Real-time displays added to Suncheon bus stops.

I'm not sure what they're called in English---bus information system? (버스정보 시스템), but Suncheon's got them now.



An opening ceremony was held on Monday at city hall to demonstrate what this 1.5 billion won project does. They display when the buses are scheduled to arrive, and residents will also be able to use the internet or their cellphones to track where the buses are. I first mentioned this in April, when their debut was scheduled for October.

Kosin University Christmas Tree Festival opens tonight.

Busan's Kosin University Christmas Tree Festival (고신대학교크리스마스트리축제) will have its opening ceremony tonight. The festival runs through January 3rd, 2010, and the lights will be on display each night from 6 pm through 11 pm on the university's campus. A map to campus is here.

The festival looks to have a lot of cultural events as well, as listed on the 행사일정 page, including performances by the US 8th Army Band on the 18th, the Busan Handbell Choir on the 22nd, and a Church Invitation Choir Competition on the 26th.

There are a lot of good photographs from previous years available via a Naver image search. This year, if you take pictures of you and your family, friends, or "sweetheart," and upload them to the festival website, you're eligible to win a 100,000 won gift certificate to VIPS or Outback Steakhouse.

Hankyoreh looks at challenges NSETs face.

The Hankyoreh's Kim Yeong-hun interviewed some native speaker English teachers here to get an overview of the challenges they face, including: inattentive students, co-teachers who don't cooperate, consult, or participate, directors who don't know English or anything about teaching techniques, and surprisingly large class sizes.

The article also incorporates perhaps the most overused "English" word of the season, "loser" (루저), and says that NSETs feel like losers in school---"학교에선 우리가 ‘루저’다"---because of these challenges. I've written numerous times that NSETs are often set up to fail in public schools because of the lack of planning and support given them, say what you want about their youth or lack of "qualifications."

That German song in the Olympus Pen commercial.

A reader asked me what the German song is used in this Korean Olympus Pen commercial:



You'll find a longer version on the camera's site, as well as an an explanation of the commercial, though there's no mention of the song used.

Some Navering shows the song is Sophie Hunger's "Walzer für Niemand."



Lyrics are here.

GFN Christmas Quiz Show, December 5th.

If you're in or around Gwangju next weekend, you might want to check out the Christmas Quiz Show put on by the local English-language radio station, GFN. More from the Facebook page:

6PM, Saturday, December 5th
at the GFN concert Hall.

You could win one of these fantastic prizes:

Grand Prize - Sony Vaio Net-book
Second Prize - 64 GB iPod Touch
Third Prize - 32 GB iPod Touch
Fourth Prize - MP3 Player
Fifth Prize - digital Camera

To participate: send your name and telephone number
by December 4th to gfn@gfn.or.kr

The Christmas Quiz show will be hosted by
Michael Simning of “City of Light”
David St. John of “K-Popular”
and Pete Ross of “M-Town”

Join us at the GFN open Christmas Quiz Show!
Free Beer and free GFN T-Shirts will be provided

LISTEN MORE! FEEL MORE!
And... WIN MORE with GFN 98.7 FM

The GFN studios are at the entrance of Sajik Park (공원), in the Gwangju Multimedia Arts (광주영상예술센터) building---map here---about a fifteen-minute walk from the Chungjangno area of town.

Playing with the blingbling phone.

On Monday I took a cab to school and the driver used the traffic jam to show me his phone, the "bling bling" (블링블링), the LG canU-F1100. I'll say first off that I'm not up on the latest technology---this phone came out in March---and pretty much any gadget will impress me. When I bought my first digital camera in 2005, for example, I was impressed that it could take photos and videos, and when I went to Home Plus last year I was surprised they now made printers that could also scan and copy. I have no idea how common what I'm about to show you is, but I thought it was neat. Anyway, I'm sure the phone has all kind of neat features that I would never, ever figure out how to use, but what caught my eye was the dictionary. The phone has built-in phrasebooks in English, Japanese, and Chinese---he made it tell me "You're a charming woman"---and you can even trace unknown Chinese characters onto the keypad to figure out what they mean. Take a tour on the phone's website (first allow the pop-up).

After choosing the "Dictionary Showroom" button under the "Blingbling Canu" tab on the menu, you can start a tour. Besides just a dictionary, there are also phrasebooks that you can browse---on the phone, not the tour---based on a number of different situations. At first I was confused by the need for "May I take your picture?" but maybe this will encourage people to ask before photographing white people.



A Japanese dictionary, too.



Chinese and Japanese phrasebooks as well. You can also write Chinese characters or Japanese alphabets, and the dictionary will look it up. On the demonstration, unfortunately, it does it for you; I wanted to see if it would recognize Chinese or Japanese written in the wrong order, which is how most foreigners would do it.



My phone---a LG-LB1500 bought second-hand in fall, 2007---has subway maps for all the Korean cities and a television that usually doesn't work in Jeollanam-do. *cough* And my cellphone back in the US rings when somebody calls. *cough* *cough*


Kim Tae-hee posing with the LG-LB1500. Because that's what she does.

Providing Quility education second to none.

The folks at the Jeju International School should probably give their motto some closer scrutiny.



Lost on Jeju looks at that and other issues with the Jeju International School website:

For something as important as this project, why in the hell can't certain people swallow their pride and let an educated, conscientious NATIVE SPEAKER review all the English language materials before putting them on the 'net.

There is absolutely NO EXCUSE for idiotic mistakes in English to be on the Global Education Project/Jeju International School website when the office responsible for the English has access to well over 150 native speakers!

Did they just coin a new portmanteau here? Maybe the president's greetiongs will shed some light on that.

Death threat against ATEK president.

According to the Korea Herald, the President of the Association for Teachers of English in Korea [ATEK] was emailed a death threat:

The president of the Association of English Teachers in Korea received an anonymous e-mail threatening his death and accusing him of committing sex crimes after rumors of a former member of ATEK were posted online.

Members of ATEK received two e-mails, one containing threats and another with an image apparently taken from a Naver Cafe post, but with ATEK president Greg Dolezal's picture added.

The police are currently cooperating:

Dolezal said he was taking all legal steps possible. Gimhae Police Department is investigating the case, and Dolezal said he was happy with how they were dealing with the situation.

"The detectives there and the foreign affairs liaison have been very cooperative and seem extremely keen to do something about it," he said.

There's more on this story from Gusts of Popular Feeling.

Here's the text of the email, via a post on the Anti-English Spectrum website:

He has AIDS!!!
Your fucking president of ATEK is fucking sexual crimer.

I attached the picture, your guys should see the real happening.

Go Back Fucking your country!!! Get the hell, Fucking stupid english spectrum in korea!!

I have organized the KEK (Kill White in Korea).
This group of people is about 200 in anywhere in Korea.

We will gonna start to kill and hit White fucking dik english spectrum from this Christmas.

Don't make a fuss in there, just get out.

if you do not wanna listen this warning, our group will throw acid vitriol any white cheese.

That's enough to spoil in Korea.

On that post the Anti-English Spectrum is making clear it didn't send the mail to Dolezal. It's from a samkunts1@gmail.com, judging from this post. I wonder, given the enthusiastic cursing, the over-the-top horrible English, and the gmail address, whether this is somebody trolling to try and attract negative attention to the group, or if this is just an extreme version of what the group has already admitted to doing. Not that people need any more reason to dislike the hate-group Anti-English Spectrum, but I guess we'll have to wait and see. From the Herald again:

The AES cafe manager would not provide The Korea Herald directly with a statement on the death threat e-mail. "However strained relations may be, we need to maintain basic human decency," the notice on the AES website read. "We cannot forgive the person who sent this threatening mail. If we find that person we will definitely report them to the police," it added further down.

The person that issued the death threat sent an apology -- after the notice was posted on AES -- but remained anonymous and said he was motivated by some English teachers' "immoral behaviors."

"He continued to use hateful language," said Dolezal of the apology. "He alluded to the fact that he's not going to stop."

I last wrote about the Anti-English Spectrum a couple days ago---and they know I wrote about them, since I get hits to my blog from the cafe---so check these posts for some background:

* "Korea Herald on Anti-English Spectrum."
* "Korea Times continues to give attention to hate group."

And be sure to check some of the extensive posts Gusts of Popular Feeling has written:

* "Criticism of Anti-English Spectrum in the Korea Herald"
* "The achievements of Anti-English Spectrum"
* "How to make foreign English teachers an AIDS threat in 5 easy steps"
* "The 'undisclosed crimes' of potential child molesting foreign English teachers"
* "Puff piece about Anti-English Spectrum"

Asia Music Festival in Gwangju on Sunday.

A reader passes along information about the Asia Music Festival (아시아음악교류제) coming to Gwangju on November 29th. You'll find programs below, in English and Korean (click to enlarge):




Events include talent shows by foreigners living in Gwangju, traditional folk dances, performances by Korean singers Maya and Bada, and indoor events such as face-painting and tea-sampling. It will be held the 빛고을체육관---translated as "Blazing Village Gymnasium"?---where the Kimchi History & Culture Exhibition was held during the Gwangju Kimchi Festival last month.

Forcing foreign teachers to learn about Korea?

Here's an excerpt from a piece on KBS:

Representative Cho Jeon-hyuk of the ruling Grand National Party, who is also a member of the parliamentary committee on education, proposed on Thursday revisions to laws on schools and private institutes.

The revised bills seek to make it mandatory for private institutes to have foreign teachers complete educational programs on South Korea’s culture and people.

Cho said most foreign teachers in the nation do not have enough of an understanding about Korea’s culture and practices. He said the revisions are aimed at raising the quality of the nation’s English education programs by mandating that foreign teachers have better knowledge of Korea.

An article in Korean here.

Orientation programs are a good idea, and Jeollanam-do puts on a relatively good one for new teachers arriving in public schools via the Jeollanam-do Language Program. I just wish there were more opportunities for education and professional development. In three years teaching in Jeollanam-do we only had one meeting where we could watch presentations from other teachers on lesson planning on classroom issues.

There are also few opportunities to learn Korean, and I think these ought to be provided. Suncheon did offer Korean courses through the Office of Education, but they were bad enough to show me the amount of damage an "unqualified" teacher can do. Gwangju's EPIK branch is doing the right thing by letting their teachers take Korean classes at Chonnam National University twice a week for free.

However, that "most foreign teachers in the nation do not have enough of an understanding about Korea's culture and practices"---if you want to even say that's the case---is due, I think, to the ambiguous role native speaker English teachers play in Korea. No planning has gone into how we are used, there is no curriculum in place for us to follow, little to no cooperation with and from Korean English teachers, no ultimate goals or vision of success. It's easy for things to be chalked up to misunderstandings, but that neglects to account for schools having no idea what to do with us, and with coteachers often not understanding how to use a native speaker English teacher. Differences in culture and teaching styles need to be approached from both sides. A classroom where students are talkative---if a little boisterous---might be considered poor classroom management by a Korean teacher or administrator, while a teacher-centered classroom that is quiet through the use of corporal punishment might be considered a success.

I was reminded of an article from April, 2008, from the Korea Times that appeared on The Marmot's Hole and talked about providing training programs to native speaker English teachers in Seoul. But, from what we've seen in the public schools, do you think this would be the best way?

University professors and supervisors in charge of English education, as well as other excellent Korean English teachers, will lead the teacher training programs. ``Although some of the selected foreign teachers have English teaching certificates, they need to learn about the Korean education environment for better cooperation with teachers,'' he added.

During the training programs, 15 foreign teachers at the center will learn the curriculum of English education at Korean schools and teaching methodology for Korean students.

Or perhaps it's worth exploring what "the best way" is, this being Korea after all, and native speaker English teachers need to find a way to fit in, and be fit in, here. For instance, dealing with large class sizes---and learning to like them---realizing that choral repetition can be effective, and understanding how the test culture will shape your English class.

There also needs to be a lot of thought put into these programs, and what, exactly, needs to be taught. During my orientation in 2006, we didn't spend any time talking about lesson planning or classroom issues. We did, though, sit through dull lectures delivered in painful English on things like musical instruments and Hangeul. It reminds me of a passage near the beginning of Tom Coyner's book Mastering Business in Korea: A Practical Guide, which was quoted on The Grand Narrative a couple years ago; I think we can apply it to our experiences a little:

Most introductory books on Korea provide some kind of five- to fifteen-page history on Korea covering a period of some five thousand years. This book is different. First of all, we assume the reader knows how to use the Internet and can read up to his or her heart’s content about Korean history.

. . .

As a business professional, however, one need not be conversant on historical trivia but one does need to know the important basics that Koreans will eventually expect even a foreigner to know at a minimum – and perhaps more importantly, one should have some insight on the impact of the legacies of Korean history in the workplace.

And these excerpts, which doesn't really apply here but I like it anyway:

First there is the mythology of “5000 Years of Korean History.” This is more of a legacy of the Korean government’s self-promotion campaign of the 1970s than what happened in 3000BC. Many Koreans, however, have swallowed it unquestioningly. In all fairness, there is scant evidence of people inhabiting the peninsula as far back as 30,000 years ago . . . What is not found is compelling evidence of a civilization with a written legacy going back to 3000BC. There are not even large-scale, 5000-year-old remains such as Stonehenge of Britain . . . The point is, that the British [and others] do not claim a historical legacy rivaling the Egyptians while many Koreans do.

. . .

It’s probably not a good idea for one to debate this matter with Korean colleagues, but consider this a point of reference.

I, Foreigner hit on a lot of orientation deficiencies in a post last December:

I’m not sure if it was the Gyeonggi Education Department or our city’s program, but yesterday we were treated to “Korean Culture”. 5000 years of history and all you have to show is kimchi and pottery?

No doubt the program was sincerely intended to show us more about Korean culture, and the whole day was quite fun, but sometimes I wonder if Koreans actually know what their own culture is all about. Do they not realize that watching TV on tiny screens on the bus/subway, playing games at the PC bang all day and boiling it up at the Jimjil Bang or Baths are as much part of Korean culture as kimchi is? Would it not be more useful for us to learn more about the history and use of these? Show me ONE teacher who has been here more than a month who has not heard about the whole history of kimchi. Now that I think about it, they never tell us that chili is a comparatively recent addition.

Would it not be more useful for the Province to work on setting up language schools to teach us the Korean Language? Would we not learn more about Korean culture if we were able to experience it directly with the use of said language?

The KBS article was short, and probably left out a lot of the story, which is why I didn't jump on it and resent more talk about what "most" and "many" foreign teachers think and do without actually talking to "many" of them. But I also think it's a good idea to educate and train the teachers you're spending thousands of dollars a month on. Moreover, the business needs to grow up, and foreign teachers should not only embrace any chance they have to learn about their host country, but should take the initiative as well to become the best teachers they can be.

I'll reiterate, though, that any training program involving native speaker English teachers regarding classroom culture needs to include Korean coteachers---the cynic in me says "good luck getting them to show up"---and administrators, and needs to work both ways, because the ambiguity regarding NSETs and the misunderstandings start from the top. Without clearn plans and goals for NSETs in school, and without support and cooperation from coworkers and administrators, the same "misunderstandings" will continue.

Korea Tourism Organization hiring English advisor (deadline Sunday).

The Korea Tourism Organization is looking for an English Advisor on the Overseas Marketing Department. A reader passed along the job ad, which was posted yesterday. Here's the job description:

- Drafting and reviewing presentations, letters, speeches, brochures, etc. in English
- Editing advertisement copy in English
- Editing materials for meetings and events and consulting as an English advisor
- Conduct market research on tourism and making reports
- Advising on the implementation of the KTO’s overseas marketing strategies
- Sometimes translating documents from Korean to English

They're looking for a native speaker with at least a Bachelor's degree, and would prefer somebody with Korean-language skills and somebody currently in Korea. The pay is 3,000,000 won a month. Those interested should submit their applications by Sunday and should be available for two interviews in Seoul.

This part is a little unusual, though:

(A working visa and medical insurance will be available one month after the start of the contract due to the processing time between the KTO and the Korean government).

Read the rest of the ad for yourself on the KTO website.



It occassionally gets asked on the teaching forums how to find a writing or editing job in South Korea. In my experience here those are jobs that find you, not the other way around, but one way is to keep your eyes on the tourism websites and on the newspapers. The KTO was looking for an editor over the summer, for example, and the Joongang Ilbo, for example, is looking for an editor:

The JoongAng Daily is seeking applicants for a senior editing position.
The successful candidate will be a native English speaker with significant experience as an editor or reporter at English daily newspapers, a background in editing national or business news or feature stories, strong headline writing skills and the ability to lead a diverse team.

I have some experience writing and editing, and though I was also interested in eventually pursuing a Master's in TESOL, when I came to Korea I thought I could work for a year or two as a teacher and transition into other work because, I thought, with all the English being used copywriters and -editors with some experience would be in demand. Hahahahaha. Those sorts of jobs are scarce---when a native-speaker writer or editor is used at all---don't seem to be advertised often, and look to go to people not only with experience and Korean proficiency, but who can start pretty quickly. Since there are a lot of people who would like a job like that---hell, I'm in line ahead of you---it would be a good idea to build up some in-country experience by helping proofread or edit local publications, such as the Gwangju News, and by contributing pieces to the local papers or English-language radio stations. You could also browse sites like Work n' Play for writing and editing jobs---such as on in-house textbooks---though again it helps to have experience, to be able to start quickly, and to of course already be in Korea.

Anyang Halla have six home games in December.

Flipping through the channels the other day I was reminded South Korea has two professional hockey teams, the Anyang Halla (안양한라) and High1 (하이원) out of Chuncheon. They compete in the seven-team Asia League Ice Hockey. You'll find a schedule of upcoming games for Anyang here (in English here), though nothing turned up for the Chuncheon team. "Regular" tickets for Anyang cost 6,000 won for adults. The attendance for the most recent game in Anyang, on November 1st versus the Tohoku Freeblades, was 759, the one before that was 889, down perhaps because of the heavy rain from the home opener's figure 1,482. Their arena seats 1,284, and location and direction information is here.

Kang Shin-who, Korea's worst journalist, named Reporter of the Month.

Kang Shin-who, the worst journalist in Korea's English-language press, was recently rewarded for all his hard work.

Kang Shin-who, a Korea Times City Desk reporter, has been named Reporter of the Month for October for his scoops on the controversial nontaxable status of U.S.-based TOEFL test provider, ETS.

The Journalist Association of Korea and the Korea Press Foundation announced Kang's selection Tuesday for his series of articles which started on Oct. 20.

Here's his latest piece, "English Teacher Jailed for Harassing Minor" and an excerpt:

An English tutor who served time for harassing minor female students was found guilty of repeating his crime and handed a two-year prison term ― this time for kissing a girl student against her will.

A Seoul court said Tuesday the 49-year-old man, identified as Park, who studied at a U.S. college, was arrested for violating the Sexual Protection of Children and Juveniles Law. His nationality was not revealed.

Seems to be getting at something there.

Kang has earned his poor reputation among some here for giving attention to the Anti-English Spectrum in an article about ATEK

"There are many foreign instructors who are leading disorderly lives involving sex and drugs, although the foreign group is denying it," said Lee Eun-ung, founder of the Citizens' Association for Lawful English Education, a group dedicated to mounting surveillance on foreign English teachers. "Without accepting the facts, they will never succeed in removing their bad image."

for distorting the words of Seoul National University's Douglas Gress, for fabricating quotations by International Graduate School of English President Park Nam-sheik

``Most of the native English speakers don't have much affection toward our children because they came here to earn money and they often cause problems,'' Park said.

for misquoting the Seoul National University of Education president

"The native speakers are not qualified and are often involved in sexual harassment and drugs."

for mischaracterizing Gangnam public school teachers concerned about their contracts

"Teachers in Gangnam Rebel"

. . .

A protest by native English teachers in the district of Gangnam over diminished housing subsidies has hit the wall with the district office issuing a "take-it-or-leave-it" ultimatum.

for giving a false number of ATEK members in February, 2009

An association for 20,000 foreign English teachers said Wednesday they will fight against discrimination in Korea, indicating they will step up their crusade against proposed legislation requiring them to submit drug tests and criminal background checks.

for misquoting and misrepresenting Benjamin Wagner and looking to create a rift between E-series and F-series visa holders, and for a history of poor reporting, half-truths, and vague statements meant to discredit native speaker English teachers.

In the Korea Herald, writing about the lessons learned from ifriendly.kr.

I'm not trying to beat a dead horse---this article was planned before the website was changed and before the Korea Times picked up on the story---but I have a piece that appeared on the Korea Herald website this evening (in print tomorrow) about the lessons learned from the ifriendly.kr debacle. A couple excerpts:

The internet is used by many to stay connected and share information freely, but much of what's found on the Korean internet is antithetical to this. Though Korea has become "the most wired country on earth," it has historically cut itself off electronically from the rest of the world through policies like the real-name verification law and the software it chooses to use.

The obstacles recently gained some attention when a website designed to help expats access Korean websites was, ironically, about as unhelpful as possible. There are some lessons to be learned from the strong reaction from both Korean and foreign users, lessons that can help Korean websites and companies reach their intended audience.

I don't want to be a dick, and it's not my intentio to merely belittle bad English used by Koreans, though I'm not as patient when it's found on a page geared toward English speakers. In the article I do say that they fixed the website a few days after the wretched first edition launched, though of course the page should have never been that bad to begin with.

[T]he debacle was helpful in engaging a large number of internet users about the shortcomings of Korean websites. Whether because of ridiculous English, because of software obstacles, or designs unsuitable for international users (the overuse of pop-ups, for example) attempts to reach a global audience often fail. And when they fail so hard as ifriendly did last week, one asks if the designers are actually interested in reaching foreigners at all.

The working title I had was "Lessons learned from ifriendly.kr," and wasn't intended to be a broad overview on the perceived shortcomings on the Korean internet. I'm not a tech guy, and couldn't eloquently fit in all the incompatability issues under the word limit while touching on the other things that needed addressing. Google will be your friend if you'd like to find more information about the state of the Korean internet, a topic written about my people much more knowledgable on the subject than I. You might also like this post last month from Gusts of Popular Feeling, which quotes from this Chosun Ilbo column; an excerpt of the latter:

For one thing, accessing many Korean websites requires jumping through hoops not found anywhere else in the world. This may mean installing unfamiliar software programs, one to ensure secure access, another to protect against keystroke tracking, another for personal firewall protection, and on top of that, an antivirus program, all to be able to do some banking online. Nowhere else are websites so complicated and inconvenient.

It is also a uniquely Korean peculiarity that the programs needed for access to secure websites are compatible only with Microsoft Internet Explorer. Many are based on the ActiveX framework from Microsoft. And while there exist other technologies that perform the same function, none are in use in Korea. As a result, web browsers such as Firefox used by over 20 percent of users worldwide have no presence here.

The average computer user may not care whether it is ActiveX or something else that allows convenient and secure access. But that is misguided. In the event of worldwide Internet chaos, as was the case in January 2003 or during the DDoS attacks in July, Korea gets hit the hardest. Its online environment has become one where users habitually hit "yes" for every dialog box that pops up and install programs without a second thought.

For more information and comments regarding ifriendly.kr, see the previous posts on Brian in Jeollanam-do:

* November 20: "Korea Times looks at ifriendly.kr screw-up, this site."
* November 19: "What was wrong with ifriendly.kr?"
* November 17: "ifriendly.kr another major English fail by the Korean government."

You might also look at the post a few places down on Google Korea for some links and comments on Korea's portals and the relative failure of Google here.

twitter.com/jeollanamdo

If anyone is interested, I started at Twitter page last week, twitter.com/jeollanamdo. Currently it's pretty redundant since the people following me are mostly my Facebook people. I still haven't figured out the point of Twitter, since it seems like many people just post links back to their blogs (blogs their followers are already reading), and I'm not sure I need another thing to do on the internet. But, I did connect with some Koreans in the past few days, and have posted a few things I didn't feel like blogging. Anyway, yeah.

A very special Asian pose.

Jewelry says "예스 예스 예스 투 파이팅 에이즈."



Because there are times when Korean words just don't cut it.

A more Korean Google Korea coming next month.

From the Korea Times:

Google Korea plans a major facelift for its main page in December, displaying media content such as news and entertainment, photos, popular blog entries, alternative searches and other items of interest upfront.

Compare the current Google Korea page



with Naver's



and Daum's



(both of which have animation and videos) and you'll see the huge difference. The article continues:

Naver (www.naver.com), the country's most popular Web site, has a 66 percent share of the search market, followed by Daum (www.daum.net), which has a 20 percent share, according to the figures. Nate (www.nate.com) is also gaining a larger chunk of the traffic after absorbing the popular Cyworld (www.cyworld.com) social networking services.

Google Korea officials stress that a heavier Google site wouldn't result in a slower user experience. Perhaps, the bigger question is whether the effort to be more like Naver, Daum and Nate is the right option for Google Korea to be more widely used.

``When Web portals add more features and make their main pages more complex, this usually leads to slower loading time. However, the newer version of Google's Korean Web page will be quick and sophisticated at the same time,'' a Google Korea official said.

The new Google Korea's (www.google.co.kr) main page will have the Google logo and search box pulled up from its current central position to make room for the categories of ``blogs,'' ``people'' and ``hot issues.''

I have Naver as my homepage mostly because I think it's much better for finding Korean information (maps, encyclopedia articles, news, 등), and because I like the dictionary. I'd like to see a regional breakdown of what portals people use, though, because I don't recall the last time I saw somebody in Jeollanam-do using Naver. (I guess Daum is more anti-establishment, or whatever).

Industry analysts believe that the popularity of Daum's online debate section, Agora, which emerged as the seedbed for anti-government bloggers amid the controversy over U.S. beef imports, is helping the portal revive its once-dying rivalry with Naver.

``Agora has undoubtedly helped Daum improve its brand image and that is resulting in the increase in search traffic," said Jeong Woo-cheol, an analyst from Mirae Asset Securities, pointing out that Naver's timing and range of decline in search share coincide with Daum's rise.

But one reason Naver has been able to succeed is because of it's "walled garden" approach, which means running a Google search in Korean won't reveal anything contained in Naver's encyclopedia or popular Q&A section. Here's a bit from an article from OhmyNews, found via from a post "Naver vs. Google" from A Year in Mokpo in 2007, about why Google has such a small market share:

A prevalent theory in Korean dotcom circles is that Google failed to impress demanding Korean customers with its lousy service. This is at least what Naver and other major local portals want Koreans to believe.

Choi Mi Jung, who leads Naver's "Knowledge Man" service, a Wikipedia-like online encyclopedia built by the spontaneous participation of Netizens, scoffs at the sloppy interface and unfriendly way Google's Korean site presents its search results. "It is how meticulously their service was designed that made the difference," she says.

However, the real reason behind Google's difficult path in Korea is that its highly praised search technology was rendered practically useless in the Korean language sphere when major portals decided to block Google search robots from crawling around the content they hold, industry observers universally note.

One effect I've noticed from this "walled garden," as the article calls it, is that if I'm looking for something---a picture, a video, a particular topic in the news---and I can't find it on Naver, there's a good chance a search on Daum, on another portal, or even through Google will turn something up.

Anyway, this is all pretty timely considering the conversation going on in the comment section to the post "What was wrong with ifriendly.kr?" People are talking about the different preferences of Koreans and non-Koreans when it comes to websites. Stevie Bee writing about GMarket:

It looks like an explosion in a GIF factory. Do they actually have qualified designers working for them? What sort of tasteless, clueless lackwit would lead the design of a site like that?

and again:

Honestly, the next time you're with him, sit him down at a computer, open Internet Explorer (obv) and go to gmarket.co.kr and ask him to give you an explanation. Ask him to account for the presence of 20+ animated GIFs, flickering far too quickly to glean any sense from them. Ask him to account for the floating fucking sidebar. Ask him to account for the seeming lack of any sort of prioritizing or organization of information. And then give him a good hard clip around the ear from me.

From David tz, who teaches "the head of strategic marketing at Gmarket and the head of Human Resourse at Auction":

An eyesore to who? A Korean or a person used to Google minimalism? A lot of those animated gifs are graphics provided by the companies selling products on Gmarket. It's not the complete fault of the designers of Gmarket. It's also mostly a Korean design aesthetic (ever seen a flyer for a nightclub? same thing). To a Korean, it's awesome, to a person who has grown up with Google, it's an eyesore and let's face it, Gmarket is not designed with you in mind-- eBay is.

. . .

Having worked as a Graphic Designer in Canada for 10 years, and 6 years here in Korea, I can assure you that the differences are like night and day. Korean clients want busy and garish designs and every single time I design something the way I was taught, schooled in the Western aesthetic, my designs get rejected. As soon as I take the same design and make it ugly and busy, I get a nice fat paycheck. Gmarket is in much the same position. It's nothing without the companies selling products and they're the one providing those awful gif animations. All the Gmarket designed graphics are actually static images.

. . .
From This Is Me Posting:

I think my brain just exploded from looking at that Gmarket site for more than 10 seconds.

Here's the GMarket site, by the way. And from justin:

you guys are missing the whole point...

websites are designed as so because it caters to the "KOREANS".

they have little or no interest in bringing westerners to their site.. (especially sites like gmarket..i mean who buys it there when you have sites like ebay here in the states)...so you guys are the MINORITY and no company can satisfy every single one of their potential customers.

so as far as designs go...you should accept it as a cultural difference rather than as an indication of poor aesthetic decision...

Browse the rest on your own.

Gwangju and Jeollanam-do fighting about airports.

The Korea Times looks at Gwangju and the province of Jeollanam-do fighting over which of two underused airports should handle flights in and out of the region. A couple excerpts:

Two top local government leaders in the southwestern region are fighting over which of the two major airports in the area ― Muan International Airport of South Jeolla Province or Gwangju Airport ― will serve as the destination for domestic air connections. The latter had been expected to close after the two-year-old Muan International had become more established.

However, Gwangju Mayor Park Gwang-tae made it clear Monday that he intends to keep Gwangju Airport open and add international routes to several Chinese destinations, despite strong opposition from South Jeolla Province.

In an effort to stimulate the underutilized Muan International Airport, South Jeolla Gov. Park Jun-young has been seeking the operation of domestic routes flying to and from Gwangju Airport, which runs routes to Gunsan, Daegu, Gimhae, Seoul, Yeosu, Ulsan, Pohang and other major Korean cities.

“From the industry’s point of view, it is necessary to keep domestic lines at Gwangju Airport,” Mayor Park Gwang-tae said at a press conference in Gwangju. “We will also seek permission to allow the operation of international routes to Beijing and Shanghai.”

. . .

South Jeolla Province released a statement Sunday, urging the cooperation of the central government, Gwangju City and the Korea Airport Corporation in the transfer of domestic lines to Muan International Airport.

“The Muan International Airport is and should be the main airport serving the southwestern region. It is the result of a state project initiated on the condition that the existing airports in Gwangju and Mokpo give up their domestic operations,” the statement said.

Perhaps some sort of compromise will be made; over the summer there was talk of splitting duty:

The Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs and the Korea Airports Corporation are finally ready to solve the problem of local "ghost airports." They decided to take action only after the Board of Audit and Inspection released the results of an audit of the white elephants Wednesday.

The watchdog told the ministry and KAC to suspend operation of Yangyang Airport in Gangwon Province until they come up with a plan to make the most of it; consider merging Muan Airport in South Jeolla Province with Gwangju Airport; and reexamine projects to expand Ulsan Airport and renovate facilities at Sacheon Airport, both in South Gyeongsang Province.

The Muan International Airport opened in November, 2007, several years behind schedule, and was to replace the airports in Mokpo and Gwangju. When it did open, it was "incomplete," with some staggering deficiencies considering the airport was nearly a decade in the making; from a Korea Times article:

However, for the time being only nine international flights per week by two Chinese carriers and seven domestic flights will operate, as the two national flag carriers _ Korean Air and Asiana Airlines _ decided to keep their operation of four weekly flights to China at Gwangju airport until next June.

The decision was made due to the ministry's inconsistent policy. The construction of a highway connecting Gwangju and Muan has not been completed and thus the difficulty in accessing the airport was evident, consequently the government allowed international operation at Gwangju airport until the end of constructions in June.

With only half of the international flights operating in Muan and the other half at Gwangju, customs and immigration facilities and cargo terminals at Muan are also unlikely to be fully operational. Moreover, the airport lacks restaurants and convenience stores as no companies have applied to do business there due to the small number of flight operations.

Muan International Airport is one of South Korea's "ghost airports"---big, new airports that nobody uses---and is handling roughly 3% of its forecast capacity. I see there have only been 53,211 passengers arriving at and departing from Muan this year (36,019 international), and running a search for flights on the official website I see the only international flight listed is to Beijing (twice a week). Muan is thus the country's second-least-busiest international airport, behind the one in Cheongju, and has handled the fewest number of passengers on domestic flights. For domestic flights this year, Gwangju has handled 1,137,549 passengers, compared to Muan's 17,192. Last year Muan handled 104,213 passengers on international flights, and in less than two months in 2007 it handled 11,326.

The BBC looked at Yangyang's airport in May, and mentioned that, even though 11 of Korea's 14 airports don't turn a profit, there are a few others on the way. Here's an article about some bickering over an airport to open near Busan.

Namak-ri, Muan county became the capital of Jeollanam-do in 2005, taking over for Gwangju. They're building a new city in Namak (남악신도시), one that is planned to have a population of 150,000 when it's finished in 2019 (Samhak-myeon, in which Namak is located, had a population of 8,768 in 2001). I suspect many of those people will simply be relocated from Gwangju and nearby Mokpo. Having all the flights out of Muan, though, will mean some of the area's biggest cities---Gwangju, Jeonju, Yeosu, Suncheon---will be without an international airport. But if they were ambitious enough to simply build a new city rather than relocate to a preexisting one or retrofitting Gwangju, then I guess building a new airport is no big thing.

There is even talk of enlarging the airport in Gunsan, Jeollabuk-do, to handle international flights to fit in with a huge regional development project:

The absence of an international airport in North Jeolla Province is hindering foreign investment in the reclaimed Saemangeum area, the world’s biggest landfill, which is to be developed as a major industrial and tourism center by 2020.

Recently, U.S. developer Federal Development scrapped a plan to build a multi-tourism complex on the province’s signature island of Gogunsan, citing a lack of international flight access.

The cancellation was a major setback for North Jeolla, commonly known as “Jeonbuk.” Attracting foreign investors and tourists to the region is crucial, particularly for the success of the 2015 completion of the Saemangeum-Gunsan Free Economic Zone (SGFEZ).

Korea designated the Saemangeum and Gunsan area as its sixth and final free economic zone in May 2005 to make full and strategic use of the Saemangeum reclamation, and fulfill the backward province’s long aspirations for a national project that would secure balanced development for the region through automobile, shipbuilding and machinery industries, and tourism.

“As one can see, the most glaring impediment to the globalization of Saemangeum is the airport issue. Who has ever heard of a global business center without an international airport,” Vice Governor Song Wan-yong said Friday.

“If the project is to reach its full potential, foreigners should be able to visit the area through direct flights.”

The remarks came during a tour of the area arranged by the provincial administration for the press and the advisory committee of the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs.

North Jeolla, often considered one of Korea’s most underdeveloped regions, is in the only province in the country without an international airport.

Website in English for motels in Seoul, maybe.

This Korea Times article is so thin and uninformative that I don't even want to link to it, but it reminds readers of the "Innostel" website, an online directory for motels in Seoul.

City Hall certifies lodgings with more than 10 rooms when they meet certain standards, awarding Innostel recognition that gives users such benefits as a reduction in water fees.

What? Anyway, innostel.visitseoul.net currently only lists 95 motels, but there are plans to extend that to 150 soon. The name means:

Innostel has emerged as an innovative service that connects operators of lower-priced accommodations with foreign tourists who would like to visit Seoul but don`t need lavish rooms and hotel services. Our motto "Stay Simple" refers to the ease and savings that come from using the Innostel system.

After registering and logging in to the website, users can make reservations, and read and make reviews. There are promotions as well, and during the Seoul Grand Sale, which ends on November 24th, users can get a 20% discount on rooms booked through the website.



The general lack of mid-range budget accommodation is cited as one reason why Korea is not attracting as many tourists as it would like. Indeed, just last month Korea Tourism Organization President Lee Cham was criticized for the failure of the "Best Night in Korea" campaign, though as I demonstrated the failure was in place long before Lee was. The lack of quality domestic accommodation brought out the xenophobia in at least one politician; from the Korea Times last month:

Rep. Kim Boo-kyum of the main opposition Democratic Party (DP) pointed out that the nation is helpless in the face of the aggressive invasion of foreign budget hotels, seeing a rising demand from foreign travelers.

"Several cheap foreign hotel chains -- such as Best Western Inn and Toyoko Inn -- have expanded their business activities here. The Japanese hotel chain for example, opened its first chain in Korea in Busan last year and plans to open 60 more inns in big cities over the next 10 years," Kim said.

Citing a survey, Kim pointed out that foreign tourists are unwilling to stay longer here, mainly because they are not satisfied with food and accommodation. He urged KTO President Lee to address the problems in the budget hotel chain project.

It's worth reminding that Korea needs to have something here to attract tourists in the first place. That Korea has not built any alternatives to the drab, overpriced "tourist hotels" is hardly the fault of foreign chains, or the fault of a man hired to head the KTO in July, two years after the BENIKA plan started.

I've written a lot about Korea's motels---most recently last month in the Korea Herald---and have recommended such online directories as Hotel 365, Motel Guide, and Yanolja several times. The Innostel page is a nice beginning for English-speakers. . . though it's been around since 2007 but we're only now finding articles on it. Indeed neither this nor "BENIKA" turn up on the front page of results for various related Google searches. There is some overlap as well, as Maureen O’Crowley, the Senior Director of International Marketing and Conventions, Seoul Tourism Organization, wrote in the Korea Times last year:

At the moment, the tourism industry in Korea is somewhat fragmented, with private and public groups often working in divergent areas. Often, these groups end up working on virtually identical projects. Such was the case when both the national and city tourism organizations recognized the need to identify and brand mid-priced range tourist hotels in Seoul. The Korea Tourism Organization developed the ``Benikea’’ program while the city developed a similar program named ``Innostel.’’

There is also "굿스테이" run through the KTO.

If anyone has used the website, I'd like to read what you have to say about it. This review in the Joongang Ilbo was particularly bad; an excerpt:

On the morning of Jan. 16, this reporter called an “Innostel” in Dongdaemun district, Seoul to see if they could take a reservation in English. Such establishments are certified by the Seoul government for foreign tourists.

(In Korean) “Anyeonghasaeyo, [hotel name].”

“I’d like to make a reservation for two days from tomorrow night.”

“Ah... Um....”

“Can anyone speak English there?”

(Muttering in Korean) “I don’t know what she’s saying...”

Then the phone was hung up.

While Seoul is carrying out a wide range of projects with the goal of attracting 12 million tourists by 2010, it remains to be seen whether the plans are having any effect.

The term “Innostel” is a combination of “innovative” and “hostel,” and refers to comfortable-yet-affordable accommodations that had received the city’s stamp of approval.

But a recent survey conducted by the JoongAng Daily, however, has found that the ability to communicate in English is severely lacking.

Of 31 Innostels called, half weren’t able to take a reservation in English. Staff at 10 of the 24 Innostels in Jongno District, central Seoul, which has the largest concentration of the hotels, couldn’t speak English.

Some just hung up the phone upon hearing English.

That gives me as good a reason as any to post, with permission, part of an email I received a few weeks ago from a reader:

It was amusing to read your article after discovering for myself the vagaries of getting a hotel room on the weekend in Seoul. there is a room referral service called Ratestogo.com. It claimed to have booked a room for me and when I arrived at the hotel I discovered that it was selling the rooms after the hotel had canceled their reservation contract with the service in September. It was October 24th. I ended up at the Marriott. I can not find a good listing of hotels in the city of Seoul, most of the time I get only ads. Where should I look when trying to get hotel rooms. Is there really a shortage or are the hotel staff looking for a bribe?

An online directory of affordable, clean accommodation in Seoul and Korea is badly needed, and I'd like to see Korea see the Innostel and BENIKA plans through.

Korea Times looks at ifriendly.kr screw-up, this site.

The Korean-language version of the Korea Times has looked at the disappointing site ifriendly.kr and the response it generated, citing this page and this post. An excerpt:

정부가 톡톡히 망신을 당한 사이트는 16일 방송통신위원회에서 개설한 '재한 외국인 인터넷 본인확인 안내 홈페이지'(www.ifriendly.kr). 이 사이트는 국내에 머무는 110만명의 외국인들이 외국인 등록번호나 여권번호를 이용, 각종 인터넷 사이트에 가입하는 방법을 안내하기 위해 우리말, 영어, 중국어, 일본어 등 4개 국어로 개설됐다.

그러나 영어 사이트의 경우 수준 이하의 영어로 제 구실을 못하고 있다. 이 사이트는 핵심 내용인 '본인 확인'(identify person acknowledgement)을 여러 군데서 'identify'대신 'identical'로 표기해 외국인들을 어리둥절하게 만들고 있다. 'identical'은 똑같은 혹은 일란성 쌍둥이라는 의미, 'identify'는 확인하다, 식별하다는 뜻이다.

유명 블로그 '브라이언 인 전라남도' (http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/11/what-was-wrong-with-ifriendlykr.html)를 운영하는 전남 여수의 원어민 영어 강사 브라이언은 자신의 블로그에 'ifriendly.kr의 잘못된 점은 무엇인가'라는 글을 올리고 "ifriendly.kr 사이트를 방문했으나 무슨 뜻인지 알 수 없었다"며 "다른 외국인들조차 알아들을 수 없는 영어"라고 지적했다.

That particular post has been passed around by numerous Korean twitterers, including those who work on the internet for a living, and was read by thousands of others, so people are certainly paying attention to what English-language bloggers have to say, especially, in this case, to the accessibility of the Korean internet and the language used to explain it.

You probably know I don't live in Yeosu---I live in Gwangju---and that my name isn't "Brain," but that's the way Naver.com labelled my site in August, 2008:

전라남도 여수시 영어교사 Brain 블로그, 한국문화, 역사, 뉴스, 축제 등 수록

I went with it since it was nice to get some attention from Korean readers. I need to find a new page description, I think.

Naver says no, Anti-English Spectrum to stay intact.

Naver has said the posts on Anti-English Spectrum internet cafe will stay:

Naver has rejected a request by native English teachers to remove what they call derogatory and racial postings on a blog known as the “Anti-English Spectrum.”

NHN, the operator of Naver, told The Korea Times Thursday they had concluded that they don’t see anything in the blog that violates the standing regulations or its internal rules.

“Our monitoring team examined cases stipulated in the request and concluded that Andrea Vandom’s claim doesn’t merit any corrective action,” said Kim Hyun-chang, Naver’s PR official.

For background, read the post two below this one, or browse the "We hate native speaker English teachers" category.

President Obama punches with President Lee.

US President Barack Obama gives a quick punching lesson to South Korean President Lee Myung-bak on the former's first trip to Seoul.



As The Marmot's Hole said, President Obama will get an honorary Taekwondo belt while he's here. From the Chosun Ilbo:

Obama practiced taekwondo for about four years with an American master in Chicago from 2001 while he was serving in the Illinois state senate. He obtained a green belt.

The Chosun Ilbo, as well as pretty much every other Korean news site, has loads of galleries of the visit. Here's a letter President Obama wrote to President Lee:



I hope for President Obama's sake they skip the visit to the National Assembly.

Korea Herald on Anti-English Spectrum.

A pair of interesting articles in the Korea Herald this evening on the attention Anti-English Spectrum's been getting lately, with Andrea Vandom publically questioning whether that internet cafe violate's Naver's terms of service. In her letter on that point she writes, in part:

While Naver should protect its users’ rights to speak freely in a robust and open environment where controversial ideas are expressed and even offensive language is used, it is clear that racial hatred and discrimination must not be tolerated. Accordingly, Article Ga-4 of Naver cafe’s terms of service agreement makes clear that a cafe created with the intention of defaming a particular group is prohibited and Article Ga-6 calls for “immediate closure” in such an instance.

The conclusion of her letter to Naver's parent corporation, again:

NHN Corp. should take a stand against racism, xenophobia and the proliferation of hate speech that only serves to tarnish Naver’s good name and reputation. Toward such an end I strongly suggest that Naver:

* Remove content that claims foreigners are targeting Korean children in order to sexually molest them.
* Remove content that spreads rumors of foreigners seeking to infect Koreans with AIDS or other diseases.
* Remove content that contains racially derogatory images and messages that promote racial hatred and discrimination such as the group’s many “promotional posters.”
* Remove content that profiles, targets and stigmatizes individuals on the basis of race and nationality in order to expose them to greater suspicion.
* Remove content that involves vigilante activities such as the tracking or stalking of any persons, whether Koreans or foreigners.
* Remove content that targets interracial couples and seeks to stigmatize and degrade Koreans for having any kind of relationships with foreigners.

First, Matt VanVolkenburg, the author of the blog Gusts of Popular Feeling writes of the group's "systematic" efforts against teachers:

Anti-English Spectrum, described on their website as "The Citizen's Movement to Expel Illegal Teachers of Foreign Languages," attempted to disguise their true nature in 2007 by changing their website banner showing Korean nationalist heroes and the caption "Our homeland is protected by the blood of our ancestors" to one showing a child at a blackboard with the title "The Citizen's Group for Upright English Education."

Their day to day activities, which consist of race-based profiling and stalking of foreigners, have not changed, however. Anti-English Spectrum's website is full of updates about foreign teachers that they are "pursuing" based on tips alleging illegal activity. A post on Oct. 14 about the "stakeout" of a female foreign teacher said, "Drugs have not turned up, only a used condom was found," suggesting they search through teachers' garbage.

In a recent interview, the cafe's manager even suggested that, instead of calling the police, people who want to report foreign teacher crime should "go through our cafe members (so) we can advise you and alert police." This behavior, however, has not been condemned, but was officially rewarded by the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency in 2007.

Gusts of Popular Feeling is arguably the best blog in Korea, and is certainly the best-researched one, and has numerous posts on Anti-English Spectrum and discrimination against foreign English teachers, including:

* "The achievements of Anti-English Spectrum"
* "How to make foreign English teachers an AIDS threat in 5 easy steps"
* "The 'undisclosed crimes' of potential child molesting foreign English teachers"
* "Puff piece about Anti-English Spectrum"

And, I noticed he put up a post this evening providing an excellent overview of the topic with plenty of links, so give that a read as well.

Another article, by Adam Walsh, is on the difference between free speech and hate speech, and comes with several notorious images from the Naver cafe, including:



An objection I made to the Korea Times' articles on this movement against Anti-English Spectrum---most recently yesterday's---is that Kang Shin-who made no effort to present teachers' objections to the group, and did not present the objections people like Benjamin Wagner or Matt VanVolkenburg have made to dispute the so-called "facts" given by lawmakers and public figures. A lengthy excerpt from the Herald piece:

Further involvement in the AIDS public opinion field was the group's successful influencing of foreign visa regulations using false statistics. Bill (3356), which is now at the National Assembly, is designed to allow AIDS testing for any foreigners coming into Korea on working visas. The bill contains a statistic which originates from Anti-English Spectrum, and has been quoted by the group's administrator in the media on numerous occasions. It states that in 2007 the Itaewon AIDS clinic performed 80 percent of its tests on foreign teachers and foreign white collar workers.

Korea AIDS/HIV Prevention & Support Center statistics for that year show that the 80 percent statistic is false. Furthermore, KHAP director Yu Sung-chal told Expat Living that the clinic "moved to Seongbuk-gu in 2006, so it makes no sense to say that the Itaewon clinic sent out these statistics."

When Assemblyman Lee Sang-jun, who is behind Bill (3356) was asked by the Herald about the false statistic, he stated that he got the stats from the Ministry of Justice, and that he does not remember who in the ministry he got them from. "I do go over statistics at times. But in this case, since they are not the vital issue here, but rather a reference, I didn't check the facts."

The same dubious statistic can be traced back even further. A petition from AES sent to the Ministry of Justice in 2006 bears the same 80 percent figure. Around this time, Anti-English Spectrum assisted in an online article that alleged the percentage was English teachers, leaving out the mention of white collar workers. The picture included with the article is of a white man giving a blood sample to a nurse -- presumably an English teacher, since the article is about EFL teachers -- with the caption once again mentioning the Itaewon AIDS tests.

As it turns out, the photo was a fake. The picture is of President George W. Bush's former U.S. Global AIDS coordinator being publicly tested for HIV/AIDS in Ethiopia in an effort to fight AIDS stigma. The same picture is on Wikipedia.

When reached for comment, the director of the AIDS Prevention Center in Daegu did not have nice things to say about Anti-English Spectrum. "I think they are highly nationalistic and they treat foreigners as our enemies ... I do believe in freedom of speech, however, what they are sending out is highly controversial and might send out the wrong perception," said Kim Ji-young.

Gov't enabling the hiring of illegal foreign workers by easing penalties against companies.

I'm not sure I like the government making it easier for companies to hire, and potentially mistreat, illegal foreign workers, all the while the workers themselves are facing an immigration crackdown. An excerpt from the Chosun Ilbo today:

The government on Friday will reduce penalties for companies that illegally employ foreign workers. The Ministry of Justice says companies breaking the law can now be re-issued licenses to employ foreign nationals immediately after paying their fines.

The current law states that businesses found guilty of hiring undocumented alien workers cannot employ foreigners for three years. Despite the stringent regulation companies were found to have employed foreign workers illegally even after they were prosecuted.

The Korea Times has more:

This softer policy comes at a time when small- and medium-sized firms are suffering from manpower shortages, but is contrary to its overall policy of reducing illegal immigrant workers.

Under the new rule, companies will face a one-year ban on hiring additional foreigners if they are caught employing illegal foreign workers. Currently, the ban is three years.

This rule will be applied retrospectively, making it possible for nearly 3,030 companies to hire foreign workers again this month.

"It will help ease the chronic workforce shortage at small companies," the ministry said. But side effects are expected as firms might hire more undocumented foreigners due to the lighter penalty.

The plan comes at a time when the government is facing growing criticism from small companies that say the drastic cut in foreign worker quotas earlier this year is a major culprit behind illegal employment.

In March, the Ministry of Labor slashed the number of work visas - H-2 and E-9 - issued to foreigners from 100,000 to 34,000, a measure aimed at providing more job opportunities for Koreans amid the worsening job market.

President Obama back in the news in Hampyeong.

Visitors to the Korea Chrysanthemum Festival (2009대한민국국향대전) get their photos taken next to the cardboard cut-out of U.S. President Barack Obama (오바마 포토존) that seems to make its way around Hampyeong county pretty well.



It debuted last November. Hampyeong was congratulating Obama on being the US's first black president, and anticipating a new era in world politics.

함평군은 미국 역사상 첫 흑인 대통령이 된 오바마 당선자를 축하하고 새로운 정치세계가 펼쳐지길 기대하며 포토존 설치를 기획했다.

Here's a white guy photoshopped in last spring at the annual Butterfly Festival:



President Obama made his first visit to South Korea on Wednesday.

The chrysanthemum festival runs through this Sunday, and looks worth a visit.

What was wrong with ifriendly.kr?

A couple days ago the government rolled out a website, ifriendly.kr, aimed at helping foreigners register with Korean websites, an oft-mentioned obstacle. I did a short write-up on Tuesday, focusing on how the English was atrocious, confusing, and about as unhelpful as you can get. I've had to go back and switch everything in my first draft of this post to past tense, though, because the English page is now gone and under construction, as are the Japanese and Chinese versions.

The awful English wasn't the only problem, though, and going through all the comments really reaffirms that we have another case of something ostensibly aimed at foreigners but created without consulting them at all. For instance, there was limited accessibility among those not using Internet Explorer, a flaw common among Korean websites, though people are at least aware of this deficiency.

Starting 2011, all of the 150 e-government Web sites are expected to be accessible from any browser.

The development is expected to be useful for overseas Koreans or foreigners logging on to Web sites such as www.hikorea.go.kr from aboard through alternate browsers. Operated by the Ministry of Justice, the Web site is a comprehensive online repository of information for oversea Koreans, immigrants and foreign nationals.

You might have anticipated such problems from ifriendly.kr since the page ripped off the Internet Explorer logo:



I don't know how common those other browsers are among Korean users, but looking through my Sitemeter stats---which only tracks the last 100 visitors---I can see that they're popular among people on my site. And looking at my Google Analytics page for the month October 19 - November 18, I can see that the majority of my 42,845 visits were by people not using Internet Explorer.



I'm an IE user, and my own visits to the site are, perhaps unfairly, counted among those numbers. But when looking at that 35%, consider that a lot of my visitors come between 8:00 and 5:00, when people are at work in Korea and, when using computers other than their own, have no choice but to use IE.

The page also relies on Flash, which not only doesn't work on some computers---I couldn't open the page at school---but prevents people from running the Korean text through an online translator. This is useful for when there is only a Korean-language version of a page, or when the Korean-language version is, as is always the case, more useful than the English one.

I'll reiterate that the English was among the worst I've ever seen on a Korean webpage. While I'm usually patient and tolerant with learners of English, that this is on a page created by the government to help foreigners, the arrogance of not deigning to check with a native speaker and carelessness required to get it so wrong cannot be excused. Here are a few examples:

"Internet guide of identical person acknowledgement on alien in Korea"

"Alien in Korea can confirm identical person through Internet easily with alien registration or passport."

"Making Republic of Korea
where communication is available by digital"

"'Identical person acknowledgement'is
to confirm identical person on the Internet
in order to settle using culture of sound internet"

"Citizens staying in
a foreign country
who are residing in Korea"

"Does identical person
acknowledgement not work?
try to confirm the followings!"

I knew what the "identical person acknowledgement" was referring to, since I know that many Korean sites require visitors to input their citizen ID numbers, and that more often than not foreigners' alien registration card numbers will not work. However, right off the bat there was a translation fail; from commenter Ryan G.:

When I asked my wife to help translate the Korean version of this website, they translated "poninhwagin" (I don't know how to type Korean in this comment box) to the English word "identical", instead of what it's supposed to mean: "identify", now it makes more sense to me.

The website is not talking about identical foreigners having trouble accessing Korean websites, but on how a foreigner must identify themselves to a Korean website.

That is simply ONE BIG FAIL. The atrocious mistake of using a key incorrect word completely changes the tone of the website.

This isn't new. Just last month I looked at the campaign "Visit Korea Year: 2010-2012," which besides carrying a ridiculous title, was aimed at foreign tourists but written entirely in Korean, and was inaccessible to many foreign visitors for that and other reasons. Here's what Chris in South Korea thought was how not to make a tourist website, rules broken by the Visit Korea website (which has since announced the foreign-language versions will be available next January):

Don't use a slow-loading interactive-looking-but-really-not-interactive graphic.

Don't use English without consulting an English speaker. Some words just don't go together - "Green & Human"? "City & Style" is marginally acceptable, but "Blue Ocean towards the World"? I'm not even off the home page yet (pictured above).

Don't use an English word / phrase to describe something, then link to an all-Korean page. The 'Sitemap' and 'Quick Menu' buttons are guilty of this. The language you see should be an indication of the language you'll see on the next page.

Don't use popups. They're annoying. Period. Heck, most internet-savvy people use a pop-up blocker for that very reason - meaning they never saw the pop-up about your English brochure. That there's no other way to access this English brochure is another strike.

Don't use popups that popup everytime you access / go back to the main page. They're doubly annoying. Korea Times, I'm looking at you too!

Don't use a language if it can't be translated by to a computer translation program (e.g. Google Translate, Babelfish) - pictures and Flash animations aren't recognized by these programs.

Don't link to a Korean page without some kind of warning. You're showing you either A: don't understand your audience, B: haven't recognized that there are other languages in the world, or C: haven't taken a break from your computer to peek out at the real world.

Don't forget that a fair percentage of computer users have a browser other than Internet Explorer. As a result, certain pages or page elements may be unviewable at worst, or not display correctly. Anecdotally speaking, these are the people most likely to try new things and get off the beaten path - the sort of thing you're encouraging people to do.

Don't take too long to get to your point / message / the good stuff. Nielsen says the average internet user may spend 68 hours a month online, but they'll only spend a matter of seconds looking on a given page for their topic.

Don't forget to run English by an English editor. It may not be Konglish, but it's still worth checking for meaning / comprehension. An example (from the brochure you can download in the pop-up you may or may not see): "Unlike previous Visit Korea years, which were one-year affairs, 2010—2012 Visit Korea Year will be promoted for three full years."

Finally, don't bother with 'intro' videos, no matter how flashy you can make them. We don't care.

Here are a few comments to my first post on ifriendly.kr, to give an early overview of user opinion to people who don't often check posts' comment sections.

Douglas wrote:

I've come to the conclusion that only vicious mockery will force these idiots to hire English speaking proofreaders; Korean or barbarian, it doesn't matter. As long as it gets these 750 point toefl idiots from using a translation program to process the text that was written first in Korean.

from holterbarbour:

I saw a link to this on the koreagov twitter and looked at the site. What a disgrace. I sent a letter to the editor of the Korea Herald about this campaign backfiring due to a) the persistent firefox/IE issues, and b) the sad, sad English wording. I should have also raised the prospect that they were improperly coopting the IE trademark, as obvious as it is on the front page, but I didn't feel like looking up the trademark statutes to get all cite-crazy.

from letsbook:

I saw this today too... I have come to the conclusion that this country doesn't want to learn English anymore. People here seem far too set in their ways and self-confident in their shitty English... Just walking in Han River Park near Yeouido and looking at the new colour signs there tells me that.

from Ryan G.:

I like to rip on about the bad use of English as much as the next person (and boy does this website have a GOLDMINE of terrible grammar). But as this website is indeed directed at us, as well as having a laugh at it, make your concerns known to the groups responsible or nothing will change. I made an email complaint to one of the organisations involved though this address:
webmaster@kait.or.kr

I would request that you all do the same, even if it's just a short email. The quicker they realise that this type of gibberish does not make sense, and the fact that they really need to get these websites WC3 compliant (as in compatible with Firefox), the better it will be for all of us.

from golden zephyr:

Wow. The lack of 'actual' English continues to astonish me... and maybe the "e" of IE won't be considered fraudulent by Microsoft if the surrounding English doesn't make sense... lol

from kushibo:

Ryan G. and I seem to be on the same page: If you want to see this changed you will probably have to contact the people who can change it.

from Zach:

Another Korean internet fail. Aside from bad grammar and confusing site structures, I hate how the majority (if not all) websites are designed for IE and Activex apps. I wish there was more support for other browsers to work with Korean webpages.

Chris in South Korea wrote:

By the way, has anyone visited http://visitkoreayear.com lately? It's actually gotten WORSE, if you can believe it. English has almost completely disappeared; if your computer doesn't have support for Korean characters (as the average non-Korean computer), it'll display nothing that endless rows of boxes.

Craig wrote:

Anyone have any idea how to register your alien registration info if it's not in their database? I've tried to signup for numerous sites, phoned the authority of this (can't remember the name now) they told me it was only for Koreans!! I was like are you sure? Argued with him for a bit and hung up. Would really like to signup to some sites, but never get very far before getting frustrated and giving up.

And Ryan G. again:

Craig: and that's the sad thing about this entire situation. This website is supposed to hold all the information you need to access those Korean websites. But if it can't convey that information to us (foreigners) then it highlights the utter failure of the point of the whole website, and basically amounts to a waste of time and money.

Stay tuned to the earlier post for more. Those in charge of creating products and services aimed at foreigners need to start consulting their target audience, if in fact their true aim is not simply to give the appearance of caring about foreigners. It's become very clear that Koreans must not use English for public consumption without consulting with native speaker proofreaders first. They've proven it doesn't work. But my issue isn't chiefly with the thoughtless Gibberlish---I don't want to get emails about how I must be patient with students---and indeed I recognize how hard it is to use a foreign language well. My issue is this is yet another example of creating a service targetting foreigners and English-speakers without consulting with foreigners and English-speakers first. Whether it's pride, laziness, ignorance, or indifference, I don't know, but it needs to stop.