Hey Teacher Leave Those Kids Alone!

Corporal punishment is alive and well in Korea!

I was walking to the staff room today for some brown rice tea when I heard a loud harsh voice shouting in Hangu, I turned around just in time to watch a grown man slap a little seven-year-old boy in the face. The little boy then started to cry and the teacher slapped him again. I could literally hear the little boy's nose break.

I felt pretty useless.

There are a million reasons why I couldn't interfere. I don't speak Hangu so I could not begin to understand the situation, nor could I effectively conduct an intervention. I also thought that it might be culturally insensitive to interfere. I didn't want to come off as a "holier than thou Westerner" who forces their seemingly liberal beliefs onto other cultures. As a foreign female teacher I am also pretty low on the totem pole that is the school's hierarchy; intervening would have been professional suicide. This incident made the day seem especially long and I was second guessing my course of action (i.e ignoring the bloody seven -year- old nose) for hours. My co-teacher told me that I did the right thing and that slapping and kicking children is quite commonplace-especially from the young male teachers.

So at the end of the work day, to cheer myself up, I decided that instead of going home to clean and plan lessons I was going to go hiking in Incheon Grand Park.

I spent an hour on the bus trying to figure out if I was in the right place. I brought my English to Hangu dictionairy with me, but it didn't really help. I'm kind of like a functioning illiterate person in Korea. I can guess and kind of understand but I'm really relying on the kindness of strangers.
After another Westerner told me when to get off the bus I found myself in an amazing and stunning green area(the first I've seen in a week)! Right now the trees in the park are erupting with cherry blossoms, ducks are everywhere, and there is a week long kite-flying contest. I sat beneath a tree and watched the kites swoop around for awhile, then I found a hiking trail and began my climb. Thirty minutes later I was at the top of a foot-hill that overlooks the city. Except for one old man practicing Tai Chi I was completely alone for an hour. It was lovely to get away from the craziness of the city.

The park has tons of hiking trails, a big pond, bike rentals, and a Zoo(with what's rumored to be an exceptional monkey watching arena)!

I think I'll become a regular park attendee.