What native Korean
speakers understand by the word sensayng is very different from what native
English speakers understand by the word teacher. To begin with, Koreans
will not hesitate to add the honorific element -nim to the end of the word,
i.e. sensayng-nim ‘honourable teacher’, especially when they refer to or address
their own or their children’s teachers. Teachers in Korea are respected almost
as much as parents, and one’s status as a teacher is always recognized and
admired even outside the classroom. Teachers are expected not only to
impart knowledge to students but also to provide guidance in life. In Korea,
teaching can be more than teaching school subjects, be they physics and
music. This is why Koreans often ask their former teachers to officiate at
their weddings. Koreans are expected to refer to their teachers as sensayng-
nim even after they are no longer students (and in fact even if they have
become parents or even teachers themselves).