Foreign Language High Schools @ KOREA!!

Today I would like to introduce you to the lives of foreign language highschool students!!
(Yes, indeed, I am a student at one of such schools.)



 Korea has a unique school system of its own- there are high schools called "specialized high schools", which are similar to the elite prep schools in the United States. Such schools are well-known as the nest of thousands of elite students, who later on grow up to be some of the most prominent members of the Korean society. Many middle school students prepare to pass the entrance exam to such highschools (science highschools, foreign language high schools etc.).

Now, moving on to the seemingly tedious but rather exciting life of foreign language highschool students.

The alarm bell rings. It is 5:30 AM.



Most students ride the shuttle bus to school, which leaves at about 6:30 in the morning. (Though it depends on where you live, this is usually the case) You wake up, with puffed-up eyes, running around the house to prepare for school. Then after a desperately needed moment of sleep in the school shuttle bus, you find yourself at school- at last!




Hanyoung Foreign Language High School

 

The day begins as the bell rings the start of school at 7:30 AM. All students are by this time in their own classrooms, except the few latecomers who accidentally were too deeply immersed into the art of sleeping and woke up far too late to make it on time. Just like any other school in Korea, about 30 minutes are spent as time with the homeroom teacher- cleaning up the dusty classroom, reading books or newspapers, and listening to the announcements of the day.

After this period, school classes start. All students take at least 7 mandatory classes that are required for all students. 2 extracurricular classes are left up to the choice of the individual. After all the classes end, we also have a mandatory self-studying period until 10 o'clock.

The end of the self-studying perod marks the end of a long school schedule, and most students excitedly return to their shuttle buses to return home, with the hope that they would arrive home before eleven.

During exam periods, however, many students choose to stay at school until midnight to study.




During Break TIme- Asking questions!
[Source: Facebook]

 

Exam periods are indeed the most strenuous time periods of the year for foreign language high school students. This is the time when you see students eagerly discussing academic issues and bombarding each other with questions during the precious 15-minute break time in between classes.

Lunch and dinner is skipped to save time, and sleep becomes a luxury. Break times is used for studying, questioning, or sleep replenishment.

As you read over these schedules, you may think- "Why do they live that way"

Well, to give you a simple answer, we just study because we each have our own goals for the future.

But although we do study hard when it is necessary, we also play!! We enjoy life after the exams, just like any other high school students. We relieve stress by going to karaokes or shopping. We go to the movies. We go to amusement parks. We start reading all the books we restrained from reading during exam periods. In other words, yes, we know how to enjoy life! We are NOT studying machines, after all!! ;D







School yard



After the exams end, there are many mini-sports tournaments held by the students, such as soccer, volleyball, and basketball. OSP(Overseas Program) students even play lacrosse! We cheer for the department we belong to. Departments are divided according to which foreign language you measure in- there is English, Chinese, Japanese, French, Spanish, and German. 

At dinner time, students come out of the school building to watch and cheer for their team, releasing all the stress they received from the exams. The peak of this is in May, where we go on a 3-day trip to conduct a sports festival!!

Foreign language highschool students are awesome, they know how to enjoy their lives while studying hard!! We are NOT studying machines, we're the coolest nerds who know the joy of living a hard-working yet pleasant life!!! :D