No offense to everyone back home, but I think this Christmas has been my best in years. So where do I begin?
On Tuesday night I went out after work with a few co-workers. We went downtown to do a number of things. First, we hit up Kyobo Books, the biggest book store in Daegu. One of my co-workers, Sunju, wanted to exchange Christmas presents with me, and before any of you start asking this to yourselves (because I know you are going to) YES they celebrate Christmas here. There are many Korean Christians, and they are just like every other Christian. Sunju got me a Korean grammar textbook (which I requested) and I got her a John Coltrane CD. She wanted to start listening to jazz so I figured Coltrane was a good starting musician. Will, if you read this and are wondering which album, I got her the best one: Giant Steps.
My other co-worker, Myungji, felt a little left out and wanted to also exchange gifts with me, so she got me a really cool necklace that was made in India, and I got her some earings. We then went to dinner at this really cool Indian restaurant, followed by a couple hours spent at BilliBowl, a bar/restaurant known for the game of "Billibowl". I think I mentioned this in another blog but it's like bowling with billiards and it's really fun. My coworkers had never done it before.
On Christmas Eve I had to work, but after getting off work I went home and showered and packed for my trip to the cabin. I then hitched on over to the train station where I met 5 of my other companions. We met the 7th person at our destination city, Sangju. We then took a 40 minute taxi ride up into the mountains where our cabin awaited us. Upon arriving at the cabin, we set up our miniature fake Christmas tree and set all of the secret santa presents underneath it. We broke out the food and drinks and music and started opening presents. Mine was a comic book that basically highlights all of the nuances of Korean culture from a western perspective. It's funny but enlightening at the same time. After presents we just listened to music and drank soju and beer for a couple hours.
We spent Christmas morning drinking hot chocolate and chilling in the cabin before heading back to Daegu later in the afternoon. Upon getting back to Daegu, we met some other people at a Starbucks where we hung out for maybe an hour. By then it was 7pm and time for a fance Christmas dinner at the Holy Grill, which was only available upon reservations (which we had.) The dinner was amazing, basically a sort of Thanksgiving-style feast. There was a Christmas trivia at the end of dinner which my team ALMOST won; we ended up losing by one point. After trivia we all just sat around and played cards and talked for a couple hours.
I got back to my apartment around midnight and decided to write all this up before going to bed, since I have to work tomorrow (what the hell is that, right?) But I am now exhausted and you know all about my Christmas, so I am going to bed.
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Saturday, December 13, 2008
Battling Cynicism
I was sitting in a coffee shop with my two Thailand travel companions last night discussing some of the details of our impending journey, among other things. One of the "other things" that I brought up was about a recent verdict in a year-old criminal case. About a year ago, an Indian oil tanker, which was legitimately anchored off the south-west coast of Korea, was rammed by an out-of-control Korean shipping vessel owned by Samsung. There was a massive oil spill, and during the catastrophe, the Indian captain and first-mate were required to take an action which prevented an explosion, but also increased the amount of oil spilled into the ocean. In addition, it took about 3.5 hours for the sailors to notify any Korean authorities about the disaster; I guess the whole avoiding-an-explosion thing took a little while to pass over.
This past Wednesday, the Indian captain and first mate in charge of the ship were sentenced to 18 months and 8 months in jail, respectively. They were also heavy fines levied against them. The reasoning of the court was that the actions which increased the amount of oil spilled (and prevented an explosion) and the 3.5 hours required to notify authorities of the accident were unacceptable. In essence, the two Indian men are currently facing significant jail time because some Koreans couldn't keep their boat under control. I am pretty sure that the Koreans involved are also facing penalties, but I don't know what they are.
So last night, I went off on a rant about how the Korean "justice" system is corrupt and downright insane, and how Koreans everywhere can never take responsibility for their own mistakes. I said that this recent verdict was an example of how an incident involving a foreigner invariably leads to that foreigner being blamed for said incident (I've read about many other stories where this is the case.) Koreans can never be the only ones to blame, it's never their fault.
Anyway, today I felt myself becoming increasingly cynical about this country, so in the spirit of Christmas, I have decided to reflect on some of the things that Koreans have done for me over the last 3 months:
At the start of the school year, I was given a box of some very fancy Korean hair-care products that are apparently rather expensive. Not exactly the most useful thing I've ever been given, but the sentiment was nice.
About 6 weeks into my contract, I became very sick with what I guessed was food poisoning. I had to take 2 days off of work, and on the first day, one of my co-teachers met me after getting off work to take me to a clinic. After finishing there, her husband drove me home. And on my first day back to work, my favorite student brought me a package of cold medicine that she had bought from a nearby pharmacy with her own money.
One of the local PC centers (a place where there are dozens of computers with games and internet access on them) has generously allowed me to appropriate one of their computers for my own use. They let me install a couple of English games on it and if I ever come in to use the computer and it is occupied, they will ask the person using it to move to another computer. While it is very flattering, I usually try to prevent them from doing this, but I am not always successful. Can you imagine a store in America doing this for a customer? I can't.
I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop writing this, and just a few minutes ago, when I returned my used cup to the counter, the person working the counter handed me a brand new 2009 Calendar still in its plastic wrapping. It bears the same brand name as the coffee shop, so I am guessing it is some sort of merchandise that they normally sell but decided to give to me for some reason. I always bring my used cups and trash up to the counter before leaving so that they don't have to clean up after me, something I have never seen a Korean do. Maybe the calendar was a thank-you gift?
I have become good friends with one of the science teachers at my school who speaks very little English. Every now and then we will go to the PC center after work to play some starcraft (yes, it's still huge here and he is amazing even by Korean standards) and then grab some dinner. A couple of weeks ago he showed me how to play Korean billiards, which is much much harder than pocket (normal) pool. And every time we hang out, I never pay a cent. He won't let me. He has espoused me as his "younger brother" and views it as his responsibility to pay for everything.
Every now and then, some of the teachers and I play ping pong after school. Sometimes we then go out to dinner after playing, and once again, I am never allowed to pay.
Most Koreans have a propensity for extreme generosity towards foreigners, and I think I need to remember that more often.
This past Wednesday, the Indian captain and first mate in charge of the ship were sentenced to 18 months and 8 months in jail, respectively. They were also heavy fines levied against them. The reasoning of the court was that the actions which increased the amount of oil spilled (and prevented an explosion) and the 3.5 hours required to notify authorities of the accident were unacceptable. In essence, the two Indian men are currently facing significant jail time because some Koreans couldn't keep their boat under control. I am pretty sure that the Koreans involved are also facing penalties, but I don't know what they are.
So last night, I went off on a rant about how the Korean "justice" system is corrupt and downright insane, and how Koreans everywhere can never take responsibility for their own mistakes. I said that this recent verdict was an example of how an incident involving a foreigner invariably leads to that foreigner being blamed for said incident (I've read about many other stories where this is the case.) Koreans can never be the only ones to blame, it's never their fault.
Anyway, today I felt myself becoming increasingly cynical about this country, so in the spirit of Christmas, I have decided to reflect on some of the things that Koreans have done for me over the last 3 months:
At the start of the school year, I was given a box of some very fancy Korean hair-care products that are apparently rather expensive. Not exactly the most useful thing I've ever been given, but the sentiment was nice.
About 6 weeks into my contract, I became very sick with what I guessed was food poisoning. I had to take 2 days off of work, and on the first day, one of my co-teachers met me after getting off work to take me to a clinic. After finishing there, her husband drove me home. And on my first day back to work, my favorite student brought me a package of cold medicine that she had bought from a nearby pharmacy with her own money.
One of the local PC centers (a place where there are dozens of computers with games and internet access on them) has generously allowed me to appropriate one of their computers for my own use. They let me install a couple of English games on it and if I ever come in to use the computer and it is occupied, they will ask the person using it to move to another computer. While it is very flattering, I usually try to prevent them from doing this, but I am not always successful. Can you imagine a store in America doing this for a customer? I can't.
I am sitting in my favorite coffee shop writing this, and just a few minutes ago, when I returned my used cup to the counter, the person working the counter handed me a brand new 2009 Calendar still in its plastic wrapping. It bears the same brand name as the coffee shop, so I am guessing it is some sort of merchandise that they normally sell but decided to give to me for some reason. I always bring my used cups and trash up to the counter before leaving so that they don't have to clean up after me, something I have never seen a Korean do. Maybe the calendar was a thank-you gift?
I have become good friends with one of the science teachers at my school who speaks very little English. Every now and then we will go to the PC center after work to play some starcraft (yes, it's still huge here and he is amazing even by Korean standards) and then grab some dinner. A couple of weeks ago he showed me how to play Korean billiards, which is much much harder than pocket (normal) pool. And every time we hang out, I never pay a cent. He won't let me. He has espoused me as his "younger brother" and views it as his responsibility to pay for everything.
Every now and then, some of the teachers and I play ping pong after school. Sometimes we then go out to dinner after playing, and once again, I am never allowed to pay.
Most Koreans have a propensity for extreme generosity towards foreigners, and I think I need to remember that more often.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Reflections
A few days ago marked the end of my third month here in Korea, so I thought I'd share a few thoughts regarding life here in Korea. Here are a few things I've learned thus far:
1) Korean, like all Asian languages, is hard. It is also phonetically offensive, a brutal assault on the ears. But contrary to my initial beliefs, it is not stupid, nor useless. There are many interesting policy and social issues here, but speaking Korean would be pretty much essential for studying them.
2) Koreans for the most part live in a state of near lawlessness. Every day I see impatient Koreans blow through red lights, putting the lives of every nearby pedestrian (mostly students) in jeopardy. And they get away with it 100% of the time because the police here are corrupt, lazy, and useless, and do not enforce any basic traffic laws. I think it may be only a matter of time before I am involved in a confrontation with one of these drivers, and god help them if they put any of my students in danger.
3) I am a second-class teacher in the eyes of everybody in the school. This is not terribly offensive to me, because compared to the other teachers (who all have training AND experience whereas I have none) this is not an unreasonable opinion. I am also not bothered by this because the amount of work I do compared to the other teachers is fractional, and also because I have no desire to be a career teacher. I will do this for another 9 months and then I will likely never teach again.
4) I wrote an essay for some essay contest that the EPIK program was holding, mostly because I needed something to do during the 3rd graders' finals week. While writing this essay, I read a very interesting survey that was conducted around 1980 regarding happiness in Korea. Apparently, only 57% of Koreans were happy with their lives in 1980, and only 32% felt a sense of accomplishment in their life. These numbers are EXTREMELY low; 91% of Americans considered themselves happy, and 86% felt a sense of accomplishment. Given the way Korean society has changed over the last 30 years, I would guess that these numbers have either gone down or stayed the same in Korea.
5) Another piece of information that I got from my research: Seoul National University is the ultimate goal of any serious student in Korea, and most students qualify as "serious students". The acceptance rate at SNU is extremely low, and most students fail to get in. The amount of studying and private tutoring received by those who DO get in is unbelievable, and it has its effects on the students' mental health. About 14% of those admitted in 1980 suffered from nervous illness, character blocks, or nervous breakdowns. This is also the reason why 44% of students who study at universities abroad fail out, according to a recent article published by a Columbia University Ph.D. student.
6) Suicide is a HUGE problem here. The suicide rate in Korea is the highest among industrialized countries. The suicide rates tend to jump around exam times, as students who do poor on an exam are prone to suicide. Recently, several famous actors committed suicide within a couple of weeks of each other. One did it because he was facing money problems; another actress did it because a "netizen" started a false, malicious rumor about her. I could only think to myself, "these people wouldn't last 5 minutes as celebrities in America." There is no suicide prevention, no education, and as far as I know, no hotline or any type of help service. The Korean approach to suicide is simply to not talk about it. Koreans simply do not value life. They value school (for their children that is), physical appearance, and that's about it.
7) Koreans look in the mirror an average of about 10,000 times per day.
8) When not looking in the mirror, they are looking for a mirror in which to look.
9) The fact that I do not wear makeup of any kind is astonishing to my co-teachers, which in itself is astonishing to me.
10) I can get the most delicious food from vendors on the side of the street for dirt cheap, which is something that I am desperately going to miss when I do leave.
11) It is becoming increasingly less difficult to suppress a laugh when Koreans tell me they think the North and South will be reunified in the near future.
Unfortunately, I am starting to lose a lot of respect for the Koreans. I really enjoy my school and everyone who works at it, and I respect them all a lot. It's the rest of Korea that is making me cynical. They have so many problems, but they are all too lazy to do anything about them. It's considered normal to do as little work as possible here. When things go wrong, standard procedure is to ignore the problem until it goes away; if it refuses to go away, blame somebody else. The Koreans need a serious wake-up call, but I'm afraid they'll be too busy looking in the mirror whenever it comes knocking.
1) Korean, like all Asian languages, is hard. It is also phonetically offensive, a brutal assault on the ears. But contrary to my initial beliefs, it is not stupid, nor useless. There are many interesting policy and social issues here, but speaking Korean would be pretty much essential for studying them.
2) Koreans for the most part live in a state of near lawlessness. Every day I see impatient Koreans blow through red lights, putting the lives of every nearby pedestrian (mostly students) in jeopardy. And they get away with it 100% of the time because the police here are corrupt, lazy, and useless, and do not enforce any basic traffic laws. I think it may be only a matter of time before I am involved in a confrontation with one of these drivers, and god help them if they put any of my students in danger.
3) I am a second-class teacher in the eyes of everybody in the school. This is not terribly offensive to me, because compared to the other teachers (who all have training AND experience whereas I have none) this is not an unreasonable opinion. I am also not bothered by this because the amount of work I do compared to the other teachers is fractional, and also because I have no desire to be a career teacher. I will do this for another 9 months and then I will likely never teach again.
4) I wrote an essay for some essay contest that the EPIK program was holding, mostly because I needed something to do during the 3rd graders' finals week. While writing this essay, I read a very interesting survey that was conducted around 1980 regarding happiness in Korea. Apparently, only 57% of Koreans were happy with their lives in 1980, and only 32% felt a sense of accomplishment in their life. These numbers are EXTREMELY low; 91% of Americans considered themselves happy, and 86% felt a sense of accomplishment. Given the way Korean society has changed over the last 30 years, I would guess that these numbers have either gone down or stayed the same in Korea.
5) Another piece of information that I got from my research: Seoul National University is the ultimate goal of any serious student in Korea, and most students qualify as "serious students". The acceptance rate at SNU is extremely low, and most students fail to get in. The amount of studying and private tutoring received by those who DO get in is unbelievable, and it has its effects on the students' mental health. About 14% of those admitted in 1980 suffered from nervous illness, character blocks, or nervous breakdowns. This is also the reason why 44% of students who study at universities abroad fail out, according to a recent article published by a Columbia University Ph.D. student.
6) Suicide is a HUGE problem here. The suicide rate in Korea is the highest among industrialized countries. The suicide rates tend to jump around exam times, as students who do poor on an exam are prone to suicide. Recently, several famous actors committed suicide within a couple of weeks of each other. One did it because he was facing money problems; another actress did it because a "netizen" started a false, malicious rumor about her. I could only think to myself, "these people wouldn't last 5 minutes as celebrities in America." There is no suicide prevention, no education, and as far as I know, no hotline or any type of help service. The Korean approach to suicide is simply to not talk about it. Koreans simply do not value life. They value school (for their children that is), physical appearance, and that's about it.
7) Koreans look in the mirror an average of about 10,000 times per day.
8) When not looking in the mirror, they are looking for a mirror in which to look.
9) The fact that I do not wear makeup of any kind is astonishing to my co-teachers, which in itself is astonishing to me.
10) I can get the most delicious food from vendors on the side of the street for dirt cheap, which is something that I am desperately going to miss when I do leave.
11) It is becoming increasingly less difficult to suppress a laugh when Koreans tell me they think the North and South will be reunified in the near future.
Unfortunately, I am starting to lose a lot of respect for the Koreans. I really enjoy my school and everyone who works at it, and I respect them all a lot. It's the rest of Korea that is making me cynical. They have so many problems, but they are all too lazy to do anything about them. It's considered normal to do as little work as possible here. When things go wrong, standard procedure is to ignore the problem until it goes away; if it refuses to go away, blame somebody else. The Koreans need a serious wake-up call, but I'm afraid they'll be too busy looking in the mirror whenever it comes knocking.
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