear in my mind that when Bishop Joseph Gerry asked me for a business card at the opening Saint Anselm dinner, I handed it to him with both hands and a slight bow. This was the proper level of respect for someone my senior in age and social position. 
Many people have asked me if my Korean experience has directly affected my teaching. The answer is not as much as I thought it would. I do not need most of my hard-won cross-cultural teaching insights in my current classrooms, which do not have many international or ESL students. But what does affect my classroom is my regular awareness that the U.S. is NOT the center of the world. I now know in a more visceral way that other people see our issues - and their issues - in fundamentally different and sometimes seemingly inexplicable ways. I do not take my nationalism - or my students’ - for granted, but rather accept it as something else that needs to be interrogated. I accept that others’ views of the U.S. are similarly shaded and I try to explain the sometimes small cultural differences that seem to affect international and personal relations.
What I find most surprising is that many days I feel no different than I did before I left. My habits of character, of teaching, of being American are so ingrained that even 10 months abroad could only shake them up, not fundamentally change them. But I am hopeful that the main thing I brought home with me was a greater willingness to explore the different and the difficult. I am more curious than I have been in years. I think of that as I walk around my home and office, filled with the tangible things I brought home and the stories and adventures they symbolize. If you happen to visit, feel free to ask about the objects and the stories.
February 1, 2009
Author: Beth Salerno
Last semester I taught three classes. (Usually I teach 7 a year, with three one semester and four the other). There were my ten senior researchers working on their 25 page papers. Fifteen students explored the world of public history in museums, archives, cemeteries and on the web. And twenty first year students studied Ancient Greece, Israel and Rome in a team-taught college-wide Humanities course.
I had forgotten how broad a reach those courses would be. Students choose their own research seminar topics, so I read about the War of 1812, the Oneida religious community, Irish politics, the Civil War, school desegregation in Louisiana, and federal theatre in the New Deal, among other topics. Add in public history readings about building stone walls or the politics of commemoration and then Humanities reading from the Iliad, the Bible and Plato’s Republic and you realize my semester ranged across three continents and 3000 years.
My time in Korea was a great reminder of the value of a liberal arts education. I had to know a little about a dozen scholarly areas, and be able to locate information and create opinions on everything else. I had forgotten how true that was in my U.S. teaching as well. Both my Korean and U.S. students also had to be convinced that the work I required them to do really was likely to help them in some way later on. It was far more obvious to the Korean students that they would use English than that my U.S. students would use the Iliad. But the joy and value of the liberal arts is that you never know exactly what you will use - the future is not yet shaped. Having a broad base of shared knowledge gives you more to draw from as you try to apply the past in creative ways to solve future problems.
I miss my Korean students. Ji Jae-yong, Lee Jin-mi, Yon Doo-hui, I Gyu-chan, Na Kyung-min, Son Min-kyung and dozens of others. Some still write, sending pictures of themselves and of department events. I try to keep in touch with as many as I can.
My experiences in Korea reminded me how much teaching is really about mentoring, about helping a student to fulfill both their academic and personal potential. At its base, teaching is about building relationships, getting students to trust that you have their best interests at heart. The relationships with the students, in the present and the future, make teaching worth doing - for the people on both sides of the desk.
January 25, 2009
Author: Beth Salerno
I ended 2008 with a good portion of my life in boxes - again! This time the move was shorter - less than 500 yards across campus from one former convent building to another. A new space meant new relationships - a new faculty secretary, new colleagues down the hall. It also meant new patterns -I walk different paths across campus, I teach in the same building with my office, I have files and chairs in different configurations.
There is a Chinese saying “Three moves is equal to a fire”. I always assumed this referred to the amount of stuff that gets discarded with each move, slowly whittling down to the essentials. I am beginning to wonder if it also means that moves, like fires, provide a chance for regeneration, removing the dead wood and allowing new and luxurious growth. After eight years in the same office and building, perhaps my routines needed to be shaken up a little (my books definitely needed to be thinned out!) Walking new routes brings me to new corners of campus - I see the familiar with different eyes.
That was clearly my experience going to and coming back from Korea. Taking a year away from campus meant I resigned from all my committees, I gave up my advisees, and I set off to teach courses I had never taught before in a place I did not know. I expected to grow and change in all that newness. What I had not fully thought about was how new campus would be when I returned - all new committees, all new advisees, two years of new colleagues and new students to get to know. At least for one semester I had my old office with its familiar patterns and comforts. Now that too is changed.
Regeneration may be necessary, but it is not easy. It requires loss. I find I miss terribly some pieces of my time in Korea. Some are obvious, like the free time created by a smaller teaching load. That free time meant trips to the public baths, cultural events, dinner with students, Korean films. I miss the daily walk past the women selling vegetables, the two French bakeries, the supermarket on my way home. Green tea chiffon cake. Seollantang (beef soup) and date-ginseng tea when I’m sick. Grilled samgyeopsal (spicy pork) with friends. But I also miss the openness to change that came with my Korean experience - the excitement of seeing and doing new things all the time. It is as if, having done “new” for a year, I find it much harder to deal with change here at home.
So as I write in my new office, I try to re-open myself to the excitement of the new, to the value of seeing things with a different eye. There is discomfort and loss - and disorientation. But as with my time in Korea, the rewards, the growth, are worth it. Or will be when I unpack the last box.
January 14, 2009
Author: Beth Salerno
Last year on this day, Tod and I celebrated by watching tv. Drumming teams pounded out a rocking version of the traditional Korean folk tune Arirang. Dancers swirled in brightly colored hanbok (tight bolero jackets for women with full, flouncing highwaisted silk skirts; long front-closing jackets for men over loose fitting trousers, tied at the ankles). Ordinary Koreans, foreign residents and tourists packed Jonngak Square, the Korean equivalent of Times Square in New York, as traffic was redirected from one of the busiest corners in Seoul. Celebrities counted down the final seconds of 2007, the numbers some of the few words I understood in the broadcast. Officials lined up to swing a huge dragon clapper, striking a huge ancient bell to ring in the New Year. We fell asleep to the sound of continued celebrations in nearby apartments - people playing guitar, striking gongs, laughing.
Our celebration will be far less exotic this year, and will likely be preceded by some serious snow-shoveling, an activity I never missed while in Korea. However you celebrate, may 2009 bring you all good things - and the chance to explore and enjoy something new and unfamiliar.
December 31, 2008
Author: Beth Salerno
Greetings. It is hard to believe it has been six months since my return to the United States. I have often thought of posting a blog entry, but it simply has not happened. As 2008 ends and 2009 begins, I would like to start a series of blog entries on being back home. I want to take some time to think about the reentry experience, share some observations, and catch up on some stories. I have missed writing to all of you.
These posts are less likely to have great pictures or the excitement of life in a foreign country. If you would like to unsubscribe from this mailing list, please post a comment or send an email saying so and you will be deleted from the list; we all have to make hard decisions about what we have time to read. Everyone can of course still follow the postings on line at http://blogs.saintanselmcollege.net/bethsalerno.
For those who have not heard, Tod and my trip back from Korea was long. We left my apartment at 6 am to catch the bus to the Seoul Airport. Our flight left at 10 am and arrived in Chicago at 9 am the previous day. We then had an 8 hour layover, which could have been reduced to 4 if an airport employee had properly answered a single question. Thunderstorms then delayed us further and we flew standby on the last Manchester flight out of Chicago, arriving at midnight and driving an hour home. Our luggage arrived late the next day.
The flight was a fitting metaphor for my year abroad - full of the unexpected and the disorienting, and the delightfully surprising too. One of my fellow Fulbrighters and his family was in the airport and on the plane, eating up all the exotic things from their refrigerator that were not permitted entry into the United States. Yet the flight and the year left me in need of some recovery time.
The most pointed lesson of the flight was the reminder that even when everyone speaks English, misunderstandings and frustrations are possible and common. The goodwill everyone showed me in Korea was not quite so in evidence at O’Hare airport. Clearly, being back in America was going to take some getting used to. So was being ordinary and “one of the crowd.”
December 31, 2008
Author: Beth Salerno
Tod and I arrived back home in New Hampshire in the wee hours of June 23. Turbulence over the pacific and thunderstorms over New England made for rough flights and various delays. But we, and now our luggage, are safe at home, and we are re-adapting to life together in the USA.
As I expected, “culture shock” has me quite off-balance. At the airport in Chicago, I automatically used Korean for the basic daily phrases like “Excuse me” and “Thank you”. I also used the hand gestures that are standard politeness in Korea. I was surprised how automatic these had become. Also, many small things simply feel “wrong”. Spoons are too short and narrow; in Korea there are only soup spoons and they have quite long handles. Bathrooms sinks are too high; I had gotten used to them being just above my knees. Today I drove a car for the first time in 10 months. I found I was far more apprehensive than I expected. All of these will pass.
Since I am home and safe, I will post only one more blog entry after this. Thank you to all of you who have read these postings regularly or on occasion. Special thanks to those of you who sent thoughts and encouragement during my time away. I have really appreciated having this space where I could process my experiences, share them with others, and feel part of a community of enthusiastic supporters.
Here is one short story from my last week in Korea. Eight days before I left, Tod and I climbed Baegundae Peak on Mount Bukhansan. I had climbed everything EXCEPT the peak in early October (see blog entry titled “Lessons Learned in Bukhansan National Park”). The peak was too much for me - you pulled yourself up on steel cables, with nothing between you and the ground except a stunning view. I had been, and still am, proud that I managed to get to the mountain and find the peak, with minimal Korean and no map, only one month after I arrived; that I could not climb the peak was not a big deal. But this time, with Tod along to encourage and cajole me, I had the courage to actually scale the peak. The view was spectacular and the sense of accomplishment was even better.
As always, life is easier and better with help along the way.
June 24, 2008
Author: Beth Salerno
My adventure in Korea is almost over. In just over one week I will be back in the U.S. I still have two finals to give and grades to turn in. And my husband is coming, so I will be grading those finals on a tropical beach! But the end is rapidly approaching.
Many travelers suggest that one should prepare to come home much the way one prepares to go away. Beyond buying the tickets and packing, one should think about unpacking and settling back into a place that may not quite feel like home. “Reverse” culture shock is the realization that neither you nor the world are the same as when you left.
That comes as no surprise to me. During my time in Korea, two relatives were diagnosed with cancer, and one broke two bones. Friends got new jobs and colleagues got pregnant. Students graduated, new faculty were hired, staff moved on. Plants in my house and my garden died. My cats have probably forgotten who I am.
Of course I have changed too. What I “usually” do or what is “normal” to eat or what I “expect” to happen is different as well.
So what does all that mean for preparing to come home? And how can you, each of you, help?
1) Please understand that readjusting will take time. I will likely be surprised by things you think are absolutely normal (”Oh, that’s right, we don’t recycle those Styrofoam trays under the steak”). I will not know things you thought everybody knew (”When did that happen? Oh, you had a big meeting about that? Last semester?”). I might seem off balance at strange times (perhaps when I first meet someone and am reminding myself not to bow). While I might seem perfectly settled in week 2 or 3, remember that culture shock and reverse culture shock often hit in week 6, when you realize “this really is my life, this is normal.” Or in month 6, when you think “OK, I’m ready to go back now.”
2) Please understand that talking about something else will take time too. All I have done for the past year is live in Korea. While you talk about your vacation, your kids or your job, I will talk about Korea. Everything will relate to Korea because I do not have much else! I will try not to share every story with everyone, and there may even be a stretch where I am tired of talking about Korea (just as you get tired of talking about a pregnancy or a vacation or an illness). But to ask me not to talk about Korea is to ask me to not talk about a year of my life. And to not ask about it is to ignore a year of my life.
3) Please understand that reconnecting will take time, but is exactly what I need to do. I have been very blessed with friends and family who worked hard to keep up with me while I was gone. But I will have a lot of people to catch up with when I get back, while also trying to settle into old routines, a new semester, and “normal” life. So if you are inclined, please make an effort to reconnect - lunch dates, emails, phone calls, office “drop bys”, dinners - whatever works for you. There will be moments when I just need to hide, when settling back in or readjusting is more work than I can handle. Please understand, and try again.
I learned coming here that no matter how much I prepared, life was not what I had expected. It will not be what I expect at home either. But preparing might just make it a little bit easier - for me and everybody else.
June 11, 2008
Author: Beth Salerno
I am beginning to understand what people meant when they told me “Anti-Americanism can flare up in Korea in a moment.” I am also realizing anew how huge a gap there is our “international” news coverage in the U.S.
Many of you probably know that Korean President Lee Myung-bak visited the U.S. in April. It was the first time an American President invited a Korean leader to Camp David. Both President Lee and President Bush would like to see the Korean-US Free Trade Agreement passed and both face an uphill battle in their Legislatures.
You may not know that Korea and the US signed a controversial beef import deal right before that visit. Korea used to be the third largest importer of US beef. Then mad cow disease hit one cow in the Pacific Northwest. Korea limited imports to beef without bones. About a year ago, they stopped imports altogether when they kept finding banned bones in U.S. shipments. The new deal was supposed to reopen the lucrative Korean market and drive down amazingly high beef prices here. I have paid $12 for a small, ordinary steak.
Since then, there have been growing protests. First they were protests against potentially dangerous U.S. beef. I noted in an earlier blog that I had to answer questions from students about whether I ate beef and was it safe. Then some of the protests became anti-American government protests, as people felt the beef deal was a “give-away” by President Lee to the Americans in order to get the Free Trade Agreement passed.
Now the protests are strongly anti-President Lee. The beef deal was one more action by a President apparently deeply out of touch with the people who only 4 months ago voted him into office by a wide margin. His approval ratings are hovering at the 18% mark! Images of black-booted young policemen kicking fallen protestors have only heightened the tension in a nation which still vividly remembers military dictatorships.
Yesterday I was in Seoul to say some goodbyes and passed two separate protest marches. One building had a banner depicting sick cows “Made in USA” and a worried consumer. The subways had advertisements for Australian beef : “Clean & Safe”.
I feel perfectly safe, especially since I do not live in downtown Seoul. No foreigners have been targeted, and the anger is clearly directed at the government - especially the Korean President and the U.S. Ambassador.
This coming Tuesday is the anniversary of massive nation-wide protests against Korean dictatorship and there are expected to be rallies and marches all over the country. I expect people at the University will be mostly apathetic - it is final exam week. But I’ll be avoiding Seoul, just in case.
I will also be curious to see what turns up in the U.S. newspapers. Part of my goal in coming to Asia was to understand how people in other regions viewed the United States. Now I understand a little of that. I am also far more aware how much international news never shows up in the U.S. media, even when it directly relates to U.S. interests. There is only so much bandwidth, and Clinton and Obama take up an awful lot of it. Everyone here knows about Clinton and Obama. How much do people at home know about Lee and U.S. beef?
June 8, 2008
Author: Beth Salerno
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