Holy Mackerel: The Shocker of the Century (+ Korean Drama-Coffee Prince)

Well at least for me.

Can you guess which one is the girl? (read to the end to find out).

So, I just found out that a student who I have been teaching for 11 weeks is actually a girl and not a boy. No one in the class knew. What the? I feel so ... I feel like I was just punked in a Korean drama.

If you wonder how it could happen. First of all she looks very ambiguous, with both male/female features, short hair etc. But the biggest thing is that she always sits with the boys and does her projects with them. Now if you know Korean kids that is a big no-no especially for 6th graders. She is also named for a boy in the currently famous k-pop group called SHINee - Key (they sing such hits as Amigo, Juliette, and Ring Ding Dong -links all subtitled in English, Juliette is my favorite, the 3rd is currently sweeping the nation as the latest dance craze ).

Her hair is cut just like his
Key (the real one not my student)

- can you tell he's not a girl in this photo?

This is something that is only possible when you teach low level English and no one can express themselves.
Conversations went something like this:

Student: teacher key is girl.
Me: huh
Other student: teacher, key is girl or boy?
Key: (Nothing but a sly smile)

How was I supposed to which was a statement and which was a question? They were said the same way. (p.s. I have omitted articles, because that is how they speak. It is not a mistake). And again, normally someone who wanted to be known as female would protest loudly at this point.

Finally one student said "no,teacher, really, my friend goes to her school and she really is", so I checked out my ERP and she is. Worst part is, she always wanted us to think she was a boy which is why she neither confirmed nor denied, and when the guys tried to send her over to the girl side she told them she hated it.

And to top it off, when kids used to call her a girl I'd tell them to stop being mean. One of the boys was particularly persistent, and turns out he knew all along. But the rest of the boys and especially the girls were shocked, they can't believe she was a girl the whole time. The girls are kind of mad too, now they know she deliberately shunned them to hang with the guys.

Luckily the boys accepted her back when they realized she was still the same person. Wow. The class was silent for about 10 minutes digesting. I suppose the pink stuff and skinny jeans should have given it away, but in Korea it doesn't. I will always read up about all of my students from now on in the erp. In case you are wondering, the part about student info is on a hidden tab, not readily available when you log in. Or maybe I'm just a bad teacher. Whew

Did you guess yet?

"I knew that", I can hear you say.
Easy for you to say, unless you live in Korea where it is commonplace for men to wear pinks/pastels and skinny jeans and carry purses, with the girlie cuts and figures.

The one on the left could be a(n) (albeit ugly) girl, and the guy on the right has the most beautiful jaw structure (he's actually Japanese + my crush from the drama).

watch the Korean drama The 1st Shop of Coffee Prince 커피프린스 1호점 (in Korean), also known as just Coffee Prince for the drama version of this real life story.

If you are in the U.S./Canada, you can watch it here or here or from anywhere here (all with English subtitles)

You can find also find all of your favorite locations from the drama around Seoul.

There's also a Coffee Prince blog and plans for a movie

As a teaser, here are some scenes:
Here, he doesn't yet know she is a girl, and they are on the beach: It's cute


Here, he knows, and it's a heart-wrenching scene: It made me cry.


The Big Bang (popular k-pop group) Parody with English Subtitles: HILARIOUS


Fun fact, it is the only Korean drama I have ever completed as of now. Also, you already know she is a girl from the beginning, so I haven't ruined it. The fun is watching everyone else discover, and, there are only 17 episodes.


And just think, you've learned a bit about Korean culture, dramas, and music all in one post. Fantastic, Fantastic, Fantastic*
* (see Ring Ding Dong to get the joke + how to use to rhyme with elastic)