Costco

Costco is one of my favorite places in the world. I look forward to going to Costco every time I go back home (sad but true). Where else can you find unbeatable prices and free (and potentially unlimited) samples? Anyways, I went with my aunt to Costco in Seoul, which is humongous. Not only is it humongous (2 stories, parking garage with 3 levels above the actual Costco), but they have bulgogi (marinated beef) pizza. Only Korea would sell bulgogi pizza. I had to try one, and it wasn't that bad. In fact, it was pretty good, but I think I'll stick with good ol' pepperoni pizza. Also, Koreans eat hot dogs with a knife and fork. And they don't put condiments on their hot dogs. In fact, they mix all their condiments on a separate plate, mix them all up, then use their knife and fork to dip their hot dog piece into the condiment mix. I was eating my bulgogi pizza with my hands, and people kept staring at me. Well, I was staring right back at them with their fancy condiment plates.

Anyways, I have been working a bit on my project - English education in Korea. It's more on the symbolic value of English in Korean society and how English is used as a commodity taken from Western cultures to define and value Koreans. The more I interview and do research, the more I realize how deeply English is infused into Korean society. On the superficial level, everything must be written in English, from store names to senseless mottos on products. It doesn't matter if it doesn't make sense as long as you're using the English alphabet. On another level, everybody in Korea seems to be involved in some way with English education. Either you are a student, teacher, parent, policymaker, bookseller (English grammar books make up the biggest section), school administrator, politician, businessperson, or someone else associated directly or indirectly with English-education. The government, the mass media, and parents all work together to put an immense amount of pressure of the students, not just to excel in other subjects but also to excel in English (not the English language, but English exams). The more I stay here, the more I believe that Korean society revolves around English, but not as a language or means of communication. English has become a sort of symbol of intelligence and affluence for the Koreans. Crazy, isn't it?

Susan