Acorns off limits to park visitors.

As someone who steps over hundreds if not thousands of acorns when walking around my Pittsburgh neighborhood---way more than even the ubiquitous 다람쥐 can put away---I can appreciate the spirit of conservation that drives some Koreans to collect them. But the Korea Times tells us of new penalties that await those that do.

The Korea National Park Service (KNPS) said Thursday it will impose a ban on picking from trees things such as acorns, nuts and berries in public places to protect wild animals.

Acorns are a food source for wild animals living in the parks such as squirrels, wild boars and Manchurian black bears in the autumn. It is also a part of the ecological system as insects, including rice weevils, spawn in the nut.

“The amount of acorns decreased this year and we have to protect the supply for the wild animals to feed on,” a KNPS official said.

Under the regulations, those caught collecting acorns at the scene will face up to three years in prison or a maximum 30 million won ($27,000) fine, depending on the amount. Even those caught with a handful of acorns will be fined 100,000 won.

“Some visitors pick up a handful of acorns without any sense of guilt. We ask them to stop doing so since even just one is connected to the ecosystem of the park,” he said. Last year, 61 people were caught collecting acorns and other plants, down from 89 the previous year.

Reminds me of a visit to Nagan Folk Village last spring:

Monday morning.

A little experiment in compiling a brief link list every Monday of things that I couldn't work into posts of their own. My apologies for the continued twitterization of the blogosphere.

* Go! Overseas presents 10 Don'ts for Teaching Abroad in South Korea.

* "Farmers in South Jeolla Province collected 100 tons of rice to help North Korea struggling from food shortages and contribute to the reunification," said a farmer in an NTDTV video report.

* A university student was found stripped and strangled in Mokpo.

* Roboseyo reiterates his complaints about lousy customer service at "western" restaurants in South Korea, a complaint I fully endorse.

* But, I still think the customer experience in South Korea is much better than what you'll find in the US, where customer service is considered beneath everyone's dignity and where standing at a counter usually involves dealing with somebody else's bullshit and personal problems. ThingsComeAround talks about that on Dave's ESL Cafe.

* Korea Beat translates an article about a teachers' union branch in Gangwon-do sticking up for sex offender teachers.

On October 11 National Assembly Representative Kim Se-yeon (Grand National Party), a member of the comittee on education, science, and technology, said of the collective bargaining demands, which his office has received, that the union is demanding the elimination of indefinite transference of educational workers punished for offenses, including embezzlement, grade adjustment, and sex offenses, that have no relationship to their schools or work duties.

* GRRR Traveler writes about E-2 visa renewal headaches.

* The number of 'john school attendees' is increasing, writes the Korea Herald on the mandatory classes for those arrested for soliciting prostitutes. I posted on them in October 2008 following a Hankyoreh undercover report with this amusing sequence:

We are told that in the morning there will be classes on the criminality and harmfulness of sex crimes and testimonials from women victimized by prostitution, followed in the afternoon by classes on AIDS education and sociodramas to improve sexual awareness.

Finally, it is lunchtime.

Reader questions: Gangnam public schools, English-speaking real estate agents, and Gangjin Foreign Language Town.

From time to time I get questions on topics such as conditions at a certain school, visa procedures, or Korean internet issues, and really unless the questions have to do with regional tourism it can be quite difficult to track down answers halfway across the world. It's easier to turn the questions over to readers and assemble a collection of answers via comments. Today there are a few questions from two readers: about finding housing while working for a Gangnam public school, and about taking a job with the Gangjin Foreign Language Town.

The first question comes via email regarding public school positions in Gangnam, inspired by a post last fall "More bullshit from Seoul public schools: Gangnam changes contract, won't provide housing anymore":

I just applied for a public middle school teaching job in Gangnam, and the academic coordinator is interested in my application. For the longest time I've thought Gangnam is the place to teach/ live. But after reading about this on your blog and the Chosun Bimbo, I've been second guessing its hype, especially since they don't offer housing anymore. I want to take this job, but I really don't have the Key money to put down on an apt.

I'm wondering:
Does the Gangnam DOE offer Key money?

And, I read here: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2009/10/more-bullshit-from-seoul-public-schools.html that you had some info on real estate agents. Could you fill me in on English speaking real estate agents?

Searching through the post I don't see any information about English-speaking real estate agents, but will offer Seoul's Craigslist as one possible solution.

The second question comes as a comment to a March 2008 post, "Gangjin Foreign Language Town will finally open." I had written about it a few times since I signed a contract to work there but was platooned in a local elementary school for a month, then two months, then finally for a whole year as the opening was delayed for 18 months. emcat writes:

so i was just offered this job for March 2011. I live in Gwangju at the moment. I am just wondering if you know of how that school is progressing as of now. This post scares me a little, I will be honest.

let me know.
yoemcat@gmail.com

I don't have many updates on the Town or the post, other than to report that there's finally an official website for the 강진외국어타운. The three foreign instructors listed can be Facebooked for contact information.

You can judge for yourselves how scary the post is, and can discuss---as we did a little here---the wisdom of these rural English islands that aim to provide more "practical" and situational English instruction (see the dialogues and scenarios previewed here) in lieu of weekly or biweekly meetings with NSETs, but the lack of planning isn't unusual. I will say that since 2007, and since March 2008, there have been a couple of changes in the area to which emcat might be able to attest. The first is that a bunch more English-speakers have passed through the area to live and work, exposing not only more students to native speaker English teachers, but collecting more information on the region for potential signees. As I mentioned many times before, before I moved to Gangjin I never saw a picture of it and didn't know a thing about it. Like I just said you can browse Facebook and contact teachers currently or formerly with the school, a luxury not available to people who passed through rural Jeollanam-do just a couple of years ago.

Secondly, the local expatriate community in Jeollanam-do is more connected and more active, so that while a contract in rural Gangjin could be extremely lonely a few years ago, there are more options available for teachers who want to interact not only with other English-speaking teachers, but with foreigners from different countries and local Korean residents. Facebook is full of local groups and meet-ups, and the Gwangju International Center is bigger and more active than ever before. Those things won't account for the shitty planning you'll find at English programs throughout the country, but they'll make rural Korea a more pleasant and satisfying experience.

Please add any answers or updates you have as a comment.

The JoongAng Daily takes a quick look at fermented skate (hongeo, 홍어), a regional specialty on Shinan county's Heuksan-do.

“Hongtak is really addictive,” said Lee Jong-seok, a 56-year-old taxi driver. “People can’t stand the odor at first but if you eat it more than three times, you will eventually get addicted to it. And I heard that the gelatin from fermented fish is good for the cartilage and rheumatism.”

I actually don't mind the taste.

Unfortunately the profile comes a month after Heuksan-do's annual hongeo festival (흑산홍어축제), so you'll have to wait until the Yeongsanpo Skate Festival (영산포홍어축제) in Naju next spring.

Big 홍어 couple springs ago, from Naver via this post.

Hankyoreh issues correction and apology for "Over half of native English teachers quit job after six months."

As mentioned on Gusts of Popular Feeling earlier in the week, the Hankyoreh issued a correction and apology for their article "Over half of native English teachers quit job after six months," which read in part:

The Ministry of Education, Science, and Technology(MEST) has claimed that around two thirds of native-speaking English teachers in South Korea quit after six months on the job because of employment or studies, through a report on Sept. 29.

The report submitted by the MEST to the ruling Grand National Party lawmakers showed that as of July 2010, 66.1 percent of native English teachers ended their contract in six months, without completing their one-year contract period. The number of teachers leaving their job halfway through a contract has increased rapidly from 46 percent in 2008 and 57.6 percent in 2009. The average rate over last three years is 56.4 percent, which means one of two native teachers left school before the contract’s expiration.

As blogged on this site, it was one of several articles that spread false information regarding native speaker English teacher retention rates that claimed that many---and in the Hankyoreh's case two-thirds---of NSETs quit their contracts early. Dated October 13th, the correction titled "Less than 5 pct. of native English teachers quit job halfway" reads in part:

Due to both a misinterpretation of the both data and source of the report, the article erroneously stated that up to 66 percent of native English teachers in public schools, while the number of teachers quitting is in fact less than 5 percent.

. . .

We would like to issue an apology for our mistake and our late correction, and look forward to more active responses, comments and participation of readers of the Hankyoreh’s English Online Edition.

Commenter Roboseyo---Rob Ouwehand, blogger and Communications Officer for the Association for Teachers of English in Korea [ATEK]---has written on Gusts of Popular Feeling and Extra! Korea that

ATEK was in touch with the Hankyoreh about this article, and the reporter who reached out to us seemed quite concerned with getting the story right, once it became obvious that there were sharp discrepancies in the reported statistics.

Excellent work by Ouwehand and others for the "active responses, comments and participation of readers of the Hankyoreh’s English Online Edition," and excellent work by Gusts of Popular Feeling for informing the ATEK press release and for providing the in-depth look at the numbers the news outlets did not. I hope that other parties to this latest misinformation---the Korea Herald, JoongAng Daily, and Yonhap---are next in their corrections and apologies.

Viewing colorful fall foliage in and around Jeollanam-do.

You don't have to be a dull, pretentious fortysomething to enjoy fall foliage, and if you can tolerate crowds, a trip viewing South Korea's makes for a nice October weekend. The official government tourism website has estimated the peak viewing times on mountains around the country, including Haenam's Duryunsan, Gwangju's Mudeungsan, Gurye's Jirisan, and Jeollabuk-do's Naejangsan, with peak times for the southwestern corner ranging from October 29th to November 11th. To help you around the province, here's a modification of last October's post on fall foliage in Jeollanam-do.



Baekyangsa temple (백양사). Located on Baekyangsan mountain in Jangseong county, one of the most popular local destinations for looking at 단풍. If you were in the same orientation group as me in 2006, you'll remember we visited this spot. The Jangseong county tourism page says the 2010 단풍축제 will take place on November 5th and 6th. Here are some pictures from Naver; this is my favorite one. Buses run to Baekyangsa eleven times a day from the Gwangju Bus Terminal: 6:35, 7:30, 8:40, 10:05, 11:20, 12:45, 14:15, 15:20, 16:50, 18:15, and 19:50.


Daewonsa temple (대원사). Located in Boseong county, this is one place I'd really like to visit. It's especially beautiful in the springtime, though, and has a Tibetan Museum. Some pictures available here from Naver. This is the official site, which says buses go to the temple from Beolgyo-eup three times a day: 8:30, 1:20, and 4:30.


Gangcheon mountain (강천산) and Gangcheonsa temple (강천사). Located in Sunchang county, Jeollabuk-do, on Gangcheonsan (강천산). Buses make the ninety-minute trip to the temple from Gwangju terminal ten times a day: 8:10, 8:50, 9:50, 10:30, 11:25, 13:30, 14:10, 14:50, 15:30, 16:10. Here are some pictures from Naver, and here are some pictures from my very pleasant trip last Halloween:













Mudeungsan (무등산). In Mudeungsan Provincial Park, the largest mountain in Gwangju and one of the largest in Jeollanam-do. There are a number of local buses that go there: one way to do it is take a bus to Jungshimsa, walk up the mountain for thirty minutes until you come to a paved road lined with maple trees, and follow this road to another temple, Wonhyosa. I'd be interested to hear of some other routes from people familiar with the mountain. Some pictures from Naver, and here is a nice gallery from a blog.


Naejangsan (내장산). Located in Naejangsan National Park in Jeollabuk-do, this is one of the most popular, and thus most crowded, spots in the country to see colorful maple leaves. The pictures from Naver look absolutely gorgeous, though, especially this one. Buses run to Naejangsa temple five times a day: 8:15 10:25 12:20 13:40 15:05. The park's official site says to take a bus to Jeong-eup, and then take local buses 171 or 171-1 to Naejang terminal.


Piagol Valley (지리산피아골계곡). Located in Jirisan National Park in Gurye county. Buses run regularly from Gwangju and Suncheon to Gurye, from whence you can take a bus to Yongoksa temple. I visited the area in October, 2007, and it was a much more leisurely hike than I was expecting. I walked a few kilometers to the first rest area, then turned around.






There was a festival scheduled last year, but it was one of many Jeollanam-do ones cancelled because of swine flu. There's no further information on the Gurye county tourism website fot this year other than it's scheduled for October.


Samseonggung (삼성국) and Cheonghakdong (청학동). In Hadong county, Gyeongsangnam-do. Hands down the most beautiful and striking place I've ever been in Korea. This post I did in 2008 has some more information, and below are some pictures:











To get there, take a bus or train to Hadong-eup. Then, take one of the five buses a day from the terminal to Cheonghak-dong: 8:30, 11:00, 13:00, 15:30, and 19:00. When you get off the bus, walk up the hill to mosey around Cheonghak-dong, then go all the way back down the hill and over to Samseong-gung. I'd recommend getting one of the earlier buses to Cheonghak-dong, because you'll want to give yourself plenty of time to see both sites.

"I dream about a world in which all people are forced to use Hangul."

As I've noted before---here and here and here---the JoongAng Daily's opinion page is a useful reference for noting the differences between Korean and English-language writing styles, often by way of rambling, nonsensical editorials. In honor of Hangul Day, the holiday celebrating the Korean alphabet, JoongAng Sunday business editor Yi Jung-jae gives us another. He starts:

Her name was Sandy. She was a bit chubby and had a good sense of humor. “What do you call people who are fluent in three languages?” asked Sandy, who was a teacher in an English language class. Her students, however, were silent. “Trilingual,” she said.

“How about the people fluent in two?” she asked, and the students said “Bilingual!” Then, Sandy asked her final question. “How about just one?” The classroom was silent, once again. She then said, “The answer is an American.” We all laughed.

It was a moment from my class during a fellowship in the United States a few years ago. At the time, Sandy said Americans should be embarrassed, but she showed no sign of embarrassment even though she only spoke English.

I am a narrow-minded person, and her attitude made me think: She was showing off the power of English because English-speakers did not need to learn another language. And I thought Americans would never understand the hard life of Koreans who had to learn English, Chinese and Japanese to be successful.

And ends:

There should be more items powered by Hangul’s competitiveness in the future. That’s the path for Korea’s intellectual survival and the path for Hangul’s survival.

When my dream of such a world is realized, I really want to do one thing. I want to invite Americans, Europeans and Chinese people and teach them Hangul.

And I really want to make the joke, “What do you call people who only speak one language?” The answer, of course, is “Koreans.”

Um . . . with few exceptions, that's pretty much the case now.

Busy weekend for festivals in southwestern Korea, October 9th and 10th.

Lanterns on and along the river for the 91st Jinju Lantern Festival, from Yonhap.

Gwangju Blog reminds us it's a very busy weekend for festivals in and around Jeollanam-do. Highlights include, basically in order of appeal:

* the must-see Jinju Lantern Festival (진주남강유등축제), along with the the Jinju Silk Fair (진주실크박람회), the Gaecheon Art Festival (개천예술제), and a drama festival nearby.
* the Gwangju Chungjangro Festival (추억의 7080 충장축제)
* the beginning of the Suncheon Bay Reeds Festival (순천만갈대축제)
* the Gwangju International Community Day (광주국제교류의 날) on Saturday the 9th
* the Rejoice in the Slaughter Thousands of Dirty Japanese Festival (명량대첩축제)
* the Gwangyang Bulgogi Festival (광양전통숯불구이축제)
* and the Gwangju International Food Show (광주국제식품전)

Holy fucking shit, look at that shirt.

Or, "Friends don't let friends go with 'nigger frog faggot wop limey dyke honkie mick kike chink spic beaner'." From Kelly in Korea comes the most awesomely bad t-shirt I've ever seen in Korea.



Originally found by Morgan Dale this past summer, though it turns up on a few earlier Korean blog entries, including this and this.



"Here is a perfect, real-life example," Kelly in Korea writes,

of why you shouldn’t wear clothing emblazoned with words you don’t understand. This is more common than you’d think and almost never done out of irony.

To that I'd also add---as I've said about Gibberlish and nonsense, vulgar English---that what amounts simply to symbols and decoration for Koreans often has actual meaning for a good many people and extends beyond a domestic context, a possibility that needs to be taken into account when using English publically or deciding a t-shirt with an extensive rundown of ethnic and gender slurs is a good idea for the train station.

See also: how Korean-English dictionaries aren't helping.

And on the "unqualified journalists" front . . .

A few days ago South Korea's English-language papers all carried stories about how an alarming number of native speaker English teachers were quitting before their contracts were up. Among other headlines , "More English teachers quit" wrote the Korea Times, and "Over half of native English teachers quit job after six months" said the Hankyoreh. The statistics offered in the papers on the 30th and October 1st were all quite different from one another, and didn't realy point to that alarming a trend. Gusts of Popular Feeling has done even more math, research and analysis on this news item, and reminds us it isn't just hate groups like Anti-English Spectrum who damage the reputations of foreign English teachers.