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Natural Korean Conversation Podcast | 한국생활 요모조모 ♯9 초등학교 (Elementary School🏫) — Transcript

by Didi의 한국문화 Podcast · 5,842 words · 841 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:01Didi and Jeong Tae-woong's Yomojomo of Korean Life
0:09Hello, this is Didi.
0:11Hello, this is Jeong Tae-woong.
0:13Yomojomo of Korean Life is a podcast where two people living in Korea talk about the various aspects of Korean life.
0:20Yes, and today is the ninth episode, already the ninth episode.
0:24What was today's topic?
0:26Wow, already the ninth episode.
0:29Today's topic is elementary school.
0:33We're going to talk about our elementary school days.
0:38Elementary school.
0:41First, let me briefly explain the Korean education system structure.
0:46In Korea, it's structured as six years of elementary school, three years of middle school, and three years of high school.
0:54That's right. It's a long time if you think of it as long, and short if you think of it as short.
1:00Yes, so among those, elementary school is the longest.
1:04Six years. Six years.
1:07Teacher Tae-woong, which elementary school did you graduate from?
1:11I moved several times,
1:17so I attended three different elementary schools.
1:21So when I started in first grade, I enrolled at an elementary school in Haeundae, Busan,
1:29and around the end of first grade, to a place called Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do, Korea,
1:39Suddenly?
1:41At that time, my family moved because of my father's work,
1:46so it was so out of the blue.
1:49Jecheon?
1:50Yes, in a place called Jecheon in Chungcheongbuk-do, I attended elementary school from around second grade.
1:57And then at the end of fifth grade,
2:01You attended for a long time.
2:03Yes, I attended for a long time, and around the end of fifth grade I came back to Busan,
2:08and I graduated from a school in Busan.
2:11Is it a different place from your first school?
2:13Yes.
2:14You transferred schools a lot.
2:17I transferred once too.
2:19So I attended two different schools during elementary school.
2:23I was in Daegu until fifth grade,
2:28and for the last fifth and sixth grades I moved to Gyeonggi-do and attended school here.
2:34And after that you've been living in Gyeonggi-do the whole time?
2:37After that I've been in Gyeonggi-do the whole time,
2:39and I only transferred schools during elementary school.
2:43It's been quite a while since you've lived in Gyeonggi-do.
2:46It's been a while.
2:48It's been even longer now, right?
2:50I've lived here longer than I lived in Daegu.
2:52That's right.
2:53Teacher Tae-woong, so when you transferred, were you okay?
2:56Did you adapt well?
2:58Back then I didn't know anything,
3:00Really?
3:01When I first went from Busan,
3:05it was when I was eight years old in first grade,
3:09So eight years old in Korean age.
3:11Oh that's right.
3:13What, like seven years old?
3:15That's right.
3:16So around six or seven years old.
3:19Back then I didn't know anything,
3:23so I think I just adapted very naturally.
3:27Did you ever get teased because of the dialect?
3:30I remember that, but I didn't get teased.
3:35But the friends I first met back then
3:40Wow, he uses dialect like that so much.
3:43Was it interesting?
3:44Yes, I remember doing it that way.
3:46That's kind.
3:48They were really kind friends.
3:50You must have been the same way, right Didi?
3:54Because you use dialect in Daegu.
3:56I didn't have friends who made fun of me
4:01but there were friends who would kind of say "this guy is a bit weird."
4:07Oh, you know, it's like that kind of thing.
4:11Because the way of speaking and words are a bit different.
4:14Like "natning-gu" or something. "Merry has."
4:18What's that? It's "nat," right? In standard Korean it's "nat."
4:22But when I speak using dialect words
4:25they would just laugh a lot.
4:29They didn't make fun of me, but there were friends who laughed.
4:34So when you think back to elementary school, how does it feel?
4:40For me, it was really different between when I went to school in Daegu and when I went in Gyeonggi Province
4:45When I was in Daegu, I liked studying.
4:51I wanted to be good at studying.
4:53I wanted to be first, I had a lot of ambition about studying back then.
4:58In elementary school?
4:59Yes, I studied the hardest in elementary school.
5:02Wow.
5:05I think I just liked being praised.
5:09So when I'd rank like top few in the whole school
5:13I liked seeing my parents be happy about it
5:17so I studied hard, but when you're young studying is easy, right?
5:23Tests are easy things anyway
5:27I was doing well, but as I went up grades it got harder.
5:31No matter how much I studied, I couldn't do it.
5:34So gradually I couldn't get the grades I wanted
5:38and right at that moment we moved to Gyeonggi Province
5:42I had to adapt and also the friends I used to play with were different
5:47and because of all this, they weren't friends who studied.
5:50When I came here, they were just ordinary friends who liked to play
5:56and from then on, I think I stopped studying.
5:59You were influenced by your friends.
6:01That's part of it, or maybe I was adapting to the environment?
6:04Wow, that's impressive.
6:08You wanted to be good at studying back then.
6:11Back then I really had a lot of ambition. About studying.
6:15Oh, because I had a best friend back then
6:19I was on the third floor and that friend lived a bit higher up.
6:24We were friends in the same apartment so we played all the time
6:28and that friend was good at studying. My best friend.
6:32I think I was definitely influenced a lot by that.
6:34It was kind of like a rivalry, I had to win.
6:37I had to do better than you, that kind of feeling, I think that's why.
6:41By the way, that friend became a teacher now.
6:44Oh really?
6:46By continuing to study hard.
6:49Definitely when you're young you get influenced a lot by the friends around you.
6:54Right. That's everything.
6:58How was it for you, Teacher Tae-woong? In elementary school.
7:01I really had no thoughts.
7:04You had no thoughts?
7:06Yes. Like the level of an old cat or dog?
7:15To that extent?
7:17When you look at cats, they know how to open doors, right?
7:21I think I was at that kind of level.
7:24Oh really?
7:29I'd just eat whatever food came out, play when there was time to play, and take tests when told to.
7:35And when my mom sent me to hagwons, I'd go to hagwons.
7:40My mom sent me to taekwondo, so I went to taekwondo hagwon.
7:44And when my mom taught me piano, I'd practice piano.
7:50Were you a well-behaved cat?
7:52No.
7:54Why didn't you listen?
7:56I think I was really unusual.
7:59Even when I really didn't want to do something, I wouldn't throw a tantrum or get angry.
8:07I'd just endure it and do it reluctantly.
8:14Oh really? You didn't cleverly avoid doing it?
8:18But because of that, I'd show up consistently, but I wouldn't work hard once I was there.
8:26Same with hagwons and school?
8:28Yes. It was always a series of enduring for me.
8:32You were an enduring cat.
8:35Like, once the 50-minute class time ends, there's break time, right?
8:4040 minutes left. 30 minutes left.
8:47That's when I learned what patience is.
8:49Ah, I see.
8:51The way to endure.
8:52Yes. So I'm good at waiting and things like that.
8:57Really?
8:58Yes.
8:59But I think that's also an important part of education.
9:04That's right.
9:06So Teacher Taeyong, which hagwons did you go to in elementary school?
9:09In elementary school, I went to a seodang.
9:16A seodang? What year were you born?
9:21A seodang is...
9:23A seodang? What kind of place is it?
9:26There was a place in Korea called a seodang.
9:28I'm not sure if it still exists.
9:31That's a term from the Joseon era, right?
9:34Yes. It's a hagwon that teaches Chinese characters.
9:38Ah, so that's what they called a seodang.
9:41It's a Chinese character hagwon.
9:43That's right. That's right. A Chinese character hagwon.
9:45I even remember the name. It was called Imun Seodang.
9:49So it was next to that school.
9:52When you went to Imun Seodang, you'd sit on the floor.
9:56And with the seodang teacher.
10:00Korean learners learn Korean Chinese characters.
10:03Cheonjamun, Myeongshimbogyeom?
10:07No, it wasn't Myeongshimbogyeom, but anyway.
10:10Anyway, we'd really write and memorize Chinese characters like that.
10:14I did things like that first.
10:16Back then, Chinese characters were important.
10:18Even when we were in elementary school.
10:20That's right. They were much more important than now.
10:23I've forgotten it all now though.
10:27Anyway, I went to a Chinese character hagwon like that too.
10:31And I went to taekwondo hagwon for a really long time.
10:40Did you go from age 7 straight through?
10:44Until when?
10:45Until before high school entrance?
10:51You really went for a long time.
10:52This is the first time I've met someone who went for that long.
10:55Yes. So for reference, I'm a 4th dan.
10:59Oh. A black belt holder.
11:02There are ranks starting from 1st dan.
11:061st dan, 2nd dan, 3rd dan, 4th dan.
11:08I got up to 4th dan like that.
11:11So with 4th dan, you can become an instructor.
11:15It suits you really well. Instructor.
11:17Really? That's interesting.
11:19I hear people say that kind of thing often.
11:21It suits you really well.
11:24But it doesn't suit me.
11:27Usually in Korea, taekwondo is
11:30something kids do because they have so much energy,
11:33and after school, kind of to kill time
11:36and get some exercise, so parents send them,
11:39and it seems like a lot of friends went during elementary school,
11:42but you went all the way through middle and high school.
11:46Not high school,
11:48just up until right before high school?
11:50Yes. I went until middle school.
11:53And actually, in high school
11:56there was a taekwondo class.
11:58At school?
11:59Yes. I'll tell you about that later in the high school episode.
12:03So in first year of high school, I got my 4th dan instructor rank.
12:08To that extent.
12:10That's awesome.
12:11Anyway. Anyway, and.
12:13Okay. Okay.
12:14And then English hagwon, math hagwon.
12:18And was it when you graduated elementary school?
12:25No. You went to drum hagwon in middle school.
12:31Yes. And I can't remember any other hagwons.
12:33What about piano?
12:34Huh?
12:34Piano.
12:35Oh. Piano was something my mother
12:40when I was really young in Busan, at a piano teaching place,
12:44a piano hagwon that she ran.
12:46Wow. Yes.
12:47So back then my older sister and I, mom made us do it,
12:52but I wasn't very diligent about it,
12:55and I really didn't want to do it, so I was just going through the motions half-heartedly, and it was so obvious
13:01that she stopped making me do it.
13:04She tried for a bit and then stopped.
13:06Oh really? You can't play piano now?
13:07I can't.
13:09I really regret it.
13:13If only I'd stuck with it a bit more.
13:15Right.
13:15I guess I really hated piano.
13:17I should have stuck with it properly.
13:20And also, if my mother had been teaching me,
13:23wouldn't I have been less half-hearted about it?
13:25That's right.
13:26Because it wouldn't have been scary.
13:28Right. Right.
13:30Anyway, that's how it was.
13:32What about you, Didi?
13:34Oh, I went to something a bit unusual, kind of like a traditional study room,
13:39I learned the abacus.
13:40Oh, really?
13:42Yeah.
13:43So you actually learned that.
13:45Like this abacus. What do you call it?
13:47A calculator. A traditional calculator.
13:51I learned that, and through it I learned mental math.
13:55So even now when I do mental math, I use the abacus method.
13:59That's really amazing.
14:02The abacus.
14:02But I heard calculations with that are really fast?
14:07Yes.
14:08Oh, you can really do it?
14:10No, like big numbers like 63,000, I can't do those.
14:15Just simple ones.
14:17Like when calculating how much money came in, things like that.
14:20I see.
14:23There are some interesting academies.
14:25I went to an abacus academy back when I was studying hard.
14:30In Daegu.
14:3064 hundred is 37 plus 25.
14:3552?
14:36Wow.
14:37I'm not sure.
14:37Wow.
14:38We should check.
14:38We need to verify that.
14:40That's how it works.
14:41Wow.
14:45You seem like a genius.
14:46Really?
14:48It could be wrong.
14:50Wow, that's shocking.
14:52Anyway, I went to abacus academy
14:56and I took piano lessons too.
14:57I think I played piano throughout elementary school.
15:00And what else did I do?
15:02Art academy. I went to art academy too.
15:05Oh yes.
15:06I went to art academy
15:09for quite a long time before I started elementary school.
15:13And for sports, I did swimming.
15:18Wow, you did good things.
15:20Yes. I learned swimming for about 2 or 3 years.
15:26That's about what I remember.
15:28I probably went to math academy and English academy too.
15:31Looking at it this way, Korean elementary school kids really live busily, don't they?
15:37Exactly.
15:38It's busy. When do you play?
15:40But I think that's been the case since my generation.
15:45Oh really?
15:46Don't you think so?
15:50From what I've heard,
15:52our parents' generation had nothing to do when they were young
15:56and there was a lot of longing to learn things like that,
16:01so they wanted their children to learn piano
16:04and learn sports and things like that, or so I've heard.
16:11Parents' hearts seem to be similar.
16:15So now, on the other hand, people of my generation
16:19might think they should let their kids play, I think there are parents like that.
16:25I hope there are many parents like that.
16:30So Teacher Tae-woong, in the midst of all that continuous struggle,
16:34what time did you like the most? When you were in elementary school?
16:39Did you play games back then?
16:40I think I did play games.
16:44MapleStory?
16:45I played MapleStory for a bit but then quit.
16:50Because the levels wouldn't go up and it was frustrating.
16:53I quit.
16:56Back then, levels really didn't go up easily.
16:58That's right. It seems different these days.
17:02I couldn't play StarCraft because I didn't know English.
17:07There were a lot of walls.
17:08Yes, and I think I did a lot of other things too.
17:12Back in the day, there were Flash games, you know?
17:20Just Flash games you'd access through the internet.
17:24Right, those were popular. Everyone played them.
17:26Yes, I played a lot of those kinds of games.
17:28And my parents didn't really restrict games or anything like that.
17:34They let me play pretty freely.
17:41So back then they even bought me CDs like White Heart Dressing Room games.
17:48And when Harry Potter 1 came out, they bought that for me too.
17:54And all the happy times were times unrelated to school.
17:59That's fine.
18:01I liked putting together Legos.
18:03Wow, I even went to a Lego academy for a bit.
18:06There was an academy for that?
18:08Yes, something like Utopia? I don't remember the name well.
18:12You'd go and make Legos and that kind of academy, I guess you'd call it?
18:17A play room?
18:17Spending time, yes that's right.
18:19Thinking about it now, a play room? Like a kids' cafe feeling.
18:25You liked Legos?
18:26Yes, so I would put together Legos.
18:29And with those assembled Legos, I would spread my wings of imagination.
18:35Playing with imagination was the most fun for me.
18:39I see.
18:42And I liked drawing pictures.
18:46Really?
18:46Yes.
18:48You know that old thing?
18:49Drawing games in a notebook.
18:51I did that a lot.
18:54Right? Notebook games.
18:56Drawing pictures and items and all that.
18:58That's right.
19:00I was a really key person. I was.
19:04In charge of development?
19:05Yes, I was in charge of development.
19:07So you were an idea bank from back then.
19:09Oh, that's true.
19:12Did you draw pictures too? What kind of pictures?
19:15Well, monsters, swords, things like that.
19:20That's cute.
19:23So you had that kind of time.
19:26Because I really liked those kinds of things,
19:29my mother even took me to an art academy once.
19:33And then what?
19:34But it wasn't the kind of art I wanted.
19:39Oh, I wanted to draw monsters but they told me to draw apples.
19:42So that's it.
19:44So you gave up again, I see.
19:47You gave up, didn't you.
19:48Yes.
19:51I wish I'd been born 30 years later.
19:54Why?
19:55Ah, to pursue my interests more.
20:01Host Didi's Korean Culture Podcast is like a door to expand Korean language materials, you could say?
20:09There's a lot more of that these days. Back then there wasn't much like that.
20:15Go ahead and expand freely now, Teacher Tae-woong. It's not too late.
20:19I'm working hard on it these days.
20:22Good. So when you think back to elementary school, do you only have memories of playing like that?
20:31It seems that way.
20:34I heard you were really popular in elementary school, Teacher Tae-woong.
20:37That's right, that's right. I was really popular when I was in elementary school.
20:42So I asked if you were good at running, but apparently that wasn't it.
20:47Back in elementary school, the boys who were good at running and played soccer were the popular ones. Because they were active and all that.
20:57I was active, though.
21:00And had lots of friends.
21:02Had lots of friends. And how should I put it? It wasn't just in elementary school for me—it was like that all the way through middle and high school too.
21:18I was generally close friends with all the boys in my class.
21:28We'll talk about this in more detail later in the middle and high school episode.
21:33You were a total insider.
21:36But it wasn't like I was outgoing and talkative in that insider way—it was more like, "Hey, he gets along with everyone," that kind of feeling.
21:48Like, "He's cool with everyone," that kind of vibe.
21:53When I think carefully about why I was so popular, besides my looks, I don't think there was anything particularly special.
22:07You must have been incredibly cute.
22:09I think that was it.
22:11Please send me a photo, Teacher Tae-woong.
22:13But I looked for photos.
22:15You don't have any?
22:16I only have them from when I was in kindergarten.
22:19That's fine. Show me little Tae-woong.
22:22Understood. Should I send you the photo? Or should I show you now?
22:26Let me see first. It's hard to see. You're cute.
22:32Can't you see it?
22:33You're cute. You look like a rich kid.
22:36Is that so?
22:37That kind of feeling.
22:38You have dimples.
22:41So you melted the hearts of elementary schoolers with those dimples.
22:45Actually, you can see it on all elementary schoolers' faces.
22:49But was it because of the dimples?
22:51That's interesting.
22:53Right. I wasn't good at soccer, and I wasn't good at running.
23:03And you had a good personality.
23:05My personality didn't seem to have any weak points. In elementary school. I seemed to have no weak points in elementary school.
23:14So I was good at singing... oh, I did sing.
23:19Why did you sing?
23:20I was in the choir.
23:22Really?
23:23Yes. I was in the choir. The school choir.
23:28That school choir went to competitions and won awards and all that.
23:32Anyway.
23:34So I think it was mostly because I was cute-looking.
23:39So the older girls in the choir really liked me too.
23:43So why I'm talking about being popular is—
23:48Honestly, if I just say I was popular, it could be my imagination.
23:53The reason I remember it that way is—
23:56Every single year, on Valentine's Day, White Day, Pepero Day, and all those days, my desk was full of gifts.
24:12Just your desk, Teacher Tae-woong?
24:14Yes.
24:17What's wrong?
24:19Right, right.
24:21I'm envious.
24:22So really, every school year, every single year there was some kind of day like that.
24:29Every occasion where we'd exchange snacks and gifts.
24:33I always used to stack them up on my desk.
24:37You could say I admired them?
24:42I'd build them up like a tower to show off.
24:45I see. Really, that's something.
24:47Yes. That's what I did.
24:50Did you do things like being class president?
24:52Class president. I don't think I ever did it in elementary school.
24:58I wasn't that noticeable.
25:01Yes. So I didn't step forward.
25:05I guess I must have been pretty cute back then.
25:07I guess so.
25:10My older sister talks about that a lot too.
25:13She says I was really cute when I was little, but look at me now.
25:21I see.
25:22Now it's just like this.
25:25Those were completely happy times, weren't they?
25:27They were.
25:28You didn't have a girlfriend? In elementary school?
25:30I don't think I did.
25:34Really?
25:36Did I?
25:39But you were so popular?
25:41So that's why you didn't?
25:45You just enjoyed it?
25:46I guess so.
25:48What about your girl friends?
25:51Back then I got along well with all the boys.
25:54And I had a lot of girl friends too.
25:58There were quite a few wild kids too.
26:03You had wild kids around you from elementary school?
26:05I only had them around me in elementary school.
26:08Really?
26:14I probably have the most memories from Jecheon. Still.
26:17Yes. I think that was the most fun time in my life.
26:24Do you remember that? Trampolines and stuff like that.
26:27What do you call it?
26:29I called it a trampoline too.
26:31In Daegu they call it a bongbong.
26:34Some places call it bongbong.
26:37It varies by region. Some places call it a sangtang.
26:40That's right. That's right.
26:42Trampoline? It's a trampoline.
26:44Yes. Trampoline.
26:47We did a lot of that stuff. And we'd buy street food and eat it.
26:51Right. Pikachu.
26:53And we'd buy 100 won, 200 won snacks from the stationery store.
26:59Junk food?
27:00Yes. Junk food.
27:02We ate a lot of that stuff.
27:04Chakhani tastes good. They still exist.
27:06Chakhani tastes good. It's like a really big Cheetos flavor.
27:10That's right. That's right. Chakhani.
27:13What I remember is.
27:16When I was in elementary school in Jecheon.
27:22My cousin's house was right in front of an elementary school.
27:27It was my uncle's house.
27:29I went to play at my uncle's house.
27:32My uncle gave me a 5,000 won bill as pocket money.
27:38I received it and was so excited.
27:40I thought I should spend all the money.
27:45So I went right to the stationery shop in front of that school.
27:48I bought the most expensive junk food snack.
27:52Was it 1,000 won?
27:57How cute.
27:58Yes. So I didn't even spend half the money.
28:01So as soon as I came out of the stationery shop with the snack I bought.
28:05I tore open the wrapper right at the entrance and ate it.
28:10But I couldn't even finish half of it because I got full.
28:15You were just a little kid.
28:16That's right.
28:19Back then, even with just 5,000 won, you couldn't spend it all.
28:24Exactly.
28:29The prices were really different back then.
28:31That's right.
28:32Things have changed so much.
28:37But back then, just 500 won was enough.
28:42It was enough.
28:44You could buy things like tteokbokki.
28:46Was it 300 won? Cup tteokbokki like that.
28:49That's right. In a paper cup.
28:51We really did use it. That's right.
28:53You transferred schools a lot, didn't you?
28:56Yes.
28:57Do you not have any memories of feeling sad or regretful about it?
29:04I don't think so.
29:05I'm not sure. It seems like I might have.
29:08Really? Do you still keep in touch with any friends from Jecheon?
29:13No.
29:14Doesn't that feel a bit unfortunate to you?
29:16I don't have childhood friends like that.
29:18Me too. Me too. Me too.
29:20That feels a bit unfortunate.
29:23I understand. I also don't have that and it feels a bit unfortunate.
29:29But back when I was that young, there was no way to keep in contact.
29:38Email was the only thing.
29:40Yes. So when I transferred from Jecheon back to Busan in fifth grade of elementary school.
29:51I remember exchanging emails with about two or three friends from Jecheon at that time.
30:01But then when I was adjusting to the new place.
30:04Well, we did it a couple of times and then stopped.
30:07I think we forgot about it.
30:09But kids these days wouldn't have that, right?
30:12Now everything is just connected through SNS.
30:17You just have to follow them.
30:20But that is romantic in a way.
30:24It's the romance of our time.
30:28I still sometimes miss those days.
30:31Really? You miss the time when there was no SNS like this?
30:34Yes.
30:36Because.
30:38Because.
30:40It means there's a complete end to a relationship.
30:45But because that complete end can happen.
30:52The way you treat that relationship can be different.
30:57That's true.
30:58I often think about things like that.
31:02A time when I valued relationships a bit more.
31:04Yes.
31:05Mm, I see.
31:09We've been talking too much about things outside of school.
31:13Is that so?
31:14Didi, you asked me earlier—when was your happiest time?
31:22When I was younger, I was very different from now—I was really active.
31:29I liked doing active things.
31:32So probably in the summer,
31:37after eating dinner with my mom and older brother, we'd always go out to the sports field.
31:44I think that was my favorite time.
31:46My mom would exercise and walk while exercising,
31:51and my older brother and I would play with cloud ladders and things like that—
31:54equipment that was at the sports field—
31:59we'd do things like jump rope and hang from the horizontal bar,
32:03I liked those kinds of things.
32:05We'd do jungle gyms and things like that.
32:08That's pure childhood innocence itself.
32:10Yes.
32:11This is also a story from when I was in lower grades,
32:14and as I got older, did you start liking playing with friends?
32:19Mm.
32:21Oh, I also liked drawing pictures.
32:25In elementary school, I think I wanted to be a cartoonist.
32:29Oh really?
32:30I had several dreams,
32:31and I think I liked drawing those kinds of comics and things.
32:34Oh.
32:37The fact that you did that from when you were young
32:41and then became a web designer and illustrator—
32:43do you think there's some connection?
32:48I've always been confident about drawing pictures,
32:53or rather, since I could do it,
32:57I didn't really dislike it,
32:58so anyway,
33:01when I was submitting applications,
33:03I thought, well, wouldn't a design major be okay?
33:07From when I was young, I never really disliked it.
33:12Elementary school—
33:13do you have mostly good memories overall?
33:18Mm.
33:20I think so.
33:21If I look at elementary, middle, and high school together,
33:23I think I have the most good memories from elementary school.
33:26Mm.
33:29Oh.
33:30Time didn't pass really slowly back then, did it?
33:33Oh, that's right.
33:34One year really
33:37felt like five years.
33:39Right, time seemed to pass differently.
33:45And when I was in elementary school,
33:48I had to go to school on Saturdays too.
33:52Really?
33:53Yes.
33:54Oh.
33:56And then
33:56was that also the case?
33:58And then when I got to around sixth grade,
34:03Every other Saturday, I didn't go to school.
34:09Instead, we finished school early on Saturdays.
34:14We only went until the fourth period, at lunchtime.
34:17And I'd go home early.
34:19But because of that, the week felt really long.
34:22I think I might have done every other week too.
34:25My memory is a bit fuzzy.
34:27How did I even manage it?
34:29Right?
34:30The parents must have been happy.
34:32That's right.
34:34Since school was on weekends, the kids...
34:36Yeah.
34:38Mm.
34:40Now it feels like such an old story.
34:42I think I have memories of certain parts of it.
34:45Good memories.
34:45That's right.
34:47Didi, did you do your summer homework well?
34:52Um.
34:53I did the things I liked.
34:56I didn't really struggle because of summer homework or anything like that.
35:00Mm.
35:03You know how there's summer homework where you write a diary?
35:05Yeah.
35:06Did you write all of it?
35:08I think I did write it all.
35:09Every day?
35:10Well, there were days when I crammed and wrote a bunch at once.
35:13But I really hated getting scolded.
35:18I definitely crammed everything on the last day of summer break.
35:24Definitely?
35:25Yes.
35:27Oh, that must have been tough?
35:30The day before school started, really.
35:32Right, my hand was throbbing.
35:33It must have been chaos?
35:36I remember my hand throbbing.
35:38Oh, and Korea used to allow corporal punishment back then, right?
35:43Oh, that's right.
35:45Do you remember getting hit in elementary school?
35:48I, um.
35:52I don't have any particular memories of it.
35:55Really?
35:56But I think I got hit a lot.
36:02For various things.
36:03Yeah.
36:04Hit with hands too.
36:05Oh, I don't think I got hit with hands.
36:08Oh, my memory isn't quite clear on that.
36:11Yeah.
36:11Usually with a cane.
36:14Things like that.
36:15A stick.
36:16Yeah.
36:17They hit your palms a lot with a stick, right?
36:19That's right.
36:20I think I got hit like that a lot.
36:22Mm.
36:23Like, getting hit for not doing homework.
36:25Right, because we were noisy.
36:26Yeah, because we were noisy, that's right.
36:29When I was in sixth grade of elementary school,
36:32my last year, I got a really scary teacher.
36:35PE teacher? Kind of a male teacher,
36:40and he always carried a pool cue
36:42that he'd cut in half, and he'd carry the bottom part,
36:45the thick part, around with him.
36:49But since he was the homeroom teacher,
36:51he'd hit us with it.
36:54Like this, with your hand like this,
36:56your hand—
36:56and then your hand would really bruise like this,
37:01and it hurt.
37:02Really, wow.
37:03It really was a barbaric era, wasn't it?
37:05A barbaric era.
37:06Yes.
37:06Ah, thinking about it now, it doesn't even seem like we did anything that wrong.
37:10That's right.
37:12Mm.
37:14Mm.
37:15But back then,
37:16wow.
37:17There really was an era like that.
37:19Right, right.
37:21Really a barbaric era.
37:22It was a barbaric era.
37:24Wow.
37:24Until middle school, maybe?
37:26I think it happened to me.
37:27Physical punishment.
37:28I had it until high school.
37:32So you got hit for everything and graduated.
37:34Yes.
37:34Ah, well, I didn't get hit that much in high school,
37:38mm.
37:39but I still had to live in fear.
37:42Right.
37:43These kinds of physical punishments and rules,
37:46they got worse as you went up in grades,
37:49so I think we can tell the story more interestingly
37:52with middle school episodes.
37:53Yes.
37:55Ah.
37:56There was also that thing in elementary school, you know?
37:59That RCY, Girl Scouts.
38:02Huh?
38:03Oh.
38:03You didn't have Boy Scouts?
38:05Ah, I did that.
38:06What did you do?
38:07Boy Scouts.
38:08Ahahaha.
38:10You did Boy Scouts?
38:11Yes, I did, I did.
38:12Isn't that uniform really cute?
38:13It is.
38:14Like, you'd tie a ribbon around your neck,
38:18but what was that for? Why did we do it?
38:21I'm not sure either.
38:22That thing—
38:23Was it like an after-school activity?
38:25I think I just went to a camp once.
38:28Well, but you have to buy all the clothes.
38:30Oh, that's right.
38:32I was in RCY.
38:34What's that?
38:35Red Cross.
38:37It's something the Red Cross does—
38:39Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts have this really
38:42cute image where they wear cute uniforms and go camping,
38:44that kind of thing.
38:46But RCY is about volunteering and
38:50doing more socially meaningful work,
38:55that kind of thing.
38:56That sounds more meaningful.
38:58Boy Scouts—
38:59Oh, I remember that well.
39:01So I don't know why, but
39:03suddenly they said I had to go to camp,
39:05so I put on the uniform
39:07and went,
39:09and with the people in my group—
39:11so one teacher
39:14and the other kids who came with me—
39:18we went for a walk on some mountain.
39:22And we picked up some branches from the mountain,
39:26and we carved them
39:27to make wooden chopsticks,
39:29and we boiled ramen with them,
39:31and we ate the ramen with those chopsticks.
39:34Oh.
39:36That sounds fun.
39:37That's totally a camp experience.
39:38Yeah, I remember that.
39:40And you always do that thing—
39:42candlelight.
39:43Oh, candlelight.
39:44I don't think we did that at Boy Scouts.
39:46You didn't?
39:47No.
39:47At the training retreat.
39:48We went to the training retreat and did it there.
39:49Ah.
39:51Oh, that's right.
39:51We did it at the training retreat too.
39:52Yes.
39:54Separated from my mother now—
39:55separated from my parents—
39:57Yes.
39:59That one night—
40:00Before bed, the teacher would always hold a candle and tell such touching stories that the kids would cry.
40:09Right? I was enduring it back then too.
40:14Why did you endure it like that?
40:16Oh, I just wanted to get back to the dorm quickly, but the teacher kept talking.
40:21And it wasn't even sad.
40:23The story didn't really reach your ears, did it?
40:27Really.
40:28And with the fire burning like that,
40:31you end up just staring blankly at it, you know?
40:35Yeah, like a cat.
40:37So while the teacher's story goes in one ear and out the other,
40:42I'd just stare blankly at the flickering flame,
40:46wondering when it would end.
40:46Fire gazing.
40:47Yeah, doing that fire gazing so intensely,
40:53and then when the kid next to me starts sniffling,
40:56oh, I'd just do this.
40:57Oh really? I think it was quite touching for me.
41:00I didn't cry, though.
41:02I have a memory of trying not to cry.
41:05Oh, I was thinking about the candle I was holding in my hand,
41:11and the flame was so strong,
41:14if the candle melted completely,
41:16wouldn't that fire burn my hand?
41:19I think I was having those kinds of thoughts.
41:22Oh, that's funny.
41:23Is this complete? Like this?
41:25No, the teacher was telling a really touching story in front of us,
41:32and that's what they said.
41:32Talking about parental love and things like that,
41:35I've never really listened properly even once.
41:38Teacher Tae-woong, were you okay being separated from your parents and sleeping away?
41:42You know, sleeping away.
41:43This is also outside elementary school,
41:45When do you think you started sleeping separately?
41:49Oh, from when I was young,
41:53I used to go to my aunt's house often during school breaks and play.
41:58But there were times I'd spend the entire break at my aunt's place.
42:04My aunt had three kids,
42:08and they were mostly around my age,
42:10so we were really close.
42:13So at that young age, I just naturally
42:18took the express bus from Jechon all the way to Seosan, Chungcheongnam-do,
42:24I was independent.
42:26I see.
42:28Yeah, so even when I went to places like Sureung, I slept well.
42:33Wow, so that's how it was.
42:35Didi, wasn't it like that for you?
42:37I actually slept with my mom and dad until they literally kicked me out of the room.
42:42Oh really?
42:43Yeah, I'd beg them, please let me sleep with you.
42:47I was really scared of the darkness and things like that.
42:51So with my mom and dad, until early elementary school,
42:55I slept together with mom, dad, and my older brother,
42:58and then around fourth grade, my older brother and I moved out separately and stayed together,
43:06and from fifth and sixth grade of elementary school, I think I started sleeping alone.
43:11Oh really?
43:12Yeah, and it hasn't been that long since the darkness stopped scaring me.
43:17Was it after you became an adult?
43:19I guess so.
43:21Oh, that's interesting.
43:22I don't think I was very independent.
43:25I never really had the chance to be apart, you know.
43:29I think it's because I was separated from my parents often since I was young.
43:34So how about Korean elementary school or our elementary school life—
44:00So let's wrap up the elementary school episode here,
44:03and next we'll talk a bit more about middle school life with Yomojomo.
44:09Sounds good.
44:10Yes, this has been Didi and Jeong Tae-woong.

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This page contains the full transcript of Natural Korean Conversation Podcast | 한국생활 요모조모 ♯9 초등학교 (Elementary School🏫) by Didi의 한국문화 Podcast, generated from the public captions YouTube serves with the video. The transcript has 5,842 words across 841 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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