Amsikle’s blog

I know this post isn't what anyone was expecting but here goes.

1. I just discovered ITunes U.
2. It's brilliant.
3. I listened to a lecture on existentialism that was ammmmmaaaazing from a professor at Berkley.
4. I listed to Mozarts requiem by Duke Chapel Choir, that blew me away.
5. I just downloaded lectures from :

David Lynch
Hubert Drefus Philosophy 7 Spring 2007 Quarter "Existentialism"
Vanderbilt lecture on morality and Law
A World of Law-then and now
Dan Michaelson on Digital Design
Robotics and Art in the Information Age
Consciousness, Creativity and the Brain
Ballet and Sex
The Flying Manuscript

6. THIS WAS ALL FREEEEEEE!!!!!

The idea of ItunesU is brilliant. The fact that I can get amazing lectures and music from the top universities without paying anything is amazing. I almost feel bad because students pay about 4,000 for each class at these Universities if not more, and I just downloaded it in 3 min for free. BOO YAH. ^^!!!  I might add that Mozart's requiem is totally hitting the spot as well. I've been craving a big choir sound, that reached epic volumes and passion. Siiiigh sooo awesome.

Just finished the rough draft of my 15 page paper. Now I just have to edit it. I'm pretty much done. AHHH yesss feels so good. Now hanging and digesting the next few days, then off to the States! I think culture shock is in store, so if you see me looking like I'm about to cry or have a panic attack, please be sympathetic and stop talking to me for a min.

I'll update later. holla kids.

Procrastination phase 2: I just finished my 10 page paper...now I have a 3 page response paper due tomorrow after noon, as well as my Korean word test Wednesday, Korean review Thursday, and speaking test Friday. Monday I have 3 3-4 page essays due, then the 18th & 19th, I have my Korean final, and the 22nd I have my 15page research paper due. BLEHHHHHHHHH. So instead of doing work right now I'm updating. Yay for you guys, meh for my school work.

Surprisingly I'm not super stressed, I'm actually spreading the work out pretty well. The only thing that really worries me is the Korean final exam that I have. It's going to be really really hard, and I think from this point on I should be studying for this like 4 hours a day every day. I know a lot of vocab, but as far as apply the vocab, I am sucking big time! There are so many concepts that this program is wanting us to learn, and right now, I know about half of them because they are all starting to blend. shit.

I'm sad I'm leaving soon, but what is new. I'm really excited to go home to see family and friends. My dad wrote me 2 emails the past two weeks and they were so cute, and made me get homesick. ::grin::

I'm curious how I'm going to react when I get home. I'm pretty sure I'm going to have culture shock...no doubt about that. I'm excited to get back to Cbus and see everyone. I really miss campus, people, my apartment, my bike. siiigh.

I've decided this post is going to be really random considering I don't have too much to say, it's more that I don't want to do the other impending work that I should really be doing right now. Last night was nice. Alex, Ryo, Jelly, James and I all went to this Art cafe in Hongdai, did work, I finished my History paper, and then we all smoked hookah at Flower till like 3am. I then went to class at 9am-11am, slept from 11-2, went to Korean from 4-6, ate 불 고 기 (beef) and then shacked myself in my room until now. It sucks that my day wasn't very productive, but I'm hoping that I can get up early tomorrow and at least walk around. Tomorrow night is the last choir concert that I will be able to go to here in Korea. It's EJ's (father of little girl I teach English to) Christmas choir concert with the Seoul lady Singers. It's going to be super cute because A. It's Christmas music and who isn't in love with christmas music...it just makes you all gushy inside, and B. Sarah (the little girl) is going to be singing a song! YAY!!!! I get to bring 4 friends this time, so it's going to be really nice and I'm totally excited.

What else...Nujabes...my fav. He's a DJ from Japan and I'm pretty much in love him because he blends  hip hop/smooth jazz/instrumentals and what pops out is music that is way cooler than trip-hop.

Also listening to Holy Fuck. Random title, but the electronica is really good. I like it.

I'm curious how the next 2 weeks are going to go. Suddenly everyone has been re-evaluating their relationships with people here some in a positive light and some in a negative light. The months before this was just us hanging out, experiencing life, and now since it's "down to the wire" we are all evaluating and guessing how things are going to be. I've had this happen to me before considering I've moved like 80 gagillion times, so it's not a new concept, but at the same time this experience has been so different for me. I've been much closer to people here, and I know that it's not because of the situation that it's the reason why we are friends. The 친 구's (Chingoos/friends) here are just amazing, and I'm going to cry immensely when I leave them.  The cool thing is, I know I will see these kids again, maybe in a different context but it will still be them non the less. Unfortunately Katarina  and Silvia live in Austria so that's a little bit more difficult, but I'm planning on going to Europe soon anyway so it will be all good.

What I pray for is that everyone fares well back at home, and I hope that our conversations never die to a murmur every other year. Life takes its course swaying us this way and that way, but I'd like to believe I'm pretty good at maintaining my friendships even if others aren't.

Okay enough of this future talk. I'm not even trying to put myself in a funk right now. It's game time to work hard and party hard. FIGHTING FIGHTING FIGHTING!!! (Korean saying)

Now back to work.가 자!!!! Go!!!!

Here is a paper I just finished for my Modern Korean Society course. If you aren't interested in academic papers please skip, but if you want to learn anything about the history of South Korea's labor movements it might be interesting to read. I thought it was a really interesting subject to learn about, and do keep in mind it's supposed to be a bit of an opinion paper. Have fun!

Amy Delahanty
Modern Korean History
December 08, 2007        The Democratization of the Labor Force

    It's hard to imagine the economic and political instability as well as the social unrest  that ensued during the 70s, 80s, and 90s while living in Seoul Korea today. If you were unaware of the events that took place, Seoul would seem as though it is a prospering, affluent city that is flourishing under the wonders of globalization quite seamlessly. If you are to visit the markets in 동댸 문 or 이 대 you can enjoy the inexpensive plethora of 5,000 won shirts and skirts, or the 10,000 won shoes that are clustered and hung on racks up and down the streets. Upon first coming to Korea and spending my first couple weeks shopping and eating, I was amazed at the cheap textiles that flooded the stores. It seemed as though these textiles are what has kept the Korean consumption of goods at a staggering rate and as a result helped keep export rate high and GDP climbing. However, these textiles and shoes also come at a very different price, one that has a history of hardships and strife all for the growing Korean economy. The focus of this paper is to illuminate the instability among the labor force and labor unions during the 1970s and 80s, mapping out its history as well as the South Korean government's justification for manipulation and oppression(suppression?) in the name of economic growth. Furthermore, I would like to briefly present the differing opinions about Korea's economic tactics (namely, the manipulation of the labor force) to stay afloat during the "20th century rat race" (as described by Cummings) to become a equal power among the western powers. Finally, I will conclude with a summary of my opinions of Korea's deplorable political policies and actions against its own people ironically for the sake of the nation they were stifling.
    The growing oppression of the working class intensified in the 1970s with the threat of western powers gaining momentum and power over the eastern countries. Korea, looking to prove its place in the imperial powers as an Asian tiger utilized the Export-Oriented Industrialization (EOI) trade and economic policy. This policy aimed to speed-up the industrialization process of Korea by exporting goods in which Korea had a comparative advantage. This advantage was cheap labor. The Korean government under Park Chung-hee utilized its power to pay their workers low wages in the textile and shoe industry. These wages ranged from 1,500 won to 3,000 won per month (Cummings 374) and the typical working day averaging 15 hours, starting at 8am and ending at 11pm. In addition to the long working days, the workers were entitled to only 2 days off per month, and if there was a lot of work to be done, they were forced to work throughout the night...stay awake...and even take stimulants such as amphetamines. 83% of the workforce in these textile factories were women, many of those age 14-20 years of old (Koo 70-71). This unabated labor exploitation and the enormous amount of human suffering is what provoked the need for the labor force to band together, organize, and improve the conditions in the workplace.
    The beginning of the labor movement in South Korea can be identified prior to 1970s, however, one of the first notable labor protests in the history of South Korea's working-class formation took place on the afternoon of November 13,1970 in the garment district known as Pyunghwa Market. On this day a dozen young workers shouted slogans demanding the improvement of the working conditions for the workers. Shortly after the protest began, the police rushed to break up the protest. The refractory protesters were insusceptible to the coercion of the police and matters escalated quickly. The man who organized the group demonstration was a tailor known as Chun Tae-Il. Chun had been deeply concerned about the wretched working conditions in the garment district and devoted a significant amount of his time to improve the working conditions in the market (Koo 70). After repeated peaceful attempts prior to the protest such as petitions and letters to the Bureau of Labor, Chun resorted to more shocking measures to obtain the results he wanted. While the police were using brute force, Chun disappeared for a few minutes and returned with a can of gasoline.  After dousing gasoline all over his body, he then set himself on fire and shouted within the flames, " We are not machines!";"Let us rest on Sunday!";"abide by the Labor Standard Laws!" "Don't exploit workers!" (Koo 70). This desperate act used as a result of the imbalance of power among the labor force, dispersed the spirit of resistance and rebellion among the minds of millions of workers, and "provided a powerful symbol...that has thus far had no sacred symbol or venerable tradition to inspire and mobilize workers for a collective goal" (Koo 70). The martyr Chun Tae-Il flung the industrial problems into the limelight, and caused the industrial workers into a stage of history as a critical force in the social transformation in South Korea.
    Following the lead of Chun Tae-Il, union consciousness permeated throughout the minds of other textile workers, more specifically women in the two largest textile companies, Wonpoong and Dongil. The labor activism began in the second half of the 1970s (Koo 72) when class/labor consciousness grew and workers began to realize the importance of more systematic and collective efforts to improve conditions. Typically, the unions that existed prior to the union coups at Wonpoong and Dongil were controlled by the textile companies themselves. Anyone can foresee the problems that can occur from a union being controlled by the company that workers file grievances against, therefore the main prerogative of the textile workers was to create new independent unions and transform company unions into genuine representative unions. At Wonpoong and Dongil women workers staged a coup to take control of the company union. As described in Song's article, "Unions at Wonpoong built the strongest union established in the 1970s, representing an exemplary case of the independent union movement".  Women workers at Wonpoong Textiles staged an electoral revolt at the union election and elected a new union president alongside the majority of women occupying floor delegates positions (Koo 74).  With the help of Bang Yong-suk, one of the few men who had the courage to participate in the women-dominated 1970s union movement, developed probably the strongest and most well-organized grassroots union at Wonpoong Textile (Koo 76). Despite the progressive path the unions were pushing towards, it was no match for severe repression from the military government of Chun Doo Hwan and the divisive techniques of management of pitting male workers against females.
    Similar to the union movement at Wonpoong, the democratic union movement fared much the same, perhaps worse. Like Wonpoong, the union movement at Dongil Textile was led be a cadre of women workers who were active participants in small-group activities. The feisty group of women maneuvered events to elect the first woman president in South Korea in 1972 and replaced corrupt union officers with activist women representatives (Koo 76). In this giant leap towards a democratic and gender neutral union, bitter conflicts ensued among men and women. The South Korean government saw these independent unions and their possible impact on labor laws and restrictions as a threat to the growth of the economy and a challenge to it's power.  As a result, the South Korean government implemented all possible means to  block attempts to organize independent unions or to reform the management-contolled unions. One of these tactics was to mobilize male workers to destroy the female-dominated independent unions. Aforementioned above, the union leadership at Dongil Textile was won in 1972 by women, therefore, union activists had to overcome tremendous harassment, mistreatment, and bribery by management. Song states in his article, A Martyr, Women Workers, and Churches that women were given "extra work, transfered to the most arduous and menial posts, subjected to sexual harassment, and reprimanded severely for every minor mistake". When these tactics failed, companies bribed males to coerce other male workers as well as scare the more passive female workers in order to oust the incumbent union leadership. In July 1976 when the new elections were scheduled the Dongil Textile company went to the extent to lock the women participants in the dormitories and nail the doors shut to sway the vote. Following this, the women participants were enraged and staged a unusual sit-in-strike. On July 25, when police arrived at the sit-in-strike, Dongil workers undressed and stood half-naked in front of them. One participant described the scene saying, "In the face of such an enormous threat of violence, it was our ultimate resistance, an action spontaneously taken, with no shame or fear....we hung tightly together in our nakedness. Can steel be stronger and harder than this?" Despite the passionate and intense beauty of this scene, it only stunned police for several minuets. After being dumbfounded, police arrested the women, but not before they would violate their bodies. Another extreme example, was prior to the election in February 1978, thugs sprang out of the toilet area after the night shift workers finished their work and spread feces all over the women's faces and brassieres. This is an extreme, but relevant example at the gritty extent in which the government and companies stooped to in order to preserve the deplorable labor laws in South Korea.
    In the 80s, many of the progressions that were achieved in the early 70s in the labor unions were squashed in the 80s with unjustified police force and administrative decree. Protests such as the YH Trading Company highlight a new problem in the labor laws: companies being able to lay of workers without any compensation. As described in Chapter 7 of Bruce Cummings book Korea's Place in the Sun,  in August of 1979 young female textile workers held a sit-down strike after YH had lost its hold on its place in the wig market and abruptly shut down its factory, dormitories, and mess halls. Per usual the police intervened, but this time they resulted to brute force evicting 170 women from the dormitories and beating most of them mercilessly.  In January 1981, just before his visit to Washington, General Chun Doo Hwan dissolved the Chonggye Garment Worker's Union by administrative decree, thus ending the union that had begun with Chun Tae-Il's suicide (Cummings 383). Chun even created "white skull" (parkkol) strikebreakers, known for their martial arts skills that would arrive at the scene on motorcycles  and wade into workers, breaking heads (Cummings 384)
    In the 90s, brute force was replaced with less obvious forms of coercion which manifested in means of corrupt public policies.  In January 1997, controversial labor laws were passed that gave employers more power to lay off workers and hire temporary workers and scabs while disallowing the formation of competing unions in a single workplace (Koo 1). With these newly passed laws, job stability among Korean workers was the focus among activists rather than past grievances of  the 70s such as long hours and small pay. A general strike of 3 million formed which shut down production in the automobile, shipbuilding, and other major industries instigating  world wide support. A protest on such a grand scale was significantly different than past sporadic protests in the 70s and 80s, and it made a difference. The protest ended in late January when the government reluctantly agreed to revise the new labor laws. Even though this general strike achieved only minimal concessions from policy makers, it raised awareness of labor militancy in South Korea. This international spotlight helped make the 90s a decade of change for labor relationships in South Korea. By the late 1990s, the normal work day was 8 hours, overtime was compensated, and wages were no longer set unilaterally by employers...triumphant leaps from the progress in the 60s,70s,80s.
    I would like to point out that this argument and history is far to one sided at this point... I have focused heavily on the trials and tribulations of the worker and not on the economical benefits of such an exploitation. This may seem a little unemotional considering I feel as though you can never justify such disreputable actions, but for the sake of the argument, I will present the viewpoints of developmental economists who feel as though this labor exploitation was necessary for Korea to stay competitive in such a critical time. Economists' (see, for example, Cole and Lyman 1971; Jones and Sakong 1980, Kuznets 1977) primary concern in these literatures is to explain how South Korea and other East Asian tigers gained economic performance (Koo 4). The amazing recovery by South Korea during the economic IMF crisis sparked interest in many economists to dive into the history of South Korea's labor tactics. The source was the EOI strategy of cheap, hard working labor. Economists clearly acknowledge that EOI in East Asian newly industrialized countries depended on this cheap labor, and agree that "the abundant supply of cheap high-quality labor at the early stage of industrialization, they agree, was the key source of comparative advantage of these economies in the world economic system (Koo 4).
    The dominating rationalization provided by the state to its workers included diction alluding to nationalism, familism, harmony, and national security.  South Korea propagated national goals of "modernization of the fatherland" to make the nation rich, and protect itself from the "hostile communist north" and other foreign powers as a reason to mask, and justify the exploitation of its workers. The government exercised brute force, public policy, and now cultural means as they asked the worker to apply confucian ideals of family, trust, respect, and loyalty to its workplace. The government used slogans such as, "Treat workers like family members, Do factory work like my own work" (Koo 12) Every means possible was used to execute the governments goals of cheap labor at the expense of its people...essentially asking it's workers to sacrifice themselves on the cross of the country,
    I suspect many of these same ploys to exploit labor are still occurring currently in South Korea, which is why there are still cheap textiles flooding the market. My opinions on these matters mirror those of Song, and Cummings in that I believe that the price workers paid for a rise in the standard of living wasn't worth the pain, harassment, manipulation, and physical/emotional abuse. I side with a humanistic approach to the labor disputes in Korea rather than an economical approach. Viewing labor as simply a commodity and a means that can be manipulated at will without consequences is abhorrent. The workforce is not simply a line on a graph to be examined in terms of supply and demand, it should also be viewed through a sympathetic lens placing ourselves in the lives of those who were exploited. For the multitude of American economists, business pundits, and political scientists who saw only Korea's development as a "miracle" or "dynamic", and viewed the confucian work ethic as not a hardship but a "heaven sent opportunity to help family and nation"  I wish they could have examined the facts through the eyes of the worker not the government (Cummings 385). I agree with Cummings when he stated, "I still do not understand why the immense sacrifice that the Korean people made to drag their country kicking and screaming into the 20th century rat race should merit such a uncritical, well-nigh hysterical enthusiasm from academics who presumably not paid for their views". It is the job of the people to view these events objectively, and weigh our stoic academic interests in a universal logarithm of morality. This sort of moralistic evaluation should quickly yield the almost natural realization that observing human progress as phenomenal and extraordinary yet disconnecting those accomplishments from the individuals who engineered them is, in itself, unnatural; we must pay homage through respect for the individual vigilance of every person who worked to accomplish the result in question. We cannot very well go about celebrating the exuberance of united human progress without identifying and attributing credit to the individual colors that constitute that impressive development.

Works Cited:

Cummings, Bruce. 1997. Korea's Place in the Sun: a modern History. New York: WW Norton & Co.
    Chapter 7. "The Virtues, II: The Democratic Movement, 1960-Present." (pp. 343-403)
Koo, Hagan. 2001. Korean Workers: the culture and politics of class formation. Ithaca: Cornell
    University Press. Chaps. 1 and 4 (pp.1-22; 66-99)

So a little procrastination is in progress right now...I am supposed to be working on my second to last word test in Korean and I'm getting super distracted. Meh. I wanted to post more pictures for the last post so that you guys could see some of the fashion that is happening around town, but I've been doing everything but taking pictures. I think I need to get on that considering I feel like I've definitely been slacking on the photo taking the second half of this journey. I know I went photo crazy in the beginning, but nowadays I really don't feel like carrying my camera around with me everywhere. It's not necessarily the most convenient piece of technology. In any case, I'm going to try and do some photo taking this week, and make an effort to get around Seoul for my last 2 1/2 weeks. I need to take some pics of buildings, architecture, as well as the new Christmas decor that is dressing the city right now. 

I think the plan for this weekend is to make some nice day trips, come back at a reasonable time, study for a couple hours and then go out i.e. clubbing or a bar with the ching-a-lings (friends). I want to go see the Van Gogh exhibit, as well as the Contemporary art museum that is in the Shigol (countryside). I also want to go back to the art building in Hongdai to see the videos and new exhibit that just went up. So I'm basically saying this to hold myself accountable that this will happen because I feel as though if I don't, I may change my mind and regret the decision. I also need to do some last min gift shopping for family and friends as well. Maybe Lotte department store??? hrm...we'll see. 

So I just heard that Anna might be coming up to Korea in February. That will definitely be really cool and a great thing for her. I need to find out which language school would be best for her, because I'm not necessarily convinced Yonsei would be the best choice. As a reputation and name it's worth it to put on the resume, however, I am not a fan of the way they structured their classes. I feel as though the way the classes are structured as well as the material is a little shaky and I think there are better language programs out there where you can learn Korean better and faster. I heard about a really good language institute but I'm not sure how the courses would transfer to U of L. (I will check the name soon for you Anna). Anyways, I think its awesome if she comes out for a 10 week course. She will avoid the mosquitos, monsoons, and the weird sand that comes blowing through in April/May. I think it might be a perfect time. Plus I can live vicariously through her while she is here to experience the things that I will miss dearly. 

I think I got a job offer in Korea today by the father of one of the girls that I'm teaching English to. It was kind of weird in the sense that I was really thrown off by it, but I guess cool? I don't know, we were talking about future plans of mine, and  what I will be up to after I get my masters and he basically said that if I wanted to work for his marketing company I am welcome to. I really didn't know what to say but thank you, because god knows where I will be in three years or what I will be interested in doing. It was cool to think it can be that easy to get jobs out here though. I mean honestly, it feels as though the job market for English natives is huge. The other enticing aspect is that for Arts Administration there seems as though there are lots of jobs, and it's extremely easy to get a internship if not a job. One Austrian girl here just went up to a manager at a famous Arts complex and they basically said that if she is willing to sign a year or two year contract she is in. This is only talking to her for about ten minuets. It's pretty crazy. The only thing that I am weary about is the fact that the labor market here is a little shaky. There doesn't seem to be that much accountability in terms of how they treat employees as well as when and what they pay them. From what I gather there doesn't seem to be a minimum wage, and the usual pay rate for McDonald employees in Shinchon is 2,000-3,000 Won. That's about 3 dollars kids. Waiters and waitresses get paid 4,000 and they don't get tips. It's pretty intense, and I think that would be my major concern if I were to take a job here. 

I'm starting to take interest in some social injustices such as the problems with the welfare and labor issues here. I'm reading more articles and journals on the subject and wondering if this is something that I should write one of my 5-7 pg. papers on...On thursday I'm supposed to go to lunch with Anna, my professor, and a woman who is involved with a large NGO that deals with Social programs among all the Asian countries. She is supposed to talk about the status of social programs in terms of welfare, the elderly, homeless in Korea which will be really cool. Unnnfortunately I have no idea what the organization is called, but she will be speaking in my class before lunch so I can get a gist of what's going on and not feel stupid. 

Crap, I need to get working again. bleh. ok, I will hopefully write soon!

What's Hot and What's Not Big Korea Style: 

Damn, I really have been slacking on updating guys…eep! There have been so many things that I’ve wanted to comment on, address, and just shoot the shit about but I’ve definitely punked out because lately I’ve found myself gone from 9am-1am every night.

It’s reaching the tail end of my endeavor so to speak…there is just a couple weeks left, and statements such as “shit, we have a month left :sighs heard amongst the group:” are happening more frequently. We are all secretly freaking out that we will only see each other together like this for the next 4 weeks, and while it’s made all my friends want to hang out so much more, it’s also made the “breaking up” that much more intense. :sigh: I am definitely grateful for the experience here in Korea not just because experiencing Korea and the culture was interesting, but it was so nice for my personal growth as a person.

For my own reiteration, I love every one of my friends here. The positive feelings oozing from everyone about each other has made things so precious, and we are all in these otherworldly moods. The surreal atmosphere of I-House/Yonsei/Seoul/Korea is something that was definitely needed, and I appreciate everyone that made it possible for me to get here namely my family support.

Currently, my friends a.k.a Ryo, Jelly (Angelica), Hanners (Hannah), Pat, Katarina, Silvia, Angie, Alex, and Anna just got back from another amazing sleep over at Anna’s apartment. We cooked brugogi (seasoned meet) with pap (rice), gohksoo (birthday soup), and raboki (rice cake (dok) and ramen cooked in Korean spices). IT WAS AMAZING. God love Anna for letting us bunk in her place, cook food, and trade music. She’s been such an amazing little hostess and pseudo Korean mom…I love that girl. Afterwards, we all decided to get some food and chill out at a café just doing work, reading, writing, studying Korean, yah know…stuff.

We’ve all been hanging out a lot more the past couple weeks as expected, and it has been sooo nice. Then, on top of that Shannon comes in tomorrow at 5pm, and I get to spend one of the most amazing weeks with her here. She’s embarking on her trip in the next couple hours and I hope the long trek out will be worth it. I feel like it’s going to be crammed with so much stuff that the amount of images, and culture is just going to put her in overload status, and it will take her another week of absolute nothing to digest that she was just in Asia. ^_^

I really want her to experience some of the things that I’ve witnessed while being here, because I feel as though so much of what I’ve experienced cannot be comprehended through my blog or pictures. Many times, I offend people on the blog when really I don’t mean to, and things come out much harsher than I intend, and the realization that I might be offending those Korean-Americans who are reading this makes me a little weary. I definitely haven’t held back, but I feel as though my inadequacies to explain and articulate situations/descriptions have lead things to be misinterpreted and ambiguous. So in that regard, I’m really happy that Shannon will at least get to see a piece of what I’ve been talking about and I can show her through actions not necessarily words. She also knows me better than most so even if I come out ridiculous, she knows where I’m at least coming from.  Man I’m so happy she’s coming. I’ve been talking about her non stop to all my friends and its seemed like this fictional thing that will happen in like a few weeks, but in reality, she just woke up, and is getting dressed, and s about to pop on the plane, only to arrive here TOMORROW!

So a couple things on the itinerary:

-FOOD FOR SURE. God so much food will be involved. I think I’m just going to fatten her up while she’s here puhahahaha.

-Insadong: the traditional, touristy Korean area that has all the souvenirs. Oddly enough I really like this place because the food is amazing in this area, as well as the galleries that are dispersed intermittently are amazing.

-Hongdai: I gotta hit up the artsy area for her

-Samsung Museum: also known as the Leeum Arts center.

-A play/dance performance/theatre/choir concert/music concert

-BUNGEE JUMPING: that’s right, and it’s only $20 bucks!

-Monet exhibit at the Contemporary Arts Museum

-Temples galore

-we may got the shigol (country side) if time permits

-Lotte world/Everland: the theme parks in Seoul

-COEX aquarium

-Biking the Han River at night as well as eating the best Korean BBQ/samgipsal

-Prison in Seoul were Koreans were kept during the Japanese annexation

-DMZ zone

-Cafes and/or bars

-Walking

-Patbinsu

-Doctor Fish

-Shopping in Dongdaemun (awesome shopping area) with Yoojung

-TONS OF SHOPPING

…other random stuff…

I’m going to wear this little girl out! YAY!!! I can’t wait!

So that’s my tentative plan I guess. When she comes in I plan on dragging her on little expeditions if she can stand it, and then the fun will never end!

So enough about my little travel plans with Shannon, more about Korea. So for those of you who don’t know Peppero day was 11/11. Peppero is the Korean version of chocolate covered sticks…many of you have probably seen the Japanese versions floating around, but anyways, they are amazing, and there is a whole day dedicated to them. So in Korea, there are all sorts of days for couples…really more than you would think. Peppero day is one of those days where you give baskets of Peppero to your significant other, or girl/guy you’re crushing on and you spend the day exchanging yummy chocolates. It’s actually pretty cute, and of course we all got into the festivities. Anna bought me tons of Peppero, and even designed little flowers from other Peppero boxes; it was so creative and cute. We also threw a Peppero party where we all exchanged Peppero and gorged on the chocolate feast. It was cute.

We also found out about these important dates:

11/11 is Peppero day

2/14 is Valentines Day where the GIRL gives the guy a Valentine

3/1 is White day where the guy who received chocolate from the girl on V-day, and likes her, he will return the favor and give gifts to her.

4/14 is Black day, where everyone who is single goes out and eat jajangmyeon (super good Korean dish that’s black bean noodles…you can see this eaten in the first scene of the coffee prince.)

There are other interesting couple dates that people remember like your 100, 200, and 300 day anniversary. They aren’t necessarily something everyone does, but I hear high school students get really into it. In Korea, programmed in cell phones are alarms for each one of these anniversaries to help remind the guy of the date, haha. (A part of me secretly wishes I was living in Asia for during my high school years).

Some other interesting things I found out worth mentioning are:

-when older, married women reach around a certain age, they perm their hair and cut it short. It’s known as the Ajuma hair style (it’s pretty much expected every woman at a certain age does this)

-I was teaching English one night, and the mom’s of one of the kids got her hair cut/permed, and told me it’s the Ajuma hair style. She said she was getting about that age where she should do her hair like that so people would know she’s “taken”. I’ll try and take a picture of a typical Ajuma hair style so you know what I’m talking about.

-was in class the other day, and the discussion of interpersonal relationships among Korean high schoolers/college students came up. I found out that it’s not uncommon for someone who is only one year older than you to never be a close friend of yours.

-Even in College, the relationships that students most often forge are ones to make “connections” not lasting friendships. This is usually the case, but different of course among some individuals.

-There are things in Korea called “meetings” where a couple guys and girls get together to find someone to date. This is pretty popular here, and even a couple girls from the I-house went. They said it was weird, but a lot of fun. You basically sit in a circle with a “moderator” who moderates the discussion and keeps things interesting, while each person asks general questions and tells things about themselves. They also play drinking games throughout the night because things are really awkward in the beginning. In any case, by the end of the night you select your “date” and from then you date, or leave it at that. “Meetings” are basically for fun, and to just date, not something too serious. Lots of single college students do this. I’m sure you could Wiki it and something about it will pop up if you wanted to know more about it. I could also find the literal Korean spelling in case you can’t search for it under the English name.

Well that’s about all I have time to write about right now. I’m about to go meet up with kids at Saum (cute bar) and hang out with Hannah’s friend that just came in town as well as other Chingoos. Have a good night guys!

HIIIIIII! I'm posting finally. This time I don't really have a good excuse why I've neglected the computer...hmpf. Things have been really cool lately and I guess its been out of fun that I haven't updated. So, midterms are over, I feel relaxed, and I'm stoked that SHANNON MY LITTLE SISTER IS COMING TO KOREA! Holy moly! Wow, when the event of buying her ticket came upon us, and we confirmed the flight details I got suuuuuuuper excited. I've pretty much told everyone here that she is coming, and every time I think about it this huge grin comes upon my face and I get really really really happy. ^_^.

What else...oh yeah so I went hiking last weekend. INSANITY. Check out pictures people even though snapshots can't even discribe the amount of people hiking on this mountain. So to begin with, Korean hiking, or so I'm told Asian hiking in general, includes tons of people and I should have expected this. However, I didn't not expect the masses of people, restaurants, shops, gift stores, norebangs (kareoke), bars, and bumper cars at the bottom of the mountains...BUMPER CARS? REALLY? Oh yes...bumper cars. I can't even describe to you how weird hiking is in Korea, nor do I really want to get into all the details considering it would be some serious work on my part including a lot of bitching about how ridiculous and dangerous it was hiking. But I do want to say that it blew me away. First of all, almost all Korean hikers dress exactly the same but in different colors. Everyone comes equipped with $600 hiking gear that has never been worn, and many times, they purposefully dress exactly the same while in groups of 50. Everyone wears hats, they have their hiking poles, gortex pants, shirts, and of course, the vest. They each carry a backpack which is whatever, but its the SAME backpack. The hikes are less than difficult, and I think everyone dressed like they were going to summit Kilimanjaro. Beware, I'm a little bitter right now, and that's actually pretty sad on my part since it has been like a week for me to calm down. So after seeing like masses of people, all dressed together, all stretching in packs of 50 (WHO HIKES WITH 50 PEOPLE?!?!) we get distressed and try and find alternative hiking routes where masses of people aren't going to be. We ended up finding a less than busy route, but we were still hiking behind 20 people which at the time bothered me, but I got over it after an hour. Then we hike to a photo opportunity plat form which was busy with people, but really fucking cool. The mountains in Korea are definitely beautiful even if there are tons of people. After than we summit the mountain of Namsan, and again, even with there being like a gagillion people at this point, there was solitude in being that high up looking over the landscape of pure mountains.

We were all stunned, excited, relieved cause the hike made us a little winded, and after about an hour of eating and soaking it all in, we made our decent.

This was probably the worst part of our trip as well as the most dangerous. The way down, we crossed a very touristy area of the mountain, and because of this we definitely paid for it. The amount of people reached ridicuclous, and for hiking atop mountains with mud, and guard rails, there should not have been the amount of people there were on that trail. One woman slipped from the crowd keeping grip of the guard rail, and dangled beside the mountain face. Grant it  she could have rolled down the mountain considering it wasn't a cliff face, but none the less, it was frightening to hear her scream. Thank god a man grabbed her and saved her from falling of the side of the mountain or it could have been really bad. However, the madness doesn't end there.  On the way down, there must have been hundreds of people trying to get down the trail. Everyone was pushing, running, and cutting each other off to get down the mountain faster. Keep in mind the descent was a boulder field, and not necessarily the most maintained trail, so while this was going on, people were falling, sliding, twisting their ankles...sigh, it was horrible. My poor friend Hannah was being pushed, kicked in the knees, grabbed on to, but off, and no one said sorry. It made me soooooo bitter against Korean hikers, and I really wasn't wanting that to happen. I literally almost had a panic attack on the mountain because of the sheer danger and awe of the people around me, plus I had to hold back the instant reaction to just start throwin bows at everyone. GRRRR. The boys fared much better than the girls considering they just bolted down the mountain, traversing the unbeaten path. I thought about doing this however, I was afraid of loosing everyone in the crowd. The only thing that saved the lst hour of the trip was the bumper cars at the bottom of the mountain. While I was joking on the fact that there was bumper cars next to this mountain, the bumper cars totally saved our moods, and we had a BLAST! So we did some bumper car action, ate some food, and made our way back home.

And that is the hiking experience in Korea. I'm not sure if I will go back and hike more in Korea because of the experience that I had, but we will see. I might just wait till it's not such a  popular time and just go then.

What else is new...hmm...My Korean is getting better, and I'm pretty proud that all my classmates and I are trying really hard at learning the language. At this point we have all come to the realization that it's an incredibly hard language despite popular opinion (I heard 3rd hardest in the world) and we are taking it a day and a time. Jeeze we sound like recovering attics of something haha. So yeah, I have another word test tomorrow, I think I'm ready for it...er...I hope I'm ready for it. WISH ME LUCK!

I think I'm going to go though, I want to read some of my chapter book Everything is Illuminated, plus get some things in order. I'm sooo tiiiired. blehhhh. But, I didn't want to send a link to you guys that I thought was pretty interesting: It's about the abuse of Vietnamese wives by Korean men in Korea-  link 

NIGHT EVERYONE! I promise I will be more positive about Korea tomorrow!

Hey everyone, sorry about the lack of posting, things have just been really busy. I’ve pretty much been locking myself in my room, in the library, or in scattered coffee shops around town just studying studying studying.

Mid terms are this week, and I have a paper due Monday, a Korean midterm like Tuesday or Wednesday and then I have a 15 min presentation and paper due the following week. It’s not necessarily things that I’m not used to, but I really want to do well on these papers and tests so I don’t have to worry about the rest of the term. But yeah, so that’s why I did some lack of posting.

While researching topics for my papers, I’ve come across some really interesting topics and information about Korean history and culture, for example, the commodity of Coffee.

Here in Korea, you can’t really find good coffee. Well, good coffee as in brewed strong coffee. Everything here is mostly instant coffee, or canned coffee that is sold in super markets. Coffee shops are present here in Korea, but it’s mostly for the act of going to the coffee shop, not necessarily for the taste of coffee. In addition, even the coffee that is sold here in Korea is really weak. There are chains here such as Angle-In-Us Coffee, or Holly’s Coffee, and you’ll see the usual Starbucks coffee shops, but even in these chains, the coffee isn’t as good as back at home. I thought that perhaps Starbucks coffee would give me the same “experience” as back in the states, but IT’S A LIEEEE.  There is no such thing as iced coffee with the white chocolate, there is no such thing as a good cappuccino, and there is no such thing as coffee having more than one shot of espresso. RAAAAAAR.

Back to my point… here is a short lesson on the coffee industry in Korea:

Fist of all, coffee in Korea didn’t appear until 100 years ago. I read an article by Bak Sungmee entitled From Strange Bitter Concoction to Romantic Necessity, and she states that it was only with the availability of powdered instant coffee as part of American military ration of food during and after the Korean War that a significant number of Koreans started to enjoy coffee. Right now Korean’s are the leading consumer of instant coffee. In 2003, the portion of Instant Coffee in the Korean market was over 90%, while in other countries it was only 20%.  Surprisingly, I find Starbucks in Korea is definitely different than in the States. Starbucks in the States prides itself on meeting the individual needs such as ordering those ridiculously complicated lattes, or cappuccinos, but in Korea Starbucks doesn’t necessarily function in that manner. In Korea, Starbucks is utilized mainly for its atmosphere, no necessarily its’ taste. Often times, expressed in Dangmee’s article, Koreans usually order bland drinks such as lattes or americanos. In my experience, there isn’t even an option for Soy milk which I found really surprising. If you ask for a special drink, the cashiers more often than not will tell you there isn’t even a button on the register to perform the function.

Sigggh. So basically, my coffee search goes on. However, I have found a decent coffee place in Hongdai where they brew good strong black coffee and the atmosphere is perfect. It’s not that busy, it’s pretty small, and the guy running the shop is in his late 20’s and really nice. He has decorated the place pretty eclectic, with even A FOIL on the wall! A FOIL! I’m so excited! Then he has this like super old record player, with large speakers, his art work floating around, books and music everywhere, and really cool coffee maker concoctions. I really enjoy it here. The guy is really nice, and chill, and he seems really pensive as he sits in the corner always listening to music and doing work on his lap top. The owner and friend (possibly co-owner) always give us free refills, and chocolate, and it’s great. I will take a picture with him soon I think. He really threw me off today when Ryo and I were just doing work on our laptops, and he sat down near us and asked us if we knew where the apple symbol on Ryo’s apple computer came from. We both didn’t know, and then he proceeded to tell us where it came from, and with perfect English. I was really taken aback with his diverse vocabulary in the 3 min he talked to us, and I think that may just be the beginning of our talks. I really want to ask him about the foil on the wall, and see if he fences ^_^, but I think I will save that for another time.

In other news, I did decide to take a break from the sukjeh (homework) and we went out to this really nice bar in Hongdai. It was pretty hole-in-the-wall-ish as well, but really cool. The place was pretty small, but it had character. When you sit down, there are pens and paper where you can write down requests for songs that you would like to hear, and then you give it to the Ajusshi (older man). From there, the Ajusshi looks at your request and either tears it up, or plays your stuff. I kind of liked the elitism, and it was a nice change from the commercial bars in Shinchon.

So I really wish that someone could come visit me in Korea. Drastic change of topic but whatever. I really miss my family, and I miss my friends and since I’m having so much fun here I want them to share the experience with me. I really didn’t think that anyone else would have family come visit them, but it turns out EVERYONE’S family is coming, and I feel all left out…wah., wah right? I will do all that I can to take more pictures so you guys can live vicariously through me, and so I can pretend that you guys are here, but sigh…it’s just not the same.  I really want Shannon to come up considering she’s never been out here, and I think she would really enjoy herself. I really miss her like SOOOOO much, and she would just fall in love with the shopping, mountains, and hey, she would get to see me! Too bad my family doesn’t have a million dollars right?

What else. Oh yeah, people here are just amazing. I’ve made good friends with a couple kids here, and it’s really nice to feel close with people so far away from those who were closest to me. Not that it makes me forget about those at home, but it’s great to find good friends to share things with here, and to putz around town. I really wasn’t expecting to find people that I really connected with on deeper levels, so it’s just a pleasant surprise.  The unfortunately thing is, (like always in my case) we will be departing each other soon. Of course there is always the seeing each other once a year if not more, but really, unless everyone moves to NYC, San Fran, or Seattle (which oddly enough one person lives in each of these cities), it just won’t be the same.  I spend literally every day with these people. Which seeing a person every day is weird for me in-and-of itself considering I live alone in Columbus, and do my on thing for hours during the day, but to want to spend more time with them which is like doubly-weird (puha). I really love how everyone has their own little quirks about them that makes them so special and dear to me…for example:

Hannah a.k.a Hanners: queen of awesome stories, and mumbling side comments in midst of conversation. She should write books…many many books. I’m sure of that. She’s also my partner in crime to pull the “we are too old for this shit” when I house kids are being immature, and stupid. This usually happens when 19 year olds try to drink too much. (I’m too old to be dealing with that stuff now, and so we bond).  She also has an affection for reading books before she goes to sleep, and therefore speeds through books. I’m totally jealous of her book knowledge. One day I will have read as many books as Hanners.

Angelica a.k.a Jelly: Coined the phrases “Yooooooo” “we should totally cute a rug!” “Duuuuude” She’s my little jersey/nyc girl that is a doll. She’s totally amazing, and has a brain for archiving music. This girl would put any music guru to shame, and it totally took me by surprise. I have no idea how she knows everything that she knows, but she amazes me by the day. I also love that she’s totally not a music snob like everyone else. She also has an affection for helping people, talking with others through their problems, and really being aware when someone needs help, or needs to talk. Aww Jelly.

Ryo a.k.a Ryo Geo: God love em, this is probably my best guy friend here. Probably everyone else’s as well. Ryo has the tendency to pucker his lips in affirmation of any statement, or he just does them while he ponders information. He also likes to rub/tap his belly when he’s standing around, waiting, or thinking about what to do next. There is also the times when both mannerisms occur at the same time…that’s the point when I usually laugh to myself about how adorable it is. Mannerisms in any form are just cute to me. Ryo also threw me by surprise with how much he knows about International Relations and his affection for knowledge. It’s always nice to bounce ideas off him, or to learn something new that he picked up from wiki. Good thing is Ryo has a balance of being an intellectual, and being completely corny, so both never get old. Ohhhh Ryo.

Alex: the intense artist from New York. I really like Alex because he totally helps to satiate the side of me that yearns for listening to symphonies, go to art galleries, take pictures, see the theatre, go to coffee shops and talk about family or philosophy. He is quite a character, and he as well has some spunk under all the “intensity”.  He has a affection for making fun of my mannerisms and noises, and in turn makes me laugh at myself. A very nice guy all in all.

So yeah, those are a couple of my close friends. It’s getting late or I would write about the Austrians or James from Seattle, or Pat from Vancouver, but that will wait another day. I love you fam and friends. I will try and write more soon.

Heeeeey everyone. I'm a bit sick today...bleh. Yesterday I woke up with this sore throat, stuffy nose, and felt suuuper groggy. I'm not really sure what it is, but it's not getting better. I'm thinking it might be a sinus infection, or a product of sharing food with Pat and Ryo, both of whom are/were sick. Allegedly you can only get sick in the incubation phase of a cold, and they have been sick for about a week and half, so they are deflecting the blame, the little punks. I refuse to believe this whether it's true or not just so I can give them some grief. heh.

Last weekend was TONS of fun. I have never experienced anything like Yongojeon before, and honestly, I don't think that anywhere else in the world has something quite like it. I posted pictures of the game, and I'm working on posting Youtube videos of the cheering, because the photos don't do the games justice. No one could understand the magnitude of the cheering and screaming, with just looking at my crappy pictures. All the pictures came out blurry because everyone was moving the e-n-t-i-r-e time, so they just look like I was drunk while taking the photos. OY, but it was great. Basically Yongojeon is the series of games between Korea University and Yonsei University, a long standing rivalry that has been there for decades. You can think of it like the Michigan vs. Ohio State rivalry. In any case, it happens once a year, and basically how it's set up is there are 5 games, and at the end of the 5 games they declare the winners at the closing ceremony. The sports aren't really the focus of the games considering both teams suck at each sport, so it's all about the fun and the cheering.

The cheering is called Akaraka. In the Spring both Universities set aside a day or two with the entire student body and they teach everyone coordinated cheers. This is all in preparation for the games in the Fall. After everyone learns the cheers in the Spring, they bring their A game to Yongojeon. It's something like "you got served", where both universities try and show each other up with the cheers, their singing, music, and how long you can keep up the cheering. It's nothing short of amazing. EVERYONE cheers, EVERYONE sings, and EVERYONE does this throughout the entire game. This means you are singing, dancing, cheering, for at least four hours each time, plus the rowdiness after the games. It blew my mind…school spirit up the wazoo.

After the games, students bum rush the field, meet up with their respected clubs that have their own screen printed t-shirts and flags, and they dance in the middle of the field in circles. Then each club takes the train into Shinchon where the second half of the fun begins.

Every year in preparation for Yongojeon, clubs, bars, restaurants, and street food, make massive serving samples, over stock their shelves with booze and beer, and together take a massive hit from the Student body. Every year after the games, clubs on both sides (Korea and Yonsei University) form trains of people, and do cheers in front of each store and beg for free food and beer. They chant the Yonsei University anthem and jump in circles, and low and behold, trays of Soju, and platters of food come rushing out to the students. An unreal amount of alcohol and food is consumed that day, and it's ALL FREE. It was just so much fun! The restaurants and bars are almost forced to do this, because A. It’s been tradition, and B. if they don't, the students will boycott the facility and will put them out of business. It's insane and so awesome. While everyone is making trains of people and begging for food, students also chant in the streets with their flags dancing together. Korean University students form circles of people and cheer, then Yonsei students make a circle around those kids and cheer with them. It's all in good fun, and so awesome.

Basically, I loved it. The rivalry was all about having fun, and there was no animosity between the two groups at any point in time. Really, the sports didn't even really matter, it was more about the cheers, and the fun of it all. Korea partied with Yonsei, and Yonsei with Korea, and it was soooo cool. I'm just like in awe of the peaceful rivalry, and how unified everyone was about having it be completely good natured and fun. Back in the States, especially at OSU, people can be such dicks and not understand it is just a game. They key cars, throw beer bottles at opposing teams, and get in fights with each other. It's such a juvenile and hyper masculine way to treat competition and sports. raaaaaaar. This is where I wish the US was more like Korea in this manner. Grant it, we actually have respectable teams, and we are actually amazing athletes, but I don't necessarily think these matters. We shouldn't condone the behavior of dangerous competitiveness. I think players as well as others need to have more sportsmanship. Hmpf.

Anyways, it was great. Such a good, good weekend. Plus, it's actually fall in Korea now! I forgot how much I loved the fall. The weather is perfect, the sky is finally clear here, and the air is dry. Everyone is really pumped to do stuff outside, and I'm excited. I'm supposed to go hiking again soon, and Ryo and I have made a pact-ish to start playing tennis since the weather is going to be awesome for the next month or so. I need to get in shape too. Not working out is bothering me, and all the rice and carbs has made me put on 5 pounds that I definitely didn't want to put on. I'm not sure how people do it here...they are stick thin, but honestly, the food isn’t really as healthy as I thought it was going to be; the food is all rice and noodles, no fruit, and no nuts. There are veggies and tofu, but nothing that is significant enough for it to offset all the carb intake. I think my body just isn't used to it unlike the locals here. They can stand to eat rice 4 times a day, and not put on any weight. I was told though, that many Koreans have diet/eating disorders which might explain some of that, but still, they are just generally smaller.

What else, I dunno, things are just going well. Everyone is getting closer, and we all seem to by jiving really nicely. Classes are good, and I seem to be on top of my studies which are nice. On another note, I need to start to get back on the hunt to shop for Shannon. Fall is here, so all the scarves/hoodies are out, and are so fucking cute. I just want to buy her everything. Muhahahaha. She's totally going to have the best Christmas ever, and I can't wait to see the look on her face. I'm making decent money here, so it frees up spending cash that I can spend on her and myself. ^_^ YAY! This way I don't have to feel guilty that I'm spending my loan money on clothes.

So, I'm going to go...I need to study some more. I hope everyone is doing well. I'll be back with fun facts of Korea soon!

p.s. if anyone is interested, here is a book that has been recommended in every one of my classes: Bruce Cummings Korea's Place in the Sun: a modern history. There are mixed feelings about the book among the student body here at UIC, because some students feel that it's not scholarly enough, and too many things are put in laments terms, but the consensus is that you should read it anways.