Physical Education Uniform Code

Both boys and girls shall wear:

• Navy blue shorts (have you noticed they aren't regulating the length of these? Some of the more... fast... Korean girls will take this as a welcome opportunity to show some leg)

• White polo shirt with school logo embroidered (there isn't really much to say about this, physical education uniforms really aren't anything special, are they?)

• Navy blue knee high socks (like football/soccer socks – not the kind of fitted socks that the girls wear as part of their everyday uniform. Often boys will wear trainer socks or tube socks)

• A headscarf in school colours (how do I explain this? You seen the crazy bandana things that those Japanese 'samurai' people always wear tied around their head? One of those. It will be a different colour on each side and you can switch it over – one team will have theirs on red and the other on navy blue, you see?)

• Plain sports shoes in white (even sports shoes are usually regulated. Ones in retarded colours will be left in the changing rooms and replaced with plain white sneakers given out by the school. They shall be confiscated until the end of the week sometimes – chances are, you'll have another lesson before then, so you'll be forced to buy another pair that won't get confiscated. Clever, huh?)

Kit List

It is essential that our students are well-prepared to study, healthy and happy. Here are a list of things we ask that they bring to the school on a daily basis to make it easier for them to reach their full potential in their time here.

• One rucksack (sometimes interchangeable with tote bags depending on the school's policy. It has to be big to hold all the things that you will need and most of the time they are adorned with badges, stickers and come in funky designs)

• Two notebooks (like I said, people take a lot of notes in Korean classrooms, so they will need a lot of notebooks. It is as simple as that)

• A pencil case with pens, pencils, a sharpener, an eraser, a ruler, mathematics equipment, highlighters and coloured pencils (the pencil case is often very cute with a couple badges on it and the pens are also cute with little bobbleheads on the top occasionally, and designs in cute colours)

• One binder (this is to keep things like homework worksheets, letters home and other loose bits of paper together so they don't mess up your bag. This is interchangeable with a document folder with a pop button or a little elastic thing. They come in all kinds of designs and people doodle all over theirs to make it truly personal)

• A planner or diary (does Korean school ever stop? No. Is it easy to keep track of? No. It's easiest to take a planner or diary where you can jot down important dates, extra-extra-cram sessions and other things so that it's easier to keep up with)

• Enough money for lunch (Lunch! Ah, the joys of Korean high school food. I'll talk more about that later on in the guide, but this generally isn't a lot of money. People bring extras because the school usually also serves dinner and they will eat it there, also they like to snack during the study after school)

• Miscellaneous essentials such as a large bottle of water, subway passes, student ID cards, library books and passes (every kid is going to have something else that they need in their bag, and this covers some of it, but not most. Plus many kids bring water to school because... well, I can't explain that. Because we're human)

• Cell phones, music players and other portable electronic devices must be turned OFF during class and kept in the student's bag (another rule that's practically made to be broken. Often the kids text during class and try and listen to music without the teacher catching them, and with such a large class, the teacher probably doesn't see if you send a quick text)

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