We've only had one full week so far since we had no school on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday of the second week due to Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving). So these are just my first impressions.
Beginning Korean Conversation
I spent some time learning the Korean alphabet and a few simple phrases before I came, and since I arrived, I've been trying to learn as much as possible from all of the Koreans. So the first day of class was pretty boring for me personally since we're starting from square one. We basically were just learning the vowel sounds and how to write them. I think I'll probably know most of the material that we cover for at least the first few weeks. Hopefully after that, though, we'll be able to get into some more advanced concepts like grammar and sentence structure. I really want to learn Korean. Everything is easier when you can communicate with more than like 5% of the people around you.
Medical Ultrasound
So this class is all about the mathematical theories behind ultrasound imaging. I like math. Like a lot. I'm a math major if you didn't know. So on the first day of class when we went through like a semester of calculus in two hours, I felt comfortable and excited. I fully realize that not everyone has this experience with math. That's okay. So I'm really in to this class. I really like the idea of learning new mathematical concepts and then combining them to learn about a real technique that is widely used in modern medicine. That's so cool. My roommate Jihoon, though, told me that the professor has a reputation for being really hard and he recommended that I choose a different class. I thought about it. But none of the other classes taught in English had as much math, and I enjoy a challenge.
So I talked to the professor after class and asked if it would be okay if I took his class since I'm the only one who doesn't speak Korean. The first thing he asked me was "Didn't your friends warn you about this class?" He said that it would have the workload of three classes. I have no fear. For our first assignment, he gave us like 70 calculus problems. The day after he assigned them, I sat in the library for about five hours and finished them all. Bring it on.
Division and Unification of Korea
This class is all about North and South Korea: the history, the cultural similarities and differences, and the prospect of reunification. The professor is really cool. He's an older guy, and he's pretty laid back and funny. He speaks English pretty slowly, but pretty well. I'm the only American in the class, and when he found out that I was from Ohio, he was really excited. He said that I will be his official Ohio English language assistant. I have no idea what that will entail.
Anyways, he wrote a paper recently entitled "Imagine One Korea" which he submitted to President Obama discussing the idea of lifting sanctions from North Korea and trying to make peace with them. I haven't read it yet, but I plan to do so in the next few days before our next class. He's been to North Korea several times and knows a whole lot about their culture.
On the first day, we watched a video about the North Korean Mass Games. Skip around in the video below. It's like the most elaborate, hugest marching band show ever. And I believe that those giant images you see are not screens, but rather thousands of people holding little books with different colored pages watching a guy with a flag telling them when to flip pages. Here's the link to part of the documentary that we watched if you're interested. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QSrcLC6Zz54
This class is going to have a lot of hard topics to swallow, and a lot of really important issues to think about. I'm really interested and grateful for this chance to learn about a culture that is so radically different from my own and try to grapple with the question "Can we live together in peace?"
Special Topics in Applied Physics
This is a senior level class, mainly for physics majors, discussing semiconductors, how they work, and their applications. The prerequisite course listed was "General Physics." I took Physics I, but not Physics II. So I think I'm not really prepared. Buuuut oh well. I'll learn quick. And anyways, I think it's actually going to be a really easy class. It seems like a throwaway kind of class that seniors take because they don't want to take something hard.
The first day was just a class intro and the professor let us out like an hour early. But by the second class, we started getting into quantum physics and how semiconductors work. It's really complex stuff. Wow. Molecular Orbital Theory is kind of blowing my mind. BUT the professor goes really really slow. So first, he'll explain everything in English (Did I mention I'm the only native English speaker in the class?) really slowly and repeat himself a lot. Like to the point where I'm just doodling because he's already said this three times. And then, since most of the students probably didn't understand anyways, he'll explain the whole thing again in Korean. So I think there will be a weird kind of tension in which I'll be bored and confused at the same time. We'll see how that goes.
But regardless, I'm really excited for the class! We're going to get into some really interesting topics. The three that I'm most excited for are solar cells, energy cells, and artificial photosynthesis. How cool. I want to learn all about all of those things. And a significant portion of the class time is devoted to student presentations, so we'll learn about the topics and teach each other. I think the idea works best when everyone speaks the same language, but it's a cool concept.
The Korean students in my class are so shy! Oh my god. I'm not sure if it's just because they have to speak English or if it's because in Korean schools, participation usually is equated with attendance. On the first day, though, we had to get up and introduce ourselves. Like really basic stuff. Name, age, major, hobbies. And there were like two Korean students who could do it without speaking really quietly or giggling embarrassedly the whole time. We'll see. This is going to be an interesting class on a lot of different levels.
Korean Culture Experience
This class is going to be super cool. Based on the syllabus, it looks like we're going to be doing something different almost every week. It's the only class that we have on Fridays, so we'll take lots of field trips and do interesting things like make paper, climb mountains, and learn Taekwondo. I'm pretty excited. And it seems like it will be pretty easy, too. We only have one midterm essay and one final essay, 1500 words each. Not bad.
In our first class, we had a lecture from Professor Simone Kim who teaches classes on Christianity and preaches at the University Church. She's a Korean America who grew up in California but now lives in Korea. She has a really interesting perspective on Korea as kind of a native foreigner who has a deep understanding of both cultures. She taught us about two important ideas in Korea, 정 (Jeong) and 한 (Han). Although I only just began to learn about them, here's my understanding so far.
정 is a kind of deep familial connection for friends and family and for the country. It is developed over a long period of time and is a very strong attachment which is an integral part of Korean culture. It also seems to have to do with respectful interactions between people of different ages, which is incredibly important in Korea. It is always necessary to show deference to your elders and to bow when meeting them. On the other hand, it is common for Koreans to buy food for younger friends and family, or to care for them in other ways. Even one or two year age differences are significant in Korean culture, where they would be almost entirely overlooked in America. The importance of age and respect is so deeply ingrained that it plays a large role in Korean language. There are usually two or three ways to say any given phrase: One for speaking to a younger person, one for a peer, and one for an elder. It's really a big deal.
한 is a very different, yet somewhat related concept. It is the repressed feeling of hopelessness experienced specifically by Korean women as a result of long term cultural and interpersonal oppression and subservience. Although Korea is quickly becoming modernized and gender barriers are eroding as they are elsewhere in the world, thousands of years of very strict gender roles have a way of remaining a part of a culture. We read a case study today in which a woman was told by her husband shortly after their wedding "my parents are like my limbs, irreplaceable and with me forever. You are like my clothes, sheddable and easily replaced." Or something like that. I'm paraphrasing. In another example, a female professor But still. I can't even imagine being in that situation. I certainly have to say, though, that while those sentiments may still underlie Korean Culture, I have seen very few if any inter-gender interactions which have struck me as negative or unusual. I think that especially among the younger generation, respect and equality for women is rising. But my perspective is only that of a foreigner who has been her for three weeks, so I can't say that I really have too much insight into the matter.
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