Let's Get Married --- Korean Style

This isn't really my friend, but look at all the fog!

Recently I got to see a close Korean friend of mine gracefully walk down the aisle and marry her loving husband. As I watched smoke from the fog-machine waft around her while she prepared to cut her LED and dry-ice cake, I realized that I definitely needed to write a blog post about all of this.

So ladies and gents! Start your watches and grab your wallets, it's time to get married in Korea!

1. Find that spouse!

No... I'm not desperate. Don't look at me like that!

Of course you need someone to actually marry, but in Korea that task comes with a twist. Time is not in your favor! Generally it is viewed that once you have hit 30 years old you become 'expired goods' (for women in particular). Furthermore, that 30 is based on the moon calendar!! Which really only leaves you 28 years of your sun calendar life to find Mr. or Mrs. Right. So readers, it's time to get crackin!!

2. Location

So now that you have found your victim, it is now time to bind together for all time (or maybe not as the divorce stats show). But where shall you wed? Don't make it too far from your relatives or you may find yourself paying for every distant relative under the moon to take a bus to get to where you are. So once you've settled on the city you'll then need to choose the venue, and for that you'll have 2 lovely choices:

Well didn't you say you wanted to be a princess for a day?

a) Wedding Halls

These are generally on the cheaper end of venues, but run the risk of giving you the fast-food version of a ceremony. At McWedding Halls, you may just see a bride and groom's head popping out at the end of the aisle as they wait for your short ceremony to end. Not all Wedding Halls are like this and you can have your prince/princess perfect wedding if you're willing to put down the money.

b) Hotels

Numerous hotels have entire sections dedicated to weddings. And boy, they can be lavish! They'll offer you packages that include flowers, food, private rooms, dresses, makeup, and even camera men. Of course, it won't be cheap! I hope $50,000-$80,000 is the price range you're looking at, because with a hotel wedding your fairy tale walk comes with a sexy price tag.

Grrrawwwrrrr! Truuueeee... loooovee...

3. The Goodies

So now that the location, food, and clothing are set, it's time for the fun stuff.Check out what you'll be getting because you're now in Korea!

a) Photoshoot &  Personal Papparazzi

While we can't all have our nuptials immortalized by a zombie attack, you can have your own 7 hour photo shoot complete with 10 different gowns and multiple set changes.This guarantees picture perfect joy no matter how much of an ogre face the camera gives you.

One of the many sets my friend posed in front of (although my friend isn't pictured)

 You'll also have a photographer for the actual ceremony. But this photographer won't stand on the sidelines like a chump! He'll be in front of you as you walk down the aisle, underneath you as you cut the cake, and on a chair taking aerial shots as you read your vows. He'll take so many photos of you that you'll be guaranteed to look perfect! And your guests will have the delightful task of trying to cut him out of their shots. Just call it a game.

b) Personal Makeup Artist

This person isn't *just* a Makeup Artist. No my friends, they are so much more. That person will be shadowing you during the entire wedding and will have the task of making sure you look perfect all.the.time. He/She will make sure no tears smudge your makeup and no movement that ruins the majestic flow of your gown. So a romantic moment or two might be traded off for the perfect face because that makeup artist has decided those tears of joy ruin the makeup. But remeber, your friends will  be jealous of all your dazzling photos.

4. Finishing Up

Now you're done the initial ceremony!! After the wedding you will probably have to have a private ceremony with the parents wearing traditional dresses (Hanboks). You will need to bow before them and possibly give them a monetary or food offering. But once you've done this, you're free to go on your honeymoon!~ So place your arms in a heart position because you're officially married!

Now for a moment of seriousness...

At the end of the day, the only thing that matters is the person you end up with. All cultures have differing traditions and the one I've covered (in a silly way) in this post is a fusion of West and East. Every wedding is different and differs greatly based on one's financial ability. Generally, weddings in Korea cost around $60,000. But keep in mind, in Korea, a wedding also celebrates the joining of families so a lot of money goes into that union. If you are interested in reading more, Korea4Expats gives a decent rundown. As for photos, I felt that Kimchi Ice Cream gives a good idea of what a typical wedding looks like. And for a bit more of an opinionated post, you should check out Roboseyo.

The Demilitarized Zone (Visiting the Border Between South & North Korea)

The blue building in the center is the Freedom House

Visiting DMZ was very important to me because of my grandfather's service as a part of the UN after the Korean War. I wanted to better understand him. But before I go on, it's important to know that Koreans are not allowed to go to DMZ (unless they have special permission), and can only view North Korea at a place called Imjingak (which is really just a lookout post and doesn't allow anyone to actually touch North Korean soil). This is partly to deter defectors, partly to maintain citizen safety, and also due to laws passed by NK.

Where we were being monitored

I took a tour with the JSA (American Military) because the information and access is better than other tours. The tour started at 8am (ugh) and was led by a beautiful tour guide who took this job in order to learn English (double ugh, as we got to hear words like 'Barb wire' be pronounced as 'Bubble Ile"). We went straight to Camp Bonifas, where we were briefed on the history by perhaps the fastest speaking man in the world. Then we took a separate bus and drove along the grounds whilst hearing tales of deers getting blown up by the surrounding mines.

The Bridge of No Return (Instagrammed)

We started at the Freedom House, where we were able to see where important officials had come together in order to form treaties and make other important decisions. While the tour was being given, we could see NK soldiers watching us through binoculars and we were warned that they were photographing us. We were then able to step on NK soil (cement) for a few minutes.

The JSA tour guide then led us to the Bridge of No Return. When the cease-fire was signed after the Korea War, prisoners of war were given the choice of remaining in the country they were captured in, or crossing over the bridge knowing they could never change their minds.

Propaganda Village (Instagrammed)

The next stop brought us to a lookout tower. This tower allowed us a view of Propaganda Village. After the war, SK and NK both built villages in view of each other to try to entice citizens to defect and come over. To live in the SK village is considered a great priviledge. The citizens are given tax cuts and great amounts of land. But this comes with many restrictions, including a curfew. Propaganda Village in NK is completely empty, except for the people who periodically come in to repaint the windows and homes. At the center of the village is the largest flag in the world, a remnant of a competition between SK and NK on who could built the largest flag. This battle to best each other also brought about a rule restricting the heights of buildings.

After the lookout, we were handed back to our  guide and taken to the public areas of DMZ. We went to another high outlook, which allowed us a view of trees and random farms in NK (woot). There was a line painted on the platform which we were not allowed to cross, which made for a fairly dull place to visit.

A photograph showing the discovery of one of the tunnels

We then headed to our last place on the tour, the Third Tunnel. We visited an interesting museum that looked at the history of the tunnels built by the NK underneath the border. Although they deny it, an unknown amount of tunnels have been built and only 8 have been uncovered by SK. The 3rd Tunnel is open to the public, and allows you to put on a dashing hardhat and proceed down a steep tunnel for 15 minutes, then along a flat cramped portion for another 15 minutes. At the end you can view one of the walls built by the SK to block the tunnel. The entire experience is fascinating and truly tests ones ability to deal with tight spaces 73 meters below ground. Then another test on your thighs as you make the climb back up while trying to stifle your loud breathing.

At the end of the tour we were treated to a nice lunch with about 40 elementary students. We ended up being pretty lucky because our tour guide was able to sell us some NK beer which had been banned. The beer was much better than the chemical North Korean Blueberry Wine I got in Imjingak. I tend to prefer my alcohol to not taste like it had been flavored with cleaning products.

The whole experience meant a lot to me (as you may be able to tell by this enormous post), and I felt like I had been given the chance to understand my grandfather just a little bit better. I recently found his memoirs on Korea and he experienced some terrible and amazing things. He really loved Korea, as I have come to as well.

An Ode to Violence & Destruction

Frosh week at my university was straight out of a movie. My friends threw TVs from a 4th floor balcony, a house burned their couch in the front lawn, and some guy smashed a cop car's window. Awesome! Even the neighboring city's radio station host simply said "Well that's Frosh Week for you!" (In French). Isn't it amazing how that destruction just gets a shrug and a chuckle!

In Korea, not only would these drunken shenanigans not be likely to occur, but even the idea would probably not enter a Korean's mind. Before I continue, I should say that I realize what I've said is a massive generalisation and I'm not intending to write an article meant to point fingers or criticize actions. This article is about how my mind has changed concerning drunken destruction. To continue, Koreans certainly get into drunken fights and their reasons for the fights are no different than ours. But, in general, when they get drunk there's no sudden interest to smash something or spray paint a wall. (Although passing out in random places seems to be a popular activity) Whereas my Frosh Week would have been subpar if I had not been able to watch at least one drunk guy mooning a passing car and almost fall into it. In fact, it seems the most extreme reaction to an intense night on the town is passing out on the street.

So why is there such a difference?

Korea is a homogeneous society with a history influenced by confuscionism. In confuscionism, people are taught to listen to their elders and respect authority. On the other hand, western history has created a more questioning society due to a history that included many moments of fighting for social liberties and overhauls of large government powers.

I believe that this has formed two very distinct schools of thought that has influenced how we act while drunk. Westerners are more likely to have rebellious nature and revel in a chance to break some minor rules. (As we have been taught that at times breaking rules and questioning things is necessary and even good for us. House Hippo!) Koreans are less likely to become destructive while intoxicated because it's just not a part of their social conditioning as it is in ours.

While I'm not the wildest drinker in the world, I've grown up thinking that a bit of spray paint or broken glass is just a part of a great night out. It isn't malicious or meant to particularly hurt others, but just a result of drinking. This may sound simple, but Korea has taught me that just because we may be drunk, it doesn't mean that we should suddenly have an urge to break or vandalize something. It isn't the alcohol bringing that out of us. And I believe that our social assumption that these things happen because 'kids are being kids' or as a part of a wild night out, is wrong.

In fact. It's just dumb.

Pollution & My Princess Body

            

So I recently bought some whitening cream for the spots on my skin. I had always imagined myself buying that sort of cream while I was in my forties frantically trying to maintain my trophy wife appearance. But instead I’m trying to erase the damage done by pollution (and less than healthy eating) in Seoul. It's become apparent that growing up as a Canadian (and surrounded by pristine lakes and fluffy wildlife) that I have had no idea what true pollution does to a person.

Figure A: She may look happy, but I'm sure not

                  My most recent reaction to Seoul pollution started with little sun spots on my face. Initially I thought they were freckles brought on by the sun, but they never seemed to fade during cooler weather. So now my face looks somewhere between my grandmother's hands and this nicely photoshopped lady (Figure A).

                  Living in Seoul has been rough on my body. It seems like every season has a new problem waiting for me. During my first summer, I ran into acne for the first time in my life (middle school was kind to me). This summer I had my first large case of some sort of dermatitis on my hands. Of course I somehow managed to get my hands into contact with some potent glue and caused some damage to my fingers (which will eventually go away?). 

                  Sadly, most of the damage has been dealt to my lungs. I now have experienced breathing problems that have ranged from pain in my lungs to an assortment of throat and nasal issues. At times I have been barely able to sleep due to coughing fits caused by a season change. During the winter and spring, I constantly have the symptoms of a cold (congestion & sore throat), but never an actual full blown cold. And the most frustrating part? These issues all seem to have a month-long life. Acne? Let's enjoy that for a month! Coughing so badly that you can't sleep? A month full of fun!

   But what really frightens me the most about the pollution is not the permanent haze around Seoul, but the ‘Yellow Dust’. Yellow Dust is a natural phenomenon during spring, when the spring winds pick up the sand from the Gobi desert (west of China), then blows the sand across China, through Korea, and past Japan. Because of the massive amount of pollution over China, the Yellow Dust picks up particles of toxic chemicals and toxins which not only hurt people, but damages buildings as well. There is nothing quite like seeing yellow clouds and seeing them so low that they block out half of the buildings. A literal yellow fog of poison. 

                  It’s frightening, and I can't imagine seeing my country dealing with the same things. Canadians may learn about pollution through government commercials (House Hippos!) and science, but we’re lucky enough to be ignorant to the subtle damage from pollution. Needless to say, when I get home I’ll be sure to get my porcelain skin back, but I sure as hell will try my best to take care of my country.

Lantern Parade in Seoul

Every year Seoul celebrates Buddha's birthday with a huge parade and festivities. Actually it is also a national holiday, which is pretty awesome considering that they also take a day off to celebrate Jesus's birthday as well.

The Seoul lantern parade is massive!! It lasts about two hours and just about every group in the city is represented. From hospitals to city sections, there are usually at least 50 people in each group. All of the lanterns are handmade and have a candle lit within them, and they're handed out to people in the crowd at random (including yours truly).

There are of course larger ones that use LED lights. Two of them (a Turtle Warship & a Dragon) even had fire come out of them. It was a very neat parade, although sitting (or standing in order to take photos) for 2 hours is a bit much for this parade. If you have a chance to go, head out 2 hours early to grab a seat on the second floor of a cafe.

The following day there was a street taken up by activity tents. Within them you could make learn how to make lanterns, prayer beads or other types of traditional Korean crafts. Many of these crafts were for free, although a few were for foreigners-only. This is partly because often some of these activities are done by Korean children in school. It's a great experience for any visitor to Korea!

Taste the Rainbow

It's not St Patty's, unless there's green beer!

So St Patricks day just passed and I had quite the adventure. Well the Thursday itself wasn't very interesting. My school had a themed St Patricks activity day, which can only be described as fun but exhausting. But the real fun was had at Seoul's St Patrick's Day Festival in Insadong.

NO BEER?!!?!??! What the hell!?

Insadong is already pretty touristy at the best of times, so on Saturday it was pure madness. I've never seen so many Westerners in one place (in Korea) in my entire life. The main event was held in a square, where there was 'traditional' dancing, free balloons (who doesn't want that?), a U2 cover band, and more! The festival can be best described as foreigners standing in a circle with drinks in hand and chatting for 4 hours. Good times! In fact there was so much drinking that the GS25 & Family Marts (the local convenience stores) were either filled with foreigners waiting to buy alcohol, or completely empty of beer.

Dear random man in skirt, I wonder what voices & songs you were dancing to in your head

Later that evening we all headed off to Hongdae (one of the bar areas near a university near where I live), for some evening drinks. We first stopped off for some green beer and checked out the rather disturbing sites of hongdae (Why would a guy dance around randomly in a skirt? Did he want to feel pretty?)

To anyone else it just looks like people dancing to silence

One of the cooler sites of hongdae was definitely the 'Silent Disco'. Basically you trade in your ID card for a free pair of wireless headphones (with a balloon so you can look extra cool), and everyone is plugged into the same network and listens to the same songs and tunes that a DJ is playing. It's pretty damn fun! Furthermore, there are random photographers who wander around taking photographs which appear on an overhead projection screen. A pretty damn cool experience!

The 'Used Cassettes'

Then to finish off the night, we headed to a bar to check out 3 local bands playing. We couldn't really hear any lyrics, but the music was good. In fact, it was one hell of a good day! Thank god for St Patrick's Day!

The Little Critters

So it's been a long month with lots of ups and downs. My visa was delayed because of unfortunately timed holidays in Canada and Korea, so I missed my orientation because I was a week late. So I arrived at the airport at 5am (after a delightful flight that included me passing out from exhaustion/dehydration and a 2hr delay), and was taken to the hagwon for a week's worth of an orientation stuffed into one day!

Needless to say, it was quite the first week. It's still pretty crazy. I'm sick already (darn kids), and because I was taking Canadian medication (much stronger than Korean over-the-counter meds), the pseudoephedrine ruined my drug test. So I can't take any medication until I take my second drug test. So it's been a week of tissues and water!

But onto the hagwon!

I currently live in a richer area of Seoul (there are a couple of ex-Presidents who live here) and there's also a fairly high foreigner population here (as in foreigners who've actually started families and aren't just partying teachers). Wizville is the name of my hagwon and it's a VERY nice hagwon that brings in the young children of more affluent families. This is quite a change for me, as my old student's parents were taxi drivers or store owners, and now all these children have doctors or professors for parents.

The other huge difference is the age and style of teaching. In the morning we have lots of activities, snack time, and I even teach the science class for the hagwon. Then in the afternoon I have more traditional classes. My morning class (named Monet) is the youngest group in the entire hagwon, the 5 yrs. Although that's the Korean age, my kids are actually closer to 3-4 years old.

I definitely work harder, work longer, and have more homework, but I enjoy my job a lot more. It's interesting, different, and I feel like I'm accomplishing something here. But to call it exhausting would be an understatement.

I'm looking forward to next month. We'll be heading off to Hanok village for a Spring picnic, and we'll be going to the Seoul Museum of Animation for field trips!

PS- I am 100% safe and unaffected by any tsunamis, earthquakes, or nuclear meltdowns!

Hagwon Vs Epik

Hagwons vs EPIK

A lot of people have been asking me about teaching in Korea and how to go about it. There are a lot of things to consider when taking a job in Korea, so I'm going to write a post that discusses one of the important things you need to consider when choosing to teach in Korea: 'Whether to teach in a Hagwon or teach with EPIK (public school system)'. This post is also to help people understand what I do in Korea, and some of the risks/experiences I go through when choosing where to teach.

When you go to teach in Korea you have two options of what kind of establishments you can choose to work in. EPIK and Hagwons. This essay-length post will help explain what both of them are and what are the pros/cons for each choice. I'm not going to tell you which one is best, because a lot of what you'll prefer is based on your personality.

Image taken from sjleesj's blog. Which taught me there are dating hagwons!

Hagwon

What is a hagwon (학원) (Pronounced somewhat like hog-won)

In Korea, your average student finishes up in school at around 3-4pm and then heads over to an after-school private tutoring center called a hagwon (or in English, 'Academy'). These are somewhat similar to 'Oxford Tutoring' or 'Kumon' which you can find in the west. Hagwons help with a whole range of studies (Math, English, Music, etc.), and the student stays there for about 2 hours (this differs between hagwons) for extra studying. So a student may have a schedule like 'English on Monday/Wednesday/Friday, Math on Tuesday/Thursday, and Music on Saturdays' all at different hagwons. Of course this is all dependent on finances (hagwons tend to be at least 200$ a month). Needless to say, Korean students study often and study hard.

What is it like to work there?

Most hagwons have you work in the afternoon until the evening. My previous schedule was 1pm-9pm and I had Elementary & Middle School students. Most hagwons have you come in an hour early (The contract doesn't show that, so watch out!) for class preparation, and then you will teach small classes (10-15 students) for 45-50mins at a time. You will teach alone. Most of the time you be a fairly independent teacher with your own tasks and responsibilities and no one bothering you. You will probably have a few Korean co-workers, and depending where your hagwon is, you'll have anywhere from 1 foreign co-worker, up to 20 foreign co-workers. The bigger the city, the more demand, the more money, and so the more foreign teachers a single hagwon will have.

Pros:

• - Small Classes
• - A lot of room for creativity in teaching
• - Good teaching hours
• - Independence in teaching
• - An arguably more real teaching experience
• - Great for beginners (books are all very comprehensive)

Cons:

• - Because hagwons are so popular most Korean directors start hagwons because it's an easy profit, rather than for the love of education. This means that some will cut corners and costs which could result in them not paying your pension/overtime/the amount you deserve based on your education/give you a lousy apartment
• - Because there are SO MANY hagwons, there's a chance it could go out of business while you're there
• - Vacations are much shorter (make sure that when they say 5 days in the Summer and 5 days in the Winter, that you can take the 5 days off TOGETHER)
• - You will probably have to be at work the day after you arrive in Korea (hurts!) and you may or may not get an orientation

Summary:

Hagwons can be a very rewarding teaching experience and you'll be more likely to see progress with your students and get that warm, fuzzy, rewarding side of teaching. The problem is, Hagwon directors are notorious for taking advantage of naive new English teachers and it can be difficult to find a safe hagwon. You can have a good experience, but you have to be willing to take the time to find a good place.
At the bottom of this post I'll write a bit about how to avoid horrible hagwons.

EPIK (English Program in Korea)

What is 'EPIK'?

This is a government run program that allows you to teach in the public schools (and sometimes language centers) within Korea. Because you're a part of a government-run program, you'll be first sent to a week long Orientation in Seoul before you're sent off to your workplace. Being a part of EPIK also means that occasionally you may be invited to special cultural activities (overnight stay at the temple, hikes, etc). There are also offshoots, SMOE is a government run program for schools in Seoul (Please note that when I last checked, SMOE no longer existed and they were working towards removing GEPIK), and GEPIK is the EPIK program for Gyeonggi (the province that Seoul and most of Korea's population resides in).


What is it like to work there?

Your average class size will probably be around 30 students. You'll also get a co-teacher who will be with you for all of your class. Your relationship with the co-teacher is usually her/him assisting you with the class, helping plan lessons/activities and helping on the disciplining side of things (but this can vary depending on the personality of your co-teacher). Your day will be the typical 8am-4pm workday, but you'll probably only teach for about 4 hours. You will also be expected to help run Summer/Winter camps during the school's vacation period. That being said, you get way more vacation time than hagwon teachers (any time that the students have vacation and you're not doing camp, + 3 extra weeks off)

Pros:

• -More vacation!! YAY!
• - You get a co-teacher
• - More job safety (You're much less likely to be screwed about, the school doesn't run the risk of going under, & your contract is less sketchy)
• - More likely to be paid on time/ Less payment issues
• - You'll be more likely to get a nice apt.
• - You're guaranteed a good orientation that will help you prepare for working with a co-teacher, culture shocks, and teaching in the system (and you'll make friends!)

Cons:

• - You don't find out where you'll be teaching in Korea until you arrive for orientation in Korea (if you apply directly to EPIK and not through an agency)
• - A lot of sitting around (Just because you don't have any classes, doesn't mean you get to go home. So when that Sports Day comes and you have no classes to teach, you'll rarely be allowed to go home)
• -You will be required to participate in summer camps or special teaching days meaning you will be teaching when everyone else may be on vacation
• - Paper work and procedures for applying for EPIK is painful.

Summary:

This is a safer environment to teach within and you likely meet many friends during your orientation. You'll be able to receive help from your co-teacher and have a great vacation. Although be prepared to waste many hours in front of your computer becoming extra acquainted with Facebook. You may be lucky enough to be invited out on a field trip, but it's likely you'll just be keeping your seat warm with all the down time you'll have. Camps can be lousy, and if you're sent to a camp right after orientation be sure to get the contract from them to sign before the camp (or else you won't be paid for the camp).

How to Avoid Horrid Hagwons

If it's your first time, sign up with an agency. They'll be more likely to get you a safe hagwon. (This is because they SHOULD be blacklisting bad hagwons. That being said, I've run into pushy shifty agencies, so trust your gut if you feel uncomfortable with your agency. If you don't trust your agency, how can you feel good about the job offers you get?) Your agency will hook you up with a hagwon for free and they'll help you along with Visa paperwork. I would recommend 2 agencies:

Canadian Connection (good for non-Canadians too)
Jeju ESL (Only for Jeju island)

Make sure that before taking a job with a hagwon, you have the chance to talk to the current foreign worker. He/She can give you great insight on what the hagwon is like (and the apartment!) If they refuse to let you talk with the current foreign teacher, then don't take the job. The pay should match your experience. If you just got out of university with a BA in Biology, then 2.0mill won or 2.1mill won is all you're gonna get. However if you have a TEFL certificate/Year of Teaching Experience, then you should expect a pay increase. Make sure that you can take those 5 vacation days off at once (and you should get a total of 10). You can travel a lot better with 9 days off (5 week days + 4 weekend days), rather than my previous 3 days + election day vacation. You should be getting contractual basics (apt. with stove/sink/toilet/table/bed/mini fridge, 50% of insurance paid, pension, severance).

Triple check that contract!!!! Have your brother, sister, mother, father, neighbour look over that contract for shifty things!! If it says you may do weekend work, then make sure the contract mentions how many days (and how much you'll be paid)! If it mentions you'll have an orientation, then make sure it mentions how much you'll be paid and for many days! (Sometimes you won't be paid at all, but that's not the end of the world.) Overtime, sick days, apt., health care, pension, severance, airplane tickets (both ways and how it will be paid) are all things that need to be in the contract!

Finally, with every hagwon suggestion from your agency, make sure you first google it. There are a lot of hagwon review sites, and I strongly recommend you check out what the reviews say about your hagwon. That being said, hagwon review sites can be a source of venting for unhappy employees who were overwhelmed by the culture shock and the different attitudes Koreans have about work.

Have more questions? Or you just need lesson ideas/discipline/help or anything else. This website and the forums are great for any questions you may have.
Dave's ESL Cafe

If you see any corrections that need to be done, misinformation, or just have questions, please feel free to contact me!

Getting in touch with my Seoul

As you may have noticed, my blogging has completely stopped. I stopped partly because I'm lazy and hated editing each post (there were always grammatical & spelling errors, and uploading photos was an exercise in frustration), but I also stopped because I didn't think anyone read it.

Well... sure... a few random people read it and posted on it (thanks random people!) Actually after looking at my blog stats, it turns out that most of my viewers came from the USA, followed by Canada, and then a tie between the UK, Germany, India, and Australia (which is odd, because I don't actually have that many friends in those countries).
Furthermore, it turns out most people found my blog by googling 'Johnny Cade' (HEY!), or some other special key words that lead them to reading my post about Loveland. I do NOT want to know what they were googling.

Of course, after I stopped posting and got back to Canada, it turned out everyone and their 2nd cousins had been reading my blog. So once again I will attempt to maintain a blog.


So, would you all like a mini update?

I'm moving to Seoul!!!

Yes I've taken on a new job in a hagwon and so this blog while be dedicated to those experiences.

So I have decided to update a few things in this blog.

Deep Fried Seoul is the new name. It's meant to be a pun off of the fish 'Sole'. I actually looked at a lot of potential puns (Chicken Soup for the Seoul, Seoul Survivor, Seoulmate, Mind & Seoul, Seoul Sistah, Seoul Train etc), but, tragically, it turned out that they were all taken. So to all the random bloggers, tour agencies, documentary film makers, I hope you're embarrassed by your ridiculously cheesy names!

Still, I'm pretty pleased by this choice and it's a good follow-up name from my previous salad dressing-inspired blog name: 'Memories of Jeju'. (Don't sue me President's Choice!)

The background image is taken from an image I found on google. All credit goes to the photographer who is uploading here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/doegox/
Thank you random photographer, I liked your photos of the lemurs, and now I have officially followed your reproduction rules. The fish were stolen from a random blog I found here: http://sellmic.com/blog/2008/02/15/the-constructor-that-doesnt-construct-blooper-of-the-day/. Uhm, your blog was nice... but I didn't really understand any of it.

So now the adventure is about to start up all over again. I hope you enjoy it! Please write as many comments as you can, I like reading them and it encourages me to be more active!

No, really! You keep commenting about how awesome I am, and I'll keep making your life better with tales of my life!

(Sounds like a deal!)

My Life is Made Further Complete by Another Temple and Festival

Yakcheon-sa and the Cherry Blossom Festival

Yakcheon-sa (the '-sa' means temple in Korean)

My friend Mike's relatives were visiting and needed something to visit, so I suggested the Yakcheon temple. This is a temple I had been meaning to visit for awhile now because I had heard that it was one of the largest Buddhist temples in Asia. That didn't turn out to be completely accurate, but it was not disappointing.

I'll just mention the 2 highlights. Starting with the room with the 500 Buddha statues. Like the name suggests, there was a room with 500 unique, individually painted Buddhas doing various things. Apparently of these 500 statues, one was depicted in a Korean style while the rest were done in a Chinese style. Unfortunately there were no signs or information in the building ( the only information we had learned was because my friend had done a special foreign temple stay) and because the room had be re-arranged due to renovations, we could not find the special Korean Buddha. And honestly.... they all looked like they had been done in the same style.



The other highlight was the main temple prayer room. Now the temple claims that this is the largest Bhuddist prayer room. And it's not difficult to believe. I rarely see a temple/palace reach 2 floors, let alone 3 floors like this one does. In the center of the room there are 3 massive Buddhas, flanked by dragons curling up the poles supporting the temple. The temple isn't very old (I believe it was constructed sometime in the late 20th century), which means the paintings are still vibrant and in excellent condition. You're allowed to climb the first 2 floors, and the floors are filled with paintings and statues. All and all, it was a worthwhile trip down to Seogwipo!


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Cherry Blossom Festival

There isn't as much that I can say about this festival as it was rather uneventful. I don't recall the names of these trees, but despite the fact that I'm calling them they're certainly not Cherry trees. Each year these beautiful trees bloom for only about a week, and so during the weekend of the strongest bloom, they host a festival. This festival also coincides with the Rape seed festival, what today westerners would call Canola oil flowers. For some strange reason, the Koreans still insist on calling it by it's old name. I'm assuming they don't quite realize what 'rape' means in English. I didn't get out to see that festival, as I ended up choosing to sleep in to get over a cold caused by the 'Yellow Dust' in order to prepare for Malaysia. 'Yellow Dust' is something I recommend you google... I may blog about it later.

Back to the Cherry Blossom Festival, having read about the lavish festivals held in Japan for the Sakura (the same kind of tree) I was very much excited to see what Jeju would do! One fact I was aware of, was that in Korea, many couples have their wedding photos taken infront of the Cherry Blossoms.

Unfortunately this year Jeju's spring has been a pretty cold one, and so the Cherry Blossoms still had not fully blossomed by the time the festival had rolled around. In fact the entire festival was rather cold with the wind and a temperature around +10 celcius. Still, my friend Judy and I headed out to the colorful tents to see the festival. The festival wasn't too different from previous ones, but I was able to dress up in a hanbok again, create my own hanji doll (hanji is the Korean paper art, used in making doors, windows and other various things) and receive a painting made out in my name. Or least he painted my name on it.



It says something along the lines of 'Without friends, all the beautiful things in this world are meaningless'. Rather depressing, but apparently is of the Joseon Dynasty style. Either way the painting is gorgeous.

So there you have it. A quick update of 2 weekends I experienced in March (although I realize posted up very late). Next post? ~Malaysia~

Jenny's 'Factoids' About Koreans & Jeju Life

As of late my poor blog has been missing out on some Jenny-lovin', and since no one enjoys experiencing that, I decided to put up a filler post. I will soon be heading to Malaysia for a short vacation, so you can expect a long-winded post about that. But until then, enjoy this post about observations made about the every day life of Koreans in Jeju.

• 1. High heels are ideal footweal for any location. Caves? Mountains? They have the stability of mountain goats, and I'm clearly a wuss.
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• 1.5 Small feet + high open-toed heels = Elf Feet. Naturally, Korean have smaller feet than Westerners, which is to be expected considering their natural smaller bodies. The current shoe style style for women right now, are these wickedly high, thick strapped, open-toed heels. What Korean women don't realize, is that the combination of tiny feet (made tinier by the shoes) and the tiny high-heeled shoes, give off the impression that the woman is top-heavy. Not sexy ladies!
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• 2. Knocking on the bathroom stall door before entering is remarkably clever and helpful. How many of us have sat in a bathroom stall where the door won't properly close? And end up using one hand to keep the door closed and the other hand awkwardly using the toilet paper? In Korea you don't have to worry about that, because before any Korean enters a bathroom stall they usually knock! Although me figuring out why they were always knocking, took awhile.
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• 3. Being too cheap to pay for hot water results in no one washing their hands and a great market for hand sanitizer! Heat is expensive in Jeju, so most restaurants don't bother to have hot water run through the restaurant bathroom. So from what I've seen, usually Korean women are NOT washing their hands. This, for me, led to some confusion, as Koreans insist you wear a mask when you're sick, and yet don't seem too fazed by the lack of hand washing.
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• 3.5 Please stop putting cloth towels in public washrooms! Ew!
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• 4. Throwing paper advertisements onto the streets is not littering, it's a legitimate form of advertising!
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• 5. A big thank you to Jeju society for not making me worry about being robbed! For once in my life I've actually been carrying cash in my wallet, something I would never EVER do in Canada. Due to Jeju history, no one really steals out here. Despite there being tables of items out on the streets and no one really looking, no one really takes anything!
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• 6. Another big thanks! If you forget something at a restaurant, the workers will actually run out of the store and chase you down to return it. I know that if I ever lost my wallet here, not only would it be returned, but the money would be there as well.
• 7. LEDs on your scooter is not sexy! I'm sorry, but outfitting your tiny weiner scooter with a blue glowing light underneath it, is incredibly lame.
  
• 7.5 Having 3 guys on one motorbike with no helmets is not only dangerous, but also slightly homo-erotic. I know many Koreans don't even recognize the possibility for people to be gay, but come on.... this is up the same alley as the drunk men whose hands fall a little too close to their friend's bum!

I will add up more as I remember these small differences between my home and Korea, but for now enjoy these awesome bits of 'facts' that I've noticed during my stay here!

Fire? and Alcohol? That sounds like a good combination to me!

My Visit to the 2010 Jeju Fire Festival

Once again I haven't been posting as often. I apologize but I wasn't sure people wanted to hear my tales of woe about my demonic computer or how much I've enjoyed playing Aion. And truthfully, that would be a good summary of the last few weeks of my life. However this weekend, finally after so many weeks, I got off my butt and headed out to Jeju's largest festival!

The festival runs for 3 days and celebrates the years first Full Moon (based off the Lunar Calendar). Since Jeju is an old extinct volcano, they celebrate by embracing fire and imitating the power of the volcano through fire and fireworks. This festival is also connected to the old tradition of burning fields to prepare the soil for planting. This is Jeju's largest festival and tends to bring in people from all over Korea.

I only went to the last day of the festival because that is when they burn the entire oreum. And the fact that it rained all weekend was also a bit of a deterent.

Most of the activities had been done on the previous days, so there wasn't much to see before fire. There were TONS of food stands and a lot of free alcohol lying around. So it would be fairly safe to say that the majority of the Koreans there were definitely buzzed. That's not to say that the foreigners weren't, but you didn't need to guess if they were drunk or not.


My friend and I did the same tradition as the last festival, which is writing down our wishes for the new year on a piece of paper, and hanging up it up on some rope. Except at this festival, my wish was burned up with the rest of the haystack it was attached to.


One other thing they did have was kite flying! Now that may sound a little dull, but they had the the largest kites I have ever seen! Not to mention a giant flying Spongebob! And if that wasn't incredible (or random) enough, they later on had kites with flashing LED lights!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj5p3jlckYo

[I couldn't get the entire video uploaded here. So here's a link instead]

Finally there was the procession of the torches to the base of the oreum and they stood with torches in hand while the entire mountain side blew up with fireworks. And after a brief wait the entire place was set on fire! You can't really understand how amazing this was with just words or photos, so I've uploaded a video (ignore my dorky voice in the background)! It truly was an amazing spectacle...

Afterwards we were able to get up close to the fire and ... well basically screw about. The police didn't seem to mind, but then it's not as though anyone did anything stupid. And that was about it. It really was an amazing night!

Sword Fights and Shaman Delights!

[My Visit to the Tamna Guk Ipchun Gut Nori 2010]

I've been looking forward to this weekend for awhile now. It's the traditional Jeju Shaman ceremony, celebrating the coming of spring and asking for a good harvest from the gods. For whatever reason this tradition is strongly symbolized by a wooden cow. Unfortunately the pamphlet (the only thing in English for the entire event) didn't tell me too much information. But I will quickly tell you some of the information I learned.

First off, it was supposed to be held on Wednesday (which is day of Ipchun which represents the beginning of Spring) but was forced to be celebrated on Saturday for the sake of tourism (I gather this led to some arguments between city officials and the shamans). The festival started off on Friday, with a large parade procession from the current city hall down to the old city hall: Jeju-Mok Gwhama. I couldn't go because I had to educate Korea's brats of the future. Starting at 11am on Saturday the day was begun with the head shaman doing the traditional ceremony in order to garner favor from the spirits for a good harvest. Finally the day ended with a 6 stage drama/dance that basically wished for a bountiful harvest for the year:

1. A dance of the stone grandfather
2. A dance of the Hojang who plants seeds in the field
3. A dance of the hunter who shoos away the bird that eats the planted seeds
4. A dance that represents the seeds slowly growing
5. A dance that signifies the conflict between the grandfather's wife and his mistress
6. And finally a dance wishing the best for a good harvest at the end of the year
   

Now I'll discuss the highlights of the day. The stuff that I'll can promise you, I will never forget and should be highlighted more often in Korean tourism. Saturday was filled with drum processions, sword fights, traditional dances, traditional songs, a traditional hanji paper activity, traditional plays, traditional.... well you get it. That was the stuff that was most amazing for me, and so that is what I will talk about in this post!


On Saturday Mike and I headed down to Jeju-mok, and there standing in front of the entrance was a large bull statue. This anime is made of natural wood pieced together (not carved) and is surrounded rope with little papers tied to it with wishes for the new year written upon them. There was an interesting (but admitedly lengthy to the point of boredom) ceremony performed by the head shaman in the pavillion in front of Jeju-mok. (Picture is posted further above)

Photograph by Mike Laidman

We then headed to the activity area where I made a cute little box using the hanji (wikipedia it, you lazy bums!) paper method. It sounds complicated, but all I did was glue colored paper strips to a box and created a lovely new place to put my pencils. We also made tea soap. I think. They pointed to a tree behind us and made the most atrocious smelling soap I've ever had the 'pleasure' to smell. It's officially a gift for my brother now! (I love you!!)

Photograph by Mike Laidman

We then proceeded to view the more traditional political side of the ceremony. At least people were dressed in traditional political clothes (again, I don't know the history and tradition behind this ceremony sadly). Now at this point we were invited to sit down for a traditional tea ceremony (I truly am a lucky soul), while everyone else had to stand in line for snacks. I don't know who I was sitting beside, but I think they were some pretty important people in Jeju (who were quite friendly). Never in my life have I had so many cameras in my face. When Mike and I were first poured tea, the sound of cameras clicking was something out of a TMZ episode.

Ah yes. Mike and I came early, and by coming early we were one of the first foreigners to arrive. And as I've mentioned in previous posts, Jeju media LOVE foreigners. Mike and I were in 4 interviews today, and I have to say that there is nothing more nerve-wracking than a camera in my face and having questions being asked to me in Korean (however, most people spoke to me in English and EVERYONE was very kind).

Photograph by Mike Laidman

After all the interviews, Mike and I settled down to watch an amazing display of Korean warrior prowess. There is nothing more amazing than watching a skilled warrior slice through 5 bamboo sticks, with concentration so remarkable that I had trouble tearing my gaze away from photographs of him taken by my friend. The warrior demonstrations ranged from sword play, a halberd demonstration, and a couple of younger boys sparring. The last presentation was of the 4 year old son of one of the warrions. This cute little boy slowly walked up and sliced clean through a little cucumber. Truly a fantastic experience!

This was then followed by the fantastic experience of seeing a couple of traditional dances. It is a crime that I cannot sit here and explain to you what these dances were about! I simply do not know! This time I took some videos instead of just photos. I feel that the videos do a much better job of showing what the experience was like. The first part of the dances included a scene that almost seemed like a bit of a circus. The little boy was doing flips everywhere, while the 'trainer?' and the 'animals' danced around. Considering the theme of the festival, I think the 'animals' were bulls. But they didn't really look like it. (But who am I to judge?)

The second part of the dancing was like nothing I'd ever seen before. No... I don't know what it's about. This lack of knowledge is making me extremely frustrated! When I know, I will update this blog. I'm mentioning it and posting the video of it, because it's something the world should see! Or at least my lame family and friends back home.

Before the final dance, there was an interesting play and dance performed. I talked to one of the foreigners there with me, and he was able to interpret the Korean enough to be able to tell that there was a daughter, father and mother. The mother and father were arguing about something concerning the daughter. I just loved the mother's dancing! Hilarious!

This ended with a final dance, and a procession of drums and instruments leading to the final closing 6-part ceremony that I initially mentioned earlier in the post.

Before I finish this off, I want to tell you of 2 more experiences I had today. I'm used to being approached by curious Koreans who want a chance to talk to a foreigner (something I can understand, when you consider the massive influence from the west and yet the fact that not many Jeju'ians have had the chance to talk to a real westerner), but this was way out of my comfort zone

At first we were approached by a woman who declared to us that not only did she hate English (she was speaking in English), foreigners, and America (we did point out that we were NOT Americans), but that we were also sucking away her culture. She went on to ask how we imagined Heaven and Hell, and then declared her battle with Jesus (despite being Christian) because he was from the West (we did take the time to point out that he wasn't from the West)! This conversation ended with a question about whether she was managing her disease any better, and a cryptic message about how not only would she battle Christ, but she'd also "see us later".

The second encounter was by another woman who decided to tell me she hated Vancouver and the Canadian government (or at least the BC government), and how Vancouver was dirty and not very environmental. Now, you probably wont see me defend the BC government anytime soon, but.... HEY! Come on! That's my country you're talking about! Oh don't worry, Canada wasn't the only punching bag for her; she also hates Jeju. Now... let me tell you.... being surrounded by Jeju'ians and being the the only white person in area (so you already know people had their eyes on me BEFORE the woman approached me), while a person loudly talks about 'Jeju' with *thumb down* gestures, really gave me a new definition for the word 'tension'.

Yay for life experiences! Especially the ones I didn't think were necessary.

Well that's it for my weekend! In case you're wondering why I didn't post about my Seoul trip, it's because everything I learned in Seoul is writted with the photos on my facebook. All I really have to discuss/post about is palace factoids. If you're interested in hearing about it, tell me and I'll make a post!

K-pop! Grow Up!

http://www.allkpop.com/2010/01/beast_yoseob_fans_shutdown_ius_minihompy

Mini-hompy is like a Korean facebook. Mini-hompy = mini - homepage.

This week once again I didn't do anything of interest (unless you think shopping for computer parts and reformating my laptop is newsworthy), so I will do more of an opinion piece this week. It's still interesting, and sadly it's a subject I'm all too familiar with.



Korean Pop. Generally bland music, that is embarassingly catchy. In this post I'll be talking about how I feel about K-pop. No, I'm not going to argue quality of music. Just read on and post in my comments section what you think.

As you may remember from the last post on this topic, Korean pop bands are created like so:

K-Pop Creation
How to make your very own K-pop group!

1. -Host talent competitions and/or scour the country for talent
2. -Then choose a select lucky few to have compete against each other to see who will star in the new band (for extra cash and publicity, turn this step into a reality tv series)
3. -Then hide the select few winners and puts them through a rigorous training process. This training process includes perfecting vocals, languages (often English) and dancing
4. -Then after a year or 2 of being hidden slowly release information about the band (name/band members/music style)
5. -Then release a 'teaser trailer' released for the music video (yes a teaser for a 3 minute production)
6. -Then *BAM* have them debut on some music show and start selling merchandise.

K-pop Band Breakdown
Key Basics to Maintaining the Perfect Group

All K-pop band names have meanings. Special secret meanings that are only released weeks before the band itself debuts. For example the band, 2NE1, stands for the new 21st century sound that they embody, and MBLAQ stands for 'Music Boys Live in Absolute Quality'. So for the purpose of this excercise we'll call our K-pop group "Jenluvz". Cus not only do you love Jenny (me), but you're also jealous of Jenny (me). Cus if you say Jenluvz fast enough it sounds like 'Jealous'. Makes some sort of vague sense right?

Furthermore each member of the band is meant to embody a certain special ability. That is to say one person will be the 'fashionable one', another will be the 'voice' and there will always be the 'leader'. It's best if the lead singer isn't the best looking, or else he'll take all the attention away from the other members. I've created a chart so one can fully understand:

Now you too can create your very own K-pop group!

But back to seriousness, everything is always perfectly pre-determined and planned. The music companies control Korea's music almost entirely. I have yet to hear the Korean radio play or Korean pop sites talk about a self-made pop band (although that's not to say it doesn't exist). Yes I realize that in the west we have company-created pop bands as well, but generally the west chastises those types of bands; and eventually, some member of that pop band tries to break free and try some sort of original music. Furthermore, we do have bands that appear on the Top 100 charts that are genuine and haven't been created by a company. But... you know what? I don't mind these plastic bands all that much. Their music is catchy and at the end of the day, I still have my western music on my mp3 player if the songs get annoying.

So why does K-pop need a slap to the face? It's because of how the companies abuse the fans and how the fans abuse them back.

http://www.allkpop.com/2009/11/2pm_fans_attack_ivys_minihompy

Oh dear! Oh dear! What's worse? The boobs-galore (by Korean standards) or every 12 yr old's future husband being seduced by another women.

K-pop is about 40 years behind the west in the way K-pop stars are encouraged to interact with their fans. K-pop stars are NEVER seen with girlfriends or boyfriends. Your average fan is encouraged to think that these pop stars are single. Single all the time. If some rumors leak that the pop star has a gf or bf, it is quickly covered up with fake stories. To compare this to the west, when Paul McCartney first got married, they hid the wedding from the public for a couple of months out of fear of the fans reactions. They married in 1969!!!! Come on K-pop... get with the times.

Ouch! A face slashed by the nails from screaming fans. Something I'm sure all pop stars are used to.

http://www.allkpop.com/2009/12/wooyoung_has_a_bloody

K-pop stars work HARD! They never have a break, and are constantly working. K-pop bands cycle through songs & albums incredibly fast! Your average western star puts out an album, promotes it, tours for it and then disappears for a few months. Not K-pop stars. They spit out an album, promote it for awhile, disappear for certainly less than a year and again they do the same thing. In the case of G-Dragon (note my Halloween-theme for my blog) he released his solo album and pushed it for about 3 months before then promoting his band's, Big Bang, album and heading off to Japan. We're talking about 4 music videos, albums, photoshoots, and everything for his album in ONLY 3 MONTHS! My kids literally have a new 'flavor of the week' when it comes to music. Yes kids are like this, but not to the extent that Korean kids are encouraged to be. And constantly wanting and being given something new to be entertained with, is not a lesson I like seeing kids be taught.

The control these companies have over these kids is incredible! Often they are the ones deciding what the kids will like, and encourage the fanatical devotion. Now of course western kids can be just like this, but I feel that they have more selection when it comes to their fanaticism. ?

Oh Jae Beom, we all make mistakes as kids. But damn that one really came back to bite you in the ass.

And it's not as though their manipulating doesn't come and bite music companies in the ass. The biggest story in K-pop concerned the famous band, 2PM. The leader, Jae Beom, originally came from Seattle. Well in his younger years he whined on his MySpace about how Korea was "gay". Well years later he's moved to Korea and become a huge sensation. Well some Koreans found the post years later and made a huge fuss! HUGE! Despite multiple public apologies, the hatred was so huge that he had to quit the band and head back to the USA. Well now the kids are whining that he is no longer here.

Of course they've now changed their mind. What baffles me is why these young fans are in that much control!! THEY'RE KIDS! They throw a hissy fit and a man is out of a job! And now the company is boycotted cus they want him back? These fans are manipulated to be so utterly and completely obsessed with these band members, that it's almost impossible for these K-pop stars to keep out of 'fan trouble'.

So this is why I wish these music companies would just grow up already! Besides, if you left the K-pop stars to their own devices, chances are you'd make far more money off of the scandals they'd create.

They are just humans afterall