LATENIGHT - KOREA

Tuesday, December 31, 2002

Sichung cleanup after the Korea-Spain match at the World Cup

I went back to the summer pictures to find today's photo since it was the last time I was anywhere near a crowd of the size that I might run into today. If I have time, I will post again tonight to let you know how I make out today. I am hurrying my way out the door to get to the Immigration office as soon as I finish typing this. The concern? Posters are up for tonight's candlelight vigil and they are expecting a million people to be out in Gwanghwamun to encircle the US embassy in a chain of people. The demonstration starts at 6pm.

I assume that they will close stops along the number 5 Subway line as they usually do during demonstrations, so I am hoping to take the subway to Mokdong as a way to pass under the gathering. Of course subways are also where most of the fights seem to start. I think I will wear my Korean Canada Day T-shirt in case it helps.

Sunday, December 29, 2002

Part of my new year of photos, starting with Nowon

We're closing in on the end of 2002. I took a little bit of a post-Christmas break from posting as last week was a tough work week (even with the day off) and I really didn't feel like writing so much. The pre-election events had kept me (and my comment box) quite busy and admittedly fatigued. Work last week had been mostly preparing for the coming winter schedule which begins in full on Thursday. The holiday was also bracketed by Tuesday and Thursday which are the days I teach my roughest groups of students-- who had no intention of studying at all with their vacation and Christmas so close at hand.

Friday, I split my history class by showing the first part of Braveheart to my kids. Two of the younger students walked past me in the hallway as I was bringing in the TV. One said, "Teacher! Tape?" while the other wanted to show off some grammar by saying, "Scotch tape! {giggle}" Showing the picture of Mel Gibson in a kilt and woad, I laughed: "Yes, it's a Scotch tape!" (Okay... *I* found that funny.)

Add to that, the lobby is constantly filled with new mothers who are enrolling students and as I am the only white face around the premises, they are constantly inspecting me much like a car buyer does when considering their first purchase of a foreign import. ...And the the opposite is stressful too; a couple of my classes told me how some students were leaving or going to other academies which then makes me worry that the enrollment might actually fall (inevitably leading to the problem being taken out on the nearest available waegook). For the most part, the students who are leaving are moving or changing cities so I try not to take it personally-- but I don't see the actual enrollment numbers so it's hard for me to say whether my work is attracting students or turning them away. I did hear some good news that our school is becoming *the* place to be for upper level English classes in our area and I was told twice on Friday that my school largely credits me for that. As a reward(?) my middle school classes are being expanded starting tomorrow.

...various other complaints deleted...

And then there's the whole North Korea thing which leaves me here at home, stocking up on bottled water and canned goods, in consideration for the off-chance my apartment building might escape shelling when the war starts. The newest stories of note include the bringing of small arms and machine guns into the DMZ (which has actually been going on since early last week but is just making headlines in the West now) and the China Post who reports that 690,000 U.S. GIs will be needed for a war in South Korea. I bet the bar owners in Hongdae spit up some soju when they read that one.

And my clothes washer blew a fuse tonight.

BAH.

Happy New Year.

Wednesday, December 25, 2002

Christmas Tree, Lotte Department Store, Nowon

Happy Yule and Merry Christmas to each and every one of you.

Most of you folks back home are still getting prepped for Christmas Eve as I write this, but here in Korea it's after 4am on Christmas Day. The TV is showing "The Spy Who Shagged Me", my little 3 foot Christmas tree is blinking, and I am here at the computer squeezing the last few moments in before shutting it down and heading off to bed. (I'm lying actually... in a couple minutes I am going to start watching some Sopranos episodes I downloaded and will likely not see the sheets until the sun rises). Santa doesn't come to my house any more so what's the use in going to bed early, eh?

Christmas is a holiday in Korea and I will be getting the day off. Tonight was a bit rough though-- none of the students had anything remotely related to cooperating on their minds. All they could think of was the day off-- and their winter vacation which starts on Friday and runs for a month. None of my students actually get visits from Santa-- that part of the tradition hasn't migrated to Korea. Most, if they do celebrate, will head out to restaurants with family tomorrow. I took an informal survey though and about half the kids do put up Christmas trees at home.

For younger students, I had them write letters to Santa. For older students, I explained some Christmas traditions. By far, the most popular question was: "Why are Santa's elves small and cute, while elves in Warcraft and the Lord of the Rings are mean and tough?" Well my little acolytes... let me tell you about Yggdrasil, the Tree of life, the Nine Worlds, and the real meaning of Christmas.

Trying to explain the solstice was a bit tough (seasonal change, longest night/shortest day stuff). I drew a circle to represent the Earth, divided it into two hemispheres with the axis tilted through the center. I asked where Korea was, "North or South?" and the response I kept getting back was, "Korea's in the center."

Explaining the Gregorian and Julian calendar was much easier (and the switch from Dec. 25 to Dec. 21 for the new date of the Solstice). I just had to ask them how many days were in a year. They all answered, "365" to which I reminded them: "365 and a quarter"... ergo we had a modern reenactment of the error in the Julian calendar as a teaching aid.

With the 4000 year-old stuff covered, we got to Jesus (an easier year to remember, being year one and all) and the creation of Christmas around 350AD. We talked about some of the newer traditions including Santa's red and white suit (courtesy of Coca-Cola) and Rudolph (who the kids were surprised to learn was only created for a children's song in the latter half of the twentieth century). We covered holly and mistletoe, Father Christmas, the elves, St. Nick, Christmas trees, Roman taxation laws in the first century...

...then we played Hangman for 15 minutes and sang 'Santa Claus is Coming to Town" about forty gazillion times.

My only remaining question is this: If Santa has eight other reindeer with cool names like 'Comet', 'Dasher', 'Donner' (Thunder) and 'Blitzen' (Lightning)... how did he end up naming one such a sissy name as 'Cupid'?!? Now names like 'Dancer' and 'Prancer' I can deal with in a fun and frolicky sort of way... 'Vixen' is a bit controversial but I like it...

..but CUPID?! Were St. Nicholas and St. Valentine playing poker one night or something?

St. Valentine: "Sorry, Nick, I can't ante up-- will you accept this reindeer I found while pillaging a Dianic temple?"
St. Nicholas: "She looks a little sick. Are you sure she's up to pulling my sleigh?"
St. Valentine: "Well, she hates the weather in Italy, she won't eat olives... I think she'd be much happier with you."
St. Nicholas: "All right. Put her on the table but I need a couple favours from you too."
St. Valentine: "Sure... anything."
St. Nicholas: "I have another female reindeer that I can't come up with a good name for."
St. Valentine: "How about VIXEN !!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrowwwl !!!"
St. Nicholas: "Hey! That's fantastic! I like it. It's sleek, sexy, and animalistic. Just one more thing..."
St. Valentine: "Anything!"
St. Nicholas: "Can you score me a few Eunuchs? I'm short staffed on labourers at the factory. If we falsify their immigration papers to say they're elves I can claim them as cultural treasures and get them work visas through the Scandinavian Immigration office..."
St. Valentine: "Sorry, Santa, baby. I can't spare any. My feast day is only a month and a half away and I'll need them for delivering love letters. They're the only messengers that the jealous centurions trust around the girls... However, try talking to St. Patrick. He just finished clearing the snakes out of Ireland and I heard he's now trying to deport the leprechauns-- but no other country will take them in. Maybe you guys can arrange a deal."
St. Nicholas: "Sure... if he ever sobers up. I don't know. Leprechauns could spell trouble. If I let them into the business, the next thing you know, they'll change the official Christmas colours from 'Red and White' to 'Red and Green'."
St. Valentine: "Yuck! I can picture it now. Red and green clash terribly."
St. Nicholas: "With my luck, it'd take the combined might of a multinational conglomerate the size of Coca-Cola to change it back in the branding alone."
St. Valentine: "Red makes you look fat anyway... ever consider a toga?"
St. Nicholas: "Not very practical, I don't think. I thought about switching to a toga when I crossed the equator, on account of the summer in the southern hemisphere... but then I remembered about having to go down the chimney."
St. Valentines: "Shuffle the cards. It's your deal."

...And don't worry. That's NOT the explanation I gave for the elves.

ADDENDUM: The weather reports came true. It snowed over the early morning in Seoul and we had a white Christmas after all.

Monday, December 23, 2002

Arch in Haggye

Things actually feel a little bit back to normal with the end of the election campaign. There were protests and attacks again on the weekend, but they were no where near the size of the previous ones. Roh, who campaigned, boasting that he had never gone to the U.S.A. in his life and would not go for a visit of diplomatic courtesy after taking office, has mentioned that the does hope to meet Bush in the future (I guess he wants Bush to come here again). Things seem to just be simmering now with a wait-and-see feel. Meanwhile, the North is getting ready to defy the world and break open the proverbial seventh seal. Lastly, it seems like we won't have to wait for a nuclear winter in order to see snow on Christmas Eve.

Me? I made the trip to the Immigration Office in Mokdong on Saturday. The trip, one-way, was about 80 minutes. The last time I went, I had been lazy and frivolous-- I took a cab. It took me about an hour to find the place that time since the cab driver didn't know where it was and neither did anyone I stopped to ask. This time I arrived at the subway station and figured I'd be able to find the building in minutes. It is a rather big building. No luck-- I wandered again for an hour this time too. The subway station is behind the building, where as the cab driver last year let me off roughly in front of it. I walked all the way up to the next subway station and back before I saw "Immigration Office" peeking at me from behind some sanga buildings. I made it in with 15 minutes to spare before they closed shop for the afternoon. The man at the desk asked me a lot of questions, suspicious as to why I was applying almost three weeks before my last contract was up. They are sort of used to seeing people come in the day before, if not late, I guess. Next weekend, I'll make the trip again and pick up my new Alien Registration Card. Then, I'll be set for another year, safely secluded away up here in Nowon.

Yeji's brother visited on Saturday too. I met them at Dongdaemun and we spent a nice afternoon shopping.

Friday, December 20, 2002

Roh Wins!

Read stories from Korea, Britain, China, and the U.S.

What an election. We watched it on the televisions at school. Polls closed at 6pm and results came quickly do to a brand new automatic counting system first implemented for this election. Roh took an early lead which quickly dropped into a tooth in nail fight with both candidates hovering at around 46.8% of the vote each for what seemed like an hour. My students were all excited. In order to keep the news coming while we were in class, a number of "May I go for... um... water?" requests were turned into an organized sortie for information at 5 minute intervals. My little spies reported back dutifully but each no conclusive victory occurred until long after class had finished and the final results came in last night while I sat at home watching.

Lee accepted defeat.
... and something tells me Chung might already have bought his plane ticket out of Korea.

Thursday, December 19, 2002

BOMBSHELL addendum: I'm quickly going to throw this out, since I don't plan on making a full post until at least midway through the polls tomorrow. The shoe dropped tonight. Chung Mong Joon, who surrendered his candidacy and offered his support to Roh Moo Hyun, withdrew his support tonight, literally at the 11th hour. It flashed across T.V. screens this evening. (I'll link to a story when one becomes available tomorrow morning. I assume it will be front page everywhere). His reasoning was that in promising to act only as a "moderator" in the event of any hostilities between the U.S. and North Korea, rather than ally with the U.S., Chung believed Roh was taking a perilous position in the face of a growing threat of danger coming from North Korea. This could have serious and fatal consequences for the Roh campaign when polls open in a few hours.

Wednesday, December 18, 2002

Guards in traditional uniform at Chang Duk Gung Palace

Tomorrow's the big day. I think it's safe to say that at least where I live, people are voting for Roh, based on what their children say in class (I don't ask, but they eagerly volunteer to try to find out what I think-- but I have no favourite candidate). I remember one poor boy who was the only Lee supporter in a class of 12. I've been deftly avoiding taking my own stand with a lot of "Moolah"s ("don't know"). Really, I don't know-- and I am glad that I won't be called on to vote in this one. Roh seems to be the most likeable guy but I'm worried he's a bit naive (he wants to move the national capital from Seoul to ChungChong, seemingly just to garner huge supports in the province). Lee might make life more stable for foreigners (since he is pro-USFK and that would filter down to us bottom-feeders of the public mood). But then again, Lee might push too hard on North Korea and turn this place into a time bomb. Roh could do the same, if through negligence in a mad rush for reunification, but maybe his voice could become a strong tool for negotiation between the hardliners in Seoul and Pyongyang. So far, Roh is ahead in the polls by 3%-6% but who can tell what will happen tomorrow. Roh is very strong with the youth vote-- their turn out could push the election either way-- and the recent nuclear revelations from North Korea came at just the right time to dissipate those few leading percentage points in the lead up. The scarier North Korea becomes, the less support for Roh. The more meddlesome the U.S. becomes, the less support for Lee. It's going to be a clear 50-50 split going into tomorrow. I have to wonder if there will be one last news bomb shell before the polls open, that would push either side over the edge.

On the U.S. military front, more details over reprimands in the June incident were handed out. Starting yesterday and going for at least the next week, a tighter curfew is also being enforced at U.S. bases (in the gates by 11pm) to try and avoid any more entanglements and confrontations. The normal curfew is 12am on weekdays and 1am on weekends.

And with all the election and demonstration news, a few other stories slipped through the cracks.

Korean pop star Harisu, age 27, who happens to also be trans-gendered, won her legal fight on Friday. She will now be recognized as a woman under Korean law. Koreans each carry identification numbers so the court fight was centred around the change in starting digits from a 1 to a 2 (which denotes "female"). She is now legally able to marry, and adopt a child if she so chooses. In spite of the controversy since her operation, she has become quite a successful performer. Her song, 'Temptation' was banned last year from radio play for having too sexually explicit lyrics but she has a new album out this year and is making the rounds on T.V. almost every day.

Looking for a new job that makes good use of your skills playing computer games? Korea has a number of pro-gamers who compete on television and in competitions for cash prizes and fame. The usual games have been Starcraft and Fifa 2002 but Warcraft III is now becoming the standard. Recently, some of these stars signed contracts with snack food companies, etc. for sponsorship deals worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The number one search word on Korea's Daum.net was "Yupgi"/"Yupki"... as in Yupki Tokki (Mashimaro). It has various meanings (shocking, bizarre...) but that should guarantee that the web stays an interesting place in Korea. The second and third places were held by people searching for popular PC games "Lineage" and "Crazy Arcade" and the more generic word "game" took up fourth spot.

..which brings me back to the blog and my life. Elections are usually holidays in Korea but I didn't even have to ask this time as to whether we would get it off. We don't. There's no public school tomorrow, yet the kids still have to go to hagwon which means I will be in for some grumpy kids tomorrow night. Yesterday was productive. I got the computer upgrade, water delivered, and I made it to the bank where I found almost NO lineups !!! *cheer* Since the bank was over near Nowon station, I also snapped off another roll of film and got it developed-- so I will have some new pictures to scan in. My trip to Immigration will take place on Saturday. That way I don't have to rush to get back to teach. The only problem is that it's across town which might take me through one of the demonstrations which usually begin in central Seoul in the early afternoon. I'm planning on taking a taxi which should be more expedient. Lately, subway lines (number 5 in particular) have been shut down during the protests. I still imagine the traffic will be relentless above ground though.

Tuesday, December 17, 2002

Another demonstration too big to ignore...
(Photo: Chosun Ilbo)

First, let's talk about me (if I jump into the current events in Korea, I'll never get the basic blog stuff down...)

I've had some busy days and a couple more to come. I set the blog on standby over the weekend. The events in the news have certainly been escalating but with no change in direction and not too many surprise twists. Only the degree of gravity has increased.

Friday, I taught my history class again. In case you don't remember, this is one of those curious things that happens at my school. I like history. I love to ramble on and on and on about it for hours. My school decided that they would begin offering extra classes to students at no charge on Fridays. It's part of the marketing plan as we are hoping to attract some newer pupils over this season. Each of us teaches a class (there is also a drama class and a newspaper class) but my class became the "sit and listen to Ian blab on an on about days of yore" class. Most of the students in the class are at the highest level of English for elementary students. On Friday, we had the second class on the formation of the nations of Europe. We had started with Mesopotamia, Egypt, Greece, Rome, Persia, and the Germans (fantastic teaching aids are available at historyforkids.org), but now we are moving in to what happened after Rome collapsed. The first class I took them up to around the 580's AD and spun a few tales of King Arthur (historical vs. mythological). Last class we moved through Charlemage uniting the Franks and on to the Battle of Hastings and the Battle of Stamford Bridge which both occurred in 1066. The latter will be my lead up to next week's class when I start into the beloved Vikings. I already printed off a copy of the Havamal which has been likened to the works of Lao Tse although it's much more fun to quote over beer at the Sea Horse tavern in Halifax (the old days...). For anyone else that ever finds themselves teaching history here, I encourage you to check out the Euratlas.com historical maps that I've been using. The colour coding helps kids understand the patterns of invasion/migration while they also cover a lot of the names and you can have fun getting students to match them with names from the present that they know. British history is quite popular with my students right now, on account of Harry Potter and Lord of The Rings-- though the latter was based 80% on Norse/Icelandic/Germanic myths as they will see next week when we do a step by step traversing of Yggdrasil in preparation for the Ragnarok which seems to be getting closer and closer in the news.

Saturday was a day for shopping. We headed out to Lotte Department Store in Nowon on account of, not just Christmas, but Yeji's birthday which was on Sunday. Korean Department stores still retain a lot of the classiness that modern Western ones threw out the window a long time ago (Walmart, K-mart, etc). Like upscale department stores back home (do they still exist?) they're staffed by suit and tie uniformed salesmen. The salesladies also wear skirts and sports jackets (unless they are the special seller girls in the cheerleader outfits). You have to get dressed up yourself just to go out there. It's a bit of an event. It's very posh. It can be very expensive.

My computer also packed up on me the night before so after shopping, I met with the service guy at my apartment to get it fixed. Unfettered downloading on Kazaa caused one of my hard drives (my C: drive) to fill up which prevented Windows from starting up. My mistake. I'm stupid. It's fixed now and as I write this, I am waiting for him to come back at 2pm today since I decided to pick up a new 32-meg graphics card from him and 256 megs of RAM. I'm up early today, awaiting the water delivery guy too, but he's 40 minutes late and my coffee's almost done with several paragraphs to go.

A couple of other errands will be keeping me busy over today and tomorrow too. For one thing, my bank card formed a crack in it so I need to replace that before I access any money in my account. Luckily, the cash machines in the LG 25s here in Seoul will accept my Visa card. (In Changwon I only knew of one machine in the entire city that accepted non-Korean cards). I will also be on my way to Mokdong tomorrow to visit Immigration. I have visually confirmed that the paper work for my new contract is being drawn up and should be given to me today so that I can make the trek to the office (hour and a half away, across the city). I've also verbally confirmed that I will receive my bonus with no problems, in the month of January. All seems to be going well. We're almost there. When this business is finished I will take a sigh of relief and I am sure my spirits will perk up quite a bit.

...And now today's top stories...
But before I allow any happiness or sense of security to creep into my life-- let's explain the above picture and get on with what's going on. Demonstrations have not withered. They have increased. The one on the weekend reached 50,000 protestors in Seoul with another 200,000 spread out in 50 cities across the country. They have no clear goal anymore either. Bush made a direct apology last week, before the above picture was taken but the apology wasn't received warmly by South Koreans who I now assume want him to apologize while standing on his head and singing Arirang. I already mentioned also. that U.S. envoys had met with South Korean officials to begin talks on reforming S.O.F.A. Compensation has been handed out. A monument has been set up for construction. The only demand remaining is for the U.S. to turn over the two soldiers involved so that a blood price can be obtained (I suspect this last one could only be solved if the two U.S. soldiers fake a suicide and enter a government protection program).

Instead, alternate sources of blood are being sought after. On the weekend, two incidents took place. Three US GI's were detained after getting into a brawl with a taxi driver. According to the soldiers, they had been driving along when all of a sudden they were rear-ended by a taxi who began honking it's horn. They stopped the car, and got out to confront the driver. Then, the taxi driver swung a punch at them. They pushed back and ended up arrested for assault. According to Korean media accounts, the soldiers stopped their car for no reason, got out, and just began swinging. The taxi driver has facial cuts from being punched and was all over the T.V. Sunday night.

More seriously, a Lieutenant Colonel was on his way out of 8th Army headquarters when he was accosted by three Koreans. They taunted him, to which he ignored them... After which the Koreans jumped him (stabbing him with a knife in the process). He made it back inside the base and was treated for his wounds. Police are still "looking" for the three men.

Lesson one learned: If a foreigner refuses to fight back, the T.V. will have no pictures of beat up Koreans to broadcast and colour as "victims of American aggression".
Lesson two learned: Koreans who attack foreigners don't get arrested.

If anything will stop the demonstrations, maybe it's a hit to the pocket book. Korea's five largest companies came out yesterday to state that Anti-Americanism could lead to a boycott of Korean products in the U.S. as well as the loss of foreign investment (to which the U.S. comprises 62% in Korea).

Does anyone want to ask the question of what's going through North Korea's head when they look at this stuff going on? They're back to threatening war if the U.S. doesn't come out of the house an play the negotiation game with them. I wouldn't be so quick to discount it either. One look at photos like the one today and you could see that, in North Korea, they might come to view themselves as some sort of "liberation" army to cast out the American infidels. North Korean arms sales are in the news again (this time it's gunboats for Iran). I say let 'em. Every gunboat sent to the Middle East is one less for a potential invasion of South Korea. Forcing them to start their nuclear program by cutting shipments of oil isn't such a bad idea either. They might be able to make nuclear bombs with the plutonium but what are they odds they would ever use such a weapon (sell them maybe but use them? On who? The US is out of range of their missiles and they spent too much energy getting buddy-buddy with Japan lately to justify striking there). Cutting shipments of oil might mean that their electrical generators run dry... but it also means they can't fill up the gas tanks of their T-72 tanks (or whatever they have, I have to check) and drive them down to Seoul to join the demonstrators. You can't convert armoured vehicles to nuclear power either.

Friday, December 13, 2002

Going downhill in South Korea...
Hwaseong Fortress, Suwon

"But even without unconventional weapons, North Korea's artillery and medium-range missiles give it the capability to flatten most of Seoul in a matter of minutes."

...Thank you Time magazine-- who not only has to remind me how close to the precipice everything hangs, but also titles their current news story, "How Do You Solve a Problem Like Korea", and now I've got the 'Sound of Music' stuck in my head. I'm glad they're taking it lightly.

We are six days away from the election and while the candidates may be fumbling their way to the polls, North Korea sure knows how to prepare some inauguration presents, eh? They let a couple out of the box early it seems. Still, for anyone whose job is not directly related to spinning the Sunshine Policy, no one is really surprised. Hearing stories like this on the news just sort of confirms the eternal threat in your mind and acts as a subtle reminder to never let yourself go more than five feet away from your passport.

Realistically, North Korea spent so much money on guns and bombs for so long, that they really have nothing else that is marketable (not even kimchee). It's only natural that they would giftwrap SCUD missiles and ship them out for Christmas. What else do they have that they could put up for auction, really? Along the same simplistic line, it's only natural that they'd be caught as quick as they were. Both sides got what they wanted. The US got a Public Relations cookie for finding them, but since actually keeping them would mean something akin to piracy on the high seas, they let them go. North Korea-- if they haven't already been paid for the shipment-- will still be able to deliver them to the purchaser. They'll take in maybe as much as a half billion dollars which I guess is the going rate for a dozen SCUDS and a handful of build-your own kits. Not only that, but they got their moment in the pre-South Korean election spotlight. The South Korean government has announced that the seizure was a "warning to the North". I suspect it might have been engineered slightly to be a warning to anti-US demonstrators also. Spain didn't find the ship by accident; they were tipped off. Now Spain is wondering why they were asked to risk the lives of their military and were sent after a ship that was destined to continue on it's way anyway.

Then there was today's announcement. Again, with blackouts and brownouts all over North Korea, and shipments of oil from the U.S. halted, what were they going to do? You can trust me when I say that it's gotten cold here lately. Temperatures have dropped and are forecast to stay utterly frigid until at least the weekend. I am sure it's even colder up North. All of a sudden a couple of North Koreans must have looked around for something to burn and came across the two half finished nuclear power plants, "Why don't we see if we can fire these up?" Then again, maybe they did it to protest the death of the two schoolgirls.

What else has happened? In contrast to statements that the S.O.F.A. agreement would remain unaltered, officials from the U.S. and South Korea have begun talks to see exactly what each has in mind. Not all this newfound burst of dialogue has been well-received uniformly. In addition to sitting down over S.O.F.A. with the governing M.D.P. party, the U.S. Ambassador also met with the G.N.P. on Tuesday, to which the M.D.P. cried foul. They said the implication of that meeting was that the U.S. was seeking to boost the perceived influence of the G.N.P. by acting behind the scenes, in the days shortly before the election. Combined with the North Korea situation of the last two days, this is a bit of a double hit for the M.D.P. Just to repeat a previous post: being too pro-American is bad for candidates right now, but the ability to sit down and talk with the U.S. is seen as a true strength and necessity.

In a related story, a U.S. soldier was recently convicted (in a Korean court) of causing a traffic accident that left a Korean woman in a coma. Those people who are calling for moderation these days are pointing to this as an example that S.O.F.A. does work in cases where it is supposed to relinquish jurisdiction. Vehicle accidents can be a criminal offence in Korea and in this case, the soldier was sentenced to 8 months in jail, to be served in a Korean prison.

Wednesday, December 11, 2002

Christmas presents for the goth who has everything...

I bet a lot of my friends back in Halifax think that I forgot about them. Well I didn't.

Since I still finish work a bit early this week, I thought I'd swing by a couple stores and see if I could pick up something that I had seen one of my students bring to class one day. This isn't it (I was actually looking for a character with the slogan, "I love Virus") but I when I read the cover of the Bbing notebook, I thought of all the folks back in Halifax who frequent the local goth events. Actually, this notebook reminds me of a helluva lot of people who I surrounded myself with back during my formative years. How many products do you know that talk about Exorcism in a fun-loving way?

These styles of characters appear on just about all the stationary in Korea. It's actually a chore to find a notebook that's adult looking. The weird thing is, as far as I can tell, very few of these characters (who all have rather deep personal histories and motivations) don't actually appear on anything other than merchandise. The two cartoons I have linked to on the sidebar (Pucca, Mashimaro) do have flash animations that you can watch online, but I'm pretty sure that characters like Bbing show up absolutely nowhere other than in merchandising. It'd be like buying a T-shirt for an upcoming John Candy movie. The thing that these products would normally be created to help sell, doesn't actually exist. The merchandise (not the medium) is the message.

...except in Bbing's case, I guess the Medium is the merchandise, since Korean shamanism works along similar principles to mediums in the west. Among other functions, traditional Korean shamans, called mudangs, channel spirits and predict the future through acts of possession. As far as I know, all mudangs are female. Other kinds of fortune tellers do exist however (including tarot readers). This is a rather sensitive topic it seems, so I don't want to go to great lengths to describe it. My experience with Korean shamanism is fairly limited but after coming from a city like Halifax*, where you only have to walk about ten feet to find a tarot reader or a rune reader and there's an average of two manifesting ghosts per city block-- visiting a mudang was high on my list of things I wanted to do since I stepped off the plane. When I finally got the chance to go this summer, I was thrilled.

*For people interested in Halifax, local folklore has it that several ley lines intersect throughout the city and that it has more graves per capita than any other city in North America. Part of the reason for the large number of ghosts is that many of these people who are buried there had died violently. Most notably, the Halifax Explosion, for which the 85th anniversary was Friday, is considered the largest, man-made, non-nuclear explosion in history. Two ships, the Belgian relief ship, Imo and the French munitions ship, Mont Blanc collided in the harbour, burning, and then igniting their cargo of bombs and shells destined for Europe in 1917. It obliterated the North End of Halifax and was reportedly heard as far away as Prince Edward Island, killing 2000 and wounding 9,000. Any buildings in the affected area that were not destroyed in the blast, collapsed with the great inrush of air that came back in to fill the vacuum left by the explosion. Subsequent fires raged for several days. Further adding to the trauma, a violent blizzard struck that night as the now-homeless desperately sought out shelter. Had it not been for the citizens of Boston, who sent a train full of doctors, blankets, and food, the loss of life would have been even higher. (In case anyone from Boston is reading this-- we still remember and we still thank you.)

And additionally, a few years prior to the explosion, the city had been chosen as the final resting place for the victims of the Titanic. The Carpathian, the first ship to reach the wreck, had sailed out of Halifax. Being the second deepest harbour in the world (after Sydney, Australia, I believe), our traditions and ties to the sea are far-reaching.

AND the whole town sits on top of what is called the Meguma quartzite formation (which had formed under the Iapetian Sea of Pangea... before the supercontinent split up and fragments of the same rock also ended up under Morocco and possibly England). Local lurkers claim this acts as a huge crystal to focus supernatural energies. Though the city today is a busy, active, and bustling town full of sailors, students, and old salts, it's hard to walk anywhere at night without feeling just a little chill. It's an old city by Canadian standards too (founded in 1749 by settlers that included my Mom's side of the family). It's full of folklore and for those of us in love with the place... it's just a little bit spooky too. Now do you see why I absolutely HAD to buy this notebook?

For more information on ghosts and legends of Nova Scotia, be sure to check out 'Bluenose Ghosts' (which I read when I was 7 years old), and it's companion book, 'Bluenose Magic' (which may be out of print). They are the definitive guides, collected by the provinces most beloved daughter, Helen Creighton (may she rest in piece), who spent about 80 years traversing the province and recording our folklore before it was lost... and all she got for it was a crummy street named after her, which today is full of crack-houses. She even managed to retrieve the provincial ode, "Farewell to Nova Scotia".

Sorry... I started rambling there. Just skip all the stuff in small print and we'll be back on track with Korea.

Things here for the most part, MAY be looking up. There was one rather appalling news story today that mentioned how now in Daegu, three elementary schoolgirls wrote a protest letter in blood, and I assume that their parents must have put them up to it which makes me cringe. Other than that however, there was word that the protests have been scheduled to subside by the end of this month. I also have a feeling that the election of a new president, whomever it may be, will also quell the mobs who may sit back and wait and see what the new government will do with the matter, before anything escalates too much more. Lee and Roh have also been encouraged by their parties to back off on the Anti-American jingoism lest they further awaken the tiger.

...And there's a health warning, just as I was starting to get back to feeling like my cranky self. The World Health Organization has warned to Korea to brace for a superflu of pandemic proportions-- capable of infecting a third of the population.

Monday, December 09, 2002

World Cup fever again?...
...Nope, it's the Anti-American demonstrators outside the U.S. Embassy this weekend
(Photo: Korea Times)

Let's see how I can blog about this without giving myself an ulcer. I went through the news stories of the weekend again and it seems the pressure cooker is still set on maximum burn. I think I bookmarked about two-dozen stories but I will try to cut out the redundant ones.

I'll start with the banning of U.S. Soldiers in Hongdae among other areas. This specific article set a lot of the local foreigners ablaze with the way it was worded and the style of coverage it presented. If you remember, I visited Hongdae just before Hallowe'en and noticed the signs banning G.I.s back then. Just to correct something misleading in this story, you'll note that the signs have been up since at least before the time I visited the area (and I am pretty sure they were there over the summer when I went there with another friend from Canada). The story sort of implies (nay states) that they were posted in response to recent anti-USFK feelings. I don't think the bar owners want to admit that they've been practicing this sort of discrimination for a long time. Something new mentioned in the article however is that all foreigners who *do* visit Hongdae bars will now be asked to pay double. By my calculations, a bottle of BUDWEISER beer will now cost about $13.00 CAD and cover will be over $20.00 CAD but that usually includes a beer.

Local computer company Bomul has set up a web page to the Korean schoolgirls at the heart of this matter. Visitors may drop in and burn virtual incense. I don't have a specific link to the page but I can provide a link to Bomul's announcement (maybe it is the actual page, I don't know. It's in Korea.) I am doing this moreso because the page also carries a picture of the the two girls *after* the accident. Personally I had no desire (or stomach) to view, this but it's been making it's rounds across the internet recently and I guess it was inevitable that I would stumble upon it sooner or later. So... WARNING: The following web page contains an image that is graphically disturbing and I am providing it solely for those of you who wish to view the image. If you don't want to see it... don't click. Remember that these girls died underneath a vehicle that weighed around 60 tonnes. Here is the link to the schoolgirls' page at Bomul.

Overseas, the protests in Washington have continued. Demonstrators attempted to storm the White House (the post Sept.11th White House I might add) in similar fashion to the way they seek unlawful entry to U.S. assets here. (Stop giggling... this is serious). Their goal was to present a petition signed by an overwhelming 1.3 Million koreans directly to President Bush. Guards at the White House refused them entry, suggesting instead that the demonstrators use the postal service in the future. In a scuffle that erupted later, one Korean protestor was arrested for assaulting a police officer. Meanwhile in Washington, Defense Minister Lee Jun met with, of all people, Donald Rumsfield. For anyone who watches Rumsfield press conferences often, the man seems to have a very evident and unique, down-to-earth personality, I am sure you would agree. You can therefore imagine how the meeting went.

Here in Korea. The demonstrations which had mostly been occurring on Saturdays, are now scheduled throughout the week with the inclusion of candlelight vigils such as the one in today's photo. Participants have now been joined by a number of religious figures as well as entertainment stars including Lee Jung Hyun (whose new CD I bought but have yet to listen to/blog about due to some domestic concerns over my taste in pop stars). Politicians, in advance of the Dec. 19th election, also continue to devote more and more of their public time to the American situation, sacrificing other issues in the process. Both candidates, Roh and Lee, are promising to hold face to face talks with President Bush, to amend S.O.F.A. and to further address the concerns of the protestors/electorate. It is now mainly a contest of who can "talk tougher" with Washington. Also on the table, is whether or not to support or condemn what is seen as "hardline" U.S. foreign policy on North Korea. The Grand National Party's, Lee, supports Washington's tough stance and would significantly reduce economic aid to the North, down to an unequivocal *NOTHING*-- but Roh, candidate for the incumbent Millenium Democratic Party, has taken position on the opposite end of the spectrum and was recently quoted as saying he "guarantees the security of North Korea", and that he would continue the Sunshine Policy (possibly under a change in name). However, Roh has backtracked from earlier suggestions that he would call for the removal of U.S. troops from Korea, citing his newfound acceptance of the role they play in the stability and safety of Korea.

Current president, Kim Dae Jung, on the other hand, while also seeking greater jurisdiction over legal matters involving U.S. Forces (to which Korea's S.O.F.A. agreement already ranks at equal level with Japan and Germany in terms of host country privileges), also seems to be the only politician who has come out critical of the demonstrations and has warned of the lasting effect they will have on necessary and mutually beneficial U.S.-Korea relations.

... And if that's not enough protest news from South Korea for you, it turns out that Koreans are also starting to protest the upcoming release of the new James Bond movie, Die Another Day.

Note to commentators: I noticed that Paul left a lengthy series of comments on recent events, meant to be a whole story but limited by YACCS's maximum character rules, he was forced to publish them here as a series of 10 individual comments. I want to extend the invitation to ANYONE regardless of political stripes, ethnicity, nationality, gender, favourite colour... whatever: If you would like to offer a longer editorial than is afforded in the comments box, email me the story. Your submission does not have to agree with anything on this page (though it must be in reference to Korea in some way). I do reserve the right to turn it down if I think it is seriously inflammatory, but I'd like to offer some of this space to others who wish to express their views. The only staunch rules are: No profanity (unless it's something that appears in the Bible, ie. "damn" or "Goddamned" is okay by me but don't send me anything with the lyrics to "F*cking USA") and No direct personal attacks on any individual (other than people who are already public icons and get that sort of thing everyday anyway). I would reformat the writing so as not to confuse it with regular blog postings by me (think "Letters to the Editor" in a newspaper), but will endeavour to keep it intact and in the words of the original author. I won't even enforce proper British spelling rules if you don't want me to. I have a feeling no one will take me up on this... but the offer is officially extended to all and I know there are other writers, out there, reading this now.

Thursday, December 05, 2002

When it's not like work...

Last night was a great change of pace. The schedule changed overnight, but no one informed me of my 4pm class until I arrived to work at 6pm. It's not a problem. That class comes to the school three times a week and I only teach them twice-- so I was asked to just trade with their Friday teacher. Mostly, the school has been good at giving me advanced warning lately when they change the timetable. Other than that...

...I had three classes last night. My middle school students are writing tests and as such, their class was cancelled. Wednesday is usually my lightest day anyway, but since the grade sixers moved up and today is a testing day in elementary school, I was left with two students in my first class (the two boys) and one student in my second class (one girl). My third class was the one I mentioned on Monday (where one of the boys pulled up the desk for me, and the girls run to meet me and carry my books to the classroom.) Since I travel a little bit slower than the average twelve-year old when they are hell bent on causing mayhem, the kids had already started to take the attendance when I got there. They are a very enthusiastic bunch.

The strangest things come up in conversation when you have those rare one-on-one classes. With only one or two students present and the rest absent, you can't really dig into the text book; it's more like, "What's your favourite colour?" or "What did you do in school today?". With the boys, they like computers-- and not just Diablo and Warcraft III. One of them is in grade 4 but he is teaching himself to code Visual Basic and Java. See what I mean when I say they are trouble-makers?! He was really proud of a program he wrote which embeds itself in a computer's registry and crashes the computer on start-up. I said, "Derek (his english name), are you trying to code a virus?"... he grinned back, "Yeah *snicker*."

With the girl though, I was a bit shocked. Since the door was open, we both could watch as one of the other teachers brought two of her students out into the hall for punishment. The form of discipline used was to get the students to raise their hands and one of their legs until their limbs got tired. Physical punishment like that isn't really common at our hagwon and this just looked rather silly. Even the students and teacher in the hallway could be heard laughing over this moment of discipline while in our classroom, Annie (my student's English name) and I started giggling too at this strange scene directly in front of the doorway. So I joked with Annie-- who I must say is absolutely polite, quiet, soft-spoken, studious... a perfect student... and I asked, "Do they do that at your regular school?" Still smiling she said, "No... they hit us. With a stick. Every day." The funny thing was that the look on her face showed that she thought this revelation was just as funny-- though my expression changed a bit I must say. I still can't believe that a student like Annie would ever do anything that could solicit a few whacks... but I guess her public school teachers feel otherwise. It was obvious though, that for whatever reasons they get hit (which Annie explained as, "whatever") the students are completely desensitized to it at this point. We switched topics then and it turns out that her favourite movie is, 'Scream'.

Those two classes are quite advanced as far as elementary classes go. My third class is at the intermediate level (although a couple of students have spent time abroad, including one who lived for two years in New Zealand and now speaks in a British/Kiwi accent. When she gets cranky she sounds like a miniature Julie Andrews). I already said how enthusiastically they intercept me on my way to class by grabbing my books, markers, and the attendance sheet out of my hands. Last night we spent 50 minutes covering Direct and Indirect speech with "said", "told", "asked", and "asked if", in a fashion that resembled Special Forces commando training. I don't have a single other class like them. They are focused. They study as a team. They speak as a team. They learn as a team. They misbehave as a team.

Since the middle school class was cancelled, I finished at 9pm. That extra hour makes a big difference. Most of the stores and restaurants around where I work close up around 10pm which is my normal finish time. Between those hours, it turns out that the street is a lot busier than when I normally just go home. It was a nice night out, warm and mild. I opted to go for �ʹ� -- chobap (sushi) and take a short walk. I even bought a new soup pot for the kitchen.

...And there you have it... a day in the life of an ESL teacher.

Wednesday, December 04, 2002

Looking out one of the windows at work on a warmer, foggier day than today...
...and I have no idea why these buildings all look crooked.

The election campaign was in high gear around my apartment complex today. On my second day of regained mobility, I walked out to in front of the department store as I usually do, to cross the street and catch a cab to work. Across the street, one of the candidates in the local(?) elections had been standing on the back of a truck for hours, bellowing through a megaphone. On my side of the street however, I ended up walking through a crowd of pamphlet distributors, encircling images of the two middle school girls/martyrs. My head still swimming from being sick, I just kept going, avoided the stares, and hoped that someone didn't try to force a pamphlet on me as a token foreigner passing by. That's what started the incident last month with the U.S. GIs. Nowon is usually pretty quiet and we escape a lot of the politics here, which suits me fine. Today was just an exception.

What's YOUR Writing Style?
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The protests themselves have been expanding, and as they do, their influence on the election grows. In turn, the momentum of the election is shifting away from North Korea and the economy, and over to the Anti-Americanism and SOFA revisionism spheres. Since the election carries a huge weight as far as publicity goes, it in turn is enflaming the demonstrations to a pitch that I've never seen in the time I've been here. I remember the first anti-USFK demonstration I saw in Korea, about two years ago in Pusan. It was composed of about 50, pimply-faced Korean college kids, wearing headbands and gathering around a folksinger. This past weekend alone however, estimations on the numbers of demonstrators on Saturday surpassed the 100,000 mark in cities throughout Korea.

Even presidential candidate, Lee, is calling for changes to SOFA while President Kim, who is not even running (Korea has a one-term maximum for presidents) is not going to wait for the election, but rather he is starting the amendment process now. Defense Minister, Lee Jun is meeting on Dec. 6 in Washington with Donald Rumsfield, though if statements by US Ambassador to Korea, Thomas Hubbard carry any weight, it's going to be a short meeting. (BTW, I know that linked story starts off positive but read the big 'BUT' in the second and third last paragraphs). Meanwhile, after having arrived in the U.S. on Dec. 2, Anti-American activists including Hong Geun Soo and Rev. Han San Ryol will have already begun their national tour to stage protests directly in the U.S.A., at the U.N. Building, Times Square, and in Washington.

Additional protests at home now include the carrying of candles by small groups and couples, not just at rallies but anywhere that Koreans go, wishing to express solidarity. I also assume that American bases and the U.S. Embassy will continue to suffer breaching attempts and firebomb attacks. (One KBS anchorwoman suggested that these Molotov Cocktail parties were "shameful" and she ended up losing her job over it). Crossing all borders however, Korea's status as the "world's most connected" nation also translates to e-mail attacks.

Which brings me back to the activists in front of my local department store. The table they are using had been covered by cell phones on display since July. The last time something political occupied that spot it was during the World Cup when the pamphlets were of the "anti-littering" variety, or part of the national campaign to get Koreans to smile at foreigners (they had some great T.V. ads). Things certainly change fast here. World Cup super-celebrity, Coach Guus Hiddink arrived on Sunday from the Netherlands to film some T.V. commercials. This time, there were only 30 people waiting for him at the airport when he got off the plane.

Miss Korea, Chang Yu-Kyung, Out of Africa...

When the beautiful turns ugly...
In additional beauty news, Kim Min Kyoung (age 20), who was proclaimed Miss Korea 2001, is off to the Miss Universe pageant while Miss Korea, Chang Yu-Kyung (see photo above), along with Miss Canada, Lynsey Bennett, were mentioned by name in the press as they ran fleeing for their lives from Nigeria on Friday. As many of you know, the Miss World pageant had to be removed from Nigeria to London on account of religious inspired rioting in the African nation. The Miss World and Miss Universe pageants are in fierce competition for global coverage this year, leading the government of Nigeria, and Miss World president Julia Morley, to declare that the whole incident is part of a grand conspiracy (WTF?) by international journalists to scuttle the pageant. Of course they said this while stepping over an estimated 200 dead bodies and had to speak over the cries of 3500 wounded-- the result of the rioting. Nigeria had been looking forward to the contest as a way of showing the world that the country had broken free from its legacy of military dictatorship and that it was ready for a larger role in the international spotlight. I guess it's pretty obvious that the military ain't in charge now.

In good news: Kim So Yun (age 23, of Korea) won the Miss Asia-Pacific Quest 2002 in Quezon City, the Philippines, last Saturday night. Congratulations!

Tuesday, December 03, 2002

Park, nearby in Nowon

So I made it back to school yesterday, a little weak and a little wobbly, but I was there. One of my classes had grown to 15 students while I was away but the school split it and instead of 15 screaming kids feasting off each other's energy and malevolence to start the day, I had a charming class of 6. Strangely enough, these were six of the troublemakers but with the smaller class size I can give them the attention they need. The kids were also going easy on me. They do have compassion when their teacher walks into class with his head down to avoid vertigo, and keeps bumping into walls. One of them even moved a desk from the back for me to sit on since there was no way I'd make it through yesterday standing.

I also heard the story behind the seaweed soup (�̿�� - Meeyukgook) that I ate the first night I was sick, as told to me by one of my middle school students. He got it off the T.V. I'll pass it along as related:

A long time ago, in Korea, there were two brothers. The older brother was a fisherman and the younger brother was a farmer. As fate would have it, the older brother went out fishing one day, his boat capsized, and he drowned. In his death, he turned into a rock in the ocean. The younger brother was, of course, distraught-- but soonafter, he began to have dreams in which his older brother would appear to him and give him advice. This helped the younger brother to continue a happy, successful life.

Some time later, word passed throughout Korea that the queen was deathly ill. She had become pregnant, but her diet was lacking in the nutrition she needed to support both her and the baby she was carrying. The king feared for her life. He sent notice that he would give great rewards to anyone who could provide a food that would nurse her back to health.

It was then, that the older brother appeared to the younger brother in a dream saying, "Go to my rock in the ocean and scrape off the seaweed that has gathered on it. Make this into a soup and feed it to the queen." The younger brother did as he was told and the queen miraculously regained her health. Furthermore, the baby was born healthy. The king, true to his word, gave many riches and rewards to the younger brother who lived happily and wealthily ever after.

The postlogue to the story is that every year on one's birthday, to remember how the queen and her baby were saved, Koreans eat �̿�� to celebrate the fortune of their own births and to ensure their own health throughout the coming year.

Something else fishy has come to my attention...
I spent some of my downtime researching possibilities for online graduate schools and I can't for the life of me find a decent place that offers a complete MA in Literature online. You'd think it'd be the easiest thing to actually study online. Read some books, write some papers, email a prof. Strangely enough, it's not out there (to my knowledge). The best related option I saw was an MA in Imperialism from the University of Sheffield. That sure sounds fun, and I could probably do field research here in Asia but...

I am not really entranced with the idea of taking an MA in TESOL which seems to be the common distance learning path for teachers over here, looking to brush up... but there's no guarantee I am going to do the ESL/EFL thing for the rest of my life. It was during my searches however, that I found you *can* do a complete (and affordable) MA in Archaeology online (over the course of a bit more than 3 years) from a "top 20", UK school-- Leicester. (Actually I had been searching for websites on metal detecting and treasure hunting at the time, which were hobbies I've had since I was a boy). I already sent the request for a mailout package *smirk*. Now it's true I that I didn't study archaeology in university but this school offers some low cost modules on basic methodology and theories that would furnish me with the basics in about 6 to 8 months-- and make the transition back to being a student a bit more gradual and comfortable. I would join the actual MA programme in October of 2003 (and finish around April of 2006). Even if I decided that I didn't want to make a go out of it, the intro modules would give me a lot of background into a hobby that I planned on carrying throughout life anyway. For now, I'll await the mailout which should arrive in about 8 more days. I can hear my father groaning already.

Still, I'd welcome any info on MAs in Literature if anyone reading this knows of a place. Bear in mind that leaving my quiet little neighbourhood and travelling the world, even just for testing once or twice a year, is probably out of the question. I also received the buzz last week, before I got sick, that my vacation to Canada (which would normally fall between contracts...) will have to wait until next summer at the earliest. The coincidental thing here, is that the deadline for the Archaeology program is the same day that my new contract should begin at this school. January 10th could be a starting point for the next chapter in my life. I certainly know that my stress level will be halved once I have successfully negotiated a contract and begun another year here. Since this is the first renewal in my school's history, getting it out of the way will breed some much needed stability and imply that I could renew again and again in future years.

BTW: If I repeat a photo by mistake, someone please tell me. I used to have a system in place to separate old and new photos but it went into disarray when I had to replace the hard drive. I'm pretty sure today's is a new pic.