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Natural Korean Conversation Podcast | 한국생활 요모조모 ♯11 고등학교 (High School 🎓) — Transcript

by Didi의 한국문화 Podcast · 5,186 words · 636 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01Yomojomo of Didi and Jeong Tae-woong's Korean Life
0:09Hello. I'm Didi.
0:11Hello. I'm Jeong Tae-woong.
0:13Yomojomo of Korean Life is a podcast where two people living in Korea talk about the ins and outs of Korean life.
0:19What was today's topic?
0:21Today's topic is the last part of the school series—high school.
0:27That's right. High school.
0:29The Korean school year starts in March.
0:32Isn't it February?
0:34March. Doesn't it start around March 1st or March 2nd?
0:39Oh, is that so?
0:40Yes.
0:41I think I spent Valentine's Day at school?
0:44That's...
0:45Is that too long ago?
0:46Huh? Isn't that when the last closing ceremony happens?
0:50Oh, was it?
0:51Yes.
0:52I think I left for a bit before spring break.
0:57I'm sorry. It's been about 10 years since I last attended school.
1:02Yes. So around May is the season for sports day and things like that. There's the athletic meet.
1:09That's right.
1:11High school is a time with so many memories like that, but when you think of high school, what comes to mind first for you, Teacher Tae-woong?
1:20In general?
1:21For you, Teacher Tae-woong.
1:23For me, I think the keyword "studying" is probably the most important, both generally and personally.
1:32I'm similar. It's not studying for me, but the Suneung. The Suneung comes to mind first.
1:38That's right.
1:40It feels like the first really important choice in your life.
1:48Yes. The Suneung. It's short for the College Scholastic Ability Test.
1:53That's right. It's the test you have to take to get into university.
1:57And I thought high school was a bit unique in that when you go from elementary school to middle school, I understand you can just choose and go to any school.
2:10Most schools are like that. But when you go from middle school to high school, you write down the high school you want to go to and you can go based on your grades, as I remember it.
2:24So if your grades didn't meet the cutoff, you couldn't go to the school you wanted.
2:29Was it like that from high school?
2:31Yes. I think it was like that from high school. It wasn't extremely strict, but there was still a certain grade cutoff, and you had to exceed that to get in.
2:42Hmm, I see. So a typical, ordinary high school.
2:49That's right. Even though it was just a high school in front of my house.
2:55The reason I'm reacting this way is that around the time I graduated from middle school, I didn't think I'd just go to some ordinary high school in the neighborhood.
3:11For some reason, I wanted to go to a boarding school in a different region about 100km away.
3:25Did anyone tell you to do that?
3:28No. I prepared an application and registered, and I went with my parents and took an interview and that's how I went to high school.
3:45Really? There were a lot more steps involved?
3:50That's right.
3:51What kind of school was it?
3:53It was a very small school, but honestly I don't really want to talk about it much.
3:58Because we're supposed to talk about Korean high schools on this Korean life podcast, and if I only talk about a school that was so far from the typical picture, it might seem a bit out of place.
4:15But anyway, for that time, it was a very small school.
4:21So there were only 60 students per grade.
4:27So the total number of students in grades 1, 2, and 3 was less than 200.
4:34And all the students lived in the dormitory attached to the school.
4:42Yes. And in terms of teaching and learning, like we talked about last time, there was taekwondo class too.
4:51Right. You said that happened?
4:53Yes. And we did some things that regular high schools don't adopt as classes.
5:02You learned some rather special subjects?
5:06Yes.
5:07Oh, I see.
5:08Yes.
5:09So since I went to a completely ordinary high school.
5:14Let's talk about that mainly.
5:16Please talk mainly about yourself, and share some of Tae-woong's experiences as well.
5:21Sounds good.
5:22I see. So as I was just saying, I write down the high school I want like this.
5:29First choice. The place I want to go to as my number one priority is here.
5:32I think I submitted it with first choice, second choice, and third choice.
5:35But back then, I originally wanted to go to a school with a pretty uniform.
5:43You know, leaving aside things like having lots of friends and all that.
5:46Because it's the last time I could wear a school uniform.
5:51Since the middle school uniform wasn't that pretty, I said I'd go to a place with a pretty uniform.
5:56But that place wasn't one where students studied well, you see.
6:01It wasn't a school with a high cutoff line.
6:03So my parents said no, and in the end I just went to
6:09a regular school with a regular uniform right in front of my house.
6:13But also, when students and parents are choosing for high school, they make some strategy.
6:19The way they do it is, on purpose, students who don't study very well?
6:26They go to a high school where there are a lot of students who don't study well,
6:29and if I'm number one there, that's what matters, right?
6:32If you study well, at a good high school, at a high school where students study well,
6:37you can get into a much better university than if you go with middle-tier grades.
6:44Does that make sense?
6:46So there were people who deliberately chose high schools that didn't have such high academic standards.
6:54But another opinion is that you should go where there are students who study hard,
7:01and you'll match that atmosphere and study that way too,
7:06so there are also people who go to places where there are friends who study a bit more seriously.
7:12So this is about Korean school life, or rather, entering university,
7:20the university entrance exam system—to explain it a bit more for foreign subscribers who don't know about it,
7:27when high school students go to university,
7:31I'm not sure if it's exactly 100% the same now, but anyway,
7:37it's probably similar.
7:40There are two methods you can choose when entering university.
7:47One system is
7:51that every year, every semester in high school, students take exams against each other, right?
8:00Right. Midterms and finals.
8:02Yes. So how many you rank in that high school,
8:06whether your grades are good or bad within that high school,
8:09you can see that.
8:11Then there's a system where that grade is important for entering university.
8:20And on the other hand, whether I came first or last in my high school doesn't matter,
8:27just when graduating from high school, almost all high school students
8:35all take this test called the Suneung together.
8:39All students go on the same day together,
8:44so high school grades don't matter,
8:48and depending on the Suneung test score that happens once a year,
8:53you can also apply to universities.
8:57So then it's a choice between getting first or second place within the high school
9:03or instead, with the national test, all together with school friends, cheering each other on,
9:08studying together and all doing well on the national test together,
9:12this kind of choice,
9:15that's what it seems like.
9:18Right. You choose one of those two.
9:21Yes. It's so tiresome.
9:26I mean, right.
9:28It was tough.
9:30Right. From the time you graduate middle school,
9:35Right. From when you graduate middle school, you have to think about it to some degree.
9:39What you're going to do.
9:41But as I mentioned in the last episode and the one before that,
9:48I was a child who endured,
9:52so when I went to high school, I was worried another day of enduring would come,
9:56and I wanted to find a somewhat different environment.
10:00You wanted to change your environment a bit.
10:02Yes.
10:05And how did that turn out?
10:09In many ways, things progressed differently from what I expected.
10:16Things progressed differently from what I expected.
10:21How about studying? It seems like you studied hard? In high school?
10:25I studied really hard.
10:27From first year?
10:28Yes.
10:29Teacher Tae-woong suddenly changed.
10:34I really changed before entering high school.
10:40And I experienced major side effects for a long time.
10:44Why?
10:46This is also so different from the high school story.
10:48Oh really?
10:50I'll go through it quickly and move on.
10:53I really didn't study well when I was in middle school.
10:57My grades were always at the bottom, I was a student ranked around 10th.
11:03There were about 400 students in the whole school.
11:07When we took midterms and finals like that.
11:10You'd see what rank you got in the whole school.
11:13But from what I remember, I probably never ranked in the top 300.
11:17Oh really? Completely at the bottom?
11:19Yes.
11:20I had no interest at all and just spaced out.
11:23And endured.
11:24And kept enduring.
11:27But somehow I ended up getting into the high school I wanted.
11:33I got into the high school I wanted.
11:38So once I got there, I felt like I couldn't fall behind if I didn't study, so.
11:45So I pulled myself together and studied hard during the break.
11:49It seems like I only studied the whole break.
11:51Oh from the break?
11:53Yes.
11:54Because I knew so well who I was in middle school.
11:58And actually I was disrespected by teachers.
12:03I felt like I was disrespected.
12:08So after studying the whole break like that.
12:12And entering high school.
12:14The first national mock exam of the first semester.
12:20So that's also all students in the school.
12:21All high school students who entered high schools across South Korea take it.
12:25Yes. That's the same thing. It's like a practice test for the college entrance exam.
12:29Right. Right.
12:30It's like a practice test for the college entrance exam.
12:33And I took it.
12:37There were probably various factors.
12:39At that time, everyone had just entered high school and it was the first test.
12:42So maybe they didn't study much.
12:45And that test isn't really the test to get into college.
12:49So maybe they took it carelessly.
12:52So because of that, among all the students in the country.
12:58My percentile came out in the top 5%.
13:04But it turned out that the school I had entered.
13:09Had various class content.
13:13It was famous for being a freer style in that kind of thing.
13:19So that school didn't have grades like that.
13:22It wasn't a school that was very famous for studying.
13:26I see.
13:27So since that school was created.
13:32I ended up being the student with the highest grades.
13:36You can imagine how the school was in an uproar.
13:39So at that time, the principal was my grandfather
13:46and he was quite stubborn. A bit
13:48And at that time, he happened to have the ambition to transform that school
13:53into one that sends many students to prestigious universities,
13:56a school that teaches students to study well.
14:02But then a student like me came along.
14:05A genius had arrived.
14:07So every evening when we did group cleaning in the dormitory,
14:15around 9 o'clock the students would go to bed
14:22and then go to the study room below the dormitory
14:25where students who want to study can study.
14:29So after all the cleaning is done and the lights are turned off,
14:35the students studying rush down from the dormitory to the study room.
14:41Most of them go down.
14:43So I also packed my books in my bag
14:47and went down the stairs to the study room hallway,
14:53and I remember it so clearly.
14:55In that dark hallway, the principal had his hands clasped behind his back
14:59and the principal also lived in the dormitory at night.
15:04So while the other kids around me were rushing to the study room,
15:09the principal spotted me and suddenly pulled me into a tight embrace.
15:15It was burdensome.
15:17And while patting my back,
15:23he said, "Tae-woong, where are you going to college? What major are you going to pursue?
15:27Medicine? Dentistry?" He spoke to me like that.
15:32So that's what happened.
15:37So the conclusion is that, isn't it.
15:39He must have sent me off with enormous expectations and pressure.
15:46Yes. And sadly,
15:51those expectations weren't just from the outside,
15:55I also had huge expectations for myself.
16:00So it was really the most difficult and stressful time in my life,
16:11I see.
16:13And it's a time I have a lot of regrets about. For me.
16:16Can I ask what kind of regrets you have?
16:19I just wasn't myself back then,
16:21like, I should have worked harder? That kind of thing?
16:22No. Absolutely not.
16:26I made futile efforts,
16:29and my values were negatively influenced a lot,
16:34as long as I study well, that's all that matters. I'm number one.
16:38I'm great. Because of that kind of thinking,
16:42it was like Sky Castle.
16:44Yes. I really hurt a lot of friends,
16:49and there were times I didn't treat teachers with respect either,
16:56I see.
16:58It was a mess.
17:01Oh my. So that's how it was.
17:05During middle school puberty, it was a mess to a degree that's incomparable. For me.
17:10How much pressure about studying and things like that I had,
17:16No. That's just an excuse,
17:20it was just a time when I confirmed my true self at the bottom.
17:23Mm. I see.
17:27But I hear things like this sometimes.
17:31I also had a friend around me who didn't study at all,
17:35and at some point he focused and suddenly did well,
17:39and suddenly got first place on the mock exam. Like that.
17:42When I hear things like this, it's really amazing.
17:46I wasn't particularly good at studying,
17:51but I've never gone a day without studying.
17:55I was always going to hagwons and always spending time at study cafes or places where people study,
18:01but I think I was the kind of kid who didn't really know how to study properly.
18:07I'd just keep writing things down in my notebook, but nothing would stick in my head,
18:10and I'd do it because I had to, but it wouldn't work.
18:14So when I see people say they did it once and suddenly their grades shot up, I find it amazing.
18:20Mm. I really like those kinds of friends.
18:25What do you mean?
18:26They just work hard, you know?
18:29Even if they can't do it well.
18:30Aren't those really precious friends?
18:31Even if it's a 60, they did their best.
18:35But in that test, results are the most important thing above all else,
18:43so you can't ignore it.
18:46Right. It's that competitive.
18:49This high school world.
18:53In my first and second years of high school, I just hung out with friends
18:59and did events and lived a pretty normal school life,
19:03but starting from third year of high school, I studied like a true test-taker,
19:08really pulling myself together and studying hard.
19:12It seems like this happens a lot.
19:15Don't you hear about it often? From people around you back then?
19:19What kind of talk?
19:21This is the last time in your life you'll study like this.
19:28You won't get another chance, this is your last opportunity,
19:32so work hard, that kind of thing.
19:35Just work hard for one year, that kind of thing.
19:37Your life will change.
19:38That's right.
19:41Oh, right.
19:42It could change or it might not,
19:48but if we're talking about getting your head on straight,
19:51it's not just that,
19:56but with that kind of thing, so the test to get into university,
20:01if a society is one where just getting into university can change your life, isn't that kind of society not very good?
20:14That's right. It seems like it would be a society with a lot of struggling people.
20:17That's true.
20:20I wish Korea would let high school students have more diverse experiences.
20:27Not just focus on studying.
20:31Yes.
20:32Like career-related things? Training or experiences they could try?
20:38That would be really good.
20:39I wish that kind of thing was set up better.
20:44It seems like it's increasing these days.
20:46Really?
20:47Yes.
20:48It's developing.
20:50Yes.
20:52So Teacher Tae-woong, you said you had some diverse subjects like that too, right?
20:58Yes.
20:59Besides taekwondo, was there something else that was fun? Something unusual you remember?
21:07Actually, there wasn't that much.
21:09Really?
21:11Was it like, I need to study?
21:15No. I did that too sometimes.
21:17No, literally, there really weren't any special classes like that.
21:25Really?
21:26Yes. Before I enrolled, they said there was farming.
21:33Yes.
21:34Students actually farm themselves?
21:36Yes.
21:37I actually went there having heard that story.
21:39Yes.
21:40But they weren't farming.
21:42Because the principal changed his mind.
21:46Yes.
21:48I see. That sounds fun.
21:50Yes. So the somewhat unique class I remember is human relationships.
22:00It sounds like a university class.
22:02Yes. And time management.
22:06Really?
22:08Yes. But that was actually.
22:09It is unusual.
22:11No, but that was actually just a time when other subject teachers would talk.
22:19Oh really? Experts didn't come?
22:22No. Not like a real time management expert or human relationships expert.
22:29What?
22:30The human relationships teacher seemed to be a music teacher.
22:35And the time management teacher seemed to be an art teacher.
22:39Really?
22:40So.
22:43So yes. The intention was good, like trying various things, but it wasn't systematic?
22:48Yes.
22:50That's too bad.
22:51No, but back then they were teachers in their own way.
22:54Was taekwondo class taught by the PE teacher?
22:56No, no, no. A taekwondo master came to teach taekwondo.
23:01I see.
23:02Yes. That was real.
23:05So you did it together with friends who didn't know taekwondo at all?
23:09Yes, that's right.
23:11That's fun.
23:12So we looked at how many people in that grade had already earned taekwondo belts, how many had black belts,
23:21and we had those kids be group leaders and things like that, and I did that too.
23:26That must have been fun. Did you do sparring and stuff like that?
23:29We didn't do sparring.
23:30Oh, you don't do sparring?
23:31Sparring is fighting, fighting.
23:32Fighting.
23:33How should I say it? Like sparring, going at it.
23:36Right.
23:38So you didn't do it.
23:39Yeah, if you did that kind of thing in high school it would be a big problem.
23:42It would be good for stress relief. But you can't do it.
23:45Yes, yes. That's how it was.
23:47That's how it was?
23:48Then there's something else I remember about the Korean high school system
23:54Was it an all-boys high school by any chance?
23:57Mine was coeducational.
23:58It was coeducational?
23:59Boys and girls together.
24:00Coeducational. Mine was coeducational too.
24:03But there's this thing. I think it probably still exists
24:07The split class system?
24:09Oh, that's right from back then. It existed.
24:11It existed? Was that how it was for you too, Teacher Tae-woong?
24:14No. I was in a combined class. We were together in one class.
24:17Split classes are in schools where boys and girls go to the same school
24:21You have classes like class 1, class 2, class 3
24:24Classes 1, 2, and 3 are for girls.
24:26Classes 4, 5, and 6 are for boys. That's how they divide them.
24:30But the reason why they divide them is really funny.
24:34It's so strange.
24:35It's really strange.
24:38It's really strange. But why do they divide them?
24:40That's because high school is a time when you need to focus on studying.
24:44Don't pay attention to anything else.
24:48Around high school age, some students start to develop romantic feelings,
24:54so to prevent that, to block that,
24:57they separate boys and girls.
25:00It just makes them more curious instead.
25:02Exactly. It seems like it just pumps them up more, you know?
25:05Exactly. They just wait for days when they meet together, like sports days or athletic competitions,
25:10The students wait for those days even more.
25:14The anticipation must explode.
25:16School trips and things like that.
25:18Maximum anticipation.
25:19Right.
25:21Actually, doesn't it seem more dangerous?
25:23It's a stupid system.
25:25Yes. It really seems like a system made without much deep thought.
25:33And there are things they could learn from communicating with boys and girls,
25:39but they just ban that kind of thing, and it's a bit
25:44I have one thought that I've had since way back related to this.
25:58The gaps that happen during adolescence,
26:04In other words, the differences that develop from person to person,
26:07After you get through that adolescence, there are cases where you almost can't overcome them,
26:13There are certain categories, you know.
26:15For example?
26:16For example, during growth and adolescence, one person might not have grown very tall,
26:24but another person might have grown really tall.
26:28Then after that growth period is completely over and everyone becomes an adult,
26:33you can't overcome that difference, right?
26:37Unless surgery or something comes out later.
26:41And also with playing instruments,
26:46If someone learned guitar or piano or something consistently during adolescence,
26:53when you become an adult and try to start that from the beginning, you often can't keep up.
27:00So you're saying that gaps that open up when you're young are hard to close when you're an adult?
27:07That's right.
27:09But I think the way you relate to the opposite sex might be similar.
27:17Something you need to learn when you're young,
27:20Right. You need to learn it by experiencing it with your body.
27:24You shouldn't talk to the opposite sex this way,
27:29And the opposite sex thinks this way,
27:34You need to experience those things with your body and internalize them,
27:38In other words, you need to get it into your body,
27:42But I've talked a lot with girls since way back,
27:48So I'm a bit more comfortable with it.
27:51Most of all, I grew up with my older sister when I was young,
27:55But when I look back after becoming an adult,
28:00There are definitely some friends who can't get the sense of it,
28:04And when you look at them, those are exactly the friends who only went to boys' schools.
28:10That's right. There are cases like that.
28:14Friends who came out of all-girls high schools too,
28:17There were friends who didn't understand each other well and things like that.
28:21Is it the same for girls?
28:24It's an important period. That time is
28:26That's right.
28:27It's a time when you can learn many things, you know.
28:30That's right.
28:32Class divisions. Oh, but there was something else interesting. Class divisions, but
28:36Was it English class or math class?
28:40Those important classes were also mixed.
28:43Why?
28:44I'm not entirely sure about that.
28:46What was the criteria?
28:48They were important subjects. Specifically English and math.
28:52English and math.
28:53I think it's because they divided by level. From what I remember,
28:57They gave that test to boys and girls
29:00And I think they created an upper class, middle class, and lower class like that.
29:06But if you're going to do it that way,
29:08Wouldn't that be amazing?
29:11It would make people study harder.
29:12Everyone would want to get into the coed class next semester,
29:17So they'd study like crazy.
29:18Really? Would they?
29:20Don't you think so?
29:22I think there could be that kind of effect too.
29:24If it were me, I'd do it that way.
29:27But it's so funny.
29:29It's so funny.
29:30It's so funny.
29:31It's so funny.
29:33It's so funny.
29:35If it were me, I'd do it that way.
29:38But actually, students who study pretty hard
29:41Often aren't interested in that kind of thing.
29:46But for students who want to hang out with boys and girls together,
29:50It could be good motivation.
29:52Motivation.
29:53That's right.
29:57If you were principal, Teacher Tae-woong.
30:01If it were me, I think I'd do that for all subjects.
30:06That's fun. It's practical.
30:10This is something I talked about on my channel before with Didi,
30:17It's Abe Hiroshi-style four-country language.
30:20Really?
30:21Somehow it seems to fit.
30:24Like, "Omahera!" you know?
30:27"Omahera! If you want to be in a coed class, study!" Like that.
30:33High school is when you're just as interested in the opposite sex as you are in studying.
30:38That's true. Actually, in classes that repeat the same thing every day,
30:45I think we went for that fun.
30:47We'd go around talking about who and who and this and that,
30:50And talk about what the teacher did and that,
30:53We went for the fun of gossiping.
30:58That's right.
30:59You did too, Teacher Tae-woong?
31:01Yes. And especially that water,
31:06The stories within that society happened a lot.
31:15Like, what that person is like and what those people are like and what that teacher is like,
31:20And what those people and those people are like,
31:23That seemed like a really important issue.
31:26Friends were really important back then.
31:36Female students especially have that tendency.
31:40There's that image.
31:43Like, they form groups and cliques and go around?
31:51But because I was in a divided class, the whole class was girls,
32:00I think we were all close with each other overall.
32:04There were some groups of friends who were a bit closer to each other,
32:08but still, it seems like we were all close together.
32:11Instead, if I was in class 4, I would talk about what happened in class 5,
32:16things that happened in other classes like that all the time, it seems.
32:23We were pretty well-knit.
32:25Yes. We were close with everyone.
32:29When it's like that, it seems like a case that worked out pretty well,
32:35but if it were different from that,
32:38in other classes too, 3 or 4 people would stick together tightly,
32:43and there are cases where small groups like that stick together tightly.
32:48How was it for you, Teacher Tae-woong?
32:51For girls, they divided into several small groups like that,
32:58but for boys, it was just group 1 or group 2.
33:03Group 1 is the kids who can fight well.
33:09So that still existed.
33:11Did the tough group exist even in high school? We didn't have that. Not really.
33:16It's not exactly a tough group,
33:19but the image was a bit
33:21flashy and showy.
33:23Right. Right. The so-called delinquent vibe,
33:29kids who cared a lot about their appearance,
33:34and high school students who had already tried drinking,
33:40that kind of group existed,
33:42group 1?
33:43Yes. And then there was group 2, which wasn't like that,
33:47Oh really?
33:49Group 1 was a bit, and group 2 was the majority.
33:53Oh but
33:54It wasn't like that either?
33:56Were there a lot of kids like that?
33:59It's ambiguous.
34:01Were you in group 1, Teacher Tae-woong?
34:03No.
34:05Were you in group 2?
34:07I wasn't in either group 1 or group 2.
34:09Then what were you?
34:10I mean, so
34:13Did you not have a group, maybe?
34:15I didn't have a group.
34:18A lonely
34:22a lonely school life.
34:24But I heard this from someone who told me before,
34:29back in high school, those groups,
34:33there were several groups of girls,
34:36and in one of those groups,
34:39the kids in our school, our grade,
34:43they classified all the data.
34:46So this group is these people,
34:49this group is these people,
34:52and for the boys it's either this side or that side,
34:55so this one is the popular group,
35:00this one is the unpopular group,
35:03they classified everything like that.
35:06How cute. Sounds like they were bored.
35:11But the friend who told me about that
35:16was a close male friend of mine, a boy friend,
35:20and that friend had a certain pride about it.
35:25What kind of pride was it?
35:27He said his interpersonal relationships had a wide range,
35:31I got along well with everyone across the board,
35:34so I could fit in with both group 1 and group 2—
35:37that's the kind of person I was.
35:40That's what she said about herself.
35:43But group 1 seemed to be
35:45bullying group 2 a bit,
35:50so she couldn't bring herself to join group 2 because her pride was hurt.
35:54Yeah, that could happen.
35:56So I thought of her as someone caught in the middle,
36:00but when those girls were categorizing people,
36:04they put that friend into group 1.
36:09So she was really taken aback,
36:12but the only person she
36:14described as that in-between person
36:18was me.
36:20Yeah, jealousy.
36:22That must have been it.
36:26I see.
36:28Anyway, it seems like groups divide between boys and girls like that.
36:34As I was listening, I remembered something—
36:37at my school, the boys had a soccer group
36:43and a basketball group,
36:45there were the boys who played soccer,
36:47and there were the boys who played basketball,
36:49and then there were the others.
36:53Was it because there were so many students?
36:55Maybe that's why?
36:58It's hard to categorize groups,
37:01but the kids who played soccer and basketball
37:03were always visible at lunchtime, you know?
37:06They really stood out.
37:08So I thought, "Those guys, those guys,"
37:10and then the rest, like that.
37:16But we were divided into separate classes.
37:19So between them,
37:22there might have been invisible
37:24group structures that we didn't even know about.
37:29That must have been it.
37:31Yeah, probably.
37:33I don't think I was that interested in science either,
37:40and I'll talk about this in the next episode,
37:43but I really liked hanging out with teachers and stuff like that.
37:46In high school.
37:48In high school?
37:49Like, during breaks I'd go to the staff room and talk with friends
37:55and had experiences like that.
37:58That sounds really nice.
38:01I'll go into more detail about it in the next episode.
38:04Sounds good.
38:06So how was the college entrance exam for you? Did you take it, Tae-woong?
38:09Did you take the exam?
38:11I bombed the college entrance exam.
38:15To tell you the conclusion first—
38:17Yeah, I completely messed up the exam.
38:20You really wanted to do well but ended up bombing it?
38:23That's right.
38:26I really wanted to do well but completely messed it up,
38:30and after that—
38:32after that—
38:34I found myself again, you could say.
38:38It turned out to be a great opportunity.
38:40Absolutely. Absolutely.
38:42But I still don't understand why people
38:46stake their lives on university like that.
38:49I didn't understand it back then either,
38:51and I still don't quite get it.
38:55That's right.
38:56South Korea
38:58is intense.
39:01It's an interesting country.
39:05It seems like an unforgettable memory.
39:09How about that? Should we
39:11wrap up high school here? End the school series?
39:14Yes. It feels like
39:16it's ending on a rather bitter note.
39:20And to finish things a bit more cheerfully,
39:25after high school ended and I took the college entrance exam like that,
39:29and went to university,
39:32I was really happy.
39:34Not having to study anymore
39:37felt so good,
39:39and after that, I could really do whatever I wanted—
39:42travel around,
39:44hang out with friends whenever I felt like it,
39:47and that was great.
39:49So just in case,
39:50Right. There are probably people in other countries right now
39:53studying hard for university,
39:59and when it ends,
40:01Yes, so let's wrap up here for today,
40:10and next week's topic is something we've been thinking about,
40:14and as a continuation, I'd like to talk about teachers.
40:20Because this episode and the next episode will be released,
40:23and the next day is Teachers' Day,
40:25so we'll talk about teachers from various angles.
40:29Yes, so this has been Didi and Jeong Tae-woong. Thank you.

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This page contains the full transcript of Natural Korean Conversation Podcast | 한국생활 요모조모 ♯11 고등학교 (High School 🎓) by Didi의 한국문화 Podcast, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 5,186 words across 636 segments, with the original timestamps preserved so you can click any line to jump to that moment in the embedded player.

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