YONGSAN GARRISON, South Korea — South Korean teachers visited Seoul American Elementary School last week to see what they could learn from the American educational system.

Eighteen elementary school teachers from Seoul’s Gangnam district toured the garrison, observed classes and discussed teaching techniques with their American peers as part of a United Service Organizations Good Neighbor Program.

The South Korean teachers said they were impressed with the teacher-student interaction and how well-behaved the children seemed during Thursday’s visit.

“None of the children were walking around during the class,” said Ryu Jae-sam. “None of them distracted the class with (bad) behavior … teachers and students appear to respect each other.”

Yeo Moon-ok said she learned valuable lessons while observing fifth-graders read a book with their teacher.

When he let students freely discuss the lesson, Yeo said, she realized American teachers are given more freedom to present material than South Korean teachers.

The South Korean teachers said they hope Americans will visit as well as learn from their schools in the future.

“We use effective skills that give children more interest in mathematics,” said Jung Young-hee. She said South Korean teachers use dances and songs to help students with difficult lessons.

Jung said she thought her school was “more nicely equipped with a multi-media system but the library of the American school is far better.”

Seoul American’s Sally Yoshida said both South Korean and American teachers try to “help children foster a love of learning and the curiosity of wanting to learn more.”

“We teachers all share the same concern that we are trying to teach our children to become good citizens,” she said.