WELCOME BACK TO SCHOOL!!!
That's right! Winter break is over people - time to get back to school and study, study, study! This episode of Cafe Seoul has its cup runneth over with enthusiasm of studying and getting as many lessons at the hagwon as possible. After, no parent wants to lose out and have their kid rank first.... from the bottom. Someone also gets hot for teacher at the hagwon, ahem. Some words come with dual meanings, so check it before you use it!
Also this week! Kimchi Kim and The Spicy Trinity continue on their journey to save the curvy Mandu Mandy from evil Sushi Suzuki. What will become of this chivalrous piece of goodness? Tune in to find out!
Okay one thing about this episode, is about the "removal" of multi-racial Koreans, into a school.
(Disclaimer: this is no way to offend anyone, it's just what I think and you're welcome to disagree.)
Some Koreans are really quite racist, just because I'm not Korean, it means that I am lesser. And it's pretty obvious that I'm being treated as a lesser being. I remember last August, I was in a chicken and beer shop in Anam and the ajjuma that served us at the chicken shop was a total meanie! When she served us food, she was sliding stuff across the table to us - well, that I can live with. And because we ordered A LOT of chicken (it was really quite good, plus the cheese sticks were dope) so we stayed on for quite some time. Once it hit 11pm, she chased us out, saying that she wanted to close despite us not done with our food! So okay, fine, we paid up and left. Went back to the KU dorm, did last minute packing, hung around by the time we left it was pushing 2am. Walked to the main road AND WHUT THE CHICKEN SHOP STILL OPEN DUDE. AND IT WAS ALL FILLED WITH KOREANS. Like what the heck, we wanted to stay and eat our chicken! I experienced such different treatment in a few other eateries and shops around Seoul and it was just clear how much I was frowned upon because I'm a foreigner. I was also denied from buying a dress I liked. But okay ajjuma, whatever that floats yo' boat.
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| Confused + puzzled = Confuzzled |
It's a whole mix of factors to why it is the way it is. Proud of your heritage and wanting to keep it pure - yeah sure but I just wish that they would be more open to other cultures and stuff. Being open and receptive to other cultures DOES NOT mean you have to lose your own. Don't get me wrong, I'm Asian too but I'm not too big on the "listen to me if not shut up because I'm your boss and I'm always right" thing. I hate it. But I guess that is just essentially Asian and it's not gonna change anytime soon, even though society is (somewhat, kinda, I hope) opening up a little.
This episode struck some chords with me when hagwon classes were discussed. Trust me, it's probably an Asian parent thing. It's so competitive in Korea, and the same in Singapore where I'm from. When I was younger, getting the top three in class just wasn't gonna cut it. Either you top your class, or you top your class. I had tuition classes every weekend, and when it was nearing exam period, I spent a good part of my day doing endless past year papers from other schools. Like a kid of a typical Asian parent, they wanted me to grow up to be a lawyer or a doctor - neither of which I am now, unfortunately. I would have very much liked to pursue a career in radio or journalism but it was just not my parents' plan for me. IT'S TOUGH BEING AN ASIAN KID. If you have faced the same situation, or think otherwise, feel free to email us at cafeseoulpodcast@gmail.com and share with us your experience and/or thoughts! If not, feedback for our betterment is always welcome! ^^
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| THIS is wut I'm talkin' bout y'all |
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