10.06.2007

Sanbon

It's been awhile again, I know. Anyway, I thought I would share this video I found. I did not make this video nor do I know who did. However, it was shot in the town where I lived when I first came to Korean in 2004. I spent almost two years living in this little town just outside of Seoul and it has a very fond place in my heart. I still remember the shock of all those lights when I first arrived.

6.11.2007

View of Gangnam

Gangnam (강남) is one of the wealthiest and trendiest areas of Seoul. I lived in an area of Gangnam last year and my girlfriend lives there now. Here is a nice view from her apartment.

6.05.2007

Strange English II

After a self-imposed exile, I'm back with more strange English from the Land of the Morning Calm.


I have often seen the happiness of coincidence, yet failed to transcribe it on a pencil case.


A Kim Jong-Il in the making?


Plain unusual.


Is fear of a single insect more frightening than insects as a collective whole? I'm not sure, but that must be one scary insect.


Well said.


Random positive sayings....


I agree completely....


Ok. Sure.


Because you are probably the crazy person who wrote this...


Give it to me baby...


More Happy Virus....It's something like Bird Flu, minus the face masks.


Sounds dirty...


YEAH!!!!


And my favorite piece of Strange English featuring my own girlfriend. Make sense of it if you dare.

5.02.2007

Hyperion Time Lapse

Anyone who knows me knows that I have been rather passionate about film for a long time. Now that I am entering my thirties, I decided it was high time I do something about it. So, i went out and spent 840,000W ($840US roughly) on an HD camcorder. This same camcorder sells for up to $2500US in the States.

So in the vein of the previous time lapse video i posted (which was recorded with my laptop's built-in webcam), I shot some test footage in time lapse with my new camcorder. Please remember this is only test footage, but I hope you enjoy it anyway. I will be out and about in Seoul in the coming weeks shooting more.

I put this together quickly, so 1) turn down your volume 2) there are some obvious focus problems once it turns to night. Anyway, enjoy!

4.12.2007

Ham, Hamburgers and hot dogs...

In Korea any kind of amalgamated meat is called "Ham". This can include hotdogs, spam, or actual ham. A hot dog in Korea must be served in a bun. If there is no bun, it is usually just refered to as ham 햄. However, a hamuburger is a hamburger. So, I was surprised when I when I went into a convienece store and found this.


The packaging clearly promises a fresh and delicious hamburger. However...


It was horrible by the way.

4.10.2007

Grafitti

Here are some pictures of a small alley I found. It is covered with graffitti.


One of my favorite pictures ever. I love the terrible English, the perverion and the Korean. The Korean characters underneath the writing are ㅋㅋ. That character is the sound of a 'k' and it is used in Korea much the way we use "haha" or "lol". It signifies a laughing sound.


I'm guessing this was written by SeJong A.


This image is a little hard to read. However it says something about a guy having a big dick. I know I've been in Korea too long becasue the missuse of "to" bothers me.


Don't really understand this one, but like that SEX is written in the middle.

4.09.2007

Strange English

Sitting in my classroom recently, I noticed this strange English written on my coffee cup.


This got me thinking about all of the unusual English printed on goods in Korea. So, I started taking pictures of things around my school. There will be more soon.


A child's notebook. I particularly like "You're no match for me"


Here's a shirt a student was wearing. I had toy explain to her why it was funny and who Buddy Holly is.


One of my boys was wearing this shirt. I didn't explain the humor to him.


Another notebook.

I'll have more later, including a special on pencil cases.

3.23.2007

Time Lapse From My Apartment

I set up my computer to record a time-lapse video while I was at work one day. Here are the results. It was very cloudy this day. I'll try and get a clearer video soon.

3.16.2007

School Pictures

I took my camera into work this week to take some pictures.




A couple pictures of my classroom before the day I started. I start working at two in the afternoon, but classes get under way at four. I spend the two hours grading essays, preparing for classes, eating lunch and doing the daily crossword puzzle.


Here's a close-up of a calendar I had the class make while studying months and holidays in English.



Before and after shots of the hallway outside my class.


Kids playing at breaktime.


While the kids took a test I snapped some more pictures.


I just happened to snap a picture while this student was peeking at his neighbor's paper.


Here's the view from the window of my classroom.




I went up to the roof of our building to shoot the area around my school.


And finally, the sun setting from the roof.

3.14.2007

White Day

Korea, like most countries, has adopted many western traditions and habits. Once filtered through Korean culture, however, these practices are often drastically modified. Consider the time when I had had my fill of Korean food and craved nothing more than a nice big steak.

A friend had spotted a restaurant with a sign, printed in English, proudly promising steak. This was my first year in Korea and I had not indulged in a steak since my arrival. Nor did I speak or read Korean well enough to properly decipher a menu. So, we waited with anticipation, and when payday arrived we sauntered in to celebrate. The menu lacked pictures but mercifully provided English descriptions of the fare. I ordered the most expensive steak on the menu. As did my friend. Twenty minutes later the kindest little 아줌마 appeared clutching two plates of food. What she set before us, however, were two well-done hamburger patties drizzled with a dark gravy and sides of mashed potatoes. Obviously disappointed, we ate our dinner without complaint. However, I realized then the obvious lesson that I was no longer in Kansas, as it were.

This Korean tradition of bastardizing western traditions does not end with food. Take Valentine's Day for example. It seems the western idea of having a day to celebrate affection for a significant other falls short. Korea (though I believe this practice originated in Japan) has turned it into a three month ordeal. Valentine's Day is February 14th as usual with the noted exception that only girls give gifts of chocolate and candy to boys. White Day, March 14th is the day designated for boys to reciprocate. A month later is possibly my favorite of all holidays, western or Korean, Black Day. On this day all single people are encouraged to celebrate their loneliness by eating a bowl of black noodles called 짜장면

Today is White Day and every corner store hoped to cash in on the craze.


A couple of pictures do not tell the whole story. As with most of the "invented" holidays in Korea the retail market works itself into a frenzy pawning off candy and other niceties.

2.20.2007

Robinhood of South Korea

Korean television is fantastically entertaining, even if you can't understand what is being said. So, here is a video for my dad who is an archer and always asks me about hunting in Korea. There is no hunting in this video but pretty impressive nonetheless.

2.12.2007

Back in Korea

Two weeks ago, and nearly three years to the day of my initial arrival, I returned to Korea for another go-round. At the end of my new contract I will have spent four years of my adult life living in this often crazy country. I have said numerous times and to numerous people that this will be my final stay here, but I'm not making any promises.

The past two weeks have been the typical readjustment period, both personally and at work. At school I have been working hard to learn the curriculum, the students and all of the other odds and ends that come with starting a new job. Outside of work I have been working to get my living situation arranged. Retrieving previously stored luggage from friends, stocking up on food, buying furniture, getting cable and internet hooked up, etc.

So far, I am really pleased with the situation. The job requires long hours of work, but the curriculum is well developed and clear and the students are typical of any Korean 학원. Also, my new apartment is without question the nicest, newest and biggest of all the apartments I have lived in in Seoul. Of course, these are Korean standards, so it is still quite small.


One of the first things I did after moving in to my apartment was to go in search of furniture. The apartment came with the bed, a kitchen table, a couple of chairs, a TV and a dresser. I was able to purchase the couch, armchair, ottoman and coffee table for $200US. Quite a steal considering it was delivered to my apartment on the 11th floor.


Of course, the apartment is one room with a bathroom. This is typical of Korean Officetels and perfectly ok with me as I live alone and don't need much else. One of the luxaries included in this apartment is visable in this picture and it's the combination clothes washer/dryer. Most people in Korea hang their clothes to dry and a dryer is hard to come by. Having one in my apartment is something I am very grateful for. Seoul summers are very muggy and it can sometimes takes days for hanging clothes to dry.


One of the things I love about the apartment is the view. Sure the ocean would be better, but for Seoul I'll take endless rows of apartment buildings if I can get them. Also, great about the building I live in is the Little Jakob's Coffee on the first floor. It really makes me feel at home. If only they could spell my name correctly.



I love this. I am not sure why, but having my fridge look like a closet makes me feel like James Bond.


Another shot of the room. There is a domestic airport nearby, so there are often planes flying by my window. Fortunately, they are faroff enough to not bother me with noise, but close enough to enjoy watching.



It would not be complete without a shot of the bathroom. This is also a luxury for me. It is the first bathroom I have had in Korea where the shower is separate from the rest of the bathroom. Now the toilet seat does not get wet whenever I take a shower.

That's all for today. I got lots of feedback from people in the States about the infrequent lack of updating. It seems some people actually read this blog. So, I promise to be better.