Who are you?

Inevitably, every time I speak to a first or second grader in Korean, this exchange happens:

“안녕하세요,” the student says while bowing.

“안녕,” I reply, in appropriate casual speech.

I continue walking past the student. A moment passes, and then I hear the chaos unfold as the student reports back to the class or surrounding peers.

“Was that the English teacher?”

“The English teacher speaks Korean!”

“But isn’t she a foreigner?”

“But Koreans speak Korean. So is she Korean?”

Their chatter continues. I don’t turn around. Cool guys don’t look at explosions.