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A Video Tour of Suneung
Suneung (수능) will take place on Thursday, this week (November 18th). Here is a selection of videos which give a taste of the activities that take place on what is the most important day in a Korean...
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Interlude (5) and Suneung Countdown –수능대박
D-Day Minus 3 Dae-Pak (대박), means ‘awesome,’ ‘excellent,’ ‘jackpot,’ and so suneung dae-pak (수능대박) can be translated as ‘suneung jackpot,’ or, ‘have an awesome suneung.’ Of course, you still need the...
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D-Day and Korean Hooliganism
Today is the day of the high school suneung examination (수능), which for third year students is not only the culmination of their schooling that largely determines their futures, but for many is the...
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Suneung Thursday 18th of November 2010 ‘D Day’
On Thursday 18th of November, suneung (수능), I set off at 6.45 am to watch the arrival of students at Song-So High School. By the time I arrived, around 7.30, most of the students had passed through...
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Cultural Contradictions and Anomalies
Korean culture is rich in a number of contradictions mammoth enough in their magnitude to be classed Orwellian and in some cases subsequently rendered as oxymorons. With two types of school systems...
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More Than Words can Say
Preamble. One of my friends, who is actually my boss, has a daughter who has recently been accepted into the top high school for English, in Daegu. Gaining entrance was highly competitive and as such...
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Baseball, Boners and Mid Term Exams
Even though I’ve been in the busiest bathhouses, this weekend really wasn’t enjoyable. For many students, the midterm exams are over but for others another week of cramming into the early hours of the...
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Images of Innocence (5) – James
James, is eight years old and my youngest student. He sleeps in a tent in his bedroom with three teddy bears, one named Aloo. Here’s his story. © 林東哲 2011 Creative Commons Licence. Filed under: Images...
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Because a Thrashing Always Improves Grades…
One of my students didn’t do well in his Korean language exams and so his teacher, a woman, gave him five thrashes across his palm with a large stick. Jack is a friendly student with a mild manner and...
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Suneung 2011. D-0
Early morning, 7.30 am and I’m outside the local boys’ high school to watch the ‘suneung’ students arriving for the most important exam of their lives; an exam which for most students will have been...
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