Was out for Phil and Alex's birthday last night. I wish I had a photo but we had some lovely meat called Moonngtigi.
It tasted like a good pork chop and was excellent. Plenty of beer and 2 new drinking games. The first one is called 'the chopstick game', where, after 3 seconds, you shout a number and point to someone you continue the line around the chopsticks for that number and the last person has to drink. Quick and exploitable.
The other one is called reputations where you make a questions like. 'who has snogged the most rotters?' and point at someone after 3 seconds. Whoever has the most votes has to drinks.
Randomly I won the 'most posh' but failed to win 'nicest eyes' so I am extremely sceptical of its validity.
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Korea. Show all posts
Thursday, 25 June 2009
Tuesday, 23 June 2009
The Back End of Racism
The Korean Beat is a blog which translates Korean news articles into English. Although one or two major English newspapers have an English edition, they are often not exactly the same as the original. Most newspapers in Korea, understandably, can be separated into tabloid and broadsheet journalism.
I have experienced very little racism in Korea but I have seen its existence and heard from reputable sources about unseemly events. Some is not undeserved however. Many new teachers are fresh out of uni and try to continue the lifestyle of late night drinking, mid week parties, and a relaxed attitude to social proprieties. They fail to see that not only are they in a more reputable position in society but also this society is a lot more conservative than the one they previously dragged in to degeneration.
I will state that a vast majority of the teachers I know like their job (maybe not the hours), care about their kids, and want to see them improve. They may enjoy the occasional Wednesday night out but so do most Korean men. This article, in my opinion, co relates to all The Sun and Daily Express publishings that seek to sell more stories by picking an easy, less protected target, and degrade them all with one bush on baseless or singular examples. While at the same time ignoring all the positive things they bring to society and in this case the duty of the employers to higher and treat staff responsibly. I know most Korean people, like the Brits, enjoy the benefits of multi culturalism, but there's nothing like a xenophobic article to make you feel like your on the back end of racism.
Please read the article here.
NB. When I say conservative I don't mean you can't drink a lot and party. Korea has plenty of opportunities and ample enough young population to do that. They just see jumping around the street at 4am, shouting profanities at passers by, showing of your chest hair and being sick on the street as thoroughly off putting and undesirable.
I have experienced very little racism in Korea but I have seen its existence and heard from reputable sources about unseemly events. Some is not undeserved however. Many new teachers are fresh out of uni and try to continue the lifestyle of late night drinking, mid week parties, and a relaxed attitude to social proprieties. They fail to see that not only are they in a more reputable position in society but also this society is a lot more conservative than the one they previously dragged in to degeneration.
I will state that a vast majority of the teachers I know like their job (maybe not the hours), care about their kids, and want to see them improve. They may enjoy the occasional Wednesday night out but so do most Korean men. This article, in my opinion, co relates to all The Sun and Daily Express publishings that seek to sell more stories by picking an easy, less protected target, and degrade them all with one bush on baseless or singular examples. While at the same time ignoring all the positive things they bring to society and in this case the duty of the employers to higher and treat staff responsibly. I know most Korean people, like the Brits, enjoy the benefits of multi culturalism, but there's nothing like a xenophobic article to make you feel like your on the back end of racism.
Please read the article here.
NB. When I say conservative I don't mean you can't drink a lot and party. Korea has plenty of opportunities and ample enough young population to do that. They just see jumping around the street at 4am, shouting profanities at passers by, showing of your chest hair and being sick on the street as thoroughly off putting and undesirable.
My Late Monday Class
I really feel sorry for Korean kids. They are pushed much harder than any kids back home. Granted there is nothing wrong with ambition and making your child study hard. However my last class on Monday between 9.00pm and 10.30pm is with a 11 year old kid.
Her English is really good and I actually think she is a really nice, bright girl, but her and many other Korean kids spend all their childhood studying. These kids go to school at the regular time of 9am until 3pm; but after they head home for dinner they are usually back out in private academies until 10 or 11 at night. In addition they have to fit in their homework somewhere and they will usually be at school and academies on Saturday too. It's a tough life and It is meant to be (from our point of view) the least stressful days of your life.
I understand for most Koreans employment relies on a degree, much more heavily than in the UK, and that is a major reason for the pressure on kids. I have been thinking a lot about the Korean system and how different it is from the UK. I think I will write about it in a separate article later.
Her English is really good and I actually think she is a really nice, bright girl, but her and many other Korean kids spend all their childhood studying. These kids go to school at the regular time of 9am until 3pm; but after they head home for dinner they are usually back out in private academies until 10 or 11 at night. In addition they have to fit in their homework somewhere and they will usually be at school and academies on Saturday too. It's a tough life and It is meant to be (from our point of view) the least stressful days of your life.
I understand for most Koreans employment relies on a degree, much more heavily than in the UK, and that is a major reason for the pressure on kids. I have been thinking a lot about the Korean system and how different it is from the UK. I think I will write about it in a separate article later.
Korean food! #2 Sam-gu tang
I first had sam -gu tang a few months ago with Mimi. It is like a fresh chicken broth with onions, ginseng and garlic. It usually comes with a small chicken stuffed with rice a gin seng and chestnuts in a bowl of hot broth in which it has been cooked in for a few hours. It usually comes with a small side plate of salt and spice in which you can dip your chicken in or add to the broth. I really enjoyed it the first time as pictured above.
However sometimes it's great to be a teacher. My two conversation students invited me round to one of their houses to cook me lunch instead of having a class. Sometimes when I see the high rise apartments stacked around me I get a feeling of despair. Hundred of thousands of people packed into identical blocks.
How wrong was I. As I reached the 11th floor I buzzed the tiny metal door only to enter one of the nicest apartments I have ever seen. Granted my student is a University lecturer in art I didn't expect the sheer size never mind the interior design. It was decorate with tasteful art and an original Andy Warhol print. It had 2 bathrooms, 3 bedrooms, a study, extremely large living room-kitchen and and 2 balconies.
I was served a five course meal from prawn salad, homemade sam-gu tang, fruit, ice cream, coffee and tonic. Everything was either handmade in a traditional Korean style or designed by my student herself. Was excellent!
In addition to the food it was also nice to be accepted into a Korean's home and I enjoyed interesting cross cultural discussion with 2 older Korean woman. Was really interesting and insightful. Going back to work after a few glasses of red and a full stomach is not advisable.Tuesday, 16 June 2009
English Camp
As I mentioned before I was working an English camp this month. The camps vary from forest retreats to an extra Saturday studying. This one was at a countryside school but it was kitted out well with 2 large LCD HD TVs directly connected to a PC hub and internet. I decided to incorporate this into my lessons and add some fun to the day. I had to start early at 9am, leaving at 7.30am, and work till almost 4pm. In reality though I only taught four 40min classes and they were just a lot of fun.
As you can see I taught the the intricacies of the Act of Union and then gave them a project to do.
My teaching assistant Mr. Bean!
After teaching present continuous, I am Verb+ing, I used the videos and asked the students 'What is he doing?'
Musical chairs
After this we played musical chairs having to perform the verbs they learned. Running, hopping, dancing and eventually the Moon-walk ;)
(to the tune of 'There's a Moose Loose Aboot this Hoose'
Add a tweed jacket, a pot-belly and less hair and that could be me lecturing on Marxism in 10 years time!
My weapon of choice for unruly students!
As you can see I taught the the intricacies of the Act of Union and then gave them a project to do.
My teaching assistant Mr. Bean!
After teaching present continuous, I am Verb+ing, I used the videos and asked the students 'What is he doing?'
Musical chairs
After this we played musical chairs having to perform the verbs they learned. Running, hopping, dancing and eventually the Moon-walk ;)
(to the tune of 'There's a Moose Loose Aboot this Hoose'
Add a tweed jacket, a pot-belly and less hair and that could be me lecturing on Marxism in 10 years time!
My weapon of choice for unruly students!
Ceilidh Dancing
I only really know the Gay Gordans so I decided to give it a bash as the finale, and they seemed to like it. Prizes if you can guess what song it is, the clue is in the picture!!
I only really know the Gay Gordans so I decided to give it a bash as the finale, and they seemed to like it. Prizes if you can guess what song it is, the clue is in the picture!!
Monday, 25 May 2009
Tuesday, 19 May 2009
Teachers' Day
Friday the 15th is Teachers' Day in Korea.
Parents and kids are meant to thank their teachers for hard work and dedication to them.
This was often done by giving them gifts and money. However the tradition got so out of hand because of bribery attempts by mothers that the government actual made a law making it illegal to give gifts to parents or it would be treated as an offence.
Luckily for me many of my students are adults and don't really think the law applies to them. Bring on the pressies. I managed to get a box a delicious home made brownies and 2 silk handkerchiefs. Not bad I say. I also got another strange girt which I still haven't figured out what it's for or why I would need it.
Mmmmm a delicious box of 20 homemade brownies.
?
I'm sure it will come in handy one day and was great to receive a gift regardless.
Saturday, 16 May 2009
A British activist for Korean Independence.
An interesting story about the 100th anniversary if Ernest Bethall, a British journalist who started Korea's first free press and was involved in the anti-colonialism movement.
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BloggerMartinUden/~3/8B6O19Ai5Ts/a_british_activist_for_korean
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/BloggerMartinUden/~3/8B6O19Ai5Ts/a_british_activist_for_korean
Monday, 11 May 2009
One Criticism
Maybe it's just my fear o conglomerates or my left wing history but it seems sport in Korea is dominated by big business and sponsorship.
What's great is that Korean's love their sport, maybe to watch more then play, but their is no doubt the variety and interest in sports and activities in Korea makes the UK seem like a bunch of couch potatoes who only eat one flavour of crisps. Turn on the TV an not only will you catch the latest Korean soccer league games but also the English and Spanish headlining matches. Turn over a few channels and you'll find every sport from hand ball, to ice skating , coupled with UFC and Tae kwon do matches. Even females get a look in with sports from bowling to golf. It really is surprising the variety and the multiplicity of Korean sports channels.
I only have one criticism. When ever you mention a team in the UK it is usually by its place name. Such as "Man City' 'Newcastle' or with the team name like 'Celtic', 'Villa', 'Spurs'. These names, seem to me a least, to echo a connection with the area and a history of dedication to the sport coupled with historical roots. However every team in Korea goes by a company name rather than a place or title. As I mentioned earlier 'Samsung Lions' are Daegu's team. However this is mostly boiled down to just Samsung and for every other town and city they are known by their sponsor whether it be 'Hyundae' 'Ooori' or 'LG'. It's not just baseball it's every other sport too and it's always the same companies. So in the volleyball league there is a Samsung team but this time they represent Seoul and in Basketball they will be the main title for another sports club. It's all very confusing and I wonder how much these companies get out of it. It's so ingrained, it seems to me, that Daegu would rather drop the Lion before Samsung.
Maybe it's all just a financial aid to the teams and I'm just a grumpy old lefty but it just seems unfamiliar having a powerful symbol of one's allegiance reduced to a generic brand name which is chosen through purchasing power.
What's great is that Korean's love their sport, maybe to watch more then play, but their is no doubt the variety and interest in sports and activities in Korea makes the UK seem like a bunch of couch potatoes who only eat one flavour of crisps. Turn on the TV an not only will you catch the latest Korean soccer league games but also the English and Spanish headlining matches. Turn over a few channels and you'll find every sport from hand ball, to ice skating , coupled with UFC and Tae kwon do matches. Even females get a look in with sports from bowling to golf. It really is surprising the variety and the multiplicity of Korean sports channels.
I only have one criticism. When ever you mention a team in the UK it is usually by its place name. Such as "Man City' 'Newcastle' or with the team name like 'Celtic', 'Villa', 'Spurs'. These names, seem to me a least, to echo a connection with the area and a history of dedication to the sport coupled with historical roots. However every team in Korea goes by a company name rather than a place or title. As I mentioned earlier 'Samsung Lions' are Daegu's team. However this is mostly boiled down to just Samsung and for every other town and city they are known by their sponsor whether it be 'Hyundae' 'Ooori' or 'LG'. It's not just baseball it's every other sport too and it's always the same companies. So in the volleyball league there is a Samsung team but this time they represent Seoul and in Basketball they will be the main title for another sports club. It's all very confusing and I wonder how much these companies get out of it. It's so ingrained, it seems to me, that Daegu would rather drop the Lion before Samsung.
Maybe it's all just a financial aid to the teams and I'm just a grumpy old lefty but it just seems unfamiliar having a powerful symbol of one's allegiance reduced to a generic brand name which is chosen through purchasing power.
Thursday, 7 May 2009
Children's Day
Tuesday the 5th in Korea is 'Children's Day'.
It is like a mix between a bank holiday and Christmas. No tinsel or puddings, but a day off for all the kids and guess what! me too.
Take this opportunity to add an extra night out to the week.
Next week, on the 15th, is 'Teacher's day'. Where traditional kids would give presents to their teachers to say thanks. Unfortunately the whole thing got so out of hand a few years ago with parents using teachers day as a chance to bribe teachers tat the government actually made it illegal to give gifts to them. :(
Maybe something will pop up unexpectedly.
It is like a mix between a bank holiday and Christmas. No tinsel or puddings, but a day off for all the kids and guess what! me too.
Take this opportunity to add an extra night out to the week.
Next week, on the 15th, is 'Teacher's day'. Where traditional kids would give presents to their teachers to say thanks. Unfortunately the whole thing got so out of hand a few years ago with parents using teachers day as a chance to bribe teachers tat the government actually made it illegal to give gifts to them. :(
Maybe something will pop up unexpectedly.
Tuesday, 7 April 2009
Crazy Korean
A 1980s hand book on how to live life from Korea. I came acroos it on Korea beat and found even more here.
Monday, 30 March 2009
I got Seoul
What can you do in the world's fifth largest city in 24 hours?
Well, quite a lot actually.
Even with a reasonable departure time of 11 am we stuffed one day and night with a bunch of fun activities. Four of us manged to get a return group ticket for the bullet train which meant a journey the distance of London to Glasgow in 1 hour 50 minutes for only 50,000 won, that's 25 quid!!! Fantastic value and service. The train journey is always fun with plenty of banter and maybe a game of cards or two. As soon as you arrive in Seoul you can feel the buzz of activity, maybe it's just the group mentality of gearing up for a fun day or it could be the 30 story buildings which loom over the train station, the mega plasma TVs on the side of many buildings, the choca traffic which snakes away trough the myriad of twist and turns, or just the bustle and noise of one of the most densely packed cities in the world. Either ways we were ready to rock the capital.
First off was accommodation, which we hadn't booked. After a brief detour on the subway we arrived in the Sinchon area and decide to give our Korean a try and barter for a price. We manged to get a 3 bedroom deal in a pretty nice but standard motel. Yes 3 beds. One person would be on the floor and two would be in the double bed. Well that's all we need. And how much? well 25,000 each, 12 pound. So far so good.
No time for a lunch we grab a Burger King and jumped in a taxi for a 30 min drive to the race course. Built for the Olympics it is a huge racecourse divided into a family stand, a men's stand and a small but well kitted out foreigner lounge. We arrived in time for the last 3 races, however t was just enough to get s few bets on and end wanting more. we watched the first race from the comfort of the foreigner lounge and then watched the next two track side , right at the finishing line. In my opinion it adds so much more tot he excitement. I won only 54,000 but hey that is more than the train tickets so I was pretty happy with that. Unfortunately no alcohol is allowed and we made no attempt to hide our Familymart plastic bag full of cans. I think we could easily bring it in in a back pack or even just some soju mixed with coke, but we had to leave the beer at the locker and drink it after the races. We all left the races up or even which was much better than last time. Another taxi ride back to Sinchon and time for dinner.
Mexican food is something I have become a big fan of and strangely this happened in Korea. We went to an American franchise 'On the Border' which was mobbed. I have never seen so many way gooks in one place. We were told it was a 40 minute wait. Instead of sitting in the queue we thought it was time for a beer and decided to sit at the bar. Well way hey, for some reason menus were brought to us and we ordered within 10 minutes. Our luck was running good. I ate some awesome enchiladas, a few beers and polished it off with a Margarita.
We hit a bar in Hong-dae which had a huge collection of vinyls, Cds and music DVDs. We were asked to request a few songs I wrote down a list of my favourite guitar hero tracks which I had been busting a move to this week. They had all our choices an played them happily. After debating about what to do next we bought some beer from a shop. Yes, no cut off time in Korea, and jumped in a taxi to the plush Walkerhill casino. We polished off the cans over the 20 minute drive, the taxi driver didn't mind at all, and arrived pleasantly drunken. After blowing my first 100,000 at roulette I whipped out my last 100,000 and Phil decided to bet on the answers to specific questions. When is your mother's birthday? How old is your sister? When did you break your virginity? Sadly this didn't seem to work either until I asked him at what age he had his first w***. '11' he said (a bit young eh?). Bang it hits and I am 300,000 richer. I hit the number, the quad bet, and the odd. Phil shook my hand in congratulations and reminded me that it was that very hand that did that lucky deed 14 years ago. As with all good gamblers you should know when to stop. Sadly I am not one of them. I stocked up on all the free booze and left the casino an hour later exactly even. However it was excellent fun and it was all free.
Now this is where it gets interesting. We got yet another taxi back to the uni district and what do I hear from up above me. It isn't Bloc Party is it? It is. I run up the stairs to this bar which is packed with foreigners . In my excitement i somehow get served first at the bar and head to the dance floor. After bloc party was finished we did decide it was too busy so we left and headed to the shisha bar next door. Phil who has been talking about a whiskey set all day spots a bottle of Jim Bean for $50 and orders it before Harry and Alex can join us at the table. Well we are off on the hard stuff and order a shisha pipe to accompany the inebriation. About half way through however we realise it is getting late, around 3am and we should go to a club before it's dead. We fill the quarter remaining bottle of whiskey to the top with coke. Seal it up and simply carry it out of the shisha bar and into a near by club. (Witnessed in the following photos). We go to this club called FF show which has a great indie feel to it. The walls are postered with the Beatles, Franz Ferdinand, and Maximo Park. I couldn't feel more at home and the fact it was in the basement made it even better. I even met a Korean who had a Celtic tracky on. Wow! I went up to him and just started kissing the badge (yes I was that drunk) and it turned out he had been to Scotland and was a big Celtic fan. He bought me a drink and before I introduced hm to my mates.
Now this club is busy and has a good mix of Koreans and Foreigners but I don't think it was ready for what happened next. In the delirium of dancing to Maximo park Alex dragged me up on stage with his massive paws. Now he is a brilliant guy who I just got to know properly this weekend, I would say about 6 foot 6', long hair and plays the guitar amazingly. Like someone straight out of Guitar Hero. I am sure I fell backwards into the crowd at some point but we were basically going for broke. I was back up and dancing when I realised Alex's t-shirt had a gaping hole under the left arm. Instead of pointing it out however I just yanked it and in a Hulk Hogan style the whole rip went in a clean circle leaving him with a top part looking something like a boob tube. The crowd goes wild and in his testosterone fueled enthusiasm he jumps from the stage on to a speaker, lifts his hands up like a rock star and starts swinging from the ventilation shafts on the ceiling. If you ever wondered how a hairy ape, intoxicated with whiskey and let lose in a jungle gym with loud music would look like, then this was it. It wasn't until after the shafts started to give way did he return back to the speaker, at this point I was back on the dance floor, laughing like a hyena and turned around just in time for Alex to finish his performance with a stage dive on top of me and Phil. This in turn created a mosh pit which is when we decide to make and exit and head to a Norae bang.
I don't remember much of it apart from free ice cream which i just kept eating until the 10 litre tubs were completely finished. Trying to find my way back to our singing room I encounter Alex again who was also lost. We must have hit about 7 or 8 rooms continually walking in on couples singing or groups of business men. Bare in mind that Alex is wearing a denim jacket with a boob tube just covering his shoulders and nipples and my face is covered in sticky white ice cream. I wonder what they must have thought. A nice young man, taking out his girlfriend for the first time. Singing the Korean version of 'I Can Be Your Hero', setting the mood in the 'gilded candle' themed room and then we show up , mumble something about where are we and start waving.
This, in the end was too much for me and I promptly fell asleep in our rooms floor (heated, clean and cosy) before making my way home.
Well that's a lot for one trip. The next day we stumbled around the market area, seen a few interesting bonsai trees and fake football tops and headed home
Well, quite a lot actually.
Even with a reasonable departure time of 11 am we stuffed one day and night with a bunch of fun activities. Four of us manged to get a return group ticket for the bullet train which meant a journey the distance of London to Glasgow in 1 hour 50 minutes for only 50,000 won, that's 25 quid!!! Fantastic value and service. The train journey is always fun with plenty of banter and maybe a game of cards or two. As soon as you arrive in Seoul you can feel the buzz of activity, maybe it's just the group mentality of gearing up for a fun day or it could be the 30 story buildings which loom over the train station, the mega plasma TVs on the side of many buildings, the choca traffic which snakes away trough the myriad of twist and turns, or just the bustle and noise of one of the most densely packed cities in the world. Either ways we were ready to rock the capital.
First off was accommodation, which we hadn't booked. After a brief detour on the subway we arrived in the Sinchon area and decide to give our Korean a try and barter for a price. We manged to get a 3 bedroom deal in a pretty nice but standard motel. Yes 3 beds. One person would be on the floor and two would be in the double bed. Well that's all we need. And how much? well 25,000 each, 12 pound. So far so good.
No time for a lunch we grab a Burger King and jumped in a taxi for a 30 min drive to the race course. Built for the Olympics it is a huge racecourse divided into a family stand, a men's stand and a small but well kitted out foreigner lounge. We arrived in time for the last 3 races, however t was just enough to get s few bets on and end wanting more. we watched the first race from the comfort of the foreigner lounge and then watched the next two track side , right at the finishing line. In my opinion it adds so much more tot he excitement. I won only 54,000 but hey that is more than the train tickets so I was pretty happy with that. Unfortunately no alcohol is allowed and we made no attempt to hide our Familymart plastic bag full of cans. I think we could easily bring it in in a back pack or even just some soju mixed with coke, but we had to leave the beer at the locker and drink it after the races. We all left the races up or even which was much better than last time. Another taxi ride back to Sinchon and time for dinner.
Mexican food is something I have become a big fan of and strangely this happened in Korea. We went to an American franchise 'On the Border' which was mobbed. I have never seen so many way gooks in one place. We were told it was a 40 minute wait. Instead of sitting in the queue we thought it was time for a beer and decided to sit at the bar. Well way hey, for some reason menus were brought to us and we ordered within 10 minutes. Our luck was running good. I ate some awesome enchiladas, a few beers and polished it off with a Margarita.
We hit a bar in Hong-dae which had a huge collection of vinyls, Cds and music DVDs. We were asked to request a few songs I wrote down a list of my favourite guitar hero tracks which I had been busting a move to this week. They had all our choices an played them happily. After debating about what to do next we bought some beer from a shop. Yes, no cut off time in Korea, and jumped in a taxi to the plush Walkerhill casino. We polished off the cans over the 20 minute drive, the taxi driver didn't mind at all, and arrived pleasantly drunken. After blowing my first 100,000 at roulette I whipped out my last 100,000 and Phil decided to bet on the answers to specific questions. When is your mother's birthday? How old is your sister? When did you break your virginity? Sadly this didn't seem to work either until I asked him at what age he had his first w***. '11' he said (a bit young eh?). Bang it hits and I am 300,000 richer. I hit the number, the quad bet, and the odd. Phil shook my hand in congratulations and reminded me that it was that very hand that did that lucky deed 14 years ago. As with all good gamblers you should know when to stop. Sadly I am not one of them. I stocked up on all the free booze and left the casino an hour later exactly even. However it was excellent fun and it was all free.
Now this is where it gets interesting. We got yet another taxi back to the uni district and what do I hear from up above me. It isn't Bloc Party is it? It is. I run up the stairs to this bar which is packed with foreigners . In my excitement i somehow get served first at the bar and head to the dance floor. After bloc party was finished we did decide it was too busy so we left and headed to the shisha bar next door. Phil who has been talking about a whiskey set all day spots a bottle of Jim Bean for $50 and orders it before Harry and Alex can join us at the table. Well we are off on the hard stuff and order a shisha pipe to accompany the inebriation. About half way through however we realise it is getting late, around 3am and we should go to a club before it's dead. We fill the quarter remaining bottle of whiskey to the top with coke. Seal it up and simply carry it out of the shisha bar and into a near by club. (Witnessed in the following photos). We go to this club called FF show which has a great indie feel to it. The walls are postered with the Beatles, Franz Ferdinand, and Maximo Park. I couldn't feel more at home and the fact it was in the basement made it even better. I even met a Korean who had a Celtic tracky on. Wow! I went up to him and just started kissing the badge (yes I was that drunk) and it turned out he had been to Scotland and was a big Celtic fan. He bought me a drink and before I introduced hm to my mates.
Now this club is busy and has a good mix of Koreans and Foreigners but I don't think it was ready for what happened next. In the delirium of dancing to Maximo park Alex dragged me up on stage with his massive paws. Now he is a brilliant guy who I just got to know properly this weekend, I would say about 6 foot 6', long hair and plays the guitar amazingly. Like someone straight out of Guitar Hero. I am sure I fell backwards into the crowd at some point but we were basically going for broke. I was back up and dancing when I realised Alex's t-shirt had a gaping hole under the left arm. Instead of pointing it out however I just yanked it and in a Hulk Hogan style the whole rip went in a clean circle leaving him with a top part looking something like a boob tube. The crowd goes wild and in his testosterone fueled enthusiasm he jumps from the stage on to a speaker, lifts his hands up like a rock star and starts swinging from the ventilation shafts on the ceiling. If you ever wondered how a hairy ape, intoxicated with whiskey and let lose in a jungle gym with loud music would look like, then this was it. It wasn't until after the shafts started to give way did he return back to the speaker, at this point I was back on the dance floor, laughing like a hyena and turned around just in time for Alex to finish his performance with a stage dive on top of me and Phil. This in turn created a mosh pit which is when we decide to make and exit and head to a Norae bang.
I don't remember much of it apart from free ice cream which i just kept eating until the 10 litre tubs were completely finished. Trying to find my way back to our singing room I encounter Alex again who was also lost. We must have hit about 7 or 8 rooms continually walking in on couples singing or groups of business men. Bare in mind that Alex is wearing a denim jacket with a boob tube just covering his shoulders and nipples and my face is covered in sticky white ice cream. I wonder what they must have thought. A nice young man, taking out his girlfriend for the first time. Singing the Korean version of 'I Can Be Your Hero', setting the mood in the 'gilded candle' themed room and then we show up , mumble something about where are we and start waving.
This, in the end was too much for me and I promptly fell asleep in our rooms floor (heated, clean and cosy) before making my way home.
Well that's a lot for one trip. The next day we stumbled around the market area, seen a few interesting bonsai trees and fake football tops and headed home
Tuesday, 24 March 2009
Haeinsa
Haeinsa is most noted as the home of the Tripitaka Koreana which became a UNESCO world heritage site in the 1990s. It consists of 80,000 wooden blocks engraved with ancient Chinese Buddhist scripture. It was completed in the mid 16th century and stored in a building specifically designed to avoid the rotting of wood. It was excellent to see and to catch up on a bit or Korean culture. However all of the blocks were locked in on shelves you could only glimpse through slated wooden walls. No photos are allowed either, so I've uploaded the diagram from outside the temple and a few sneaky photos I got in.
I find the walk round the temples always relaxing and interesting. They are usually built in the countryside overlooking Korea's mountainous but lush territory. This allows for fresh air, amazing scenery and an easy hike. The temples themselves allow for a little musing over religion, architecture and about the anecdotes painted on the outer and inner walls of the buildings
.
I get paid next week so time for something completely different. Seoul perhaps?
Monday, 16 March 2009
Weekends
I've had two quiet weekends which has been good for my health. I was on the verge of destroying my liver during the first few weeks. My wii has become the main attraction and every Friday a group of the lads come round for beer, take away food and all night Mario kart or guitar hero sessions. Great fun and cheap. Which mean I'm saving for uni. Now 2 weeks left in the month and it looks like i could save (pay off) 3/4 of my pay in one month, which I am happy about. Poker is going really well too, having won almost 1 million Korean won, about 500 pound in less than 2 weeks. Although u can never count on it as saved because u are still playing with it.
The rest of the weekend I use usually go out for a slap up meal and some drinks or else descend into the debauchery of Korea clubbing and Norae bangs. Trying to save that for only once a month now though. Planning a historical day trip next week to the Trippakata Koreana, an ancient temple with one of the first sayings of Buddha ever to e scribed: onto wooden blocks.
So see how that goes.
The rest of the weekend I use usually go out for a slap up meal and some drinks or else descend into the debauchery of Korea clubbing and Norae bangs. Trying to save that for only once a month now though. Planning a historical day trip next week to the Trippakata Koreana, an ancient temple with one of the first sayings of Buddha ever to e scribed: onto wooden blocks.
So see how that goes.
Thursday, 12 March 2009
Drinking in Korea
Ok, this is it, a definitive video of drinking in Korea, enjoy!
Three Sheets Drinking; South Korea
hehehe
Three Sheets Drinking; South Korea
hehehe
Wednesday, 11 March 2009
Response; My opinion, not expertise
In response to a friends comment left on my little piece about North Korea I would like to say one or two things.
He is completely right that N.K. is probably the most isolated part of the world with the possible exception of Burma. It is definitely the most oppressed but consequently the government has done such a good job it is relatively stable with less widespread violence than similar regimes.
'Is there such a thing as a single 'Korean' nation anymore?'.
I would say....yes. Korean 'people' if not nation most definitely. Korea has always been remote, which has allowed them almost 2000 years of unique history which, unlike Europe or American, was hardly infiltrated by outside powers until Japanese Imperialism. In the same way the Celts retained a language and culture unique to Brittany; Koreans have the same except much stronger, less diluted and only separated 80 years ago.
I guess a better comparison would be East and West Germany and all the same arguments divide Korean opinion. Is it economically viable, they have lived under a dictatorship and so on. Nostalgically I think all Koreans would go for unification but realistically a large minority would say it shouldn't be done. The possibility for democracy at root is alive in South Korea. I see women's institutes proudly taking on stuffy old politicians, young people protesting on the streets. I see nothing inherent in Korean culture which immediately stands in the way of democracy; such as monotheism, monarchy, or present conditions in the south.
Integration with the north would be difficult but surely possible. The sad fact is that the North Korean population are so oppressed that if you tell them to be democratic the will be.
Look out for 'The Crossing' on DVD. It won a few awards internationally. The fictional story of a father trying to escape the north.
He is completely right that N.K. is probably the most isolated part of the world with the possible exception of Burma. It is definitely the most oppressed but consequently the government has done such a good job it is relatively stable with less widespread violence than similar regimes.
'Is there such a thing as a single 'Korean' nation anymore?'.
I would say....yes. Korean 'people' if not nation most definitely. Korea has always been remote, which has allowed them almost 2000 years of unique history which, unlike Europe or American, was hardly infiltrated by outside powers until Japanese Imperialism. In the same way the Celts retained a language and culture unique to Brittany; Koreans have the same except much stronger, less diluted and only separated 80 years ago.
I guess a better comparison would be East and West Germany and all the same arguments divide Korean opinion. Is it economically viable, they have lived under a dictatorship and so on. Nostalgically I think all Koreans would go for unification but realistically a large minority would say it shouldn't be done. The possibility for democracy at root is alive in South Korea. I see women's institutes proudly taking on stuffy old politicians, young people protesting on the streets. I see nothing inherent in Korean culture which immediately stands in the way of democracy; such as monotheism, monarchy, or present conditions in the south.
Integration with the north would be difficult but surely possible. The sad fact is that the North Korean population are so oppressed that if you tell them to be democratic the will be.
Look out for 'The Crossing' on DVD. It won a few awards internationally. The fictional story of a father trying to escape the north.
Yesterday's post
I decided i was too harsh yesterday and I don't want to come off as selfish hermit. I love traveling and meeting new people. Some of the best and most original nights I have had grew from a chance meeting in a hostel or a group get together. Obviously when in a different country an active effort can be required to meet new people. So all I want to say is that I understand why foreigners huddle together when they first arrive.
Tuesday, 10 March 2009
Passing waygooks,
Foreigners in Korea are known as waygook in Korean. I see so much more white faces living in this area, Ji-san, compared to my first area Ansim. The weird thing is that when you see a foreigner in Korea who you don't know their is a whole expected ritual of introduction. I totally don't buy into it and I find the encounters erroneous and repetitive.
Let me give you the usual scenario. I am on my way to work and I stop at the traffic lights. To my right another foreigner looks at me and is quite obviously hoping i will say hi to them. I don't know them and probably would never converse with them if the crossing was in the UK, Australia or France. However out of mutual respect for professions and immigration I will dutifully nod my head, lift my eyebrows or say hi. What I wait for in return is either the reciprocal action or a barrage of question that I really don't want to get into. Usually it goes 'hi', and they jostle abut for a few minutes before asking 'Are you an English teacher?' , followed by 'Where you from?' When did you get here?''Where do you work?' 'Why Korea?'. Five minutes later hey seem to be running out of conversation and out of pity I'll throw in a few questions or opinions about Korea which usually go down well. Drawing close to my school I offer my good byes and try to scurry of before they ask for my phone number Which inevitably they always do. Lets meet again! Strangely the last question is often , as if forgotten, what's your name (again)? The whole process is so predictable it's frustrating.
Now don't get me wrong I completely understand the need for them. If I moved here to a school which had no other foreigners and I had no other waygook friends then I would pretty much latch on to the first friendly white face I seen. But that's what puts me off the whole thing. It's the whole latching onto someone for no other reason than you need them. I'm not embarrassed by the whole awkward introductions and familiar questions; actually I think I am quite good at it. It's just the whole 'let's be best friends' thing that makes me cringe.
For example, the mates I have now are a good mix f people I worked with, people who worked for the same company, guys I have met playing poker, and a few who I happened to meet in bars or friends of friends. Not one of the people I have met walking on the street have I encountered in a social setting and rarely have I met them again.
Maybe, I'm just in a cynical mood today- sorry.
Let me give you the usual scenario. I am on my way to work and I stop at the traffic lights. To my right another foreigner looks at me and is quite obviously hoping i will say hi to them. I don't know them and probably would never converse with them if the crossing was in the UK, Australia or France. However out of mutual respect for professions and immigration I will dutifully nod my head, lift my eyebrows or say hi. What I wait for in return is either the reciprocal action or a barrage of question that I really don't want to get into. Usually it goes 'hi', and they jostle abut for a few minutes before asking 'Are you an English teacher?' , followed by 'Where you from?' When did you get here?''Where do you work?' 'Why Korea?'. Five minutes later hey seem to be running out of conversation and out of pity I'll throw in a few questions or opinions about Korea which usually go down well. Drawing close to my school I offer my good byes and try to scurry of before they ask for my phone number Which inevitably they always do. Lets meet again! Strangely the last question is often , as if forgotten, what's your name (again)? The whole process is so predictable it's frustrating.
Now don't get me wrong I completely understand the need for them. If I moved here to a school which had no other foreigners and I had no other waygook friends then I would pretty much latch on to the first friendly white face I seen. But that's what puts me off the whole thing. It's the whole latching onto someone for no other reason than you need them. I'm not embarrassed by the whole awkward introductions and familiar questions; actually I think I am quite good at it. It's just the whole 'let's be best friends' thing that makes me cringe.
For example, the mates I have now are a good mix f people I worked with, people who worked for the same company, guys I have met playing poker, and a few who I happened to meet in bars or friends of friends. Not one of the people I have met walking on the street have I encountered in a social setting and rarely have I met them again.
Maybe, I'm just in a cynical mood today- sorry.
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