777 jili slot Lenny Trudo, second row left, a Peace Corps volunteer, poses with his gifted students and a co-teacher during a class picnic in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, 1978. Courtesy of Lenny Trudo By Lenny Trudo This contribution contains journal entries written in real time in 1978 and additional commentary written in March 2010 in time for the Peace Corps Revisit Tour in Seoul. December 1977. A Peace Corps offer arrived in the mail today. It is most interesting and exciting. I can actually live in Korea for two years and pursue an educational direction. However, the nature of the political situation, the country’s double standard in human rights, the pervasive American military influence, the Korean congressional bribery scandal and the imminent American troop withdrawal tend to make me want to decline this invitation. Jan. 22, 1978. Well, I’ve got my airplane tickets and I’ve got my itinerary to the Far East. I’m excited about the prospect. Feb. 19, 1978. We heard from the program staff about what our function will be for the next two years, namely to 1) teach Korean students English using the Peace Corps methodology for ESL; 2) teach Korean teachers a new teaching methodology and help them to improve their English communication skills; and 3) teach a small group of gifted Korean middle school students English. The lady who briefed us said that the teachers treat a class not as individuals but as one cohesive group. Feb. 27, 1978. There is a good deal of anxiety within the group as to our placement and our part in the process. There are over 70 sites where the provincial education directors have requested a need for Peace Corps, and there are only about 30 of us. March 10, 1978. Whenever I am attempting to understand Korean patterns of this culture, I realize how little I know, and then I begin examining my own values and those of American culture ... it is 5:30 a.m., and the Korean national anthem is now playing as it does every morning. This peninsula of a country is very nationalistic and geopolitically vulnerable. Students gather in a group at Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, 1978. Courtesy of Lenny Trudo The town As Danyang was in the countryside of North Chungcheong Province, the students were generally poor. Some came from villages many kilometers away and lived in Danyang because they lived too far away and it was the only school that they could attend. Danyang is the county seat. Some students walked miles to the school through the mountains. April 1, 1978. The town is very small and difficult to get to but it is said to be very beautiful. That could be an ideal place to live. April 14, 1978. I arrived at Danyang with my co-teacher, Ms. Kang, who is very bright. and we were greeted by the head teacher, Mr. Kim. He tookus to a restaurant and we all had bulgogi and beer. It was great. On Sunday, I explored and walked to the Namhan River. I marveled at its beauty. The mountains are cut by the river. Danyang has a rural atmosphere. April 14, 1978. I looked at the teachers’ room where I will be spending a large part of my time. Then, my co-teacher and I walked up a path behind the school and she showed me a Buddhist temple where I can drink water from the stream. Facilities Each classroom had a Korean flag in the front and center. There was a platform for the teachers to stand. Every classroom had a few pictures, a mirror and a pot for water. There was no electricity in the classrooms, except for third-year student classrooms and the teachers’ room. Stoves were put in the room in December that burned “yeontan” (charcoal briquettes). The classrooms were simple, with cement floors. There were 68 wooden desks in each room, with a little space for a row and some space in the front of the class and the back of the class. There were sliding windows that opened to the hall. The students changed their shoes when they entered the school and placed their street shoes in a shoe rack. April 21, 1978. The first day of work proved to be a day of symbolic welcome and gestures. Some of the events of this day included: gave a speech, taught classes, played volleyball followed by drinking “makgeolli” (rice wine) in the teachers’ lounge and a formal dinner. I gave a speech in English and my co-teacher translated it. She stood next to me all the time to help shorten the communication gap that exists. During the speech, the schoolgirls, in their uniforms, were lined up in rows. The opening ceremony was full of pro-government rhetoric and rhetoric about family values. Lenny Trudo, second from right, a Peace Corps volunteer, poses with students and the Emile Bell during a field trip to Gyeongju, North Gyeongsang Province, spring 1978. Courtesy of Lenny Trudo Student life Education is very important in Korea. It determines status. Students paid 20,000 won every three months, which was very dear to them, to attend class. The class sizes were as large as 60 to 70 students. Each student studied about eight different subjects. Each class had a leader. Each week, individual leaders were appointed. Students were left alone when there wasn’t a class and were expected to study during that time. The students wore identical uniforms. Each student was distinguished by name tag and the year in school. They changed uniforms with the seasons. The students came to school at 8 a.m. in the warm weather and at 8:30 a.m. in the cold season and left at 5 p.m. and 5:30 p.m., respectively, except for the third-year students. They ate lunch in the classrooms from “dosirak” containing rice and kimchi. Students stayed with the same class and the teachers rotated among classrooms. There were school meetings every Monday to hear the principal speak, to give awards and to practice bowing. The students worked to improve the school. For example, once a week there was a cleaning period to clean the classrooms, halls, teacher room and the surroundings. Occasionally, the entire school was organized to work on the grounds: picking up rocks, picking weeds, watering the shrubs, moving dirt and picking up litter. Other activities the students engaged in were class picnics, sports days, parents’ days and civil defense drills. Students with a yellow flag participate in a civil defense drill on the roof of Dan Yang Girls' Middle School in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, 1978. Courtesy of Lenny Trudo According to Confucianism, a student respects the teacher. Students bowed and greeted the teacher before and at the conclusion of each class. Outside of school, the students were expected to wear their uniform and greet the teacher with a bow. If a student was bad, then she was brought into the teachers’ room and reprimanded. Sometimes the teacher whacked the student’s hand with a stick or a book. April 20, 1978. We had a teacher demo today. Many teachers watched our procedure. My colleague, Rich, who is to be placed in Jecheon, visited. Also, the local Board of Education supervisors were in attendance to observe our teaching. This was followed by a beef dinner with vegetables at a restaurant, courtesy of our principal. He is a very generous man and went out of his way to make me, as a new teacher, feel comfortable. April 21, 1978. Sometimes the customs are strange, like never put rice in your soup on formal occasions or never stick chopsticks in your bowl of rice. April 22, 1978. Yesterday was track and field day. The most incredible thing about yesterday’s track and field day is how much all of the students “got into” what they were doing. The day begain at 8 a.m. with a parade. One sign read the “Saemaeul Virgin Workers,” and they had yellow headbands and hoes. As part of the military training drills, the girl students practiced various exercises, including one exercise that had them throwing rubber objects to simulate grenades. The students brought out their desks to the schoolyard. Then, they sang songs and participated in cheers. This went on until 6 p.m., and the noise level was kept at a steady pitch. Students participate in a sports day event at Dan Yang Girls' Middle School in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, 1978. The whole day was devoted to sports, including 'simulated grenade throwing activities," and dressing their foreign male teacher in drag. Courtesy of Lenny Trudo April 23, 1978. The 'hak saengs' (students) ask me the same questions over and over again. "Do you like Korean food?" "Why did you come to Korea?" "Are you married?" and "when will you get married?" What are the differences between American and Korean education?" "What am I proud about in the United States?" (April 28, 1978) April 25, 1978. The Korean style of working hard and playing hard is really neat. The people here work very hard. Teachers and students alike work sometimes from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. studying. I hope I can keep a good work pace. The people seem to have a selfless attitude, which I admire. Sometimes, the customs seem so rigid, but the people are kind and organized. May 8, 1978. Today was Parents' Day. There were games and traditional Korean dancing. I participated in a mock marriage ceremony as the bride. Later there was a volleyball game and drinking makgeolli. May 10, 1978. Today, I walked into class not knowing there was no Korean teacher. In this situation, the students know a little English and I only know a little Korean. Yet the students are kind and do not take advantage of me. Here, the students are trusted, and they work hard. Students laugh at Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, 1978. "At that time, I had a front false tooth with a palate that I could take out and put in," Trudo explained. "So, when I did that, the students laughed in stitches." Courtesy of Lenny Trudo Pedagogy Students seldom had the opportunity to speak in class as individuals. The main method was memorization and recitation as a group. I often heard the sing-song recitation of the students as a group when I passed by their classroom. Teachers dominated the class. There were a few audio-visual aids or a variety of teaching methodologies. The chalkboard was the main tool. When outside evaluators visited, the teachers prepared special AV aids. Third-year students came back to school every night to study in order to pass the next level test. The test was the most important goal of learning and the only measure of a student’s knowledge and thinking skills. To go to college, one had to pass a highly competitive test. All teaching was directed to the test. In my opinion, the students had a high degree of rote memory ability, but it was difficult for them to think for themselves. As a result of test emphasis, spoken and listening English were difficult for college students. May 12, 1978. As the only American in the village, and for some, the first American they have ever known, I sometimes get asked interesting questions. For example, “What is Francis Scott Key’s job?” or “How did America become one of the most powerful nations on earth?” or “What’s the difference between a gerund and a participle?” May 29, 1978. It is a week after Buddha’s birthday. I visited a temple. At the back of the temple there were paper lanterns with expressions and symbols written on them. And inside the temple, I could hear a chant to the beat of a hollow wooden ball. The chant was captivating. I could smell the incense from under the doors. Teachers’ lives In a small place like Danyang, life was boring and stifling for many teachers. The whole life of a teacher in Danyang was dictated by school life. There was little time for recreation, leisure time or relaxation. It seemed that teachers socialized with each other little outside of class in this village unless they were drinking partners. Women and men teachers in the teachers’ lounge segregated themselves by gender during formal occasions or when everyone went out to eat as a group. Basically, teachers worked very hard. They were burdened with paperwork, teaching on the average of 35 hours per week. There were teachers’ meetings every morning. These meetings began with a bow. Each department head spoke. The teachers were lectured on working hard. Each teacher was responsible for student conduct inside and outside the classroom. The teachers were eager to impress the vice principal and principal. The relationship was very formal. Teachers let off steam by playing volleyball at least once a week after school. The games were taken seriously, and the teachers would go wild by the outcome. Bets were placed: 5,000 won or a toothbrush, soap, etc. Sometimes quarrels broke out over line calls. Afterward, makgeolli and cookies were served. Sometimes, one school played another school. Afterward, the students prepared soup and food. After a couple of years, they were anxious to leave. June 1, 1978. There is no school today because the students are needed to help plant rice. Villagers plant rice in co-op groups. All the villagers help plant someone else’s hectare and the reciprocation goes on. I see them bending over and sticking the green shoots into the muddy and rocky soil beneath the layer of water, up to their ankles in mud. There is no large machinery. June 17, 1978. Today, we picked barley all day long. It was an incredible day. The students were dressed in white pants and blue tops. The soldiers were dressed in green, all singing songs after a hard day’s work. I can see them migrating from down the hills to the ferry which crosses the river. The ferry operator, with one arm, struggles against the current, pushing the pole off the bottom, bracing himself against a soldier. A class photo of students from Dan Yang Girls' Middle School Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, 1978. Courtesy of Lenny Trudo Socialization In my opinion, the teacher’s role as a “socializer” was very strong. They disciplined students who did not conform to the standards of the Korean education system. Appearance was important. The students’ appearances to the teachers were as important as the teachers’ appearances to the administration. Respect was shown by bowing and by receiving items with two hands, for example. Teachers could earn points, and if they had enough, they could ask for a transfer to another school or to a higher rank. June 25, 1978. It is really more difficult to live in a foreign country than I had first imagined. It is especially unique how the stimuli and new things keep coming and coming. A new day helps but little to familiarize and cope. As a foreigner, I am often the center of attention and focus. That, coupled with poor Korean language communication skills, compounds the problem. June 28, 1978. Now, the summer rains begin to fall early in the morning. The definition of Peace Corps is “the hardest job you’ll ever love.” It is much more difficult than I expected it to be. Living “like a Korean” is interesting, but the truth is that the cultural incongruities and incompatibilities are vast. Looking back July 7, 1978. Today is the last day of the semester for me. I can hear the thunder echoing across the mountains. This small town is traditional. Danyang is “old” Korea for sure. This makes it more difficult to live here, but when I walk across the mountain from the train station and see the town nestled in between the mountains, it is a good feeling. 2010. Teaching English in Dan Yang Girls’ Middle School in 1978 has been a very good experience for me. As it was my first career job out of college, it has taught me a lot about Korean society, American society and comparative educational systems. Most of all, it taught me a lot about myself! In 2010, when I wrote this, Danyang was under water due to the dam. They moved the village over the mountain, but the girls’ school was still standing as it was at a higher elevation. Lenny Trudo was a Peace Corps Korea volunteer (K-44) assigned to Dan Yang Girls’ Middle School in Danyang, North Chungcheong Province, from April 1978 till February 1979, where he taught in the English as a second language (ESL) program. The author may be reached at lennytrudo@gmail.com.

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