The Harsh Reality of Childhood: Korean Context

Hi folks,

Here's what's up:

I went to my friend's wedding on Saturday. She got married in "Laboum" Wedding Hall here in Gwangju. In Korea, there isn't a lot of space and everybody is working all the time. In response, everyone gets married on Saturday or Sunday at a wedding hall. Couples book a wedding room for an hour and then a reception hall for another hour. There's a lot of comings and goings as one wedding celebration comes in and the previous one leaves. It's a little chaotic at times but it's a pretty place and a good chance to see people you haven't met in a long time. Plus Korean people are trendy and fashionable regardless, but they try to look exceptional at weddings. 

-----------------

Yesterday was American thanksgiving, so today my class had a pizza party to celebrate. I made them do thanksgiving cards that they could give to anyone they wanted. At first I was pretty worried because my grade 3s were like, "I'm not thankful for anything!!" but as the ball got rolling they started to think of some things. Maybe it's because they're kids, or maybe it's because they've never had to do without, but to be honest I found their answers to be a little lame. They were thankful for eating or for their top-of-the-line Samsung smartphones, but fortunately a couple of them were serious and thankful for their parents or the friendships they had. 

I'm deeply moved by what I hope is an error in communication, and not actual tragedy. One of my smart, pleasant, wonderful GRADE 3 (that's 10 years old, people) students wrote a card addressed to herself. She wrote some of it in Korean, and my co-teacher translated it, astonished. This sweet student had thanked herself for talking herself down from a suicide attempt! 

I couldn't believe it, my co-teacher re-checked with her, and the student even did charades to get her point across. Some of the other students heard what was written in the card and chimed in about their own suicide attempts. I just can't get over how shameless they seemed about it... Maybe it was a moment of peer pressure, or maybe they were serious, I'm not sure. Either way, it is a thing I'm mad these young children have faced. 

---------

I guess on a related note, I went for coffee with a fellow teacher from workshop this evening (it's Friday), and afterwards it was 7pm. We were walking to the Damyang bus terminal in the cold and the dark, and there were simply too many students just leaving schools and private tutoring academies. MY students who should be having a nurturing childhood of their own instead of having a math textbook for a companion. Ugh. The perceived cost of success is one of the ugliest facets of Korean society in my opinion.

----------

(Post-publish edit)

I had wanted to write more about this but I forgot what I wanted to say, so I published this post anyway.
After talking with my mom, she brought up the point I wanted to raise.

In retrospect I should have been more happy that my student was able to talk herself down, so to speak. I mean, the reason I was shocked was because it's such a serious thing for a little girl to deal with, and the reason it's serious is because it's an incredibly high-cost decision to make. It takes a lot of desperation and will to come to the conclusion that it would be better to cease living than continue, but it takes a greater amount of courage and will to find a reason to continue living, in spite of the option of ending it all.

What I'm trying to say is that I should have (and now do) celebrated my student's courage and determination.