This week I had Mike staying with me for two nights as he came to hang out before moving in to his apartment of Saturday in Ilsan. It was cool to hang out, though we mostly just went out and ate after work, as I was still working. It did keep me busy on Wednesday and Thursday. We mostly chatted about his vacation to Thailand, upcoming school and an idea I had last year about moving to Taiwan for a year (it's 3 degrees in Daegu right now and 20 in Taipei). I had originally thought Geoff would want to do it but when he opted for home I forgot about it. Mike's interest has me thinking again. Mike left Friday morning and I settled in to work and a quiet night.
On Saturday I woke up and headed down to Paul's place in Ulsan. We just played a bit of Civ and ate dinner. Paul was clearly not feeling well though so when I offered to head home on the 10pm bus he didn't put up much of a fight.
Now time for a quiet Sunday.
Saturday, December 1, 2012
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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:
Just.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)