Putting Words in My Mouth

Trailor for the Air Show, Coming Soon to a City Near Me

2009-04-15T17:40:00.005-05:00

A quick click on the link below will take you to the website of the International Sky Leisure Expo, a big air fair slated to take place in Ansan, where I live. Please watch the video trailer that plays when you first get to the page before reading my comments below. (You don't really need to know Korean to get the gist of this one.)

Coming soon to a city near me!

I presume you've finished watching it. Well, what do you think? Emotional response? I'd guess it falls among the responses below:

1) Wow! Pretty cool. Makes me wanna see the show!
2) Gee, isn't that a bit much for an air show?

Perhaps it makes me a cranky, conservative reactionary to admit that I had the second reaction. Do we really need pulse-pounding music and cinematography more suited for a thriller to advertise an air show?

I fail to see the need to emotionalize every aspect of our lives. It's as if people couldn't get excited about seeing some cool planes without having the emotion pumped into them through their eyes via visual overload and through their ears via an auditory orgy.

I could extend my comments to Korea in general and this culture's love for over-the-top cheese and it's lack of ironic sensibility, but that discussion will wait for another time.

(It occurs to me that I could have summed up this post in three words: I hate marketing.)

Nanosize It!

2009-04-08T04:10:00.003-05:00

For all of you out there who may be wondering what all the fuss about nanotechnology is... a group of scientists from UC Berkeley have put together an entertaining and enlightening little musical number. It's called "The Nano Song." For some background, see the original article published in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Small Talk in Conversation Class

2009-03-30T08:41:00.003-05:00

Today was icebreaker, get-to-know-you, warm up activity day. I sang the Head and Shoulders song with my younger kids, played an ESL version of Simon Says, and then got geared up for the high stakes action of my top level E class.

I should've known that the old "any questions" line was a bad idea. Titus (yes, I named him), a somewhat hyperactive and emotionally unstable sixth grader in my class jerked up his hand and blurted out, "What do you think about pornography?"

This is a mixed age class with second and third grade girls as well as older boys.

I never thought I'd actually use the line, "That's not an appropriate topic for conversation in this class." But I did.

Translation Alone Is Not Enough

2009-03-16T19:12:00.004-05:00

From the KORAIL (Korea Railroad) website:

KORAIL wants to be a beautiful bridge that connects people's heart[s], and not just some iron-made transportation.

Translation is often not so much converting MEANING from one language to another as it is figuring out the PURPOSE of a given text and determining the best way to achieve that purpose in the target language. The translator here seems unaware that corny language doesn't do too well in English promotional materials.

What a Punderful Life

2009-02-17T04:47:00.001-06:00

I get paid to write prose like this:

“Lucky Spring Package” at the Novotel Ambassador in Busan
For the duration of spring (Mar 1st – May 31st) it’s your lucky day at the Novotel Ambassador in Busan. The package starts at W140,000 and includes access to the gym and pool, discounts on the sauna and the Busan Aquarium, and two lottery tickets. Stretch your luck a bit with an extra W20,000/W40,000 for Half Ocean/Ocean View rooms and W30,000 for breakfast for two. 051-743-1243 is the lucky number.

All in all, though, it's an ad you'd remember, don't you think?

David

Five Views of Mount Fuji

2008-06-24T09:15:00.007-05:00

Actually, not all of these shots show Mount Fuji, but they were all taken when my Dad and I took a day trip there on June 16th during my recent trip to Japan. We weren't up for a trip all the way to the top, but we did hike part of the rustic Yoshidaguchi Trail. Since it's not really climbing season until July, we saw all of 2 people on the trail.

(For a more traditional and artistic view of the mountain, try this one.)

First sight, from the bus ride.

Me and the mountain behind me.

Ascent to the shrine

Guardian of the water

My dad, among the bamboo

Everywhere I Go, It's the Same

2008-06-21T21:56:00.004-05:00

English, I mean. It's the same, I suppose, in the global sense: it's the language that people use when they can't communicate with each other in their native tongues. Or is that linguistic? Different homes and different dialects but the same lovably idiosyncratic syntax.

Actually, what I mean is that English is just as funky and fresh in Japan as in Korea. Here are a few exhibits from my recent trip. Later posts and pictures will explore deeper things - this post is cheap thrills only.

Exhibit 1: Japanese Product
Ah yes, Kirin Lemon. Nothing explicitly wrong with the English here, it's just the hype of the advertisement proudly affixed to the label. It's a long-time favorite! Maybe it's the vagueness of "many people" that I get a kick out of. Or the fact that Kirin is more famous for its beer.

Exhibit 2: Korean restaurant
The Korean on this plaque, which I found in a quite tasty restaurant next to the dock where I boarded the ship for Japan, says nothing about taxpayers. In fact, it reads "A Sincere Model Restaurant." Presumably the message (only noticeable, of course, to those familiar with both English and Korean) is that taxpayers are sincere. Or that sincere restaurants pay their taxes. Or that taxpayers eat at sincere restaurants. I'm still working on the exegesis of this one.

Your cross-cultural sleuth will return with more scintillating cultural commentary soon!

David Rambles On in Strange Tongues

2008-05-24T19:27:00.008-05:00

What I have the pleasure of offering you today is a genuine video featuring me and various interviews about my experience as an expatriate living in the Mapo ward of Seoul. Now, unless you're interested in practicing your Korean or simply enjoy seeing me utter my wisdom, no matter how incomprehensible it may be, I don't recommend that you actually WATCH the whole thing.

Later, if anyone is really interested, I could type up a transcript of the video.

(Note: like most Korean websites, this one is not compatible with firefox or other alternate browsers. You will probably have to use internet explorer to watch it.)

DIRECTIONS

STEP 1
Go to http://www.mapo.go.kr/.

STEP 2

Click on the picture of the news broadcast.

STEP 3

Scroll down to the bottom of the page

STEP 4

Click on the picture of the two students (one of whom is me!)

STEP 5

Watch the video! If nothing happens, try clicking the play button.

2008-05-22T19:00:00.003-05:00

Thoughts on entering the advanced stage of a language (source):

The first two years of language learning is like walking down a hallway with doors every so often. You come to a door, open it, learn the stuff, and continue down the hallway, learning whatever is behind the doors. However, once you reach the end of the hallway, you open the door and you have a huge, vast wasteland. From there on out you wander the linguistic wasteland learning stuff with no direction and wondering when it's all gonna end.

This pretty much describes my own feelings about my continuing study of Korean. I've learned enough to know how many gaps there are in my current understanding of the language. And it's hard to know which gap to try to fill first.

Still, the challenge remains compelling. With French and Latin, when I reached a fairly decent level of reading proficiency, I basically stopped studying. But with Korean, I want to press forward and continue until I feel I've done just about all I can do with the language. Sometimes this journey feels like a easy lap around the pool, other times like a do-or-die swim across the English channel.

Encouragement is as always welcome!

Poetry Is Painting with Words

2008-05-19T23:53:00.006-05:00

As a bit of follow-up to my previous post, I thought I'd add some pictures of the watercolor that Yuna painted to go with the poem. But first, to clear up a few misunderstandings...

1) I didn't write the poem "Green Delight." I just translated it. So unfortunately I can't take credit for the images therein.

2) The link that I included on the post simply has the original text of the poem - the image on that site in no way pertains to Yuna or her illustration project.

And now to our main event.

This sign says: "Intoxicated with 'spring,' poetry // Illustrated poems and contemporary Korean poetry // 100 years of source material on display!"

Here is Yuna's illustration. You can see the Korean on the left and my translation on the right.

And here's a closeup of my translation! Of course, if you actually want to read it without squinting, it's available in the previous post.

The delight is in the making

2008-05-07T02:36:00.004-05:00

Me and Sung-Cheol on our trip to Goje Island, Thanksgiving 2007

About a week and a half ago I went on a date to Coex Mall (I posted my impression of this place a while ago). While there, I watched a movie that involved a lot of gruesome deaths, ate a meal that involved a lot of ramen noodles, and walked a kilometer or two underground.

Also, and with more relevance to this post, as I shared a waffle bathed in ice cream with my girlfriend Yuna, I translated a Korean poem into English. Yuna had undertaken a project to illustrate a poem called Green Delight, written by one Hyeon-Jong Jeong. Yuna's illustration of the poem included, of course, a version of the original inscribed in beautiful calligraphy, but she also wanted to add a version in English. Initially, I was just going to check her own translation, but I ended up retranslating it myself.

I would recommend you attribute any felicities in the translation to the grace of the original, any false steps in the translation to the immaturity of the translator.

---
Green Delight (in a Forest in the Spring)

by Hyeon-Jong Jeong

tr. by David Carruth

The sun sinks down in waves
of light, overflowing with its own light.
The sun becomes the crown
of all greens and all flowers,
and it beams on the greens and flowers,
which are its crown.
Like the father of allegory,
like a spring of green,
it beams across all the blue expanse of heaven.
The whole of heaven is pure delight-
it is a temple.
Sun, blue heaven,
green delight of the branches
swaying and drunk on the light and air,
on their own sap,
like water floating in the sky.
So also is the dirt, and in deep places
its fragrant eyes search,
and in secret it gives and receives,
and it smiles.
This fragrance,
this fragrance of the smiling dirt,
it seems to be pouring into my nose.
Fragrance of heaven!
Fragrance of the trees!

---
If by chance anyone would like to compare my translation with the original, you can find it here. Of course, unless you're relatively proficient in Korean, it may not be very interesting to you...

Proverbs the World Over

2008-05-01T17:20:00.003-05:00

A few days ago in class, we were learning about proverbs. For the most part, we studied the proverbs that are used commonly in Korea, but for a speaking activity the teacher asked us to think of a few proverbs used in our home countries and translate them (into Korean of course) for the other students in class.

My proverbs were
1) Every cloud has a silver lining.
2) A watched pot never boils.
3) You can't teach an old dog new tricks.

Curious about the proverbs provided by my rather international class? Just as I expected! Fortunately, I recorded as many as I could from the discussion. Hope you enjoy them.

*Note: some of these are not so much proverbs as idioms. However, the line between the two is a little blurred, so be a little generous.

Name: Seh-yeon
Country: Uzbekistan

1) You can't catch a fish in a lake without trying.
Meaning: do your best.
2) Measure the cloth seven times and cut it once.
Meaning: if you plan carefully, you won't waste your time.
3) No one prays until lightning strikes.
Meaning: People are more religious when they're scared.

Name: Hyo-jyeong
Country: China
1) Even if you keep studying until you die, you can't learn it.
Meaning: some things take a lot of time to master.
2) If you're stupid, get up earlier to go to work.
Meaning: what you lack in intelligence you can make up for in effort.

Name: Masaheh
Country: Japan
1) For every meeting there is also a farewell.
Meaning: No one can stay together forever.

Name: Lim-pang
Country: Taiwan
1) It's better to give your parents a bean while they're alive then a pig's head (=traditional at funerals) when they die.
Meaning: a dutiful child cares for his parents while they are with him.
2) Steal a pumpkin as a child, steal a cow as an adult.
Meaning: bad habits start young; petty crimes tend to get worse
3) As a watermelon has a lot of seeds, so does a wicked person have a lot of words.
Meaning: Quit blabbing.

Name: Sayuri
Country: Japan
1) Put a cat on.
Meaning: put on an act; hide your true feeling
2) Wrap something long around your neck (?)
Meaning: follow orders; obey your superiors
3) A duck brings onions on its back.
Meaning...?

Name: Mio
Country: Japan
1) Pearls in a pig's ear.
Meaning: The same as English.
*The Korean is "A pig wearing a pearl necklage"
2) Do it fast while the ghost is away.
Meaning: While the cat's away the mice will play.
3) Blue came before dark blue, but dark blue is better.
Meaning: The apprentice has bested his master.

Name: Jiaying
Country: Singapore
1) Go fly a kite.
Meaning: beat it. get out of here.
2) To arrow someone.
Meaning: to pass the buck, to shift the blame
3) Got eye see no Tarzan.
Meaning: to show off in front of an expert.

There's something comical about this ad

2008-03-23T00:01:00.007-05:00

Now we return to our featured program...

The other day I went to COEX, the biggest mall in Seoul and most likely in all of Korea. Actually, it's kind of disappointing, despite all of the hype. One would expect that a mall of this caliber would be stunning and slick. In fact, when I visited Fukuoka, a fairly large city in Japan (but nowhere as big as Seoul), I was quite taken with Canal City, a five story shopping complex and one of the major tourist attractions there. Canal City has an innovative design, comprising several buildings connected by walkways that leap across space and separated by fountains and winding waterways below.

COEX, however, is vaguely futuristic in the most boring possible sense. As you roam the confusing halls, you can't help wondering whether you've strayed onto the set of a seventies sci-fi thriller. And sadly, it's rather hard to stray off. If it weren't for the occasional signs, the halls look almost identical and lack any distinguishing features to indicate which part of the mall you happen to be in.

While in the mall, I found a striking advertisement for one of Nike's most recent products - the Dunk line of shoes. Perhaps this has become trendy lately, but I'd never seen the like - an advertisement disguised as a comic book, or better yet a comic book whose theme and purpose are advertisement. Not product placement so much as comic replacement. I've translated one page for your commercial edification.

Have you seen marketing of this sort before? It's strange because it doesn't seem to really work either on an artistic level or on a commercial level. The story - dull; the advertising - ignored. The only plus I can find is that it gave me a chance to do a bit of (admittedly simple) translation.

The Weather Outside Is Frightful

2007-12-30T16:03:00.001-06:00

It's about 7 AM here, just before sunrise, and I'm getting ready for my last day of work this Christmas break.

Watching the weather report on TV in Korean - and understanding it - I feel a sense of accomplishment and pride.

Watching the weather report on TV - and understanding it - I feel a sense of gloom descend as I prepare to step out into a wind chill of 14 F (-10 C).

Transposing Plato into a New Key

2007-12-23T05:33:00.000-06:00

Here's a translation I attempted of a passage from Plato's Republic (which I came across on a forum). The passage had previously been translated into Korean, so I was essentially taking the text even further from the original. Anyway, read my attempt below, and then compare it with an English version I found online.

[My Translation]
Music and art education are of great importance because it is rhythm and melody, more than anything else, that go down deep into the soul and give the soul firm guidance. Anyone who learns music properly can achieve gracefulness; otherwise, the exact opposite will result. In addition to this, let us consider someone who has been properly instructed in music. Presuming nothing has gone wrong in his education, he will be able to instantly recognize what is not beautiful. Naturally, such things will be unpleasant for him, but he will also be able to praise the beautiful. As he willingly accepts beauty into his soul, he will be nurtured by it and will himself become beautiful and good.
(Plato's Republic)

[A Translation from the Greek, NOT mine]
"...Musical training is a more potent instrument than any other, because rhythm and harmony find their way into the inward places of the soul, on which they mightily fasten, imparting grace, and making the soul of him who is rightly educated graceful, or of him who is ill-educated ungraceful; and also because he who has received this true education of the inner being will most shrewdly perceive omissions or faults in art and nature, and with a true taste, while he praises and rejoices over and receives into his soul the good, and becomes noble and good..."
(http://www.galileolibrary.com/ebooks/eu05/platorepublic_page_39.htm)

Me outside the Van Gogh Exhibit at the Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art

All Words, No Action

2007-12-12T05:45:00.001-06:00

I'm well into my second week of level 5 at Sogang University. Maybe I should explain what the program is like for those of you who, um, aren't within driving distance of Korea. Which, presumably, is all of you.

1) Location - The tenth story of the highest building on the Sogang University campus. I'm not technically a student of Sogang, since I'm attending the affiliated language program, but I do have a student card and have access to the various facilities there, including the gym and the library.

2) Schedule - I take classes four hours a day, five days a week, making it a pretty intense schedule. This doesn't take into account the homework, of which there's a considerable amount. There are also additional classes available to those who are interested and ambitious (I suppose I may fall into category) like a pronunciation class that I took today.

3) Material - The first hour of the day is a writing class. We review the material covered in the other classes and implement it in our own free writing assignments. Next is a video class, which focuses on improving our listening skills. Right now we're watching a movie called "Christmas in August." Finally is two hours of reading and speaking, which is where we get most of the new material, including vocab and grammar. Perhaps needless to say, all these classes are taught in Korean. Since I'm in level 5 out of 6, this isn't surprising, but even level 1 is taught entirely in Korean. I really can't imagine how that works...!

I'll add some more topics when they occur to me. For now, another picture - pretty good looking, huh?

A Taste of Translation

2007-12-08T21:07:00.000-06:00

Some of you may not know this, but I'm quite interested in translation and am currently exploring the possibility of this as a career. Incidentally, if any of you have any ideas or suggestions about graduate programs or translation services for me, please share them!

Following is a translation exercise I did this morning. I took an interview included among the reading assignments in my textbook and did my best to translate it into relatively faithful, relatively readable English. Of course, you can't compare it with the original unless you're pretty proficient in Korean, but... you may be interested anyway to learn a little about alcohol in Korean culture!

Well, here goes:

---

Park Chan Hui (abbr. Park): We have Professor Choe In Cheol with us today to look into the Korean attitude toward alcohol. Professor Choe, Koreans are pretty big drinkers of alcohol, aren't they?

Choe In Cheol (abbr. Choe): That's right. In a study of alcohol consumption among countries around the world, Korea ranked as one of the highest.

Park: So why is it that Koreans drink so much?

Choe: It appears that there is a connection to certain characteristics of the Korean mentality. In Korean society, compared to most other societies, people tend to place a high value on personal relationships (인간 관계), so even at the workplace it's common for personal relationships to come first, not work. Additionally, since fostering solidarity among workers is so important, employees often go out for dinner together (회식) after work. It's only natural for there to be a lot more chances to drink together when people spend so much time together.

Park: So Koreans don't necessarily drink a lot because they enjoy it.

Choe: Exactly. Of course, there are also people who drink a lot simply because they enjoy it. But even people who don't enjoy alcohol end up drinking because of the Korean custom of "pressuring people to drink" (술을 권하는). As a result, when you ask people why they drink, you'll frequently hear that it's not because they want to drink. Others say that they drink not because they like alcohol but rather because they like people.

Park: (laughing) Yes, it's the same for me. When I make plans to see someone, I say, "Why don't we get a drink or something." The thing I'm curious about though, Professor, is why Koreans think they have to drink to maintain their personal relationships.

Choe: In Korean society, there are a lot of rules you have to keep based on your age, your gender, and your status. These rules mean that even though you want to get closer to someone, it's hard to speak freely, and, what's more, even when you have some complaints that you'd like to share, it's ordinarily quite hard to do so. Since drinking tends to reduce that kind of difficulty, it becomes easier to have relaxed conversation.

Park: When you talk to people who enjoy drinking, it seems like they've got nothing negative to say about it. (laughter) In actuality, though, there are quite a few downsides as well. For instance, it's bad for your health.

Choe: Absolutely. As a matter of fact Korean society is gradually starting to place a higher value on the worth and happiness of the individual. Instead of going out for a drink with other people, the number of people pursuing their own private hobbies is increasing. Furthermore, the transition to a five day workweek has resulted in a decrease in the number of days for drinking.

Park: So you're saying that Korean society is changing from one that thinks of the 'group' first ('우리') to one that thinks of the individual ('개인'). Okay, today we looked into "a society that pressures people to drink" (술 권하는 사회) with Professor Choe In Cheol. Thank you for your time, Professor.

Choi: Thank you!

Some alcohol in Korea

What I've Come to Realize

2007-11-29T22:00:00.000-06:00

I'm very rarely satisfied with what I do, who I am.

I'm always making plans and never implementing them.

I hate saying no to people.

---

In light of all this, I am very self-consciously planning to set aside some time to think about all of the things I'm dissatisfied with in my life and find a way to resolve them.

Faces and Names

2007-11-25T08:22:00.000-06:00

Lots of things have happened here since I wrote last. In fact, lots of things happened before I wrote last, things that I never wrote about for lack of time or energy or creativity or some such excuse, easy enough to find.

One of these recent happenings is a good one, both for my happiness here as a student in Korea and for your happiness there as my earnest, faithful readers. (Yes, that's me flattering you, even if you are neither earnest nor faithful, nor a reader.)

To cut to the chase - I finally broke down and got internet at my boarding house. This will cost me about $35 a month, not bad, considering the installation was free, the first month bill is waived, and I get a free MP3 player to boot.

(Another little something I didn't get around to mentioning was me losing my MP3 player.)

And now, allow me to recapture your wandering attention with a few PICTURES!

Some of my classmates from level 4 at Sogang University's Korean program.
(Another milestone: passed the class, moving up to level 5, as well as bigger and better things, one hopes, starting in December.)

I like her, and she...?

잘 있어! Chal issoyo! (Take care!)

David

Admittedly, Pictures Can't Express the Grave Insolence of Jazz

2007-10-10T00:54:00.000-05:00

Last week, I did a big presentation for my class on a topic of my choice. The topic, as the title of this post and the three pictures may suggest, was jazz. It's actually been a while since I've thought about jazz at length, even though I spent a lot of time listening (and playing) the music a few years back. But seeing as there are a couple of good jazz clubs in Seoul, I thought I could kill two birds with one stone and hear some good jazz while preparing for my presentation. Here are a couple of shots from a place called "All That Jazz." The music, in case the pictures don't make it especially clear, was fantastic.

-David

They Say I'm Well Connected

2007-09-18T01:30:00.000-05:00

I can see your cynical expressions right now--I can even read your thoughts. "He's in Korea, and he said he'd blog. Right... That'll be the day. David? Actually following through on a resolution?"

Well, here I am, posting again! There's a good reason for the change, too. Don't worry, though: there haven't been any emergencies and I haven't made any huge life decisions lately. I'm still relatively intact, and I'm still unmarried.

But I've gotten my computer configured to work with Sogang university's wireless network, which means that

1) I don't have to shell out the extra 30 bucks a month to get internet at home
2) since I can use the free wireless here.*

Oh, and there's a third consequence:

3) You'll see me online a lot more often. Maybe get more emails from me, too!

Next time, I promise it'll be a little more substantive than this.

David

*You are welcome to infer, if you wish, that I am both lazy and a cheapskate. I won't deny it.

A Room of My Own

2007-08-20T10:31:00.000-05:00

I'm back in Seoul. This post will have to be short because it's late and I've got an interview early. Also I'm racking up the bill at this internet cafe.

Points to note:
1) I have a house. Er, a room at a boarding house. Yeah, and the $450 a month nets me two meals a day but there's no sink in the bathroom.

2) I'm gonna start my Korean classes at level 4. That's a level higher than expected. The interviewer even gave me the option of starting at level 5! He was pretty impressed with my speaking level, it seems.

3) Think that Chinese will replace English internationally? Check out this pretty decent article which discusses the foreign language market around the world. It paints a good picture of S. Korea, incidentally.

Annyeongi kyeseyo! (Good bye!)

The Deep South

2007-08-05T19:04:00.000-05:00

Korea at last.

After 24 hours in planes and airports, five days in the sweltering, sweat-drenched heat of Taiwan, several thousand incomprehensibly fascinating Chinese characters plastered over billboards, signs, and menus, countless pieces of priceless pottery in museums, and the tallest building in the world, I've made it.

Everything has changed. Before, I was sitting around lazily at home wasting time on the computer. Now, I'm sitting around lazily at a summer English camp wasting time on the computer.

No pictures this week. Many apologies! My camera's here, but the cable's not.

Location: Busan. You can see what wikipedia and the city itself have to say about the biggest city on the south coast of Korea.

Goodbye, Again

2007-07-27T16:56:00.000-05:00

Not to my blog, though. Don't worry about that. It may have been more than a week since I've written last, but I've been a little busy traveling up and down the country.

My travels took me from my home near Fort Smith to Little Rock, from there to Tulsa, from there to Dallas, and from there back home again. That involved a fair amount of driving - and a fair number of visits to the gas station where I had to fork over an unfair amount of cash - but it was worth it.

To Matt, Owen, Anna, Spring, Chris W, Chris L, Cassia, Joel, Mandy, Jen, Sarah, Mary Beth, Chad, Laura, Mr. & Mrs. Neale, and Mr. & Mrs. Carr: thanks for welcoming me back to the US just as I'm about to leave again. I guess it was a bit of a homecoming and a bit of a farewell mixed together.

And now: packing. I'm leaving here around 7:30 tomorrow morning, and I haven't even started putting my stuff in my bags! Well, I've always managed to round everything up before, so I suspect I'll get it done once again.

Next stop: Taiwan!

Where Do I Go from Here?

2007-07-17T23:01:00.000-05:00

Korea, of course.

But some people haven't been satisfied with this answer. They like to know about those nasty things called details. They are unusually fond of asking hard questions. They want to know my reasons. And my whereabouts. What gives them the right, I could easily ask?

Being the pushover I am, I've put the details below along with a helpful map:

July
20: visit Owen in Tulsa
22: visit Matt, Spring, Chris, and Sarah in Dallas
24: return home, begin packing
26: watch Camelot, the musical (local Fort Smith production)
27: eat a Korean meal with my parents in Fayetteville
28: fly to Taiwan to visit my uncle John

August
3: return to Korea! arrive in Seoul
4: catch a bus from Seoul to Pusan (also spelled Busan, which incidentally is beating out Pusan on google hits by about 2 to 1)
6: start teaching kids again at a summer camp(this offer good for a limited time only!)
17: finish the camp and return to Seoul
18: start looking for a place to live

September
3: start my classes at 서강대학교 (Seogang Daehakkyo) - Sogang University.

You'll notice that toward the end of August my meticulous schedule becomes a little...open-ended. This is because I'm not entirely sure what will happen after that time. Never fear! Not only am I pretty sure that I will indeed do something, but I also have this blog, with which you can stay informed.

~David

PS - What's this about a kid holding up a sign written in some illegible script surrounded by some panting dogs?
In Korean, it says: "Please don't eat my friends."

[picture taken from The Marmot's Hole, a Korean blog]

Saving the Best for Last, or on the Seventh Day, God Made Korean Food

2007-07-15T23:39:00.000-05:00

Today's Sunday, and I did the usual thing that people in the south do. Went to church. As I predicted last Sunday, I went to the local Korean service.

Once there, the usual things happened. I guess that might not mean much to those who haven't been to a Korean service before, so here's the rundown:

1) Singing in Korean

2) Praying in Korean
This goes on for quite some time. On this occasion, the woman praying was so emotional that I didn't really need to understand what she was saying to detect how deeply she felt about it. Which is a little fortunate, since I didn't understand most of what she was saying anyway.

3) Preaching in Korean
It was about the greatest commandment. I got that much of it at least. Of course, I also had a Korean-English Bible to refer to.

4) Giving tithes and offerings
Since they weren't using Korean currency, I don't really feel honest adding "in Korean" here.

5) Stretching
No, not horizons, or credibility. Just stretching arms. Left, right, forward... Seriously, this was part of the service. I thought it was rather considerate, actually.

6) Ku ku pal pal i sam sa (definitely in Korean)
This is the 9988234 chant I described on my other blog.

7) Eating Korean food
Including:
steamed spinach
turnip kimchi
And lots of this

Best of all, I got to take a heaping plate of leftovers home! Three weeks from now, I won't have to depend upon church potlucks for my Korean fix. I'll be having it three meals a day. And that's some food for thought.

I Have My Reasons

2007-07-13T22:52:00.000-05:00

I really do, as much as you may wonder why in the world David is off to another country - and not Europe, mind you, or Canada or some other reasonable place - teaching English, learning Korean, leaving his friends and family behind and dealing with numerous inconveniences. There were the two months with no hot water, and diplomas submitted and not returned, and taxis that wouldn't pick up foreigners. Why put up with it all? Why stumble into law offices where hardly a word of English is spoken and try to get a document notarized that costs 50 dollars extra simply because - it's in English?

You might look at it a different way, though. Why live out your life in the ordinary way, continuing after a relatively uneventful, mostly successful cruise through college to the obvious grad program? Why idle away at home or in an easy career, thinking the same ideas and repeating the same words until the groove they wear in the mind is smooth and too deep to scramble out of?

Korea is, for me, another way to explore myself. It offers a history influenced by but distinct from the West, a people receptive of Western ways but uncertain of Westerners. It offers a language more challenging than those studied in American high schools because it is unrelated to English, a language bewildering because it reflects the intricate system of formality and courtesy ingrained in Korean society.

To learn it well, I have to try hard, and to keep on trying longer than I've ever done. I am a meddler and a dabbler, a prince of dilettantes, and no sooner have I started a new project than I've set it down again. This time, though I'm going to find my follow through. I'm going round the world again, and - this time - I'm not coming back until I've finished what I started.

More Soon

2007-07-12T17:03:00.000-05:00

I've just gotten this blog going, but as you can see it's mostly skeletal. A bunch of scaffolding around the mere frame of a work, hardly begun.

See: Title.

Later, you'll be able to learn all about my continuing efforts to learn Korean, as well as miscellaneous observations about life, literature, culture. I.e. what you no doubt expect from blogs. But here language comes first.

Hope you'll keep me company as I learn.

David