Monday 1 October 2012

서울영상고등학교 Pros & Cons


안녕하세요! Did everyone have a nice Chuseok (추석)? ^^

This is Kelsey once again. This time I'd like to keep my post a little shorter and share with you what so far are the best and worst aspects of my experience attending school here. For your reference I attend Seoul Visual Media High School (서울영상고등학교) with Arlyss. Let's get right to it!

3 Best Aspects

1. Attending a co-ed school: Only the Seoul students can say they do the same. I'm personally very pleased that I have the opportunity to make friends with both girls and boys my age. The day-to-day lifestyle and personality exhibited by either gender is unique, and I feel that if I spent all my time with only other females I would be missing out on half of Korean teenage culture.

2. Spending almost every class with the same group of students: In Korean high schools it's typical for each student to have a homeroom class that rotates through the day's courses together. So far it's been really fun getting to know my classmates well this way as opposed to in American style schools where I would most likely have 150+ different students to acquaint myself with. Of course I'm also making friends outside of my class, but sharing that closeknit bond with my homeroom has made adjusting and assimilating so much easier.

3. Taking a variety of unique subjects: My school specializes in (you guessed it) visual media, so of course there are special classes that cater to said subject in addition to the core subjects. The school offers students a choice of three "majors", my homeroom class's being Visual Business Administration. Some of my less than ordinary subjects include Internet Shopping (인터넷쇼핑), during which students help to design and maintain an online shopping mall, Business Management (상업인발) and Animation (애니인발). And Arlyss's major is Visual Contents, so once a week she has a three hour period devoted to all things film and video related. These subjects help to somewhat spice up what would otherwise resemble a rather bland schedule.

3 Worst Aspects

1. Leaving early on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday: Korean class happens to be scheduled right after lunch, so I miss out on afternoon and after school activities on those days. This most unfortunately includes joining a club as well, as club meetings occur as the last part of the school day on Fridays. It also creates the vibe of me being a only part-time student, and the less anomalies that make me stand out (disregarding the fact that I'm white), the better.

2. Being bored 75% of the time. As much as I would love to participate in class as the average student does, the language barrier is still far too strong for that to be a possibility except in classes such as art and Taekwondo (태권도). So when the rest of the students are focusing on class material, I have to find ways to keep myself occupied, whether it be by studying Korean, which I can only do so much before my head feels like it will explode, doodling, or staring at a wall and daydreaming.

3. Eating school food. Most of my classmates agree that the meals offered by my school are some kind of imitation Korean food. Arlyss often describes them as the Korean equivalent of Chef Boyardee. It's not terrible, but lunchtime is not really something I look forward to, which is an odd thing for me to say because I'm a huge eater and usually can't wait for the next opportunity to munch on something.

Wow, that wasn't really any shorter, was it? I should work on my long-windedness. Nevertheless I hope you've found this post informative and interesting!

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