Hello, everyone. Welcome back to Korea!



I decided to delay fixing my camera one week so that I can document my sister's visit to Busan. She arrives at 4PM this afternoon. Needless to say, I'm really excited. I've got some good photographs to share with you this week and even some poetry composed by my best students. Sadly, there are no Korean Files in this update. I'm sorry. It's been a hectic week.

The weather has turned ugly. Korea experiences a monsoon season roughly equivalent to the seasonal event many people probably first associate with India or Cambodia or Vietnam. The Koreans call it "Jang-ma," and for a period of three weeks to a month, it rains nearly every day. Sometimes around seven in the morning the sun briefly shines into my room before ascending above the cloud line, but for the most part the sky is gray all the time.



There are two positive developments from Jang-ma. For one thing, it's cooler. The temperature stays in the seventies. Some times the clouds lift a little and the temperature soars, but by and large the cloud cover puts a lid on the summer heat. Also, the clouds filter the sunshine into a soft, pleasing light that is ideal for portraits, such as this one I took of a towel salesman a few days ago...



...Or this photo of an old man in front of the Kimbop chain restaurant at Dongsamjugong...



...Or this photo of a carpet salesman hauling his wares.



Clouds made for good light.

When it rains, all of the street vendors help each other string up translucent tarps and crank open awnings to protect their wares (and their customers) from the rain. You could almost walk from ESS to Starbucks, a distance of roughly an eighth of a mile, without getting wet! Well, not really. There are a few breaks in the tarps, but it is still amazing what the shopkeepers achieve with just a little teamwork and some five-mil plastic sheeting.

Koreans are a very weather-concious group as a whole. Many of them, men and women, are very attentive to the sun in particular. From what I can gather, Koreans put high value on a creamy white skin color. It is considered very beautiful, and Dave and Suzanna all but told me Friday night that Korean people with light skin tend to get better jobs than people with dark skin. It might just be a myth, like the idea that big boobs do more to land beautiful American women jobs than actual talent, but who knows.

I can attest to the great number of women who wear massive sun shades or carry umbrellas on hot, sunny days. I've even seen some women with their entire face covered in a mask, causing them to look like lepers. Everyone has sunglasses, even the children.



I too bought a pair a month back. Glasses are one of the few very inexpensive items here. I got a good pair of titanium frames and scratch-proof UVA/UVB-blocking polycarbonate lenses for $75. The same frame and lenses in America would have siphoned $300 out of my bank account. Dave has a friend who, before he left Korea, loaded up on cheap, high-quality glasses.

Hyun-jeong and I visited a private collection of Korean artifacts and cultural relics last weekend. There were amazing pieces of hundred-year-old handmade furniture inlaid with mother-of-pearl, traditional farming implements like ploughs, scythes and threshers. There were wooden shoes, giant terra cotta pots for storing kimchi and even elaborately-colored coffins with parallel poles for the pallbearers.

The museum, which was in Seomyeon, also sported a collection of dolls made entirely from handmade Korean paper called Hanji. Hyun-jeong told me that the paper, which is made from a short-lived, fibrous tree called a DakNaMoo ("Namoo" means "tree" in Korean) is incredibly resilient to weathering and age. For example, a typical piece of western A4 might last fifty years before disintegrating. A piece of Hanji will last a thousand years before even starting to fade.

The dolls were made to represent all aspects of Korean traditional culture. There were dolls making Kimchi, dolls engaged in dancing the Nongak and even dolls teaching class.



I love his hat. He was arranged on a mat, all of his students gathered in a circle around him, their books open. God, they need to bring that "circle" thing back to the classroom. To be able to sit in a circle with my students would be fantastic. In the doll's hand was a thick lash made of a roughhewn tree branch. That must be a tradition that hasn't died. Dave reported that the director of the last hagwon he worked for kept a carved, wicked-looking cane by his desk for disciplining bad students.

It is hard for me to wrap my mind around corporeal punishment. It makes no sense to me. Hitting each other is often associated with how children solve their disputes. Are adults so inept that they must solve their problems like children? What message does corporeal punishment send to a child? That hitting someone is a legit way to even a score? Surely there is a more nuanced, mature solution to a truant or badly-behaved child than a stick as thick as my thumb. Thankfully, I don't think Mr. Kim uses corporeal punishment.

On the top floor is a workshop where museum-goers can design their own fans, plates, or stationary made with the traditional Hanji. I'm hoping to bring my sister there next weekend.

Well, the World Cup is all but over. France and Italy will meet on Sunday to determine the top dog in international soccer. my money is on France. For most of the Koreans, the World Cup is over. Still, soccer is now a part of life in Korea. There are at least three fields on Young-do, and on the weekends teams from all around the island converge for friendly matches, even under the threat of Jang-ma.



I don't understand is the lack of grass on the fields in Busan. In my brief affair with soccer in High School, the sport was synonymous with the smell, look and feel of soft green, over-fertilized Kentucky fescue. The Koreans play in the dirt. Ouch. That's all I have to say about that. Ouch. Especially the poor goalie.



Gavin and I went with our coworker Dave, his wife Suzanna and her British coworker Santosh to "Cool Bar" Friday night. As a general rule, Korean beer sucks. Sorry, I don't mean to step on anyone toes, but it's horribly true. For those Americans familiar with cheap boozer beers like Colt 45, Schlitz and Mad Dog, the Korean concoctions makes these rude beverages seem like fine microbrews. Korean beer could probably do more to end an addiction to alcohol than encourage it.

What I find so hilarious are the Korean beers' names. A typical corner store will stock beers like Hite, Cass and Prime. However, I have coined alternative nicknames for these obnoxious concoctions that correctly represent their respective flavors: Shite, Ass and Crime. Unless I'm just desperate for a beer, I usually stick to the traditional Korean rice wine, makalli. As Gavin originally said, makalli tastes like alcoholic yogurt. As disgusting as that sounds, it's a vast improvement over Shite or Ass.

However, the funniest thing about beer in Korea is that the best Korean beer I have ever had comes not from the South, but from the North. That's right, the best beer in Korea is from the commies! I had my first communist beverage at Cool Bar, and it was great. Gavin, Dave and I joked that there must be a lot more pressure on the brewers north of the DMZ. When Dictator-for-life Kim, Jong-il wants a delicious brew to sip while he signs execution orders, you better deliver the goods! If the brewers of SHite ever poured a pint of their piss-like liquid for the Supreme Leader, they'd probably be executed on the spot!

Cool Bar serves all sorts of beers from around the world, and it sells Guinness for the best price I've ever seen in Korea: 6600 won ($6.50 USD). The idea is you get a bucket, fill it with ice and beer from their coolers, and pay for it before you drink. It's a great, if impersonal, way to do business, and it allows foreigners to drink their favorite imports at reasonable prices. There is also some great light at Cool Bar. This is a photo of Santosh as he talks to Dave and Suzanna. .



I took this one of the people sitting at the booth next to us.



All the kids are doing fine. I recently gave an assignment where I had them make poems about themselves. I put the formulae on the board, did an example about myself, and then had them make their own compositions. After everyone had finished, I had them read to the class. They really enjoyed the assignment, though Mrs. Nam got angry at me for not following the lesson plans in the book.

The formulae for the poem was as follows:

--First name.
--Two adjectives and one noun that describes yourself.
--One thing you love.
--One thing you hate.
--One thing you are afraid of.
--One thing you wish for.
--Your last name.

I got the formulae from a book on teaching called "To Teach: The Journey of a Teacher" by William Ayers. Here are their poems, from the Advanced Three and Advanced Four classes (fourth and fifth-graders).

Poems by Advanced Three

Doo-jin
thin ugly boy
I love computer games and exercise
I hate Switzerland’s team.
I am scared of dying.
I wish for a job and my test 100.
Park

------------

Seo-eum
small boy
I love soccer and computer games.
I hate Switzerland’s referee.
I’m scared of monsters.
I wish for a new computer.
Han

-------------

Woo-hyeon
scary good person
I hate Swiss people.
I scared of monsters.
I wish for a 100 on my test.
Do

--------------

Yoon-mo
boys crazy person
I love soccer and my family.
I hate the Brazilian team.
I scared of ghosts and dying.
I wish to go to Seoul.
Kim

---------------

Da-young
tall crazy ugly student
I love my parents.
I hate hard tests.
I am scared of spiders.
I wish to plant trees.
Chae

-------------

Ah-rim
Smart crazy girl
I love my father, mother and me!!!
I hate dogs, cars, lions, tigers (animals)
I am scared of my mom.
I wish to go to the zoo with my family.
Oh!!!

-----------------

Ji-hye
Smart funny girl
I love my parents.
I hate nothing.
I am scared of my mother.
I wish to take a trip with my family.
Jeong

----------------

Seung-hyeon
slow handsome student
I love king Khufu.
I hate Super Conga.
I am scared of the teacher.
I wish to play computer games every day.
Kim

---------------

Jin-soo
Fast fun boy
I love Korea.
I hate referee Alexander.
I am scared of ghosts.
I wish for all people’s families to be healthy.
Jang

--------------

Dae-young
Ugly thin boy
I love my family.
I hate Switzerland’s team and referee.
I am scared of ghosts and dying.
I wish to have a Gundam Pramodel.
Kim.

----------------

Sol-min
Thin short child
I love my family.
I hate my family being sick.
I am scared of being sick.
I wish for my family to be healthy.
Hyung

Poems by Advanced Four.

Tae-gyeong
crazy loud boy
I love games.
I hate my mother.
I am afraid of homework.
I wish for no homework on these grounds.
Kim

---------------

Yoo-jin
I love my family, Tongufangxienqi and Lee Jun-hee.
I hate SS501 fans.
I am afraid of cockroaches.
I wish to meet my favorite stars.
Jeong

----------------

Jae-wook
Tall loud student
I love my family.
I hate Tae-heon.
I am afraid of my parents.
I wish for a doctor.
Lee

-----------------

Seon-hye
Crazy good girl
I love my family and TongVangXienGi
I hate crazy bad boys because I am crazy.
I am afraid of the dark night.
I wish to have many clothes and meet my favorite stars.
Jeong

-----------------

Seon-yeong
Short smart girl
I love my family and my friends.
I hate rainy days.
I am afraid of dying.
I wish for a great writer.
Jeon

------------------

Ah-hyeon
Tall
I love my family.
I hate insects.
I am afraid of ghosts and dying.
I wish to go on a trip with my family.
Nam

------------------

Soo-min
- no adjectives provided -
I love my family and friends.
I hate insects.
I wish to go to the country.
I like plants.
I am afraid of ghosts.
I like going to an amusement park.
Park

-----------------

Ji-won
Loud funny student
I love my family.
I hate Tae-heon.
I am afraid of my mom.
I wish to be thin.
Jeong

-----------------

Jang-ho
Middle healthy student
I love food and family.
I hate squid
I am afraid of the rain.
I wish to have a lot of money.
Yi

-----------------

Ji-yeon
Short nice girl
I love my family
I hate bad people
I am afraid of ghosts
I wish for my family to be healthy
Wang

------------------

Yoon-jung
Funny faster
I love my family and my friends.
I hate insects
I am afraid of dying
I wish to be a smart girl.
Jo

-----------------

Jae-young
Tall faster student
I love my family
I hate insects
I am afraid of ghosts
I wish to be a doctor.
Lee


The book is really inspiring to me. I read it before class to remind me of what I am doing and who I really work for. Mrs. Nam really hates it when I read during my breaks, so I'm going to have to cut back, but it's a good book just the same. Anyone considering teaching as a career should read it.

Well, that's all I have for you this week. My sister will set foot in Korea in five hours, so I'm really excited. I have sorts of things planned for her, so it's going to be a busy week. Don't expect an update next weekend (the 16th). Look for the next update on the 23rd of July. I actually reneged on teaching till October for reasons I won't give now. Suffice it to say there is "trouble in paradise" as far as ESS is concerned. This is not the time or place to discuss it, however. I will finish out my contract and leave Korea on the first of September as originally planned.

Well, until next time, have a good couple of weeks. Peace. --Notes