This is my Baduk Teacher.
Friday, December 30, 2011
Friday, December 16, 2011
My Students and Me
Despite having more than 2 months left of work, I have very few days of teaching left. Here are some recent photos of me teaching.
Friday, December 9, 2011
New English Room
Somehow, our school has reacquired funding for the new English room. It'll be awesome...and existent immediately upon my departure. I did require that they put up this alphabet poster (now in place in one of the current rooms). Each letter is comprised of mini-joes to represent me long after I'm gone. I certainly hope it creeps out the new native teacher, whoever he or she may be.
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
A Few Miscellaneous Pictures
Here are various pictures that I've taken with my phone (mostly) recently.
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Classroom Anarchy
School atmosphere is deteriorating before my eyes. It's a fascinating, frustrating and utterly exhausting time to be here. Watching my classroom flood with running, screaming children, then seeing a 5th grade (11-year-old) student scream "What the fuck!" as he reaches his desk, I once again question the possibility of leading a civilized lesson in English. In the class preceding this one, I told two girls to cease talking, as one was turned around in her desk to chat with her friend during my lesson. The girl glanced at me for a moment, then immediately turned back around to continue her conversation. When I made her stand up, she gave a martyred expression as if so to say "How dare you punish me? I've done nothing wrong". Though they continued to stand during my lesson, they also continued their conversation until my co-teacher spoke to them in Korean, telling them to be quiet. The girl told her in Korean "I'm a human being, I can't be quiet". What was further shocking was that she had previously been one of our better students.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
Cookin' Nanta
I went to see Nanta with a friend. Honestly, I wasn't that impressed with it, but it was a fun show. It is now shown in 40 other countries. Korean Tourism says:
'NANTA' figuratively refers to reckless punching as in a boxing match. 'NANTA' is a non-verbal performance of free rhythmical movements that dramatize customary Korean percussions in a strikingly comedic stage show. Integrating unique Korean traditional drumbeats in a western performance style, NANTA storms into a huge kitchen where four capricious cooks are preparing a wedding banquet. While cooking, they turn all kinds of kitchen items - pots, pans, dishes, knives, chopping boards, water bottles, brooms and even each other- into percussion instruments.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Danyang - Thursday, August 17
Danyang, my final stop turned out to be my favorite city. I actually didn't see much there, but I like the feel of the place more than anywhere else. It was beautiful and peaceful.
Andong - Tuesday & Wednesday, August 15 & 16
I arrived in Andong and spent a couple hours wandering around because the bus terminal moved to the opposite end of the city sometime after my book was published. Eventually, I figured out where I was and found a motel in which to sleep. The main reason I came to Andong was to visit Hahoe Folk Village, which is about an hour by bus. The line was long so some Koreans at the front grabbed me to make sure I made it on. It was a hot and crowded bus ride.
Gyeongju - Sunday & Monday, August 14 & 15
I arrived in Gyeongju at about 5 in the evening, so I immediately went looking for lodging. The city is a tourist mecca, teeming with people visiting the ancient sites and modern amusement parks. My book recommended a motel, but for the first time was turned away. There is a youth hostel nearby, so I tried it. They were also booked, but had a guesthouse nearby in which I could stay the night, until a room opened up the next day. They had to prepare the room, so I left my bag and did some quick touring of the city.
Busan - Saturday & Sunday, August 13 & 14
Another hot city. I guess I'm lucking, because Sung-kwang had there the previous few days and it was rainy. When I arrived, it was hot and dry. It sprinkled a bit as I hiked but only for a short time. Busan is quite large and busy. It's popular spots are the beaches, but I didn't have much interest. I spent my time in the mountains of Geumjeong-gu. My main interest was a difficult to reach temple call Seokbul-sa. I tried to walk to a cable car which would have taken me partway up the mountain, but in the process, I actually walked the whole way. I hadn't really prepared myself for a long hike. I discovered that I had failed to find the cable car when I saw this:
Jinju - Thursday & Friday, August 11 & 12
I decided on Jinju a day or two beforehand. I chose it because it's a halfway point between Boseong and Busan.
Boseong - Thursday, August 11
The sole reason for my next stop was to see the Daehan Dawon Tea Plantation.
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Gwangju - Wednesday, August 10
My next stop was Gwangju, the site of the "Gwangju Democratization Movement" of 1980. At the time there was a military dictatorship in place and initially students gathered to protest the closing of the university. The military was called in and killed indiscriminately, children, elderly, disabled, protesters and bystanders alike. The first casualty was a deaf man who was attempting to pass through. Citizens raided an armory and for some time controlled the city, but were eventually defeated. The dead were loaded into garbage trucks and buried in unmarked graves. The protesters were labeled as communists by the government, but since then they have become heroes of democracy. I visited the cemetery where the victims were reburied.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Jeonju (Part II) - Tuesday, August 9
After Martyr's Mountain, we went to the temple Hwaoemsa. Gongju and Buyeo were a part of the Baekje kingdom. This temple was originally constructed under Silla, one of the other "Three Kingdoms" who later unified (ie conquered) the others. It was built by an Indian monk in 544, but destroyed by the Japanese in 1592 and later rebuilt.
Jeonju (Part I) - Monday & Tuesday, August 8 & 9
It was a long day of traveling from Buyeo to Jeonju. I took an intercity bus instead of the express which meant many stops along the way. My friend Shinwook, who teaches English literature in Jeonju, met me and drove me around the province to see the various sites.
Buyeo - Sunday, August 7
After Gongsangseong Fortress, I took a bus to Buyeo, the 3rd Capital of Baekje.
Gongju - Saturday & Sunday, August 6 & 7
The first stop of my trip was to Gongju. I had to take the subway to Suwon, a train to Daejon, a long walk to the bus terminal, then a bus to Gongju. The city is beautiful and wide-open and the people were quite friendly. It was also very very hot.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Monday, July 25, 2011
Chuncheon 춘천 School Trip
For the end of the term, we took a mandatory optional field trip to Chuncheon.
We took a bus there. Of course, we needed to drink beer and soju on the way...it was past noon afterall. The driver gave us the 'drink em if you got em' announcement. I did my best to abstain, but the soju pressure was put on, followed by somek (beer with soju).
Our first stop was the home of a famous writer, Kim You-jeong, who died in poverty in the late 30's. There was a lecture, which I did not stay for (it was in Korean, mandatory for the Korean teachers and, apparently, interesting/long-and-boring). After touring the small complex, I found a bench and read a book.
We took a bus there. Of course, we needed to drink beer and soju on the way...it was past noon afterall. The driver gave us the 'drink em if you got em' announcement. I did my best to abstain, but the soju pressure was put on, followed by somek (beer with soju).
Our first stop was the home of a famous writer, Kim You-jeong, who died in poverty in the late 30's. There was a lecture, which I did not stay for (it was in Korean, mandatory for the Korean teachers and, apparently, interesting/long-and-boring). After touring the small complex, I found a bench and read a book.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
One more term
My family and I have spent the past several months trying to figure out a solution to the questions of contrasting callings. I've wanted to stay longer, but Amy's job demands her return in the Fall. Though Amy left the decision to me, I had decided that staying for one year in Korea away from Amy and Naomi would be too long. We had talked, though, about the wish for a six month compromise. Unfortunately, the contracts seemed firm at one year.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Mennonite Concerns in Korea
The following is an message from the email group at Grace and Peace. I thought some might be interested in what is happening from their perspective:
"To sum up, the contents in the e-mail is about a small village, named Gangjung Maeul in Jeju island.
The military ministry of Korea is now trying to build a huge navy base. The planned navy base will be used for strengthening a military hegemony of the US government in the Northeast Asia. In addition, the constructing process will harshly destroy beautiful nature of Jeju island. Therefore residence of the village and some citizen groups are demonstrating aginst construction of the base. Some member of our church will go to the village from next week in order to participate in the demonstration."
"To sum up, the contents in the e-mail is about a small village, named Gangjung Maeul in Jeju island.
The military ministry of Korea is now trying to build a huge navy base. The planned navy base will be used for strengthening a military hegemony of the US government in the Northeast Asia. In addition, the constructing process will harshly destroy beautiful nature of Jeju island. Therefore residence of the village and some citizen groups are demonstrating aginst construction of the base. Some member of our church will go to the village from next week in order to participate in the demonstration."
English Fashion
English is a huge industry here. Korea spends an immense amount of money on teachers like myself every year. Most signs have English, including restaurants and stores...the first time I saw "Starbucks" written in Korean was last week when we went to a tourist street in Seoul. We've even been to restaurants where the menus were only in English. My friend recently started a new job where they repeatedly asked her about her English skills as it was clearly an important part of the hiring. She was hired, but uses zero English in the job. If she wants to transfer her 2-year degree to a school with a bachelor's program, she will have to take an English test, even if it would be unnecessary for her focus of study.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Blogger is garbage...
The blogger composition interface has become terrible and almost unworkable. I've been meaning to upload pictures, but it's been nearly impossible to have any sort of organization. In the future, posts will be much smaller. Here's a picture of my new tattoo:
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Jayu Park
Jayu park is just south of us. It's about a 15 minute walk, but for whatever reason, we only recently went there. (Left) Naomi took this picture of me with whomever these dudes are. (Right) I got to spend a few minutes watching men play baduk on picnic tables. I'm hoping to go back alone sometime watch.
Spring at the Park
Now that spring is finally here, we've been able to explore some different areas.
Here's a small art park on the way home from work.
Here's a small art park on the way home from work.
Friday, March 11, 2011
Huckleberry Finn!!
This is how I look when I'm wetting my pants...
이소영 and 이기용 the lead vocalist and leader/guitarist/vocalist for my favorite band in the world, Huckleberry Finn. I'm the dufus in the middle with the old-man E-Mart sweater and goofy smile. In the past, I've mocked those who go crazy at the sight of their musical heroes. After last night, I promise never to do so again. In spite of myself, I was sweating, my heart was pounding, (as can be seen for all time) I was grinning like an idiot, and I lost all articulation of the mouth. I never expected such nervousness. Whenever I've gone to shows in the past, I've always been hit with the realization that musicians are people just people like me...except talented. When I walked into this bar, though, seeing them already playing, I was hit by in instant sense of awe. They seemed larger than life and infinitely cool.
I had originally made plans to go with a friend from school, who had bought the tickets for us. She canceled the day of the show, so I scrambled to find someone to go with me. Even my own wife refused. Eventually, after moping and feeling sorry for myself, at Amy's suggestion, I decided to go alone. It takes an hour to get there, so I gave myself an hour and a half....it took nearly 3 hours. After getting to the area, I walked about 15 minutes in the wrong direction (west or east), asked directions from somebody and returned back to the beginning, walked another 15 minutes in the opposite direction (east or west). Realizing I was in the middle of nowhere, I returned back to the beginning, again. I asked some frightened (then excited) high school girls where a landmark was. They pointed to a sign above my head (with the name of the place on it) pointing north. I walked about 15 north, stopped and returned, realizing I must've walked too far. About halfway back, I saw the name of the bar on a sign.
I was worn out, but instantly energized when I got there. The ticket girl was really nice and spoke English. I had to pick up the tickets will call, but it wasn't a hassle to pick them up, despite them being in someone else's name. She then handed me my complimentary ziploc of snacks (chips and cookies) and a can of coke. She ushered me in to the back (all seats were taken, except in the front), but offered me a child-sized folding chair...I politely refused, opting to stand in the back. The band was already playing. As there was an opening act, I don't know how much I missed, but they played for quite a while. There were, I'd guess, about 40 people at the show, all of whom were Korean. When the show ended, being white and alone, I felt a bit out of place when the lights when on, so I started to leave. The ticket girl, almost apologetically, asked me how it was, probably wondering if I stumbled into the place by accident. I said it was awesome, they are my favorite band! Then, seeing a poster, I started to take a picture of it, she asked why I don't go take a picture with the band. "That's ok?!" "Of course," she said. She took me back inside to the band, then had another girl (who, I think, works for the label) grab them for a photo. They were very gracious, but I was scared to death. Then 이기용 (the dude) shook my hand and thanked me. I don't really remember all that I said, but I remember "gamsahamnida" and "you're my favorite band" spewing out of my mouth at some point. He asked me a few questions about how I came to know them, and, hopefully, I answered them decently. I think I used sentences, but it might have only been isolated words and grunts.
Being in a darkly lit bar, most pictures didn't turn out well, but I'll post them anyway:
Plus, I'm going again tonight.
DMZ
PEACE PARK, our first stop.
This is freedom bridge. It leads (except for the fence) to a guard house which watches over the bridge connecting North and South.
The bridge connecting North and South, behind barbed wire fences.
The bridge ends with a fence where people hang peace banners.
The banner with "Grace" intersecting "Peace" was left by the Mennonite church (of the same name) in Seoul. I believe they hung it up 3 years ago.
What is visible through the fence. The bridge then goes on to the right of the guard tower.
From Peace Park, we took a bus to various DMZ sites. We were told not to take pictures, but I snuck one from the bus. We took the bus to a cave (one of several) where North Korea attempted to tunnel into South Korea for a potential attack. SK intercepted it and blocked the cave. Inside the cave we were again told not to take pictures, but I took some with my phone.
This is freedom bridge. It leads (except for the fence) to a guard house which watches over the bridge connecting North and South.
The bridge connecting North and South, behind barbed wire fences.
The bridge ends with a fence where people hang peace banners.
The banner with "Grace" intersecting "Peace" was left by the Mennonite church (of the same name) in Seoul. I believe they hung it up 3 years ago.
What is visible through the fence. The bridge then goes on to the right of the guard tower.
From Peace Park, we took a bus to various DMZ sites. We were told not to take pictures, but I snuck one from the bus. We took the bus to a cave (one of several) where North Korea attempted to tunnel into South Korea for a potential attack. SK intercepted it and blocked the cave. Inside the cave we were again told not to take pictures, but I took some with my phone.
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