Tough Love, Cupcake: How to learn Korean or English

The Korean has an excellent article about how to learn a foreign language as an adult. The summary: suck it up and work hard, you wuss. Who ever told you learning a language well was going to be easy? Go read it.

In Which Roboseyo Exhorts Seoul City Not To Get in A Snit About Lonely Planet

So Lonely Planet says that Seoul is the third most hated city. Similar statements have been made before, and then as well, Seoul city got all worked up...

Now, first of all, the idea that an institution is within its rights to "correct" people for their opinion, getting upset and responding with "are not, either!" the way Seoul City has, especially when it comes to something like travel preferences, is just silly... yet it happens. And then it happens again. And a similar pattern occurs in other areas. . . not least Korea Times' infamous "Setting The Record Straight" (ps: note the absence of comments below said article)- which is basically the same attitude in a totally different arena. (speaking of which... since publishing that correction (of its readers), The Korea Times has demonstrated an admirable change of direction.... not. yep. I made a 'not' joke.)

For the record, Seoul City's response makes more sense, and more valid points, than the KT's.

Now, as far as the deeper, cultural-level workings of this kind of reaction, I'm probably out of my depth, but we've seen this "let's correct his/her opinion" attitude before: KT's unapology, Brian in JND's 2008 cyber-bullying incident, Seoul City's previous head-buttings with Lonely Planet, and, uh, VANK. Korea's hyper-polarized political scene demonstrate that there IS a healthy bit of disagreement allowed in Korean society... but then this "Let's correct" thing pops up, too... often enough for me to want to start investigating it, looking for a sociological source. So, if anyone wants to give me a grant, I'll get on it.

A few guesses, though: this "let's correct his opinion" thing might simply be traces of Korea's quite recent authoritarian history, in which the people in power right now grew up in a time when those in power COULD say "are not, either" and quash their critics' dissent... but that doesn't work anymore, and the sooner they figure that out, the sooner they will stop appearing arrogant and snippy and hypersensitive, the sooner they will stop taking outdated approaches to modern challenges. I wrote at very great length on the way Koreans get defensive about criticism way back in 2008, and might recommend you read that.

But here's what I want to focus on right now:

Getting all worked up because Lonely Planet says that Seoul Sucks is just not what a world class city does. Sorry, dude. If somebody in a major magazine, or a travel guide, says "Paris has dog crap all over the sidewalks, and the citizens are rude" (commonly-known stereotypes), Paris city hall doesn't go to the press nitpicking those claims, questioning the methods of the survey which discovered tourists don't like stepping in dog crap or getting shite service at a cafe. Why not? Because they're motherf***ing PARIS, that's why. And because they're motherf***ing PARIS, they either figure the travel writers can say what they like, because all press is good press, or they try to improve the complaints they can, if they care to, but I'm SURE they don't write 160 pages of promotional material and send it to the publishing company that called their city... whatever they called it. When Seoul announces itself as a world design capital or a mecca of whatever or a business hub or whatever else, but then feels the need to strike back at a travel guide that said something they don't like, they undermine their attempt to be taken seriously. They'd do better combing the criticisms for ways to improve, and then moving on... or ignoring it, because it's just the internet. Better still: say nothing, and let other people jump to their defense, which makes it look like Seoul is taking the high road, while still further increasing the amount of Seoul-related discussion that's occurring here and there.

Defensiveness. There are myriad reasons Korean companies, netizens, or individuals might get defensive, possibly stemming individually from the frustration of being crapped on by the level above them in a deeply hierarchical culture, in organizations that are frustrated that many people in the world still think Samsung is Japanese, nationally from the frustration of being sandwiched between China and Japan, two richer neighbors which have left a larger imprint in the consciousness of the world... and we end up with people who can't abide someone who whispers that D-wars sucked (that's changed... even the kimcheerleaders who originally supported it smile with embarrassment, or feign amnesia, like the Beef Mamas who are buying American beef, and can't quite remember where they brought their kids in strollers last spring.

And you know, sometimes, singling something out to say it sucks, is a higher form of praise than anything else. There are thousands of dumber songs written than Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da, but the people writing these top ten and top five lists know that tagging the Beatles will get them more viral headlines, and a stronger reaction. But saying the beatles suck, or one of their songs suck, or their name sucks, is just a tribute to what a deep impact the band has made... if people are taking cheap shots at Seoul, maybe that means Seoul has officially entered the pantheon of world-class cities! It's been validated as a big, easy, well-known target. Don't you get it, Seoul City? That's GOOD! The New York Times put Seoul on ITS list of places to visit this year (though it didn't clarify whether this year means 2010 or 2010 to 2012) --

If Korea wants to actually have the place in world culture it claims to aspire toward, it's gonna have to get used to these kinds of cheap shots. People aren't going to see Ninja Assassin because Rain is Korean. They'll either see it because it's a good movie, or ignore it because it's a bad movie. Right now, Korea's trying to have its cake and eat it too- it wants to be a world media force, but it also ONLY wants people to use approved phrases when talking about it. That just ain't gonna happen.

Korean video parody
Uploaded by MeowHouse. - Family events, birthdays and parenting videos.

When Korea figures out that if Wonder Girls gets a bad review in a rock magazine, that's better than being ignored, I'll get to stop writing blog posts like this. If Rain gets mocked on the Colbert report, that's GOOD - he's becoming more famous! Anybody who doesn't get that, well, it seems to me that they're concerned less with whether Korean culture is actually rising to prominence, and more with... something else (possibly what Gord Sellar once wonderfully described as the standard, near-universal conviction among Koreans that a positive image of Korea must be presented to the world). Eventually Korea will have to let go -- it'll have to realize that the country's big enough, and significant enough a presence, that they will no longer be able to strictly control its perception and its promotion. Creating an authenticity badge for Korean restaurants abroad will accomplish nothing, because people will eat the food if it's good, and they don't care if some stuffed shirt from Seoul approves of it. Eventually, if a teenager from Des Moines blogs that The Wondergirls Suck, Korea will be confident enough in its position that thousands of fourteen year olds WON'T feel compelled to tell that teenager to kill herself. Until then, this all-fired defensiveness just screams "Inferiority Complex" to everyone but the kimcheerleaders who are too red-in-the-face to notice.

2S2 January: a rousing success!

Happy music: Mass Romantic, by The New Pornographers. Glee.


So 2S2 happened again on Saturday. First of all, I'm thrilled to report that Wonju had a 2S2 of their own, over there, and they had an awesome time. You can read about it at the 2S2 Blog, and you can go to my superstar buddy Danielle's blog and tell her how wonderful she is.

This picture is a teaser: for the full write-up of the 2S2 get-together on Saturday, you'll have to go to the 2S2 Community blog.





Tee hee. Snow on trash.


This sweet New Year's ice sculpture was on the way from one place to another.


the good thing about this picture is my nemesis Dan Gray giving me his "seduction" face. Look out, ladies.

The bad thing is I'd urged him to make a more embarrassing pose, and he refused. I'm very disappointed that he's figured out not to do that stuff when my camera's out. For my readers, even more so: we're going to have to find somebody else to tease and/or embarrass with silly pictures.


footprints on one of those bench blocks in Insadong.


#2 bummer of the weekend (#1's personal)

We headed to my favorite spiced wine shop. It was not far from the 2S2 meetup. I led a whole group of about 20 of my good friends and Dan Gray's food fans...

to a missing cafe.

See, one of my favorite things in the world is finding great restaurants and stuff, and then showing my friends where they are, and watching them enjoy the victuals. But because I'm so often bringing friends to a place, when one unexpectedly disappears on me, more often than not, I've got a friend or twelve in tow, to watch my dismay, and to think I'm a doofus for leading them to restaurants that don't exist. I have to say this was the largest group ever to mock my despair, as one of my seriously favorite restaurants had been replaced...

by a freaking handbag shop. A handbag shop. Because Samchungdong REALLY needed another handbag shop. it's the only thing the friggin' place was missing. Spiced wine schmiced schmine. Handbag shops are what really defines a great district.

Oh well. Could have been worse. It could have been replaced by a telephoto lens shop for all the froofy couples.

But bitterness aside: the rest of the day was great, and a very rewarding experience, and I'm super glad it happened, and I'm already excited about the next one.

Special thanks to Dan Gray for doing a double-down 2S2 with the Seoul Eats crew: it was a great shot in the arm, and a really positive experience for everyone... except the girl who left the tea house without paying. She's gonna get it.

Just kidding.

Have a good one, all!

Come to 2S2 today!

It's the Second Saturday of January, so it's time for another 2S2. This month, we're doing a 2S2 special, teaming up with the Seoul Eats Meetup, and here's the score: meet at 12pm, at Anguk Station exit 1, for the Seoul Eats part of the meetup. You'll walk down Insa-dong street, and coming from that direction, just past the Ssamzie Square, you'll see a pharmacy on a corner on the left: turn left down that side-street. You'll walk right past a Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf. Then, once you're past the coffee bean, go left again on the first really small side-street. Look, once again, to your left, and you'll see a dumpling restaurant called "Koong". They have the best large Korean dumplings I've eaten, and I highly recommend the ddeook mandukuk - rice-cake dumpling soup. The broth is simple and tasty, the ddeok is super fresh, and the dumplings are fat, juicy, and flavorful, with all the dumplingy goodness you could hope for.

Now here's the sad part: because of an unexpected twist, I have to do something for my boss that's going to keep me busy from 10-12 this morning, which means the earliest I can arrive at the Seoul Eats meetup is about 12:30. That'll be time enough for me to get a good meal, but I'm a little choked that I can't be there for the beginning of the event I helped plan with Dan.

Next, at 2pm (hence, 2S2) we're going to the Twosome Place, the usual 2S2 meetup. We'll muster there, but not stick around too long: I'd like to get out of there fairly quickly, in order to go to a quieter place. If the group's smaller, it'll be spiced wine (glauwine) at a sweet panini restaurant I know, and if the group's bigger, it'll be tea at one of Insadong's great tea houses.

If you live in Wonju, please go to the second 2S2 Pocket, organized by Wonju Wife: read about it here.

There's a google map at the 2S2 Blog, for the Seoul Meetup, and the Wonju meetup.

This is funny. Best PC vs. Mac so far.

(warning: there's a bad word at the end)

Little asian PC girl vs. MAC parody - watch more funny videos

also, check out huffington post's "20 funniest sketches of the decade" - found on Kimchi Icecream's facebook wall.