Dominica Hoyes

mima.hoyes@tdsb.on.ca

I am a Canadian from Toronto, yet Korea brought out my Sicilian heritage. What do Koreans and Sicilians have in common?

1) You can eat off of our floors! Cleanliness to the point of controlling every inch of the environment is every Sicilian’s dream and by my observations every Korean’s.

2) Family comes first! Check out the section on our web site on Restrooms.

3) Phonetic Language! Everyone (born into the culture) can learn to read in the first few years at school. Thanks to King Sejong who changed the alphabet so that everyone (commoners included) can express him/herself in writing.

4) Protocols! There are unstated rules for behaving with family, friends and in public. For example, never go empty handed to someone’s house.

5) Dress! When you go out, you dress up. Tailored dresses/suits and high heels for women are the standard. No track pants, T-shirts or runners in public.

What do we not have in common, that I wish we did? Organization! Organization! Organization! My observation of two tourist groups arriving at the airport check-in. The first is an Italian group...everyone drops their bags (all different sizes and colours) in the most convenient place for them, they talk and yell and ignore their guide, the guide runs around collecting passports, some which cannot be found immediately. The Canadian side of me just shakes her head. The second group is Korean...the men all drop their bag (all identical size and type) in two neat rows where directed by the tour guide. The guide stands still and the men deposit their passports in a neat pile in the guide’s awaiting hands...and they do this in minutes. The Canadian side of me is envious.

Generalities aside, through this trip I have begun to understand what it means to be Korean and, therefore, how certain expectations I have had of my Korean friends, students and community may have impacted them. My Korean friends have often said that as Koreans they can’t do this or that...or they must do this or that...I understood them, but as all teachers know to experience first hand the “this or that” is “to know”. I can now attempt to figure out what would be most appropriate in a particular situation and I’ll know why the Korean student/parent elects one decision over another.
I am grateful to Young-Hee Yoon @ TDSB and Sung Jin Suh from the Korean Consulate in Toronto for accepting my application to be a part of this incredible Korean immersion program.