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[그렉의 한국 엿보기] 10 P.M.
There used to be a public service announcement on American T.V. every night that asked: "It's 10 p.m. Do you know where your children are?" It's 10 p.m. on a Wednesday night and I'm ambling back to my apartment after a quick gamjatang dinner. This part of the city abounds with shops and restaurants so the sidewalks are still crowded, even this late, with businessmen, college students and an occasional family. There are swarms of cars on the roads and I notice long rows of after school academy buses parked along the curbs. I image they are out of service, waiting for the moment; then I see the students. Wave after wave of them tumble from the building next to me, dressed in their customary blue and white public school uniforms, milling around and boarding the now active buses waiting to whisk them home. I glance at my watch; it's 10:15 and I'm stunned to see middle and high school students just completing their marathon school day.
When I was a grade school student the public school day was a regular 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. routine. Beginning in middle school after-school sports kept me at the campus until five, or until seven if we had a league game. Before middle school, when the final bell rang I simply went home. After school, or sports practice, my time was free. Usually this meant hanging out with my neighborhood friends, playing pick-up basketball, Nintendo games, or all the things kids back then did to kill time. My mom would summon me for dinner in the evening and then I'd labor through my homework, watch T.V. and fall asleep. This was my weekday routine; weekends were for sleeping in late, cartoons, and more time with my friends. There was a lot of freedom in this system but a lot of time went to waste.
 [그렉의 한국 엿보기] 10 P.M. 청취
In Korea, as I've come to realize, the daily life of a student is much different. School doesn't end when the public school bell rings; it takes a deep breath and marches on, sometimes well into the night. It's not after-school sports though that are filling up the students' schedules, it's a long list of private academies specializing in everything from English education to taekwondo, to the intricate strategies of baduk. Not only is it a Monday to Friday regimen but it often spills over into Saturday as well. Homework must be wedged in before bed or between classes or sometimes in the transition between schools.
Nowadays, when I'm out after dark, it seems natural for students in uniforms to be wandering about and waiting in buses. In fact, it's become an easy clue to check what time it is, depending on the location of the buses. There appear to be significant differences between each system. As for the public service announcement, my parents might have occasionally been unable to answer the concerned question. However, the response would be crystal clear in Korea. The children are probably in class, on the bus, or finally on their way home.
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 / 입력시간: 2008. 06.17. 15:32
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