Korea receives two destinctions that are actually meaningful

I often hear about how Korea's XYZ has been designated as the best ABC by a company or organization that no one has ever heard of. So when Koreans began talking about the whole host of awards for Korea this year I rolled my eyes and kept quiet. However, two that were given to the Republic of Korea (South Korea) this year are actually kinda cool and meaningful, so being as it was a slow weekend before payday I thought I'd share them instead

Incheon International Airport came third in both the Asian and World best airport award. However, being that the top three in Asia are also the top three in the world, it really does mean something. Finishing just behind 2nd place Changi International Airport in Singapore and 1st place Hong Kong International and ahead of Munich (global) and Beijing (Asian) it makes Korea a real hub of global transport. Singapore airlines already has its NE Asian base there as does Delta from the states. While it is mostly a pride thing for the employees of Incheon International, it will bring more conferences, layover tourists and investment to Korea. Having flown out of all of the top three I can see why Hong Kong came in first (and it does almost every year, except in 2009 when it came in second to Incheon). It is an amazing airport, easy to get around, well staffed. I'd vote it best airport I've ever been to as well. Changi is a place I've only flown out of, so I can't say as much about it. I was very impressive though and I can see why it did so well. Incheon is great, well organized and totally idiot-proof. The winners were decided upon after Skytrax (who monitor airport safety, comfort, reliability etc.) surveyed over 11 million air travellers in 2011. I think that's also important, as it's people who use these airports who are saying which ones are best, not some sort of industry "experts" or administrators.

As a final note, no North American airport was even in the top ten. Zurich, Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Kuala Lumpur and Auckland rounded out the top ten. However, having flown in and out of a few major airports in the US and Canada I was suprised that Vancouver International or even Seatac in Seattle didn't do better. The only explanation I can think of is the treatment people receive while there. While part of it is based on reliability (no lost luggage etc.) part of it must also be based on experiences with customs. All I'll say is in all the times I've travelled to the US and Canada I've had ONE friendly customs agent. In Singapore, a country famous for rigid laws and law enforcement, my customs agent was recommending tourist spots and informing me of Singaporean laws in a matter of fact way. I'll never forget it (this all happened while our buses luggage was being checked over, I had my own agent because I was the only one there who didn't speak Bahasa Malayu... this was at the land crossing from Malaysia in to Singapore):

Singaporean Customs agent: "ummm, sooooooo do you have any illegal drugs?"
me: "nope"
SCA: "do you have any chewing gum?"
me: "I put it in that bin over there where it says to put anything that is illegal in Singapore."
SCA: (smiles) "yes exactly, that's what you were supposed to do. After this point chewing gum will bring you a massive fine and drug smuggling will bring the death sentence, we like to let everyone know"
me: "no problem" (smiles)
SCA: "great, well your bags are good, your customs form says that you will be staying in the colonial district?"
me: "yes"
SCA: "oh! Then you must try........." (he then proceedes to recommend two restaurants, a parade happening that Saturday night and a ferry tour of the river, including directions and how much it would cost).

I'm not saying that Canadian and US customs agents shouldn't be diligent, in fact I appreciate that they are, I just fail to see why they have to be such dicks about it. For too many people their first experience of Canada is an angry person demanding answers of them and treating them like a potential criminal. I'd hate a place after being treated like that too. I wonder if it's a lack of that sort of an experience that helps Changi, Incheon and HKI get such high ratings?



The second is more of a classification change. Jejudo (the entire island) was named as a UNESCO designated bio reserve. While this is meaningless in many ways (it's only protected if the country agrees not to touch it) in Korea it does guarantee a measure of protection as Korea is trying to rebrand itself as a green Asian destination and as an Asian tourist destination. While ads like this one that I mentioned earlier won't help at all, having a subtropical island in the east China sea that is a large bio preserve and far more accessable than the islands off the coast of China, and far cheaper than Okinawa, could actually actually boost tourism IF Korea promotes this in an intelligent way (can't emphasize that IF enough) regionally and even further afield. It also means that no major industrial development will take place on the island. The Korean Navy had planned a massive extension of their Jeju base and this had met from protests on Jeju will now probably be put on hold. I'm always happy to see any land protected from strip mining and industrialization and to have a 40x70 km Volcanic island now off limits is great. It's also maybe the most beautiful place I have ever been to in Korea and even in Asia (top 3 for sure) so to have it safe for future generations is a real win.


Well off to start the day....

Pepero Day 11.11.11

Well it's an extra special Pepero Day here in Korea. Not a normal 11.11 but an 11.11.11 (I bet that means even more Pepero). I did a summary of last years Pepero Day and very little has changed. But I think the day after 수능 maybe we all need a little candy.

I know for some people the fact that it's 11.11.11 bring extra significance to this day, but they are people with no understanding of the development of the modern calendar or how arbitrary it is (sorry to sound cynical, but if we were still on the Caesarian calendar this day was 3 weeks ago. On the Muslim calendar it won't happy for 600 years and on the Buddhist one it happened 500 years ago, and all those dates place an assumption on a major event on those days and assume that we got the dates right, all of which is debatable to say the least).

So for everyone in Korea, enjoy a Merry Pepero Day :P

November 10th, the day your whole life is decided.

and it's true if you are a Korean grade 12 student writing the CSAT, or College Scolastic Ability Test. Also known as the Suneung (수능) it's THE test that determines what school you get in to and so, by extension, your entie future. You can read all about it here. It's impossible to explain to someone not here what it's like. All government workers go to work an hour late so as to not clog up the roads and subways for the kids. Construction work is barred so the noise will not bother the kids. Police escort students running late to the test and, believe it or not, most airports are shut down so as to cut down on noise pollution. Of course Incheon is still open (and I think Gimhae would be as well) but no other planes, private, commercial or military, can be used before 4pm.

Well needless to say this is a big deal. Kids begin preparing for this as early as grade one or two. It really does consume their childhood. From anywhere from grade 1-3 you will begin going to a host of after school and Saturday academies (hagwon's) to study Math, Science, Korean and English (the four mandatory subjects) and later a choice of history, literature, a specific science, hanja (Chinese characters in Korean) etc etc etc. This runs through elementary and middle school (grades 1-9) before they enter high school. By grade 11 and 12 most students are up at 6 or 7 am to go to school, which runs until 9pm. They then go to study halls to cram until around midnight when they finally go home/to sleep. Averaging 4-5 hours a night of sleep they do this for two years before they write their big test, which is all over in 6 hours.

For the student who aces the test, a bright future at Seoul National, Korea National or Yonsei University followed by a top position at LG, Samsung, major banks etc. begins. For students who fail, they can accept their losses or spend a year 13 repeating their year 12 and cramming like they have never crammed before to write it again. This usually entails another year like the one they just did in grade 12. For anyone in between, it's a degree from a lesser University, which may still be a good school, (Kyungpook University in Daegu for example, is considered a top school) but it probably promises middle management at the afore mentioned companies or high management in a smaller company. For graduates of even lesser universities small, less formal employment with less secure pensions and no real chance to get to the top awaits them. They too can do the 13th year (in fact any student can) but if you do well enough just to get in most students accept it and begin to plan their life accordingly.

It's hard to say much that I see as positive about this system. The best I can come up with as many teen social problems that are prevalent in the west such as teen pregnancy, alcoholism and drug use are virtually unknown here. In fact sex-ed isn't taught. It simply isn't needed before University (where it is taught). I mean, with that sort of a schedule I'd be too tired for sex and drinking too. While that sounds like a positive I hardly think it's worth it. Korea has the highest suicide rate in the OECD, second in the world and the second highest among people under the age of 20 (Japan having the highest in that demographic). Students get virtually no time to play, which is a serious factor in developing personality. There's also the minimal second chance factor. I know that if my future had been sealed when I was 16 or 18 I'd have been in a LOT of trouble, and I think many people from the west would feel the same way. You get a year of cram school if you fail the test, but that's the extent of the "second chance". Malnutrition is also prevalent with 33% of High Schools girls registering as anemic in at least one major Korean city. I mean if you are at school that long when do you eat a real meal (ddok bokki and ramen don't count).

Well either way, I was especially nice to my students today.

Hiking with Geoff

As I've talked about before, one of my favourite things to do in Korea in hiking. There are so many great mountains and the fact is that when you get out of the cities, Korea can actually be a very beautiful place. This time of year, with the tree leaves changing you can imagine a whole Asian mountain range that is a mix of green, brown and red. Stunning. With this in mind I set out Saturday morning with Geoff for a 10km hike near my place. It wasn't all that strenuous, unlike the grind I did at Geumosan, and allowed me to get some excercise, chat with a friend and enjoy the changing of the seasons. The unusual warm spell we've had also made it a shorts and t-shirt hike. sweet.

Afterwards we came out in this little farming community. Walking by rice terraces and in to a small town with some nice restaurants. We opted for a beer and a gimbap triangle at the convenience store, sat out on the patio and enjoyed our first beer in the mountains since Taroko in Taiwan. The best part about this store is that it's only about a 30-40 minute walk from my place, so I can make it a regular hangout.

After that we headed to a mart run by a Korean family that Geoff befriended when he lived in Sangin. The son is a friend of Geoff's and the parents offered us dinner. They were very generous with both teh food and the makkeoli and it was great to be involved in this little Korean family's life. Amazing how similar it is to western family life really (except we all sit on the floor).

Sunday was my day to do grocery shopping and relax. I have (stupidly) started a new traviana ccount so I played that a bit and read, watched a movie etc.

Now it's time for the work week grind........ d'oh

Samsung Lions win Korea Series, Asia Series to start November 25th

Well first off a bit late on this one. The Samsung Lions (Daegu's baseball team) beat the SK Wyverns (Incheon's baseball team) on October 31st to win the Korea Series 3-1. It was a rematch of last year when SK won and swept the series, so it's good to see the local boys win such a big event and get even. It's Daegu's fifth Championship and fourth in the last 10 years. The only other team with more championships in Gwangju based KIA Tigers. The tournament itself isn't that only (it began in 1982) but it's a decent quality game. Well done boys.

Next up is the Asia Series in which the championship teams from Japan, Korea and Taiwan compete. The Chinese have also sent various teams but this year Australia will send it's championship team (from Perth) to play instead of the Chinese team (I actually had no idea that China or Australia even had professional baseball). It's a relatively new tournament where the Japanese teams have won every year and the Korean or Taiwanese teams have been the runners up (not surprising really). Japan has also hosted every previous series as well but this year, with the tournament starting so late (November 25th), they have opted to have it played in Taiwan. I will of course be all about the Samsung Lions (and not the 7-11 Lions representing Tainan :P) The Perth Heat will also play, along with whatever Japanese team wins the Japan Series (currently being played).

How to make North Korea seem scarier than it is

Read this CNN article

This happens a lot here in Korea, though oddly enough not with Korean media, but with western media. It makes North Korea out to be a scary monster that could snap at any time. Be afraid, be very afraid. Except don't be.

Not that our wacky neighbours to the north don't do crazy things. They made a big boom in 2008 that we assumed to be a nuclear weapon (it probably is, but it's never actually been verified), they sunk the Cheonan, a Republic of Korea vessel in 2010 and later that year shelled the island of Yeonpyeon-do (misspelled in the CNN article). They can be belligerent, demanding and confrontational. But are they really THAT big an issue? Are they USSR east? Reading this article you'd think so.

However, the main point is that "Next year, I believe that the possibility of North Korea conducting additional provocations is ... very high."  That's right, they MIGHT. In the same way that, say, Klingons in a Death Star might land on earth. Next year is the 100th birthday of Kim Il-Sung. Kim Jong-il's father and founder of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK, North Korea). It's also been suggested that an ageing Kim jr. might pass the reigns on to his son Kim Jong-Un. Suggested because of course no one knows for sure. What we do get in re hashed scare tactics like this one:

"North Korea continues to defy the international community as it enhances its nuclear weapons, its ballistic missile programs and continues to engage in dangerous and destabilizing proliferation activities."

In 2007 they tested two medium range missiles, that failed, and stopped when asked to do so by the Chinese. Again, not a friendly gesture, but when the then president of the most powerful state on earth puts you third on his hit list then attacks and lynches the guy he named as number one it is understandable. Besides, isn't the US demanding that other nations not have weapons like listening to Donald Trump talk about how the high minimum wage is killing business? Finally, this was FIVE years ago. Not an eternity I grant but still.

"Denuclearization means they have to stop testing, they have to stop developing weapons, they have to stop enriching in violation of international rules and requirements, and they have to allow the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] to go in and inspect those facilities."

-except for the IAEA part they've already done this.

"Even as the nuclear issue continues to simmer, a new threat is emerging -- cyber security.
The threat can't be ignored, Panetta said."

-This is my favourite. I mean, North Korea has never actually done this. They don't even have the internet there let alone computer experts to match those in the US, South Korea or Japan, but let's assume that they might. While we're at it, let's assume that they will put bombs on hanggliders and glide them to Seoul. I mean they never have, but it's a threat that can't be ignored.......  in much the same way that Klingons on a Death Star is a potential threat that can't be ignored.




Here's a few other re-hashed "facts" about North Korea that you will hear used again and again:

North Korea spend 1/4 of it's budget on its military

- so a quarter of what? $3.75? This IS true, but it's so meaningless as to be comical. Here a list of countries and their military budgets. Look at number one. YIKES! But look at number 13 South Korea at 26 billion dollars a year (add to that the insane amount spent by number one USA). While North Korea doesn't report it's estimated spending, experts in the US have calculated it at roughly 26%. That is 26% of approximately 40 billion US dollars, or about 10 billion, putting it on par with Greece or Poland. That's right. 3% of South Korean spending equals 2.5x the 26% North Korea spends. Add to that the age of the weapons the North has (I think you can still see a faded CCCP on the sides of those missiles :P). Now of course 10 billion is still a LOT, and they could cause a lot of trouble before they were wiped out, but do the math, they would be wiped out. It would be a 3 week suicide attack.

China will support the north, China is the problem..... but not really.

According to the Korea Times 60,000 Chinese study in Korea. Now that is not just 60,000 but 60,000 of the wealthiest, most connected Chinese. Rural Chinese have no chance of affording an education in China, much less Korea. That 60,000 come from wealthier Beijing or Shanghainese families. While the article states that many are unhappy in Korea (not the point I want to make, it's just the most reliable article with real numbers that Icould find) the fact remains that 60,000 are here. Do you think China will allow North Korea to wipe out 60,000 sons and daughters of businessmen, party officials, military officers or medium sized investors? Add to that the fact that South Korea and China rank 3rd as trading partners respectively (both behind the US and Japan) and you start to wonder exactly why China would want to see the north attack South Korea and possibly Japan and dragging the US in to yet another money wasting foreign crusade. In fact it may just be that China would work very hard NOT too see it's three biggest trading partners weakened or destroyed and 60,000 of it's future leaders killed.


So why is North Korea made out to be the destroyer of civilization?


Well they ARE an issue in Korea and NE Asia and they are a bit of a wildcard, but that's about it. Reunification will set the South back 30 years and most Koreans I have asked about this, while agreeing that unification is best, don't want it until they are 40 or 50 and so financially stable enough to support the blow that will come financially.

Otherwise I think a CNN headline like "North Korea is Somewhat Irritating" or "Everything's Fine" will not get people watching or browsing their website. So rehashing scare stories and omitting relevant facts to make better news is what is done. No one is lying, but not all the facts are reported.

That multi-trillion dollar US defense budget is now a part of the economy creating jobs and wealth that is reinvested in the political parties that run the show. The fact that the US could cut it's budget in half and still spend more than the next four powers COMBINED shows how overblown that budget is. I guess justifying a 7.6 trillion dollar budget to counter a 10 billion dollar budget must be justified somehow. Especially when so much of the US and the world at large could use that money for so many better things. Half that budget would end poverty in Africa, homelessness in America, fund education for every US citizen through a bachelors degree. Create a retirement pension for every US citizen. It could end hunger around the globe and have the entire world in love with America again instead of loathing it.

But no time for that trivial stuff, North Korea is set to up it's military budget to 30% in 2012.

Changing of the guard.

well yesterday was the first day where 'Danny teacher' was out and 'Michael teacher' was in. We celebrated Monday night with a trip out to a Korean BBQ restaurant for some food and drinks. Danny then went downtown to celebrate freedom while us working stiffs grabbed a quick WaBar pint and headed home. I only worked with Danny for 3 months, which is a shame as he was a really decent guy and I'd have liked to have gotten to know him better. He's in town for the next two weeks touring with his sister who's flown out to visit so I may see him again before he takes off. While I'm sad to see him off, Mike seems like a great guy and it is nice to have all the western coworkers being roughly the same age (28-31).

The week itself is setting up to be a low key event. The weather now has me running my heater regularly, though we have not yet hit the depths of winter and daytime temperatures are still quite nice (another month before there's ice on the windshield). I'll be meeting Geoff for dinner tonight then again on Saturday for a hike. I'm also in the process of cleaning up my apartment. Not that it's THAT bad, it really just needs to be organised.