Reflections

I’m getting ready to leave Korea so I’ve been thinking a little bit about my time here, how it has changed me and what my goals are for the next part of my life. Before I came here I had three goals for myself:

1.) Pay off some debt. I don’t feel that I have done that well in this area. I’ve paid off about $7,000 in credit card debt, while making my regular payments on my student loans and storage unit. I also paid off a small medical bill that was in collections from when I was 18. I didn’t realize how much I would want to travel and that my actual income would be worth so little in dollars. I know if I just spent one more year here I could make a big dent in my student loans, but I don’t think it would be worth it.

I’m glad to be out from under the credit card debt and I can always get a forbearance on my student loans if I need to.

2.) Teach! My goal was to simply see if I would enjoy teaching, and I do! Now I know I can go back to school to get a Master’s in Education without feeling unsure about spending the money.

3.) Be more creative. I’m not sure if I’ve really accomplished this goal. I guess writing could be considered creative… I don’t know if dancing in the club to bad Korean pop music counts but I’ve done a lot of that. I still want to continue working on this!

Living and working in Korea has taught me so much about myself and, as cliché as it sounds, life really. I’m now so far away from my childhood and adolescent situation, I am really a completely different person. Inside I will always have those memories, but now I know I can change and be different and become whoever I want to be. I’ve achieved so many goals, it seems like yesterday I was making the goal to attended high school at least 70% of the time (I skipped A LOT). Living here was so frustrating at times that it really brought out the silly side of me. In some situations I could scream, cry or laugh and I discovered laughing is by far the best choice!

The friends I’ve made here have had a big impact on me. I’ve never really had friends that were so adventurous, fun and smart before. We all did some stupid things, had embarrassing moments and because we’re all in the same boat we helped each other through it, or just laughed about it. I think I take life a little less seriously now because of them and it feels great. I love them and I will miss them!!

My goals for the future:

1.) Find my passion. I really want to find some way of helping to change the world for the better. There are so many things I care about, but I’ve just never found that one issue that was my cause. I want to find it!

2.) Further my education. Working sucks, I want to stay in school forever.

3.) See more of the world. South America, here I come!

Healthy Living in Korea: Fighting!

In my quest to get healthy I have turned my attention to the last frontier of rebellion and craziness in my life: food. And drinks. And stuff disguised as food. In the states I was a vegetarian. Not because I don’t enjoy eating animals. Because I do. But because it is bad for the earth and terrible for my digestion. I’m also lactose intolerant. I LOVE cheese, milk and pretty much everything bad for me, but I feel like shit if I eat them. Anyway, when I traveled though Europe and arrived in Korea I kinda gave up my vegetarian lifestyle in exchange for more freedom and, well, being able to eat at restaurants. I believe in being flexible, especially with food. But now summer is coming and I’m less than three months from heading back to the states and I want to look and feel good again! Quitting drinking was definitely a step in the right direction, and now I’m going to try limiting meat to just once a week. I’m also going to try to go pretty much vegan during my workdays.

The big catalyst for my new found enthusiasm is the latest book picked by the book club I belong to. Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life is about a family that decided to move to the Appalachian mountains and start a farm. Their main goal is to only live on what they can grow or buy from their neighbors. The rule is pretty much everything should be sustainable and if they don’t personally know who raised/ grew it, they can’t eat it. It is written by a wonderful novelist (the mother of the family), Barbra Kingsolver with help from her family and contributors.

In my opinion, we have gotten WAY too far away from where our food really comes from. Most people don’t have a clue about what fruits and vegetables are in season when, or even what continent they are grown on. One thing I will say I desperately miss about the USA is the space to grow a garden and the awareness of global food issues that has really started in the last ten years. I can’t wait to go to a farmers market and know none of the foods were grown with pesticides. I really hope the world comes around to these “liberal” ideas about growing food before it’s too late and the topsoil has been completely raped of all nutrients. Please check out this book if you are interested in these issues!

+/- Korea

Amanda extensively documented the good and the bad about living on this strange peninsula, but I am one of those men who constantly peer over their partner's shoulders to interject loving, irritating, constructive criticism. One day when I say, oh honey it's its not it's, I swear she'll turn into a dragon and tear my head from my shoulders. So it goes. Here's a plus and a minus about Korea that she failed to mention.

Korea +1 Bonus Point-uh: Health Care. Korea has phenomenally inexpensive health care. I guess that's to be expected from a country where many parents systematically force their children into the medical profession. Not only is it cheap, but it ain't half bad. Now they might be skeptical of diseases like clinical depression, ADHD, or really anything that doesn't manifest itself physically, and most people believe that kimchi cures cancer, but these problems have more to do with the culture at large than the medical professionals who are generally well informed. I mean, it's not all that great for a non-Korean speaker who would like to actually talk to the doctor about treatment options or to read the test results, but that's just part of being an expat. The great thing about the health care is, you can just walk in, be seen by a doctor almost immediately, and pay next to nothing at the end of it. I walked into a clinic without insurance, got a blood test and two consultations for 4.50. Amanda was in the hospital for a week (with insurance) and it cost her 500 dollars. I had Lasik surgery done for 1500 dollars. That's a deal and a half.

Korea -1 (maybe 5) bonus point-uh: Music. Korean music makes me want to put my eyes out with a rusty ice cream scoop. There are only two types of music, old people music and young people music. I'm sure there's traditional music too, there are traditional instruments like harps with two strings and such, but I've never heard it.

Old people music is terrible, but it's certainly the lesser of two evils. This music can be heard every day, accosting the innocent from the 10 motherfucking speakers on the bus, this (music or talk radio, blaring on the bus) could be it's own -1 point for the Korean peninsula, or out of bongo flatbeds carrying precarious stacks of empty glass bottles on the way to wherever they go. Here's what happened, at the end of the Korean war the Americans wanted to give the Koreans a present, a housewarming for their new country. Who knows, maybe we felt bad about greasing them up for the IMF like it was deliverance. So we decided to give them musical instruments, but the only ones we could find were trombones. Fuck it. We airdropped some trombones for them to fuck around with, many died, but how would you know it's the Americans bringing democracy, or culture to your country if no one dies, it's like our calling card. When they started figuring out the instrument the first band formed. They decided that they would find the person in town who sounded most like a seagull committing suicide and make him the singer. Then they decided that their backing sound would be 20 trombones playing the same measure over and over. Since in Confucian culture it's almost unthinkable to create your own way of doing things, all bands for the next 20 years followed this exact formula, giving old people music a sounds that in all places, at all times is like music created by a collaboration of a crack addicted Lawrence Welk and Brian Setzer with severe cranial hemorrhaging. Still it's preferable to what the youth obsessively poison themselves with.

While the music for the old is uncreative and tone deaf. The music for the youth is far more insipid, it's a commercial burdened with as many nonsensical, sugary, syth blips as can be stacked on top of one another. How many cultures have ubiquitously popular groups singing songs about cell phones. Their names aren't names anymore they've become words with dictionary definitions, spurring nonsensical English catch phrases that are repeated with parrotlike ignorance by every school child in Korea who barely knows the alphabet. I had a kid in class the other day trying to sing a song that goes, "listen to my heart... beat." But I thought he said, "Listen I have her... pes." It's compositionally nonsensical, like a Britney Spears producer after an 8 ball of coke. It's expressionless, gutless, and in the words of Stephen Morrissey, "Says nothing to me about my life." I guess I should expect that it says nothing to me about my life, I'm not Korean and I never will be. My feeling is sadness, and a deep loss of respect for humanity when I consider that this puerile, commercial nonsense masquerading as music could say something about anyone else's life.

I suppose I might take music a bit too seriously, but in my opinion art is one of the most serious things there is. The drive to self-expression is inviolate and an essential element of our humanity. The music, art, and literature we produce, not as a means to an end, but as an honest expression of our experiences as a human being are as vital to life as air. And when honest expression gets drowned out by aggressive marketing and the herd mentality of people who are suckered into a culture of vapid commercialism and infantile pandering, my faith in humanity dims, because we ARE the art that we produce and consume. There are exceptions to these rules, there is actual music on this peninsula, a punk band from Busan I saw at Speakeasy. But one punk band that really just played covers from classic American punk bands from a city the size of Los Angeles, doesn't make a dent in the fact that this monoculture is suffocating creative expression for the profits of corporations. It happens in the US too, but never to this extent.

So I leave you with just a pinch of this horror that passes for music on this peninsula.

It ain't all bad

So in light of my last post I thought it was high time to write my "Korea is not so bad" post. I've lived in the land of the morning clam... er... i mean calm, for almost 20 months now and I'd say I have a pretty good grasp on what makes this country and culture suck, AND what makes it cool. Here are some things I like about living and working in Korea:

1.) The money and job security. A#1 top reason fo sho. Free apartment (besides utilities), pension, severance pay, paid vacation and sick leave make this job pretty sweet.

2.) The food. Don't get me wrong I like Thai food more... but you can't go wrong with some delicious Korean BBQ. It's cheap to eat out, and everyone knows I love eating out! And come on, who can say they don't like kimchi? ;)

3.) I LOVE teaching! So much fun. Sure I gripe about it (it's a JOB after all), but especially now that I've finagled my way into teaching pretty much whatever I want, almost all my classes are successful. It's a beautiful thing. My students are hilarious and sometimes we spend the entire class just laughing about stuff. Don't get me wrong, I have some real asshole students, but since I know my students pretty well now, they know I mean business!

4.) Excellent transportation system. I hate driving and I'm happy to take a cab or the bus. In Portland, the bus drivers drive at least 10 miles under the speed limit. I hate that! Here they drive like they have somewhere to be. Love it, love it, love it (except when I am fearing for my life).

5.) Location. Conveniently located in central Asia, it is very easy to travel to other, cooler, places.

6.) Safety. Yousoek's blog aside, I feel safe here. I know I can walk any dark street at night and no one is going to put a gun to my head and rape me. Plus, I'm taller than half the men here, and my white ass scares the crap out of the other half, so I don't think they'll mess with me. I still lock my doors, I'm just not as worried about it.

7.) Good friends and cool people. Lots of the people coming to teach here are cool. Everyone has a college education, everyone is pretty liberal. My kinda crowd.

8.) Korea is not the USA. I don't like what the government does with our tax dollars and I don't want to live in a police state. Thanks but no thanks!

So as you can see, there are some perks of living among the Kim's and the Park's. I'll never be one of them, and hell, I won't even try to be like them, but it's not all bad. Maybe another six months won't hurt?

A

Should I stay or should I go now...

Daniel and I have recently been discussing our next move. We thought we had it all figured out. We would finish our contracts in August, then get the hell out of this country. Then we realized if we stayed we could make more money. That there's the dilemma. I had the brilliant idea of just staying six more months. Dan could freelance (illegally) and I could go home with one less student loan bill and three grand more in savings. We could move to NYC in the spring and skip the gray winter all together. Every year you stay in Korea your money making potential increases dramatically. When I first got here I was making 1.9 million won ($1,650) a month. Today I make at least 3 million ($2,600). I work a little harder, but not much. This income makes it very difficult to go back to a country in the depths of an economic recession, no matter how much the culture here bugs the living shit out of me.
BTW, when I say six months more, I really mean only four months of actual work. The other two months would be desk warming and taking a three week trip to Thailand, Cambodia and Laos. So instead of being in NYC in snow, we'll be on the beach or hiking in the jungle.
It's a tough choice! On the one hand, I might go mentally insane if I stay here even one extra month, especially without the booze. If we do decide to stay we might have to give up on the no-drinking thing altogether. But if we go, we could end up broke and unemployed. Which means we might have to give up on the no-drinking thing in that situation as well. Everyone knows you can't be on the wagon and unemployed.
We are still debating, I have until next month to decide. I'm leaning toward going back to the states though. I miss my friends and family and I'm desperate for a road trip. I think the logical part of me says stay. This is the most I've ever made, and no rent, car payment or taxes is a serious bonus. Go or stay?

Thinking of Teaching in Korea?

Before you decide to teach in Korea, check out this blog. This guy taught at an all girls Middle School in Anseong (probably one of the easier jobs in Korea) for one year and writes in detail about what the work environment is like. Obviously, everyone has a different experience, but I would agree with 95% of what he has to say. I would also like to say that teaching in public school is a much better job than teaching in a private hogwon, and I would NEVER recommend someone to even think about working in one. Why? Less vacation. More work. Period.

I have had a very similar experience to him... I came here with an optimistic attitude, I enjoy teaching, I am over qualified and I strive to do a good job. I'm leaving with a very negative attitude about Korean culture and I truly hope I never have to come back. Anyway, check it out! Just keep in mind, he is strictly talking about the work environment, not living in Korea or anything else outside of work! A

Dear Korea,

You Suck.

I’m often asked how I like living in Korea. I generally answer that it’s okay, and then list off some perks of living here. For some reason I don’t like telling the truth about this country, probably because I don’t think all Korean people are that bad, they just do things in a way that doesn’t make any sense whatsoever. Here is my real opinion of Korea:

1.) Korean people have no idea what time management or efficiency is. They think that spending 10 hours at work, doing nothing, is better than 5 hours, being productive. Their work ethic is raved about around the world, but anyone who has ever worked here knows this is complete bullshit. They spend a whole lot of time doing nothing at work. I don’t want to do nothing at work! I want to teach and go home! I don’t care if I have 7 classes or 1 class per day, after those classes I want to go home.

2.) Due to #1, Koreans miss out on many of the joys of life. Like seeing their children grow up, relaxing, spending time with friends and family, traveling or just doing what they want. They are constantly stressed out and exhausted.

3.) I feel terrible for the children in this country. They are expected to go to school 6 days a week, then off to the hogwon for afterschool classes, often being away from home from 7am until 9pm. ELEMENTRAY SCHOOL STUDENTS! Dan literally has students who go to 10 different hogwons during the week. Don’t even get me started on the high school students who LIVE at their school and sleep 5 hours a night. This type of schooling deprives them of any chance they might have at developing the social skills and creative thought needed to excel in today’s marketplace. Korean’s think they are securing a place for their children in the world, but instead they are preventing them from developing into well rounded human beings who have critical thinking skills.

4.) Everything in this country is about image. In my classroom I have a new computer, huge flat screen TV, and a state of the art projector. My desks and chairs are all new, as well as the windows, doors and blinds. When they did this $30,000 remodel on my room, I asked for basic flashcards, paper and pencils for the students. I was turned down. My students do not have an English curriculum that makes any sense. I have students that have been studying English for 6 years and do not know the alphabet. If my students do not have the basic tools needed for learning, why the fuck would I need all this technology?

5.) They cannot do basic things. Especially when building anything is concerned. In my last apartment the corners of my bedroom were not square. This was a brand new apartment. On the front of the building a huge piece of granite just fell off into the parking lot. WTF??? In my current apartment they attempted to “fix” the toilet and sink by attaching them to the tile with cement. Not grout, cement. Cement is not a sealant! It all just washed away and now my bathroom floor is just covered in little cement particles. Water pours out from under the sink onto the floor. This type of thing is not usual at all. They might be okay at making electronics, but I would NEVER hire a Korean to build anything I wanted built correctly.

6.) They lie. This is called “saving face.” In western culture it is LYING, pure and simple. If they fuck something up, instead of just saying they are sorry and fixing it, they push the responsibility onto someone else (preferably a foreigner) and try to cover up their mistake. This drives me INSANE. Please just be straight with me! The language barrier is bad enough without the lying!

7.) The nationalist pride is insane. Early on in life Korean children are taught that Koreans basically invented the wheel, the only food proper to eat, the best language, that they are by far the smartest people, strongest people and simply the most perfect country on the face of the planet. Heaven forbid their athlete is disqualified from an Olympic event; this has to be the fault of someone else. Ugh, this shit gets old real quick, especially considering I’ve been to 10 countries and I’d rate about 8 of them above Korea in every way possible.

8.) Confucianism is bullshit. Sorry, it just is. Believing that someone is smarter than another because they are older is stupid. And men are above women in society? Give me a break. I understand some people do gain experience and wisdom with age, and we should learn from that. But some people don’t learn or change, and frankly I’m not going to bow down to them just because they are older than me!

9.) Koreans sometimes lack an understanding of basic science. Kimchi cures AIDS and cancer? WTF? They think fermented cabbage with red pepper paste can cure just about anything. In reality, it can cause stomach cancer and ulcers if eaten too often. Then you have “fan death.” A significant portion of Koreans believe that if you fall asleep with the fan on and the door of your bedroom closed you will die. Seriously. The fan will somehow suck all the oxygen out of the air and you will die. I don’t even know how to respond to Koreans when they bring this shit up.

10) The driving practices in this country are rude and downright dangerous. Koreans in general, have no respect or regard for pedestrians. In my new neighborhood, the streets are pretty narrow and clearly not wide enough for cars to park on both sides with space for people to drive between them. Additionally, there are no sidewalks. So every day I am honked at while I walk to the bus stop because I am taking up their precious space in the street. THERE IS NOWHERE ELSE TO WALK! All of this would be solved if they just made the streets one-way, and only let people park on one side.

I truly believe every single Korean should be forced to go to driving school. I am a big fan of driving like you have somewhere to be. In the states I get pissed because people drive under the speed limit. But here, either they drive way too fast or way too slow! They are on the phone, texting, watching their television (yes TV in the car, on the dash, specifically so the driver can watch it) or their navigation system. Completely distracted and driving too fast. Running red lights, not yielding to pedestrians, I could go on and on. I have been genuinely afraid many times.

11) There are more things that drive me insane about this country such as K-Pop passing as music, Koreans thinking they know English but they don’t, their racist views on black people (and pretty much anyone not Korean), their inability to decide anything in a punctual manner and changing things for no reason at the last minute. The incredible ignorance about differences in people, including learning disabilities and mental illness is difficult to deal with. I work with children who are clearly autistic or have Down syndrome, and it is not acknowledged at all.

So why, you might ask yourself, would I want to continue living here? Well, like any place, there are good things and bad things about Korea. Also, some of this is shit I’d have to deal with, on some level, back home anyway. When I get back to teaching, after a solid month of sitting at my desk doing nothing, I might remember why I enjoy living here. Then I’ll write about it!

Peace!
A

Just an Addendum

Everything Dan wrote in “Why why why” is completely correct, but I think it sounds more serious than it really is! In reality, I drank once or twice a week while living in Korea, far more than I ever have before (well excluding high school, but who counts high school?). I was not into partying in college and I did not have the typical college experience in anyway (WAY too responsible…and stoned). Moving to Korea actually gave me my first taste of heavy, persistent drinking, and damn was it sweet! Then I realized there might be a downside to drinking myself into oblivion every weekend. Part of the downside is that I never want the party to stop. For some reason my boyfriends always want to go home before 10am. Conflict ensues. The other part is that I don’t care about anyone else when I drink. I just want to have a good time, and I do, regardless of anyone else’s feelings. That’s not nice. And I’m usually a nice person. Go figure.


Anyway, I’ve decided that with my family’s history of alcoholism and a general feeling that I am wasting my time, money and youthful good looks drinking, it was time to call it quits. I’ve had my share of post-intoxication ambiguous guilty feelings, stupid indiscretions and stories not suitable for children. So I’m done! But don’t worry, it’s not because my liver is failing, I’m facing criminal charges and everyone in my life severed all ties with me after that last intervention, like Dan would have you believe! :) A