I got an e-mail from ATEK's President, Greg Dolezal. I'm a member of ATEK now, and am planning on becoming more involved. I'd rather not let that take over this blog entirely, but I would like to put some of my energy in that direction, and you'll hear about it here from time to time.
Meanwhile, there's an exciting program that I'd like to mention here: Kangnam Labor Law Firm, which has handled a large volume of labor cases by reference from ATEK, is testing a new program called "Legal Assurance" You can read about it, including the text of the ATEK member e-mail, at Chris in SK's blog, it's mentioned at Expacked, and explained further at Kangnam Labor Law Firm's own site. After reading up, here's the breakdown, as I understand it.
Basically, it works like health insurance: instead of paying tens of thousands for a surgery when you get sick, you pay a little each month, which adds to the pool of insurance payees, and when something big comes along, they draw from that pool to help you out with your surgery. In this case, 20 000 won a month pays into the monthly plan, which amounts to a retainer, and give you access to the law firm's services.
So why is this a good idea? Dollars and cents, readers.
See, the standard labor lawyer's retainer fee at Kangnam Labor Law Firm -- the fee you pay them before they start looking into your case -- is 600 000 won, to recruit their services. Then, if you win a settlement, the firm is also entitled to 30% of the entire settlement, on top of the retainer.
Doing the math on that, if your boss is trying to rip you off for 1 000 000 won, the retainer is 600 000, and then the firm gets 30% of the settlement on top of that. This means out of your million, 600 000 goes into the retainer, and another 300 000 goes to the firm as a percentage of your settlement, leaving you with 100 000 won - not even worth the effort. Basically, this means that for cases in which your boss is trying to stiff you for a smaller amount, it's just not worth going to a labor lawyer; your only choice is to cut your losses and look for a better job.
The next problem with doing things this way, is that lawyers don't get called into the case until the dispute has already "gone nuclear" as the law firm calls it -- not until things have gotten so bad between the teacher and the boss, that the teacher is actually willing to cough up 600 000 won - no small amount - to get it sorted.
The last problem with doing things this way is that a lot of English teachers in bad spots need a lawyer for the same reasons they can't afford a retainer: because they're not getting paid. How is one expected to pony up 600 000 won, when the REASON one needs a lawyer is because one hasn't been paid in two months?
So how does 20 000 a month help?
First, it means that you can access a labor lawyer without dropping 600 000; this means that you can have Kangnam Labor Law Firm backing you up in issues over smaller amounts - that big retainer means that until the amount in dispute is larger than 2 500 000 won, it's not really worth your while to call in a lawyer, but for 20 000 a month, you can have access to a law firm ready to mediate, negotiate, and support you in smaller matters as well.
Second, it means that rather than waiting until things have gotten really bad between an employer and an employee, you can bring a lawyer in sooner in the process, or get better advice sooner, and hopefully settle the matter before it has to go to court, which is better for everyone. Mediation is way better than lawsuits, it's faster, and less antagonistic, and there's less chance of totally fire-bombing your working relationship forever (if that's important to you). If there IS a problem that requires going to court, no further retainer is required, but the firm is there to advise you long before things get bad enough to consider going to court, and there to mediate issues rather than having to bring the hammer.
Third, it means that you can access the expert legal advice of a labor law firm whenever you need it, which could be worth a lot, not just in terms of a stronger negotiating position, but also in terms of peace of mind.
I'd say 20 000 a month is a small price for peace of mind. So who should sign up for this?
Well, at this point, the Legal Assurance Program is a trial balloon: they're doing a small-scale release, a "soft opening" to see how it works out, and to see if the model is viable. They might tinker with the model a bit before rolling it out on a larger scale. If it does work out well, I'd say anybody who doesn't trust their boss, anybody who's observed sketchy behavior from their employer, whose employer seems to be hiding something, who's had to fight for things they're entitled to, like health insurance, or who's been burned in the past, and doesn't want it to happen again, would be stupid not to sign up. Like health insurance or life insurance, anybody who's not sure about the security of their position would have much less to worry about if they signed up, and 20 000 a month is nothing: that's six bowls of jajangmyeon in Seoul, or a meal and a pint at Wolfhound, or three Long Island Ice Teas. I'm not sure exactly how limited this limited release is, or how many monthly retainers they're putting on the table at this point, but I hope they go to people that need them.
I predict that in the first group of people signing up, Kangnam Labor Law Firm will end up dealing with a lot of grievances, so that it won't pay for itself immediately; however, I think that once that initial burst settles down, it'll be well worth it for them, in revenues and in reputation among English teachers, and it'll be a huge boon for English teachers who aren't sure about the situation they're heading into.
I think it's awesome that Kangnam Labor Law Firm is trying out this system; I hope it works, and I hope we can see others like it. For those who have been asking what ATEK's done for them, lately, I'd say this is a pretty strong indication that, while ATEK hasn't been loud (though some of its critics have), it has been getting stuff done.
Go to the website and read more about the plan, and you're also free to write them if you have a question at i.need.help@k-labor.com.
(by the way: I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not qualified to give legal advice. Don't take this as such. Instead, contact Kangnam Labor Law Firm where they actually know what they're talking about, rather than just reading stuff and putting it into pretty words.)
one expat's life in Korea
Friday, April 23, 2010
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
YooWoon Passes Away at Yonsei Severance Hospital
According to messages from Marie, founder of the "Save YooWoon" facebook event, YooWoon, the subject of 2S2's blood drive, passed away yesterday at Yonsei Severance Hospital.
At the facebook page, Marie wrote:
"On behalf of YooWoon's family and myself, thank you once again for your tremendous support during this difficult time."
If you're part of the facebook group, you've received a message about where to pay respects to YooWoon, or you can contact Marie through the facebook page; I won't be publishing that information here, so that any stranger off the street can saunter in: I think I'd recommend that if you haven't met him already, or spoken to his family, it might be best to let the family and friends grieve in privacy.
Regardless, a big thanks to everyone who helped out by donating blood or spreading the word.
Until next time, and especially if you have a rare blood type, it might be a good time to think about donating yourself, or seeing what you can do to make sure that you won't be stuck in a bad situation if something bad happens while you're here in Korea.
At the facebook page, Marie wrote:
"On behalf of YooWoon's family and myself, thank you once again for your tremendous support during this difficult time."
If you're part of the facebook group, you've received a message about where to pay respects to YooWoon, or you can contact Marie through the facebook page; I won't be publishing that information here, so that any stranger off the street can saunter in: I think I'd recommend that if you haven't met him already, or spoken to his family, it might be best to let the family and friends grieve in privacy.
Regardless, a big thanks to everyone who helped out by donating blood or spreading the word.
Until next time, and especially if you have a rare blood type, it might be a good time to think about donating yourself, or seeing what you can do to make sure that you won't be stuck in a bad situation if something bad happens while you're here in Korea.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Weekend with Roboseyo
Post soundtrack:
Don't Stop the Music, by Jamie Cullum
cross-posted at Nanoomi.net
The weekend before last was an interesting one for me. Great, but also full of surprises. Giving blood, a concert, and a flower boy, coming up...
First of all, after a bit of build-up, the 2S2 Meeting I wrote about earlier, met on Saturday afternoon at 2Pm, near Anguk Station. We were planning to go down to the blood clinic in Shinchon.
Though there are now 350 or so people on the facebook page, only two people came to the 2S2 Meetup where we planned to give blood.
Maybe that was because all the talk of who can and who can't give blood... maybe it's because a Facebook promise means less than a pinky-swear, and maybe it's because everybody'd already given blood elsewhere. I'll assume it's the third choice.
So those of us who were eligible to give blood headed to the clinic in Shinchon. We were told several times that it would be very difficult to take foreigners' blood, for a few different reasons. The biggest one was the requirement that foreigners have lived in Korea for the last year (continuously, according to some interviewers); secondly, we were quite clearly told that if I didn't speak Korean well enough to answer the questions in a Korean-only interview, without an interpreter, I couldn't give blood. Now, blood doesn't have a language, so even though it seems to me that it wouldn't be hard to find a way to work around language gaps, for people who are willing to give blood, the clinic people were fairly emphatic about the language issue. However, when we actually went to the clinic, they allowed the lovely Ms. Hwang (see the photo above) to help me out with the interview after all. I had a translation of the interview questions in front of me, and we could have probably done the interview on our own, with a little pointing and nodding, and my limited Korean, but it worked out well with Ms. Hwang's help as well. Once we figured out that I COULD give blood, the process was almost too easy.
I gave blood. The needle hurt, but I didn't cry. Because I'm brave.
I'm AB+ - a somewhat rare type, but unfortunately not the type that YooWoon Jeon needs; however, it felt good to give blood, and I'll do it again in two months, when I'm once again eligible.
That night I saw a concert by Jamie Cullum, a British pop/jazz artist whom Girlfriendoseyo adores. Before the show, we got some free coffee from this table:
It was free, so we got what we paid for... but it was so weak we couldn't even tell whether it was supposed to be coffee or tea, and we left it on top of the trash can, where everybody else left their sad, abandoned cups. The bathroom sink counter was also littered with cups, where people had poured out their swamp-water.
As for the Jamie Cullum concert, he was awesome: his singing voice is beautiful, cool and smooth but also youthful and energetic (if you played the soundtrack at the top of the post, you're listening to him now). All through the show, it was obvious that he was having more fun than anybody else in the building, and he not only performed a fantastic live set, but he entertained the heck out of every audience member.
We weren't actually supposed to take pictures, but during the second encore ("High and Dry") everyone else had their cameras out, so I didn't see the harm in getting out mine. Maybe later I'll put up video of the audience singing along on Youtube. It was a sweet moment.
Jamie Cullum in Concert
[/caption]
On Sunday, I met some friends at Yeouido park to see the cherry blossoms that hadn't quite come out yet.
Yeouido Park was packed with people.
[/caption]
The picnic was good, though I was a bit late; however, the highlight of my day was this guy, who was prancing around dressed in pink, plastic flowers, motioning or asking for people to take their pictures with him. I'm not sure whether he was doing it because he lost a bet, or was being initiated into a super-cool club (and he'd better be on the fast-track for president, if that's the case) or if he's just naturally like this, but this kid, who might have been fifteen, was the unexpected highlight of the Sunday.
This funny kid was posing for pictures
Thanks, buddy.
More later, readers!
Don't Stop the Music, by Jamie Cullum
cross-posted at Nanoomi.net
The weekend before last was an interesting one for me. Great, but also full of surprises. Giving blood, a concert, and a flower boy, coming up...
First of all, after a bit of build-up, the 2S2 Meeting I wrote about earlier, met on Saturday afternoon at 2Pm, near Anguk Station. We were planning to go down to the blood clinic in Shinchon.
Though there are now 350 or so people on the facebook page, only two people came to the 2S2 Meetup where we planned to give blood.
Maybe that was because all the talk of who can and who can't give blood... maybe it's because a Facebook promise means less than a pinky-swear, and maybe it's because everybody'd already given blood elsewhere. I'll assume it's the third choice.
So those of us who were eligible to give blood headed to the clinic in Shinchon. We were told several times that it would be very difficult to take foreigners' blood, for a few different reasons. The biggest one was the requirement that foreigners have lived in Korea for the last year (continuously, according to some interviewers); secondly, we were quite clearly told that if I didn't speak Korean well enough to answer the questions in a Korean-only interview, without an interpreter, I couldn't give blood. Now, blood doesn't have a language, so even though it seems to me that it wouldn't be hard to find a way to work around language gaps, for people who are willing to give blood, the clinic people were fairly emphatic about the language issue. However, when we actually went to the clinic, they allowed the lovely Ms. Hwang (see the photo above) to help me out with the interview after all. I had a translation of the interview questions in front of me, and we could have probably done the interview on our own, with a little pointing and nodding, and my limited Korean, but it worked out well with Ms. Hwang's help as well. Once we figured out that I COULD give blood, the process was almost too easy.
I gave blood. The needle hurt, but I didn't cry. Because I'm brave.
I'm AB+ - a somewhat rare type, but unfortunately not the type that YooWoon Jeon needs; however, it felt good to give blood, and I'll do it again in two months, when I'm once again eligible.
That night I saw a concert by Jamie Cullum, a British pop/jazz artist whom Girlfriendoseyo adores. Before the show, we got some free coffee from this table:
It was free, so we got what we paid for... but it was so weak we couldn't even tell whether it was supposed to be coffee or tea, and we left it on top of the trash can, where everybody else left their sad, abandoned cups. The bathroom sink counter was also littered with cups, where people had poured out their swamp-water.
- the coffee was so bad nobody seemed to finish their cup
As for the Jamie Cullum concert, he was awesome: his singing voice is beautiful, cool and smooth but also youthful and energetic (if you played the soundtrack at the top of the post, you're listening to him now). All through the show, it was obvious that he was having more fun than anybody else in the building, and he not only performed a fantastic live set, but he entertained the heck out of every audience member.
We weren't actually supposed to take pictures, but during the second encore ("High and Dry") everyone else had their cameras out, so I didn't see the harm in getting out mine. Maybe later I'll put up video of the audience singing along on Youtube. It was a sweet moment.
Jamie Cullum in Concert
[/caption]On Sunday, I met some friends at Yeouido park to see the cherry blossoms that hadn't quite come out yet.
Yeouido Park was packed with people.
[/caption]The picnic was good, though I was a bit late; however, the highlight of my day was this guy, who was prancing around dressed in pink, plastic flowers, motioning or asking for people to take their pictures with him. I'm not sure whether he was doing it because he lost a bet, or was being initiated into a super-cool club (and he'd better be on the fast-track for president, if that's the case) or if he's just naturally like this, but this kid, who might have been fifteen, was the unexpected highlight of the Sunday.
This funny kid was posing for pictures
Thanks, buddy.
More later, readers!
Wanna Chat with Foreign Beauties? How to Make Friends with a Foreigner Part 5
This post is part of a series providing tips for expats in Korea who are interested in becoming friends with Koreans, and tips for Koreans who are interested in becoming friends with Westerners. Read. Yes, I know these are sweeping generalizations. Deal with it.
And the concluding installment: here's part 6! Don't forget to check out "How Foreigners can be better friends to their Korean friends" to see the other side.
Back to the Table of Contents
Tip 13: Be realistic. I’m one person, not a representative of a whole group. Please don’t ask me questions like “what do foreigners think of Korea?” because there are more than a million foreigners in Korea, with different ages, educations, origins, and experiences of Korea. If you think foreigners are one huge group that are basically all the same, you'll miss the chance to experience the huge variety of foreigners in Korea.
Yes, I am aware of the irony of myself, speaking on behalf of all foreigners, imploring Koreans not to ask us to speak on behalf of all foreigners.
Tip 13.1 Don't expect me to know everything about my home country. Especially if I’ve been in Korea for a long time, my knowledge about my home country becomes outdated, and rusty. Canada was a different place in 2003, when I left. Seven years later, the internet is a more reliable source than I am about a lot of things.
Tip 13.2 Especially, do not ask me to defend my country's political actions, foreign policy, etc., or hold me responsible for decisions made by my home country's business or political leaders... and if you’re going to bring up social problems in my home country, make sure you have your facts straight, and it doesn’t sound like you’re just bringing them up to show that you think Korea’s better. A former student used to come into class saying "I read that Canada has a higher divorce rate than Korea. What do you have to say about that?"... I didn't have much to say, but when he invited me to hang out outside of class, I politely declined.
Tip 14 Be yourself: In the same way, don't try to represent all Koreans, or speak as if all Koreans are basically the same. Korea is a diverse, sometimes extremely divided country - North and South, Jeolla and Gyungsan, Left Wing and Right Wing, rich and poor, city and country, and so forth. When my friends start saying "Koreans are..." "Koreans think..." a lot, I begin to wonder where they got their facts.
Tip 14.1 Also, don't start talking like a promotional flyer. It makes it seem like you care about my opinion of your country more than you care about me, personally. If I want to know about something, I'll ask, and unless you know a lot more about a topic than most Koreans, I've probably already heard it (especially once a foreigner has been in Korea longer than six months).
Tip 14.2 These last two rules go double for talking about politics, hot topics and controversial issues. You don't have to defend Korea in areas where everybody knows it needs improvement, just because this time, the critic is a foreigner instead of another Korean. You're allowed to say "Yeah. We Koreans hate ___, too. It's pretty fucked up." In fact, we'd love it if you were that honest with us: it would show that you're sincere about having an honest conversation.
And the concluding installment: here's part 6! Don't forget to check out "How Foreigners can be better friends to their Korean friends" to see the other side.
Back to the Table of Contents
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Wanna Chat with Korean Buddies? How not to make an Ass of Yourself: Part 3
This post is part of a series providing tips for expats in Korea who are interested in becoming friends with Koreans, and tips for Koreans who are interested in becoming friends with Westerners. Read. Yes, I know these are sweeping generalizations. Deal with it.
Next tip: don't dress like a homeless person. Even if they're off duty, here in Korea, people take care of their appearance. That's just how we roll. It's embarrasing to be seen around a foreigner who looks like he just got back from the island in Castaway.
Start off speaking plainly, and a little slowly when you first meet me, until you've spoken with me enough to gauge how well I can listen to Native English. Instead of starting off speaking quickly, with lots of slang and colloquial language, start simple, and raise your level of speech to match my listening ability. It isn't fun when you talk over my head.
(P.S. also in this vein: Korea is totally a gift giving culture. "Thank you" gifts, "I'm sorry" gifts "let's work this out" gifts and even, "Hey! It's been another month and we're still co-workers" gifts are all kosher. You don't even necessarily need to carefully think through and come up with deeply thoughtful, personalized gifts - the standbys [paris baguette cakes, boxes of chocolates, cookies or traditional snack sets, leaf teas, wine bottles, or even big boxes of spam or olive oil are acceptable for those kinds of perfunctory gifts] thoughtful's better, but not always necessary when it comes to performing the social rituals of friendship. If you hand-make something for me - knit a cap or a scarf - I'll be really touched, because hand-made, personalized is way above and beyond the normal expectation for gift giving.
Here's part four!
Back to the table of contents.
Well whaddaya know, after all that ranting and raving about the expat's side, I'm having to take more care in presenting the Korean viewpoint. However, in all fairness, this is equally, or maybe MORE important to include on an English language blog, so here's part three: how not to make an ass of yourself around potential Korean friends.
Next guideline: don't get in such a snit if I ask your age, job, major, blood type, or marriage status. They're just questions, and when in Rome, expect the Romans to bring up topics common to Roman small talk. Durr. There are two reasons people ask these questions: 1. because I'm sizing you up, and 2. because I'm nervous about talking all in English to a foreigner, and I can't think of anything else to say.
Next guideline: don't get in such a snit if I ask your age, job, major, blood type, or marriage status. They're just questions, and when in Rome, expect the Romans to bring up topics common to Roman small talk. Durr. There are two reasons people ask these questions: 1. because I'm sizing you up, and 2. because I'm nervous about talking all in English to a foreigner, and I can't think of anything else to say.
1. If I AM sizing you up... it's Korea. It comes with the territory, and if you make this into a big deal, you're making bad choices about which walls to butt your head against, particularly because the head-butting of this wall exacts a steep social cost. If you really think you're a manners missionary sent here to teach the Mongol hordes how to hold a China teacup, well, your colonialism is showing.
If the first three minutes of the conversation is the pyre on which you choose to burn your chances to have a real Korean friend, you're dooming yourself to a seriously stunted social life, and being more than a bit of an arrogant foreigner to boot.
2. Maybe I'm asking those questions because all those clever things I was thinking of saying before I met you just vanished in a hazy cloud of "Oh crap I think I just made an English mistake." If I asked because I'm nervous, and you make a big deal out it, you'll make me MORE nervous. Realize that some Koreans may well feel like they're being tested every time they speak to a foreigner... because usually they are. Factor that nervousness into your approach to these kinds of conversations.
Next tip: don't dress like a homeless person. Even if they're off duty, here in Korea, people take care of their appearance. That's just how we roll. It's embarrasing to be seen around a foreigner who looks like he just got back from the island in Castaway.
Another helpful "when in Rome" tip: pay attention to the body language Koreans use when talking to each other, and try to use similar kinds. The size and type of hand gestures, the ways and closeness of entering another person's personal space, are different from one culture to another; trying to mirror what you see around you will help people feel more comfortable with you faster.
Next tip: If you're new here, it's OK to not know much about the country... but don't be proud of how little you know. Don't boast that "I've been here for three years and I still can't read Hayangewl!" and don't be derisive or dismissive when I do try to explain something, or immediately fire back with your country's equivalent of whatever I'm describing, as if that mere description has invalidated everything I said, and again demonstrated your culture's superiority. An inquisitive and respectful attitude is the bare minimum if you want to make friends with Koreans; without it, don't even bother trying.
Next tip: If you're new here, it's OK to not know much about the country... but don't be proud of how little you know. Don't boast that "I've been here for three years and I still can't read Hayangewl!" and don't be derisive or dismissive when I do try to explain something, or immediately fire back with your country's equivalent of whatever I'm describing, as if that mere description has invalidated everything I said, and again demonstrated your culture's superiority. An inquisitive and respectful attitude is the bare minimum if you want to make friends with Koreans; without it, don't even bother trying.
Start off speaking plainly, and a little slowly when you first meet me, until you've spoken with me enough to gauge how well I can listen to Native English. Instead of starting off speaking quickly, with lots of slang and colloquial language, start simple, and raise your level of speech to match my listening ability. It isn't fun when you talk over my head.
Give a damn about your job. If you're here to teach, be a teacher, and do your best. Don't crap on the reputation of foreign English teachers while you're here. [Roboseyo here: I've written about this topic before... but I swear this one was actually in an e-mail I got from a reader.]
Next tip: Give a little back to the friend who helps you out. Back to that gratitude thing for a second: If I helped you with your banking, or some other communication issue, back it up with a little unbegrudging quid pro quo. Proofread a bit of my writing homework or help out as well as you can with a grammar question I have or something. While it doesn't feel nice to be someone's "I only call you when I need some English tips" friend, it IS nice to return favors.
Next tip: Give a little back to the friend who helps you out. Back to that gratitude thing for a second: If I helped you with your banking, or some other communication issue, back it up with a little unbegrudging quid pro quo. Proofread a bit of my writing homework or help out as well as you can with a grammar question I have or something. While it doesn't feel nice to be someone's "I only call you when I need some English tips" friend, it IS nice to return favors.
Here's part four!
Back to the table of contents.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Food Bloggers Unite! We need This!
This is the continuation of the "iPod Touch" post I wrote about Hi Expat.
So here's the idea: I don't have the tech savvy or the time to do it myself, but I'm sure it could be done: you know how everybody just KNOWS that The Korean Blog List is the starting point for every ambitious Would-blog-Expat? Well, I'd really like to see the food writers in Korea get together for a crowd-source-ish wiki-map of all the places they've collectively scouted out, all across Korea: you'll find one of Gangnam, or Jongno, or Jeonju, but imagine if it were all gathered into one place?
Here are the things I think it would need:
1. curators - to remove restaurants flagged by users for either being inaccurate/incompletely reviewed, or having closed, and to maintain at least some standards (Do we really need that MacDonalds in Guri marked? Really?)
2. a system for flagging a restaurant review, or a restaurant, for either incomplete or inaccurate information, or a restaurant that has closed since its review. Maybe a set of guidelines for when to flag a review, and when not to, so as not to waste time on "I totally disagreed with this reviewer's rating for service"
3. a way to add feedback to existing reviews (a second opinion) - HiExpat's restaurant guide has a good system for doing this. Maybe even a button to click if a review's been up for a few years to say, "This restaurant is still in existence" because I know how much it sucks to get a jones for a food, only to show up and have the place gone.
Readers: in the comments, which websites have are the most useful food info for you, when you're, say, looking for "a chinese restaurant in Jamsil" or "shabu shabu in Jongno" or the like?
4. a standardized rating system including scores for price, menu, quality, service, atmosphere, and English spoken. (zenkimchi dining has a pretty good system)
5. a way to ban reviewers who violate a simple set of guidelines, or post spam links
6. when you click on a pin to see a preview of the location (see below)
the window that pops up should contain this information:
6. when you click on a pin to see a preview of the location (see below)
the window that pops up should contain this information:-links to any reviews of that location (if users can submit these themselves, it would save the curators time)
-a box you can check to flag it (for inaccurate reviews, dead links, no-longer-existent restaurants, or links that don't lead to reviews)
-a summary of the reviews so far (average overall rating or something)
-maybe (and I'm getting greedy here) a check box like at Amazon.com that shows "23 out of 31 people found this review useful" - but that might be getting a bit crowded.
6. searchable tags for entries (Chinese/Japanese/Indian/Vegetarian/Kangnam/Itaewon/Bundang/budget/romantic/etc.)
Whoever puts this together first wins.
Readers: in the comments, which websites have are the most useful food info for you, when you're, say, looking for "a chinese restaurant in Jamsil" or "shabu shabu in Jongno" or the like?
I've made one map - here it is - about finding good food in Jongno. Feel free to enjoy all the places here.
View Where Brian Should Eat: Jongno and Insadong in a larger map
Finally, this wouldn't be complete if I didn't plug the guy who totally gave me a free iPod Touch in the last post:
Culture tip for Koreans: Small Talk Taboos
I'm not finished my "How to Chat with Foreign Beauties" series, though it got delayed by some other stuff. However, I wanted to show this clip, because Park Chan-ho demonstrates something that a number of my students have done as well, and it's on Colleghumor.com's front page right now.
This interview was posted on "Collegehumor.com" - a comedy website that puts up funny videos and articles. The reason it's posted is because, well, they think it's really funny. Listen to his teammates laughing in the background. The reason it's funny to them is because in North America it's really culturally strange to talk openly about bowel problems like diarrhea or constipation. Chan-ho has demonstrated an "overshare" - giving more information than I really wanted. As far as I can tell, it's OK to talk about bowel problems in Korean small talk (at least for some groups - particularly older folks - most of my younger students avoid this topic), but it's really strange to North Americans (and I'm pretty sure people from other English speaking nations would agree).
I had a student in a class once, a very cute old lady who'd be a wonderful grandmother, who came in every morning, and when I said "How are you?" she'd give a list of complaints: "My elbow is sore and I was constipated this morning." She'd even look up words to give me the whole grisly story. "I went to the gynecologist yesterday." I tried and tried to get her to just stay with "fine thanks," or "some aches and pains,' but she really seemed to want to give me all the gross details. My coworkers have frequently shared similar stories of students describing the condition of their bowels in more detail than we wanted to hear.
So here's the culture tip: when you talk about your bowel condition to a westerner, it's similar to when we talk openly about sex to you: that is, it might be fine, it might even be good for a laugh, but watch your partner carefully for signs of discomfort; sometimes it makes people feel awkward and embarrassed. When in doubt, say "I had stomach problems." That's enough detail for most of us to be satisfied, without learning too much about your poop. (This is also a good way to get revenge if your foreign friend is talking about sex a lot and embarrassing you: just interrupt their sex story with a gross poop story. My best friend in Canada used to tell diaper stories about her kids when I started talking too much about my favorite music, a topic that was totally uninteresting to her. Led to some interesting conversations.)
Park Chan-ho's an impressive dude: he's stuck around in the MLB for a long time, and been very successful, and you can take comfort in the fact that, after more than a decade living most of his life in North America, he's still making little social blunders: nobody's perfect, but everybody can remember little details like this to fit in a little better. (On the other hand: he uses "off-day" correctly - many of my students say "Off -day" as if it means "one day of vacation." That's incorrect: "off-day" means "a bad day, or a day when I try to do things, and they don't go right.")
This interview was posted on "Collegehumor.com" - a comedy website that puts up funny videos and articles. The reason it's posted is because, well, they think it's really funny. Listen to his teammates laughing in the background. The reason it's funny to them is because in North America it's really culturally strange to talk openly about bowel problems like diarrhea or constipation. Chan-ho has demonstrated an "overshare" - giving more information than I really wanted. As far as I can tell, it's OK to talk about bowel problems in Korean small talk (at least for some groups - particularly older folks - most of my younger students avoid this topic), but it's really strange to North Americans (and I'm pretty sure people from other English speaking nations would agree).
I had a student in a class once, a very cute old lady who'd be a wonderful grandmother, who came in every morning, and when I said "How are you?" she'd give a list of complaints: "My elbow is sore and I was constipated this morning." She'd even look up words to give me the whole grisly story. "I went to the gynecologist yesterday." I tried and tried to get her to just stay with "fine thanks," or "some aches and pains,' but she really seemed to want to give me all the gross details. My coworkers have frequently shared similar stories of students describing the condition of their bowels in more detail than we wanted to hear.
So here's the culture tip: when you talk about your bowel condition to a westerner, it's similar to when we talk openly about sex to you: that is, it might be fine, it might even be good for a laugh, but watch your partner carefully for signs of discomfort; sometimes it makes people feel awkward and embarrassed. When in doubt, say "I had stomach problems." That's enough detail for most of us to be satisfied, without learning too much about your poop. (This is also a good way to get revenge if your foreign friend is talking about sex a lot and embarrassing you: just interrupt their sex story with a gross poop story. My best friend in Canada used to tell diaper stories about her kids when I started talking too much about my favorite music, a topic that was totally uninteresting to her. Led to some interesting conversations.)
Park Chan-ho's an impressive dude: he's stuck around in the MLB for a long time, and been very successful, and you can take comfort in the fact that, after more than a decade living most of his life in North America, he's still making little social blunders: nobody's perfect, but everybody can remember little details like this to fit in a little better. (On the other hand: he uses "off-day" correctly - many of my students say "Off -day" as if it means "one day of vacation." That's incorrect: "off-day" means "a bad day, or a day when I try to do things, and they don't go right.")
Culture Tip Summary:
Poop is cute in Korea. Not really in North America. Talk about it with your doctor, but not during small talk with somebody you don't know very well.
(this picture is from the cute, but now defunct blog "Korea & Animation" - go read it!)
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
iPod Touch from HiExpat... sweet!
It's time for a bravo my life update readers. A few weeks ago, I got word about a new website called HiExpat. It's a page run by a guy named Dan, and he and his buddy are working to get it off the ground, to carve out a little corner of the Koreanets for themselves.
One way they tried to do that was by having a little contest: the submitters of restaurant reviews had a chance to win holycrapaniPodtouch!!!
I'd already been thinking about getting some kind of mobile device anyway, so if I could have a chance to get one for free, well, giddyup! I got on that restaurant review board like Tiger Woods on a well-contoured, attractive. . . fairway, and even requested he add some of my faves to the list.
Well, happy to say, after getting my verbosity on and pounding out a whack of reviews, and then writing the webmaster and asking him to add a few more of my favorite restaurants, so I could review them, too, I hammered out as many as I could (meaning six) before the deadline.
I got a message that I'd won the contest, and went down to Itaewon on my night off to collect my prize. It's pretty sweet. I'm pretty proud of myself for having put nothing but productivity programs on it so far -- save that silly lightsaber app that everybody thought was cool two years ago -- Here's the post about the contest from Hi Expat.
It's given me a lot of thoughts about mobile technologies that I'll share with you sometime, and given me a clearer picture of what I want for the next mobile device I buy (gonna need 4g or something: this searching for wifi hotspots thing is cramping my style) but for now, let's leave it at a simple squee over the joy of getting a new toy: I've been playing with it almost nonstop ever since I got it, and it's awesome. Here's me showing off my swag: (from Hi Expat's write-up on the contest)
One way they tried to do that was by having a little contest: the submitters of restaurant reviews had a chance to win holycrapaniPodtouch!!!
I'd already been thinking about getting some kind of mobile device anyway, so if I could have a chance to get one for free, well, giddyup! I got on that restaurant review board like Tiger Woods on a well-contoured, attractive. . . fairway, and even requested he add some of my faves to the list.
Well, happy to say, after getting my verbosity on and pounding out a whack of reviews, and then writing the webmaster and asking him to add a few more of my favorite restaurants, so I could review them, too, I hammered out as many as I could (meaning six) before the deadline.
I got a message that I'd won the contest, and went down to Itaewon on my night off to collect my prize. It's pretty sweet. I'm pretty proud of myself for having put nothing but productivity programs on it so far -- save that silly lightsaber app that everybody thought was cool two years ago -- Here's the post about the contest from Hi Expat.
It's given me a lot of thoughts about mobile technologies that I'll share with you sometime, and given me a clearer picture of what I want for the next mobile device I buy (gonna need 4g or something: this searching for wifi hotspots thing is cramping my style) but for now, let's leave it at a simple squee over the joy of getting a new toy: I've been playing with it almost nonstop ever since I got it, and it's awesome. Here's me showing off my swag: (from Hi Expat's write-up on the contest)
Now, anyone who gives me free stuff totally gets a write-up on the blog, so let me tell you a bit more about Hi Expat:
Hi Expat is a pretty cool website so far. And I'd say that even if they didn't give me an iPod touch, and writing this post was NOT a precondition of my winning the iPod touch, so's you know - that was never requested, nor even implied. However, I've been looking around Hi Expat, and I had a nice talk with Dan, who just started the site in its current form. His head's in the right space for a guy trying to create something useful for expats online, and he's committed to keeping it "positive and productive" (those were the words he used).
(useful pages include: preparing to move here and places to volunteer in Seoul - if this keeps up, the site's shaping up to be as useful as the Seoul City Blog.)
Along with the job board, Hi Expat has a nifty restaurant review section where you can submit reviews of restaurants listed, and if your restaurant isn't listed, you can request one. It's as easy to use as the mini-review section on Zenkimchi Dining, but because each restaurant is added manually by the site administrator, each review also comes with a little google map of how to find it - extremely useful in a city like Seoul, where street numbers are an afterthought.
I'm happy to see an increase in people setting out to write English blogs that are useful for others coming to Korea - that's heartening to me, as that inherited knowledge about how to have a good time, and where to eat and such is a crucial factor to enjoying life in the ROK. It used to be (back when I first came, and hooker hill was uphill both ways), that the only way you'd hear about those places is if a coworker showed you personally, and you were well-oriented enough to remember how to find it back. Pretty sweet that we're no longer at that point.
I'm going somewhere with this... and the lady outside my window is having a sweet shouting meltdown... but for now, I'll post this about my cool new iPod Touch and say: go visit Hi Expat... and propose my idea for a Korean eating guide on the next post.Along with the job board, Hi Expat has a nifty restaurant review section where you can submit reviews of restaurants listed, and if your restaurant isn't listed, you can request one. It's as easy to use as the mini-review section on Zenkimchi Dining, but because each restaurant is added manually by the site administrator, each review also comes with a little google map of how to find it - extremely useful in a city like Seoul, where street numbers are an afterthought.
I'm happy to see an increase in people setting out to write English blogs that are useful for others coming to Korea - that's heartening to me, as that inherited knowledge about how to have a good time, and where to eat and such is a crucial factor to enjoying life in the ROK. It used to be (back when I first came, and hooker hill was uphill both ways), that the only way you'd hear about those places is if a coworker showed you personally, and you were well-oriented enough to remember how to find it back. Pretty sweet that we're no longer at that point.
By the way, while we're on the "I'm famous" theme, I also just got linked on Korean News Feeds: a total honor.
Women's Safety: a close call and a reminder.
I'm No Picasso, a sweet K-blog that's been attracting attention lately, had a creepy/scary incident where she got followed by some weird guy a few nights ago. You should read it, especially if you're a woman living alone in Korea. "Girls, Be Careful"
This also seems like a good time to remind everybody of ALTAWATSAC's post from last year, discussing, and giving some tips, regarding women's safety in Korea.
Horrific things have happened before, and the simple fact that some of us look different from the general populace tends to attract the attention of loonies, and we'd best be mindful of that.
Monday, April 12, 2010
K-Pop: SNSD Buffalaxed! Gee/Cheese
Buffalax is an internet coinage that's actually named after the Youtube User who first did it: some clown took a music video from another language, and wrote in subtitles of the English words it sounded like, to quite hilarious results. The original was a viral video legend: the great, hilarious Bollywood Benny Lava.
Here, Girls Generation gets a full Buffalax treatment for their song "Gee Gee Gee" (or "Cheese Cheese Cheese")
There are a few bad words, and some absolutely absurd randomness. Enjoy.
Maybe one day I'll post on why "Gee" is one of the quintessential K-pop songs, and possibly my favorite song of 2009, in retrospect, now that I don't have to hear it every time I pass a cosmetics shop. It may well also go down as SNSD's peak, especially now that they're dressing in black and looking not just exactly like each other (as they always did) but also exactly like every other K-pop girl group. They even recorded the transition in the last ten seconds of this video, which includes some bad English, and that most annoying/sometimes contentious of Korean words: "Oppa"(explained) (see #8 of this list), leading to this video, which looks too much like this video... except Brown Eyed Gulls do it better.
(source)
After School
(source)
SNSD
Here, Girls Generation gets a full Buffalax treatment for their song "Gee Gee Gee" (or "Cheese Cheese Cheese")
There are a few bad words, and some absolutely absurd randomness. Enjoy.
Maybe one day I'll post on why "Gee" is one of the quintessential K-pop songs, and possibly my favorite song of 2009, in retrospect, now that I don't have to hear it every time I pass a cosmetics shop. It may well also go down as SNSD's peak, especially now that they're dressing in black and looking not just exactly like each other (as they always did) but also exactly like every other K-pop girl group. They even recorded the transition in the last ten seconds of this video, which includes some bad English, and that most annoying/sometimes contentious of Korean words: "Oppa"(explained) (see #8 of this list), leading to this video, which looks too much like this video... except Brown Eyed Gulls do it better.
OK. I'll admit; SNSD are a guilty pleasure of mine; they're fun, or at least were when they wore bright colors and stuff. We'll see if they remain fun now that they're trying to sound like Katy Perry and Goldfrapp instead of working that cheerful after-school-party vibe they did so well.
Memo to K-pop: there are already lots of bands dressing in black and doing sexy dances. Differentiation sells. I think.
Brown Eyed Girls
(source)After School
(source)SNSD
(source)
I could go on. K-pop needs another girl group wearing black like Jongno needs another Starbucks.
But then, without black leather sexydance groups, we wouldn't have had the greatest K-pop name ever: 혜나, whose music and dancing are nothing special, but her name, when transliterated into English, reads, "Hyena." I wonder if she has a distinctive laugh. Hyenas have one of the strongest bites in the animal kingdom. I have no idea what that means for the K-pop version.
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