So, Greg and I have been in Korea almost a month now and I think we’ve covered most of the basics—the good, the bad, and the ugly—in terms of things that can induce culture shock here. One thing we haven’t discussed, and which definitely deserves it’s own post, is the music. From what we can tell, 1999 is alive and well here.  Yes, Koreans LOVE their pop music. Every time we are at Lotte Mart, or walking past a small shop with its doors open, it seems like we hear the same four songs. Lately, even in school, our kids have been singing and mimicking the choreography from a few of these songs. For example: 

Jewelry “One More Time”:

Big Bang “Hadu Hadu” (a.k.a “Day by Day)”:

I have to admit, these songs are awfully catchy, but therein lies the problem.  It’s bad enough to get a song stuck in your head for days on end, but when you can’t even pronounce or understand the lyrics… Aside from the obligatory English phrase in every pop song, everything else is lost on me. I thought that Big Bang song was pretty upbeat until I saw the video. What a downer!

And speaking of weird music, on Friday, Julienne Teacher—who oversees and plans the kindergarten curriculum—knocked on my classroom door during the last session of my last primary class. “I have a CD for you,” she said, handing me an unmarked disc, “this is the song that we’re going to teach the kindergartners for the October role play”.  Curious, I popped the CD in and waited apprehensively (with good reason—see above).  Suddenly a menacingly catchy beat and the shrill notes of a piano glissando sounded from my little cd player.

“ooooooo. you can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life” 

Seriously!? They want us to teach 4- and 5-year-olds how to sing Dancing Queen?  How do you explain what “jive” means to kids who are struggling to master “Jack and Jill Went Up the Hill.” THAT generally comes out as a tangle of smooshed consonants (screamed so loud that you can’t really tell the difference anyway), so needless to say I have serious concerns that a 1970s disco hit by a Swedish band sung in English is gonna work for a bunch of Korean kindergartners. Decide for yourself: 

ABBA “Dancing Queen”:

On Monday, despite my doubts and against my better judgement,  I popped the CD back in and hit the play button. I decided that my best option was to keep the song playing on repeat—hoping that my kids would at least internalize some of the rhythms—and let the music teacher sort out the rest.  Now, however, the damned song is also playing in a constant loop in my head and, if you just watched that video, it probaby is in yours now too. You’re welcome.