This means that there are no school buses, and students just walk from their dormitory building to their class building when school starts.
Classrooms
Usually, Korean students stay in the same classroom all day, and the teachers travel to the students. This means that Korean students have all of their belongings in cubbies in their classrooms or around their desks. It can get pretty crowded with stuff! Also, there are separate buildings or floors for separate grades.
The classroom that students stay in is called their "homeroom." In Korea, homeroom teachers are extremely close with students and they are seen as "second parents."
Schedules
During the day, Korean schools follow a similar schedule to American schools. Students usually go to school around 8:00 a.m., have 10-minute break times between classes, eat lunch around noon and leave school around 4:00 p.m. Time spent after school is different, though!
When I was in school in America, I would relax after school, do homework, spend time with my family and go to dance class. In Korea, however, many students usually go to after-school academies called hagwons. These hagwons can be really expensive and can be on different topics, but the most common ones are math, English and science. Usually, hagwon classes last until 10:00 p.m. or 11:00 p.m. Sometimes, students don't get to go home or even eat dinner until after that!
Exams
In Korea, nearly all classes are exam-based. This means that Korean students don't get to do as many projects, games or hands-on activities as American students do. Because of this, I make sure that there are lots of fun games and activities in my class!
