Yeosu in the old news.

Man, sifting through Google and Naver for old stories about Jeollanam-do is fun. I wish I could do this all day. Wait . . . today is midterms . . . perhaps I will.

* This first story isn't old news, and is from yesterday's papers. Police caught a murder suspect in Seonwon-dong on the 28th.

* Oil company GS Caltex has introduced prize fighting into elementary schools and uses white people to officiate:



* In 2005 Ohmynews ran a two-part prison diary of an English teacher incarcerated in Yeosu's Immigration detention center. The diary's second part talks about a fire that was started in one of the cells:

Last night (April 22), there was a fire (I believe in cell 201). It happened around 3:30 a.m. I learned later that is was probably started by three Russian men (who are now in solitary confinement). Before this fire occurred I could hear people shouting downstairs, complaining and demanding that the TVs be restored. (I'm not sure if the people who started the fire were among their number.)

Luckily, the fire was contained. But what if it wasn't. Everyone, behind bars, have no ability to escape to safety. During the fire, the guards on our floor seems to be at a loss as to what to do (or rather, they were waiting to be told what to do.) One guard, if my memory is accurate, sat down at the office computer and played solitaire.

I have been told on more than one occasion that this facility is understaffed and under funded. There are not enough staff, guards or otherwise to safely run this prison. Which, in my view, cannot be lawful, let alone safe for staff or detainee. When a repairman comes to fix the phone or TV, he is locked inside with us. This is only because the guards trust us not to harm that person. (This is also the case whenever one of the staff enter our cells.)

* Gusts of Popular Feeling first brought up that small fire in his write-up of the bigger fire there in February, 2007, that killed 9 people. Take a look at his two posts here and here for a good summary and links to tons of news stories. Long story short, a Chinese-Korean started a fire that did so much damage because firefighters couldn't open the jail cells. It had no sprinkler syste because it was under 11 stories tall and, moreover, as the floor burned it emitted a toxic gas. The prison diary and the news stories on Matt's two posts provide a very grim picture of the plight of illegal immigrants in government detention centers. Certainly an important reminder that the foreigner experience extends well beyond the classroom, and that many foreign visitors and residents here face much bigger problems than shifty coteachers or lack of imported beer.



* I got word that for some reason people believed that elevator attack on a 10-year-old girl happened in Suncheon, not Ilsan. I hear that some foreign scholars around here believed it happened in our apartment complex. It didn't, but there was a similar case in Yeosu back in February, something I didn't find out until this morning. The Joongang Ilbo mentions it in passing in an article full of alarming stories:

In Yeosu, South Jeolla, police asked for help identifying suspects from an assault that happened at 9 p.m. on Feb. 14. Two young men tried to force an elementary school girl to the rooftop of her apartment building. She managed to escape when the elevator opened on the 13th floor. A surveillance camera captured a blurry image of the two suspects.

The story was in the Korean press a little, here and here for example.

* Here's a 2005 article about a local rock band chosen as publicity envoy for Yeosu's World Expo bid (which it eventually won). Copied and pasted from a registration site:

YEOSU, South Korea, Jan. 30 (Yonhap) -- South Korean's port city of Yeosu named a popular local rock band to serve as a publicity envoy to promote its bid to host the 2012 World Expo. Yeosu Mayor Kim Chung-seog invited the Yoon Do-hyun Band to his office on Sunday and asked the four-member group to take up the publicity mission for the city's bid, aides said. Yoon, the group's lead guitarist-cum-singer, accepted the offer, the aide said. The band is widely known for its hit song, "Oh! Pilseung (Victory) Korea," which became a theme song for South Korean soccer fans rooting for their national team during the 2002 soccer World Cup. South Korea advanced to the semi-finals in the World Cup, which it co-hosted with Japan. Yeosu plans to appoint more popular entertainers and social celebrities to promote the city's bid, aides said. Yeosu on the nation's south coast, some 400 kilometers south of Seoul, was unsuccessful in its earlier bid for the 2010 World Expo.

* Every now and then an article about the Yosu-Sunchon Rebellion, a bloody precursor to the Korean War, will turn up. Here's an interesting one from 1999 from the Chosun Ilbo, part of a series on something or other, I haven't figured out what. It transcribes a bit of a speech President Park Chung-hee made to assembled Yeosu citizens in 1963, explaining his involvement in the 1948 military rebellion:

My dear friends from Yeosu, it is an honor to meet you here. I came to meet the people of a city over which there has been so much controversy. I have come to explain about the rebellion. During the Yeosu-Suchon rebellion, I was a major serving as an instructor at the military academy. As you are well aware, when the 14th army regiment, which was stationed here, started a rebellion the leader was a lieutenant Kim Ji-hwae. He was instructed by communists to do this and started the rebellion the night before the regiment was to move to Cheju to put down the revolt there.

As soon as it occurred, general Song Ho-sung, the army commander called me before leaving Seoul and ordered me to accompanying him as an operational chief of the unit designated to put down the rebellion. So I arrived at Kwangju airfield with Song and served in that capacity. He was replaced by general Won Young-deok, who I also served under.

After this I was ordered to go back to army headquarters. At the time there were purges throughout the entire military as many communists had infiltrated it. All people who had had any contact with any person engaging in communist activity were investigated, and sometimes personal animosity was used to further other people's careers. Most were arrested and harshly interrogated.

I had a brother who was slightly involved in leftist activity after the liberation. As a result I was arrested and interrogated. I was questioned for two months on these suspicions and was cleared. I was released and went back to serve in the army, and was even promoted to major-general right before the May 16 revolution."

Park was arrested for his role in the insurrection and was sentenced to life in prison. He was released after, Wikipedia tells us, naming names of Communist sympathizers.

* Big strike in Yeocheon, formerly its own city, back in 2001.

* Jesus Christ, what a headline. An excerpt from the 2001 BBC report:

The South Korean government has apologised to China over an incident in which the bodies of 25 illegal Chinese immigrants were allegedly dumped at sea.

The group suffocated while hiding in the storage tank of a fishing vessel as they were being smuggled into South Korea on Sunday, off the south-western port of Yeosu.

Patrol boats have been combing the waters off the coast of Yeosu for the past two days, but have so far failed to make any recoveries.

The circumstances surrounding the incident have shocked the South Korean public. On Wednesday the government issued a statement expressing regret over what it called an inhumane and criminal act.

* Hahaha, cheap-ass, trifflin officials.

* South Korea sunk a North Korean submarine one mile off Yeosu in 1998.

* Replace "flags" with "is" and we're in business.

* According to a 2007 survey, Yeosu is better than Beijing. No shit. Copied and pasted from a registration article:

SEOUL, April 3 (Yonhap) -- Seoul ranked 87th in quality of living among the world's major urban centers, a survey by a New York-based human resource consulting firm said Tuesday. The ranking is a gain of two compared to last year's report by the Mercer Human Resource Consulting Group. Last year, the South Korean capital of over 10 million people ranked 89th on the list. The "2007 World-wide quality of living survey" examined conditions in 215 cities. Mercer's total index is based on 10 categories: consumer goods, housing, medical and health considerations, recreation, public services and transport, schools and education, and cities' economic, natural, political and social, as well as socio-cultural environments. Other Korean cities examined by the group were Yeosu, South Jeolla Province, which is bidding to host the 2012 World Expo, and the industrial city of Ulsan on South Korea's east coast. Yeosu ranked 110th, unchanged from the previous year, while Ulsan moved up two notches to place 113th overall. Of the cities examined, Zurich came in first, followed by Geneva, another Swiss city. Vienna and Vancouver tied for third, and Singapore and Tokyo came in at the top of Asian cities, placing 34th and 35th respectively. Beijing and Shanghai were ranked 116th and 100th, while the U.S. cites of Washington, D.C. and Chicago tied for 44th place. New York came in 48th. Iraq's capital of Baghdad came in last for the fourth straight year, with no halt to the sectarian violence in sight.

Polly don't wanna cracker, Polly wanna twinkie.

A couple generic Korean-American community leaders were talking in this evening's Korea Times about that plan to attract Korean-Americans to volunteer or work in Korea's rural areas (here and here for background information). They explained that the plan doesn't seem appealing to many Korean-Americans, and that South Korea needs to step up with more incentives to attract those of Korean descent. I have no idea what this guy's talking about with the "it" and "this" in the following paragraph:

``Actually, it is not our job. The Korean government should take this up and support more programs for young ethnic Koreans around the world. Still, many more young students are interested in learning about Korea,'' said former KAYAC President Ahn Yong-jin.

They said the government needs to learn from China, Japan and especially from Israel. ``The Jewish people work hard to embrace their kindred all around the world. There are about 850 Jews in the White House, for example, and they are the power and driving force of Israel,'' said Lee, who also served as president of the Korea-American Association of New York.

``We should do something for young Koreans overseas. If we don't, there will be no more chances and our children will have no roots,'' Lee added.

They also asked the Korean government to take care of Korean adoptees in the United States. ``Many adopted Koreans have bad feelings about their parents and mother country. Their motherland should embrace them,'' Ahn said.

They said a greater pool of ethnic Korean assets will be nurtured across the world in 15- 20 years. The government should invest in them so that it can attract them as driving power for Korea in the future. ``I hope President Lee suggests a vision and long-run plans for ethnic Koreans instead of just talking to us in `pragmatic' ways,'' Lee said.

And we wanna stay up late and eat ice cream with sprinkles and a cherry on top, and we wanna go on a pony ride every day, and we don't wanna eat the crust on the pizza. I already did a little write-up on the drive to attract more teachers to rural areas, the logistics involved in staffing these schools, the incorrect assumption that teachers are "shunning" these posts, an entry which you can read here. As for Lee and Ahn, their points can best be summarized with the following:



In all fairness, though, me and Google just snooped around a little and it doesn't seem like any of the organizations mentioned in the article actually mean anything. Actually, nobody mentioned in the article turned up on a Google search.

There's really not much point in debating articles like this but it's a slow news day. What really stands out to me is the vastly different valuations of Korean-Americans as English teachers. On the one hand you have people like shithead professor and KT columnist Jason Lim and many others who consider Korean-Americans an invaluable resource in a land full of white people. He writes:

Although private language institutes might have to cater to their customers' prejudices in order to maximize their profits, the government doesn't. The government is free to pursue the highest qualified native-English speakers who would adjust well to life in Korea without regard to their skin color.

Further, the government would have extra leverage in recruiting highly-qualified Korean Americans because they have a natural affinity and inclination to explore their parents' country.

This means that highly-educated Korean Americans, who would otherwise take more lucrative positions in the U.S., would come to teach English in Korea for lower pay just for the experience.

The gist of his article is the tired argument that Korean-Americans are more suited to teaching English in Korea because they will have an easier time adjusting and will, because of their ancestry and imagined ties to Korea, be extra motivated to both work hard and study hard . . . which kind of contradicts that "without regard to their skin color" line. Yet, of course, Korean-Americans are often paid less and, as we can see from the latest round of articles, are slated to earn considerably less money working out in rural areas. While they might gain some sympathy as they quote-unquote rediscover their culture *cough*, they generally lack any credibility as native speakers, and often face rejection by students, parents, and colleagues. But, when I read shit like how Koreans need to be more like Jews---really, really sick of that line of thinking---or shit like the following from the same Jason Lim article, my reaction is pretty much "well, fuck 'em":

I still remember being chewed out by the president of the language institute I worked for 10 years ago because I hired a Korean American UCLA graduate who was far more qualified than one of those 'Let's travel through Asia while earning money as English teachers and score some women at the same time, dude!" types of instructors that were so prevalent in those days.

Yet, the latter was considered a better hire than the Korean American because he was white and therefore a more authentic English speaker.

Such hiring practices have led to recent scandals in which some native-English instructors have been shown to be less than ideal teachers. Many lacked professional qualifications, lied about their academic training, and enjoyed less than exemplary lifestyle involving the proverbial sex, drugs, and rock n roll.

Korea was recently shocked to find out that one of them was a pedophile who had brazenly posted his pictures with the very Asian kids that he had sexually abused.

By the way, back in November I took Lim to task for his race-baiting and for his stubborn contention that Korean-Americans are better fits in the Korean TEFL scene. Anybody who has ever hung around with some of the Korean-American cliques around here won't be so quick to champion that demographic.

New clinic for foreigners in Suncheon. *May 1st Update*

Scroll down for an update.


Low-quality picture of a generic-looking building with a tree in the middle. Nice.

Man, what's the deal with so many male Korean English teachers acting as if they're reading for the part of Uriah Heep?

Anyway, in other news, came across a relatively new doctor's office in Suncheon advertising itself with "Clinic for Foreigner." It's in Geumdang, between the Lotteria and Paris Baguette over there. You can get a map of the area here, with the clinic's name---복음의원---pointed out. It's open from 8:30 to 6:30 during the week, and until 3:30 on Saturday, with lunch being from 1 until 2. The sign on the outside says it offers a variety of basic services, and the banner along the awning says it offers Botox and Calogen injections, too. Not sure if the quality of English is better than other doctors in town, or if this clinic offers anything the other clinics don't, but hey, at least they're advertising in English and making an effort to attract the customers many wish to avoid.



* Update (May 1, 18:20): By virtue of being sick for a fucking month I had an opportunity to try out the clinic today. I must say I was disappointed based on my higher expectations, and can't really recommend it as a "foreigner clinic," or whatever. The two receptionists seemed nice enough, but they didn't speak English. They were having a little discussion amongst themselves about my age and how to calculate it based on my birthdate. (Much more amusing to those who aren't in a great deal of pain, I can assure you). The doctor's English level was quite low, and I often had difficulty understanding him. Those comments aren't necessarily complaints that make this clinic worse than any others that may be in the area, but they just indicate that this doctor's office doesn't actually specialize in or cater to foreigners, in spite of the sign out front. And, like every other doctor I've seen in Korea, this one didn't do anything. He listened to my ailments, asked asinine questions, checked my breathing, and handed me a print-out. Didn't even check anything else until I asked him to. He did tell me that I probably didn't have cancer because I was too young. Not thorough whatsoever, but an exam we've come to expect here. Hell, I remember when I was getting my in-country phyisical for my first public school job. The packet of forms requested a battery of exams to check all my body's systems and major organs. The doctor told me that it'd be very time consuming and expensive to run these tests, so he just asked me if I had any problems with my stomach, liver, nervous system, etc. Anyway, this new clinic in Suncheon is pretty generic, and although one of the receptionists was kind of cute, to be honest I think you'd be better off trying the one above the Mini-Stop across from NC Department Store. But, actually, I'm not sure if I can fully recommend that doctor, since I was obviously not cured after two visits, but whatever. Living in Korea means learning how to deal with shit.

Hahaha, all look same.

Keanu Reeves at the "Speed Racer" premiere.

"How I Met Your Mother," now running on Korean TV as "아이러브프렌즈," has got to be the whitest show on television. In other news, Rain just got served. Interesting to know these things still happen to the most influential person in the world. *cough* From the Chosun Ilbo:

Singer and actor Rain had an embarrassing moment at the premier of his Hollywood debut film "Speed Racer" at the Nokia Theater in Los Angeles on Saturday. The 26-year-old Korean superstar was introduced as Taejo Togokhan, the name of his character in the movie, instead of his real name Jung Ji-hoon, or his better-known stage name.

They get my name wrong all the time. Then again, I'm not overexposed on the vanguard of a heralded nationalistic pop culture takeover, and my fans aren't bringing me more international fame than my career ever did by stuffing online ballot boxes to have me named the most influential person in the world. I'm sure some of his maniacal fans will be more upset that ignorant white people confused with a Japanese man, and a fictional one at that. At least nobody ever mistook me for a Canadian.

English Towns in Jeollanam-do.

I know this isn't a topic any of my readers care about: this entry is mostly to feed Google. Even though every county and city in Jeollanam-do once aspired to open their very own English Towns, and even though more and more foreigners in the area end up working at them, there is just about no information available about them in English. This entry will do little to change that, but here you'll at least find as complete a list of them as I could make, with links to official websites, Korean news articles, and photo galleries.

From what I can tell, 17 of the 22 cities and counties in Jeollanam-do have opened English Towns. Suncheon doesn't have one, but one is apparently on the way. I couldn't find any information on Jindo, Shinan, Wando, or Hampyeong counties. You can find a lot of articles---here and here, for example---that talk about how every county and city planned to open them, and when they were set to debut, but often these predictions proved inaccurate.

English Towns are generally staffed by a couple of foreigners and a couple of Korean teachers, and aim to provide English immersion experiences. Students will visit for a day or two and will proceed through a variety of stations that require them to use "real-life" English: at a hotel, for example, or a restaurant, an airport, a bank, a taxi, and so forth. Many of the press releases, and even the titles of the schools themselves, talk about 체험 ("experience") and about exposing students to foreign cuultures. Teachers will see a new set of students every few days, and thus use the same lesson plans over and over for the entire semester.

When I was set to work in Gangjin's English Town, I was told I had to design all the materials for each station. That line of thinking didn't last long, though, because a little while later I was given a set of situational dialogues written by (and stolen from) a Korean teacher at an English Village in Gyeonggi-do, and told we would use these. I proofread them and made changes, although---hahaha, typical---my coteacher didn't apply any of these changes to the dialogues because the Korean teacher who made them didn't agree with my corrections. Didn't really matter, because a little while later I was given a book of dialogues and told to practice them with the students. These were based on a CD-ROM produced by another English Town in Jeollanam-do, starring a Canadian with an expression-less face and an inflection-less voice. Then, eventually, the idea of me working at an English Town was dropped, because its opening was delayed by 18 months.

Anyway, there isn't much firsthand information available about local English Towns. Sadly most foreigners are not interested in sharing their experiences or connecting with the foreign community down here so fuck 'em. Matter of fact, I haven't even heard from or seen foreigners from most of these counties, and it's kind of a let-down to know that there are folks "on the ground" in these rural areas who have no interest whatsoever in sharing what they know.

Here's what I could find, and I would encourage those with firsthand information to share it, either here or on the local message board Waygook.org. Some of the information is dated, but since nothing else has turned up, I've let it stand. I've included citations for the staff lists, although outside of reading the articles and checking the sites I have no way of confirming how accurate these figures are because I have no idea who any of these people are. Most of the external links are in Korean, and only a handful of these English Towns have their own websites. They all look pretty much the same, though, so have a look around the website for the one in Mokpo or Jangheung to get a sense of what these Towns entail.

Boseong English Town (보성영어타운)
* Located at Boseong South Elementary School
* Staff: 1 foreigner, 2 Koreans [here, here]
* Other links: 광주매일신문 article.

Damyang Foreign Language Center (담양외국어체험센터)
* Located at Damyang East Elementary School
* Opened February, 2008 [here]
* Staff: 1 foreigner, 2 Koreans [here]
* Other links: Naver news article.

Gangjin Foreign Language Town (강진외국어타운)
* Official site
* Located on the site of the former Chilryang Elementary School
* Opened March, 2008
* Staff: 3 foreigners, 1 Korean
* Other links: My earlier blog entry.

Goheung English Town (고흥영어타운)
* Opened February, 2007

Gokseong English Town (곡성영어타운)
* Located at Gokseong Central Elementary School
* Opened December, 2006, apparently the 8th English Town in Jeollanam-do [here]
* Staff: 1 foreigner, 1 Korean [here]
* Other links: 나주영상강인터넷방송 article; 데이리NK article; photo (complete with arbitrary spacing).

Gurye Foreign Language Town (구례외국어타운)
* Located at Gurye Central Elementary School
* Opened 2005
* Evidentally also classes in Japanese and Chinese [here]
* Other links: 한국미래신문 article

Gwangyang English Town (광양용강영어타운)
* Official site
* Located at Yonggang Elementary School
* Opened 2004, among the first in the country.
* Staff: 1 American, 1 Korean [here]
* Other links: Photos of 옥곡초교's visit.

Haenam English Town (해남영어타운)
* Located at Haenam East Elementary School
* Opened October, 2005 [here]

Hwasun English Town (화순영어타운)
* Located at Hwasun Elementary School
* Opened October, 2007
* Staff: 2 foreigners, 4 Koreans [here]
* Other links: 화순신문 article; Yonhap article.

Jangheung English Town (장흥영어타운)
* Official site
* Located at Jangheung West Elementary School
* Opened January, 2006
* Staff: 1 Canadian, 1 Filipino, 3 Koreans

Jangseong Foreign Language Town (장성외국어타운)
* Located at Jangseong Central Elementary School
* Opened: February, 2008
* Staff: 2 Koreans, 1 Foreigner [here]
* Other links: 데이리안 article.

Mokpo English Village (목포영어체험마을)
* Official site
* Located inside Mokpo Central Elementary School
* Opened December, 2006
* Staff; 7 foreigners, 5 Koreans
* Other links: Korea Herald article.

Muan English Town (무안영어타운)
* Official site
* Opened November, 2006
* Located at Muan Elementary School
* Staff: 2 Koreans, 1 American

Naju English Town (나주영어타운)
* Opened September, 2006
* Other links: 희망교육 article; a few photos from a Canadian former employee; photos from a class trip here and here; 나주북초교 visits (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).

Suncheon English Town
There is no English Town in Suncheon, although one source says one will open in 2010. A meeting was held in February, 2006, among local English teachers and parents where 39.5% of those assembled said an English Town would be a good idea (있으면, 좋을 것 같다) and 37.6% said it is extremely necessary (매우 필요).

Yeongam Foreign Language Center (영암외국어체헙센터 / 영암영어타운)
* Located at Jangcheon Elementary School
* Opened: December, 2007 [here]
* Other links: Various .hwp files available on the 장천초교 bulletin board.

Yeonggwang English Town (영광영어타운)
* Located at Yeonggwang Elementary School
* Opened September, 2005 [here]
* Staff: 1 Caucasian, 1 Filipino, 1 Korean [here]
* More links: Yonhap article; a few remarks from Waygook.org.

Yeosu English Town (여수영어타운)
* Official site
* Located at Yeosu West Elementary School
* Opened December, 2005
* Staff: 2 Canadians, 3 Koreans
* Other links: Blog of two employees.

Police do it again.

Just wanted to point everyone to this post over on Korea Beat, a translation of an SBS news story, via Naver. Video here, in Korean. Here's an excerpt, which picks up after we learn about a high school girl who was repeatedly sexually assaulted and her mother went to the cops:

But when her mother filed a written accusation with the Seobu Police Department in Seoul on March 26th, the police said that they could not investigate or prosecute crimes outside their jurisdiction and waited three days before passing the case to the Ilsan Police Department.
[Mother: The Police said they couldn’t do anything. So I asked why and they said about jurisdiction, you know… it was clear to me that they wouldn’t, couldn’t.]

Embarrassingly half-assed police work is a very disturbing trend (see here and here and here and here and here and here and here). Oh, and I can't believe I forgot about the Miryang gang rape case from 2004 (see here and here) where the police rounded up only a few of the dozens who raped middle and high school girls and ended up insulting the victims for besmirching the name of their fair city. Said one officer:

“Weren’t you girls waving your asses around and [kept] going there because you liked it? My hometown is Miryang, and you’ve destroyed the reputation of the town.”

Wasn't but four weeks ago that President Lee Myung-bak had to pay a visit to the Ilsan police and kick their asses into shape after they made no attempt to catch a man who assaulted and tried to kidnap a 10-year-old kid in an elevator. And wasn't but six weeks ago that Korea Beat translated another story about how hospitals are shockingly ill-equipped to handle and treat rape victims.

Suncheon in the old news.

I've come across some news stories about Suncheon these past few months but never had a chance to use them. They're clogging up my "favorites" tab, so here they are.

* I found this while searching Dave's for doctors in Suncheon. According to this post, a foreign English teacher was murdered in Yeonhyang-dong in 1998. The only other mentions of this incident were in two comments by Sonagi on the Marmot's Hole in 2007, here and here, the second one saying an American EPIK teacher was stabbbed to death. If anyone has more information on this, please pass it along. Stuff like this and the following druggie story illustrate, both in what may of happened and the lack of information about these incidents, that anywhere outside of Seoul was pretty much a wild, untamed frontier for foreigners not too long ago. I maintain things have changed a great deal, in spite of the way some of my peers may act.

* Suncheon and other cities of its kind aren't exactly crime-free. Couple of excerpts from a 2005 Chosun Ilbo article:

The 2004 crime report issued by the Supreme Public Prosecutor's Office after reviewing statistics from all investigative bodies, the town with the highest rate of criminal activity was Jeju with 9,966 crimes per 100,000 residents, followed by Mokpo (6,117) Gumi (5956), Gangneung (5,701), Suncheon (5,634) and Pohang with 5,215 crimes.

. . .

The crime rate was lower in the big urban centers.

The piece points out that big cities have the most violent crime in Korea, thus contradicting the sensational headline, "Crime Rampant in Provincial Towns." The article does, though, point out that Korean women are stupid whores who deserve to be raped:

Sexual assault increased from less than 1,000 a month to between 1,000 to 1,100 cases between May and August, when clothing becomes more revealing.

* A few years back an Australian and an Irish guy in Suncheon got busted on drug charges at Elvis, a local bar. The Australian on a local message board back in January, 2004, all sic:

Nobody said that we couldn't do the time. Inj fact we used the five weeks that we were locked up to great effect. 5 weeks without a beer or a cigarette, and I feel like I'm 21 again. Fuck Betty Ford. 100 sit ups and 100 push ups a day and I'm looking like a machine. Got to meet numerous interesting people, including the ex Mayor of Suncheon who is doing five years for accepting bribes. Read some great books, and also got a great reference from the Governer of the prison for the free English lessons we provided to the prison guards.

And in response to a guy who didn't approve:

Anyway, I suggest that before you continue with your
crusade to rid Korea of long haired hippy backpackers (could take a WHILE) you start with something a little easier. I suggest trying to ferret out all the 40 something American WANKERS who couldn't cut it in their own country so they go to Korea, and try and kid themselves that they're doing something useful and that teaching there is a real job, when all they are is eye candy for their school.

The Irish guy weighs in:

Ive heard a rumour that some fag scott went to the police, Alls i can say to this if it is true, that this guy is a complete prick, thanks for destroying my time in korea, the worst about it i dont even know this guy, and if you did go to the police, you are the lowest of the low and basically i hope you burn in hell, sooner rather than later. I heard this guys about 40 and hes one these pricks that had to come to korea to find a job and a wife. LOSER.

Yeah, y'all stay classy.

* Well, seems the above scholar in the hooscow wasn't an entirely worthless human being, since he passed along information about Suncheon's corrupt politicians. From a 2006 Dong-A Ilbo article on inaugurations around the country:

In Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, considering that three previous elected mayors were all jailed for charges such as bribery, an “oath of integrity” was taken at the end of the inaugural ceremony.

From a 2001 Korean Herald article on a roundup of 17 corrupt provincial leaders:

Among the accused provincial government heads are Sunchon City Mayor Shin Joon-shik, Ullung County Magistrate Chung Jong-tae and Sungju Country Magistrate Kim Kom-yong.

Mayor Shin was arrested last Saturday for accepting 120 million won (US$95,000) from a construction firm in return for allowing the firm to win construction projects.

* Nobody tells me anything. Last month two of the biggest pop groups in Korea these days came through Suncheon for a concert. F.T. Island and Girls Generation played the Suncheon Youth Festival at 팔마체육관 on March 22nd. I just spent, like, six minutes looking for pictures of two teen pop acts playing in Suncheon, so you'd better appreciate them (here and here). There are also some videos up on youtube and Naver. When I saw these thumbnails of FT Island at some museum in Seoul, I thought "aww, that's nice, they're walking around with their fans!" But those aren't middle school girls, they're the band.


Just need some pictures to break up the text.

* Scientists from Suncheon National University helped clone glowing cats last year. In fact one of the top cloning experts in the country, Kong Il-geun (공일근) was a professor there from 1998 to 2007, and currently teaches at 경상대학교.



* Hyocheon High School got no-hit last year.

* A guy set a fire to a distillery in 2003, killing three people. What guy? Which distillery? Where? Why? Thanks to Korean journalism, the world may never know. Copy and paste from a registration site:

A South Korean man set fire to a rice wine distillery in South Korea on Wednesday, killing at least four people, a police official said.

The man, identified only by his family name Bang, set the blaze at the distillery by using gasoline, a police official said on customary condition of anonymity. The factory is located in Suncheon, south of Seoul.

The distillery produces traditional Korean milky rice wine called "Makkoli." Bang was a customer who purchased wine there.

The motivation for setting the fire was not immediately known.

Police said the wine-producing factory was not destroyed. However, the local Yonhap news agency reported the death toll would likely rise.

* I mentioned this before, but a Suncheon native was one of the big names found getting rich off fake credentials in 2007. Lee Ji-young, a radio host for KBS's "English Pops," dropped out of Suncheon National University and never earned a college degree, but built her reputation on an overseas education that never took place.

* A year ago next month five middle school students from Maesan Middle School were killed in a bus accident on Jirisan during a field trip.

* A census from a few years back said that Suncheon, at the time, was the city with the greatest number of centenarians. Not sure how that works, since Seoul had more than all of Jeollanam-do, but whatever, I never ask questions. An excerpt from the article (requires free registration):

The oldest man alive is 107, while the census showed one married couple older than 100. The centenarians mainly worked in the agricultural sector. They also lived in a extended family structure made up of two to three generations living under the same roof. Reflecting the importance of healthy living habits, many ate moderately, did not smoke or drink and followed well-regulated daily activities. People who lived long usually had optimistic dispositions and enjoyed eating fruits and vegetables. Many lost their spouses to death, and very few through divorce. They also got married relatively young, with the average male taking a wife at the age of 21, while the women wed at 17.3. By area, 152 lived in Gyeonggi Province, followed by Seoul and South Jeolla Province. By city, Suncheon in South Jeolla Province had the largest number of centenarians with 18, followed by Jeju and Yeosu. The NSO report, however, said that of the 961 centenarians, 165 had been reported dead as of March 22.

2008 Jeonju International Film Festival, May 1 - May 9.

Hmm, saw ads for this on Daum the last few days. Didn't know such an event existed in Jeonju, and has since 2000. You can find a small article about the 2008 festival on Korea.net, a lengthy review of the 2006 festival here, and a lot of stuff I didn't read about the 2007 festival and the Jeonju movie scene here.

I'm pissed, I have two consecutive three-day weekends coming up.

Kinda pissed that I have two three-day weekends coming up in May. Three-day weekends are usually excellent, and I wish they were mandatory. The reason I'm a little pissed, though, is because up until a few hours ago those three-day weekends bookended a ten-day holiday. Last week I booked plane tickets and a hotel room for a four-day trip in Sinagpore, and I'm disappointed that I'll have to postpone it until next winter. Most of the teachers at my schools have had to cancel their plans because lots of parents are complaining about the May holiday. From the KT:

However, some parents showed concern. ``If parents cannot take time off work during the vacation, it could make things difficult,'' worried mother Bae Ji-won said.

Housewives also expressed concern. Lee Ju-young, a mother of two, said children always expect something ``interesting'' for the occasion.

She said her children talked about their friends' travels abroad. ``I cannot afford these trips and if this so-called mini vacation is meant for something like that, it's unfair,'' she said.

``It will clearly show who has the money and time to spend with children and who does not,'' she added, saying a vacation may not always be welcomed.

Some parents oppose the plan for other reasons. They said if students get to take time off too often, their academic performance could suffer. ``I think studying is about consistency. If they take time off from studying, they may have a difficult time getting back into the study routine,'' a concerned mother said.

My colleagues have said that many parents around here have complained because if schools are off all week there will be no one at home to supervise the children while the parents are at work. I wish they had thought of that before, when they were drawing up the school calendar, instead of waiting until late-April and dashing my glorious plans. Hahahahahahaha, "thought of that before." Well, looks like Hit Pizza and I will be spending some time together this May.

* Update 1: Damn, I found out that my one school is giving teachers May 8th and May 9th (Thursday and Friday) off. Too bad I'm at my other school on those days.

Bringing the Nazi ads to school.

A still from the edited Coreana commercial, the "Hitler" being replaced by "Nobody."

Well, a week ago the Simon Wiesenthal Center, the group that protested the Nazi-themed Coreana commercials in the first place, said they were "gratified" that the commercials were pulled. I didn't post anything on that at the time because I figured this entry would arrive sooner than it did, and I thought my Korea Times piece would have appeared last week rather than last night. I was also wary of posting anything because the SWC press release was a little vague, and it wasn't clear whether the ads were removed, or whether the Center was "gratified" that the word "Hitler" was replaced. Since I haven't seen the commercials in about a week, I'll assume that the ads actually were taken off the air. So, yeah, I guess that's good. To be honest, I was naively hoping for a little more: an apology, perhaps, or an acknowledgement that the ads were in extremely poor taste. Seems rather anti-climactic, and seems like the two companies responsible got off quite easy.

I talked about the commercials during two recent teachers' workshops, and here's a brief account of how one of them went. It's a one-sided account, obviously, but the thirty-five minutes weren't just me talking and being opportune and wise---far from it, actually---so please don't take that away from this entry. Anyway, to be honest, I went with this topic at least partly because these workshops go so poorly that I'm always looking for something, anything to talk about. I've found they go a little better when I do a chalk-and-talk lesson rather than hoping for discussion. I also felt it a good idea to talk about a Korea-related issue that was nowhere to be found in the Korean media. And, I thought it responsible as a teacher to try to educate my colleagues about something they, as teachers in turn, ought to know about.

In both classes I explained the word anti-Semitism and asked them if they knew what it meant. I asked them if they knew anything about anti-Semitism in Korea, and they said no. About a month earlier I showed them pictures from Far Countries, Near Countries, and provided them with a Korean-language news article on the US's condemnation of the author and with Korea Beat's translation of it. I passed the articles out again and drew their attention to a few of the cartoons. When asked, the teachers mentioned a few Jewish stereotypes they knew---such as Jews being wealthy and powerful---and said that these were positive traits, so they weren't sure why some would take offense. Most of the teachers had read Far Countries, Near Countries, and said they had enjoyed it, and they felt it presented history in an interesting way. And my colleagues hadn't heard of the uproar Rhie's comics had caused in the US, or that they were deemed controversial or racist in any way.

I asked them if they had heard of Hitler or Nazism, and if so, what they knew about. I don't remember exactly what they said, but it was agreed that Hitler was a bad guy. Then I showed them the two commercials. Unfortunately, the sound on the computer in the language lab doesn't work, so they missed out on the gunfire and the German shouting. During the commercials the teachers were laughing. I asked them why they were laughing, and they said it was because it was funny to see a woman looking so serious while selling cosmetics. They said the uniform and her expression presented too strong an image. I asked them if they noticed anything that might be offensive about the ad, and they said no. I drew their attention to the background, to the setting, and to the "히틀러" scrawled across the screen. They didn't pick up on it, and didn't make the connection between the woman and Nazis. One said that the painting on the fireplace was of Hitler.



We talked a little about what Hitler represents to much of the outside world and why the advertisement would be considered offensive. We talked about what Hitler represents in Korea, too. The teachers said they figured Hitler was used in the ads because he represents strength, something a company would want to emulate. I showed them a few other pictures of Nazi imagery in Korea, of the Hitler bars (here, here, and here), for example, or the Nazi mural I found in Gyeongju. Then I showed them the letters sent to me by Coreana and KORAD. I talked about why I felt the response was unsatisfactory, saying that the two companies were skirting responsibility and shifting blame, and that they were being dismissive by simply changing one word without removing the ad or altering any of the offensive imagery.

I asked if they knew of any other advertisements or commercials that might be considered offensive to some people because my motives are always very transparent. When they said no I put up a few images from a 2004 Korean ad campaign photo shoot that featured a model dressed up like a comfort woman (brought to light by Gusts of Popular Feeling). I showed them a few images and then the dramatic, drawn-out apologies, and I compared and contrasted the responses to the two campaigns. I ended by showing them some of the articles in the Western media, and mentioned that---at that time---the story was not yet in the Korean press.

The teachers did mention that they found the 2004 campaign photos much more offensive than the Coreana one, and I can understand that. They said the issue of comfort women was a sensitive one, and they brought up how Japan never apologized for the war or for conscripting women. I did mention that Japan had apologized, numerous times, but the teachers believed that it was just "lip service."

It's not my place and it's not really an appropriate topic for a low-key teachers' workshop, so I didn't pursue that any further. But it was quite interesting the topic turned to Japan, and a little ironic that we were talking about apologies. We had just seen photos of the actress from the 2004 ad campaign photo shoot prostrating herself before a crowd of jeering comfort women, who had deemed her apologies unsatisfactory. If the local press and public would subject a couple of no-names to such humiliation over the depiction of comfort women, and would (to a laughable degree) deem their whole apology unacceptable, imagine to what lofty standards Koreans must hold the Japanese government. Now, it's their country and they're free to imagine their identity in any way they see fit, but taking liberties with history obviously has implications for the present. Operating from faulty assumptions---that the Japanese are cruel, sneaky, and unapologetic---that are accepted unequivocally without regard to truth or nuance has real consequences in how Koreans view outsiders today. But, that's a post for another day.



None of the teachers there or in my other workshop had ever seen the Coreana commercials before, so if nothing else at least eight people got an introduction to the commercials. A few of my colleagues saw my piece in the KT today and were curious about the advertisement, because they had never seen it and had never seen anything in the news about it. Quite a few teachers in the office watched the commercials for the first time today when I pulled them up off Daum. Admittedly I wasn't that satisfied with how the workshops went, in large part because of the language barrier that makes cross-cultural communication quite difficult---and also because I really hate having to possibly, maybe, sort of, a little, approach matters of Korean history as in that 2004 ad campaign spread---and I didn't feel like I made any impression whatsoever. But I was surprised when a few of the teachers sought the ads out of their own accord today, and when another colleague dug up a Korean-language article on the controversy.

But mostly I think they were amused to see me without my glasses. Sorry ladies, I've had my hair cut since that photo was taken.

(Update: Yeah, this entry comes across weird, too much of the unreliable narrator, but it's already in my feed so there's no sense deleting it. Anyway, just thought I'd share a little about my workshops. Curious to know if anyone else brought it up at school or among friends.)

"Welcome to Hallyuwood."

Came across this video about Hallyuwood, the Korean Wave theme park set to open in Gyeonggi-do. OK, all the talk about the Korean Wave is pretty lame, and I groan in pain when the papers or some quote-unquote academics gush over it, especially when the expansion of Korean culture is set up as something markedly different and to the Westernization of Asia. But the concepts in the video look pretty cool. Here's an article about the park from February, 2006. Read the whole thing, but here's an excerpt:

According to the province's plan, the monorail will stretch for 1.5 kilometers, starting from Jeongbalsan Station on Subway Line No. 3, passing through the complex to reach Daehwa Station, the final destination of the monorail on the same subway line. The new transportation system is expected to carry about 30,000 passengers every hour.

Ilsan, where the complex will be nested, is in the vicinity of the Korea International Exhibition Center or KINTEX, the biggest exhibition center in the country. Ilsan Lake, the largest artificial lake in Asia which attracts more than 2.5 million visitors a year, is on the other side of the planned Hallyuwood site.

Also located near the complex will be a China town, a new airport terminal, an aquarium and a sports mall, which are either under construction or planned to begin groundbreaking soon. Two international airports - Incheon and Gimpo which are within an hour's drive from the future complex site - are expected to strengthen the function of the complex along with nearby studios of SBS and MBC, major local broadcasters.

Taking advantage of the lake park, another scenic lakeside park will be built on a lot measuring 138,600 square meters inside the complex, and a central waterway will also be constructed, with the water flowing in from the Han River. The province plans to build a luxury hotel in this area with about 6,000 guest rooms, as part of its second-phase project of the complex.

Sounds neat. I often cringe when I see how Korean culture is marketed and presented to foreigners because, quite frankly, nobody cares about hanbok, kimchi, or samul nori. But the park, should it actually be completed according to the video and those 2006 plans, will highlight things far more interesting to outsiders: Korea's technology and modernization, to say nothing of Korea's entertainment industry, which is admittedly far more popular in Asia than in North America. It will be located in Goyang, named one of Newsweek's "Ten Most Dynamic Cities" in 2006.

I haven't been able to find much new information on the park, and the website given in that video's description is to an online shopping site. Looks like the official site is here, which introduces the park with:

Hallyuwood is a project to establish the infrastructure for cultural exchanges that would be the center for continued development and production of Hallyu cultural contents as well as the venue for distribution and consumption of these products.

So there you go. No word yet on when it will open. Older articles said 2008 and 2010. Elsewhere on the page:

Hallyuwood is a compound word between the Korean word 'Hallyu', which represents Korean tradition, with the English word 'wood', which represents universality around the world. It shows our vision to get away from nationalism and march into the bigger world.

*Cough* I'll save most of the links for a forthcoming post, but here's a bit more from the Hallyuwood Declaration, whose sentiments contradict what I just quoted above:

The cultural potential of Korea, which was scattered with grief and joy over the 5 thousand years of national history, is blossoming the long-yearned flower of 'Hallyu' (Korean Wave) with the cutting-edge digital technology o fthe 21st century.

TOPIK at Chonnam National University.

I was in the "City of Light and Art" last weekend for the Test of Proficiency in Korean and had a chance to visit Chonnam National University. I went up the day before and checked out the university, both because I really enjoy visiting college campuses and because I wanted to find the testing center in advance. Good thing, too, since they changed the location without, from what I can tell, posting any updates on the website or getting in touch with the test takers. Anyway, it's a pretty little campus, and I was pleased to spend some time there.


Fountain in the mall in front of the library, built in 2004 according to the placard and not seen in this photo dated 2004.

It was, according to some of the pages I've seen in a quick Google search, the site of the beginning of the 1980 Gwangju Uprising. A placard in front of the above-pictured fountain reads:

The historic movement for the democracy of Korea originated on May 18, 1980, here, on this campus. Our nation's heart was burning for democracy, and our beloved ones rose up. They marched for national democracy and justice, and they carried a torch of truth that illuminated the future of this land. This sculpture is a proud reminder of the greatness that was---and is---the spirit of this campus, and a further reminder of the great outcry and the reverened sacrifice of those who paid the ultimate price when the nation and its history asked them.

May 18, 2004
Sculptor _ Dae-Gil Kim

I don't know much about the Uprising and didn't know the university's role in it until I started putting together this entry. It's definitely something I'll have to look into further. Here's a mural painted on one of the College of Education buildings (B07) next to the library:



The TOPIK itself was an interesting experience, although I was a bit cranky. After a rough night I'm tempted to revoke my endorsement of the Hotel Noblesse behind the Lotte Mart. I had stayed there several times before and was really impressed, but I got to my room Saturday night to find the window was covered over with metal, and every few minutes it sounded like a train was roaring by. I nodded off for a couple of hours but was awoken at 1:30 a.m. by a heated discussion in the hall (about Dokdo, I'm sure), followed a little later by typical love motel sounds. Owing to the metal panel over the side of the building, what was happening in the room next door sounded like it was actually happening at the window. The train noises were going strong nearly all night long. When I went outside to investigate in the morning, I found out that my room was above one of those car elevators. Decent hotel, but shitty room, and I'm pretty pissed that they'd book an overnight guest there, rather than reserving it for two-hour guests. I should have complained.

Anyway, the test was an interesting experience, and as it was the beginners' exam was fortunately pretty easy. Out of about 45 test-takers I was one of three Caucasians and one of ten men. A lot of different nationalities were represented, including Mongolian, Japanese, Chinese, and Indonesian. You know, most of the time I forget that I live in a fairly multicultural part of the country because I hardly ever run into any foreigners. (That sentence contradicted itself, but you know what I mean.) A good reminder that there's more to the foreigner experience in Korea than what happens to white English teachers or what is written on whiny blogs and forums. I was very impressed by many of those women's spoken Korean, and felt quite stupid for being at such a low level in spite of living here for almost three years. They could communicate quite effortlessly with the proctors and with each other in Korean, and while I understood everything they said, the problem is that it just never occurs to me to use certain words or pieces of grammar in real life. The next exam is in September, and I will be studying for the intermediate level, which will kick my ass.

Anyway, I notice that from time to time I get some visitors to my site from Chonnam National University. Thus, I feel comfortable speaking frankly to you. I really was impressed with the campus, but there are a couple of areas that need improvement. You all really need to do something about your missionary infestation. I think there was some kind of flash mob at 4:05, because as I was sitting around the above-pictured fountain I was quickly flanked by two, and when I evaded capture I saw that there were pamphlet-toting missionaries all over the lawn. Next to the library I was approached by two Chinese-speaking missionaries, who were admittedly kind of cute, but who were I think more confused than I was. The other side of campus offered no refuge, either.

The other point is regarding the nice pond on the one edge of campus. Aside from a few Christians, it was a very pleasant scene. However, when I returned in the morning to walk off some jitters I was displeased by the amount of trash all over the place. Characteristic of Korea, I know, but still, why ruin such a pleasant area with garbage? I spent some time fishing trash out of the water, and am contemplating printing up some "don't litter" flyers to post for my next visit. Sounds ironic, but shut up.

Enough of that, here are a few pictures:







Strange how some parts of campus just succumb to neglect and disrepair.





I saw that bird playing in the water as I was about to leave. I'm not sure what kind of bird it is, and I couldn't get a good shot of it, but I took a video of it because that's what my life has come to. Not sure if you can tell, but it had red markings around the eyes and a greenish tint to the wings, plus those white stripes. Anybody know what kind of bird it is? Many other visitors to the pond were terrified of it. It was awesome. I should have used it against the missionaries.



It's kind of difficult to take pictures of trash. If you look at the bottom one you'll find lots of beer bottles poking up among the lily pads. It's not as if there weren't trash cans at regular intervals around the pond.

Faux-prah: Do you have a bank account, of IBK? *ugh*

Some Korean-Americans may hate Oprah Winfrey . . . or did four years ago, but her show is quite popular over here. She is recognizable enough that an ad campaign may reference her likeness for cringeworthy commercials for the Industrial Bank of Korea (기업은행).



Oooh, and the IBK site gave me another Faux-prah ad:



Man, google "Oprah Korea" and you'll get pages of results devoted to her remarks about Korean women. Tons of articles treating that minor blow-up as if it were current news. I wish people would stop criticizing her for an imagined slight that was buried until some Azn-pridesters dug the article up a few weeks ago. I wish people would get back to piling on Keanu Reeves for his imagined slight of Korean culture. You can see what the scholars at AsiaFinest have to say about that here (but please don't).

* Update 1: I got a message from a user on Youtube who says it's her in the ads. I thought it was a locally-famous foreigner or something. You can see her profile here and decide for yourself.

Woefully offensive "Horry Kow" shirt is a best-seller in Chicago.

Since I'm getting a reputation as someone unsympathetic to Asian-Americans and to slights on Asian culture in the US, I thought I'd share something I picked up from East Windup Chronicle this morning. For the sake of balance. Oh, and because this shirt and accompanying attitudes are incredibly offensive. Here's the picture and article from the Chicago Sun-Times:

A Fukudome T-shirt with a racist image is the hottest-selling item at a souvenir stand that sells unlicensed Cubs-related merchandise across Addison Street from the ballpark, according to Mark Kolbusz, who's in his fourth season operating the stand.

On the front of the shirt is the traditional Cubs cartoon bear face but with slanted eyes and wearing oversized Harry Caray-style glasses. It's accompanied by the words ''Horry Kow,'' scrawled in cartoonish ''Japanese'' script. Fukudome's name and number are on the back.

''That's the No. 1 seller this year, by far,'' said Kolbusz, who estimates one in 10 customers complain about being offended.

While Kolbusz was answering questions, two white guys stopped by the stand and pointed at the shirt, with one affecting a 1960s B-movie accent while reading aloud the words on the shirt.

His friend responded in a similar offensive accent, ''Oh, you tink dat funny?''

They walked away laughing.

It continues:

''I don't know what the creator of the shirt meant this to be, but they should make it right,'' Fukudome said through his interpreter after being shown one of the shirts Thursday. ''Maybe the creator created it because he thought it was funny, or maybe he made it to condescend the race. I don't know.''

Regardless, it's not funny. The image feeds not only ugly, arrogant and ignorant Japanese stereotypes, but also the stereotype of the obnoxious, profane, drunken, booing, garbage-throwing Cubs fan.

How much truth is there in either image? And how funny is either one?

Kolbusz said he's ''indifferent'' to the image on the shirt.

''I'm making money,'' he said. ''It doesn't offend me. If other people are offended by it, it's just a silly T-shirt. Nobody is trying to offend anybody.''

As the article and one of the EWC commentors point out, the shirt is unlicensed and was presumably just printed up by a vendor outside the stadium. But, let's not forget the advertisement the Cubs used back in January to advertise the arrival of Kosuke Fukudome to the team.



The Rising Sun Flag in the background of the above ad is one that'd be considered offensive to the Asians who were colonized under it, regardless of how cool the design may look to Americans. Clearly neither the ad nor the shirt are appropriate in the least, and people are quite right to be upset, either by the imagery or by the use of Asian ancestry as a marketing gimmick. Sad, in fact, that only one out of ten---according to the article---are offended. I'll leave the protests to Brian in Jeollanam-do's Chicago bureau. While I don't think the guy should be forced to stop selling his shirts, he could perhaps be shamed into stopping.

One of these things is not like the other.

Funny portion and line of questioning from an otherwise good read in today's KT:

Let me point out a few things that Koreans do very often, which seem strange to foreigners. First of all, staring at white and black people may not seem like a big issue, but it does make them feel uncomfortable.

Furthermore, asking all kinds of personal questions such as, ``Are you married?'' ``How old are you?'' and ``Have you ever done drugs?'' is even more annoying to people from other countries.

Koreans simply ask strangers these questions without any bad intentions. They don't mean anything by it and are just trying to be friendly and ``break the ice.''

Yes, "have you ever done drugs?" is a rather annoying question, to say the least. "Are you on a three-day weekend?" is less annoying to me, mostly because the answer is frequently "yes." Hopefully my dumb ass won't ruin this one by bombing the beginner level of the Test of Proficiency in Korean on Sunday.

Waste of Tome and Money.

Some nice work by the Korea Times today. Still waiting to see if they'll print the letter to the editor I wrote last Thursday about the Nazi commercials.

I think I'll just share this here because I don't want to start a whole new post. As I mentioned earlier I see each class once every two weeks. I had a couple of my second grade classes cancelled today because of test preparation. They were cancelled last time, too, because they were in Jeju. I haven't seen those classes since March 21st, our first meeting of the year. The next time I am slated to see my Thursday group of second graders is May 1st. However, midterms are that day, and I'm not scheduled to see them again until May 15th, after the long holiday. I was told, though, that because of Teachers' Day we probably won't meet again until May 29th. I'm actually kind of eager to meet one of those classes because it turns out my coteacher's daughter is in there, and I want to see who she is so I can figure out who I have to be extra nice to.

Being so infrequently used does have its drawbacks, of course, and does make it a little harder to, like, teach stuff, but it's not as if having extra free time is all that bad. But, in case you were wondering, the e'er-mutable schedule is one reason why it's very hard to do lesson planning too far in advance. Kinda ironic then that they told me about all these cancelations ahead of time. Whatever, this is what a slow news day looks like.

* Edit: Okay, since this is under the "teaching" category, I'll add a bit of wisdom. Believe it or not, sometimes my students aren't interested in the textbook. I push through it, but if it's going excruciatingly bad I'll say, "okay, let's play a little game," and I'll set up a round of "hangman." Now, I dislike hangman for several reasons: I despise violence and I disapprove of the implications . . . implicit in the game, and I also don't find it very exciting. But the students like it. Anyway, I'll do it with _ _ _. The word is "fox." The students never guess it, haha, and start repeating letters before they even attempt "f," "o," or "x." It wakes the students up, though, and they think it's fun. Then, when they say "한번 더" or "one more time" (complete with snickers and gestures), I'll put up _ _ _ _. Jazz. They never get it. Hahaha.