Tuesday, March 2, 2010

Seoul National University



I am auditing the History of Korean Music at Seoul National University. I emailed the professor who is teaching the class to get permission and she emailed back and told me to read the text book as much as I could before class started. So, I got the book yesterday and started my first academic reading in Korean. Between the state of wakefulness and sleep, I understood maybe 30% of what I read. I was so frustrated!!! I will have to become best friends with the Korean-English dictionary.

So, today was the first day of class. I felt a little out of place because most people knew each other and were chatting away about their vacation in Japan, their new plastic surgery, their recent mole removal, their BFs and stuff. I was told that college students in Korea really dress up to go to school and it's true! Most of them were wearing heels. I am not sure if I can bring myself to assimilate to that kind of fashion culture. Maybe if there were hot guys but there were all girls including the professor. Plus even if there were guys, I would be about 10 years older than them. Anyway, while I was surveying the general atmosphere and dynamics among students, Dr. Kwon came in and passed out the syllabus and explained the course and ended the class early. It wasn't all that eventful but I was a little worried about all the stuff I didn't know. I talked to Dr. Kwon after class and she said she'll introduce me to people who are studying ethnomusicology so I wouldn't feel so lost. I was relieved that she was so nice. Lecture starts next week. Wish me luck!


2 comments:

  1. It's great that the professor is so accommodating and nice! I noticed that people were very dressed up for school when I went to visit 이대, but I think that culture kind of crept its way into the lives of Korean Americans. I'm definitely more dressed-up for classes than my fellow, non-Asian peers. Interesting...

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  2. I thought it was interesting that Korean Americans and the Koreans are going into opposite directions with fashion and dealing with modern culture. I did see a lot of men having all kinds of hairstyle and daring to wear pink sweater. Some of them are like right out from fashion magazine and I felt so left out. I was in subway pasting by the Hanyung University. All Star shoes are so popular. I heard that the Korean girls have to put make up and groom themselves from top to bottom before they get out. I myself in college years, waking up early morning for crew practice and having class right after crew, and I looked like crap.

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