Student Interview: Meet Jimin and Cleo!

안녕하세요 여러분!
Hello Everyone!

I really hope you enjoyed learning a little about school life in Korea last week. I am super excited for this week, because I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to interview two Korean students who are about the same age as you all! They were both really excited to know that you all will be reading it and hope that you enjoy what they have to say.

Anyhow without further delay, let me introduce you to the two students Jimin and Cleo! Jimin and Cleo both go to an international school (where they use a lot of English) so their experience might be a little different than some other kids their age but definitely not too different.

Jimin (left), and Cleo (right)

I asked both girls the same questions so I will write down their answers below. Jimin answered my questions in Korean so I did my best to translate! 

Me: What is your name? 

Jimin: My name is Jimin. (제 이름은  지민입니다.)

Cleo: My name is Cleo Kim and my Korean name is 김태이 (Kim Tae-Ee)

Me: How old are you? (몇 살이에요?)

Jimin: I am 10 years old in Korean age. (10한국나이로)

Cleo: My age is 11 and I was born in 2009. 

You might be wondering what Jimin means by "Korean age". Actually, in Korea age works
differently. In Korea, when you are born you are considered to be one years old. Also, in Korea
everyone turns the next age on New Years Day!  This means if you were born on Dec 31st, you
would be TWO years old the very next day! Of course, you still celebrate your birthday here but
technically you are considered to be the same age as everyone who was born in the same year as you.
So that means, all kids born in 2009 are 11 in Korea even if their birthday isn't until December.
Can you figure out what your Korean age is?

Me: What grade are you in? 

Jimin: I am in grade three in Korea. (3학년한국으로)

Cleo: I'm now in 4th grade actually in my school I should be 5th grade but I came late so now I'm in 4th grade.

Me: What are your favorite things to do for fun? 

Jimin: Gymnastics! (체조)

Cleo: My favorite fun's are texting with my friends  and watching Tik Tok and recording my videos at Tik Tok. I like to collect some K-pop good, I like collecting Red Velvet's Goods. 

Have any of you used Tik Tok? I
have heard its a pretty popular app
for kids these days.

Red Velvet is a Korean pop group! Actually, I showed you one of
their songs in my "Riding the Hallyu Wave" post from earlier this month!

Me: What does your usual school day look like? 

Jimin: I go to school from 8am to 3pm, but school gets out at 4pm. After school finishes, I go to academy (after school-school)... ummm then I come home and do homework, then I play on my phone, and then go to sleep! (학교가 8시부터 3시까짛하고 방과후하면 4시에 끝나고... 끝나면 학원가고  학원 같다오면  숙제하고 숙제하고 핸드포하다가 자요!)

Cleo: I go to school and go to academy (sometimes), and go to home. 

 

Me: What do you usually do when you meet your friends? 

Jimin: I play board games or play outside!! (보드게임하거나 뛰어놀아요!)

Cleo: I watch movies and drink Gongcha (bubble tea), go to friends house or my house. 

Gong cha is a famous bubble tea shop in Korea! Have you ever had bubble tea?

Me: What is your favorite food? 

Jimin: Ramen!! (라면)

Cleo: My favorite foods are Korean foods example: I like meat! I like American foods too!

Me:Do you like learning English? 

Jimin: Yes! (네!)

Cleo: I like learning English from kindergarten. I was in international school because I like learning English and I went to America at summer vacation. It was pretty god because I like to communicate with many Americans.

Me: What is your favorite subject at school?

Jimin: Math or science. (수학아니면 과학)

Cleo: My favorite school subject is always changing but my most favorite is L.A. (Language Arts) because I like to spell the word and  pronunciation the words. I had many hard time to learn vowels, adjectives, and nouns. 

Me:Do you want to tell anything else to the American fourth graders? Maybe do you have questions for them that you are curious about? 

Jimin: Is school in America hard or difficult? (미국 학교 힘들어요?)

Cleo: Do many American students learn about Koreans?

The American flag next to the Korean flag.

What did you all think of the interview? I had so much fun asking Jimin and Cleo questions and I hope you all feel like you learned a lot about kids in Korea these past few weeks. Is there anything else about kids in Korea you'd like to know?  Maybe more questions you have for Jimin and Cleo? What do you think about Cleo and Jimin's questions for you? Do you think American school is hard? What about learning about Koreans in school? Definitely, leave your answers below and I will share them with Jimin and Cleo! Also let me know if you have any questions about their answers. 

Also, I kinda can't believe it but next week I will be writing my last blog post for you all!!! :'( So please do let me know if there are any questions you still have about Korea that you'd like me to answer that week. Although it will be our last post, it won't be our last time talking! In January I will be coming by to throw a little celebration with you all. I am hoping to bring you all some fun treats and share about my experiences, so let me know either this week or next if there are any sort of treats or things you want me to bring back for you! 

Till next week! 다음에 봐요!