It's History

Namdaemun (Hangul: 남대문) burned to the ground yesterday. My students are devastated. It's a sad day in Seoul.

February

I haven't written anything in a long time, and I feel like when I do find time to write something, it centers around my not writing. That should change next month. As it is, I continue to have my hands full with my teaching duties. What's more, this weekend I managed to catch a cold. I suppose the timing could be worse: today is the last day of the 5-day Lunar New Year holiday. But those sorts of thoughts are cold comfort when you're stuck in bed, hopped up on pseudoephedrine (something I brought from Canada) and ibuprofen (something I got here--thankfully, if you can read Korean, it's not difficult to find good drugs here, since the chemical names are the same).

I'll close with an anecdote: before I got sick, I went to a request bar on a date. I asked my date what she wanted to hear. After some coaxing, she said that T-Rex's "Cosmic Dancer" was one of her favorite songs. It was an interesting choice for a Korean--certainly not mainstream by any means--though I have learned not to be too surprised by this particular Korean. Anyway, about 30 seconds after she said this the next song began to play. The song was none other than "Cosmic Dancer." Strange.

Work & Money

The reason I haven't been blogging lately is because I don't yet have Internet access in my apartment. Also, I've been extremely busy. I'm teaching 45 hours a week; add in prep time and I'm working about 55-60 hours. Add in showers, meals, transportation time, and the like, and I'm busy at least 16 hours a day, every weekday. I'm peaking at 5 hours of sleep a night during the week. During the weekends, I try to relax and recover.

Despite this schedule, I've managed to remain (mostly) happy and healthy. That said, the honeymoon period is over and I've begun to feel the effects of homesickness. Culture shock happens to everyone and I was aware of its phases before I came, so whenever I feel down, I pick up a book and escape to another world. So far, it's worked well.

I haven't been following the news lately, besides cursory glances at the Korea Herald and the New York Times website. What I've been reading, though, hasn't been encouraging. I've become increasingly concerned about the US economy, and by extension international markets. Maybe, if I have time next weekend, I'll write about my reasons. For now, though, I'll have to leave it at that.

이명박

South Korea held its presidential election last week, and I've followed the campaign reasonably closely. The conservative frontrunner, 이명박, won the election in a landslide (his name is Romanized as Lee Myung-bak, which isn't bad as far as translations go, except that Koreans don't pronounce the "L" in "Lee;" this is obvious if you can read Korean, since there's no "L" character in the Hangul representation of "Lee"). I'm not thrilled with the result.

Quite apart from his politics, there's the small matter of corruption charges levied against him. He was cleared of these charges before the election; however, damning videotape evidence surfaced shortly before Koreans headed to the polls. The videotape isn't sufficient evidence to convict him of anything, but Lee was forced to employ some Clintonesque rhetoric to avoid indictment. Basically, in the Korean language, you rarely need to use personal pronouns. So instead of saying "I own and operate BBK," you might say "Own and operate BBK." The pronoun would be assumed based on context. Essentially, Lee Myung-bak's defense rests on this ambiguity.

I understand why Koreans chose to elect the man they did, and they didn't have great choices, despite having a dozen candidates to choose from, but it's disappointing to see a Confucian country like Korea ignore ethics in favor of economic growth.

The Golden Compass

It's been awhile since I alienated my readers, and what better way to get back into it than by talking about religion? I won't get into a straightforward explication of my religious views, but if you'd like some insight into those, my second post on this blog is probably the closest thing you're going to get. Anyway. Onward!

The release of The Golden Compass has impelled the Catholic Church to take action against it in its usual manner, and by that I mean denunciation and censorship. You can watch the movie in theaters now (trailer here) or you can read the book on which the film is based. If you're like me, you'll do both. The Church has an inveterate history of being wrong, so it's best not to take their word for it. I say this, by the way, not to degrade the Church; it's simply a statement of fact, albeit written by a frustrated non-Catholic.

The second paragraph of this post might offend some readers, and I'm sorry if anyone feels offended by my words, but I'm not sorry for giving offense by writing them. There's simply nothing objectionable in The Golden Compass, and the Church's objections are based, at best, on insecurity and discomfort with its own history--which, let's face it, there's good reason for; at worst, however, they're based on prejudice against the author, an avowed atheist--which, well, it wouldn't be the first time, would it?

If the Church sees itself in The Golden Compass's Magisterium, then perhaps it ought to think about that. If it sees its own reflection in a fantasy film about an oppressive religious authority, surely that's a reason to do something about the image in the mirror, and not a reason to destroy the mirror.

Granted, the movie isn't completely neutral, and the books are admittedly subversive, but this is often true of good fiction. Anyway, critical thinkers can decide for themselves what to believe. But we don't develop critical thinking skills in young adults--or, for that matter, adults--by keeping ideas away from them. Quite the opposite. Which is why it's so troubling to see Catholic school boards pulling the books from their shelves. The primary purpose of education should be to inculcate critical thinking skills, not ideology, and the Church appears unable to understand that.

Christmas Shopping In Insadong

I bought some goodies in Insadong today. Insadong is the area of Seoul that's most popular with tourists, but it's not just a tourist site; it's popular with Koreans too, which becomes blindingly obvious if you venture there on the weekend. It's home to Seoul's traditional Korean culture, and it's been an important part of the city since the days of the Joseon Dynasty, which endured for over 500 years until the Japanese conquered and annexed Korea in 1910. Nowadays, antique shops abound all over Insadong and there are plenty of souvenir stores right alongside them. It's the place to go for gifts and keepsakes.

I couldn't buy as much as I would have liked, unfortunately. Weight and size limits are pesky things to consider, even when you've got someone to act as courier.

Moving On

Here's the deal with my non-updates lately. My roomie got homesick enough that she's returning to Canada at the end of the month. Being away from her family proved too difficult for her. I'm not having the same kinds of problems--though, to be clear, I do miss you guys! But because I'm not having those problems, and because I'm confident that I can deal with them when and if they arise, I have no intention of leaving anytime soon--though, again, if any of you want to visit Seoul, please do so! Mention this blog post and I'll give you a roof over your head as well as a 100% discount on all tourism services.*

Anyway, long story short, I have to find a new apartment by the end of the month. The new tenants take possession on December 26. I don't want to move into the new place on Christmas, so I have a project for next week. Which means that I'll be busy. I'm growing accustomed to that, actually.

*Offer not valid in Quebec. No cash value.