Where is Cheongju Again?

who ran away from home years ago.


That's right, this is a Speed Racer post. And contrary to what</a> Liza andKyla have written here, I do not approve of this movie.

First, some background. I don't like cars. I don't like car movies. So I'm not your stereotypical "guy" in that respect. But I do like me some anime (provided it is good quality - I won't watch something just because she's a witch (and she makes fire!) despite the fact that the story is crap.) If I have any vice, it is towards large robots that transform into jets (see Macross.) I am currently watching Macross Frontier, Bleach, Naruto Shippuden, and Gundam (the original, I've never actually watched the original.) And, for the record, I do enjoy Speed Racer, the anime/American cartoon adaption. I think mostly because of the over the top acting and excited conversational patterns, including the narrator reminding the audience for the 100th time that Racer X is really Rex Racer, when it is so freaking obvious that Speed consistently comments about it throughout the serious until finally in the 50th episode (out of 52) Speed confronts Racer X only to get punched in the stomach, then while Speed unconscious, Rex reveals himself. Classic.

Where was I? Ah, right, Speed Racer the Movie. First, this was a kids movie. I can't speak for the marketing blitz in the States (since I don't live there), but if this movie wasn't marketed as a kids movie (which I get the feeling it wasn't), then people should be angry. As a kids movie, I think this works. It definitely pushed the boundaries about what visuals a kids movie can provide. Unless of course you are prone to epileptic seizures. That's fine, if the film is able to appeal to adults at different levels. Unfortunately, I think that the movie failed in that regard. Sure, there was the adult-ish plot with racing being linked to corporate takeover and whatnot, but there really wasn't much to that. I never felt any tension in the movie. Good movies build tension. This one didn't. It was very, very predictable. It always felt like Speed was going to win. (Of course he is going to win, but the appeal of a good movie is that you aren't sure that he actually is going to win.)

I have another issue with set design. As much as I love nice computer graphics (see Iron Man), the graphics should fit into the movie. They should be seamlessly integrated, and not detract from the movie experience. For me, filming in front of a green screen then adding everything else together layer by layer is not my idea of a good movie. (For an even bigger offender in this regard, see Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow.) The world, though bright and cheery and whatnot, screamed fake to me. "But Kevin, it's a fucking real life anime. It's supposed to look something in between real and fake." True, but the colors and patterns were just too overwhelming for me. Maybe it was too much sixties. Instead of drawing me in, it make me want to look away (when I wasn't about to start having a seizure.)

A lot of the scenes, especially at Royalton Industries, reminded me of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, another movie that didn't really do it for me. That type of live action/animation integration was too much for me. I'm a believer that animation is best when it is kept to a minimum. The goal of special effects are to make something look real. If that illusion is broken, it ends up ruining the entire movie to me.




The movie remained true to the characters, almost too true. Again, this is the complaint about this being a kids movie. There are two groups of people who can relate to Speed Racer. There are the kids from the sixties who grew up watching this show, and there are the kids from the 80s who caught the show on reruns or on cartoon network (where I'm assuming most of you saw the show.) Perhaps they were trying too hard to maintain the 1960s feel. Because Chim-Chim and Spritle fucking pissed me off. I'm sure that if I was a kid, they would have been fucking hilarious.

Speaking of which, as a kids movie, this is really, really long. I normally don't have a long attention span, but this movie, coming in at over two hours, must of driven some of the kids insane. Unless of course the barrage of colors and lights was designed to keep them occupied. Which it very well might have been.

Lastly, we come to Rain. RRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!
Liz mentioned that the actors for this movie were perfect. I have to disagree. Some of the actors were very much out of place (Christina Ricci fucking got on my nerves every time she spoke. The real Trixi was never that annoying. Thank god they covered up her massive forehead.) But my biggest problem came from the casting of Jung Ji Hoon (Rain), Yu Nan and Hiroyuki Sanada in three of the bigger supporting actor roles. Incidentally, these are three big actors in South Korea, China and Japan, respectively. Sanada has done some good movies before (anyone see Sunshine? He was great in that - the movie was great too for the first hour or so, until it devolved into a standard horror flick), and it is based on a Japanese anime, after all. So people from Japan will at least theoretically be interested in seeing this movie. But this was Rain's and Yu Nan's US movie debut. The Wachowskis specifically grabbed people in order to make this movie a bigger hit outside the US. After all, Japan and Korea and the 2nd and 3rd largest movie markets outside the US. .

Normally, I don't have a problem with that. If the actor is a good actor, and the movie is good, then so be it. (However, when the movie is bad, like Memories of a Geisha, there is going to be a backlash when the vast majority of the actors in the movie aren't Japanese.) But when a movie has this whole anti-corporate greed message, then does something underhanded like pandering to foreign audiences in order to gain more views than they would have before. For example, check out this picture of Rain:

Found these courtesy of Japan Probe. Very funny stuff.


Go here to see the first 13 in the series subtitled.

In my last post, I mentioned the use of the Korean folk song Arirang. I thought I'd mention some of the importance of this song has in Korean society.

Here are the "basic" lyrics to the song. Know that there are many different versions of this song, but this is the one that is most commonly associated with the song in South Korea:

Hangul

아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요... 아리랑 고개로 넘어간다. 나를 버리고 가시는 님은 십리도 못가서 발병난다.

Romanization

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo... Arirang gogaero neomeoganda. Nareul beorigo gasineun nimeun Simnido motgaseo balbyeongnanda.

This is something that I've come across recently that I have found extremely interesting. It started when Esther, Suejin, Tom and I went to eat at Olive Farms, an all you can eat restaurant. After a big meal, we were walking out, and I noticed a sign for 유도 (pronounced Yudo, aka Judo.) The thing that struck me was that there was a giant Korean flag in the background of this poster. It seemed to me that whatever school was teaching in Judo wanted to reaffirm their Koreaness by inserting a large Tae guk gi to cover up the Japanese martial arts of judo. Interestingly enough, closer to my apartment, I saw an ad for another judo class, this one called Arirang Judo. Arirang is the title of a very traditional Korean folk song, which can be found everywhere. I even sang it at school in front of the student body. It is about as Korean as a person can get.

Just as I was pondering this desire to make something Japanese, like judo, and surround it with strongly Korean symbols, I came across this post at Frog in a Well. It talks about the colonial police in 1938 and the practitioners of Japanese martial arts. Surprising, despite the overwhelming numbers of Japanese people in the force, it was the Korean police officers that actually had more "black belts" than the Japanese.

The article also touches upon the colonial legacy and martial arts, which I've copied below:

"The relationship between Korean martial arts and Japanese martial arts is usually a touchy one. This is because, like the history of so many other things in modern Korea, it is susceptible to what I like to call the “Colonial Death Touch.”

The Colonial Death Touch works like this. Any practice which can be demonstrated to have its origins in the Japanese colonial period, was reborn during the colonial period partly out of inspiration or imitation of some Japanese practice, or was significantly influenced by similar Japanese practices is ruled to be inauthentic. Inauthentic things, of course, cannot be authentically Korean, and thus risk, at the very least, losing its place in the national cultural or historical repository. At most, it can destroy any popularity such practices might enjoy.

The Colonial Death Touch is sometimes delivered by, for example, Japanese nationalists who want to anger their Korean neighbors. However, it is also often used domestically. For example, practitioners of Korean martial art X might claim that they are superior to martial art Y because they are “pure” Korean while martial art Y is soiled by its evil Japanese roots. I’m sure many readers familiar with Korean martial arts can think of some examples of this.

These sorts of exchanges, whoever their participants might be, are silly childish games of nationalist mudslinging. They depend on a simplistic idea of authenticity, a laughable faith in cultural uniqueness, and a conception of the colonial period as cultural and economic black hole out of which only the bright shining light of Korean national resistance can possibly shine.

One martial art that became popular during the colonial period which remained popular in the postwar period is 검도(劍道, J: Kendō) or swordsmanship. In recent years, perhaps partly due to the ever present threat of the colonial death touch, the martial art has undergone some degree of “Koreanization” while other innovations in technique, uniforms, etc. probably are more simply attributable to the evolution of all such arts across time."

And like that, my answer regarding the patriotic use of Korean symbols with Japanese martial arts has been found. But this did get me wondering about Taekwondo, that most Korean of martial arts. While looking for the date of Taekwondo's inclusion as an olympic sport (using the 100% reliable wikipedia), I noticed something about the history of Taekwondo, which I will copy from the article here (and if you want to see some of the controversy that occurs when trying to say anything from modern Korea comes directly from Japan, take a look at the talk page here.)

"During the Japanese occupation (1910-1945), the practice of tae-kyon was banned.^[4] Although the art essentially vanished^[5], some aspects of taekkyeon may have survived through underground teaching and folk custom. As the Japanese colonization established a firm foothold in Korea, the few Koreans who were able to attend Japanese universities were exposed to Okinawan and Japanese martial arts, and some received black belts in these arts. Koreans in China were also exposed to Chinese martial arts.

After World War II and the liberation of Korea, several Kwans (schools) arose. They included: Chung Do Kwan, Moo Duk Kwan, Jidokwan (or Yun Moo Kwan), Chang Moo Kwan, Han Moo Kwan, Oh Do Kwan, Jung Do Kwan, Kang Duk Won, Kyun Hyung do Kwon and Song Moo Kwan. All taught Japanese-influenced systems.^[6] Most were based on Japanese Karate, most notably Shotokan Karate. As these arts began to be taught openly by Koreans who had learned it in Japan, they were taught under such names as kongsudo and tangsudo. According to Steven D. Capener^[7]:

'This process of development can be broadly outlined as follows: Japanese karate called kongsudo or tangsudo was introduced to Korea just after liberation from Japan by Koreans who had learned karate in Japan. Upon returning, these Koreans opened karate gymnasiums promoting what they were teaching as karate, much like the process followed by the early Judo instructors. Well after these schools became established, the need to "Koreanize" was felt. The process of Koreanization consisted of three main aspects. The first was the selection of a new, non-Japanese name. The second was the creation of a system of techniques and training which was distinctly different from that of karate, and the third was the attempt to establish t'aegwondo's existence and development within the historical flow of Korean civilization.'

In 1952, at the height of the Korean War, South Korea held a massive show of patriotism, including a martial arts display where all the Kwans of Korea displayed their skills. Major Nam Tae Hi stole the show when he smashed 13 roof tiles with a forefist punch. Following the demonstration, President Syngman Rhee instructed General Choi Hong Hi to introduce the martial arts to the Korean army.^[11]

By the end of the Korean War, nine schools of martial arts had emerged, and South Korean President Syngman Rhee ordered that the various schools unify under a single system. A governmental body selected a naming committee's submission of "tae-kwon-do". Following the submission of the name "taekwondo" on April 11, 1955 by General Choi Hong Hi, the name was unanimously accepted.^[12]"

If you read the entire entry, it does seem that Korean martial arts have a long history, and that their modern forms are very distinct from modern Japanese forms. However, current Taekwondo may have originally been based on Karate. Despite this, modern taekwondo is vastly different to karate. Taekwondo is as Korean as apple pie is American (or something.) But even mentioning any Japanese influence can lead to arguments with strong supporters of Korean nationalism and of Taekwondo. I personally just find it funny that some places in the States call Taekwondo "Karate" because they believe that it will attract more students.

 

I haven't been writing much. I've been tired and stressed, worried about both the now and the future. There's been some topics I've wanted to write about, but I just had an incident that I think was really... I don't know what.

Myself and two Irish friends (Ciara and Niall) are heading off to Japan on Saturday for a quick weekend stomp around the country. Due to a series of unfortunate events (not the books nor movies), we lost our hotel. Luckily, due to some quick thinking by Niall, we were able to find a capsule hotel in Osaka for about $25 a night. I made the reservation, using my credit card, and everything seemed great.

But then, my bank never processed the payment. It was under pending authorization in my account, then suddenly nothing. I was worried. I quickly checked online, and there were no other available hotels for the weekend. I called my bank, and they hadn't seen any record of the transaction. I was told to call the hotel. This of course presents a difficulty. My Japanese is rusty to say the least. Granted, I'm using it far more here than I ever did in the States. This, combined with my irrational fear of speaking on the phone, has had me worried for practically the entire day. I couldn't sleep well last night I was so worried about making this call.

Not 15 minutes ago I finally bit the bullet and called. The call was so easy. There was a kind old lady with who I had no problem checking my reservation (still there - Thank God.) Compared to the difficulties I have with talking to Koreans everyday, this was a welcome relief.

I think that for some reason, I've become very comfortable with Japan, in a way that Korea will never be able to duplicate. There are certain features of the culture that I seem to connect with more than I do here. (Though, on a quick aside, almost every one of my Korean friends or co-teachers has exclaimed at one point or another how truly Korean I behave.) And it has to do with more than just the language gap. Politeness is something that I highly value, coming from a very polite family myself. In Korea, the standards of what is considered polite are different than back in the States. It is not uncommon to be walking in common places and have people bump into you and not even bother to acknowledge you. Not even a cursory "sorry" is offered. In fact, despite my being here two months, I don't know what the Korean equivalent to excuse me is. (Well, I do - Sillye jiman - But it's not used the same way as sumimasen.) People just tend to push their way past you. Other annoying manner issues - throwing trash on the ground (everyone does it), spitting (not nearly as bad as China, or so I've been told), people crossing streets in front of cars (simply dangerous, I saw a girl from my school get hit by a bus) and cars not obeying traffic signs (running red lights and swerving in and out of traffic like they were Jason Bourne being chashed by the Russian equivalent to 'The Jackal' .)

Will I miss Korea? You bet a will. I have orientation for Georgetown around August 20th, so I'll be out of here around August 15th. That means I have three months left in the country. I plan to enjoy myself and travel as much as possible. Maybe I'll even get to go to China, or Jeju. I'll definitely see all of my Korean friends at least one more time. But will I eventually have the same nostalgic feelings for Korea that I have for Japan? I don't really think so.

Then again, when I left Japan I was so ready to leave that country I swore I'd never go back. Go figure.

minahito no                            How good it would be
miru niibumi ni                      If in the newspapers that
yo no naka no                          Everybody reads
atonashigotowa                        They didn’t write such falsehoods
kakazu mo aranan                    About doings in this world

Update in the graduate school front. Rejected from Oxford (long shot so didn't expect much.) But was accepted into George Washington's Elliot School of International Affairs. And they want to give me a $12,000 stipend. Not a lot, but better than nothing.

More updates as soon as I hear more. One thing is certain - I'll be in Washington, DC in August.

Curious to see who recently updated their livejournals, I was completely sidetracked when I looked at the archives section of this blog. My first post was in November of 2003. After looking at some of my early posts, I realize I was so angry and frustrated then. It's amazing how much I've changed since then. I was very much trying to seek some fulfillment in my life. Overall, I'd say that my life is substantually more fulfilling in many different levels. I've changed dramatically since then. I am no longer adrift in a sea of uncertainty... or something. And I think that a significant factor in this transformation was the time I spent in Japan.

Living in Japan caused me for the first time to really question who I was. I thought my first year of University was tough, but it was nothing compared to the isolation I felt in Japan. But the trials I faced in that experience laid the foundation for the person I am today. That's why I've been able to adapt to South Korea, a country very different from the States (and Japan for that matter) with almost little to no problems.

I bring this up because I found a link to this blog (H/T to Japan Probe) that describes the Seven Stages of Gaijinhood. Since I have absolutely no readers other than the occasional viewing by Kyla and Liz, I'm not going to explain Gaijin, except mention that the equivalent in Korean is waygoogin (외국인.) The seven stages are basically a humorous approach to the four stages of culture shock, in the context of a person living in Japan. See below for the chart stolen from the page.



Anyone who has lived in Japan can at least partially relate to that chart. What's interesting to me is how well that chart transfers to Korea. As mentioned before, I think that this is because the author drew heavily from the basic four stages of culture shock. Rather than describe the stages, he simply pointed out some of the most common mannerisms that people tend to exhibit. If you notice in these next two passages, the author pretty accurately describes Stage One (Honeymoon) and Stage Two (Depression)

"The first dip in sanity occurs when people try just too hard to learn. Eager students may sacrifice critical judgment in the race to absorb their new cultural surroundings. They often stop you while you are eating and say: “You know, you’re not supposed to do that with your chopsticks, it means that the souls of the dead children won’t float to heaven properly.” To which the only polite response is “Christ, there are THIRTEEN of us at the table; we’re all DOOMED, I tell you, fucking DOOMED.” Most of these people actually went to university too, which makes it all the more heartbreaking really. However, to their credit, none of them have yet started to believe that they have ownership rights to Japan."

Today is the last day before the new semester begins on Monday, so we spent today cleaning out our desks and changing our seating arrangements. This means that I no longer have to manually change the date and time each time I turn on my computer (score!) But it does mean I need to reinstall all the updates that many Korean computers simply don't have. Who in their right mind by this point in time hasn't installed windows xp service pack two? Ridiculous. If someone was so inclined, they could easily cripple the entire computer network in school by exploiting a commonly known windows xp problem. And on that note, it's time to restart.

So the New Years Resolution to read more books has gone remarkably well. I have completed something like four books already, finishing up The Bourne Supremacy and all three books in the Golden Compass trilogy (The Subtle Knife and The Amber Spyglass being the other two.) I am currently reading Kissinger’s Diplomacy, which I must say is a fascinating read so far. I’m learning a lot about the early European political theater from the 1500s on, a subject I’ve never studied since I chose AP American History over AP European History (in hindsight, I should have taken both.) I’ve been trying to study some old Japanese kanji, but it’s amazing how much my hand hurt after I practiced writing kanji yesterday. I’ll either need to focus on Korean or Japanese when I enter grad school, and I do not look forward to my placement test in those upcoming subjects.

 

I was thinking of a nice article to put up to either be informative, or that would garner me more hits from the series of tubes, but unfortunately, I don’t have the desire to post a giant article discussing the history of the German and Japanese defeat at the end of WWII and how the threat of Communism allowed Japan to not properly acknowledge what they had done in Asia, and as a result has led to the continued tensions between Japan and the rest of Asia, but that is a little too academic for me at this moment. Then I thought that perhaps I could talk about EPIK, and give an analysis of my time in the program, but since I’m still working in the country, I don’t really want to add anything to the EPIK discussion at this time. I do have strong feelings on the program, as well as what the purpose of it should be, as I don’t think the program has a clearly defined purpose. Oh wait, according to the EPIK website, there is a purpose. Let’s look at that, shall we? 

EPIK Purpose ...

- Fostering primary and secondary students’ communication ability in the age of information and globalization

Ok, so we are supposed to be fostering communication ability for elementary and middle school kids. Notice here how they don't mention English. Granted, we live in the information age, and globalization is the buzzword for why kids should study English, but how I am supposed to improved their English when I see students once every two weeks, and half the time they could care less about what I'm saying? And why is English so important? I don't see people in Spain forcing their kids to go to cram schools in order to learn English, and they seem to be doing just fine. No one ever answers the question why English is important. This is an endemic problem found from elementary school to post-University.

- Providing English conversation training to English teachers

I agree that this should be a major part of the program. The problem is that some teachers don't have the English ability to engage in conversations with native speakers, and some teachers are too timid to practice their English. The teachers that I've met who have taken the risk to talk with me on a regular basis have seen their English improve. Forced conversation classes, however, are never a pleasant experience.

- Developing English textbooks and teaching materials

How am I, a person with very little teaching experience and no educational training, supposed to develop such book and materials? I don't have the training nor the experience to do such things.

- Improving and expanding English teaching methodologies

See above.

- Encouraging cultural awareness

This I can do. By simply being in the room and interacting with my students, I introduce them to my culture. USA! USA!

- Bettering Korea’s image

I'm not sure exposing expatriates to capital punishment in schools is the best way to go about doing this.

My own goals for the EPIK program will be shown at a later time, but for now, I'll stop here. This is a lot considering I hadn't planned on writing too much about it.

Busy time in my life. Just got back from a weekend in Seoul, still never talked about my trip to the Philippines (twas fun) and haven't even had my dinner tonight. A pity. But as I wait for my USA-Sweden friendly torrent to finish downloading, I wanted to let you know some future highlights of things I plan to be checking out in the coming weeks.

First, I think I want to post more on the relationship between US, Korea and Japan. To start, I would like to point readers to here, another excellent post over at The Grand Narrative. Notice how I've managed the rare feat to link to a post that links to me. Mr. Turnbull gives some other reasons for the popularity of Japanese culture over Korean culture. An interesting read.

Next, for a outline about early relations between Korean and foreign powers, see The Five Years' Crisis, 1866-1871 - Korea in the Maelstrom of Western Imperialism (Note - site is not Firefox friendly) and Korea and Japan - The Clash of Worldviews, 1868 - 1876, both by Yongkoo Kim. Both are very good reads that I plan to talk more about in another post, so expect that later this week.

Also, some places that I plan to check out include Seodaemun Prison, Independence Hall, Ganghwa Island, and the Busan Museum. All of these places of interest will hopefully be explained at some yet to be determined later date.

But until that time, I leave you with the fact that Sweeney Todd was interesting, bloody, but only so-so for me.

Okay, this is a little late. But, just some random observations:

1: Some shows in Korea I will never get used to being dubbed. Watching Japanese power rangers obviously being dubbed over in Korean is one. Watching Boss Ross (the white guy with the afro on the painting show on PBS) dubbed into Korean is just surreal.

2: I think I finished maybe one or two books last year, a new low [Korea and Japan: The Clash of Worldviews, 1868-1876 by Yongkoo Kim and I Am America (And So Can You!) by Stephen Colbert.] I think I was simply burnt out from my thesis (still.) So this year I have made a resolution to read books, something that </b></a>slyferret and </b></a>cigamerisedi tend to do. I will set my goal at a modest 20 books. In fact, I have four or five books that I started last year that I need to finish, followed by Henry Kissinger's Diplomacy. Sounds like a fun read, doesn't it?

Open question: Should I read The Golden Compass?

This was a mass e-mail, but I want to post it here, because I'm sure I missed people (like the people who sometimes read this blog.)

Dear Friend(s),

 

Like the Queen, it’s time to send that that annual Christmas message to all of my friends across the world. Technically, for many of you it is no longer Christmas, but I was busy yesterday and didn’t have time to send a proper Christmas greeting. Or I was lazy. You decide.

To my friends here in Korea, Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed your government mandated holiday. Though most of you are not Christian, it’s always nice to have a day off from work. We need to get together sometime soon, as my time in this country is quickly coming to an end. I expect to be leaving in the fall.

To my friends in Japan, Merry Kurisumasu! I hope to visit Japan before I leave Asia, but if not, then you should come to Korea! Just let me know, and I’ll be more than happy to meet you at the airport. Christmas is not a public holiday in Japan, but I hope you enjoyed some delicious Christmas cake.

To my friends in the rest of Asia, Merry Christmas! I don’t have anything witty to say, so I hope that this time of year finds you happy and healthy.

On to Europe. First to you mainlanders, Merry Christmas! I hope you enjoyed this oh-so-festive time of year. One of my goals is to spend Christmas in a European country, so that I may see those old-world traditions first hand, you lucky bastards.

Now, those of you in the British Islands, Happy Christmas! (See how I changed it up there?) Apparently, when Koreans learn about England, they are told that it is always very foggy. I mean, extremely foggy, and that no other type of weather exists. I’m sad to say, but most of the Korean students I teach don’t know too much about Scotland (sorry Mark.) But I wish you all the best, despite your foggy weather and non-existence in the minds of Korean 12 year olds (respectively.)

Lastly, to my friends in the States and Canada, Merry Christmas! Technically, it’s still Christmas there. So I’m not late. Score one for me. Anyway, I hope that your consumerist lifestyle allowed for you to gather all the must-have items of the year, lest you be considered a social outcast for not keeping up with the latest trends. But if you didn’t get that present you wanted, don’t worry! There is always the day after Christmas sales! (Which the British and their Commonwealth cousins call Boxing Day. Any idea why?)

So, in summation, Merry Christmas, and a Happy New Year, and a Happy Chinese New Year (Feb. 7^th.) Hopefully, this new year will see me gain successful entrance into a grad school. I applied to Georgetown, George Washington, Johns Hopkins, American and the University of Oxford (in no particular order.) So wherever I end up, I hope to see you all again soon. Take care, and Happy Holidays!

 

Kevin

You have to check out this article. Now. I'll wait.

First, the utter ridiculousness of the title. "Picture of Nicholas Cage's New Son Warms Hearts Worldwide." It's about the same as saying "Baby Kittens Make 15 Year Old Teenager Say 'Awww'." I'd expect this article to be in The Onion, not on a professional newspaper in Korea. Also, top marks go to the Digital Chosun Ilbo from claiming the photo came from a site that hasn't been updated in over a year. Way to check your sources there.

Second, Nicolas Cage named his son Kal-el? No. Fucking. Way. I thought he'd be pissed that he didn't get the superman role, not name his kid after the character. Kal-el? Why not go for Jor-el, and make the reference that much more difficult to ascertain.

So it's Christmas Eve here in Korealand, and I simply just don't have the holiday spirit. Maybe it's because I know I'm not getting any presents from my parents this year (no money due to siblings' weddings.) Maybe it's the fact that the people who I generally hang out with are off in various countries that are not named Korea. Or maybe it's because I'm working on Christmas Eve, and I have to go to work the day after Christmas. Who knows.

But anyway, my next post in a series of posts designed to make this blog more "important" is the perception of Korea vs. Japan in the West. By the West, I mean North America.

Please Note: This is my first attempt on a post like this. Perhaps it will eventually lead to a wider base of people actually visiting this site. I doubt that. But if someone other than my friends decides to read this and then bash me for not proving enough support/examples, please realize that I am writing this to basically sum up my thoughts, and to maybe provide some linkage to some awesome sites. If I really wanted to do hard-core academic writing, I'll do it in grad school (hopefully next fall.) So enjoy, and comment if you want to add some constructive.

 

New layout as of today. Granted, if you are viewing this through your friends page, then you won't notice the changes. But if you come and look around, I think you'll like the new look. I think its sexy. Definitely sexes up the place. Well, as sexy as a default skin can be.

I've been wondering what the new visa laws for teachers in Korea will be. The Metropolitician just made a post giving his verdict about the new laws - which basically boils down to stay out of Korea. But for you, the uninformed, here's a nice article taken from The Korean Herald that outlines all the various changes (This article will become members only in a few days, so until then, feel free to click on this link. The article in its entirety, and my comments, after the jump.)

So does this herald a change of direction about what I'll talk about in my blog? Quite possibly.

 

A predicament that has been bothering me for a bit has me turning to my friends on livejournal for advice.  The reason here being that my confidant in Korea is still recovering from being hit by a truck, and her mom is in town visiting, so I don't want to disturb her at this time. 



Sorry, this is something that I needed to get off of my chest and put into words.  I'm not sure that I'm really looking for advice, I'm just looking for a place to bitch.  I've been really worried about finished my grad school application (2 down, 4 to go) and the stress is really getting to me. Therefore, I think I'm blowing this situation out of proportion, creating even more stress for things that I should not be stressed about.

But the movie I want to see is I am Legend.  It came out in Korea yesterday.  I hope it will be good.

By the way, in case you were wondering...

- Sister's wedding = Good.  Nice ceremony and reception, good to meet the other family members.
- PS3 = Bad.  Didn't come in till after I came back from Korea. Too expensive to ship (it's heavy), so I bought one here as well.  Now I have two. And my Korean one is white. Not that there is anything wrong with the black one (my ipod is black.) My brother will hang on to it for me until I get back from Korea.
- Seeing Kyla, Liz and Mike = Very Good.  I just wish I could have had more beer. Being the designated driver sucks.
- Hitman = OK. Not terrible, but not necessarily good.
- Grad School Applications = Very Bad. Georgetown and George Washington submitted.  Johns Hopkins should be done today. Then only Oxford, American and Texas A&M to finish.
- Turducken = Amazing. It was nice to not have only turkey during Thanksgiving.
- Black Friday = Bad. Drove my mom around all day so she wouldn't bother my sister before the wedding.  Ended up bothering me instead.

Knowing me, I won't post again before Christmas, so... Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!  Happy Hanukkah!

As the title suggests, I have purchased a ps3.  No, I didn't go and purchase one of the new 40GB models, I went and bought a 20GB model on ebay.  Now, this model has a smaller hard drive and no built-in wireless, but the hard drive is easily upgraded, and it packs tons more features than the 40GB, including full backwards compatibility with the ps1 and ps2.  Boo-yah grandma.

I've been on the fence about buying one from a while, but when I realized that the 20GB was the way to go, I knew I had to get one.  I wanted an American model simply because I may eventually watch a blue-ray movie (though not anytime soon) and if I purchased a Korean or Japanese model, it would be set for the wrong region.  Plus, there are some really good games out, and a new Winning Eleven is being released, so I felt that it was time to take the plunge.

This has been the best part of my recent week.  So far, everyone and everyone has decided to pile on a ton of work right before I go.  I have two lesson plans I need to write, a high school textbook I need to correct, a list of surveys that I need compile and analyze, I have to pack (leaving on Sunday!) and apparently there are two parties this weekend.  One is for a bar owner's birthday, the other is a goodbye party for Big Gay Jeff (Honestly, that's his nickname).  I'll be spending time with my ladyfriend as well, which will be nice, since I've seen her all of once in the past two weeks (she's busy, I'm busy, conflicting schedules, etc.)  But we did have a nice dinner last night with a bunch of her friends/co-workers, then talked a her place for a couple of hours.  Good times.

I'm taking a 5:30 am bus on Sunday to get to Incheon airport in time for my 11:20 flight.  This is a direct bus, meaning I'm going to get there with 4 hours to spare.  But I am paranoid about getting to my flight on time, so this is what I'm going to do.  I could take the 6:00am bus as well, as I'd get there by 9 and have two hours to spare.  The shopping at Incheon is crap (unlike Osaka, where the had a Uniqlo in the terminal.  That ruled.)  I guess I'm just really happy to get out of Korea for a while, even if it is a pain in the ass.  I should really bring so soju back for the family, so that they may enjoy the traditional Korean spirits.

Kyla, I think I have your phone number (maybe).  Liz, I don't think I have yours.  I know I don't have Dan's.  I'm going to call my family and check what the deal is with my trip to Austin.  Then I'll call and/or write you and well make a plan.  Cheers all.

Today has been one of those days that really tries my patience.  This week I’ve been teaching Third Graders, which means on a whole they are some of the most unmotivated students around.  They generally don’t want to learn, even when I cater a topic directly to them.  I’m using a lesson that I’ve used successfully in the past, my fun and funny lesson.  Basically, I explain the differences between fun and funny using comical pictures, add some knock knock jokes and riddles, and call it a day.  If the students are even a little motivated, the class can be very fun.  The students have a fun time laughing at pictures, telling stupid jokes and solving semi-difficult riddles.  This lesson has been used to great effect in some second and third grade classrooms.  As for this week, however, of the six third grade classes I tried it on, only one class approach the class with the spirit that was required.  And that class rocked!  But the other five, they sucked hardcore.  And with my voice getting hoarser and hoarser by the minute, it has not been a good week.

 

On the plus side, I’m going back to the US in a week and a half, and taking a much-needed break from teaching.  My new schedule is killing me.  Slowly but surely.  I can’t wait go enter the sweet bliss of… graduate school?  God my life is disappointing at the moment.

 

Kyla, Liz, I need to coordinate with you and Dan about when and where we meet up.  I think I’ll have more time in the beginning of the week (19^th or so), so let me know what your plans are.  I’m uber-excited about seeing y’all.