Sofie to Korea

“If you want to be popular with your students in Korea you must become a more trendy professor!” These words were uttered by my ever brutally honest Korean language partner, when I told him that I was rewatching old Korean dramas for language learning purposes. I was so taken aback by this statement that I couldn’t stop laughing! Like many Koreans, he appears to undergo a comeplete personality transplant whenever he switches from Korean to English. Blunt, direct, and slightly bossy as opposed to his usual polite and deferential Korean style. Since I was obviously so hopelessly far behind current Korean trends, I asked for his advice. “Watch this one. It should teach you about Korean university life”, he said recommending that I immediately start watching “Cheese in the trap” with Park Hae Jin. He also said that he would be auditing my first lectures in Seoul and give me live feedback on my Korean professor coolness. Finally he suggested that I give as many students as possible an A, and that I end classes early. Somehow I have a feeling that this advice is not entirely unbiased 😉

I went home and immediately started watching the drama prescribed for aspiring visiting professors with a critical Korean coolness deficiency. So far, I’m three episodes in, and I kinda like it. It somehow seems a bit different from other dramas I’ve watched, but it definitely gives a good idea about what Korean university life is like. Anyone who’s seen it? I’d love to hear your thoughts.