My friend Sean tutors written English to top high school students to prepare them for their huge senior year test that's crucial to them entering an American or European university. The students in Korea have extremely high societal expectations for excelling in school. The resultant tutoring industry is probably a billion dollar/won business.
Sean tutors his students twice a week. On my second day visiting him, he invited me to lunch with them after they had his lesson. I learned some Korean and they practiced their English a little. I guess they enjoyed the interaction, because an hour before their next lesson they asked Sean to bring me and if they could change the grammar lesson to a conversational session with me. I was flattered and not sure what I would say, but told him, "Sure, why not!"
The "lesson" format was very casual. We picked a theme: Visiting Seoul. They pick me up from the airport, greet me, ask me where I want to go, what I want to do, and offer suggestions. After that, we talked about America and what it's like for kids over there. They offered some comparisons of what they do in Korea.
What I found out is that studying is pretty much all kids know here once they reach high school. Very little outside school time and hobbies. They are basically there from 7:15am to 10pm. Yep, you read it right. 10pm. They eat both lunch and dinner there. Then, AFTERWARDS, most of them get outside tutoring from 10pm to midnight, getting home around 1am. They usually get many different tutors, including on weekends.
No complaints though, when I talked to these kids. That's pretty much all they knew. It's just part of the country's norms. It's competitive, and definitely driven by parents desire to boast about where their kids go to school and ultimately what kind of job they have.
I guess this 'redlining' pace of studying sort of transfers over into the work world once they graduate. Or, at least, that's the sense I got from talking with Sean about how people work their asses off for companies here, much like people know of Japan. It also reflected the 24/7 hurried pace of people in the business district of Seoul and even the surrounding suburbs. Everybody seemed like they were anxious trying to get somewhere, rather than enjoying themselves or the journey.
Still, all that being said. These kids were awesome. Yes, I got a long silence and blank stares when I asked them what their hobbies were "outside of school"... (eventually, I got "shopping", "music", and "internet.") But, when it came down to it, they wanted to talk about the same things most kids do when they're in high school. Clothes, phones, college, friends, games, and... Dating.
I spent a whole 30 minutes talking to them about this subject, per their request. "What is the way Americans ask for date?" Oh boy, asking dating advice from me. Haha, I tried to give them the best advice a historically 'dating-shy' guy like me could give...
Haha, this pic looks like they're really enjoying my advice, huh... ;)
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