KOREA Week XXXXIX

It seems as if my time in Korea would not be complete without another visit to the hospital. Or so, that's what they told me.

Late Sunday afternoon, I sliced my finger while opening a can of olives. Yes, a can of olives. I was almost finished cooking a delicious pasta when the accident occurred, causing me to abandon the cooking efforts and head to the local hospital. This was, in fact, my third visit in eleven months.

After a tetnis shot and an x-ray, the doctors prepared me for my stitches. Because the fingertips are one of the most sensitive parts of the body, this was not easy and it required anesthetic via a long needle to the fingertip. Not pleasant. In fact, it turned out to be a series of three shots, not just one, and I'm convinced the doctor did not properly do this. It was so uncomfortable that I passed out during the third needle shot to the finger, causing the ER staff to rush to my side with an oxygen tube and other accoutrements. Nice!

Seven stitches and 45,000 Won later, I left Sanbon hospital having vowed to never return there. I later learned that in Korea, it's twice as expensive to visit the ER on weekends. I also learned about something called "Sunday Doctors", a somewhat affectionate term for the interns who staff local hospitals on the weekends in place of the actual doctors.

Other news:

Lots of movie watching going on here. Greenzone, From Paris With Love, Julie & Julia, The Soloist, Shutter Island, and many others.

Just in case anyone was wondering, McDonald's hotcakes are sausage breakfast tastes the same in Korea as it does back home. At 4,500 Won, the cost is also the same. Regrettably, I am just now learning this.

I visited a new hamburger restaurant in Itaewon after reading about it in Seoul Eats, a local food blog I subscribe to. Two Broz. offers a pretty damn good hamburger at semi-reasonable prices. I paid around 11,000 Won for a good-size burger, fries, and a coke. It's definitely better than my recent attempts at hamburger consumption, namely Chili King, though the fries are crinkle cut which I don't especially like. Two Broz. may even be better than Kraze Burger, which has been my favorite Korean attempt at fast food.

I keep reading about Five Guys Burgers & Fries back in the U.S. and I'm eager to experience this when I return. Actually, I'm eager to experience many things when I get home.

The weather continues to be unseasonably cold in Seoul. Spring has not yet arrived, though many students promise me warmer temperatures within the next two weeks. I hope they're right.

KOREA Week XXXXVIII

Thursday, March 25, 2010

The good news; I have booked my return airfare and should soon have tickets in hand. It's a nice feeling to have a departure date (May 3), and I'm excited to count down the days. The bad news; there is much to do prior to leaving.

Sadly, I did not make it to Busan this past weekend. No reuniting with friends and no celebrations. The official reason; I woke up too late Friday morning and there was too much to do prior to leaving. That and I was not feeling 100% in the days prior to the weekend. Instead of another fine Busan adventure, I enjoyed a relaxing weekend of sleep and movie watching.

Yellow Dust:

In Korea and much of East Asia, there is something called Hwangsa, or Yellow Dust. Apparently, it originates in the Gobi Desert of Mongolia, Kazakhstan, and Northern China. The seasonal winds carry this very fine dust in the Spring and Summer months toward Korea and it's people. Furthermore, it picks up many industrial pollutants along the Eastern coastline of China, thus making it a nasty mixture that wreaks havoc on the country.

I experienced this last week, when I awoke one morning with a sore throat. At first I thought I was getting sick, then I learned about this meteorological phenomena. The Koreans often complain about this, and I was told the dreadful surgical mask is strongly encouraged on high Hwangsa days.

I have read that last Saturday was among the worst Hwangsa days, and literally, the dust filled sky was an amber color. It was an eerie sight. The day following, a very fine yellow/brown dust was recognizable on nearly every surface, window pane, and automobile. It's disgusting.

The Average Seoul Resident:

According to a recent article published in The Korea Times, the average Seoul resident is 37 years old and works an average of 46 hours per week. Monthly salary is 3.6 million Won and they spend around 2.8 million Won per month. This, obviously, is the so-called middle class, which accounts for 6 out of 10 households.

The cost of private education, which has grown at around 20 percent annually, is around 580,000 Won per month for tutoring and after school hagwons for their children. I have read other reports that suggest this figure can sometimes be well above 2 million Won per month. Either way, the figure remains a staggeringly high number, and is one of the highest of any developed nation.

Every day in Seoul there are an average of 106 deaths, 197 marriages, 264 births, and 249 people obtain a driver's license. The birthrate is actually a decrease of around 3,700 from the previous year, which continues to be a perplexing social problem.

Single family households has increased 66 percent since 1999 as the marriage rate fell to its lowest level ever in 2009. In turn, the average age of first-time grooms and brides continues to rise and is currently 31 years old for men and 29 years old for women.

Economic News:

Recently, a U.S. economist projected the cost of a North/South Korean unification at $1.7 trillion. This is only slightly higher than last year's Credit Suisse projection of $1.5 trillion. Both figures are nearly double the South Korean GDP of around $930 billion. Obviously, it is suggested that any unification would benefit the North more than the South, and South Korea would, of course, bear the brunt of this expense.

McDonald's recently announced their ambitious plans to quadruple the number of restaurants in Korea., There are currently 237 stores, which makes it the second-largest burger chain following Lotteria, Korea's own fast-food hamburger chain with 800 stores nationwide. According to their press release, McDonald's says Korea is the wealthiest market where they don't have at least 1,000 stores.

Following the conclusion of the 2010 Winter Olympics, estimates suggest that Korea will earn nearly $18 billion (20 trillion Won) in economic effects and intangible value from their strong performance during the games. Wow! The intangible value includes a heightened sense of pride, stronger Korean culture and artistic self-confidence. In addition, many believe this will help increase Korea's opportunity to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang.

The economic value of Yuna Kim's gold medal in women's figure skating alone is valued at over 5 trillion Won, and she will serve as an ambassador to the Pyeongcheong host committee.

Korean baseball is back, as the season officially opened last week. I have yet to make it to a game, though it's on my short list for next month. Strangely, as popular as baseball is in Korea, it is not a profitable business. Six of eight teams reported losses in 2008, and it is estimated each team annually loses between 15-20 billion Won (almost $20 million) on baseball operations. In fact, since the league started in 1982, it's been more of a publicity gig for the corporate-owned and named teams.

Thats about it, really. The clock continues to tick...

KOREA Week XIV Review

Tuesday, August 4, 2009 at 2:38pm

Another week. Another Won.

I saw my first full-length Korean movie this past week. Korean teacher/friend Jessica and I had burrito lunch in Beomgye followed by an afternoon at the movie theater. We saw the recently released Korean film, Take Off, about the 1998 Korean Olympic ski jump team. Obviously, the film was in Korean, which I did not mind because I could follow along fine without an understanding of the dialogue, and Jessica was more than willing to fill in any gaps. The movie was great; humorous in all the right spots and an endearing story. I later learned that the Koreans took home several medals that year, and again four years later at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Also this week, I discovered a DVD rental store in Sanbon, so I have been busy renting videos from there. The cost for a one night rental is 1,500 Won. Last night's movie was Frost/Nixon, which I equally enjoyed. Tonight's feature is Valkyrie.

July classes (month 3) ended on a quiet note. Most students are on vacation the last week of July and the first week of August, so attendance is low. Since Korean schools are on holiday now, many parents use this opportunity for some type of obligatory family holiday. Some companies are even closed during this time, except my language school, of course, because we have no dedicated summer vacation like the many other hagwons. While many foreign teacher friends are off this week scuba diving in the Philippines, camping on Cheju Island, eating sushi in Japan, partying in Hong Kong, or sightseeing in Cambodia, I remain in Korea teaching the less fortunate and more dedicated students who remain behind to study English. Other students have discussed their upcoming vacation plans in class, and many fathers have complained about the impending expense and dreadful duties of a full week spent with the family. It's funny to listen to them vent their frustrations about spending entire days with their kids, when, it would seem, all they wanna do is relax by themselves and drink soju.

Sadly, there were no late night hikes to SuriSan this week. No Teddy Pendergrass and no monsoons. In fact, I did my best to be in bed every night this past week between midnight and 12:30am. Perhaps it was the absence of my foreign friends, or the desire to achieve more than 3-4 hours sleep in a night. Either way, it felt good. I have also resumed cooking in my apartment. Some of my favorite meals this week include marinated bulgogi, Australian strip steaks from E-Mart, pan fried tofu with sesame oil and red pepper flakes, pasta with white cheddar sauce (gift from the U.S.), poached eggs, cereal, and scones with a Korean strawberry jam. All delicious.

To add to the culinary experience, I have been sampling red wines, including a semi-sweet Spanish wine that sells for only 5,500 Won at 7-Eleven, and an Argentinean Cabernet for 6,500 Won at E-Mart. Sweet wines are most popular in Korea, and dry reds from the West coast of the U.S., South America, or Europe are limited in selection and expensive, so finding a semi sweet red or Argentinean Cab at a decent price in Sanbon is actually a blessing. Enjoying wine with meals in restaurants, at home, or anywhere else in Korea is something I very much miss, and I probably have not communicated this as much as I should. For as much as Koreans love their alcohol, and as delicious as Korean food is, it is a major disappointment that more dishes are not paired with yummy wines to enhance the flavors. Instead, crummy Korean beers and Korea's own interpretation of East Asian firewater (soju) are the favorite pairings.

I taught Saturday morning class again this week, and afterwards B.H. and I traveled to Seoul for a Han River cruise and a trip to historic Gwanghamun. The boat ride is something I have wanted to do since viewing the Han for the first time and after reading several travel articles about this. The one and a half hour boat ride left at 3:30pm from Yoeuido, the financial capital of South Korea, which is somewhat similar to lower Manhattan. The Han River is wide, maybe one kilometer in parts, and it divides Seoul into Northern and Southern halves as it flows West toward the Yellow Sea. Surprisingly, there were not many boats other than the occasional ski boat or jet ski rental, but the views provide an interesting perspective to the size and vastness of this city. Cost of the boat ride was only 14,000 Won, which, I should add, included a magic show for the kids.

Saturday, August 1 was also the grand opening of the recently completed boulevard in Gwanghamun, so there were thousands of people gathered for the ceremony and to view the gardens. Gwanghamun is the historic location of many government offices, including the presidential palace (the Green House), and the U.S. Embassy. Gwanghamun was also the site of many former Japanese buildings during the colonial rule in the early to mid twentieth century, most of which, have been torn down. Another black eye in the sorely bruised national history that is Korea.

http://www.koreaherald.co.kr/NEWKHSITE/data/html_dir/2009/08/01/200908010042.asp

After Gwanghamun, we walked around Gyeongbokgung Palace (one of three historic palaces in Seoul) and visited Samcheong-Dong, quaint neighborhood located next to Gwanghamun and the palace, where we shared another fine samgyeopsil dinner and enjoyed mak-ju (beer). The trip to Gwanghamun was not complete without a visit to Seoul's largest bookstore, located in the basement of the subway station, and home to a rather large English selection. Here I purchased two books, a map of Korea, and successfully applied for the Kyobo Book Club and discount card. Best part of the membership; there was obviously some type of confusion when the staff entered my information and my card is written with the word "Name" as my actual last name. So from now on I will be known as, "Mr. Name Ethan" at the bookstore. Watch out.

Monday classes begin month four for me. While I am always excited to meet new students, I am sad to see some students leave. James, a student from Step 4 class Tuesday/Thursday mornings, announced he is taking the month of August off to travel with his family and "catch a rest." Eugene, a student from another Tuesday/Thursday Step 4 class, is interviewing and completing job training this month, so she has retired from her class. Kate, a 28 year old student from Monday/Wednesday Step 5 class, is eight and a half months pregnant and will soon burst or give birth. I'm not sure which. Je-Heon, a business student from Tuesday/Thursday night class, left last week to begin his graduate studies at Texas A&M University, so the other business students and I joined him after class Tuesday to celebrate over a couple of beers at Wa Wa Western Bar and offer some last minute advice prior to his departure. Other students have disappeared for weeks at a time, then reappear one day suddenly as if they never missed a class. Teacher James warned me of this when I first arrived, but I am just now experiencing this. I have said this many times before, but I really love my students and it's always great to see them, especially after a one month hiatus. As for the students who attend class regularly, I have noticed tremendous improvement with their English, and most importantly, their confidence when speaking both inside and outside the classroom.

Other happenings:

So I agreed to teach a children's class this month, Korean age 10. Day one of class, the students told me they did not know Bugs Bunny so I searched for a quick "what's up doc" video on YouTube to introduce them. Unfortunately, the video I accidentally selected (first result in the YouTube search) was actually an imitation bugs bunny cartoon from Family Guy. It featured Bugs Bunny saying his famous line moments before Elmer Fudd shot the rabbit several times. At first, unaware of my mistake, I thought Bugs Bunny was somehow faking this and would turn out fine, but just as I was starting to wonder how this was possible, Bugs Bunny lay in a bloody mess and Elmer Fudd reached down and broke the neck of the wascally wabbit. No joke. It was disturbing to watch even as an adult. Fortunately the kids did not cry, but the look on their faces suggested they did not like the video, nor did the seem to like Bugs Bunny very much. The saddest part of all, 10 year old student Christina told the class five minutes earlier that her favorite animal was a rabbit. I wish I had realized my mistake sooner, and I wish I were making this story up.

I discovered cheap incense, a 60 pack for only 900 Won, at the discount store last week. After my discovery, I spent nearly twenty minutes attempting to describe an incense holder to the clerk using hand gestures and simulating a burning incense reed. Just before giving up the cause, the clerk directed me to a tucked away corner of the store containing the fireworks selection, which I was previously unaware of, but most pleased to learn about. No incense holder, but a wealth of fireworks.

Twenty minutes must be the featured time this week, for that's approximately how long I waited at McDonald's today. Since this was only my second visit to McDonald's in Korea, I can tell you the burger was not that tasty, and the McDonald's employees were horribly inefficient. After watching them for only a few minutes, I realized the crew were not very skilled at multi-tasking; something, which is a necessary part of almost any service job, especially in fast-food. And, to add further enjoyment to the passing time, I watched a young Korean man attempt to juggle two large trays of food, only to drop them both, spraying coca-cola and french fries over half of the people waiting in line. I can honestly say I saw it coming and moved out of the way just in time. Unfortunately, the young Korean man did not have the same foresight, as he was carefully trying not to spill the two large trays of food instead of watching the back of the woman he walked directly into. Good stuff.