Wednesday after my Korean class ended I got on the subway going the opposite direction. I wasn't lost (for once), nor was I just exploring. I headed to southern Seoul and then took a bus out of the city to the south east with express purpose. I was on my way to meet YoungBin at the Korean Institute of Foreign Studies.
The story of how i met this YoungBin is a curious one that also happens to be quite common to me so far. Suffice it to say that strings are being pulled by a mysterious individual on the other side of the world. Already I have been introduced to five or more people through this omnipresent power across an ocean and a continent. YoungBin and I had met once in Insadong, the historical portion of the city, and had a good enough time. When he invited me to take a tour of his campus, I couldn't refuse.
Little did I know, however, that the KIofFS would be two and a half hours away from my university! This wasn't even the suburbs of Seoul: it was a small town in the outskirts. When he called me at 8:15 to ask where I was, the best I could muster was "next to a stream." The town and campus were nestled in the mountains in the country side, and it was beautiful to see. There was very little around, despite that not 15 minutes away was one of the only them parks in Korea, and 30 minutes from that was the third biggest city in the world. On the other side of the mountian we were at the foot of was a special forces training base for the Korean military. Lots of helicopters.
YoungBin and I are a good pair since we both speak about the same ammount of eachother's languages. We both have to struggle in a mixture of Korean and English to communicate effectively, and we're both very eager to learn.
The night that I arrived we went out to dinner in the nearby town, where I was probably the only foreigner they had ever seen. I spent the night in his homestay/bording house, which was a little quirky and was photographed a lot. The next day, YoungBin gave me a tour of the spacious and lush campus, and I met several of his friends at the school. I then had to take the bus back to school for my four o'clock class, but I can't wait to go back some weekend. There are alot of pictures below of my first venture outside of the big city.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
My Journey to School: A Photographic Chronicle
So here in the first shot is totally hip me, using a camera, cell phone, iPod, and sunglasses all at the same time. I begin every trip anywhere on this street, since it is the street our apartment is on. Today we'll be going to school.
The second photo is the infamous "mushroom feast house" where I had five mushroom stew. I pass it everyday on my way to the subway.
Thirdly is what Koreans think Americans look like. This baker greets me every day as I approach the subway gates.
Fourth: the dark entrance to the subway. It's about four stories worth of stairs just to get to the train.
Next we can see subway is approaching. Every day I take the pink line (#8) for two stops and then transfer onto the green line (#2) going counterclockwise until I reach SinChon.
Then we have lots of Asians on the subway. They all have the same hair color!
A fruit vendor. There are lots of people in little kiosks all up and down the streets selling newspapers, snacks, produce, clothes, and other goods.
These guys are crossing the street from Yonsei while i am crossing toward it. I took a lot of these pictures with my hand by my side, all incognito-like, so please excuse the rudimentary design layout of most of these photographs.
And next we have tis woman, who is selling dollar store junk on the sidewalk.
The following photo is where Asians get there shoes. There are scare few "shoe stores" per se, but there are a ton of street vendors with mats or wheel barrels full of shoes. Hmm, nothing in my size....
I pass everyday this construction site. Yonsei is building an addition to the college run and funded hospital, and they wasted tons of money covering the unsightly construction with this four story tall divider wall painted green with a white picket fence and adorned with fake ivy.
The next to last photo is New Millenium Hall, where all the international classes are held, as I approach it from the mile long 40 degree angle hill. THis hill is the last stretch of my daily journey, and it's not going to be fun when the day comes that I'm late and have to run up this thing.
Lastly we see me arriving at New Millenium Hall and the voyage is at finally complete!
Change of Heart
This is me after my first Modern History Class: I'm keeping it.
I wasn't the only one who walked in there skeptical. There were several students who were going to try it out and then probably switch over to Korean War. After one class we've all decided that Modern History is going to be far superior.
The Korean War class is taught by an American ex-general who fought in afore mentioned war. This has it's lures and repellents. For one, the English would be great and we'd know entirely what expectations are. Taking class from differently cultured people is sometimes a little unnerving (can I drink a Coke in class? Can I just get up to use the bathroom? How strict are they exactly?) The drawback, however, is that the class would be an American perspective, so why not just take it in the States? I should be taking classes and learning things that are impossible back home. Besides, the guy was a general, so does tardiness equal push-ups?
The instructor for Modern History is an older Korean man, maybe in his 60's. He introduced himself by his full name, then told us what we could call him:
Mr. Park (because he is a Mr.)
Dr. Park (because he is a Dr.)
Professor Park (because he is a professor.)
Prince Park (because he is a prince.)
or
Genius Park (because he is a genius.)
He had various justifications for each claim, but suffice it to say that I don't foresee "Prince Park" catching on in the near future.
If it's not already apparent, the man has a great sense of humor, but kind of in that "wow, that was a weird thing to say" kind of way. He's clever and approachable, and very knowledgeable about history in this region. He got a masters at Korea National University, a Doctorate at Washington State University, taught for 14 years at Oklahoma State (where he claims 80% of the population will still tell you they know Genius Park), was the vice president of another university here, aspires to the national presidency, and was a lunch monitor in a middle school in California. He told us not to buy the textbook because we should save our money for partying. He's a "born again Christian chain-smoking party animal." The man has so much personality and flare that no subject could be boring in his hands. He's the kind of teacher who makes you want to come to class. Today he taught us his secret knowledge that we may only share with a significant other, so if anyone's interested I am available.
I wasn't the only one who walked in there skeptical. There were several students who were going to try it out and then probably switch over to Korean War. After one class we've all decided that Modern History is going to be far superior.
The Korean War class is taught by an American ex-general who fought in afore mentioned war. This has it's lures and repellents. For one, the English would be great and we'd know entirely what expectations are. Taking class from differently cultured people is sometimes a little unnerving (can I drink a Coke in class? Can I just get up to use the bathroom? How strict are they exactly?) The drawback, however, is that the class would be an American perspective, so why not just take it in the States? I should be taking classes and learning things that are impossible back home. Besides, the guy was a general, so does tardiness equal push-ups?
The instructor for Modern History is an older Korean man, maybe in his 60's. He introduced himself by his full name, then told us what we could call him:
Mr. Park (because he is a Mr.)
Dr. Park (because he is a Dr.)
Professor Park (because he is a professor.)
Prince Park (because he is a prince.)
or
Genius Park (because he is a genius.)
He had various justifications for each claim, but suffice it to say that I don't foresee "Prince Park" catching on in the near future.
If it's not already apparent, the man has a great sense of humor, but kind of in that "wow, that was a weird thing to say" kind of way. He's clever and approachable, and very knowledgeable about history in this region. He got a masters at Korea National University, a Doctorate at Washington State University, taught for 14 years at Oklahoma State (where he claims 80% of the population will still tell you they know Genius Park), was the vice president of another university here, aspires to the national presidency, and was a lunch monitor in a middle school in California. He told us not to buy the textbook because we should save our money for partying. He's a "born again Christian chain-smoking party animal." The man has so much personality and flare that no subject could be boring in his hands. He's the kind of teacher who makes you want to come to class. Today he taught us his secret knowledge that we may only share with a significant other, so if anyone's interested I am available.
Classes Begin at Last
More in the style of Canada of all places, classes here at Yonsei are three hours long for one day a week. Just thought I'd throw that one out there. I have difficulty staying focused in a seventy-five minute class. Some of the classes are broken into two hours on one day, one hour the next, and that's not so terrible. Korean is two hours every day.
I went to Korean International Relations on Friday. The class should be interesting for me, as it not only talks about the Korea-US factor, but also focuses on major powers in the region (Russia, China, Japan) and puts it all in the context of a tumultuous modern history. The professor's English is like most here, what I like to call "textbook" (big on vocab, big on accent). The class should involve mostly reading (three textbooks this semester, cover to cover) and two short papers. These papers might actually be more of a challenge for me than one might think, however. Since the professor is in no position to criticize, the emphasis of the paper is less on style, grammar, and spelling, and more on original ideas and intriguing thought. Ouch.
My Monday morning was Korean-American comparative government, another that should be entirely interesting. We take a trip to the Korean Congress, do a little reading and some writing, and have a lot of discussion about differences in the governments, voting populace, tendencies, predictors, and procedures of the two countries. This professor's English was slightly better and less monotone.
Friday afternoon I took a placement test to see just how much Korean I actually knew. The University predicted that anyone with 4 semesters at another university would place into beginning level 2, and they were right about me. At first I felt jewed, but I know realize from attending my first Korean class Monday afternoon that it's exactly where I'm at. I have two teachers that alternate days, and the class size is maybe ten people, so learning will have no choice but to ensue. Oh, and the instructors don't understand when I speak English. So, yeah. This oughta be fun.
Today I go to Modern History, which I feel will simply repeat what is being taught in my other two classes. I may drop this course and sub in Korean War. We'll see.
I went to Korean International Relations on Friday. The class should be interesting for me, as it not only talks about the Korea-US factor, but also focuses on major powers in the region (Russia, China, Japan) and puts it all in the context of a tumultuous modern history. The professor's English is like most here, what I like to call "textbook" (big on vocab, big on accent). The class should involve mostly reading (three textbooks this semester, cover to cover) and two short papers. These papers might actually be more of a challenge for me than one might think, however. Since the professor is in no position to criticize, the emphasis of the paper is less on style, grammar, and spelling, and more on original ideas and intriguing thought. Ouch.
My Monday morning was Korean-American comparative government, another that should be entirely interesting. We take a trip to the Korean Congress, do a little reading and some writing, and have a lot of discussion about differences in the governments, voting populace, tendencies, predictors, and procedures of the two countries. This professor's English was slightly better and less monotone.
Friday afternoon I took a placement test to see just how much Korean I actually knew. The University predicted that anyone with 4 semesters at another university would place into beginning level 2, and they were right about me. At first I felt jewed, but I know realize from attending my first Korean class Monday afternoon that it's exactly where I'm at. I have two teachers that alternate days, and the class size is maybe ten people, so learning will have no choice but to ensue. Oh, and the instructors don't understand when I speak English. So, yeah. This oughta be fun.
Today I go to Modern History, which I feel will simply repeat what is being taught in my other two classes. I may drop this course and sub in Korean War. We'll see.
Thursday, August 31, 2006
New Friends
So, for the many who have been asking, classes start for me tomorrow. Expect full details sometime next week.
Other than that, I've been spending my days waiting for it to happen. I went this morning to apply for alien registration. You will see my card once it arrives. The Immigration Office was even further away than my school, so that was pretty miserable. I met several people at the welcome parties last week, but only two acquaintances gave me contact numbers.
One was the buddy that Yonsei assigned my. Her name is SunHee, lives over on my side of town, and she's and 18 year old freshman. I don't want to be skeptical, but how is a freshman supposed to help me find my way around the school and campus? If I remember correctly, all freshmen are clueless. We'll see how this works out. SunHee and I met at the department store on Tuesday for lunch. That place was pretty interesting, and deserves a post all to itself. SunHee is majoring in both education and English. She hopes to teach middle or high school. I think she wants to teach English, but now that I think about it, she maybe just wanted to know English really well. Like most people here, she's interested in going to the U.S. Her English is pretty decent, but it's that textbook English that's so common in this region: big vocabulary, very little physical practice with fluent speakers. This means that she understands me if I steer clear of slang, but that her accent is really thick. SunHee likes Korean pop music, so that's a dead end. I don't see this becoming a rich and meaningful friendship, but I've been surprised before.
The other person whom I've met outside of welcome parties is Jae. Jae is another person participating in the buddy program, but I'm not his buddy. Jae and I met when we were all playing games at after dinner, and then we met on Wednesday for lunch at the tofu house (everything on the menu was made of or contained tofu. Actually there was a surprising amount of variety and flavor.) Jae is my age and lives on my side of town as well. He had a much more brimming personality. He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan while his father was studying at University of Michigan. They left when he was seven, and he promptly forgot all the English he ever knew. He's since then gotten his English back to near fluency. His buddies are a Korean American and a Finnish dude, and we're all planning on a group dinner one day soon. Jae is interested in breaking out of the terrible music scene that is Korea, so we found lot's to talk about in that department. We'll be seeing much more of Jae.
Lastly, HyeJeong (my friend in the States who found this host family for me) has a friend here in Korea whom I'll meet on Saturday. YoungBin is exactly what I need. He speaks about as much Korean as I do English, so the two of us will be forced to struggle and learn! YongHee speaks far too much, so as a rule we speak English and then struggle in Korean if he doesn't have the word, but YoungBin and I should learn a great deal from each other. HyeJeong and YoungBin himself have boasted about this kid's knowledge of Seoul, so I expect to see some new places in this city.
Other than that, I've been spending my days waiting for it to happen. I went this morning to apply for alien registration. You will see my card once it arrives. The Immigration Office was even further away than my school, so that was pretty miserable. I met several people at the welcome parties last week, but only two acquaintances gave me contact numbers.
One was the buddy that Yonsei assigned my. Her name is SunHee, lives over on my side of town, and she's and 18 year old freshman. I don't want to be skeptical, but how is a freshman supposed to help me find my way around the school and campus? If I remember correctly, all freshmen are clueless. We'll see how this works out. SunHee and I met at the department store on Tuesday for lunch. That place was pretty interesting, and deserves a post all to itself. SunHee is majoring in both education and English. She hopes to teach middle or high school. I think she wants to teach English, but now that I think about it, she maybe just wanted to know English really well. Like most people here, she's interested in going to the U.S. Her English is pretty decent, but it's that textbook English that's so common in this region: big vocabulary, very little physical practice with fluent speakers. This means that she understands me if I steer clear of slang, but that her accent is really thick. SunHee likes Korean pop music, so that's a dead end. I don't see this becoming a rich and meaningful friendship, but I've been surprised before.
The other person whom I've met outside of welcome parties is Jae. Jae is another person participating in the buddy program, but I'm not his buddy. Jae and I met when we were all playing games at after dinner, and then we met on Wednesday for lunch at the tofu house (everything on the menu was made of or contained tofu. Actually there was a surprising amount of variety and flavor.) Jae is my age and lives on my side of town as well. He had a much more brimming personality. He was born in Ann Arbor, Michigan while his father was studying at University of Michigan. They left when he was seven, and he promptly forgot all the English he ever knew. He's since then gotten his English back to near fluency. His buddies are a Korean American and a Finnish dude, and we're all planning on a group dinner one day soon. Jae is interested in breaking out of the terrible music scene that is Korea, so we found lot's to talk about in that department. We'll be seeing much more of Jae.
Lastly, HyeJeong (my friend in the States who found this host family for me) has a friend here in Korea whom I'll meet on Saturday. YoungBin is exactly what I need. He speaks about as much Korean as I do English, so the two of us will be forced to struggle and learn! YongHee speaks far too much, so as a rule we speak English and then struggle in Korean if he doesn't have the word, but YoungBin and I should learn a great deal from each other. HyeJeong and YoungBin himself have boasted about this kid's knowledge of Seoul, so I expect to see some new places in this city.
Dear kurlyfryz,
Thanks for the post and for the compliment. I didn't know that I was competing for the Most Entertaining Thing I Do on the Internet award, but I'll take it!
Let's see, the thing I miss most about America. It's not the food, that's for sure. That's going to be the thing I miss most about Korea. I'd have to say that it's the English. I miss being permeated in English. I know it's not the best or easiest language in the world by any means, but it's the easiest language I've ever tried to speak. I miss being able to use slang and idiom. I miss word games. I miss not having to think to read menus. I miss the ease of which it just jumps out of my mouth. I open, and English appears. No translating, piecing together, stumbling, and then finally repeating a moderately correct sentence that only half conveys my meaning.
So far I haven't caught any really good translation stories. It's sad I know. I'm sure they have some about me. One day one of Umma's church friends was over, and I knew they were telling stories about my time at adjusting, but I couldn't tell which classic moment it was. The time he tried to drink tap water? The time he tried to eat such and such with chopsticks when that's obviously a spoon food? That time I had to cut pancakes for him because he couldn't do it with chopsticks? I'm sure she has thousands by now. As far as English, there have been a couple when YongHee translated something literally that made sense but we wouldn't actually say. Today he was going to the ATM, and in Korean the word for 'withdraw' and 'find' are the same, so he said he "needed to find some money."
As far as speaking Korean, I had difficulty trying to explain nerd to people of a culture to whom we stereotypically attribute all the qualities of nerdiness. "Well, they wear glasses, I guess. They do really well in school, but don't have many friends. Hmm, how do you translate 'pocket protector'... They usually like to play Starcraft or other computer games. Crap, this is really hard. They eventually go to college and end up being bosses of major companies..." He totally didn't get it. All the dictionaries said 'stupid,' but that's about as far from right as possible. So we've dropped back to a stance of pointing and saying 'nerd' whenever one is spotted. Hopefully he can build the translation from examples and context clues. Then there was the time that Collin Ferrel came up and I couldn't explain why I didn't like him because there was no translation for the word 'douchebag.' Like I said, I miss slang.
Let's see, the thing I miss most about America. It's not the food, that's for sure. That's going to be the thing I miss most about Korea. I'd have to say that it's the English. I miss being permeated in English. I know it's not the best or easiest language in the world by any means, but it's the easiest language I've ever tried to speak. I miss being able to use slang and idiom. I miss word games. I miss not having to think to read menus. I miss the ease of which it just jumps out of my mouth. I open, and English appears. No translating, piecing together, stumbling, and then finally repeating a moderately correct sentence that only half conveys my meaning.
So far I haven't caught any really good translation stories. It's sad I know. I'm sure they have some about me. One day one of Umma's church friends was over, and I knew they were telling stories about my time at adjusting, but I couldn't tell which classic moment it was. The time he tried to drink tap water? The time he tried to eat such and such with chopsticks when that's obviously a spoon food? That time I had to cut pancakes for him because he couldn't do it with chopsticks? I'm sure she has thousands by now. As far as English, there have been a couple when YongHee translated something literally that made sense but we wouldn't actually say. Today he was going to the ATM, and in Korean the word for 'withdraw' and 'find' are the same, so he said he "needed to find some money."
As far as speaking Korean, I had difficulty trying to explain nerd to people of a culture to whom we stereotypically attribute all the qualities of nerdiness. "Well, they wear glasses, I guess. They do really well in school, but don't have many friends. Hmm, how do you translate 'pocket protector'... They usually like to play Starcraft or other computer games. Crap, this is really hard. They eventually go to college and end up being bosses of major companies..." He totally didn't get it. All the dictionaries said 'stupid,' but that's about as far from right as possible. So we've dropped back to a stance of pointing and saying 'nerd' whenever one is spotted. Hopefully he can build the translation from examples and context clues. Then there was the time that Collin Ferrel came up and I couldn't explain why I didn't like him because there was no translation for the word 'douchebag.' Like I said, I miss slang.
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Cultural Oddity Moment #8
I'm getting quite a bit of mileage out of the way people cook here, but it's so different that it causes a great many of the cultural differences I've noticed. My family cooks alomst every day. They enjoy eating out just as much as the next person, but when they do the food is no different than what they could have made at home. So how does a family that cooks daily grocery shop? Well, my mother cooks almost every day and she does one mass shopping trip about once a week with small runs if we need specific items or regulars like bread and milk. This family, and I think many others, play by different rules.
Every meal we have the same six mini side dishes. Umma makes one good sized batch of, say, pickled garlic and then for the rest of the week we all just eat a little bit of it each meal. The same goes for all the other mini side dishes, but they're all on a sort of roatation so that Umma never has to make more than one at a time. So for each meal the sides are pretty much covered. Of course there's also always plenty of rice, so that also seldom needs to be bought. The only thing she needs to purchase are the ingredients to whatever the main dish is going to be. Whether it's the soup or the stir fry ingredients, those are the only variables in every meal.
So, does she buy a mass quantity of main dish ingredients to last a couple of days? No, instead she goes out every morning and shops for the day. This way, since most of the ingredients are without preservatives, everything's fresh when she cooks it.
It's this pattern of shopping every morning which has birthed our cultural oddity. There are certain gentlemen who have deal in specific produce and meats that either don't want to sell to the big grocery stores or can't. These merchants drive around the residential areas instead and try to catch all the women out doing their shopping for the day. They announce their wares over megaphones with a recorded message. Sometimes they have many items, so all I understand is "braghbraghbraghLETTUCEbraghbraghbraghbraghONIONSbraghbraghbraghbraghSALEbraghbraghbraghPLEASE PURCHASEbraghbraghbraghbraghbraghTOMATOESbraghbraghbraghbraghLETTUCE." These megaphones are on a very short repeat, so you get used to the pattern very quickly. One went by while I was using the computer, and subconciously I thought that I heard in English:
"Hey, gonna kick you in the mouth,
gonna kick you in the face,
gonna kick you in the chin, in the cheek,
You're a workaholic
shopaholic
chocaholic
alcoholic
Hey, gonna..."
Don't ask me where those particular words came from. Others peddlars opt for the more basic advertising method of just yelling the name of what it is they're selling. For instance one local dude likes to walk through the neighborhood yelling "SAGUAYO!!! SAGUAYO!!!" Literally translated, "It's apples. It's apples." One of my personal favorite merchant announcements is as follows:
banabanabanabanabanaBANANA! BANABANANANABABABABANANANANA!
If you didn't pick up on it, he's selling bananas. Very straight forward, direct, honest marketing. Very old at seven in the morning.
This has been you cultural oddity moment of the day.
Every meal we have the same six mini side dishes. Umma makes one good sized batch of, say, pickled garlic and then for the rest of the week we all just eat a little bit of it each meal. The same goes for all the other mini side dishes, but they're all on a sort of roatation so that Umma never has to make more than one at a time. So for each meal the sides are pretty much covered. Of course there's also always plenty of rice, so that also seldom needs to be bought. The only thing she needs to purchase are the ingredients to whatever the main dish is going to be. Whether it's the soup or the stir fry ingredients, those are the only variables in every meal.
So, does she buy a mass quantity of main dish ingredients to last a couple of days? No, instead she goes out every morning and shops for the day. This way, since most of the ingredients are without preservatives, everything's fresh when she cooks it.
It's this pattern of shopping every morning which has birthed our cultural oddity. There are certain gentlemen who have deal in specific produce and meats that either don't want to sell to the big grocery stores or can't. These merchants drive around the residential areas instead and try to catch all the women out doing their shopping for the day. They announce their wares over megaphones with a recorded message. Sometimes they have many items, so all I understand is "braghbraghbraghLETTUCEbraghbraghbraghbraghONIONSbraghbraghbraghbraghSALEbraghbraghbraghPLEASE PURCHASEbraghbraghbraghbraghbraghTOMATOESbraghbraghbraghbraghLETTUCE." These megaphones are on a very short repeat, so you get used to the pattern very quickly. One went by while I was using the computer, and subconciously I thought that I heard in English:
"Hey, gonna kick you in the mouth,
gonna kick you in the face,
gonna kick you in the chin, in the cheek,
You're a workaholic
shopaholic
chocaholic
alcoholic
Hey, gonna..."
Don't ask me where those particular words came from. Others peddlars opt for the more basic advertising method of just yelling the name of what it is they're selling. For instance one local dude likes to walk through the neighborhood yelling "SAGUAYO!!! SAGUAYO!!!" Literally translated, "It's apples. It's apples." One of my personal favorite merchant announcements is as follows:
banabanabanabanabanaBANANA! BANABANANANABABABABANANANANA!
If you didn't pick up on it, he's selling bananas. Very straight forward, direct, honest marketing. Very old at seven in the morning.
This has been you cultural oddity moment of the day.
Sunday, August 27, 2006
All Asians Look the Same
This one has been slowly developing like the termite larvae in your home's foundation. When I left the states I had some sense of what Koreans looked like as opposed to Chinese as opposed to Japanese, but that's because I had only evolved from "all Asians look the same" to "all Koreans look the same." Just 2 & 1/2 weeks have taught me that they all look so different it's scary. Of course the Koreans on television look the same, but it's the same in America. There is one perfect mold, and all the models, singers, TV and movie stars fit the mold. The variety is astounding though. It's become easier than ever to know the difference from one to another. All that "Oh Jiyeon, I thought you were Minha" malarky is over. It's still not any easier to remember names, but at least I can see the differences in face, hair, and style.
I've even found that some Asians have almost American eyes. I know that it's considered attractive over here, and some people tape their eyes open to achieve the look. Some have even had surgery to make their eyes look bigger. I don't know if the people whom I've seen have natural or artificial eyes, but I do know that those people look more human to me. I was ashamed when I first realized it, but it's true. I can read their faces, their emotions. I feel more connected with them. I feel like they have more personality just because I can understand it more easily. It's sad, and will probably pass with time, but for now it's inescapable truth.
I've even found that some Asians have almost American eyes. I know that it's considered attractive over here, and some people tape their eyes open to achieve the look. Some have even had surgery to make their eyes look bigger. I don't know if the people whom I've seen have natural or artificial eyes, but I do know that those people look more human to me. I was ashamed when I first realized it, but it's true. I can read their faces, their emotions. I feel more connected with them. I feel like they have more personality just because I can understand it more easily. It's sad, and will probably pass with time, but for now it's inescapable truth.
Dear Uncle Tony & Zach,
The seasons here are very defined and balanced. Right now it's still in the nineties and very muggy, just like Georgia. I'm already adapted for such a climate, but I was hoping for a change. Fall is supposed to be a very beautiful season for Korea, and the temperature will be very nice. It's the winter that I'm truly excited about, though. Korea gets snow for several months in the winter, last year being particularly snowy. I have every intention of photographing religiously all the downtown city snow as this will be the first full white winter of my lifetime. In the spring it's warm but comfortable and the Korean national flower can be seen in blossom everywhere.
The particularly snowy winter 2006
I actually wondered the same thing about the roads. Koreans drive on the same side of the road as we do, so at least that is familiar. I don't know what I'd do if it was opposite. All the terror of the streets combined with constantly looking the wrong way before crossing would combine to engender a pale Steven who never left his closet.
They don't eat cats. I think that's only American Chinese restaurants. They do, however, eat dog. It's a separate breed of dog expressly for eating, so it's not like they get tired of the pet one night. This practice stemmed from the harsh treatment of the Korean people under Japanese rule from 1910-1945. There was lots of famine, and desperate times called for desperate measures. Nowadays, for the most part, only the older generations eat dog meat and the younger generations steer clear. For everyone's information I have every intention of eating dog, especially because YongHee is one of the few young people who enjoys the taste.
I haven't left the city yet, but I plan on traveling to Pusan in the future. Seoul is about an hour south of the North Korean border, and about three more hours south is the East Sea. Korea's second largest city and their most important port is Pusan, and the sushi there is the best and freshest in the country. I believe either IYC or the Mentor's club will take a Yonsei University affiliated trip to the country somewhere, but that's planned in a few months. Most of Korea outside of Seoul is still very rural and traditional.
I shaved my face in an effort to look at least somewhat more Asian. From those who have seen the older photos of me with goatee they say that they much prefer the sans goatee look since facial hair is so rare and foreign here. It would be as if a tribal Kenyan came to America in full headdress and a loincloth, walking up and down the streets chanting. The goatee makes it insanely obvious that I do not belong here, so (though I miss it) it has taken a leave of absence.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Cultural Oddity Moment #7
As you may or may not be aware, Koreans always always always take their shoes off before entering a home or any restaurant that doesn't have chairs. This is something you get used to very quickly as there is a huge pile of shoes in the foyer of every home. The cultural oddity here is not that everyone takes off their shoes, since we spend a lot of time on the carefully lint rolled floor. There aren't chairs in the homes and we don't have elevated beds. It's all about the floors, so I wouldn't want shoes on it either. The strange thing is what the custom effects
: a culture with relatively no sneakers. Barring sports activities, tennis shoes aren't worn by anyone. It's all flip flops, loafers, high heels and other various slip-ons. It's astounding and somewhat isolating (not nearly as isolating as being the only one not laughing in a room full of laughter, of course) to be the only one with a pair of shoes with laces, but the culture demands a shoe with fast in and out access. Even if you forget your hat, the shoes come off, you run and grab your hat, the shoes go back on. I would try to acquire some more Korean shoes, but my particular market isn't really catered to even in America. I'd hardly believe it if Ren found shoes here, much less myself.
: a culture with relatively no sneakers. Barring sports activities, tennis shoes aren't worn by anyone. It's all flip flops, loafers, high heels and other various slip-ons. It's astounding and somewhat isolating (not nearly as isolating as being the only one not laughing in a room full of laughter, of course) to be the only one with a pair of shoes with laces, but the culture demands a shoe with fast in and out access. Even if you forget your hat, the shoes come off, you run and grab your hat, the shoes go back on. I would try to acquire some more Korean shoes, but my particular market isn't really catered to even in America. I'd hardly believe it if Ren found shoes here, much less myself.
Showing My True Colors
For those of you who've never been a white man on the streets of Asia, let me tell you all about it. Imagine being a bearded lady in the middle of a small Southern town: everybody stares and whispers but nobody wants to make eye contact with you. Of course there are several things about me that make me a little out of the ordinary, but if I had to pick one factor that garners me the most goggley eyes it wouldn't be the size 15 shoes or the big non-squinty eyes or even the height: it would be body hair. Never before have I been the only person with leg hair. Never before have I been the only one with five o'clock shadow. If I wear shorts on the subway the whole car stares unabashedly and small children turn away in fear. "What's wrong with him, Mommie?"
Now I know what it's like to be black in Alpharetta, minus the whole lack of rights thing. If we take, for instance, my terrible sense of direction. In America I can walk down the street, stop, turn around, and play it off with only a few smirking glances from those with internal maps. Not here, however. With every eye already fixed upon me, with every old man outside the car wash already noticing my uncustomary presence, it's impossible to turn around without everyone noticing and likewise without feeling terribly touristy and noobish.
I can't decide if this attention is embarrassing or a rare gift. I feel sometimes as though I could face plant in the brick and no more eyes would be on me. Isn't that the freedom to do anything free of embarrassment? When everybody's already looking what's to dissuade you from tripping huge and proud or walking into a glass door?
I also find it somewhat insulting but not entirely unexpected that no one believes me to know any Korean. If they know enough, store clerks will tell me prices in English. I've even been talked above on the subway (quite a feat with my height) to avoid being asked something as simple as "What station is next."
My super height isn't as big a deal as one would have anticipated. I'm tall, and most everywhere I go I'm going to be taller than everyone else. While this nation does have more short stacks it still has a large variety, so I don't feel that much taller than the whole sidewalk full of people. Like I said, it's not the worst thing I deal with as a white guy in a city of ten million yellow ones. It's been so long since I've seen a black person, much less a Mexican. I'm kind of starting to miss those little guys.
Now I know what it's like to be black in Alpharetta, minus the whole lack of rights thing. If we take, for instance, my terrible sense of direction. In America I can walk down the street, stop, turn around, and play it off with only a few smirking glances from those with internal maps. Not here, however. With every eye already fixed upon me, with every old man outside the car wash already noticing my uncustomary presence, it's impossible to turn around without everyone noticing and likewise without feeling terribly touristy and noobish.
I can't decide if this attention is embarrassing or a rare gift. I feel sometimes as though I could face plant in the brick and no more eyes would be on me. Isn't that the freedom to do anything free of embarrassment? When everybody's already looking what's to dissuade you from tripping huge and proud or walking into a glass door?
I also find it somewhat insulting but not entirely unexpected that no one believes me to know any Korean. If they know enough, store clerks will tell me prices in English. I've even been talked above on the subway (quite a feat with my height) to avoid being asked something as simple as "What station is next."
My super height isn't as big a deal as one would have anticipated. I'm tall, and most everywhere I go I'm going to be taller than everyone else. While this nation does have more short stacks it still has a large variety, so I don't feel that much taller than the whole sidewalk full of people. Like I said, it's not the worst thing I deal with as a white guy in a city of ten million yellow ones. It's been so long since I've seen a black person, much less a Mexican. I'm kind of starting to miss those little guys.
Now Taking Requests
Wait a minute, they're not Korean....
Anything you've ever wondered about the far east? Any particular story you thought you'd hear? Any aspect of Korean life that I'm probably clashing with but just haven't informed you of? Curious about anything? Before I left people were asking questions like What kind of wildlife do they have? and Is there TV? No question is too stupid, no topic too mundane, no crevice too private. At least not on this blog anyways. Give me a shout out! Lemme know what you're hopes and dreams are!
Now those are Koreans!
Anything you've ever wondered about the far east? Any particular story you thought you'd hear? Any aspect of Korean life that I'm probably clashing with but just haven't informed you of? Curious about anything? Before I left people were asking questions like What kind of wildlife do they have? and Is there TV? No question is too stupid, no topic too mundane, no crevice too private. At least not on this blog anyways. Give me a shout out! Lemme know what you're hopes and dreams are!Now those are Koreans!
Friday, August 25, 2006
Give Us This Day Our Daily Church Service
Korea is famous all over the world for it's large population of Christians. More than half of the nation that professes any sort of religious preference says that they are Christian, and my family falls into that demographic. This family attends a Presbyterian church down the street from where we live, but Korean church is no walk in the Garden of Eden for any foreigner.
For instance, if given a multiple choice question in which the question was which of the following is a church in Seoul and the answer choices were photos, an American would never get it right. Churches in Seoul are on the scale of some sort of epic office building, maybe for like AT&T, except this is for placing calls to God. These churches aren't just occasional either. They're lined up all the way down the road. I know there are 27 million Christians in this place, bit the worship halls aren't any larger than the good sized churches in America. What gives? What are they using all that other space for???
I'm having difficulty deciding whether the services here are the hardest I've ever had to sit through or the easiest. I'm leaning toward ha
rdest. One would think that this would be so easy since I don't understand what's going on so it can't be obnoxious, but I don't understand anything! After an hour and a half of constant flowing sounds that you don't comprehend, I'm desperate for something I get to be talked at me, even if it is sermon. In that way, it's the hardest church I've ever sat through. The hymns at the beginning aren't bad though. It's kind of like karaoke. There's a big screen on the wall that has the words, Mickey Mouse Club style.
This family goes to church almost every day of the week! Wed-Fri night and three times on Sunday. When they started
offering me young adult services and all male services, I broke down. "Listen, first of all we go to church only once a week maybe in America, and second of all I'm not getting anything out of this. Every extra service I attend is another hour and a half that I sit there in a coma on a pew. I'm not about to start going to extra services alone." Since that discussion they've toned my attendance back to just Sunday mornings, which is fine because that's the only one where the whole family attends. I don't want to just sit at home alone, but there's no need to torture myself with words I can't comprehend and uncomfortable chairs.
For instance, if given a multiple choice question in which the question was which of the following is a church in Seoul and the answer choices were photos, an American would never get it right. Churches in Seoul are on the scale of some sort of epic office building, maybe for like AT&T, except this is for placing calls to God. These churches aren't just occasional either. They're lined up all the way down the road. I know there are 27 million Christians in this place, bit the worship halls aren't any larger than the good sized churches in America. What gives? What are they using all that other space for???I'm having difficulty deciding whether the services here are the hardest I've ever had to sit through or the easiest. I'm leaning toward ha
rdest. One would think that this would be so easy since I don't understand what's going on so it can't be obnoxious, but I don't understand anything! After an hour and a half of constant flowing sounds that you don't comprehend, I'm desperate for something I get to be talked at me, even if it is sermon. In that way, it's the hardest church I've ever sat through. The hymns at the beginning aren't bad though. It's kind of like karaoke. There's a big screen on the wall that has the words, Mickey Mouse Club style.This family goes to church almost every day of the week! Wed-Fri night and three times on Sunday. When they started
offering me young adult services and all male services, I broke down. "Listen, first of all we go to church only once a week maybe in America, and second of all I'm not getting anything out of this. Every extra service I attend is another hour and a half that I sit there in a coma on a pew. I'm not about to start going to extra services alone." Since that discussion they've toned my attendance back to just Sunday mornings, which is fine because that's the only one where the whole family attends. I don't want to just sit at home alone, but there's no need to torture myself with words I can't comprehend and uncomfortable chairs.
Cultural Oddity Moment #6
So, I came home from the IYC welcome party on Thursday night at almost exactly midnight, which is pretty good timing considering the subways all stop running at about 11:30 or so. I came in, said hi to the family, had a brief discussion on Skype with Brooke, then proceeded to tell the family goodnight and hit the sack (and by sack I mean board). All is well, right?
Let's interject the story with some back story. Being in a new culture, whose hygienic values are unbeknownst to me, I have taken particular care to be extra clean. Err on the side of safety, if you catch my drift. I've showered every morning, been more diligent about shaving and brushed pickled garlic out of my teeth with rigor and vigor. I could never have expected what was about to come.
Umma: indiscernible Korean sentence.
YongHee: She wants to know why you didn't shower last night.
Steven: Because I showered yesterday morning.
YH: indiscernible Korean sentence.
U: indiscernible Korean sentence.
YH: I'm sorry, not shower, indiscernible Korean word. Do you know that word?
S: Excuse me?
*dictionary usage*
YH: Wash your hands. Why you not wash your hands yesterday?
S: Excuse me?
U: indiscernible Korean sentence.
YH: Last night you are using the computer, then you just go to bed.
S: Oh, yeah. I didn't think about it.
Steven's Mind: There's no sense in washing any part of me before I go to bed because I just wake up covered in a film of sweat.
What did we learn? That the Koreans must wash their hands before bed. The subject came up twice more over the course of the day. We also learned that the family is watching me and my hand hygiene habits, so.......weird.
Let's interject the story with some back story. Being in a new culture, whose hygienic values are unbeknownst to me, I have taken particular care to be extra clean. Err on the side of safety, if you catch my drift. I've showered every morning, been more diligent about shaving and brushed pickled garlic out of my teeth with rigor and vigor. I could never have expected what was about to come.
Umma: indiscernible Korean sentence.
YongHee: She wants to know why you didn't shower last night.
Steven: Because I showered yesterday morning.
YH: indiscernible Korean sentence.
U: indiscernible Korean sentence.
YH: I'm sorry, not shower, indiscernible Korean word. Do you know that word?
S: Excuse me?
*dictionary usage*
YH: Wash your hands. Why you not wash your hands yesterday?
S: Excuse me?
U: indiscernible Korean sentence.
YH: Last night you are using the computer, then you just go to bed.
S: Oh, yeah. I didn't think about it.
Steven's Mind: There's no sense in washing any part of me before I go to bed because I just wake up covered in a film of sweat.
What did we learn? That the Koreans must wash their hands before bed. The subject came up twice more over the course of the day. We also learned that the family is watching me and my hand hygiene habits, so.......weird.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
The IYC Welcome Party
It was the night of the tuna fish jamboree, and all of Lake Wobegon had gathered at the old sawmill to taste the Dolores' famous tuna fish gumbo and cut a rug.
Yeah, something like that.
IYC (International Yonsei Community) is the university sponsored organization for helping the international kids adjust to Yonsei. Last night they threw us all a welcome party, and this was my first chance to meet other University students, since I've been living an hour away from the school. We all trekked en masse to a relatively small restaurant. They brought to the table one of the most bizarre dishes I've ever encountered here yet. It was a combo plate, half being mixed fruit, half being mixed fried items. It was more than confusing for my palette to be alternating between pineapple, tater tots, watermelon, fried squid, apple slices, french fries, orange wedges, chicken nuggets.
I met a great many students from all over the place. There were several from France, one from Japan, a Finnish dude, two from Holland, people from all over the States, and even a South African guy.
One whom I met was Fleur. She was one of the French, but she was born Korean and adopted. This girl probably has it the toughest of all the international students. She's 100% French. She speaks English with a rough accent, she smoked three cigarettes before the food came, she hates the food here, can't speak a word of Korean, yet she's the only one who gets stopped and spoken to on the subway. Bummer, Fleur, major bummer.
Most of the international students fit into classifications that I've managed to be on the outs of. For instance
Yeah, something like that.
IYC (International Yonsei Community) is the university sponsored organization for helping the international kids adjust to Yonsei. Last night they threw us all a welcome party, and this was my first chance to meet other University students, since I've been living an hour away from the school. We all trekked en masse to a relatively small restaurant. They brought to the table one of the most bizarre dishes I've ever encountered here yet. It was a combo plate, half being mixed fruit, half being mixed fried items. It was more than confusing for my palette to be alternating between pineapple, tater tots, watermelon, fried squid, apple slices, french fries, orange wedges, chicken nuggets.
I met a great many students from all over the place. There were several from France, one from Japan, a Finnish dude, two from Holland, people from all over the States, and even a South African guy.
One whom I met was Fleur. She was one of the French, but she was born Korean and adopted. This girl probably has it the toughest of all the international students. She's 100% French. She speaks English with a rough accent, she smoked three cigarettes before the food came, she hates the food here, can't speak a word of Korean, yet she's the only one who gets stopped and spoken to on the subway. Bummer, Fleur, major bummer.
Most of the international students fit into classifications that I've managed to be on the outs of. For instance
- The international community lives almost exclusively in I-house, the dorm designated exclusively for exchange students, a building which I don't even know how to find.
- The vast majority of the students are here to take Yonsei's business courses, one of it's stronger suits. There was only one whom I met who was actually a Korean language and culture major. The rest of them will probably never be in a class with me. They're taking things like Chinese Economics and Accounting, I'm taking Modern Culture and the Korean War.
- Most of these international students don't know the first thing about the Korean language, it's alphabet, or their culture, nor do they have the faintest interest in learning about it. They all repeated the same mantra. "I don't want to waste credit hours on a language I'll never use." This attitude, however, expresses a sort of foolhardy bravery that I can only aspire to yet never attain. Perhaps it stems from being in Europe, closely packed with dozens of languages you'll never be able to speak and cultures you'll never understand.
Spam
Where is the name derived from? The last two letters are definitely from 'ham,' though I'm not sure who made the correlation between gelatinous cat food and lean, juicy, Boor's Head pork. But the first two letters...are they from 'special?' Maybe it comes from 'spongy.' Perhaps it's from 'spoon,' in the same vein as the ever popular 'spork.'
You may be wondering why this food item comes to mind. Allow me to inform you of the purpose of this referance to Spam. Previously unbeknowst to me, the Korean population has been eating Spam. Maybe iit's a lack of land, maybe it's a lack of pigs. Nevertheless, the only version of the other white meat you can find on the whole penninsula is Spam. They have huge tables with piles of Spam at the end of grocery aisles. You know, the kind where you might take the bottom can and then someone would have to announce "Clean up on Aisle 7."
I've now officially eaten Spam soup and pan seared spam over bean sprouts. Where am I, a trailer park!?!
You may be wondering why this food item comes to mind. Allow me to inform you of the purpose of this referance to Spam. Previously unbeknowst to me, the Korean population has been eating Spam. Maybe iit's a lack of land, maybe it's a lack of pigs. Nevertheless, the only version of the other white meat you can find on the whole penninsula is Spam. They have huge tables with piles of Spam at the end of grocery aisles. You know, the kind where you might take the bottom can and then someone would have to announce "Clean up on Aisle 7."
I've now officially eaten Spam soup and pan seared spam over bean sprouts. Where am I, a trailer park!?!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Cultural Oddity Moment #5
Jet lag has been a tough nut to crack for me. I wake up automatically at six or seven in the morning. That would be fine and dandy if I could drift back into sleep, but I can't because my bed is hard and the sheet that I sleep on is sticky from sweating through the night and so is my pillow. So, I'm well awake with no solution at 7 in the morning. Therefore, it doesn't take long before I'm sleepy. If I take a nap, I'll never beat the JL, so I force my self to stay awake. I'm pretty much a zombie from about eight o'clock onward, but I fight it until midnight hoping that the next morning I'll be exhausted enough to sleep in. But I never am, and thus the cycle begins again. Currently I've only made it to eight am once since I've been here. Every day is up at dawn, zombie 'til midnight. I'm not sure if my body counts the unconscious hours as "rest" and therefore doesn't think I need to sleep in, or if discomfort wins out over exhaustion.
Regardless, I spend many days living a dream, and the dream is that I haven't slept well for a week and a half. YongHee, in sympathy, offers me an energy beverage one day. So I unscrew the medicinal white lid and take a swig. This energy drink was made up of three flavors in the following order:
1. The rotten brown spots on week old plums
2. The way that dumpsters behind restaurants smell
3. The dull, lingering hum caused by licking a 9 volt battery
Though it may be popular here, I don't expect to drink "Bacchus" ever again, regardless of how insurmountable jet lag may be.
This has been your cultural oddity moment of the day.
Regardless, I spend many days living a dream, and the dream is that I haven't slept well for a week and a half. YongHee, in sympathy, offers me an energy beverage one day. So I unscrew the medicinal white lid and take a swig. This energy drink was made up of three flavors in the following order:
1. The rotten brown spots on week old plums
2. The way that dumpsters behind restaurants smell
3. The dull, lingering hum caused by licking a 9 volt battery
Though it may be popular here, I don't expect to drink "Bacchus" ever again, regardless of how insurmountable jet lag may be.
This has been your cultural oddity moment of the day.
Asian InTelevasion
Let’s talk about television. One certainly can’t learn all there is to know about a culture just through watching their TV, of course. What would people think about Americans if that were true??? However, at the very least one can learn about what entertains this culture and about what degree of moral authority the government has (based on what’s not shown.) Even less than that, one can entertain oneself for countless hours based solely on the comedy of stark differences.
Where to begin? How about with the filler in between programs, the all important commercial. Commercials are a huge part of American pop culture. Be it “Got Milk?,” “Aflac,” “I have good news…I just saved a ton…,” or “I’m Lovin’ It,” advertising campaigns are drilled into our heads until they bleed into our comedy and everyday conversation. The same can be said for other cultures. The commercials are a segment of the jokes that young people make or the phrases they use. They’re also short and satisfying. Watching a barrage of commercials serves both to keep me interested in television that I don’t really understand and to give me a rapid fire glimpse of culture.
Unlike America, you might see one or two car commercials in an entire day. While there are plenty of cars on the road, I’m in an immediate family of six including significant others, and there is one car between all of them. They don’t even live in the same house! However many cars seen on the road has to be divided into the factor that this is a city of 10 million (Atlanta doesn’t even top 70 thousand). Understandably, this is not the market for car commercials. So what does this population do with the money they’re not spending on cars and gas? Electronics, one would assume. Now, in America there are also tons of electronics commercials. Digital cameras, flat screen TV’s, Dell laptops, PDA’s, and Mp3 players inundate our subconscious. In this the world’s #3 electronics producer, what electronics commercials supplant the plethora of car ads? The cell phone. There are virtually no other electronics commercials at all. It’s all cell phones. There are some of the hottest cell phones in the world here, cell phones with ball joint swivel screens that receive television broadcasts, cell phones the size of toothpick boxes, cell phones stuffed full of music, pictures, videos, and all controlled by remote.
The other variety of commercials prevalent are food commercials. Now, there are no TV dinners, and there are far too many restaurants for any one to advertise. There aren’t really any McDonald’s commercials on. What kind of food commercials are there? Mostly it’s
ingredient brands. Brands of different sauces and bases, broths and spices. I will say that there are also snack food and beverage commercials. One of my most jarring moments was watching a Cheeto’s ad. At some point through the commercial the Cheeto’s Cheetah speaks…and it’s (what do ya know) in Korean! and the voice is totally wrong!! I was shaken out of half sleep and just stared in disbelief.
In the same vein as the food commercials there are the cooking shows. Now, in America the purpose of cooking shows is for Emeril or Rachel Ray to show us kitchen-retarded Americans how to prepare some fun new dish in thirty minutes or less, or to teach us technique, or to introduce a nifty blend of ingredients and cultural styles that produces some trendy culture clash dish (Mexican Pizza and East-meets-West kind of stuff). In Korea, however, every woman knows every recipe in Korean history. All of them know all of them. There is only a set repertoire. Nobody is blending anything or creating new dishes. So what use would a culture who knows how to cook have with a cooking show?
Well, let me give you a typical Korean cooking show rundown: An announcer gives you a quick 30 second run-down of the foods history, the origin of it’s ingredients, and the entire cooking process. The next five minutes is a compilation of showing the food on a spinning plate, interviewing people about the taste, and showing people eat the food. If you’ve already figured it out, good for you. For the rest of you: the sole purpose of Korean cooking shows is to watch people eat delicious and tantalizing food. To further solidify this analysis, allow me to present you with this next piece of evidence, classified as Exhibit A. There is a panel of host, usually somewhere between 5-8. This panel does not actually every eat food, but while the food is being paraded n front of the camera their faces appear in little bubbles in the corners of the screen. They then proceed to make faces indicating hunger, or “ooh, that looks good.” In addition, there is something in the way of a laugh track, but it’s an ooh-aah track. They don’t even attempt to disguise it as a studio audience. It’s almost completely on repeat. Every time a new ingredient is added or the food is eaten, the ooh’s and aah’s happen again.
I watched a cooking chow the other day, and they were conducting an in-depth report on one particular Japanese restaurant. This restaurant makes spaghetti, then it takes a large bowl full of said spaghetti to the top of a graded incline. Going down the middle of this incline are two small, bamboo waterslides about six inches in diameter. These waterslides are side by side, and on either side of these twin water slides are stools. This continues all the way down the incline, which is outdoors and covered but a pavilion of sorts. The stools are filled with children. The woman at the top of the incline with the spaghetti takes small, bite-sized, chopsticks-full of spaghetti and drops them into the water slide. Then the kids try to catch and eat the sliding spaghetti (with chop sticks, mind you) as it whooshes past in the current.
I’ve never seen so many music videos with stick fights in them. Hell, I’ve never seen so many stick fights. Not samurai swords, not nunchucks (sp?), but baseball bat sized sticks are apparently the weapon of Asian choice. They aren’t exactly featured in hardcore music videos either. It’s always the crying girly-boy pop, the Michael Boltonesque songs that have dozens of Asians beating each other with branches. Whose making these stick fighting sticks? Is there a store for them?
The news refuses to do advertising for anyone. All building logos, food brands, cell phones, brand labeled t-shirts, and car makes are blurred out. It also seems that they’re policy on identity is secret unless they give you permission. And most people don’t give permission. Consequently, since so many things on the news are blurred out, they have found several ways
to keep it interesting. Sometimes it’s a blur, sometimes it’s pixilated, sometimes they throw a jacket over someone’s head. sometimes they just show you their feet, sometimes they Alvin and the Chipmunks the voices, and any combination of the five is possible. In addition, no one is given the option of closed caption for news programs. All news programs have a guy in a bubble in the bottom right hand corner signing everything in real time.
These are just some of the things that amuse me about Korean television. Anyone with Skype or who posts a comment may get free untold stories! If you hadn’t noticed yet, I’m desperate for two-way communication, so make it happen!!!
Where to begin? How about with the filler in between programs, the all important commercial. Commercials are a huge part of American pop culture. Be it “Got Milk?,” “Aflac,” “I have good news…I just saved a ton…,” or “I’m Lovin’ It,” advertising campaigns are drilled into our heads until they bleed into our comedy and everyday conversation. The same can be said for other cultures. The commercials are a segment of the jokes that young people make or the phrases they use. They’re also short and satisfying. Watching a barrage of commercials serves both to keep me interested in television that I don’t really understand and to give me a rapid fire glimpse of culture.
Unlike America, you might see one or two car commercials in an entire day. While there are plenty of cars on the road, I’m in an immediate family of six including significant others, and there is one car between all of them. They don’t even live in the same house! However many cars seen on the road has to be divided into the factor that this is a city of 10 million (Atlanta doesn’t even top 70 thousand). Understandably, this is not the market for car commercials. So what does this population do with the money they’re not spending on cars and gas? Electronics, one would assume. Now, in America there are also tons of electronics commercials. Digital cameras, flat screen TV’s, Dell laptops, PDA’s, and Mp3 players inundate our subconscious. In this the world’s #3 electronics producer, what electronics commercials supplant the plethora of car ads? The cell phone. There are virtually no other electronics commercials at all. It’s all cell phones. There are some of the hottest cell phones in the world here, cell phones with ball joint swivel screens that receive television broadcasts, cell phones the size of toothpick boxes, cell phones stuffed full of music, pictures, videos, and all controlled by remote.
The other variety of commercials prevalent are food commercials. Now, there are no TV dinners, and there are far too many restaurants for any one to advertise. There aren’t really any McDonald’s commercials on. What kind of food commercials are there? Mostly it’s
ingredient brands. Brands of different sauces and bases, broths and spices. I will say that there are also snack food and beverage commercials. One of my most jarring moments was watching a Cheeto’s ad. At some point through the commercial the Cheeto’s Cheetah speaks…and it’s (what do ya know) in Korean! and the voice is totally wrong!! I was shaken out of half sleep and just stared in disbelief.In the same vein as the food commercials there are the cooking shows. Now, in America the purpose of cooking shows is for Emeril or Rachel Ray to show us kitchen-retarded Americans how to prepare some fun new dish in thirty minutes or less, or to teach us technique, or to introduce a nifty blend of ingredients and cultural styles that produces some trendy culture clash dish (Mexican Pizza and East-meets-West kind of stuff). In Korea, however, every woman knows every recipe in Korean history. All of them know all of them. There is only a set repertoire. Nobody is blending anything or creating new dishes. So what use would a culture who knows how to cook have with a cooking show?
Well, let me give you a typical Korean cooking show rundown: An announcer gives you a quick 30 second run-down of the foods history, the origin of it’s ingredients, and the entire cooking process. The next five minutes is a compilation of showing the food on a spinning plate, interviewing people about the taste, and showing people eat the food. If you’ve already figured it out, good for you. For the rest of you: the sole purpose of Korean cooking shows is to watch people eat delicious and tantalizing food. To further solidify this analysis, allow me to present you with this next piece of evidence, classified as Exhibit A. There is a panel of host, usually somewhere between 5-8. This panel does not actually every eat food, but while the food is being paraded n front of the camera their faces appear in little bubbles in the corners of the screen. They then proceed to make faces indicating hunger, or “ooh, that looks good.” In addition, there is something in the way of a laugh track, but it’s an ooh-aah track. They don’t even attempt to disguise it as a studio audience. It’s almost completely on repeat. Every time a new ingredient is added or the food is eaten, the ooh’s and aah’s happen again.
I watched a cooking chow the other day, and they were conducting an in-depth report on one particular Japanese restaurant. This restaurant makes spaghetti, then it takes a large bowl full of said spaghetti to the top of a graded incline. Going down the middle of this incline are two small, bamboo waterslides about six inches in diameter. These waterslides are side by side, and on either side of these twin water slides are stools. This continues all the way down the incline, which is outdoors and covered but a pavilion of sorts. The stools are filled with children. The woman at the top of the incline with the spaghetti takes small, bite-sized, chopsticks-full of spaghetti and drops them into the water slide. Then the kids try to catch and eat the sliding spaghetti (with chop sticks, mind you) as it whooshes past in the current.
I’ve never seen so many music videos with stick fights in them. Hell, I’ve never seen so many stick fights. Not samurai swords, not nunchucks (sp?), but baseball bat sized sticks are apparently the weapon of Asian choice. They aren’t exactly featured in hardcore music videos either. It’s always the crying girly-boy pop, the Michael Boltonesque songs that have dozens of Asians beating each other with branches. Whose making these stick fighting sticks? Is there a store for them?
The news refuses to do advertising for anyone. All building logos, food brands, cell phones, brand labeled t-shirts, and car makes are blurred out. It also seems that they’re policy on identity is secret unless they give you permission. And most people don’t give permission. Consequently, since so many things on the news are blurred out, they have found several ways
to keep it interesting. Sometimes it’s a blur, sometimes it’s pixilated, sometimes they throw a jacket over someone’s head. sometimes they just show you their feet, sometimes they Alvin and the Chipmunks the voices, and any combination of the five is possible. In addition, no one is given the option of closed caption for news programs. All news programs have a guy in a bubble in the bottom right hand corner signing everything in real time.These are just some of the things that amuse me about Korean television. Anyone with Skype or who posts a comment may get free untold stories! If you hadn’t noticed yet, I’m desperate for two-way communication, so make it happen!!!
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Baby's First Asian Cinema Experience
Tonight YongHee and I treated ourselves to a pre-fall semester viewing of the hottest Asian blockbuster, 괴물 (The Monster). It being an action/horror movie, I rightfully believed that the plot would be cookie-cutter and not dependent on dialogue and that I would be able to almost fully enjoy the film. Supposedly six years ago an American scientist forced his Korean intern to pour hundreds of bottles of formaldehyde down the drain because the bottles were dusty. The drain then fed the chemicals into the Han river, and mutated some frog or something into the elephant sized sea monster known as the 괴물 (GWAY-mool). When it takes several Korean citizens, including one man's daughter, and stockpiles them under one of the dozens of bridges on the Han, the man and his family set out to find the beast, kick some monster butt, and rescue his daughter. This movie reconfirms many cinematic truths.Americans are the root of all evil
Pollution will one day bite us in the assEvery day convenience store owners can be ultimate monster battling warriors if the script permits
Hundreds of deaths are forgivable if one orphan finds a home
Stay tuned, for in a couple of weeks YongHee and I will return to CineWorld to watch the new action flick coming to Asian theatres near you, 일본침몰 (Japan is Sinking! [finally])
Cultural Oddity Moment #4
We have a dish washer. That, however, is not the odd part. The odd part is that we never close the dishwasher. Umma washes all the dishes by hand. So why have a dishwasher, you may ask. Wel,, there are always dishes on the dish racks. These dishes are clean dishes. The dishwasher has been redubbed the dishstorer in this household. Yes, rather than take up valuable cabinet and drawer space with clean dishes, we put the clean dishes in the dishstorer. Whe
never we want dishes, we simply get them out of the dishstorer, which is always open like so.This has been your cultural oddity moment of the day.
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