Friday, May 28, 2010

No Smoking


Last year I recall walking into the school and seeing one of my co-teachers, Mr. Choi beating a bunch of the male students. I was, of course, completely shocked and had to know why he was hitting these kids. Now... one thing you should know about Mr. Choi. He smokes... a lot. He was late to pretty much every class I had with him because he was outside smoking. He smoked ALL the time. And he was beating these kids because, get this, he caught them smoking.

I immediately told him this was really hypocritical of him and that he was the one setting a bad example to the kids. This was not taken really well, considering he was an older male, I'm a young female and I was totally going against confucian teaching. But to be honest I didn't really care. I also found out later that he was sexually harassing two of my teachers, which really lit the fire underneath me, and I didn't leave a lot unsaid between him and me. 

Anyway... a lot of Koreans smoke, just like everywhere else in the world, but I guess I don't remember anti- smoking posters in the hallway at my schools. At Jon's school last year they had like an entire exhibit set up for "No Smoking!"

And this year at my elementary school they also have posters lining the hall. I found most of them pretty typical... but one caught my eye specifically.

pretty typical poster, I think it's giving facts about smoking on the bottom, but I can't be sure.


Showing nasty black smoking lungs. ewwwww. This however also reminded me of 5th grade (i think it was then) When a doctor brought in a healthy lung and a cancerous lung... so nasty. It definitely stopped me from ever holding a cigarette to my mouth.

There were some other posters with a pregnant women and little kids and showing that you shouldn't smoke around them.

And then there was this little gem...


Is it a fat tony the tiger smoking a pipe? Is it the Cheshire cat from Alice in Wonderland?
I just don't understand 1) How this is showing children not to smoke 2) What kind of character it's supposed to portray and 3) What in the crap it has on it's head.


If anyone could help me decipher why this cat/tiger thing also has the hands of a human and the feet of a.... *ahem* what animal has that type of feet?  It would be most helpful.

Although I think my favorite part is the writing underneath the creepy/high tiger.  "ART  by: Dragon." It doesn't get much better or more weird than that.

4 comments:

The Browns said...

Hey Sara! and Hubby, I have not gotten a chance to meet you yet...any who...Sara the feet look like pigs feet and maybe it is trying to show kids tha tif you smoke you will turn into a creepy, weird hat wearing, pig footed, cat. hahahaha

Brian said...

That last poster is pretty neat, but weird. It's in reference to the Korean aristocracy of old who would do little more than lie around and smoke pipes.

The Browns said...

what do you mean i am weird?!?! Who is this mysterious brian fellow?

The Stainbrooks said...

haha bridgette I think he meant like the poster as in the smoking poster... not the poster who commented :)

He's a guy that used to live in Korea:)