

CCTV sign in our elevator; my 4th graders - your moms might be watching us right now...
Why is CCTV such a big deal, you wonder? Well, it's totally engrained in Korean culture. Tiny little "spy cameras" are all over the place, and it's totally normal. They're in all sorts of public places: streets, stores, etc., not too strange, but according to one of Kyle's high school students, the reason we never see police in Korea is that CCTV is everywhere. No one even tries to steal or do anything bad, because you'd be on video. When people lock up their bikes, they only lock the tire - which is insane because they're easy to pop off, versus in Chicago where I literally had 3 locks on my bike.

you call this locking up a bike?! I guess when in Rome...
Weirdest for us as English Teachers is that all of our classrooms are under surveillance all the time. All the little cameras feed to a tv screen in the lobby of our school, and parents are welcome to watch their child's class, about any time they feel like it.


camera in the corner of my classroom; cameras feeding into the lobby
"I've got the feeling like, somebody's watchin' me"
A few times a week a group will gather around the flat screen tv in the lobby of our school, and Korean discussion ensues. Parents point and stare at the tv. Teachers wave their arms as they explain what's going on.
I don't really understand the intensity to which Korean mothers take to watching their kids while in class, but its fitting in that Korean mothers take their kids' education very seriously. One of my supervisors saw a few moms pull up chairs in front the screen and stare at it so intently that she offered them popcorn. I doubt they found that very funny.


just pull up a chair and grab some popcorn, it's kid watching time!

You can see me, and I unfortunately can see you.
Last week was the first time that my kindergarten class got "watched". It wouldn't be such a big deal, I've sort of gotten used to the idea of cameras all over the place, but I have this window in my classroom that looks perfectly out to the lobby.
So as my student's mom pulled the large picture of my class up on the screen, I could see it all going on. It went on for at least 45 minutes, much of which the mom & 2 or 3 staff from the school were all talking about us and pointing at the screen. Talk about awkard... You could just come in if you want. I hear they can also get the audio, although I haven't heard that happen yet. Maybe next time.



We're silly and adventurous, computer geeks and yoga peeps.
July 22, 2009
Kristine
July 22, 2009
Alex
July 23, 2009
Seth
July 24, 2009
Rose P.
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Linda
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DADDIO
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mumsie
June 30, 2010
GRRRL TRAVELER
June 30, 2010
Kyle