Changes ahead for browsers, Korean internet.

In the Wall Street Journal today Evan Ramsted writes about big changes on the way for the Korean internet and its users. A few excerpts:

South Korea's government is wiping out rules for Web browsing that trapped the country's Internet users with 1990s-era security technology and created a de facto monopoly for Microsoft Corp.'s Internet Explorer here.

The South Korean rules had long stood in contrast to efforts by other governments around the world that have tried to break Microsoft's grip on the Internet browser market. For South Koreans, they made Internet transactions a nuisance by requiring that users download plug-in programs, sometimes a dozen or so, for each website with which they did business.

. . .

[. . .] South Koreans in coming months are likely to experiment with other types of browsers as operators of websites, particularly banks and stores, update with more sophisticated security and data encryption techniques that don't force users to install special security plug-ins, or applets.

. . .

Last week, the Financial Supervisory Commission, which regulates banks, said it would permit all online financial transactions to use either the Korean-mandated security technique or "equivalents" that are as good or better. The change was set for July 1, though regulators said it will take weeks for companies to modify their sites and for consumers to be able to conduct transactions on other browsers.

In addition to frustrating Korean users, the reliance on Active X and Internet Explorer---webpages are often only viewable by IE users---commonly annoys expats trying to use the Korean internet. It holds a marketshare of something like 98% here, but as I showed in a March post about Active X making smartphones stupid, over 66% of my blog's visitors were using something other than Internet Explorer. That number might be higher if teachers weren't forced into using IE---often IE6*---at school. Though my readership is fairly diverse and includes Koreans, expatriates in Korea, and passers-by from all over the world looking for Korean porn commentary on local issues, my very unscientific survey shows the need for Korean companies to understand their visitors when creating websites for a global audience.



Looking at numbers for July 28, 2009 to July 29, 2010, from Google Analytics.

* IE6 was on every single computer I used in South Korea from 2005 through 2010, including those at several different schools and public PC방. The number of visitors here using IE6 has gone down over the past year, and I'm one of many who started using a newer version. From May 29 to June 28, 2010, of the 31,512 visitors to my site, 1,642, or 5.2%, were viewing it with IE6. During that range in 2009, 5,480 of the 37,609 visitors, or 14.6%, were using IE6. For what it's worth, I always used IE6, and don't complain about IE in order to pretend to be interesting don't know enough about technology to want to move away from Internet Explorer yet.

Yeosu mayor, politicians get dirty for Expo.

The JoongAng Daily looks at how the organizers of the 2012 Yeosu Expo are getting themselves dirty.

[T]he expo is turning into a hall of shame as a number of city and provincial officials have been charged with receiving bribes for expo contracts, while Mayor Oh Hyun-sup, 59, has been missing for 10 days, presumably trying to avoid arrest.

“It is embarrassing to call myself a Yeosu citizen,” said a middle-aged man walking past Yeosu city hall yesterday, who said he was too ashamed to give his name. “We are the ones to blame for handing the responsibility to take care of 300,000 people to those people.” He said he wants to “cut off the finger that voted for that mayor four years ago.”

Oh was scheduled to attend a meeting with police investigators at 8:30 a.m. last Monday, but never showed up. A Yeosu city employee later explained that the mayor had taken a leave of absence until June 23, which he has yet to return from.

Not sure what's less surprising, corruption among South Korean organizers of a major international event, or the suicide of another Korean celebrity.

Chronicle of Higher Education on reform, English-only at KAIST.

The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at changes made at Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology [KAIST] by the current president, Nam-pyo Suh, a Korean-American, as he nears the end of his term. Among the topics covered are the tenure system and the English-only policy, both controversial. On the latter:

[. . .] Mr. Suh's reforms have sometimes raised eyebrows—and hackles. Kaist is now an all-English-language campus, thanks to a presidential decree four years ago that scrapped Korean as the language of instruction, a move that many students say alienated older faculty members.

"Most of the professors are not native English speakers, and they complain that they're not teaching to their full capacity," says Jaeho Shin, a second-year chemical-and-biomolecular-engineering student. Students have been quietly told that some professors will revert to their native Korean once Mr. Suh leaves.

. . .

Scrapping Korean, while "painful" for some faculty members, has given his university an edge in global scientific research and helped flatten academic hierarchies, he says. "The Korean language makes it very hard to have one-on-one equal relationships," he says, "because it is so deferential to age and position. That's not good for innovation."

Google and the local English-language publications will be your friends for information about Korean universities and their attempts at attracting foreign students and improving their global rankings (not necessarily related). You'll find plenty of material on English in Korea on this blog, but on the topic of English-only policies at Korean universities this 2007 Inside Higher Ed article is worth a read. Three excerpts:

Many South Korean universities are setting their sights on creating an Asian education hub like Singapore and Hong Kong in order to retain more Korean students and to attract more foreign students. They have already concluded agreements with American, British and Australian universities for joint degrees, study abroad programs and faculty exchanges. Prestige is another factor in inducing universities to opt for teaching courses in English. South Korean universities are almost obsessed with the number of refereed journal articles their faculty annually publish in English and with the international rankings established by The Times of London and other rating bodies.

Many universities have set aside space where they require English to be spoken. Gyeongsang National University, for example, has created an English-only zone on its campus. Participating students agree to live in the zone, which includes two dormitories and a new classroom building with a coffee shop. The university hired English-speaking foreign students to work in the zone as waiters, guards and even trash collectors to maintain the fiction of an English zone.

. . .

Professors at KAIST voted last July to oust its American president, Robert Laughlin, because they thought his policies were too radical. One of Laughlin’s proposals was to send the entire junior-year class to China to study English. He reasoned the students could learn English in a foreign environment without being too far from home and without the risk of becoming Americanized. The new president, a naturalized American of Korean descent, scrapped this idea.

. . .

Student reactions to classes being taught in English are mixed. Although students see the advantages of being able to communicate in English, the global language, they worry about the quality of the instruction they will receive.

In some ways the English debate at KAIST and others is similar to the attitude toward English in public schools and the proposals to make English the language of instruction for all classes. Commenter Robert points out beneath the Inside Higher Ed article that few of the Korean students receiving English-language instruction will be living and working in English-speaking communities, and that most will stay in Korea and would benefit from superior instruction in professors' native language, with which not only professors but also students are familiar, trained, and proficient. When looking at this enthusiasm, and also at the backlash, like

One anonymous critic [who] denounced the concept by comparing it to the colonial period (1910-1945) when the Japanese rulers required everyone to speak Japanese instead of Korean.

it's important for native speaker English teachers to remember that English is largely a domestic pursuit in South Korea.

Put a white guy in there.

An amusing read in the Atlantic via this ExpatKorea thread about Chinese companies who hire white guys for meetings to make the company look international and well-connected.

I became a fake businessman in China, an often lucrative gig for underworked expatriates here. One friend, an American who works in film, was paid to represent a Canadian company and give a speech espousing a low-carbon future. Another was flown to Shanghai to act as a seasonal-gifts buyer. Recruiting fake businessmen is one way to create the image—particularly, the image of connection—that Chinese companies crave. My Chinese-language tutor, at first aghast about how much we were getting paid, put it this way: “Having foreigners in nice suits gives the company face.”

I'm sure people in Asia can think of tons of other examples. Recently while looking up information on weddings in Japan I found some articles and posts about using white people as fauxfficiants. From the BBC in 2006:

Mark Kelly is originally from Lancashire in England. He has been living in Japan for six years and, at the weekend, he is a fake priest.

"I was living in Sapporo, studying Japanese, and I needed the money. It's far better paid than teaching in a language school," he said.

"Being a fake priest is big business in Japan - I've done a TV commercial for one company," he added. "In Sapporo, there are five agencies employing about 20 fake priests. In a city like Tokyo, there must be hundreds."

The fake Western priests are employed at Western-style weddings to give a performance and add to the atmosphere. These are not legal ceremonies - the couples also have to make a trip to the local registrar.

And from the Taipei Times in 2005:

Only 1.4 percent of Japan's 127 million people are Christians, but Christian-style ceremonies now account for three-quarters of Japanese weddings. To meet market demand, bridal companies in recent years have largely dispensed with the niceties of providing a pastor with a seminary education, keeping the requirements simple: a man from an English-speaking country who will show up on time, remember his lines, not mix up names and perform the ceremony in 20 minutes.

From a small beginning a few years ago, the Western wedding "priest" has suddenly become an established part of modern Japan's cultural tableau. The lure of easy money has prompted hundreds of foreign men to respond to newspaper advertisements here, like the one that read: "North Americans, Europeans wanted to conduct wedding ceremonies."

In my twitter feed, and sometimes on this blog, I follow examples of white people used to sell stuff.


From Yonhap, and this post.

Foreigners used in promotional material for local festivals aren't fake tourists, but they're highlighted to a sometimes unrealistic extent make the event seem more cosmpolitan and international, and sometimes to make locals feel proud---here's a recent example---of their attractions and assets. Whether the end result seems inclusive or insulting, the objectification of white people is something that deserves more attention, and a more sophisticated, scholarly treatment that looks beyond just their supposed power and status. After all, white people don't hold the same positions in Asia as they do in their home countries.


A pair of English teachers from Suncheon on the Jindo Moses Miracle festival website.

Jeollabuk-do's Mohang Beach the cleanest.

Mohang Beach, borrowed from the Naver online encyclopedia.

A test of the chemical oxygen demand of 220 beaches in South Korea by the Ministry of Land, Transport and Maritime Affairs found the cleanest water is at Mohang Beach (모항해수욕장) in Jeollabuk-do's Buan county. It is located on the Byeongsan peninsula, within the national park of the same name (병산반도국립공원). Buses from Gwangju make the hundred-minute trip to Buan only twice a morning, at 09:30 and 10:45, with local buses running from Buan to the beach six times a day. According to the Korea Tourism Organization, the beach won't officially open until around July 8th.



A few slightly-related points on beaches in the area below the fold:

A teacher on Dave's ESL Cafe posts about an illegal cab driver who forced her into his car and assaulted her in Seoul last Thursday. The post and the responses brings up a number of familiar points of discussion: police inactivity, overdrinking in Seoul, and unsafe taxi drivers legal and otherwise.

Registration time for September, November Test of Proficiency in Korean (한국어능력시험).

It's almost time to register for the next Test of Proficiency in Korean [TOPIK, 한국어능력시험]. The 19th exam will be held on September 12, 2010, with registration open from June 30th through July 14th at 6:00 pm. Registration for the 20th exam on November 7th will be open from August 23rd through September 1st.

You'll need to register online and, as part of an unintentional, unironic test, figure out how to navigate the pages in Korean to first create a user ID, log in, and then register. As part of the process you will need a small photograph of yourself to upload when registering. The test is administered at thirteen locations around the country---the nearest one for most Jeollanam-do readers is the Language Education Center at Gwangju's Chonnam National University---and in select cities throughout the world.

I've posted about the TOPIK several times, and you'll find lengthy discussions on preparing for it and the merits of taking it in the following entries:

* January 12, 2010: Registration for February, April Test of Proficiency in Korean (한국어능력시험).
* July 9, 2009: Test of Proficiency in Korean [TOPIK] registration through July 15th.

You'll also find discussion on learning the language in the comments to this justifiably foul-mouthed post.

I took the test once, in April 2008, and earned Level 2 without high scores in reading, listening, and vocabulary, but with a C in writing. I've received several emails asking about how to prepare for it, and I don't really have an answer. Level 2, high-beginner, is pretty easily attainable for anyone who has studied the language and who feels pretty confident with basic vocabulary and sentence building. The jump to Level 3 is enormous, because the test combines both lower- and upper-intermediate problems, and though I studied briefly for it I never attempted it.

There are six levels, but three tests. A couple of years ago there were six separate exams, but now there are three. Those who take the beginner exam (초급) and score over 70% will finish with Level 2; those earning between 40% and 69% below will get Level 1. The same pattern follows for both intermediate and advanced levels. One result is that those who see themselves as a Level 3 will have to contend with questions on the higher level. A person who earns below the lower threshold---40% on the lower level, 50% on the upper---on any of the four portions will earn the lower level. The example given on page 5 says that a person who takes the beginner level test and scores 82% on vocab/grammar, 48% on writing, 76% on listening, and 80% on reading will have an average of 71.5%, but because the test taker scored below 50% on the writing portion, s/he will earn Level 1. There is a breakdown, in Korean, of expectations for each level here.

I receive emails from people sharing the TOPIK-preparation websites they've created, but none have survived very long. If you have one, please share it in the comments. And if you have any resources you'd like to recommend, please do so as well. As far as books go, I've enjoyed the two series by Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and Sogang University (서강대학교), the latter supposedly preparing you level-by-level for what's on the exam. Sogang also has a useful website for Korean learners. I'd also recommend looking through the previous exams and answers on the TOPIK website.

Why the hell would you do that?

One Gwangju printer's enthusiasm to work "story"---popular on Korean signs and advertisements---into the banner missed the obvious.

Gwangju Biennale recruting volunteers through June 30th.

The Korea Herald, and Gwangju Blog, inform us that the Gwangju Biennale is looking for 100 volunteers for the event this fall. Those interested must be able to communicate in Korean, and should contact the Biennale office at (062) 608-4213. It was announced in Korean two-and-a-half weeks before it came out in Engish, in a notice that said participants should be between 18 and 40 and said the recruitment period would go until the 22nd, though that was extended and there's a chance a few more foreigners might make it in because of the 신기한 factor.

"Korea will forever be grateful," says Times Square ad.

Professor Seo Kyeong-duk has placed another ad in New York's Times Square, this one thanking those foreign veterans of the war that began 60 years ago today.


From 한국경제.

A few years of cellphone pics.

My cellphone didn't take the greatest pictures, but it was convenient to have around when I came across something noteworthy but didn't have my camera with me. Sometimes I had to rely exclusively on my cellphone to take pictures for posts, like in 2008's May 18th write-up. But usually I saved it for something spontaneous or bizarre, hence the over-representation of the latter here. Before leaving Korea in February I tried to email to myself everything I had saved on my phone. Here's a little of what I was able to save. You've seen some of these before, while others are one-off or were intended for posts that I never got around to writing.

We'll start off with an advertisement for a switch cover at Home Plus. It apparently has miraculous powers.



Out of all the logos . . . this Suncheon store is one of many in Korea using a Confederate flag on its bag.



Notebooks are an excellent source of Gibberlish. This one, for some reason, quotes "The Fish" by Mary Oliver. An excerpt:

The first fish
I ever caught
would not lie down
quiet in the pail
but flailed and sucked
at the burning
amazement of the air
and died
in the slow pouring off
of rainbows. Later
I opened his body and separated
the flesh from the bones
and ate him.

From a student's notebook. Usually loud and out-of-context "hi"s weren't the problem.



This English book for young children laments the passage of time.



A weight-loss program in Suncheon, a poster that was around the corner from the bus terminal and probably funnier without any explanation.



I used to get a lot of hits from Naver searches looking for information about Korean culture in English. The search also led people to a few English-language books designed to help Koreans explain their culture to foreigners. As I wrote in a January 2009 post, they often took it a little too far.



Got a lot of use out of the "Visitor" tag, from the 2008 Gwangju International Food Fair, an "international" expo I photographed with my cellphone because I lost my camera about an hour before.



I went two years in a row, and the highlight both times was the bakery.



People standing, and sitting, in line for some soju.




People standing in line because everyone else is standing in line for samples of Kenya coffee.



I've written about this before as well, a bizarre poster that used to hang between the Gwangju Bus Terminal and Nongseong Station.



Crossing an eight-lane road near my school, choosing not to use the crosswalk just beyond that hill, or the pedestrian walkway just to my right.



To be fair only one student out of several hundred took the Korean flag lesson as an opportunity to hate Japan.



In December 2008 I snapped a bunch of photos of posters the students made as part of their winter festival. It was the year of Mad Bull Shit, and a lot of the posters reflected their attitudes, and the attitudes of their teachers and parents, toward President Lee Myung-bak, the United States, and American beef.










Remember they had cigarettes with a Pirates of the Caribbean theme? A few months later I was flipping through a magazine at the eyeglasses store and found an article that said Brazilian model Raphael Garcia was the guy they hired to play "Black Jack."



This picture of white people elbow deep in kimchi at the annual Gwangju Gawk at Foreigners Festival were part of a regional photo competition.



From time to time there were banners around Suncheon warning foreign English teachers to beware of committing any immigration violations by tutoring Koreans.



A bizarre name for an English school.



Actually, only the second best sign at my former school. Here's number one.



Shirt.



After South Korea lost to Japan in the World Baseball Classic, this congratulatory message went up over the Japanese celebration.



At another former school they tried to remedy some Konglish by using a book from one of those snake oil salesmen.



School food.



Students in front of the Gwangju Bus Terminal were trying to raise awareness about Korea's historical claim to part of Manchuria.




We had a good discussion on this site about whether this was an epic movie title fail.



Don't be fooled by the 만원. That's only the cost of delivery.



There are pros and cons to looking at the puppies in Gwangju.



There's plenty of bad Japanese in Korea, too.



This Vietnamese restaurant in Gwangju almost got it right.



Become a nurse, and roll with a dude like this.