My friend Michelle had taught in Korea for a year in the 1990s. Since she’d gotten married and I’d moved to the DC area, we didn’t communicate as much. She had no idea where I was, so I sent an e-mail to fill her in on my most recent move. Turns out I was with the same hakwon chain she’d been with. She’d been at the Gangnam branch, though.
Her response was a long, enthusiastic message reminiscing about her time in Korea. She had a wonderful time teaching adult English classes, eating dolsot bibimbap and exploring Seoul on the subways. Her work schedule was also lighter. She taught 07:00-11:00 and 18:00-21:00 (my schedule is 07:00-11:00 and 15:00-21:00). Hard to imagine pre-internet and pre-cellphone Korea.
She was really curious about how much things had changed in the 15+ years since she’d been here. “Do you have an ajumma housekeeper to cook and clean for you and the other teachers?” Haha! I had to tell her that many of the perks that teachers had in the 90s (and up until about 2008) have been disappearing, so I am the ajumma who cooks and cleans…especially since my roommate seems to have an allergy to mops and brooms. Honestly, I’d hate that. I enjoy cooking, and don’t mind doing laundry and cleaning my own space. I wouldn’t be comfortable with someone doing those things for me.
November 2012
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