안녕 하세요 (Anyoung Haseyo - Hello)... I am endeavouring to write only a short post tonight. I was hoping to be in bed by now since tomorrow, definitely, is the day I pay my bills. Late nights editting this blog have meant getting up in the mornings by 10am was not to be. Tonight's problem wasn't thematic, however. Tripod, where I had been hosting my images, has some sort of block installed to prevent remote loading. That's why anyone who logged in today received all those error messages instead of graphics. I have managed to find a temporary solution by moving all of my files (and changing ALL my graphic links) to Fortune City. Needless to say I am not going to add any graphics to this posting tonight.
There's really only one thing on my mind worth writing about. Some of my students were able to tell me what the bag of charcoal I received from the delivery place last night is for. Apparently, according to Koreans, if you sit it on top of your television, it will soak up the radiation and help prevent cancer. If someone was smart, (not me as I am 바보- pabo or foolish/stupid according to some of my students), an obvious business venture would to be the manufacture of miniature bags of charcoal to sell as cell phone attachments. You have no idea how ubiquitous both these things are- cell phones and attachments. They dangle off hand phones (Konglish for cell phone) everywhere! I have four, myself, that I interchange randomly including a maple leaf carving, a miniature bottle of soju, a metal picture of the girls from Fin.K.L. and a tiny needlepoint pillow. All of these are smaller than a quarter. Combine that with the omnipresent fear of cell phone radiation and you could make a fortune!
Luckily for me there is a socially acceptable back up usage which is as an odour eater for your fridge. That's where it's resting now.
Thursday, May 31, 2001
Wednesday, May 30, 2001
Well I just picked up my first Korean box of 후루트링, which is roughly pronounced as Hoo-roo-tuh Ring, which when you remember that the 'H' sound is sometimes a substitute for 'F' which does not exist in Korean, and that Koreans don't know what a 'loop' is so they say 'ring', and then say it fast... I'm eating Kellogg's Fruit Loops. If you're still unsure, there is a smiling picture of Tucan Sam on the front. This Hangolization of language is known by foreigners and Koreans alike as 'Konglish'. I'm sorry if you had to download Korean character support from Microsoft but now that I have an emulator for my keyboard, it may be better if I learn to use it. As current, the only Korean I can speak is the necessary commands to run a class, order food in a restaurant, or flirt, but I can read and write with some proficiency, finally. So yes, I am eating Fruit Loops, but Korean milk is still one of my pet peeves. It is unpasteurized, tastes chalky, and smells faintly of eggs. The due date is also inevitably 4 days after you buy it since virtually none of Korean food has any preservatives added. Very healthy... but very frustrating for a 총각 (Chongak - single male) who is trying to stock a fridge. Oh, and by the way, that last Korean word should have had another horizontal line branching off the bottom character in the second syllable (to represent a hard 'K')- but my computer doesn't want to do that so I made it into another 'G' instead. More Korean lessons once I get my keyboard mapped out.
Update from Miss Korea 2001
According to the website, this year's champion is Ms. Kim Min Kyung, contestant #19, from the lovely and expansive city of Seoul.
You can't see her hair with the crown on top but trust me, it was funky. Congratulations! I admit, she is really pretty... but you will never convince me that red eyeliner is attractive. I just don't understand Koreans sometimes...
For any remaining objectors to the judges' final decision, or anyone interested in protesting beauty pageants in general, I encourage you to quickly learn Korean and visit the website for the Anti-Miss Korea pageant which took place last Saturday, also in Seoul.
Not much other news to report today I am afraid. Our new teacher flew into town sometime this afternoon having successfully acquired his work visa in Fukuoka, Japan (the same trip I made in November; I hope he had a fun time). I didn't get my bills paid today, or learn the whereabouts of my cable TV and cell phone bill, but someone reminded me that May has 31 days and not 30 so I don't feel so bad. Tomorrow still isn't, technically, the last day of the month,
I also ordered my chicken from a new restaurant tonight and they gave me a free gift! I don't know what it is. I think they gave me a sectionned off cylinder of charcoal, but it was lovingly gift-wrapped so I guess it has a use. E-mail me if you can know what it is.
On a serious side note; there was a terrible helicopter crash in Seoul today that the BBC is currently reporting on. The video shows the twin rotar helicopter (looks like a Chinook), which had been adding some sort of decorations to Olympic Bridge, when the lead rotar got tangled in the cables. The helicopter wreckage twisted down the span to the platform, in flames, resulting in the death of all three crewmembers. Though not currently available, the story should soon be accessible on the BBC World website , at the next update, and via other news services around the world.
Tuesday, May 29, 2001
The Breakdown...
Okay. I still think it's rigged. I've just gone through and translated all the names on the contestants page. Out of 6 entries, girls from Seoul formed 5 of the 7 finalists in the Miss Korea 2001 pageant. For simplicity I didn't include girls from Inchon, Ilsan, etc. or any of the other satellite cities of Seoul. For anyone who can't read Hangol, here is a breakdown:
2....... Seoul - Park Jung Un
19....... Seoul - Kim Min Kyung
28....... Seoul - Park Myung Hwe
36....... Seoul - Kim Ji Hye
47....... Seoul - Ha Kyung Min
56....... Seoul - Jung Ah Leum
* I have no idea which of these is Miss Korea but I think it's either #2 or #28.
Daegu had 3 entries (#35 Sim Hyo Chung, #60 Kim Ji Eun, and #62 Suh Hyun Jin)
Pusan had 3 entries (#6 Jung Yun Ju, #13 Kim I Young, and #14 Kong Ji Wun)
Kyungnam also had 3 entries (#41 Kang Young In, #49 Paek Sung Hyung, and #52 Park Su Jung)
Also, there were various entries from the U.S.A. and maybe one from Canada(?) (#45 Moon Hye La)
That means Seoul had twice as many entries as any other city (reasonable considering the population)- but they almost ALL made it to the last round! Suh Hyun Jin was cheated of her rightful crown!
Robbed of the crown?
Suh Hyun Jin (#62 Daegu)
What started it all...
It's after 3am. I'm thinking about going to bed as I have to be up early tomorrow to pay most of my bills. That is, all the bills that successfully arrived this month (meaning minus two). The neat thing is that they all arrive about 3 days before the due date, if you're lucky, and if you don't pay them on time, you can't pay them until they reissue the bill next month. That of course means waiting until a couple days before the due date again, if you're lucky. So far I am only short the cable TV bill and my cell phone bill- which I knew wasn't coming anyway. You see, the cell phone company has the wrong address, but since I am a foreigner and had to get my phone cosigned when I signed up, I'm not allowed to get the address changed by myself! Then, they wonder why it doesn't get paid. At any rate, I'm not looking forward to the two hour wait at the bank tomorrow. Think about it- 40 million people who get ALL of their bills within the last few days of the month and MUST pay them on time or not at all.
Strangely enough (it must be a rebroadcast) the Miss Korea Pageant is on TV right now. I am sure I must be mistaken, but every single girl seems to measure 33-24-33. I think I saw one girl parade by with a 25 inch waist, but she didn't make the final cut. Last year, Tae Young Sohn went on to win 1st Runner Up in the Miss International 2000 Pageant as well as Miss Photogenic. Good luck to all the girls this year. In case you missed the last 44 years, here is a list of the past winners. So far, I think Miss Daegu is the smartest, and Miss Seoul (one of them anyway) has funky hair. Out of the seven finalists, my translation is slow, but I count five girls from Seoul, Miss Daegu and one more girl, Miss Something-That-Starts-With-'N' (looks like Namkachu).
And now the big moment... it's down between Miss Daegu and two of the Miss Seouls. Miss 'N' is out but came in a respectable fourth place. The tension is insane. The Korean word for 'princess' is gongju, by the way. Man, Korean announcers really know how to draw this out... Oh no! Miss Korea 2001 is Miss Seoul with the funky hair and the red eyeliner (that I absolutely hate). Miss Daegu is 1st Gongju or whatever. I think it's rigged. Even a city of 20 million (The third largest city in the world now according to the UN and that's if you count Brooklyn and New Jersey as part of New York which came in 2nd and only a hundred thousand ahead of Seoul, with Tokyo as the largest at a staggering 35 million people.) should only have one contestant! - Not FIVE! As soon as I learn Korean I am going to write and complain. This is preposterous! Beauty contests are so sexist and degrading anyway. Who needs 'em !?
... Anyway...
Something else that is big in Korea right now is the little character you see below this write up. Apparently he's a Japanese character but the web site I was shown for him is hosted in Korea. His name is Mashimaro but in Korean they call him Yupki Toki, which is either 'Abnormal' or 'Schocking Rabbit' depending on your translation. Basically 'yupki' means 'something that stands out or is different', which in Korean is both abnormal and schocking. My students use the word for me whenever I wear shorts to school. He's really cute and you see stuffed animal versions, or cell phone attachments, all over the place with his image. The web site below is the Korean site and there are currently 6 episodes you can watch where the cute little guy does all sorts of obscene and dastardly things.
Sunday, May 27, 2001
Letsee... how has the week been. Blogger has been down for a few days so I haven't updated. I'm just trying to remember if anything interesting happened. The furniture was finally moved out of my apartment from the other room. That's left an almost empty room which is perfect for playing guitar in. It has beautiful accoustics. It's also next to the fridge where I keep the soju.
I went out twice this weekend. Friday night I went to Tudari where I was finally convinced to try 'poultry cartilege on a stick' which is my cleaned up way of saying I ate skewered chicken feet (in a lovely sauce). What can I say? It crunches. Chicken isn't supposed to crunch on the inside.
Last night I went to the International Pub with some Korean friends. Saturday is usually an off night for the pub but eventually it always fills up and stays open late. I actually shared a nice steak there, too. It was about 16000 Won or about $18 Cdn, and not gourmet, but it was the style I'd make at home and had a great mushroom sauce on it. It was tremendously tasty if not a little difficult to cut up with the bread knife they gave us.
Today is a quiet day at home. I ordered a pizza but got so hungry I ate left overs in the fridge and now I have a $30 pizza that I haven't touched. Oh well, it's good cold too. Turner & Hooch is the movie on TV and I am making coffee. No more plans for the day than that.
Tuesday, May 22, 2001
Happy Birthday, Donna!
It has been raining heavily most of the day. Our new foreign teacher is scheduled to arrive Wednesday so if all goes well, and the sky clears, I will be getting some of my surplus furniture moved out- thereby having another room available to use here at home. Not much other news save for the fact that I finally cleaned out the other room tonight and disposed of several tonnes of recyclables I had been hoarding. All told, they ended up filling half the space that the super reserves for its recyclables.
Some friends back home have asked for more information on the matter of disagreements between what history is recorded here in Korea, and what has been printed in recent Japanese school books. It is causing quite a diplomatic problem right now as Korean envoys are seeking legal injunctions to prevent the distribution of these texts which are said to minimize and/or distort the conditions of the Japanese occupation and annexation of Korea. They also omit altogether the issue of 'comfort women' , and present Japan's imperial ambitions as a means of racial preservation against Western powers. Here is the partial account of the contrasting histories that has been compiled by journalists Choe Yong-shik, Hwang Jang-jin and Kim Min-hee, of the Korea Herald. I am also including a link to stories in the Japan Times which have appeared recently concerning the visit of South Korean politicians to Japan (from May 11) over the issue, and an article on Japanese Foreign Minister, Makiko Tanaka, referencing her more current (from May 15) opinion in the matter.
Sunday, May 20, 2001
Well, I just got back from HomePlus and I am eating a Pizza Hut Supreme Cheese Crust Pizza, which I ordered myself (pat on the back). I also picked up a new CD which I am listening to as I update the blog. It's entitled "Chakra'ca 2nd Album" which is not an entirely original name for a second album but hey! - They're my favourite Korean pop group right now. One of the girls, Inee, I think, is a former Miss Korea. If you click on the image of the Chakra girls below, it will take you to their official site. Alternatively, you could just email them to voice your appreciative comments.
...................................... Korean hit group Chakra
One more thing I came home with was a bottle of knock-off Korean Napolean Brandy. Apparently it's not very expensive but what's important is that it represents success for my first official field test of my contact lenses (one of which I have now replaced and I've had to change the cleaning solution). You see, I WON it in a shooting competition. Outside Home plus was a carnival set up with games and stalls and such. I got 5 out of six shots in the black, but the ajumah running the operation decided that she was only going to count the five lowest shots... she only informed us of this AFTER the fact. I had enough points that I should have gone home with a 40 ouncer of blended Whisky.
I shouldn't be doing this. I am supposed to be calling a friend of mine right now, about going to HomePlus, the local western-style department store. I'm not really ready to go yet either... but I made a cup of tea and am determined to finish it. Also, Blogger was down for a short time so the real reason I was delaying (to update the blog) couldn't be realized until now.
Last nigth I went out again. After chobap we met a couple more friends and headed for dong dong ju, mekjoo, and norabang. By the end of it, we headed over to the I.P. again until about 5am. Something I avoided before might be becoming a habit. Met lots of people- some sane, some not so sane.
Also, I now have a linkable graphic for those of you interested in exchanging links.
Anyway.... I better go make a phone call.
Saturday, May 19, 2001
Well... I've been linked to. My friend Donna, back in the Great White North has reference me so I am going to do the favour, with a fancier link implicating her fancier graphics. Stop on by to visit her web log and say 'hi'.
.................. Existential Dishwasher
Today is a quiet Saturday but I am about to leave in a few minutes to meet a friend for dinner in Yonghodong. I was given my choice so I chose chobap, but I have no idea if I will be able to track down a feed of whale like I did in Seoul. Man, that was good- if not slightly politically incorrect.
Last night I ventured out to the I.P. and, as usual after walking in alone, by the end of your first beer you meet some people. I was continualy surprised that there are so many new teachers in Changwon, who have been here a couple of months or less. Some have only been here a week. I exchanged a couple telephone numbers and hopefully I can meet up with some of them later on. I stayed until 4am talking to a few other Candians, some Australians, and a former Internet/Philosophy guy from L.A.
Friday, May 18, 2001
Well, the week is almost finished. It has continued to be a super quiet week. I think I had a total of 10 minutes of adult conversation at school today. After work, I did however bump into the two British and the one Newfoundland teachers I had previously met from JungChul Academy, also on the 6th floor of Sungwon Ju Sanga. So I was invited down to a meal of sungyupsa (sp?) with them, as well as a bit of fresh conversation. Sungyupsa is a type of pork, very similar to thick bacon when it is brought out.
Letsee, in regards to the site, I have a new guestbook graphic which I created on Photoshop. Also, I noticed a couple more votes on my Doomsday Poll. I really only mentionned it since the big news of the week was the untimely death of Douglas Adams. I had originally provided for one of the options on the poll to be "Demolition for Intergalactic Highway" before his death. I also noticed it has been voted for now too. Still, the conspiracy theorist in me doesn't discount that the tragedy could be related to fastracking unauthorized script rewrites for the upcoming Hitchikers' movie. I think the high hopes for that blockbuster can now be sadly put to rest. Hollywood has never been Mostly Harmless in its adaptations of classics.
Wednesday, May 16, 2001
The view across the street
Happy Teacher's Day!
I just had to replace my entire sidebar. I'm still trying to get the archives on Blogger figured out so that back posts will be available. Who was to know that changing your archive template also changes your blog template... resulting in a total loss of personalized coding? It's back now anyway and now... on to the archives again.
Teacher's Day was actually Tuesday, BTW. It was over 6 minutes before this post was first published (sans graphic). My students were nice. I received a couple of flowers (a rose and a carnation) and lots of socks.
Things have been quiet over the last couple of days. The new school is a virtual monastery. Teachers stay in their own rooms so, aside from a five minute visit to or from John, there is virtually no interaction. Well... no interaction with me anyway since my classroom is firmly tucked away at the back and therefore far enough from the front desk that I miss the traffic. Yes, I did choose this classroom- but it was on account of the windows. Mine is the ONLY classroom out of ten that receives real air. The down side of this upside is that the main window is actually broken (somone must have plunged a 2"X4" through it) ergo, the air conditioner is working at minimal efficiency. There's a popular Korean song by Diva in which the lyrics include: "Up, down, up, down, doo doo doo doo."
Monday, May 14, 2001
Okay... that last bit was just an 'attempt to be witty' way to test if Blogger was working for me. You see, contrary to my aforementionned laxness in publishing, I actually did try to put up a post about the temporary blindness I experienced on Tuesday due to my new contacts, and of a great time I had at the bar Atlanta in Yonghodong on Wednesday. With that said, the more important posting should be about this past weekend.
Friday night was a simple night in Masan when I went out for Nawk-Jee Bok-gum (stir-fried baby octopus in a spicy pepper sauce). Saturday, however, I boarded a bus for Seoul and just got in about half an hour ago.
While in Seoul (map), I was introduced to something I have been avoiding. That is, the horrendous Korean tradition of climbing mountains without the aid of a vehicle. In this case, we went up Namsan mountain (South Mountain although it is no longer in the south of the city). At the top of the mountain was Seoul Tower (map) which we ascended, by elevator this time, and received a spectacular view of the city. We followed that with some midnight shopping in the street markets somewhere between Gongdeok and Seoul Station. I purchased a neat vest with lots of pockets but my shopping was cut short since my bank stops issuing money from bank machines at 23:50hrs. It was on to sushi (which I have to start calling by its Korean name- chobap), and then back to my yagwan near Dongguk University.
Today was mostly more shopping. We went to a few large market stores, including Freya Town and through the Russian sector near Myeondong. I picked up some sunglasses, a backpack (with lots of pockets), and some cool attachments for my cell phone- including a glowing aerial and a miniature bottle of soju to hang on the strap (which I got for free!). The bus ride home was horrendous as usual with the air con set on minimum, I think. Also, the nearest bus to Changwon was sold out so rather than wait for the next and get home at 1am, I opted to go to Masan and cab it home from there.
Tomorrow we are back to work in Sungwon Ju Sanga.
I've done it. I've cracked the space-time continuum. I've loaded up my computer with so many Napster files, and cookies from porn sites, that my computer is now moving at the speed of darkness. Since this is a speed so slow, yet inversely proportionate to the speed of light, what is actually happening is that you are reading this BEFORE I have actually managed to view it on my own computer. In a sense, you are living my future.
Sunday, May 06, 2001
...but don't let that fool you. These pictures were taken over three months ago.
Looking down on Pusan from the tower at Dragon Head Park
Just an answer to the request for more pictures. The above is an aerial shot of Pusan, looking out from the tower in Dragon Head Park. I'm also including some photos of Pusan, closer to earth, including Lotte Department Store (All photos are courtesy of Kim MacEachern who visited me in January, from Canada.) The lovely fountain shot is from the underground market beneathe Lotte. Changwon currently has a Lotte store under construction. It won't be finished until next year but right now they are working on about the 10th floor and from there they are only going up, up, up...
Lotte Department Store- Pusan
Fountain in the underground market
Pusan at night
Saturday, May 05, 2001
Well... I knew it would be at least a week before I got around to updating this blog. I have always had a love-hate relationship with journals but the love part has always ended after the first week or so. This week was a typical styled week. We are still in the Ace Building as a temporary measure while our normal hagwan is rennovated. I have also learned that we will be there for at least another week, since they didn't complete the work yesterday as was scheduled.
Tuesday was Buddha's birthday. I didn't notice very much since I spent most of the holiday relaxing and entertaining company. The night before however, all of the local kindergarten-aged kids were out with their parents. I would periodically come across precessions of them carrying bright red and orange lanterns as I made my way home and they ventured out to celebrate,
More news might be this. On Thursday, one of my coworkers led me down to an optical shop and for the first time ever; I purchased contact lenses. Wow, they're really meecha to stick in your eyes. I should have worn them today to get used to them but so far I'm still in my glasses. They folded in on themselves the first night though, and I had to take them back to get the lady at the store to open them for me. Today has been a typical day off with me lounging around watching TV, playing on the Internet, and ordering Chicken from BHC delivery. Michael Palin's series, Pole to Pole, is on the BBC and he's in Sudan. After watching that, I can't think of a better place than Korea to be visiting.
News for the site? Try out my new web poll that I found at www.pollit.com. I think I will using this free service from now on. Of course, any poll suggestions can be sent to me. I am hoping to have some new photos for you also in the near future so stay tuned. Oh yeah, and welcome to our first non-Korean/non-Canadian visitor. This website registered a hit from New Zealand and I have a sneaky suspicion that it's the new Foreign teacher that is rumoured to be joining our school this week. Welcome to Changwon!
