Vacation

I'm going to Seoul in about 12 hours. So, in absence of putting up anything meaningful, here are some cartoons and pictures for you to enjoy. The first is one of my college roommates blowing on his freshly painted toe nails. The next is an evil 'cosplay' Death Note with a Ronald McDonald twist. The third is an XKCD comic. The fourth is some commentary that's true. The fifth is what happens when the worlds of two Garfields collide.

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I haven't really been busy, but I've been occupied and haven't written anything. Hopefully soon.

Dinner Conversation

Yesterday was the great hurrah for many schools. Many went out for lunch to celebrate. Danny related this anecdote to me. He and his faculty went to dinner and after the food was finished, they made the motions to leave. After the women left, the men all went back inside and took off their shoes and coats. They continued to drink on into the afternoon. His art teacher leaned over and said something to Danny in Korean. The vice-principal then leaned over to translate saying, "He says his penis is short, fat, and powerful."

This statement was not intended as a "come on" or sexual harrasment, it was merely a point of fact. Korean men have no qualms about shouting to the heavens whenver they're eating one of the many foods that give them "power."

Last Day

Today was the final day of "classes." The formal year is officially over and now all that remains for the next month is winter vacation camp. Winter vacation camp is just a class tailored to the best students who want to learn. It's a breeze and it's fun kids. They want to learn about American culture and I was thinking about doing a lecture about the US prison system.

Spices and Sorts

I recently received three packages in the mail. I received a nice Christmas parcel from my family, included within were some yet to be eaten limes. Thank you. I also received a parcel post marked from a Mr. Rod Visser. Inside were more spices than I'll even need from Mrs. Visser. I thank you greatly for your generosity and hope you enjoy the short remainder of your Christmas break. The last package was a CD of Christmas jazz from Elmherst's own Chris Boeyink. Thank you all kindly for you Christmas gifts. I'll try to get some remuneration out shortly.

On New Year's Eve, Danny, Tane, and I were treated to dinner by my co-teacher Mrs. Jang. We went to a sushi buffet aptly titled, Hello Sushi. It was very delicious. Over the course of the meal, it was revealed that Mrs. Jang has been offered English training for the next semester. That means that I will be losing a colleague next semester and gaining a new one. It was disheartening because we've become very close and I find the idea of working with someone new unwelcome. If I choose to stay here another year, she will be back for the fall semester as she's elected to remain in this district one more year. If I do not stay on for another year, I feel guilty because she had the opportunity to change school districts. She lives far away from this school, she dislikes the bureaucracy and those in authority in this school, so I feel that she's choosing to stay on because of the staff and the students. If I leave, that dismisses one of those reasons for staying. It does make me feel a bit guilty and weighs into my decision.

Because we are hiring a new teacher, that means I will be involved in the interview and hiring process. I do not expect my input to be highly valued as I've read anecdotes from others in a similar situation. They were present for flavor and as a formality because I'll be a co-worker. I still think it'll be interesting to be part of the process and look forward to it. Mrs. Jang did mention that the principal already has someone in mind. A friend of his, an aging man in his mid-50's is available for part time work and seems to be the prime candidate. Mrs. Jang feels uneasy, because she feels he will be unable to relate with the students and be a bit of a curmudgeon. There's truth to that, but I don't think his experience disqualifies him.

What came out of this conversation was an understanding of how dedicated Mrs. Jang is to her students. All the concerns and worries she had about this process was out of dedication for her students. She wants to make sure that they receive a quality education and are taken care of even in her absence. I was impressed by this especially because of how it was juxtaposed with the students' opinion. Occasionally, when I go to class, my teachers will need an extra minute or two to finish up something that they're working on. I will go to class alone and all the students will ask, "Where is Korean teacher?" Usually, I'll make some lie like they're baking a cake for everyone or that they've moved to Uganda on a whim. Any lie that involves Mrs. Jang being gone for an extended period of time is greeted with cheers and praise. Appreciation does not appear to be mutual. I could be wrong, but I don't think so.

And now for something completely different. After Hello Sushi, the three musketeers left for Seomyeon. We were to meet Rie (a friend from Japan who was visiting) here, but she was tied up for the moment. Instead we decided that we would pass the time in a bar. We found the Brau Haus which was also a brewery. It served a most delicious hefeweizen that has been sorely missed here. A half-liter is $5. A most agreeable price for the quality obtained.

Later, we resolved to meet her at the Krispy Kreme in the underground shopping tunnels. We saw many westerners during this time and decided that we should go to another bar. We found a Latin American themed bar and passed an hour there. We then decided to vacate in search of a televsion to ring in the New Year. Ring is apt, because they do not drop a ball here, but instead strike a large bell several times. Danny and Tane did not physically want to see the bell like I did, but resigned to watching it on television.

We wandered over to a bar that's frequented by western expatriates. It was named Rock and Roll and I'm sure you can guess the theme. While we were there, we soon grew very disparaged. The other westerners were very disgusting people. I admit that I am judgmental at times and maybe even elitist, but I could not see a lot past our common bond as foreigners. These people were loud, obnoxious, and some were very creepy. One shrimpy man cubic zirconium studs in his ears made vane attempts to persuade me that all of the Korean women in the bar were actually lesbians. As he leaned on me for support and scatter gunned my ear with spit, I told him that I needed more space and pushed him back. He claimed to have you tube evidence, but as I pushed him back again he became clearly offended and wandered off. The rest of the evening was more pleasant, because most of the clientele avoided us.

There are several positive events that occured. Tane received the phone number of a gorgeous Korean girl (but she's leaving for America in 2 weeks). The bar had been running a year long contest, tabulating the number of shots purchased by members of different countries. America won and we received buy one get one shots for the night. Danny and Tane treated a few rounds of Jameson and Southern Comfort. Very delicious. I snagged a midnight peck from Rie and at the stroke of midnight, they played this song (see below). After we left, Danny and Rie shared a passionate kiss and she ran off into the night embarrassed.

Native English Teachers

Half of Native English Instructors Quit After a Year

"According to Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education, Tuesday, 144 of 273 foreign English teachers who were eligible for a renewal of their contract have signed to stay on another year.

Lee Young-chan, an education Ministry official in charge of native teachers said it was not necessary to renew every contract. ``They are neither regular teachers nor lecturers who can conduct classes independently. They are `assistant teachers,' hence their teaching experience doesn't matter much,'' he said. ``Rather, it's better for students to have more new teachers so that they can meet various kinds of foreigners,'' he added.

Last year, the city education office also saw about half of its foreign teachers renew their one-year contract, however, it had only 11 who had more than three years teaching experience.

``Some foreign teachers did not want to renew due to the devaluing of the won, while others cited worsening relations between South and North Korea,'' said Choi Chun-ok, a supervisor at the education office.

...

`` Of course, some employers don't want teachers to stay. In fact, with some it is an unstated policy not to employ teachers for more than a year, no matter how good the teachers are,'' Thomas said. ``These employers are more concerned with managing their businesses than providing an education. New teachers often have lower expectations and are easier to manage.''

The total government budget for native English speakers has risen to 147 billion won this year from 105 billion won in 2007 and 69 billion won in 2006. This year, the government is expected to spend some 180 billion won to employ about 4,500 - 5,000 foreign teachers at elementary and secondary schools nationwide. A native English speaker who has just started to teach English in Korea can receive a salary equivalent to that paid to a Korean teacher with five years of experience, an official said.

Some education experts are skeptical about the effectiveness of the system.

``Native English speakers have to get through a certain period of training and need experience and know-how,'' said Jeon Byung-man, an English education professor at Chonbuk National University. ``I don't think native English speakers are helpful for our students. If they need native English speakers, they should hire those who have teaching licenses.''"

The information above doesn't particularly surprise me. Many people come here for cheap travel, attractiveness as a foreign culture, and a working vacation. I myself didn't plan on staying for two years, but now the thought has occurred to me and become more attractive. I'm not particularly worried about the North Korean threat and the won will recover eventually.

If you are thinking about coming here to teach, now is the time if you read the later paragraphs. They're offering a lot more incentives to attract teachers. I also do agree with some of the sentiment of the last paragraph. Like any working environment, you'll have good workers and bad. Everyone has a different teaching style and some work and others don't. I don't know how to evaluate myself, but my students like me and I think that they have learned quite a bit so far. I have a lot of room to improve and develop my abilities, but I know I'm not terrible.

There is another English teacher that lives in Danny's building. His name is Steve and he's been here since 1997. We've managed to talk to some of his students and they hate him. Apparently he just gives them passages to read and translate for every class. He has been here for a while, has years of experience, but is still a bad teacher. As to the quote from the education professor, most of us probably have no business teaching here. But a teaching license does not guarantee a quality education. Any one who's been to school can attest to that.

For Grandma Dody

Merry Christmas.

KPop

This is the sort of music that I'm subjected to on a regular basis. Tormented is a better word.

News Roundup

From the oh so terrible Korean Times

Foreigners to Be Fingerprinted From 2010
"The government plans to require all foreign nationals visiting Korea to have their fingerprints registered starting as early as 2010 to fight terrorism and crimes committed by foreigners.

If the measure is implemented, Korea will be the third country to do so, following the United States and Japan.

The Ministry of Justice said Saturday that it will propose to revise the Immigration Law so that all foreign nationals, either for short-term stay or long-term, are obliged to provide their biometric information to the Korean authorities when they come to the country. It will submit the revision bill to the National Assembly in the second half of next year, and the new regulation, if passed, will take effect as early as 2010."

Non-Natives Can Become English Teachers
"Non-native English speakers from India and other countries that use English as an official language will be able to teach at public schools from next year.

The Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Ministry of Justice said Sunday the government is opening the door for English teaching positions wider to secure more foreign English teachers at primary and secondary schools nationwide.

The government has so far allowed English teacher assistant jobs at public schools only to native-English speakers who had completed more than two years of their college courses; and the nationality of the eligible applicants was limited to seven countries ― the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and Ireland.

``There are about 50 countries that have adopted English as an official language. However, we will not open the door to all teachers from the countries,'' Oh Seok-hwan, an official of the education ministry, told The Korea Times. ``Only foreigners whose countries have trade agreements with Korea can apply for the positions. These include India, Singapore, Malaysia, and the Philippines,'' he added."

US Agency Uses 'Sea of Japan' Again
"A U.S. government agency in charge of translating foreign data has again started using the ``Sea of Japan" label, less than a month after it first dropped that reference in favor of the ``East Sea" label when describing waters between the two Asian nations."

Sledgehammer Politics

Here's some thoughts from Michael Breen about the latest political kurfuffle in Korea. He's a wonderful writer (Full disclosure: I've read one of his books).

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/opinon/2008/12/137_36738.html

"When a group of politicians in the National Assembly last week turned fire extinguishers on another group wielding sledgehammers, the world got an inside look at democratic debate in Korea.

This particular debate, which was more heated than usual, came as the Assembly's foreign affairs committee discussed the Korea-U.S. Free Trade Agreement, which remains to be ratified by both countries.

The deal is better for Korea than for the United States, but is controversial here because people sense trickery in a pact that would allow them to buy beef and rice at cheaper prices.

The debate began when the ruling Fire Extinguisher Party (FEP) of President Lee Myung-bak took the wise precaution, after the opposition Sledgehammer Party (SP) threats of barricading the committee room with furniture

When Sledgehammer officials armed themselves with a sledgehammer, which is the symbol of their party, and set about clearing a way into the room, aides to Fire Extinguisher Party representatives sprayed them with powder. Photos of this scene made foreign news pages around the world, prompting the New York Times to politely refer to Korean democracy as ``feisty."

Talking to the press, Sledgehammer officials said their action was necessary because the FEP has more seats, which renders voting futile. Chief policymaker Park Byeong-seug was quoted in this newspaper saying, ``We now realize that we are unable to represent the voices of working- and middle-class citizens properly in the legislature, where all decisions are made based on votes."

The SP appears to have turned against the concept of voting after the so-called ``free elections" earlier this year in which it got sledgehammered. The former ruling party in the previous administration, it now has only 82 seats in the 299-seat parliament.

In Korean political practice, democracy requires a party with a majority to resist voting on issues in the National Assembly until it has negotiated with minority parties to avoid hurting their feelings. This contempt for voting explains why the people are contemptuous of their elected representatives.

Last week's battle seems to have struck a chord with the people. In the days that followed, kindergarten teachers all over Korea explained to puzzled pupils that they should not discuss which television program to watch and other important family matters with their brothers and sisters at home like this.

Middle-school teachers reported a rise in career advice queries by school bullies looking to enter politics. Most citizens, however, remain simply puzzled as to why National Assembly people behave so badly.

The explanation for this situation is that, despite the last two decades of democracy, politicians have not adjusted their view of the meaning behind the electoral process and the job they are elected to do. They are still stuck in the 1980s when the noble calling of democrats was agitation against dictatorship.

They fail to see that they are selected, through fair competition, by their peers _ but not because God considers them special. That means they should uphold the system that selects them, not flout it.

Second, they fail to grasp the concept of being sent to the National Assembly to represent their constituents' interests, which involves proposing, debating, and passing laws. They are not elected because their constituents think they would make a good president and should not posture in front of the media for the next job.

The Sledgehammer Party in particular needs to appreciate that it failed in the last election because its main platform of engagement with North Korea was irrelevant to the interests and needs of most voters.

Just as with liberal-left parties in Europe and elsewhere after the collapse of communism, they have to internally discuss how to remain relevant. That discussion will almost certainly lead to the conclusion that the new focus should be economics and entail a philosophical move to the center.

As for the Fire Extinguishers, they should stop pussyfooting around and accept that they were elected with a majority of votes that they have every right ― and that the people expect them ― to use.

That's democracy."