Tell Me Your Secrets

This was originally inspired by Frank Warren's Post Secret project (watch his TED talk here) and fellow ETA Rachel Fauth, who incorporated the project into her classroom (I highly recommend her secrets blog), along with previous ETAs who have done the same.

To give some context on my school: Wonkwang Girl's High School is one of the top schools in Iksan and the surrounding area, and the students are given the nickname "the Wonkwang Ghosts" because they are described as constantly tired and pale. The reality in my classroom is often more energized, but my students still attend school every day for 13 hours, plus extra hagwon (tutor schools) and study hours at night. Seniors, who I don't teach, attend school on Saturdays and holidays as well. My school, like many others in Korea, is very competitive and focuses on preparing students for the 수능 (suneung), the annual university admissions test that Koreans see as the biggest determining factor in one's future - so big that students who are running late the morning of the test can get police escorts to school. On this day, some parents take off work to pray for their child's success.

Overwhelmingly, my students are from politically liberal families, but they are all still embedded within Korean culture. Issues of mental health, questioning sexual and gender identities, income inequality, family problems, and general suffering are for the most part taboo. I started this project with the hope to give voice to some of those feelings, along with some general silliness, and to acknowledge that many students share similar experiences. This is just a small sample of the couple thousand secrets I received. My students surprise me every day, and I hope they surprise you too.

Content warning: depression, anxiety, self-harm, body image, suicide, mental illness, alcohol, sex