A little while ago I filmed a video (or series of videos – my camera kept dropping out) about my hagwon. It was a pretty difficult time, filled with a lack of communication, undermining and just general deference to the authority of “tiger moms”. I sort of filmed the video to get some stuff off my chest, but never intended it to be viewed by anyone else… until now.
I decided to put this video up because while it may be a bit unpleasant to hear and not all Little Miss Sunshine, it is real. This is exactly what I felt at the time, and something I feel that a lot of other hagwon workers feel (both foreigner and Korean). This is a flawed system that can create a lot of frustration, and it can be especially hard if you feel like you’re going through it alone. This video is intended to help those people, and to show that you can come out the other side (eventually).
I created this site as a place to write about things that made me happy, but you can’t be happy all the time. Sometimes you need to get angry about things that aren’t working, especially when young children are involved. I tried a lot of different things to help my kids, and a lot of them were undermined at the expense of the children and because of some arbitrary “rule” (or a tiger mom complaining). I definitely think hagwons have a long way to go, and while I would never change my time in Korea, I would like to see this system change.
Anyway, if you want to know the truth about hagwons… here it is!
Steph x