Wongok High School Part II

Assimilating into Wongok High School culture and life is quite easy. I was nervous at first but even just after a week or so, I already feel like a member of staff here. 

Sitting at my desk in the office for the Korean Literature department.

The members of staff are really kind and seem to feed me all the time! Jin Seon Ha and Heo Jin Seok of the Korean Literature department, regularly bring me food when they come back from lessons, but I think sharing food is a big part of the culture here. I quite like that!

One example is this strange looking icecream, but actually sweetcorn and milk icecream works! It is basically a Wall’s Mini Milk but with sweetcorn in it.

 

Strange but tasty!

This week I taught the lesson that is required of the programme. With the language barrier it was basically impossible to teach a normal English lesson, so I focused on a lesson about England and the culture.

I taught to a class of girls who were extremely shy but were very sweet.

I used the same lesson for an energetic boy class, who actually seemed to know quite a lot about England. I was very impressed!

The task was to write down two things that they knew about England.

They then had to work together in groups, against the clock, to write down as much they could about England.

Unlike the girls, they had many questions at the end and were very interested in finding more about life in England and the culture.

I also observed an ICT lesson this week. The teacher was good-humoured and interesting to watch.

At the end, the teacher asked me to stand at the front to answer questions that the girls had prepared in advance. They asked me various things about my age, what it is like in England, my favourite entertainer and the food etc. They were also really interested in whether I had a partner or not. They love couples over here and will openly show that they feel sad for you, if you are single!

They asked me about the food we are typically known for so I showed them a picture of fish and chips, which was received with an “Ahhhhh” - they were mesmerised!

The last lesson I observed this week was a mathematics lesson. I couldn’t understand the lesson itself but what I did understand, was that the maths was extremely complicated! However, students were capable of doing the tasks and helped each other if they found it too difficult.

The teacher then selected key students to explain to the class how the equation should be completed.

One thing that I personally find quite impressive about the school is the sliding blackboards in classrooms. I think this is absolute genius, especially for short people like me! If we were to invest in these, then I will never have to stand on a chair to write the date, ever again! Just saying!

Board up...

Board down!

Although, I do think that the Head of School does really consider the comfort for students and staff. Students have homerooms where they are taught all day (with a few exceptions) and stay until 10pm. The key part of the term would be 'home' and the students do definitely try to make it as homely as possible and this is accepted by staff. Students also wear flip flops and again, this is for their comfort.

A student at her desk with what seems to be her whole life packed on one tiny table! Students also bring in blankets and cushions.

The school also have special lounges for staff to rest during their free periods. The rooms are separated by gender and have plush leather sofas, a bed and an amazingly relaxing massage chair! I think we definitely can learn from this!

Most amazing massage chair ever!

And there, I shall leave you with that wonderful thought…

Post written by Katey Man.

APECEIU and UNESCO Educational Reform and Cultural Night

Halfway through the programme, all UK and USA participants, alongside teachers and Heads of Schools from all over the world, were invited to Seoul for a mid-point review at the APCEIU head office.

The day consisted of 3 lectures about the vision that APCEIU and UNESCO have for the future of education. The overall message was that to be successful, we need to work together and interconnect with schools all around the world. They advocate that communication and understanding of other cultures, is key to a sustainable future.

Francis Daehoon Lee started off the workshop.

The outline of his session.

APCEIU and UNESCO's fundamental values.

An interactive group activity to identify how we will use specific ideas discussed in the session.

There were several lectures and interactive sessions which ended with us collectively sharing ideas about how we could integrate global interconnection into our schools.

After the formal sessions, APCEIU organised a cultural night for us all. We had dinner and then the festivities began. All attendees were asked to wear their cultural dress for the evening and seeing as England doesn't really have anything distinctive, we made do with a hat and a few British flags!

UK and USA participants representing for their countries!

The Geordies in their football shirts and even the Queen made an appearance!

In preparation, the APCEIU coordinators asked those involved to perform a cultural song or dance for the event. It was lovely as so many volunteered, which made the celebrations fun and entertaining.

The APCEIU coordinators passionately performed the Korean version of Romeo and Juliet!

The Korean Romeo and Juliet performance was followed by the Gangnam Style dance. The Korean in blue and white, had quite the moves!

Dave Fudge - part-time busker - was 'reppin it' for the UK,with songs from The Beatles and Oasis.

A beautiful cultural dance from Kazakhstan.

A cultural song and dance from the Pacific Islands.

The Americans doing the Electric Slide line dance.

My absolute favourite part of the night was the Principal of a school in Pakistan. He had such energy and charisma and the dance was quite easy to learn! Watch the clip above and try it at home!


The next day, we visited Yonsei University in Seoul which is one of the top three universities in South Korea. It is also one of the oldest universities and founded by Horace Grant Underwood, who was born in London and then immigrated to the USA in the seventies. This might explain why the buildings look the way they do.

The library.

Professor Tae Lee lead a presentation in one of the university's lecture rooms and enlightened us about the Korean culture and education. What I particularly liked about her presentation, was that it added a personal touch and she spoke from a perspective of an American-born Korean. She too had to adjust to the customs and way of living, like us right now!

Much of the culture stems from the ancient philosophy of Confucianism. It centres around respect and the relationship with others.

Interestingly, even the language is built around the values of Confucianism.


As well as introducing us to the origins of their cultures and beliefs, Tae Lee explained some aspects of Korean education.

With this being the outline of how much education costs for a parent in Korea, we can see the pressure that parents might put on their children. As well as paying tuition fees for school, it is common for parents to send their children to a hagwon. This is a special school/academy that students attend to boost their school grades. The only issue that Tae Lee pointed out, is that many who go to these hagwons, surpass what they do in school and are given extra work that pushes them ahead of the mainstream education, which can have an affect on their concentration at school. The first reason being that they are too tired from studying at the hagwons and the second is that they are ahead of the school curriculum and so there is no need to listen in class.

Apart from motivation and ambition, it seems for the secret to success may lie in hagwons.

Post written by Katey Man.

Wongok High School

Teacher - Katey Man (English and Media teacher)

Host - Cho Hee (Korean Literature teacher)

Head of School – Kim Song Mi

 www.wongok.hs.kr

During my first day at Wongok High School, I met the key members of staff such as the Principal of the school, Kim Song Mi and the two Vice Principals, Lee Eun Kuang and Lee Kyung Hee. 

Principal of Wongok High School - Kim Song Mi.

Cho Hee also introduced me to the members of her department who are pictured below.

From left to right: Heo Jin Seok, Choi Cho Hee, Jin Seon Ha and me!

After break, I was given a tour by a very polite student in Grade 2. The building looks like a stereotypical school, which reminds me very much of the high schools that you might find in America or the ones that I have seen in American programmes anyway!

Students generally stay in the same classroom for all of their lessons, except a few such as P.E., I.C.T, Science and English. Native English Classes are taught in a specific area which is shown above.

A typical school corridor.

The nice librarian!

The library - a place of study.

The main entrance of the school.

The motto, shown in the picture above, completely reflects Kim Song Mi’s long term goal and all staff clearly have high aspirations for their students. 

Whilst touring the school, it became evident that the school’s philosophy is to embrace other cultures and learn from their neighbours, so they can succeed in not just being leaders, but global leaders.

Displays of cultural dress from across the world.

Photos of community projects that students and staff have been involved in

When speaking with the student, he revealed that the majority of students have an ambition to go to one of the top three universities (SKY): Seoul National University, Korea University and Yonsei University. He talked about how he is personally aspiring to attend Seoul National University but it is only a fantasy, as it is extremely difficult to get into. Although, he is in the top 30 students of his year group, I could see that due to all of the pressures, he still feels unconvinced about ever getting the opportunity to achieve his dream.

SKY study room.

The top 30 students in the year group also have a pass to the ‘SKY’ room where they can go for self-study.  As you can see, they have individual booths and it is just a place to go when they need to concentrate.

It appears that the answer to success, in this particular school and I believe across most of the schools in Korea, is definitely motivation and ambition. This may seem contradictory, especially when I could see during lessons and even at breaks and lunches, quite a few students sleeping.  The sleeping, however, is a consequence of the educational demands and with overworking. The students stay in school until 10pm to study!

Do to my arrival falling in exam week, on the second day, I was taken to a middle school in Gunpo.

The building is much more modern than Wongok High School.

I spoke to a member of staff who teaches the speaking and listening side of English. These teachers  -mostly from the USA - are referred to as the Native English teachers. Interestingly, the native speakers are those that focus on the speaking and listening of English and the Korean teachers who are fluent in the language, teach the reading and writing side (which would be the area that the students would be assessed on in their examinations).

When exams were over, I observed a variety of lessons.

I do think that a typical Wongok High School lesson is more lecture based. Many of the students are rather shy and do not like to speak out in front of others – not like our students at the Academy! When the teachers ask questions, only a select few will put their hands up or they chant answers in a class, perhaps as there is more security that way.

A Korean Literature lesson.

Although, there were some specially planned lessons for other teachers and myself to observe. It shows that the Korean teachers are capable of planning collaborative and interactive lessons if they wish to.

In the background, two students were selected to complete the work on the board and to explain what they did at the end of the lesson. In the foreground, you can see a student supporting another, who is struggling with the work.

Teachers moved around the room to support students during the tasks.

A student presenting their research and findings to the rest of the class in an Earth Science lesson.

The benefits of these types of lessons are obvious to the Koreans. Though the main concern is that this teaching style does not lend itself to supporting students in passing the rigorous examinations that they have at the end of the year.

I would like to end this entry with the highlight of the week, which was an observation of the Special Needs class. The staff had a wonderful relationship with the students and it was a pleasure to see this.

They were practising for the Chorus Competition which is a yearly event, taking place at the end of the Summer term. Their chosen song was “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid, Disney film.

I was so moved by what they had achieved and the determination that they had. This was definitely my favourite memory of the first week at Wongok High School.

Post written by Katey Man