I also subscribed to my feed through Google reader to see what it looks like. Google reader is annoying, though, and I much prefer to visit the actual sites. I did learn, though, that subscribers to my feed will see posts that I had later deleted. For example, a little after the Super Bowl I posted one of the parodies of "Der Untergang." And the first time I posted it my German grammar was wrong, how embarassing. Hitler parodies are usually in good taste, but the next morning I had planned to do a write-up on One Free Korea's "The Morally Retarded Lorin Maazel," and thought it unwise to lambast a Jewish guy for visiting North Korea while I was laughing at Bruno Ganz saying of the German people: "They will pay with their own blood!"
Anyway, I decided a little while ago to try and address some of the Jeonnam-related stuff people were searching for that isn't covered on my site and isn't very well covered on the internet at all. After my last entry the things I wrote on became the number one result through google, so provided people are looking for obscure information on an unpopular Korean province, they'll find it here. If you have any requests, let me know. I haven't been following too closely lately because, like I said, 80% of searches are for naked Hong Kong celebrities or the Wondergirls. Actually, I get a lot of people looking for Soulja Boy. If you're the guy searching for "Large pictures of soulja boy just them," stop slinging rock and get a real job.
* Anyway, there is no such thing as Gurye Girls High School. There's Gurye High School and Gurye Agricultural High School. Just a tip for people looking for particular schools: 99 times out of 100 you won't turn up anything searching in English. If you can, get the Korean name from your recruiter or figure it out yourself, and search for it through Naver. It may take a little doing . . . for example, you sometimes have to search for the city along with the school in order to get a result. If you're interested in browsing through all the schools in a county or city, just type the area into Naver and click on "고등학교" for high school, "중학교" for middle school, or "초등학교" for elementary school.
Edit: it just occurred to my dumb ass that a Korean search probably won't do much good for a lot of people. It will tell you if the school actually exists, it will give you basic statistics like student body, staff, and maybe the name of the foreigner already working there (you'll never find me, though, because none of my schools have ever named me on their websites ㅠㅠ). If you know Korean and are decent at finding information, the school's website will give you an address, from which you can get a map and ask around about a particular neighborhood. But somebody applying to Korea for the first time from back home probably won't be able to navigate the page, and is probably more interested in getting opinions on the school from current and former employees. So . . .
If you're searching in English through an English site you might get a hit on something provided somebody has blogged about the particular school. It's actually a good idea to try and find blogs entries written by former teachers. It's also absolutely essential that get contact information of current teachers through your recruiter. I was going to give tips on where else you might look, but I know a lot of teachers don't like getting anonymous inquiries about particular schools, especially since bad reporting can get you sued for libel.
* Got some people looking for maps of Jeollanam-do and Gwangju. I'll get to Jeollanam-do maps another time. But to the folks looking for a street map of Gwangju, I'm sorry to say you're out of luck, sort of. There are a couple things you can do online that may help you out. You can browse the area of Gwangju with a Naver map, in Korean, by clicking here. If you know where you're going, type it into Naver, and chances are you can pull up a map of the area. If you're looking for a particular restaurant chain or department store, you can either Naver it or visit the official website and go to the page for the Gwangju franchise(s), where you can often find a crude street map. Your best bet is to go to one of the tourist information centers and see what you can find. As you probably know, you can also find smaller street maps on display inside the subway stations, which will tell you were something is in relation to that particular station. But if you can type Korean and can navigate Korean sites a little, you ought to have a look around Naver, because it'll probably turn up what you're looking for.
* Hell, while we're at it, I'm not sure how "lotte mart movie theater" brings you to me, but it's worth pointing out that such a search will also lead you nowhere near a movie theater site. There is no such thing as "lotte mart movie theater," but the shitty thing about searching for Korean sites in English is that such a phrase won't even get you close to what you're looking for. Hell, "lotte movie theater" gets you nothing, either. You're looking for Lotte Cinema, a nationwide chain. Hahaha, and like just about every Korean website, the Lotte Cinema site "may harm your computer," and will bring up a malware warning when you search for it in google. *Sigh* I get that message for the local newspapers and for many of the official county websites.
* Got a few people looking for "suncheon brian korea esl." Um . . . okay, stop doing that.
* And, since we're slow today, I'll address some of the hits I got for "If U R YOUNG & WHITE, U R ALRIGHT" after I reposted that ad on Dave's a few days ago. I linked to it in this December post but it's buried in the archives. The original job listing isn't around anymore, but it's an ad for the Kid's Club near Ori Station in Bundang, and it originally ran on Work n' Play in July, 2007. I posted the ad on waygook.org, where you can read it in full. Here's an excerpt:
We are looking for young (20's), cheerful (smile!) teachers who fit our image of native English-speakers/Americans. By law, you must be a college graduate. Average-weight (or thin) people are preferred. Also, please, no Australians/New Zealanders/Irish/etc. Brits may be considered under special circumstances. (Of course no non-native English speakers or ethnic minorities.) Korean citizens/Kyopos with native-like English skills may be hired temporarily, and college degree is not required of them.
One-year contract required (by law). Please note, however, that cultural differences exist with respect to contracts. Here is a quote from http://www.aacircle.com.au/teach-in-korea.htm :
"English teachers in Korea occasionally have contract disputes with their employers. In the Korean context, a contract is simply a rough working agreement, subject to change depending upon the circumstances. Most Koreans do not view deviations from a contract as a breach of contract, and few Koreans would consider taking an employer to court over a contract dispute." We don't think you will take us to court, either!
LMFAO LMFAO LMFAO. Oh, and like the ad says,
If you have any questions or comments, feel free to call Gina Song any time, seven days a week, at 011-9334-4303
Feel free, if you have any questions. *cough* But to be fair, nobody really likes Australians/New Zealanders/Irish/etc, so she's not being ignorant, just practical.
* Edit: LOL, because of my post "More racial ass-hattery from the Korean press" I'm now the first google result for "Korean best ass" and number 10 for "Korean ass." I was going to type something lewd and offensive to my new visitors, but in the spirit of being helpful this March, I'll direct you instead to the contestants in Japan's "best butt contest." Doesn't look like Korea had any such festival, but then again I didn't spend too much time googling around for Korean backsides. That page is weird. Here's a funny quotation from the winner:
"I always take care of my bottom, but I'm embarrassed to show it today because I burned it by sitting on a hair iron the other day," said Watanabe, who was looking particularly pretty in purple.
2 comments:
These kinds of posts are a really good idea.
http://www.airkorea.or.kr/
have a look
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