A lady in Apgujeong has been selling apples as a promotion for a line of products called "apple hip"
Korea Times Reports
Now, Apple hip sounds like a uniquely Korean creation to me: you see, here in Korea, the word for "bum" or "ass" is often confused with the word for "hip" - as far as I can tell, they're one and the same word to Koreans, in the same way that there's pretty much just the word "neck" in Korean, rather than having separate words for your neck (usually meaning the back) and your throat (the soft front part). See also: jaw/chin. Those up on their North American slang know that apple bottom, over there, has a different meaning.
So, let's add "Apple Hip" to the list of english phrases that are weird Korean/Konglish renderings of North-American slang phrases.
Does anybody know more about Apple Hip products than what's in the article? James in The Grand Narrative writes about "apple hips" in Korea - including these ass-tastic TV ads. Looks like having "Apple Hips" in Korea (see below:)
Has a very different, um, connotation, than it does in North America:
oh gee. sorry folks. I can't bring myself to post what I got from searching youtube for "Apple bottom" on my blog -- for a PG-13 comparison of an American apple bottom, click here. To sum up: small waist + big round booty = apple bottom.
I've been told that having an apple face in Korea means being beautiful, but I haven't heard more detail than that: anybody well-versed in Korean beauty talk care to explain why having an apple face is good to Koreans? My high-beginner students tried to explain it to me a few nights ago (which is why this Apple hip article caught my eye), but didn't quite get it across.
one expat's life in Korea
Thursday, October 07, 2010
Tuesday, October 05, 2010
Link Rundown: Wish I had the Free Time to Write these three up Properly
Well, I've got a bunch of ATEK stuff on my plate, keeping me busy with this and that, so I don't have the time to give any of these posts the time they deserve: I'd love to write each one up on its own.
1. HOLY CRAP! In a post reminiscent of a previous one, I'm No Picasso was sexually harassed, and quite nearly attacked last weekend. She came out OK, but not without things getting pretty sketchy. A while ago, I asked ALTAWATSAC to write an article on women's safety in Korea, and she wrote a great one, which I wish I could link; unfortunately, her blog seems to have vanished.
So, female bloggers near and far: drop me a line, write me a letter, or leave a comment: I'd really love it if one of you would write an update to the now-defunct ALTAWATSAC's article about women's safety in Korea. I'll link you, I'll tweet you, I'll post your blog on my facebook pages. I'll tell everyone I know about you, and you can revel in all fifty (give or take) new readers of mine that I'll send your way.
2. HOLY CRAP! A young lady was assaulted and nearly scalped on the subway when an older lady decided to throw down. The screamingly outrageous incident was captured on video, and we were all left with a cautionary tale about how ugly it gets when Koreans take the Confucian privileging of seniority as license to treat others like crap. They're forgetting the other side of that Confucian age thing, if they neglect to live up to the duty of the senior: to be a role model, a mentor, a virtuous example, and to look out for the juniors.
Here's the shocking video.
Write-up at Popular Gusts, who links the always insightful Gord Sellar, riffing on an older article about subway seat entitlement from the Joongang Daily. Commentary on the video seems divided into those who think the young lady was disrespectful, who think the old lady was a disgrace, and those who think it's a disgrace that others on the subway car averted their eyes and let the whole thing play out without getting involved in the least. Count me among that third group. So much for civic-mindedness on the Seoul Subway. HiExpat may have been the first expat website to get to the video and report on it in English.
Roboseyo predicts that, within five years, in the same way that the "no gays in Korea" meme slowly died a quiet death, the same way the "Korea is one blood" meme has quietly been fading, the "We should understand: he/she's had a hard life" justification for outrageous behavior by older Koreans will run out of gas, and the backlash will begin. It's not there yet, but starting with the Namdaemun Fire, when "He's had a hard life" paled in comparison to "yeah, but that was f*****g National Treasure NUMBER ONE," I think the backlash is on its way: this video going viral is one example of the quiet backlash developing.
To be clear: many seniors in Korea ARE awesome people, and super-nice. However, it's a shame that, in the same way a few English teachers get busted for sending themselves pot brownies, and we all look bad, it's a shame that a few seniors are out doing their best to establish this stereotype of Korean seniors all being battle-axes, harpies, and general assholes.
3. Be A Good Person Finally, I got a message from a fella named John, telling me about JangHeung Area Childrens Center: he's trying to raise money for Christmas presents for the group home where he volunteers: it's a home for kids whose family lives are missing a few ingredients: one or both parents, or the kind of mentorship and role-modeling that puts a kid in good shape for the future. He's put a link, which didn't work for me in Chrome (update: link has been corrected), to the Children's Center's website, here: http://jncsw.org/jang17/ and Brian in Jeollanam-do's covered the same fundraiser, here, and his post includes information on where to send money: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2010/09/collecting-donations-for-childrens.html. If you're looking for a way to make your Christmas in Korea a little more special, why not do it by making Christmas brighter for a bunch of kids who need it, instead of by tracking down a mini-christmas tree with fake snow on it in Namdaemun.
Finally, if you want me, Roboseyo to have more free time to bring my bloggy bits forward on the internet offering table, here's what you can do:
1. Join ATEK (atek.or.kr/join)
2. Become a General Member (atek.or.kr/welcome)
3. Run for the position of Communications Officer in your regional association (PMA) (atek.or.kr/officers)
And help me share the communications load, so that I can do more blogging.
Particularly, if you have training, experience, or ambitions in Journalism, ATEK communications is a place where your skills, experience, or ambition is greatly needed, would be greatly appreciated, and seriously, seriously, can be an amazing resume builder. Even if you have none of the above experience, training, or ambitions, believe me, there's stuff for you to do.
Plus, you'll also be helping English teachers.
1. HOLY CRAP! In a post reminiscent of a previous one, I'm No Picasso was sexually harassed, and quite nearly attacked last weekend. She came out OK, but not without things getting pretty sketchy. A while ago, I asked ALTAWATSAC to write an article on women's safety in Korea, and she wrote a great one, which I wish I could link; unfortunately, her blog seems to have vanished.
So, female bloggers near and far: drop me a line, write me a letter, or leave a comment: I'd really love it if one of you would write an update to the now-defunct ALTAWATSAC's article about women's safety in Korea. I'll link you, I'll tweet you, I'll post your blog on my facebook pages. I'll tell everyone I know about you, and you can revel in all fifty (give or take) new readers of mine that I'll send your way.
2. HOLY CRAP! A young lady was assaulted and nearly scalped on the subway when an older lady decided to throw down. The screamingly outrageous incident was captured on video, and we were all left with a cautionary tale about how ugly it gets when Koreans take the Confucian privileging of seniority as license to treat others like crap. They're forgetting the other side of that Confucian age thing, if they neglect to live up to the duty of the senior: to be a role model, a mentor, a virtuous example, and to look out for the juniors.
Here's the shocking video.
Write-up at Popular Gusts, who links the always insightful Gord Sellar, riffing on an older article about subway seat entitlement from the Joongang Daily. Commentary on the video seems divided into those who think the young lady was disrespectful, who think the old lady was a disgrace, and those who think it's a disgrace that others on the subway car averted their eyes and let the whole thing play out without getting involved in the least. Count me among that third group. So much for civic-mindedness on the Seoul Subway. HiExpat may have been the first expat website to get to the video and report on it in English.
Roboseyo predicts that, within five years, in the same way that the "no gays in Korea" meme slowly died a quiet death, the same way the "Korea is one blood" meme has quietly been fading, the "We should understand: he/she's had a hard life" justification for outrageous behavior by older Koreans will run out of gas, and the backlash will begin. It's not there yet, but starting with the Namdaemun Fire, when "He's had a hard life" paled in comparison to "yeah, but that was f*****g National Treasure NUMBER ONE," I think the backlash is on its way: this video going viral is one example of the quiet backlash developing.
To be clear: many seniors in Korea ARE awesome people, and super-nice. However, it's a shame that, in the same way a few English teachers get busted for sending themselves pot brownies, and we all look bad, it's a shame that a few seniors are out doing their best to establish this stereotype of Korean seniors all being battle-axes, harpies, and general assholes.
3. Be A Good Person Finally, I got a message from a fella named John, telling me about JangHeung Area Childrens Center: he's trying to raise money for Christmas presents for the group home where he volunteers: it's a home for kids whose family lives are missing a few ingredients: one or both parents, or the kind of mentorship and role-modeling that puts a kid in good shape for the future. He's put a link, which didn't work for me in Chrome (update: link has been corrected), to the Children's Center's website, here: http://jncsw.org/jang17/ and Brian in Jeollanam-do's covered the same fundraiser, here, and his post includes information on where to send money: http://briandeutsch.blogspot.com/2010/09/collecting-donations-for-childrens.html. If you're looking for a way to make your Christmas in Korea a little more special, why not do it by making Christmas brighter for a bunch of kids who need it, instead of by tracking down a mini-christmas tree with fake snow on it in Namdaemun.
Finally, if you want me, Roboseyo to have more free time to bring my bloggy bits forward on the internet offering table, here's what you can do:
1. Join ATEK (atek.or.kr/join)
2. Become a General Member (atek.or.kr/welcome)
3. Run for the position of Communications Officer in your regional association (PMA) (atek.or.kr/officers)
And help me share the communications load, so that I can do more blogging.
Particularly, if you have training, experience, or ambitions in Journalism, ATEK communications is a place where your skills, experience, or ambition is greatly needed, would be greatly appreciated, and seriously, seriously, can be an amazing resume builder. Even if you have none of the above experience, training, or ambitions, believe me, there's stuff for you to do.
Plus, you'll also be helping English teachers.
Monday, October 04, 2010
My three travel tips
So Chris in South Korea tagged me to share my three best travel tips. He shared his own here. Among his tips were to use Koreas super useful tourist help line, packing light, and getting it on in the love motels. Blogger David S Wills, the artist formerly known as... a different k-blog... added his own very worthwhile pointers, and now here are mine:
1. Preparedness: Zippers, layers and liquids. You want to spend all day stomping around your destination; you don't want to get stuck running around, looking for an extra layer, or get laid up with a headache from too much sun/not enough liquids. Carry a day-trip sized backpack or tie a few extra layers around your waist: unless you're traveling Korea in the summer, the temperature in these parts drops at night. A lot. If you travel a lot, invest in some mountain gear brands: they're pricier than your average sweater, but north face, napa, Columbia sports and the like have sweaters that pack way small, are light as a normal shirt, but warm as a spring jacket, especially when layered. A few layers of those (with zippers so you can adjust them, instead of having an all-or-nothing pullover) a bit of wool, and you'll be ready for anything. Doing the same with a raincoat isn't a bad idea during the summer, if this summer is any indication of summers to come. Also on the preparedness train, make sure you have your head covered, and a water bottle or canteen at your belt. Nothing derails a day trip as quick as a dehydration or exposure headache.
Tying your stuff around your waist ain't sexy... but you'll be ready to roll.
2. Buddy up. Everything is more fun when it's shared. That's one of the reasons I started blogging: sharing my experiences with my readers makes them more enjoyable to me. But nothing enhances a travel experience more than sharing it with am actual person. When I'm with someone I'm braver, more adventurous, and more fun, than when I travel alone.
3. Leave the devices home. Your mp3 player puts you in a sound bubble and shuts out the rest of the world. The mobile devices, even the phone, can work as tethers, holding you back from truly experiencing the places you go. Why listen to the same old music on your player, when a tour bus in the parking lot is bopping with something you've never even imagined before. Shut the devices off and be present where you are. The most perfect moments I've had as a traveler were the ones where I even put away the camera, and just turned on my five senses --developing a sense for which glorious moments photograph well, and which glorious moments don't, will help you get the most out of your travel memories. This is especially important when you're traveling with someone: I've been accused by wifeoseyo, essentially, of "blogging" while we were out together, instead of attending to her, my actual travel partner. Don't be that tool.
Not that it isn't sometimes good to have a camera along, of course. (Notice that wifeoseyo is following all of my preparedness tips in the above photo.)
Two bonus points for free: this one's similar enough to one of David's points I don't feel the need to repeat it in my "real" three tips, but:
Follow your nose. A lot of great things can happen if you loosen expectations, and listen for restaurants, paths and menu items to call your name. Sticking too rigidly to a timetable leads to mechanical travel experiences, while wandering off the map might lead to a totally unique travel experience. The safety flip-side of following your nose is trusting your instincts, but as you become a more experienced traveler you'll get better at reading people and situations.
Finally, remember that if something goes as planned, it's a great travel experience; if things go wrong, it's a great story for later. If that's your approach to traveling, you'll always come away with something memorable and worthwhile.
Tags:
I tag my well-traveled friends Tamie, Melissa, and Eat Your Kimchi's Simon & Martina.
1. Preparedness: Zippers, layers and liquids. You want to spend all day stomping around your destination; you don't want to get stuck running around, looking for an extra layer, or get laid up with a headache from too much sun/not enough liquids. Carry a day-trip sized backpack or tie a few extra layers around your waist: unless you're traveling Korea in the summer, the temperature in these parts drops at night. A lot. If you travel a lot, invest in some mountain gear brands: they're pricier than your average sweater, but north face, napa, Columbia sports and the like have sweaters that pack way small, are light as a normal shirt, but warm as a spring jacket, especially when layered. A few layers of those (with zippers so you can adjust them, instead of having an all-or-nothing pullover) a bit of wool, and you'll be ready for anything. Doing the same with a raincoat isn't a bad idea during the summer, if this summer is any indication of summers to come. Also on the preparedness train, make sure you have your head covered, and a water bottle or canteen at your belt. Nothing derails a day trip as quick as a dehydration or exposure headache.
2. Buddy up. Everything is more fun when it's shared. That's one of the reasons I started blogging: sharing my experiences with my readers makes them more enjoyable to me. But nothing enhances a travel experience more than sharing it with am actual person. When I'm with someone I'm braver, more adventurous, and more fun, than when I travel alone.
3. Leave the devices home. Your mp3 player puts you in a sound bubble and shuts out the rest of the world. The mobile devices, even the phone, can work as tethers, holding you back from truly experiencing the places you go. Why listen to the same old music on your player, when a tour bus in the parking lot is bopping with something you've never even imagined before. Shut the devices off and be present where you are. The most perfect moments I've had as a traveler were the ones where I even put away the camera, and just turned on my five senses --developing a sense for which glorious moments photograph well, and which glorious moments don't, will help you get the most out of your travel memories. This is especially important when you're traveling with someone: I've been accused by wifeoseyo, essentially, of "blogging" while we were out together, instead of attending to her, my actual travel partner. Don't be that tool.
Two bonus points for free: this one's similar enough to one of David's points I don't feel the need to repeat it in my "real" three tips, but:
Follow your nose. A lot of great things can happen if you loosen expectations, and listen for restaurants, paths and menu items to call your name. Sticking too rigidly to a timetable leads to mechanical travel experiences, while wandering off the map might lead to a totally unique travel experience. The safety flip-side of following your nose is trusting your instincts, but as you become a more experienced traveler you'll get better at reading people and situations.
Finally, remember that if something goes as planned, it's a great travel experience; if things go wrong, it's a great story for later. If that's your approach to traveling, you'll always come away with something memorable and worthwhile.
Tags:
I tag my well-traveled friends Tamie, Melissa, and Eat Your Kimchi's Simon & Martina.
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Random Stuff: Pictures, Festival, International Marriages
Found this picture on an old disc. Don't know if I posted it yet.
coffee bar near where I used to live. The name was Sketch, or Sketchy in Konglish. And buddy, the name was hella appropriate to the look of the place and neighborhood.
Next:
On Friday, the Hi Seoul Festival starts. The Hi Seoul Festival is usually, frankly, pretty great, loaded with free performances and stuff to see. You should make a point of attending, if you can. Here's the website. Learn more.
Welcome news: They're trying to tighten the rules on international marriages, so that it's a little harder to set up those tragic situations where imported brides go missing, or get beaten nearly to death, within a week of arriving. They're proposing laws to block someone with economic or mental disadvantages, or with criminal history, from bringing in a foreign bride. The problem? The right to the pursuit of happiness might end up shooting down laws that, say, a mentally disabled 47-year-old is no longer able to bring a 20-year-old in to mother his children.
There are required courses about intercultural issues already, which is good. I hope they can figure out some ways to make these laws stick.
However, while screening is important, even more important are follow-up programs for women who are already here: I'll be honest and admit I don't know a whole lot about what programs are in place, or where they're located: free classes in Seoul don't mean much for isolated country-houses in Jeollabuk.
Korea Times story here.
On Friday, the Hi Seoul Festival starts. The Hi Seoul Festival is usually, frankly, pretty great, loaded with free performances and stuff to see. You should make a point of attending, if you can. Here's the website. Learn more.
Welcome news: They're trying to tighten the rules on international marriages, so that it's a little harder to set up those tragic situations where imported brides go missing, or get beaten nearly to death, within a week of arriving. They're proposing laws to block someone with economic or mental disadvantages, or with criminal history, from bringing in a foreign bride. The problem? The right to the pursuit of happiness might end up shooting down laws that, say, a mentally disabled 47-year-old is no longer able to bring a 20-year-old in to mother his children.
There are required courses about intercultural issues already, which is good. I hope they can figure out some ways to make these laws stick.
However, while screening is important, even more important are follow-up programs for women who are already here: I'll be honest and admit I don't know a whole lot about what programs are in place, or where they're located: free classes in Seoul don't mean much for isolated country-houses in Jeollabuk.
Korea Times story here.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Reader Query: Bike Shop Street in Seoul?
OK, readers, you know how there's some neighborhood or another, somewhere in Seoul, with a street full, almost exclusively, of shops selling one particular thing? Near jongno 3-ga there's medallion and trophy alley, along the cheonggyecheon by Jongno 5 there's mechanical implement block, and then there's office furniture lane, right next to printing press street. The bottom of Dobong Mountain, as well as near the fountain in Namdaemun, are hiking goods *mecca*s. A former coworker swears up and down that she once stumbled across prosthetic limb street, but couldn't remember how to find it back.
Well, readers, I know where scooter and motorbike street is: it's near Chungmuro, mixed in with pet shop street; however, I don't know, and I really want to know, where bicycle lane is. See, I'm looking into buying a (non-motorized) bicycle, and I'd like to buy a folding one that fits in the trunk (boot) of the car; however, I don't think I could buy a bike sight unseen, over the internet: like pants, and sofas, they need to pass the bum test, where I try before I buy.
So, if anybody knows where "bike street" is, please let me know in the comments. A google map would be nice, but not mandatory.
Well, readers, I know where scooter and motorbike street is: it's near Chungmuro, mixed in with pet shop street; however, I don't know, and I really want to know, where bicycle lane is. See, I'm looking into buying a (non-motorized) bicycle, and I'd like to buy a folding one that fits in the trunk (boot) of the car; however, I don't think I could buy a bike sight unseen, over the internet: like pants, and sofas, they need to pass the bum test, where I try before I buy.
So, if anybody knows where "bike street" is, please let me know in the comments. A google map would be nice, but not mandatory.
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