Sorry^^

Today we had midterms at KIEP, Konkuk's intensive English program. This summer session is flying by.

Anyway, tonight as I was grading exams, I saw that one student had written sorry to me on his paper. It's something I've noticed previously in other classes, and it's just now dawned on me to write about it. Is this a practice among students around the world or is it a Korea-specific etiquette custom? Either way, it's kind of sweet, albeit unnecessary.  

My college days are too far behind me to remember much of anything with accuracy, so I can't recall writing an apology to a teacher about my performance on a test paper. Oh, to go back in time and check!

Incidentally, in the photo above, the two carets (^^) after my name represent a type of smiley face, Korean-style.