Sunday, November 25, 2012

Anyone Else Over Gangnam Style?

I am.

The Gangnam Style video is now the most watched in Youtube history.

I mean as a song it's catchy and as a video I love the message that the massive and shallow consumer culture that Korea has adapted in the last 30 years is ultimately un fulfilling and that real happiness is found with other people, not things.

However, I think someone needs to explain to people that:

1 - Psy sold out after ridiculing Korean consumer culture.
2 - Psy does not represent Korea.

In Gangnam they are now building a Psy/Kpop themed park (seriously) to promote tourism and Kpop. It's like no one realizes that Gangnam is being ridiculed here. But I guess when Psy is now hawking sell phones, cars and beer it's hard for him to keep his image as an anti-corporate, anti-consumer guy. I wish he had spent a bit more time pointing out that part of his song and his ideas, get people thinking about what really matters. It's not like we aren't ultra-consumerist in the west. Bill Gates married a model for a reason. I just think we feel bad about it. However, blatant consumerism and status seeking ARE met with resistance. Anna Nicole Smith was called a gold digger (with just cause) but here she'd be admired in a few circles. That IS a problem. It's one of the soul and culture but it's a problem and it's one that Psy had ridiculed. It could have been a springboard for a real soul searching discussion. Instead we get a new theme park and kids are buying LG brand Psy cell phones.


Psy is on record as saying that he does not represent Korea or want to, yet everything he does in analyzed and discussed here. Pictures of him smoking in Toronto are panned, yet virtually every Korean male smokes (ie - he IS representing the reality). Psy is, in fact, the opposite of what Korean pop culture is about. Kpop is SO youth and sex appeal focused that it's debatable what real music there is. It's catchy, very catchy actually, but it's nine girls in tight clothes. This video by T-ara is a much better example of the average K-pop video. A post apocalyptic future where the women still manage to have $200 worth of makeup on, have no muscle or fat to speak of and spend time playing with cute rabbits while being hunted by hordes of homoerotic men also wearing $200 worth of makeup. The Walking Dead it is not. This is what Korea has been pushing as it's pop music successfully in Asia but without any real success in western markets for years. There's a reason for that. There is no substance. Psy is a fat, 34 year old man. In Korea he was not well received before this. He had a fan base but he was old and not attractive to far too many people. Suddenly he breaks in and now he represents Korea? He is what Korean pop culture has been loathing for 15 years and why he did a parody of that lifestyle the way he did.

In any event I think Psy is more Ricky Martin that John Lennon and in six months some new thing will have replaced him internationally. For now though it seems an opportunity lost.

Sometimes I Just Have to Laugh at my Wacky Northern Neighbour

They have now built a 1800 foot slogan on the side of a mountain praising Kim Jong-Un.

I mean, they don't have food or heating for the coming winter, but clearly this was more important. I wonder if the North Koreans know that to the rest of us the Kim dynasty is a bit of a joke or that no one is impressed by this.

However it is visible with satellites and is uniquely North Korean and so is an oddity in itself. This comes on the heels of Kim III teaching the military band to play and training air force pilots himself despite having never flown a plane (this new training method being well received in Seoul, Tokyo and Washington).

Anyway, worth a share.


It's Daejeon

That's the slogan of the city I was in this weekend as Kris, Mike, Darren and I met to explore a new city and catch up after vacations to London and Cambodia and job moves and city moves etc etc etc.

To be honest we found an all you can meat bbq buffet with a 10000 won price tag so that was 2-6. Then it was hotel, train tickets and off to explore the city. It was a great, if very late, night out that I rarely do these days but am glad to once in a while. We found some great bars and restaurants and saw a lot of the city core of the "old downtown".

Daejeon is also cool because it's a bit more working class, so you meet more people who don't necessarily have access to western education or private academies. A very different look at Korean life when you meet these people (though Daejeon is also a major university town, so there's plenty of higher education there too).

"It's Daejeon" is already my favourite slogan in a country that has given us "Dynamic Busan", "Ulsan for You" and the Tommy Wiseau inspired "Hi Seoul" (replacing the MUCH better "Seoul: Soul of Asia"). But heck, it IS Daejeon and it was a good visit.


Thursday, November 22, 2012

Branch Move

Yesterday I was asked if I would mind transferring to the Yongsan branch of Moonkkang in January for a few months, as Moonkkang is doing some restructuring and needs more teachers there and less in Sangin. Yongsan is two stops away from Keimyung where I worked my first year in Daegu and is a decent area to live in. Being that I'm kinda new (and it was an offer that wasn't really an offer anyway) I decided to accept if it's a go. It was actually my second choice of location when I got the job, something they were kind enough to remember, and so I'm not that upset.

Actually part of me was relieved. I had begun to wonder if Sangin for another year was a mistake. I had already lived here a year and visited lots my first year when Geoff lived here. I am feeling very comfortable and settled and while to most that sounds great, if I'm going to be settled and comfy in west Daegu, why not go be settled and comfy in western Canada? Isn't the whole point of this life exploration, adventure and cash and all while you're young enough to enjoy it? With Crystal, Danny and Darren all still here I'll be making trips out anyway, but Monday-Friday I'd be exploring a new area.

The only downside is that I have a sweet apartment that I may have to give up (the commute would not be fun). It's not finalized yet but if it's offered on Tuesday when I meet Lynn I will accept.

Protests at Wal-Mart

This made my day.

Geoff got me on to this and man I've been smiling since I read it. I'm not sure what it will amount to but Wal-Mart employees are walking out across the U.S.A on Black Friday in an effort to protest low wages, strange hours and lack of health care.

I worked at Wal-Mart as a kid and it is the only employer I have had who I would not speak highly of, or at least respectfully of. To this day I will not shop at Wal-Mart (I have not since I left the company after Christmas in early 2002). Low wages are the norm, 'Wal-Mart" full time in 28 hours a week in countries where they can get away with it, they have a multi-million dollar union busting team and even shut down a store in Quebec when they did unionize and they are, well, dicks.

I did other retail in my day, working at Future Shop (a Canadian Best Buy) while going through university. While it wasn't always fun and I certainly had a few questionable managers the overwhelming majority of staff and management were good and I actually keep in touch with people there who I worked with. It's not a career place for me but if I had an interest in selling electronics and could make a killing off of commission or wanted a retail management career I'd think about it. Not so with Wal-Mart. I remember one of our managers, he was 28 and had just gotten married. Upon his return from his honeymoon it was, "Congratulations, now you're off to Whitehorse." Always wondered how long that marriage lasted.

It's also not like these employees are asking for 12 weeks paid vacation and $50/h to run a till. They are asking for healthcare and a pension. I've looked at jobs in Bangkok (admittedly as a university) that offer healthcare and a pension. If it can be provided in a developing country it can be provided in California.

Anyway if you want you can make a donation to help striking workers. They're pushing $90,000 in just a few days so obviously people outside the company care.

As to Black Friday, or in Canada on Boxing Day. I have a crazy idea. Stay home, eat leftovers, talk to your family and friends. You have more shit than you need anyway. Believe it or not the acquisition of things is not that fulfilling. You want to spend your excess income on these days might I recommend this instead.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Free Stuff in Korea

Last night I went out for bbq and to a beer mart with a couple friends. Nothing too crazy but at the beer mart I was able to drink Chang and after talking to Mike about his recent adventures in Thailand I was feeling a bit nostalgic for the place.

Anyway on my way out I was given a "service" (pronounced so bih see) gift. Getting free nacho's or cola at restaurants is common here but at a beer mart it's not usual. However that fact that we got gifts is not half as strange as what they were:

My Cafri beer travel kit.
The beer mart doesn't serve Cafri.....


A travel kit with shampoo and body wash. I guess it makes sense, import beer, travelling, personal hygiene ......

Just.

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Just

Not a lot to write about this weekend. I had a fairly quiet one overall with only a Friday night out at all to Fish and Grill and WaBar. The rest of the weekend was spent cleaning, relaxing skyping etc. I found that after an October of travelling and moving and then a weekend in Busan I was ready for a quiet day and that is exactly what I got.

I also think I'm settling in to a bit of post adventure depression that I'm hoping to overcome this weekend with a trip to Daejeon to see Mike and Kris (who are coming down from Seoul and Ilsan respectively). Not that I am really that depressed but I have spent August-October travelling in Japan and England, changing jobs (a quasi promotion in fact) and now it's done and I'm settling in as winter is commencing with no real plans to get excited about until April when school starts and I can hopefully get a week off. After a three month high it's odd to be back to normal life.

That being said I'll spend this weekend hearing all about Mike's trip to Thailand and Cambodia, a trip I did in 2008, and about Kris' potential move and trip home. I also have a few England stories left and I haven't seen much of Kris since I got back so it should be a great weekend.

I'm also going to look in to vacations this week. Beijing or Vietnam?

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Staypuff Is Die

My good friend David, who I worked with in 2009 and 2010 at SEI has decided to hang up his blog, staypuff.net. It was his amazing blogging that was my inspiration for this site, as I had already lived in Korea a year and had travelled in SE Asia and Australia with no real record of it except through photo's which I rarely bothered to caption. Even though it is finished it details an amazing seven years in Korea and Beijing and gives a real insight in to what expat life is all about and how to do it properly. Although it's been very neglected this year I still enjoyed reading it when it came up.

Although our writing styles and topics differ a lot (David had 25-30 posts a month with much more day to day details than I do) it was reading through it that made me realize how important a record like that is and I'm a bit sad to see it end, though I fully respect David's rationale for doing so.

I guess this means I'll just have to visit him and Em this spring in Beijing to catch up on their adventures. :)

Monday, November 12, 2012

Starting To Get Colder

This morning I decided to go for a little hike up the mountain. It seemed a sunny enough day and I was tired of the gym.

I think I won't be on that mountain again until next April. It wasn't freezing, but the wind and temperature made it a bit too uncomfortable. I'll admit I'm a bit of a wimp when it comes to cold weather, but despite the views I was missing the heaters of the gym.

I know it's only going to get worse and by January I'll be wishing for this temperature. Ah well, maybe next year I should teach English in Taiwan :P

Belated Congrats to Obama

Like virtually anyone who has finished High School I was happy to see Barack Obama re-elected as president in the States. Not that it affects me that much (or really at all) but it's great to see a guy who says that he doesn't care about half the people he means to govern lose so convincingly.

It's also nice to see that the sort of conservatism practiced by republicans in the US has proven so unpopular with anyone who is not a college dropout or a rich white guy. You'll note that both in the UK and Canada conservative governments have been elected and stayed in power. This is because they preach crazy stuff like financial responsibility and job growth while downplaying or ignoring stuff like gay marriage. While I may not agree with all of their platform it is a stance that can appeal to younger voters. Ron Paul managed to galvanize younger voters but his treatment by republicans ensured that they stayed home, voted for Gary Johnson (the libertarian candidate) or even Obama. Not that I think Ron Paul would be a good president (at the end of the day libertarianism works best with rich white folks just as Romney did) but at least he left the god hates fags stuff at home. Heck as a secretary of the treasury I bet he'd do great.

However it was not to be and Obama won a very convincing victory. It will be interesting to see how republicans respond to this loss. Will they move away from the tea party crowd towards a more British style of conservative or will they go crazy religious right. It's hard to listen to Romney go on about personal freedom when he wants to restrict what I can put in my body, who I can have sex with and what god I can believe in. I can't see a tea party driven republican party faring any better in a country that has approved marijuana use in some states and has allowed gay marriage in over ten States so far (and all in the last 8 years). The simple fact is that there are not enough rich, white guys and high school dropouts left to vote for that sort of conservatism.

Not that I agree with everything Obama has done. Intervention in Libya and budget cuts to NASA piss me off but overall he's batting around .900. He ended one of two colonial wars, he has made it so everyone can see a doctor, he allowed a tax cut to expire that does not effect 99% of the US population anyway (and didn't raise taxes except for healthcare). Remember those conveniently timed "amber alerts" in 2004 and 2008? No more fear for the win. Border crossings are secure but no longer military checkpoints. Job growth is slow but steady. I mean this guy inherited the worst mess since FDR inherited and I think he's done okay. Certainly the improvement of the eight years that preceded him can not be overstated.

So well done Barack Obama.


Sunday, November 11, 2012

Busan. Lions vs. Lions. Izakaya's etc.

This weekend was a Japanese themed trip to Busan with Bobby to see the Lotte Giants (Busan) take on the Yomiuri Giants (Tokyo) for a spot in Sunday's final against the Lamigo Monkeys (Taiyuan, Taiwan) in the 2012 Asia Series. We then planned to head to Nampo-dong for some Japanese food with the tourists and see what happened.

It started with the almost routine KTX trip from Dongdaegu to Busan where we met around 1130 (Bobby coming all the way from Seoul had a rather longer trip). It was then off to Sajik Stadium to get tickets for the game. Sajik is much larger than the tiny stadium in Daegu and at 28,500 capacity can hold more people than Jamsil in Seoul, making it the largest stadium in the country (though dwarfed by every MLB park and the Tokyo Dome). It's an older stadium but still a great place to watch a game. I was a little disappointed by the low turnout for the game. It wasn't the final but it was likely to be the last game played by the hometown Giants. However we had a section of seating to ourselves and despite a strong wind were fairly comfortable.

Left to right:
Lotte Giants, Yomiuri Giants, Perth Heat 

the outfield

the infield

Rowdy Japanese fans.


The game itself was a blowout with Yomiuri scoring one run in almost every inning (though never more than one) and Lotte unable to get a run at all. Yomiuri are considered the best team in Asia (Yankees of Japan is a common comparison) and they went on to win the championship the next day so perhaps it wasn't that surprising. Still, fun to see that calibre of baseball in Korea.

After the game we headed to Nampo to find a hotel. My regular one was under renovation but we found another one for only 5000 won more with better heating, better bathrooms and no noise. Well worth the extra $4.70.

By that time it was only four and dinner wasn't on until seven so we ducked in to watch the new Bond film. I'm a huge 007 fan and while I did like this one a lot I do still think that Casino Royale is the better film. Still an cool movie.

We then opted to had out to see several of the Japanese places in Busan. Busan has a large Japanese expat community and many Japanese tourists visit every weekend looking for cheap clothes and food and a decent tourist city. As a result many Japanese bars (Izakaya's) are in Nampo with Japanese food, Japanese beer on tap and a few Japanese tourists inside. It's a real taste of Japan without the hefty Japanese travel costs. We spent the night drinking sake, Kirin and Asahi and eating sushi, seafood pancakes and assorted skewers of meat including beef, pork, cow tongue and chicken hearts. The deep fried chicken intestines were also a real treat (though a bar of soap would taste good if you deep fried it). It was a lot of fun and was a night out of Korea without leaving Korea. A pricey night by Korean standards but well worth it. We called it at about 2.

The next morning we got up, had breakfast and a coffee and had a few hours left. we decided to go and see the now largest department store in the world. I wasn't sure how much fun it would actually be but when you walk in to a four story fountain it's okay. On the 11th floor is an observation deck with some nice views of Busan.

Lotte Department Store

Four Story Fountain

Youedo from the observation deck

Busan Port

Busan Tower


After a while there we headed up to the train station, ducking in to pass the new Busan Modern History Museum along the way. I liked it though the anti-Japanese rhetoric was in full overdrive as is too often the case in Korea. The section on US-Korea relations was much more interesting and balanced.

Then it was off to Busan Station and home. One of the better trips to Busan for sure.






Thursday, November 8, 2012

How We Remember Stuff

Pursuant to a conversation I was having I'd throw this up, a great way of looking at how we remember stuff vs. how it really was (nostalgia is a powerful thing).

1993-1995. Great years for music. Nirvana, Soundgarden, The Offspring, Stone Temple Pilots, the Melvins, Pantera, Alice in Chains, No Doubt, Sublime. We were awesome. Our music was awesome. 

Here's the top ten songs of 1994:

No Kurt Cobain but an awful lot of Ace of Base. But that's just 1994, an anomaly?


1993:

1995:

1992?:

(you'll find Nirvana down at 32 in 1992 and never appearing again, the other above mentioned bands never even get a top 100). I can say honestly that I was listening to most of the above mentioned bands, but apparently I was in a minority. But yeah, Sir Mix-a-lot was a better financial investment than Pearl Jam or Nirvana in 1992.


But if it makes you feel any better, our parents are as full of shit than we are. The 60's, that decade of Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, the Stones, Led Zeppelin, Cream, the Beatles and Janis Joplin.

1967:


1968:

Well the Doors and Clapton do sneak in there and there are the Beatles all the way up there with Lulu! .......... okay, maybe they weren't quite as full of it. I can't hate on a list that has Otis Redding, John Lennon, Clapton and Morrison but you get the idea. I mean the Monkees did better than both the Doors and Eric Clapton, as did Bobbie Gentry and the great Paul Mauriat!


Anyway no real point to this, but remember, you've had fifty years to forget Lulu and twenty to forget Tag Team. Nostalgia is fun but things weren't better back then.

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Back and Settled

Well it's been a long couple of weeks but I am back and settled in Daegu with a new job, new apartment and the internet. So far I really like my new place and my new school, while more rigid and demanding than Reading Town, is also much more organized and thus time flies (I can't believe it's Thursday already) and stress is kept to a mnimum (so far at least, it's only week two). So new coworkers seem really nice but unlike previous schools everyone has been there for a while already, in some cases for a few years, so I'm falling in to a fairly set routine already, rather than being able to create my own system as I have done previously. Also, it's a much more professional environment. Many Korean academies are really just ad hoc education centers whereas Moonkkang is a top academy in Korea (certainly the top outside of Seoul) and so the adjustment has been a bit more intense than in previous years. That being said, the paycheques that accompany the job certainly offset and extra effort that is required.

There's a lot to say in some ways but in others it's just another move and another contract, fairly standard in Korea. I'm also starting to set a routine for myself which is nice. Hopefully there won't be anymore big upheavals for a while (not that moving and travelling isn't fun, but being essentially homeless for a month can get old). This weekend I'm in Busan with Bobby for the 2012 Asia Series so hopefully I'll have more to write on then and I can get back to writing about regular life.