Funny Co-Teacher's Comments

I wonder if Koreans dedicate threads to make fun of our Korean.

On Sports Day there were a series of races. One race included all the overweight students (I don't know if this was coincidence or intentional, probably the latter). As they ran, everyone, and I mean everyone, broke out into fits of laughter. One teacher stood at the end of the track was nearly doubled over laughing as the students made their way to the finish line. When the race was over my co-teacher turned to me, still grinning, and said: "Heavy runner."

I guess that's why you don't see as many fat kids in Korea.

Deneviuos my point is that it's a bit insensitive and extremely immature to maintain this thread. At least they are making an effort to speak English. It's one thing to have this discussion over drinks with friends but quite another to do it on a site that Korean teachers frequent. I guess I expected more from my fellow teachers but once again I feel let down.

Deneviuos my point is that it's a bit insensitive and extremely immature to maintain this thread. At least they are making an effort to speak English. It's one thing to have this discussion over drinks with friends but quite another to do it on a site that Korean teachers frequent. I guess I expected more from my fellow teachers but once again I feel let down.

Lighten up dude. Korean teachers have more of a sense of humour than you seem to think and if their English is good enough to understand the thread then they will likely be having a laugh at their colleagues' errors too.

At least they are making an effort to speak English.

They'd better had do being English teachers and all!

A name and shame of co-teachers would be insensitive/immature/downright insulting. An anonymous post of an anonymous teacher in an anonymous forum is quite the opposite. I doubt that your co-teachers need you to defend them.

Hear hear, there's no malice intended in pointing out funny mistakes. I would laugh at myself if I was told I was saying the equivalent of "f***ick my car" in Korean instead of parking it. "Just because you laugh at something doesn't mean you don't love it" to roughly quote South Park.

I wonder if Koreans dedicate threads to make fun of our Korean.

I hope so, I'm pretty sure I complemented my co-teachers penis last week in class. I don't think I've seen the kids laugh that much, and I cracked up as soon as they told me what I said.

Deneviuos my point is that it's a bit insensitive and extremely immature to maintain this thread. At least they are making an effort to speak English. It's one thing to have this discussion over drinks with friends but quite another to do it on a site that Korean teachers frequent.

as i said before, i try and speak korean and sometimes they laugh. just today i was trying to say 국술원 in class, and all the kids, including the teacher, laughed. their laughter weren't knives ripping my guts out. my pronuciation is wrong, and they think it's amusing. i think i'll live to see another day despite their laughter.

anyway, don't treat korean adults like they're kids. if they're reading this and feel slighted, let them speak up. this parental protective personna some foreigners display on this website towards koreans is a bit odd.

I totally understand where you're coming from.  I get the same thing at my school.  I just see a difference here.  It's one thing to have a laugh together, but this thread just comes across a bit wrong to me.  I know my co-teachers study English so hard and most Koreans are so self conscious about their English abilities.  I don't like the idea of them coming across this and thinking that we are laughing behind their back.  It'll do nothing for their confidence and will probably make them more nervous to speak to us.  On the other hand, I can totally imagine one of my co-teachers cracking up at some of the posts on here.  Depends on the person I guess.  I'm not trying to be protective at all, I just think we need to remember that this isn't a foreigner only site whether we like it or not. 

By the way, I am so guilty of talking with my friends about the funny things I hear in class!  I just do it privately.

Deneviuos my point is that it's a bit insensitive and extremely immature to maintain this thread. At least they are making an effort to speak English. It's one thing to have this discussion over drinks with friends but quite another to do it on a site that Korean teachers frequent.

as i said before, i try and speak korean and sometimes they laugh. just today i was trying to say 국술원 in class, and all the kids, including the teacher, laughed. their laughter weren't knives ripping my guts out. my pronuciation is wrong, and they think it's amusing. i think i'll live to see another day despite their laughter.

anyway, don't treat korean adults like they're kids. if they're reading this and feel slighted, let them speak up. this parental protective personna some foreigners display on this website towards koreans is a bit odd.

I totally understand where you're coming from.  I get the same thing at my school.  I just see a difference here.  It's one thing to have a laugh together, but this thread just comes across a bit wrong to me.  I know my co-teachers study English so hard and most Koreans are so self conscious about their English abilities.  I don't like the idea of them coming across this and thinking that we are laughing behind their back.  It'll do nothing for their confidence and will probably make them more nervous to speak to us.  On the other hand, I can totally imagine one of my co-teachers cracking up at some of the posts on here.  Depends on the person I guess.  I'm not trying to be protective at all, I just think we need to remember that this isn't a foreigner only site whether we like it or not. 

By the way, I am so guilty of talking with my friends about the funny things I hear in class!  I just do it privately.

I can sort of agree with you. I guess some teachers might be offended or discouraged by these reports, but I think that most of them, who can read them, would find it funny. Also, most of the posts on this thread merely report the occasion; no one says, "Which is STUPID because EVERYONE knows it's pronounced 'FORT' not 'FOR-TAY.' HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA."

Also, people are afraid about having words posted on the Internet for everyone to see, but saying it with the spoken word is nearly as spreadable.

Omgosh, I have some funny ones said to me recently when I was wearing my glasses. I usually wear contact lenses, but on this particular day, my eyes were really dry and needed to let them breathe.

Anyhow, I go to school with glasses and my coteacher greets me and says, "Hi, no lenses today?" And I explain that no, need to let my eyes rest, and she replies, "You like like student studying VERRRRYYY hard for her exams." Hahaha, meaning I look nerdy....

And then the next coteacher.... she says, "You look very smart in your glasses." I tell her I usually hate wearing glasses because it makes me look ugly. And she says, "No, no, never ugly. It makes you look very smart... even though you're not."

Ha. Ha. Ha... >__<

On Wednesday:

"Today we have no first period because of the disabled and retard." 

I also had something similar "Today no class because it is the retarded day!"
I almost peed my pants.  She later corrected herself. 

ct:  "Please blow up these balloons, it will help lose your weight."

While brainstorming for what to do for open class today, my CT came up with this role-play script:

            CT:   "I'm making bulgogi. Can you help me?"
                     "Sure, what can I do"
                     "Cut the cheese, please"

My co-teacher is very interested in my personal life because she don't do much due to her overly busy schedule. We have established that she lives vicariously through my personal stories. She's a bit jealous of my carefree lifestyle because she's your good-teacher-who-does-no-wrong. She's also very conservative as well.

So as usual, I was telling her a recent date story of mine and the following ensued.

CT: Same guy?
Me: No, no. He's a friend, just a friend.
CT: Ah...I see. You like this one?
Me: I don't know. We just went on a coffee date.
CT: Oh I see. You must enjoy yourself.
Me: [alarmed because she's always been so conservative] Enjoy?
CT: You're young. You must do as Koreans your age do. Enjoy.
Me: Like have fun?
CT: [she proceeds to explain this concept of 'enjoy'] Date many, sleep many, see many, club lots, see who is sexual compatible with you.
Me: O_O; hahaha I... don't enjoy like that.


In my mind I was like "IS THIS KOREA STILL?!" And is this conservative, sweet-devoting teacher telling me to 'enjoy'? Utter shock and speechless.

Me: I have had diahorrea for a little while now, i saw the nurse.
CT: Oh, maybe i need to get diahorrea also. I need to lose weight. Maybe you can give me a high five?
Me: Umm...

From a new teacher on his 3rd day of work:

"Oh! You look so much better now that you've changed your hair.'

Thanks...

One of the teacher sin my school speaks like. 4 words of English. Sometimes she comes in and tries to practice and it's cute and she's super nice (Except if I ask "How are you?" she always replies "I am have the JESUS so everyday is best because JESUS"). Anyway, one day I come in and she says "No shit!". So I'm like, "Uhhh, Pardon me?" and she keeps saying over and over "No shit! Noooo shit! No shit!". Turns out she was trying to say "No sit" because her usual chair was missing.

Not really a comment but one time I was playing pictionary with my students and just to spice things up I asked my co teacher to draw so that the students can guess her drawings... with a smirk on her face she flipped me off in front of the whole class... I was petrified for a while and Im still confused if the middle finger is bad or if nobody cares in Korea...

in my experience, in Korea and Japan, the middle finger is more of a general sign of defiance, not nearly as offensive as it is in the west. You see it on the front of comic books and stuff all the time.

A friend of mine heard them from her coworker 

"Korean society is very clean and accurate" ???

"It is illegal to ask the date of pay in Korea to administration room." ???

every day a new one (or more)

Commenting on the 1st-grade middle school girls' tendency to sit without regard to the skirts they are wearing:

"These girls sit like Sharon Stone!"

pretty good reference, I thought!

This won't be as good as some others on here, but while walking to E-Mart with a co-teacher:

CT: Do you like shopping?
Me: No. I find it pretty boring.
CT: Me too.... Well... I don't like shopping for groceries. I like shopping for manly stuff, like clothes!