Sorry for the total lack of posts this week, but I've been sorting myself out for the coming year(s). So far it's looking up. I have been offered a contract for Moonkkang, and English school that recruits solely within Korea. I'll get getting a raise of nearly $300/m and nearly four extra weeks vacation that I can book whenever I want (my current employer gives me two weeks when they schedule it). It starts October 29th with a week of training beforehand. That means I will extend my contract at Reading Twon for two months and leave on October 5th, have a small holiday in Japan and Seoul before returning to Daegu.
I'm also starting MA courses in July. I'm not 100% sure how I'm paying for it, but with a major cash injection coming in October I'll muddle through.
Now as you may recall from last May nothing is set in stone until a contract is signed, but Moonkkang is highly recommended and have a great reputation and Reading Town have so far been nothing but accommodating and up front with everything they need.
It's been a bit of work this year but it seem to be all coming together *knock on wood*
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
Monday, May 21, 2012
A Nice Sunday Shop
Well after my Saturday hike I met Mike and Kris for dinner. We ate bbq but called it an early night as we all had Sunday plans.
Sunday I had a bit of a sleep in before heading downtown for some shopping and food. I got new shoes and she managed new clothes and sandals. I then found a great restaurant called Pan Asia that serves great and fairly authentic Thai and Malaysian food. I even had a Chang draft with it.
I don't go downtown much and think that I probably should more, but it does get a bit pricey :P
Still, a great Sunday.
Sunday I had a bit of a sleep in before heading downtown for some shopping and food. I got new shoes and she managed new clothes and sandals. I then found a great restaurant called Pan Asia that serves great and fairly authentic Thai and Malaysian food. I even had a Chang draft with it.
I don't go downtown much and think that I probably should more, but it does get a bit pricey :P
Still, a great Sunday.
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Korea and Burma (Myanmar)
Lee Myung-bak is in Burma in support of their democracy movement and to visit the memorial of the victims of the 1983 bombings that killed most of the south Korean cabinet of he time. It was carried out by north Korean agents who subsequently killed themselves or were arrested by authorities in Burma and executed. It also led to a cutting of all diplomatic ties between north Korea and Burma from 1983-2007, when relations were resumed after north Korea was one of the few nations to support their crackdown on monk dissents in Rangoon.
Well five years later and Burma has had what are by all accounts free elections and a resumption of free press spearheaded by the very military leaders who have ruled for so long. The U.S and European leaders have already sent visits but the Korean visit is considered especially important, as it is the first presidential visit by a democratically elected Asian leader. Also, he is from a country that had its own rise from post-colonial poverty and military rule to wealth and a free, plural society, a feat only matched by Taiwan (and due to China/Burma relations a high level visit from there is unlikely). It is also important because this successful trip is the first from a Korean leader since the 1983 attack and it went off without a hitch.
Certainly Burma has a long way to go. It lags behind other ASEAN nations such as Thailand and Malaysia and well behind Singapore, but this is a promising start to a new era. Whether Burma will begin to compete with Thailand and Bali for Korean tourist dollars (or won :P) remains to be seen, but at the very least it puts to rest a very dark time in Korean politics and opens up new opportunities for two Asian nations to forge peaceful relations.
Well five years later and Burma has had what are by all accounts free elections and a resumption of free press spearheaded by the very military leaders who have ruled for so long. The U.S and European leaders have already sent visits but the Korean visit is considered especially important, as it is the first presidential visit by a democratically elected Asian leader. Also, he is from a country that had its own rise from post-colonial poverty and military rule to wealth and a free, plural society, a feat only matched by Taiwan (and due to China/Burma relations a high level visit from there is unlikely). It is also important because this successful trip is the first from a Korean leader since the 1983 attack and it went off without a hitch.
Certainly Burma has a long way to go. It lags behind other ASEAN nations such as Thailand and Malaysia and well behind Singapore, but this is a promising start to a new era. Whether Burma will begin to compete with Thailand and Bali for Korean tourist dollars (or won :P) remains to be seen, but at the very least it puts to rest a very dark time in Korean politics and opens up new opportunities for two Asian nations to forge peaceful relations.
Asian Nations in the Space Race
With the U.S giving up its role as the leaders of space exploration, it is increasingly falling to other nations to launch rockets and begin space exploration. The European Union and Russia have thus far led the charge but this week Japan entered the space race, launching two Japanese and a Korean satellite. This on the heels of China's incredible success in space.
While I'm sad to see Obama scrapping the space shuttle fleet in favour of bailouts and bombings I am happy to see other nations picking up the slack. While I never thought that China would be the first to reach Mars, that is looking increasingly likely (though maybe the PRC on the Red Planet makes sense :P). Although they are only ten years in to manned space flights they are only the third nation to do it at all. Their plans for a new space station and a lunar station are becoming less and less of a fiction as they already have the technology to move and build on the moon, they just lack the ability to get enough equipment there to build it. The U.S has banned sharing technology with China but as we saw today, Japan is now able to launch satellites in to space. The world's third largest economy is now in the space race. They launched satellites made in Japan and Korea successfully and one wonders if those nations will feel as bad about working with China when the U.S has scrapped its space exploration anyway. China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia all have space programs capable of building satellites though at present only China and Japan can launch them. India is also firmly in the space race though they are about 20 years behind China.
To me, no matter how much better Obama is than Bush or McCain (which is very much better) I can't help but think that if McCain had been put in he would have continued Bush's expansion of NASA rather than scrap it in favour of, well whatever Obama is spending it on. It amazes me that with a 7 trillion dollar defence budget they can't find money for space exploration in that (China and Russia, whose combined budget in this area is less that two trillion seem to find adequate resources for it). I think space exploration is our future, and if the U.S doesn't want to be a part of that then I'll cheer the Chinese, Japanese, Russians and Europeans on as they explore the galaxy.
While I'm sad to see Obama scrapping the space shuttle fleet in favour of bailouts and bombings I am happy to see other nations picking up the slack. While I never thought that China would be the first to reach Mars, that is looking increasingly likely (though maybe the PRC on the Red Planet makes sense :P). Although they are only ten years in to manned space flights they are only the third nation to do it at all. Their plans for a new space station and a lunar station are becoming less and less of a fiction as they already have the technology to move and build on the moon, they just lack the ability to get enough equipment there to build it. The U.S has banned sharing technology with China but as we saw today, Japan is now able to launch satellites in to space. The world's third largest economy is now in the space race. They launched satellites made in Japan and Korea successfully and one wonders if those nations will feel as bad about working with China when the U.S has scrapped its space exploration anyway. China, Japan, Korea and Malaysia all have space programs capable of building satellites though at present only China and Japan can launch them. India is also firmly in the space race though they are about 20 years behind China.
To me, no matter how much better Obama is than Bush or McCain (which is very much better) I can't help but think that if McCain had been put in he would have continued Bush's expansion of NASA rather than scrap it in favour of, well whatever Obama is spending it on. It amazes me that with a 7 trillion dollar defence budget they can't find money for space exploration in that (China and Russia, whose combined budget in this area is less that two trillion seem to find adequate resources for it). I think space exploration is our future, and if the U.S doesn't want to be a part of that then I'll cheer the Chinese, Japanese, Russians and Europeans on as they explore the galaxy.
A Solid Hike and Seeing an Air-Evac
On Saturday Geoff and I again decided to hike the Sangin trail. The weather was 27 degrees and sunny and we were both keen for the exercise. It was the same trail we usually do and so there's not much new to write about. However, about halfway up we noticed a helicopter flying around very close to the trees. We've seen them before flying around, but never that close to the ground. Anyway it stopped about 50 feet from us and began to lower down right to the trees. We saw a large number of Koreans there (a few taking video with their cell phones of course). We couldn't get too close as the chopper was kicking up a lot of dust, but we saw eight guys come down. We couldn't see exactly what happened but my guess is that someone was airlifted out. After it flew off we walked by and a few men in uniform were talking to a few older guys, who seemed very thankful. We didn't bother to stick around but about fifteen minutes later the chopper came back (maybe to pick up the crew?). It's cool to see something like that in person. The rest of the hike was uneventful, though we found a new trail with a better view of the ridge. We then got down, had food and a beer and called it a day.
Thursday, May 17, 2012
North Korean Hijacking
Well the north has turned its attention to China, although this time is it armed north Koreans who hijacked a Chinese fishing boat and are demanding a ranson of almost $200,000 USD for their release.
Kim Jong-Un is denying involvement but I wonder if he'll return the ransom should it be paid?
The Chinese are often arrested fishing illegally in south Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam so this isn't really that surprising. Still, the Chinese are mad over their recent rocket launch and will not appreciate this. Apparently the idea of not biting the hand that feeds has not reached the north yet.
Kim Jong-Un is denying involvement but I wonder if he'll return the ransom should it be paid?
The Chinese are often arrested fishing illegally in south Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Vietnam so this isn't really that surprising. Still, the Chinese are mad over their recent rocket launch and will not appreciate this. Apparently the idea of not biting the hand that feeds has not reached the north yet.
Tuesday, May 15, 2012
What's In a Name?
One thing that I have loved about Korea is giving kids English names. In schools every kid has an English name, and most are common ones like Sarah, Mike etc. You also get the strange, slightly misspelled names like "Sera" (Sarah) or Mikel (Michael)
At my school though, they seem to have gone through a process. Older students (some of whom have moved on) have had names like "Silver" and "Genius". Then, and for the life of me I can't figure out why, they started naming every boy "Daniel" (or Dan, Danny) and every girl "Jenny" or "Jinny" (which as far as I can tell is a name that exists solely in Korea). This had led to more than a few communication problems, and even grading of the wrong tests. I have also made the kids put their Korean names on everything they give to me as well, just so I can double check who is who. I got to name one class about six months ago and to this day we have "Neville", "Trina" and a "Yustina" (though i didn't give her that one).
We finally said something, but that month two new boys, both Daniel. We got a bit frustrated when Mike graded a dozen of my book reports for the wrong Daniel and then filed them in his folder (they were in the pile with his students, apparently the Korean co-teachers also find it confusing). So we got a bit more vocal and they agreed to stop naming every kid Daniel (or Dan, which as we explained to them is the same name).
Last month we had four new boys, three of them are "Kevin". Sign.
At my school though, they seem to have gone through a process. Older students (some of whom have moved on) have had names like "Silver" and "Genius". Then, and for the life of me I can't figure out why, they started naming every boy "Daniel" (or Dan, Danny) and every girl "Jenny" or "Jinny" (which as far as I can tell is a name that exists solely in Korea). This had led to more than a few communication problems, and even grading of the wrong tests. I have also made the kids put their Korean names on everything they give to me as well, just so I can double check who is who. I got to name one class about six months ago and to this day we have "Neville", "Trina" and a "Yustina" (though i didn't give her that one).
We finally said something, but that month two new boys, both Daniel. We got a bit frustrated when Mike graded a dozen of my book reports for the wrong Daniel and then filed them in his folder (they were in the pile with his students, apparently the Korean co-teachers also find it confusing). So we got a bit more vocal and they agreed to stop naming every kid Daniel (or Dan, which as we explained to them is the same name).
Last month we had four new boys, three of them are "Kevin". Sign.
Sunday, May 13, 2012
Seoul Road Trip to See the Lions
My weekend was great, but it actually started Friday night when I went down to Sangin after work with Hyo Jung to have some Chinese food and Chinese liquor, which was potent but not too strong. It wasn't a late night but it was fun to have the night there.
Saturday I got up at 8:30 to catch the subway to Dongdaegu, We had 10:15 tickets to Seoul. I met Geoff, Jarrod and Hayley and we rode the train up, playing Civilization 5 the whole way. At Seoul Station Geoff and I left to head to Jamsil to get tickets to the ball game. In fact, Sports Complex is the closer subway stop but we didn't know that, so we had a bit of a hike but got in line at 1:45, with tickets going on sale at 3. We got seven tickets in the Samsung Lions fan section. We were joined later by Jarrod, Bobby and his friend Kate and my friend Serena and her friend Su, neither of whom had ever been to a ball game.
Before the game we explored a Lego display built at Olympic Stadium, which was built for the 1988 Olympics and now hosts soccer games for Seoul teams and the national team.
Saturday I got up at 8:30 to catch the subway to Dongdaegu, We had 10:15 tickets to Seoul. I met Geoff, Jarrod and Hayley and we rode the train up, playing Civilization 5 the whole way. At Seoul Station Geoff and I left to head to Jamsil to get tickets to the ball game. In fact, Sports Complex is the closer subway stop but we didn't know that, so we had a bit of a hike but got in line at 1:45, with tickets going on sale at 3. We got seven tickets in the Samsung Lions fan section. We were joined later by Jarrod, Bobby and his friend Kate and my friend Serena and her friend Su, neither of whom had ever been to a ball game.
Before the game we explored a Lego display built at Olympic Stadium, which was built for the 1988 Olympics and now hosts soccer games for Seoul teams and the national team.
Olympic Stadium
built of Lego
outside Jamsil
We then entered the stadium and got out seats, which were right on the main walkway. This made the first inning a bit of a drag, though once people found their seats it was okay. Jamsil is certainly a step up from Daegu's stadium, as it holds 30,000 and is right on two subway lines and a bus line. However, it is still fairly dated compared to many modern stadiums in the U.S (it is 30 years old now).
Jamsil from outside
inside looking towards the infield
towards the outfield
The game itself started with LG (the Seoul team) going up 1-0 in the bottom of the first. It was then seven innings of shutout ball until LG managed a second run in the 8th. The top of the 9th may have been one of the most exciting innings of baseball I have ever seen live, as Samsung loaded the bases with two out on a single and two walks. With bases loaded they hit a line drive to third and the runner heading for third was called out on such a close call that both managers were out (in reality he was probably out). Everyone there had a blast and were all up cheering. Serena and her friend loaded up on clackers for us, so were were all making noise.
Geoff with his CFL import clackers. BC Lions.
Samsung Lions. Close enough.
Serena and Su
Bobby and Jarrod
the crowd is up!
After the game we headed to a Canadian run bar in Gangnam. Geoff's fiend Kwang Ho also joined us here for a beerA Gretzky Oiler Jersey really set the tone for the place, and we managed a few beers there before parting ways. Jarrod off to meet Hayley, Serena off to the last bus home and the rest of us out to Ilsan where Bobby lives. When there we grabbed dinner, hung out for a while and headed to bed.
Sunday Bobby and I were up early so we did a coffee and bakery run. There's a great bakery near his place. Around noon Geoff and I left to meet Jarrod and Hayley and get our family seats (saved us like $20 each on the ride down). I got in around 4 and I headed home to unpack and crash out.
Sunday, May 6, 2012
Kim III is at it again. This Time With Inconvenient Rays!
This time his country is sending signals to jam GPS systems at Incheon International Airport.
So far it's interfered with about 250 flights (mostly cargo) as well as many Korean Air flights and nine international carriers (I wonder if any were Chinese?). Thankfully no planes require GPS so long as the pilot knows what they're doing (it just makes their lives easier) so it's more of an inconvenience. Slight delays were about all that happened and now everything is back to normal, though the rays continue.
I guess their missile didn't work so they decide to annoy one of the largest airports in the world instead. It's silly and even sillier when you consider that Incheon is a major transit hub in NE Asia offering connections to China and SE Asia from Japan and North America (way to piss off your other neighbours).
So if anyone happens to be taking off from or landing at Incheon this morning, know that your pilot is doing it the old fashioned way :)
So far it's interfered with about 250 flights (mostly cargo) as well as many Korean Air flights and nine international carriers (I wonder if any were Chinese?). Thankfully no planes require GPS so long as the pilot knows what they're doing (it just makes their lives easier) so it's more of an inconvenience. Slight delays were about all that happened and now everything is back to normal, though the rays continue.
I guess their missile didn't work so they decide to annoy one of the largest airports in the world instead. It's silly and even sillier when you consider that Incheon is a major transit hub in NE Asia offering connections to China and SE Asia from Japan and North America (way to piss off your other neighbours).
So if anyone happens to be taking off from or landing at Incheon this morning, know that your pilot is doing it the old fashioned way :)
Saturday, May 5, 2012
The Canadian Conservatives Finally did Something Right!
They got rid of the Canadian penny!
Seriously, I remember using these things to get gum off of my shoe in elementary school then throwing it in a pond or well because it was all sticky.
I remember being in Australia in 2003 (where they had already taken the penny out of circulation) and loved not having it. The cost of minting one is actually more than the value of the coin and because they are not kept in circulation (people throw them in jars or in ponds where they sit for a decade) more need to be minted than would otherwise be necessary. It will save Canadian taxpayers $11 million a year as well, so that's a huge bonus. Canada joins Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore as nations with dollar currencies that have removed the one cent piece (New Zealand and Hong Kong have even taken the 10c piece out, though at Hong Kong's $7=$1 USD exchange rate that makes sense). As for Canada, prices will be rounded up or down, which worked brilliantly in Australia and I'm sure will in Canada as well. I have a few lying around in my bags over here, which I will hold on to for the foreseeable future. There has been speculation that these will be collectors items one day but with the average Canadian having jar, car seats and couch fulls of them already, I don't think their value will skyrocket just yet.
Seriously, I remember using these things to get gum off of my shoe in elementary school then throwing it in a pond or well because it was all sticky.
I remember being in Australia in 2003 (where they had already taken the penny out of circulation) and loved not having it. The cost of minting one is actually more than the value of the coin and because they are not kept in circulation (people throw them in jars or in ponds where they sit for a decade) more need to be minted than would otherwise be necessary. It will save Canadian taxpayers $11 million a year as well, so that's a huge bonus. Canada joins Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Singapore as nations with dollar currencies that have removed the one cent piece (New Zealand and Hong Kong have even taken the 10c piece out, though at Hong Kong's $7=$1 USD exchange rate that makes sense). As for Canada, prices will be rounded up or down, which worked brilliantly in Australia and I'm sure will in Canada as well. I have a few lying around in my bags over here, which I will hold on to for the foreseeable future. There has been speculation that these will be collectors items one day but with the average Canadian having jar, car seats and couch fulls of them already, I don't think their value will skyrocket just yet.
R.I.P Canadian Penny
Kim Jong-un Photo of the Week. 5/5
this blurred picture shows the dear leader at his fathers funeral.
The general consensus is Korea is that this picture was taken during the reading of Kim Jong-il's final will, in which he leaves his youngest son and heir the nation, army and treadmill of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.
Another Trek up Apsan
On Saturday I got up with the intention of meeting Geoff at Sondangmot st. to grab a cab to Apsan for a hike. We had planned t meet at 1030 but a problem with his heater meant that he could leave his place before 11. Being as I had an hour to kill I decided to explore the area around Seobu bus station. It's actually a nice area though there is a sizeable red light district only 20 minutes away on foot (near a bus terminal, who'd have guessed?) but the other parts were very nice and a managed to snap a few pics.
'
'
the main street
Woobang tower from the main road
a motel next to a church. Sums up the whole
neighbourhood really
just thought this alley was cool.
Anyway, when Geoff got there we hopped in a cab and $4 later were at Apsan. We did the same trail we had previously done two years ago when Geoff first got here (almost to the weekend and terrifying that it was so long ago). It was a beautiful, clear 28 degree day. Two years ago it was a slog, this time around it wasn't that bad at all. Korea has been good for our physical health. On the way up we actually spotted a bit of Korean wildlife in the form of birds and a frog.
A frog just hanging out
After an hour we made it to the top and stopped for a meal at a little restaurant up there. The owners were very friendly and the food was good. After a refuel we went up to sit and enjoy the sun and view and digest our lunch
we had this to our left
and this out front
We then headed down towards the ridge that would take us out to Sangin. However we took a wrong turn somewhere and wound up almost scaling rocks before we decided to turn around. We made it back to a path which took us close to where we wanted to go, we followed it until we came across this viewpoint.
Geoff
me
we wanted to be to the far right of this pic where the city hits the
mountain, but wound up in southern Daegok, about
40 minutes from Sangin.
We trekked down to Daegok and popped out near the Wolgwang waterpark, an artificial lake with a park, restaurants and a convenience store. We grabbed food and a beer and rested, as we had ended up doing almost two extra hours with wrong turns and detours. I then went home to shower. I had planned to meet Mike and Kris for dinner but managed to fall asleep around 930.
A solid day, but one that has my knees feeling it today.
Friday, May 4, 2012
Driving in Korea
Bobby put me on to this little gem of Korean driving from earlier in the week, in which a truck river rammed in to the back of a van working with a Korean Women's Cycling team, forcing the van in to the cyclists, killing three of them (the oldest was 25). His excuse, he was watching a DMB, or TV that is mounted on a dashboard of a car designed to be put in the back for kids, but all too often mounted on dashboards and used by drivers here in Korea.
Where to begin. First off, it is illegal to operate one while driving, but there is no penalty for doing it (how can that even happen? How can you have a law with no consequences for breaking it? I believe that is called a suggestion) and apparently it's hard to enforce anyway because people turn them off when they are pulled over by the police (to avoid the non-existent punishment no doubt). The stats are shocking though my favourite line is this one describing why a tougher ban was not put in place when "the National Assembly scrapped the plan citing public sentiment because watching DMB behind the wheel is so widespread" Ah okay, that makes sense, I mean we have these stats:
"According to the General Insurance Association of Korea, a driver watching DMB has only about 50 percent of the ability to observe what’s in front compared to a driver not watching it. This is less than about 72 percent of the ability of a drunken driver whose blood-alcohol concentration is 0.1 percent, the amount subject to license cancellation. It takes six seconds on average for a driver to operate DMB devices or a navigation system behind the wheel. This is the equivalent of driving a car for 118 meters without looking at the road at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour."
But hey, people like it, people do it a lot, so why legislate against it? ...... and I thought western politicians were wet noodles.
But it's not surprising in many ways, Korean road laws are often non-existant and not enforced even when they do exist to the point where other Asian nations complain about crazy Korean drivers. That's right, drivers in Bangkok think Daegu drivers are reckless.
There are many other examples: Using a cellphone while driving is illegal, and carries a whopping 60000 won fine (about $55USD) or almost enough to get them to stop or invest in a hands free set (perfectly legal).
There are speed limits, with camera's that tag people and send tickets to the address registered with their license plate and insurance. These camera's are mounted and never move. So much so that car GPS systems here give a warning if you are approaching one and going to fast. It's amazing how people slow down at the same intersection every day. Often they will make an annoying beeping sound if you are speeding, but since the DMB and cellphones are always on no one notices.
Fines are marginal, at most 100,000 won (about $90USD), and in three years here I have never seen police officers pull people over for running red lights, turning right when pedestrians are crossing (with the right of way) or going 140kph in a school zone.
Finally there is the driving culture here, where consideration for other people seems non-existent. A school bus is an inconvenience at best and at worst an obstacle. Pedestrians are things to swerve around and in between, not stop and wait for. Everyone is in such a hurry to be the first to the next red light that human lives and basic safety don't seem to enter people's minds. I know there are idiot drivers everywhere, but they are called out as such in other places. I drive my car through a bunch of pedestrians someone will hit my car with his umbrella so hard that it'll leave a dent. I've seen in in Vancouver and in Seattle but here people just seem to accept it. Driving with no consideration for others is a norm, and a dangerous one. Sure the driver in this story killed (read murdered) three young cyclists, but he watched long enough to see Mr. Kim married Miss Park and overcame the ill mannered Japanese salesmen so I guess everything is okay.
Korea does many things differently from the west. Some I like, some I don't. Rarely though would I say they do something wrong. However, when it comes to road etiquette Koreans should hang their heads in shame. Three young women are dead, I hope their deaths will serve to bring about real road rules and enforcement of those rules in months to come.
Where to begin. First off, it is illegal to operate one while driving, but there is no penalty for doing it (how can that even happen? How can you have a law with no consequences for breaking it? I believe that is called a suggestion) and apparently it's hard to enforce anyway because people turn them off when they are pulled over by the police (to avoid the non-existent punishment no doubt). The stats are shocking though my favourite line is this one describing why a tougher ban was not put in place when "the National Assembly scrapped the plan citing public sentiment because watching DMB behind the wheel is so widespread" Ah okay, that makes sense, I mean we have these stats:
"According to the General Insurance Association of Korea, a driver watching DMB has only about 50 percent of the ability to observe what’s in front compared to a driver not watching it. This is less than about 72 percent of the ability of a drunken driver whose blood-alcohol concentration is 0.1 percent, the amount subject to license cancellation. It takes six seconds on average for a driver to operate DMB devices or a navigation system behind the wheel. This is the equivalent of driving a car for 118 meters without looking at the road at a speed of 70 kilometers per hour."
But hey, people like it, people do it a lot, so why legislate against it? ...... and I thought western politicians were wet noodles.
But it's not surprising in many ways, Korean road laws are often non-existant and not enforced even when they do exist to the point where other Asian nations complain about crazy Korean drivers. That's right, drivers in Bangkok think Daegu drivers are reckless.
There are many other examples: Using a cellphone while driving is illegal, and carries a whopping 60000 won fine (about $55USD) or almost enough to get them to stop or invest in a hands free set (perfectly legal).
There are speed limits, with camera's that tag people and send tickets to the address registered with their license plate and insurance. These camera's are mounted and never move. So much so that car GPS systems here give a warning if you are approaching one and going to fast. It's amazing how people slow down at the same intersection every day. Often they will make an annoying beeping sound if you are speeding, but since the DMB and cellphones are always on no one notices.
Fines are marginal, at most 100,000 won (about $90USD), and in three years here I have never seen police officers pull people over for running red lights, turning right when pedestrians are crossing (with the right of way) or going 140kph in a school zone.
Finally there is the driving culture here, where consideration for other people seems non-existent. A school bus is an inconvenience at best and at worst an obstacle. Pedestrians are things to swerve around and in between, not stop and wait for. Everyone is in such a hurry to be the first to the next red light that human lives and basic safety don't seem to enter people's minds. I know there are idiot drivers everywhere, but they are called out as such in other places. I drive my car through a bunch of pedestrians someone will hit my car with his umbrella so hard that it'll leave a dent. I've seen in in Vancouver and in Seattle but here people just seem to accept it. Driving with no consideration for others is a norm, and a dangerous one. Sure the driver in this story killed (read murdered) three young cyclists, but he watched long enough to see Mr. Kim married Miss Park and overcame the ill mannered Japanese salesmen so I guess everything is okay.
Korea does many things differently from the west. Some I like, some I don't. Rarely though would I say they do something wrong. However, when it comes to road etiquette Koreans should hang their heads in shame. Three young women are dead, I hope their deaths will serve to bring about real road rules and enforcement of those rules in months to come.
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Trying to Buy Tickets in Korea
I can see why baseball games here don't get the attendance they do in the west, getting tickets is extremely difficult online.
As a foreigner is it all but impossible. First of all you have to create an account, which in itself should be easy, although to start you need an Alien Registration Card number (sorry tourists). You then have to create an account where knowledge of Korean is mandatory even on the English page, since typing your address in English is not allowed. Fortunately I can do that, but good luck to anyone who doesn't have intermediate Korean vocabulary ("sorry, this ID is already taken" is not really basic Korean IMO). Anyway, I get through it and set up an account. Then off to buy nine tickets using my visa. Nope and nope. 6 tickets (referred to as "sheets") maximum. Okay, well since there's no assigned seating I'll get 6 sheets and then 3 more sheets after. So I select 6 sheets. I am asked do I have LG, for example? Good thing I know that LG, in addition to being an electronics brand, a baseball team and a gas station is also a discount card, and that there are several such cards. No. Select method of payment. My options are Domestic Card or a blank space (I really wonder why they made me select it). I can't use visa to buy tickets online........ Well good thing I can just transfer cash from my bank account. Select option. A page pops up entirely in Korean, and this level of Korean is well beyond my understanding.
So I'll head up early to buy them and then hang out at Olympic Park (not a bad idea in itself) but it just amazes me that a country that is so advanced in so many ways won't let me buy 9 tickets to a baseball game using a credit card.
As a foreigner is it all but impossible. First of all you have to create an account, which in itself should be easy, although to start you need an Alien Registration Card number (sorry tourists). You then have to create an account where knowledge of Korean is mandatory even on the English page, since typing your address in English is not allowed. Fortunately I can do that, but good luck to anyone who doesn't have intermediate Korean vocabulary ("sorry, this ID is already taken" is not really basic Korean IMO). Anyway, I get through it and set up an account. Then off to buy nine tickets using my visa. Nope and nope. 6 tickets (referred to as "sheets") maximum. Okay, well since there's no assigned seating I'll get 6 sheets and then 3 more sheets after. So I select 6 sheets. I am asked do I have LG, for example? Good thing I know that LG, in addition to being an electronics brand, a baseball team and a gas station is also a discount card, and that there are several such cards. No. Select method of payment. My options are Domestic Card or a blank space (I really wonder why they made me select it). I can't use visa to buy tickets online........ Well good thing I can just transfer cash from my bank account. Select option. A page pops up entirely in Korean, and this level of Korean is well beyond my understanding.
So I'll head up early to buy them and then hang out at Olympic Park (not a bad idea in itself) but it just amazes me that a country that is so advanced in so many ways won't let me buy 9 tickets to a baseball game using a credit card.
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