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This page was last updated on 08/02/07. May 2004-This page is thumbnail heavy. Sorry for the slow load dial-up users.
May 31, 2004: It appears Andy Rooney agrees with me. His segment about the prison is HERE. Mine is HERE. I mentioned the tank incident from 2002 on the 21st as well. Well another news article in today's Korea Herald made me revisit some thoughts I had back then about Korea and Koreans. The article has an important paragraph buried inside:
Over 3500 people killed by motor vehicles last year...3500 pedestrians. So let's look back at the tank incident 2 years ago. If the numbers have remained fairly constant, and it looks like they have, we can average out that over 8 people die daily while walking. Eight. On that same day elsewhere on the peninsula 6 other people were hit by some sort of vehicle and killed. Where was the outrage and protestors for those 6 souls? Going further, I ask the same question I asked then, but now with a little more of the big picture. Could it be that the two girls, while their death is tragic and sad , could have had something to do with their own death? Eight people a day. Are eight people a day struck down because they are unlucky? Is it always the drivers fault? Granted, Korean's tend to look at traffic laws as more of a suggestion, but are they bad enough to kill 8 people a day? Could it also be that Korean pedestrians aren't careful or don't pay attention? That tank two years ago was moving at 15-20 miles an hour, tops. I can sprint that fast and I'm not in middle school anymore. The area where the 2 girls were killed had ample off road space to run, jump, or dive into. Tanks, especially like the bridge layer that this was, are not quiet. The convoy that passed ahead of them would have been somewhat of a warning too. Could it be that these two girls acted like so many I have seen while walking or driving? That is, oblivious to the world and walking in the middle of the street. Now, I know that talking about this is foolhardy and only fuels old fires. But, with numbers like in the paper today, I really question the motive and emotion behind the demonstrations and vigils. It also forces me to further question the things that are going on at my own school. We are losing students by the dozens due to the unrest, is this the real goal? What use is getting a job back if there is no one left to teach. Eight people a day....where are the candles now? Want to call TheRus an idiot? Want to add your Opinion? Click HERE. May 30, 2004: The
Calgary v Tampa Bay game this morning (last night for you in the West) was
really good. The Cup finals are the only sure bet for hockey coverage on
AFN so I make an effort to watch. I think there were 2 games on this
season and maybe 2 playoff games. The finals are at 9 AM here (so far at
least) so if I'm in class, well 9 AM on the weekend doesn't happen either, I set
the VCR. May 27, 2004: CNN.com's current headline reads "Ashcroft: 'Clear and present
danger to America'" May 23, 2004: Made our second trip to the China Town area today and this time we took Kyle (aka Tennessee) and Mike (no AKA, just Canadian) with us. We decided to walk to the subway, about 30 minutes away, because today was just an explore day. I had an ulterior motive for walking: the Bupyeong Pungmul Festival. Pungmul is Korean traditional drums and dance for those who don't know. We milled about, listened a bit, watched a bit, then moved on. There were troupes from Japan, China, Peru, Mexico, and of course Korea. There may have been more, but those are the ones I witnessed. I'll let the pictures do the talking. Our moving on meant heading to China Town. We didn't stick around long in the super small shopping area, but instead made a beeline to the mountain behind the shops. There is a park on top called Freedom Park (I think that was it) dedicated to the US-ROK alliance and the Incheon landing. It was a pretty fun day. After heading down the other side of the mountain we ended up in a market are for some Chicken and then capped it all with a dip in Yankee Market. Again, I'll let the pictures do most of the talking. May 21, 2004: Ahh, knew I should have stayed quiet. This week turned into a bear.... "U r ass Americans" - that was a MSN nickname that greeted me when I came home tonight. I decided to take a look and found that it was a student that I had in a middle school camp this winter. Having no idea why he had a sudden turn of Anti-Americanism I sent an IM correcting his grammar and usage and adding that calling all Americans ass is like calling all Korean's short (he's a tall boy, like 180 cm and only in 8th grade.) A bit later he replies, obviously agitated, that we are attacking Korean's in the street. "didn't I see the news?" We'll of course I didn't. It's Korean news and I just got home. I'm going on the assumption that something happened at a base today as demonstrations were planned, but really have no clue. I go digging about the net and find no breaking news until I stumble upon a story from last weekend. It seems that the TV stations found an opportunity to jump on the anti-American bandwagon and sensationalize the attack. Of course they tie this into the SOFA/Girls vs. Tank troubles from 2002 as well. So, our middle school buddy is up in arms because this most recent example of GI idiocy will go unpunished as the SOFA is so unfair. (It is a set of laws agreed upon by the two nations and reviewed every two years at a minimum. among other things, it allows the US to hold it personnel until formally charged by the Korean courts and provides them some protection from civil trial when accused of a crime committed while on duty.) I burst his bubble by showing him the above article and that the GI in question was off-duty and thereby under Korean jurisdiction...i.e. most likely going to jail. He wasn't totally convinced, and to be honest, I'm not either. The law in Korea is really more of a suggestion most of the time and with the state of relations, who knows what will happen. No matter what happens though, I think I got him to understand the the actions of one GI are not indicative of all Americans. That brings up the next thing that is on my mind...The actions of the prison guards in Iraq is reprehensible. I would hope that the majority of citizens agree. Those soldiers, contract laborers, and mysterious others that took part should have the full force of law brought down upon them. Also, the official line that it was just a few "bad apples" are responsible is utter bunk. Even if it was somewhat true, which it isn't, the chain-of-command is always responsible and is seldom that much out of the loop. The prison scandal is the single worst public relations blunder of the war. It's bigger than WMD's, or the lack thereof, it is bigger than mismanaging the UN resolutions, and it is bigger than any other news story of the war (although the way the layers are unfolding I do not think it will stay the worst.). Committing the acts was bad, very bad. Photographing and video taping them is moronic. The loss of any higher moral position we may have had, or at least were able to convince ourselves of, was stripped away with each picture and story. The damage done by these two amazingly stupid actions cannot be undone. Bush has no idea how to exit Iraq or even what we are doing there now. We are creating new and even more bitter enemies than have ever existed in the 230 some years that there has been a United States. These enemies cannot be defeated on a battlefield or with a cruise missile. The age of terror was already coming, but I fear (and isn't that the hope of terrorism) that we have accelerated the change. His bull-headed, my way or the highway, with us or against us rhetoric has locked the US into a bad situation that makes enemies and loses friends fast. I'm embarrassed that I supported the war. I'm embarrassed that the world thinks America supports what has happened. I'm even more embarrassed that it probably does. "U r ass Americans"...maybe he's right after all. May 18, 2004: Some who have talked to me, and of course my coworkers and students, know about the labor unrest at my current school. Thankfully it isn't my unrest this time. Unfortunately it is beginning to affect me, my co-workers, and the my students. My knowledge of the causes is limited since the two sides don't talk to us waiguks much anyway and they sure haven't filled us in on this. I really wish I had paid closer attention some 3 weeks ago when the noise started. The ensuing paper would be a perfect thesis for a master's degree in education, labor management, poli-sci or a number of other areas. The paper would be a prime example of how not to do things. All sides involved have behaved/reacted poorly and I'll be happy when it's over. I'll write more on it very soon, I'm to the point where I'm fed up. As usual, I'm the one that is willing to voice an opinion. I've already been mis-quoted by a student on the main protest cafe (internet message boards here are "cafes" for some reason.) I replied after I found out about it, but I'm positive it will only encourage more sound-bite manipulation. My reply is here. It is rough and barely edited and unless you see the previous messages it won't mean much, but if you want to read, knock yerself out. May 12, 2004: Happy Birthday Mary!
Late in the day update- I have not mentioned it much yet, but today was my first run in with the union at school. There is a bit of unrest here due to two teachers being fired a few weeks back. It started with some tears and general moaning, no let me back up...it started with nothing. They got fired and that was that. Nobody cried, nobody screamed, nothing happened. This was on a Saturday (April 24th I believe). Monday there were a couple of upset students, but not many. By the end of that day, there was more energy in the air. On Tuesday, the beginnings of demonstrations manifested. The fired teachers stayed at school. They started the union, the students and the administration down a path that 2 weeks later leads to me. The fired teachers incite the students to chant and protest in the hall in front of the principal's office. I find out later, there are certain teachers that use every class period to do the same. I have pictures, but due to certain reasons, they won't be posted at this time. Maybe when I do the April update. Back to the story. By the end of the first week of May, the school's windows have been covered with signs and flyers. They are all in Korean and all talk about how unfair life is and how the school is a democracy (Buzzt, wrong answer). Many are hand made on whatever paper can be found, but others are copied, most likely on school copiers. Well the hall in front of my class was getting a bit overwhelming and the signs were really ruining my spring view, so I did what I had done on several occasions. I ripped them down. That's when the fun began. This time I was in full view of one Mr. Ahn. Mr. Ahn is a French teacher that I was rapidly learning is also very pro-union. He jumps all over me spouting "you don't have the right" and "why do you take the signs" and other little statements. His emotion is not at all contained. If I could have paused the tape, I'm sure we could find the froth from his mouth. Today had already been a fairly crappy day, he chose a bad time to open his frothy mouth. I counter with facts and strong logic based opinions. If he can put signs up, I can take them down. Are the signs on school paper? No, private paper! Then why does it have French homework on it? I follow with this is my classroom, these are my windows (this was a bait). He snaps the hook. "No, not your windows" Oh, school's windows...so they aren't your windows either so you can't put signs on them. He can only counter with a loud and in my face "You can't do that!" Lucky for me I was at the last sign. "I just did" I retort while ripping the last piece of trash off the wall. I go into class leaving him to stew. That was the short version, so I'm sure I left a few bits out, but it is the jest. The gall of someone to get mad at me for patrolling my class area and the sheer stupidity of reacting with violent emotion was almost too much to comprehend. He did reaffirm that it isn't my school and they don't consider me part of the real staff, something I already was beginning to believe. He also made me realize there are reasons Korea is still considered an almost developed nation. Late in the day, I did something no Korean would have done. I caught him in the hall and made him talk. He hated it. It was awesome. I walked through step by step what my reasons were and why I had the right to do it. Eventually logic prevailed and he admitted I did have the right to take them down. I put up my own sign too. It was in Greek and English. The Greek was actually a rather harsh statement, but I knew nobody could read it. The English said no more signs in my hall since I can't read them just like they can't read the Greek. It even seems to be working. Time will tell. May 11, 2004:
A good time was had by all. Oh, the last fun part was watching the fashion (passion in Korean) of all the boys...if anything should ever be called "hella gay" (thanks Cartman) it would be their clothes. Korea is already becoming well known in Asia as the country where men wear make-up and carry purses and these pictures won't help that reputation. Lotte World May 2004 Pictures! May 10, 2004: Happy Mother's Day Mom and Mary! Over the weekend I read "On the Duty of Civil Disobedience" by Henry David Thoreau. I must say that even though some of the arguments are dated (Slavery, and some of the tax issues) it is still a very relevant and powerful piece of writing. I'd even say if someone were to write it now they would be deemed an extremist or rebel or terrorist or "enemy combatant". Writing on the machine of government:
How would that go over today in a land dominated by the likes of Ashcroft and where questioning the president will label you as un-American? For the record, he is speaking of the war with Mexico, which was put into play by a minority, looking to expand their power and wealth, but it could easily be written today about Iraq. Speaking of, here's an interesting viewpoint on Iraq. May 8, 2004: Today was Parent's Day here in the RoK so we headed down to Daejon to see Julie's Mom. It was a pleasant trip and I got to see Mom and 2 sisters. I found out they had never been to a real western restaurant nor ever had a proper steak. That only means one thing then: Outback. Mom would fit in pretty well with my grandparents. She lives for church and
was even a bit shy about being We decided to have a pile of dead animal and too many cheese fries. Since there were 4 of them they basically ordered a sampler. Chicken, steaks, ribs, it was a feast. I figured I would treat myself right and got a medium rare filet, knowing the red would keep the sampling to a minimum. Let me tell ya, those girls can eat! They all ordered drinks, well not Mom, and pouted a bit cause all I had was Sprite. Ma gave me the ok for a real beverage and life was good. Oh, the bright red scared 'em for a bit, but after mustering the courage to try it, me thinks they'll stay away from the well-done next time. I think they really enjoyed their experience. They had a little sticker shock but got over it nicely since I was paying. Next time it's Chili's or Bennigans.
May 6, 2004: Had the day off today as well. This day for my school's foundation day. I decided to take advantage of it and go hit up my old school (Daewon for those who forgot already) for some cheddar. (That's money for those fortunate enough to have never met Sam) They owe me big time. Mr. Lee (you can look him up in the phone book under Lee, Lying Sack o Chit) had promised to take care of my severance pay back in February, but predictably had failed to do so. That was a cool 2.5 million. They also had a tax refund for me which I was also expecting to get screwed on. (they got us all the year before for many hundreds) So I make the hour and a half trek from the west side (WesssZydas!) to the east side (E-Side in effect yo) of Seoul. I had already gotten the scoop on how much the other teachers got for their refund...and it was substantial...so was ready to scrap. Mr. Ju get the money chick to crack the safe and they pull out a stack of envelopes. One actually had my name on it (call me surprised) but I noticed some red ink and pencil that took off 2/3's of the total (call me not surprised). I ask why. I get an answer: "phone bill". Hahaha, those little bastards. I fight it a bit, make them produce receipts, all the well knowing it was a mostly fair cop. They nabbed me for an extra 2 months (since they forced me out December 31, but blamed me for not shutting the phone off) which I vigorously protested. I had actually tried to cut off the phone but in a flash of Korean logic I wasn't allowed to...not because it wasn't my phone, but because the bill was past due. That's right folks, you want a phone, just don't pay and they will refuse to turn it off. Gotta love this country. The next fight was about the base amount (before the phone bill). For some reason, if you work half a year you get back way more money than if you work a whole year. Must be that Korean logic again, cause no one could explain why I got 200 bucks less than Sam or Daven's replacement. Remind me to only work 6 months at a time from now on. After all that was done, I went up to see my buddy Lee. No, not the Lee jeans doll, but Mr. Lee the ass patter. He tried to hide from me for a bit, but after the other teachers figured out I wasn't leaving, he came in looking all smug. This guy is more dirty than Enron. Lee had promised to take care of my severance pay in February, a promise made with witnesses, and I was there to collect. Daewon considers itself above the law. They use illegal contracts and threats of blacklisting to keep costs down. Korean law states that for each year of work, you get 1 month severance pay at an average of your last 3 months salary. This cannot be waived by contract. Daewon's contract is in English, already invalid just by that, states that you get 1 million won a year in severance. This is really good for them. It is about half of what a 1 year worker would get and more importantly saves them tons if someone stays a few years. Well, long story short, he tells me no. I say that he promised and that I didn't go to the Ministry of Labor because we had an agreement. He shrugged it off with a smug look that made me really regret the number of available witnesses. He claims their lawyers had no problem with that part of the contract and I could fight it if I wanted to. This was a huge shift in his demeanor. Previously they were very frightened of the MoL so I assumed they had bought someone off or otherwise covered their ass. To find out for sure, I pressed the issue. "Are you telling me to see the MoL?" "Go ahead" he said. "Ok, I'll head there tomorrow" I replied. I added "I can't believe that you would lie to me about so little money Mr. Lee" across the office to everyone would hear. Just as I was walking out he calls to me and delivers his last thinly veiled threat, "Oh, maybe we will have out Principal call your vice-principal." I had one stern and speedy reply "I've talked to both of them today, so please do." Lee visibly balked, and I smiled in the most arrogant and condescending way possible as I walked out the door. Whether I go to the MoL is yet to be decided. My attempts at finding a lawyer willing to go against Daewon is not going too well. It is like Carmela trying to get a divorce attorney and finding them all tainted. I can do it on my own, but the fight would be near my old hood and the time is a problem since I live so far away now. I do not want to give up this fight. I do not care if they make it hard for me to work in Korea. My current school doesn't care what they say now either...Dropping this would be wrong, but finding the next step is hard. After the meeting I saw some old friends and coworkers that I like then headed over to Technomart. I decided to blow that little lump of cash that Daewon gave me on a new hard drive since I'm getting all my TV via the newsgroups and TiVO and space goes fast. Quite the day and I hope Lee pats the wrong ass and gets his handed to him. May 5, 2004: Happy Children's Day everyone. It's a national holiday here, so we get the day off. At Daewon, it wasn't that great since I lived near Children's Grand Park and the area would be fouled with bazillions of kids all peeing on the street. But here in Incheon, things are more spread out and I don't live close to any parks or amusement areas except McDonald's, so it was a decent day.
China Town is ok. Not great, not really bad, just a solid ok. The shopping isn't special, but the smell of the restaurants is awesome. We were there at the wrong time to actually eat, but will definitely go back to sample the fare later. Most places were heavy on the seafood (you can see the ocean from there so it is understandable) and all looked a bit heavy on the price. If I can find some real Chinese food, not this Koreanized crap, I'll pay whatever they ask.
At the top of the mountain that China Town sits on, is a park and lookout. I'd love to tell ya what's up there, but we veered off and visited a couple of market areas, including the "famous" Yankee Town. The trip to Yankee Town, near Dong-Incheon Station, takes you past some really interesting club areas. Even Julie felt a little out of place due to all the Greek and Russian plastered everywhere. It'd be a fun place to go with a posse in tow some weekend night...but I'm sure not going alone. Yankee Town, while highly praised and touted in the visitor guides, was quite lame. It's moderately scary, which is a plus, but the prices suck and the selection of both legit goods and black market items is not much better. The black market stuff was really weak and much was obviously old. As I said, the scary, dark, narrow passages that send you in dizzying paths made it almost worthwhile and would be worth the effort had the prices been somewhere inline with Itaewon or Namdaemun/Dongdaemun. Overall a fun and adventurous day. May 4, 2004: Spring has sprung. This really cool bit of rain came in today, I missed the really cool shot running to the office for the camera, so you get what you get.
May 1, 2004: Went to a party here in Incheon tonight. It was hosted by Nick and Gweneth, a nice couple from somewhere in Canada, wherever that is. They had a nice set up. Their apartment was really big (a bit old tho) and they had the roof to themselves. Actually they have the whole building. The bottom 3 floors are business and a church. Pretty cool place to be. It was a good time. Met some new people and some old ones and ate some salsa. Guess I forgot to take pictures. Oops.
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