Friday, June 8, 2012

Another side of the Korean school system

Some big news for the week:

My contract renewal papers arrived earlier. I signed them. Renewing's been on my mind for a long time now; indeed, it's been there since month two or three. The principal, principal, and the teachers approve of it, but the principal said (at a dinner last night) that the students' opinions held the most sway, and they want me to stay too. I'm glad they do because they're fun to work with!

That's the good news. The not-so-good news is that another student's committed suicide. This story came out this week:
A Daegu commits suicide over alleged bullying

This has happened eight times in six months and it's beyond saddening.

The website Eat Your Kimchi has a good and informative page about Korean schools and bullying. It also explains more about how the school hours work over here. The students put in long hours during the week and most of them don't get too much rest at night. Somehow they hang on.

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