OT and MT and starting a semester

On the Korean media lately, there has been a few stories about university orientations running amok. Apparently, one of them was pretty much unsupervised and all sorts of bad stuff went down in which senior students pretty much forced themselves onto the freshmen (literally). Here, see for yourself:

Source

Some of the students were obviously traumatized and lawsuits are being threatened, and I'm sure some heads will roll. 

Last week, I went on my first Orientation Training at my university. Since I'm now a part of the English department properly, I am expected to attend such events. For starters, let me explain what an O.T. is. All of the freshmen at the university go to some resort area far away from campus. They are introduced to the campus culture by their senior students and do a lot of drinking. It is a bonding experience for them. Sometimes they are also introduced to their individual departments/divisions/colleges by the professors who will be teaching them.

That is how it was with us. I have to admit, I really didn't know what to expect. I had heard stories of these things getting out of hand, but then I wasn't sure if they were the same as the membership trainings (usually called M.T.s, the M.T.s are put together by departments or individual colleges and include students of all ages).  The professors all rode in buses together and checked in to the hotel at Phoenix Park before meeting all of the freshmen students in their department. In my case, all 120 incoming freshmen English majors met in one room. The professors walked in and the students all cheered (not a simple applause--but real cheers!)  Then the head of the department spoke. The dean of the Liberal Arts College (who happens to be an English dept. prof.) spoke. Next, something was said about each strand (Eng. literature, translation, Eng. education, and TESL). After that, each professor introduced him or herself. Finally, each student introduced herself to the whole group. The whole thing actually went more quickly than one might imagine. Faculty and students went separate ways for dinner. Students went into different areas depending on their colleges and partied together. The senior students led them in songs and dances. While this was going on, the professors also were doing pretty much the same things. The professors of the  college of liberal arts were all together in one room--all 78 of us. The beer, soju, wine, and whisky flowed while more food was served and everyone introduced themselves again.  Once everyone was introduced and the liquid courage was built up, all of the newbies had to sing a song. I escaped because even though I was new to the department, I had actually been at the university for 5 1/2 years. It was made very clear that I would have to sing next year though. I have a year to learn a song, preferably a Korean one and sing it to the whole group.

Our department then went on to another round of drinking, by which point the students had all gone off to their rooms. They had student dorms which held about 20 students each but there was no expectation of sleep. I'll get to that in a moment. The professors all drank another couple of rounds as the outgoing administrative assistants (grad students working in the office) said their goodbyes and the new ones were grilled in a welcoming, light-hearted manner. I think the fact that many of the most senior people in the department, the college, and the university as a whole are women makes a big difference in such events. A lot of the shenanigans that often happen a group of Korean men get together and drink excessively simply were not happening. Then, at about 2:30 in the morning, the talk changed to going to visit the students. 

What the hell?

This late-night visit to the students rooms turned out to be the most fascinating part of the whole trip. I really had no idea what to expect, but I figured it couldn't be too bad because the professors all broke into groups of four, each with men and women professors. Each group was assigned two rooms to visit. When we got to the rooms, we sat down and just talked with the students. We each gave them some advice about how to do well in school, asked what sorts of things they were nervous about, and what they were looking forward to. Keep in mind that the students had pretty much been drinking for hours, though they didn't seem out-of-their-minds drunk. They spoke freely about what they were nervous about, such as one girl who was from a very small village where she knew everyone and everyone knew her. Now she was in a huge city where she is anonymous and that scared her more than starting university. The whole thing was a very personal and caring exchange between the professors and students. Maternal, I'd even say. I saw them in a very different light than before. A light bulb moment for me. I had read about and heard about how the idea of teachers in Korea is so different than it is in the west. This was a moment that I saw first hand how the teachers take on the responsibility of caring for the students. (I know this isn't always the case--just this month a Seoul Nat'l professor was fired for being a tyrant--but I think that is the exception). 

Then we all went back to our own rooms and slept for a few hours before getting on the bus and returning back to Seoul. The students stayed the rest of the day and returned later that night. Two very long days with a night without sleep for them. I have to tell you though that during the first days of classes, many of the students really had gotten to know each other, and I got to know some of my colleagues in one day much, much better than I had over the past five years of working at the university. I imagine they would open up even more if I were to have actually sang!