Let's Save the Earth!

Naturally, as the resident native English speaker at SGJA, I dedicated some time to helping the school's English skit performance. My co-teacher had written the script just before I had arrived; editing it was the first thing I did as an official English teacher. Last month, I stayed a couple nights after school to help with pronunciation, enunciation, and intonation. The girls have worked hard--they practiced after school for about 4 hours and sometimes 8 hours on the weekend. The teacher had other students make decorations and an additional two students in charge of the sound effects. I've been quite impressed.

Pose for picture, practice, snacks, practice more...

The skit is environmentally themed, which seems to align with Jeju's nature-friendly attitude (separating trash, natural attractions, the cafeteria's green food cooking..). Here it goes:

Mr. and Mrs. Kim, a newly wedded couple, go shopping for things they need. At the store, the products (dish and disposable dish, cup and paper cup, tissue--all played by students) compete for the couple's attention. Convinced by the convenience of the disposable products, Mr. and Mrs. Kim purchase them. Later at their new home, Mr. and Mrs. Kim are visited by Susan and Amanda of the Wives' Community. Susan and Amanda give them reformed-soap (previously used oil), which is good for the environment. The disposable products gang-up on the reformed soap. Later at the house-warming party, Susan and Amanda, joined by environmental activist Mr. Smith, discover the Kim's use of disposable products, which is "Evil! Evil! Evil!" After the party, the Kims realize that disposable products aren't good for the environment and decide to use greener products instead. Everyone else comes on stage to dance to "Let's Save the Er-Er-Er-Er-Er-Earth" (melody from pop song "I don't Care-ah-ah-ah-ah-ah").

Watch!

The skit was well-rounded for the competition: all the students had good speaking roles, the skit had some slight sarcasm and humor, the script was well-written, and the delivery was creative. Out of the 15 competing Seogwipo middle schools, it won. While this was good news, it meant another month of practicing and perfecting for the provincial competition, which was last Thursday.

I asked and was allowed to attend. The 12 girls, my co-teacher, and I took the day off from classes to go to Jeju's Foreign Language Center. It was an interesting experience. When we arrived, 5 other middle school groups were also preparing costumes, props, and make-up. The brief introduction reminded the students that they were already winners for making it this far (I liked this) and encouraged students to continue to study English, as it is a universal languag-ee and you should know English (I didn't like this). The 6 skits:

1. "Let's Save the Earth!"
My girls went first; I thought this was good as it didn't give them time to be nervous. There delivery was good, but I had seen the skit so many times that I couldn't really be impressed. I thought it was missing some energy, but overall still good: no stumbling, voice projection, and no slip-ups.

2. Animals, Tree, Businessmen, & Naturalists (I didn't hear the actual title)
Animals in the forest are in danger of losing habitat when greedy businessmen arrive to landscape. Naturalists to the rescue. Good, but unremarkable.

3. "We Believe in Ourselves"
After I saw this skit, I was sure it'd be the winner. The pronunciation was clear, intonation and enunciation was good, even the acting was good. The skit was about a girl who is accused of copying homework (the bully is actually copying her homework) then goes home where she is yelled at by her parents for a B on a test. Her friend encourages her that she should believe in herself. When gangsters attack the girls after school, she holds her ground to save the day. The bully becomes her friend, her parents are glad she's safe, she regains confidence. An interesting moral as well as good delivery, including some jokes.

4. "A Good Lesson"
This skit was by far the funniest. A group of middle school boys performing a skit about recycling. One boy cross-dressed as a girl (that IS a boy in the pink) and was quite fabulous. They ended their performance with ABBA's Dancing Queen. Reasons for this skit not winning were an unequal distribution of lines, slightly unprofessional, and an overly long script. However, I was impressed.

5. "Real Beauty"
A school girl, caught by her teacher for wearing jewelry, is taught a lesson about inner beauty. The ending was weak, the English not as impressive as other skits.

6. "Jeju-a place where you can enjoy nature"
This was the other Seogwipo middle school in attendance. Even though I had not seen the skit before, I could tell they had some additions, especially in the way of copying my school's skit; many of the gestures were similar and they had added a lot of songs to their soundtrack unnecessarily. The skit was so long, it can't really recall the plot...

Results: The organizers were creative with the awards. Instead of first through sixth, they were 3 third places, 2 second places, and 1 first place. I think this was a good idea when considering the students' morale.
3rd: #4, #5, #2
2nd: #3, #6 (surprised at both)

1st: #1!!

The girls were crying they were so emotional; it was awhile before they were smiling. I was especially happy that my co-teacher received some recognition for her hard work. She has spent so much time on the skit in addition to her other responsibilities. (she the youngest English teacher, so she sort of gets dumped with miscellaneous work). However, first place means that the girls will perform one more time at this Saturday at the Jeju Foreign Language Festival....not over yet!

Speaking Test

The last two weeks, I administered a speaking test to my middle school third graders (9th grade equivalent). When one of my co-teachers informed me of the test (he handed me the questions), I thought this would be a dull, boring, very uninteresting experience. Instead, I liked it. I didn't have to lesson plan, I got to talk to students one-on-one, and I heard some very interesting answers. After asking all the students (almost 200), I saw some trends. Some answers were serious and thoughtful, others were funny and/or fake. All that mattered was that the English was good. Most girls had a prepared answer ready to spit out, so it wasn't necessarily conversational..

My grading scale:
A=good grammar, good vocabulary, can converse about answer
B=sentences with mostly good grammar, but short answer
C=sentences with bad grammar
D=words no sentences
F=no English at all

1. What is the most important thing in your life?
Typical: My family, they give me energy/love/power. My health. Money.
Scripted answer: Health, because health can't be bought by money.

2. What type of man do you want to marry?
Typical:Tall handsome man with many moneys.
Thoughtful: A many that really loves me.
Amusing: I want to marry [insert TVXQ, Big Bang, 2PM, Shinee popstar name here]! For example...(look at picture teacher!).
Ambitious: Shinee. (Which one?) All.

3. I want to be healthy. What should I do?
Typical: Exercise everyday.
Questionable: Go to hospital and eat medicine. Hula hoop.

4. Please tell me about the President of Korea.
Typical: Bad.
Thoughtful: He has made bad decisions, but we elected him....
Scripted answer: His name is 이명박. He was a mayor of Seoul before he was elected. He make students tired. He made so many tests. He is interested in English.
Scripted answer 2: Korea president is 이명박, and he is bad for students because he made bad rules about education.

5. Please tell me about your homeroom teacher.
Amusing: Ancient like grandmother. Number 1 math teacher by Naver newspaper.
Scripted answer: He is tall, a little fat. but humorous. Whenever we doesn't clean te classroom. He is angry to us. But, definitely he is a good teacher.

6. What is the book which moved you the most? Please tell me about the story.
Thoughtful: Anna's Diary. Midnight Summer's Dream. Obama's Story.
Interesting: Cinderella. Twilight--Edward is vampire, Bella is human, they are love. Harry Potter.
A+: student talked about symbolism and sacrifice

7. Which country do you want to visit the most? Why?
Typical: China for Chinese food. Japan for anime.
Thoughtful: Kenya to see animals.
Amusing: USA to see Statue of Liberty and Las Vegas "bling bling".
Scripted answer: I want to go to England. Because I love Harry Potter, I really want to see a train station. I heard there is a board on the wall "Don't run into the wall." Because in the book and movie, Harry run into the wall. That is so funny.

8. Who do you respect the most?
Thoughtful: My father. My mother; she is good at cooking. Han BiYa of World Vision organization.
Suck-up: Foreign teachers.
Self-centered: Me.
Scripted answer: I respect my science academy teacher. He is very clever. I want to get his knowledge, but I don't want to resemble his personality. I envy his brain.

9. What do you think of wearing school uniforms?
Typical: Good, saves money. Bad, ugly colors. Good, pretty colors.
Interesting: Harmonious. Looks like sweet potatoes.
Very interesting: (story, told by different students) Ugly colors, looks like fire ants. At picnic (last year), a fat student (different school) called us fire ants. Almost fought, but not me.

10. What do you want to be when you grow up?
(all) Interesting: Teacher. Interior design. President's body guard, it's meaningful. Architect. Diplomat. Fashion CEO. CEO assistant (me: not CEO? student: too hard). Doctor, want to work with doctors without borders. CSI agent.
If a student answered teacher, I asked what school. If the student said middle school, I said "Really? Middle school students are difficult....". Some students caught the joke...

11. What do you do with your free time?
Typical: Listen to music. Play computer games. Watch TV.
Interesting: Study math. Read the newspaper. Walking. Eye shopping.

Too Much 드라마

드라마 = deu-ra-ma = drama

Since coming to Seogwipo, I've completed 4 Korean dramas. Watching these drama has had its effects, both beneficial and detrimental. I’ve picked up some common conversational phrases and can use the pop culture knowledge to connect with my students (the good), however, I have lost a significant amount of time and sleep watching these dramas (the bad). Moreover, once I start I can’t stop (the ugly). This post is an outlet of my guilt of time lost, allowing me to turn all those lost hours into something more productive and possibly academic. What follows is my analysis, plot formula and common elements, of Korean dramas. Soon, I’ll have personal notes on the dramas, how the drama fits the formula and the common elements.

REFERENCE

Read 2/4 as 2 of the 4 dramas, 4/4 as 4 of the 4 dramas, etc.

Mr. A is the male lead.

Miss B is the female lead.

Mr. A and Miss B are the leading lovers.

Mr. X is the male competing for Miss B’s love.

Miss Y is the female competing for Mr. A’s love.

Mr. A, Miss B, and Mr. X form the primary love triangle.

(Photos are Mr. A, Miss B, Mr. X, and Miss Y)

DRAMAS

WS = Winter Sonata (2002, 20 episodes)

BBF = Boys Before Flowers (2009, 25 episodes)

TCYL = Take Care of the Young Lady (2009, 16 episodes)

CP = 1st Shop of the Coffee Prince (2007, 17 episodes)

An episode is one hour. Alicia has watched 20+25+16+17 hours of Korean drama (too much!).

FORMULA

meeting >> primary obstacles >> mutual profession >> secondary obstacles >> break-ups and make-ups >> voluntary time apart >> reunification

Meeting: The first episode of course introductory, but also features the meeting of Mr. A and Miss B. In 2/4 dramas, both Mr. A and Miss B have strong and stubborn personalities, making this meeting quite a clash.

Primary Obstacles: These obstacles prevent Mr. A and Miss B from saying or even realizing that they have fallen in love with the other. Sometimes these obstacles are pre-existing, like a relationship between Miss B and Mr. X or between Mr. A and Miss Y. Another obstacle could be the initial clash of personalities and/or difference in social status.

Mutual Profession: After Mr. A and Miss B overcome primary obstacles, they can and do admit their love for each other. What follows is a series of cutesy, drama-free scenes of them being happy together. Don’t worry, this doesn’t last for long…

Secondary Obstacles: These obstacles are external to Mr. A and Miss B; they are forces fighting to separate Mr. A and Miss B. In 4/4 dramas, family objections are an issue, usually due to social status. Other secondary obstacles include a persistent fight from Mr. X and/or Miss Y, an arranged marriage, memory loss (2/4), etc.

Break-ups and make-ups: The most dramatic episodes of a Korean drama is those featuring break-ups and make-ups. The initial break-ups occur before the mutual affirmation of love; these break-ups are rather fights and arguments between Mr. A and Miss B that result from the sexual tension between them. As the drama continues, the break-ups and consequent break-ups become more dramatic and emotional (see Beach dates). In WS and BBF, the break-ups and make-ups occurred so often that it became tiring for me the viewer.

Voluntary time apart: After the final make-up, when all conflicts have been resolved, when the viewer finally thinks that Mr. A and Miss B can be together, they decide to spend time apart. This usually was over a period of years (3/4 dramas, WS=3 years, BBF=4 years, CP=2 years). In 3/4 dramas, this time apart resolved a final obstacle.

Reunification: This is (finally!) the happy ending for Mr. A and Miss B. Both the voluntary time apart and reunification scenes occur in the final episode of the drama. For 2/4 dramas, a future marriage between Mr. A and Miss B was explicit.

COMMON ELEMENTS
love triangle(s) , first loves and soulmates, social status, astrological necklace, clothes color symbolism, race to Miss B, beach date breakups, drunk piggybacks, soundtrack, casting

Love Triangle(s): The love triangle is quintessential in a romance Korean drama. In all of the dramas, the central , primary love triangle is 2 men and a woman (Mr. A, Miss B, and Mr. X). From the beginning, it is explicitly clear who is Mr. A and who is Miss B; the drama stems from all the obstacles preventing this match. Although Miss Y is competing for Mr. A, her role is smaller and, in my opinion, is more an obstacle rather than a part of the love triangle. In 2/4 dramas, Mr. X and Miss Y become a couple, as part of the many love subplots. Mr. X and Miss Y aren’t necessarily evil; sometimes they’re pure-hearted people, making the drama more heartbreaking.

First Loves and Soulmates: Korean dramas put a large sentimental stress on first loves; no one ever forgets or sometimes doesn’t even fall out of love with their first love. On a similar note, soulmates exist. The characters endure so much emotional suffering because they are soulmates; they are meant to be together, they must be together. Interestingly, in BBF, Miss B acknowledges that Mr. X is her soulmate, but that she loves Mr. A. In 3/4 dramas, characters refer to their love of another character (outside the central couple) as habits; they have loved the other for so long or so stubbornly that it has become a habit rather than love. This love habit becomes an obstacle that must be broken for Mr. A and Miss B to be together.

Social Status: Koreans love a good Cinderella story. In 3/4 dramas, one of the leads is poor the other is disgustingly rich. The dramas create and treat the rich lead lover character as modern royalty; they are the heirs of large business conglomerates. As such, they begin the drama as lazy, uncaring, out-of-touch snobs. It is up to the poor lover, who has endured the hardships of semi-poverty (which is linked to their humanity), to change the personality of their rich lover. Naturally, the difference in social status becomes an obstacle opposing Mr. A and Miss B.

Astrological Necklace: In 3/4 dramas, there is an exchange of astrological jewelry (WS = Polaris necklace, BBF = star necklace with moon in middle, TCYL = Sagittarius necklace). All signify that the receiver belongs and/or cannot escape from their lover. The fourth drama did have a jewelry exchange, however, it was a simple earring. Considering the circumstances (Mr. A thinks Miss B is a boy), a necklace exchange could not have happened.

Clothes: Symbolism, using clothing and colors, is by no means subtle. In WS, Mr. A usually wears green, Miss B wears yellow, and Mr. X wears blue. For BBF, Mr. A wears black (indicating his initial hot-tempered snotty character) whereas Mr. X wears white (this Mr. X is the absolute Mr. Perfect ). One scene in TCYL features Miss B in a white dress and Mr. A in a black suit and sneakily poses them to imply bride and groom. Clothes are important in CP because Mr. A (as well as other characters) mistake Miss B for a boy because of the clothes she wears.

Race to Miss B: The competition between Mr. A and Mr. X manifests in a race between the two men. In both WS and BBF, Miss B runs off alone with both Mr. A and Mr. X looking for her. The man that finds her first earns a “winner” status. In BBF, Miss B is drowning, and before Mr. A can even move to rescue her, Mr. X rushes in to save her.

Beach date: Watch out for the beach! In all 4 dramas, a happy, blissful date on the beach was followed by either Mr. A or Miss B (the leaver) leaving (breaking-up with) the other. The leaver has already decided that they must leave the other, making the beach time together obviously bittersweet and painful for them. The leaver does not leave because they want to, but because obstacles dictate that the couple cannot be together; they believe that they are breaking-up for the other’s good, contributing to the drama. The party that is left usually does not know of the obstacle and therefore left feeling hurt and confused. So, if you ever find yourself in a Korean drama, be wary of going to the beach!

Drunk Piggybacks: In all dramas, either Mr. A or Miss B got so drunk that the other had to take care of them. In 2/4 dramas, the drunk character was piggybacked. In the other dramas, although the drinker did not receive a piggyback, their lover accommodated them for the night. The drinking also allows for a truthful exchange between Mr. A and Miss B.

Soundtrack: Every drama has a set of 3-4 songs that is played in EVERY episode. When the song plays, there is a series of several scenes without dialogue. While watching the dramas, I found these songs annoying. However, the songs are so strongly associated with the drama, they act as a mental trigger.

Casting: These dramas are all connected in someway by a casting overlap. The Miss B in TCYL and CP are the same actress. The grandmother of Mr. A in BBF and CP are the same actress. The boss of Miss B in WS and the head maid for Miss B in TCYL are the same actress. I’ve also seen the actors in these dramas in other dramas I’ve briefly watched with my family on TV. In my opinion, Hallyu (Korean Hollywood) is relatively small and closed off (language barriers), leading to this phenomenon of overlapping cast. Korean dramas have also started casting Korean pop stars to attract viewers; for example, the Mr. Y in BBF is the leader of the Kpop band SS501.

I tried to stick by my resolution of no more dramas, especially now that my favorite American TV shows (The Office, 30 Rock, How I Met Your Mother) have started their seasons. However, JongIn told me of another drama that had recently started. Unfortunately, I was hanging out in the living room area when it came on tv…So, I’ve started drama #5, IRIS. My only self-defense is that it’s a spy action drama (a refreshing change from the romance soapy dramas), and it has been given one of the biggest budgets for a drama. That’s two more hours of my life each week lost…

Fun Filled Weekend

The homestay family took off for China this weekend (business trip), leaving me to my own devices. Luckily I had fantastic island-hopping plans...four different islands in four days.

Thursday
새섬=Seh Seom, island #1

My middle school first and second graders (American equivalent 7th and 8th graders) had midterms all day, meaning a free day for Teacher Alicia. I used the free time to go on a longer run, which included a venture across the Seogwipo bridge and around Seh Seom, where I went 2 weekends ago with my homestay family. The island has quickly become a tourist destination; I had to weave in and out of a sea of tourists in the parking lot. A quick strech and shower later, I was back at school to join the teachers for a duck 샤브샤브 dinner.

Saturday
우도=oo-doe=Udo, island #2
Three other ETAs and I ventured off early (7am departure from the apartment) Saturday morning to go see Udo Island, a small but populated island off Jeju's east coast. A bus and ferry later we arrived on Udo only with plans to bike around the island and catch the 5o'clock ferry back. For only 10,000won ($8!) we able to rent bikes for the next 6 hours to pedal our way along the coast. The first stop was one of Korea's few white coral beaches, the next stop a light house, the next stop another breath-taking blue beach. The island seems to have a good haenyo (Jeju's women sea divers) population; we passed numerous haenyo shops, saw several haenyo statues, and even came across a group that had finished a dive. After an adventurous lunch (any meal where I don't know what I'm ordering is adventurous) we found the Cliffs of Moher, or at least a small Korean version of the Cliffs of Moher. Even better was the traditional music concert in the cave. All that and we still easily caught the 5o'clock ferry back to the "mainland".

Sunday
숲섬=Sawp sawm=Seop Seom/Island island #3
It was expensive, but Seogqipo friend Ashley and I decided to go for it; we whipped out some won to go scuba diving. We had signed up for the TryScuba dive, one dive accompanied by a professional (Ralf of Big Blue 33, guidebook featured and the only English-speaking scuba diver instructor in Seogwipo). Nine of us (by nationality: 4 Americans, 2 Hollanders, 2 Germans and a Canadian; or by experience: 2 instructors, 4 certified divers, and 3 novices) went to Seop Seom, 10 minutes by boat from Swogwipo harbor, to dive and hang out in the sun.
Diving is one of the most peaceful things I've every done. There's a lot of concerns, like breathing and oxygen level, equalizing pressure so as to not bust a lung of ear drum, but the best advice from one of the certified divers was to be relaxed like you had just smoked a joint. It's true, you're there just to enjoy the (underwater) scenery. I would like to describe what I saw, but it'd take a writing skills beyond my capacity, not to mention the amount of time. Just go and do it--my 20min underwater was definitely worth the 100,000won ($85) and 6 hour expedition. If I had the time and the money, I would consider getting certified, but just a poor English teacher who has the rest of Korea to see on her weekends....

Island #4? I'd have hoped you'd figure it out by now....I live on an island...제주 (=Jeju)!

Please give me a gift

I wanted to make sure that my students were using "please" and "thank you" all the time, not just when if fit the dialogue in the book (i.e. "How are you?" is always answered by "I am fine thank you and you.") They know the words, but I wanted to put it into practice. To practice, we had a gift exchange. Every student "made" a gift: on a folded piece of paper, they decorated the front and inside wrote the gift. This was an extremely amusing lesson, both in decoration design and gift selection. Look at what I got!

Typical: MP3-player, Big Bang CD, cake, snack, cookies, candy, money, Big Bang photo book, chocolate, book, pencil, clothes, teddy bear, doll, phone, notebook (these are what we brainstormed on the board together)

Exciting (and unusual) gifts: manicure, Earth, Korea, handsome boy, boy friend, airplane, mansion, dung, my heart, world, beauty, guinea pig, Big Bang (the whole band), SHINee, T.O.P., GDragon, the USA and D-Lite, TVXQ, cheese cake, backpack, touch phone, Korean flag, kiss, Simpsons, piano

Quote Unquote: Delicious Food, Hundreds of MP3 files, apartment in Kang-Nam, I give my heart to you, my lips, big tree, book and boyfriend, Big Bang money, bad luck, I give u NATURE! & HJung JinOWoon

Broken English: Hello cat! (Hello Kitty), snake (snack), puppy dall (puppy dog or puppy doll...?), iPOT (iPod), close cake poppy (clothes, a cake, and a puppy)

Most exciting was a return of the Haptic Magic Diaper, but I lost it or the student took it. And the 'dung' caught me by surprise. I had gotten a couple of dung as gifts, and then at the beginning of class, I asked a student why she was late. Her friend struggled and first said "dung" (me) "bathroom?" (student) "yes, bathroom". How do they know the word for dung before the word for bathroom?

Overall, this was a good lesson. Most of the students were involved and I could get the lower level English students to speak. Also, entertaining! Click the pictures below to see the actual size image.








Hey! This reminds me of a vocab set in my Korean book...