Mysteries of Korea...and how some things never change.

This Korea Times Business Section editorial speaks of Jwa Seung-hee's (president of an economic research institute for the Federation of Korean Industries) 10 mysteries of the Korean economy.

#1 Western-style economic reform has eroded the dynamism of the Korean economy.
#2 Seoul has become bigger and bigger despite the government's policy of balanced regional development.
#3 The rural community's life has become dismal despite the policy of promoting the balanced development of the rural and urban communities.
#4 Income disparity has widened despite the policy of promoting egalitarianism and redistributive policies.
#5 Competitiveness of small companies has weakened despite the policy of curbing chaebol.
#6 Economic concentration has deepened despite the policy to diffuse the concentration of economic power.
#7 The exodus of primary, middle and high school students for overseas study has increased as the government seeks to standardize schools.
#8 Government control of finance has deepened amid sloganeering for financial liberalization.
#9 The Roh administration seeks to scrap the Park Chung-hee’s economic development model, which created the Miracle on the Han River.
#10 The government has strengthened policies, which would erode corporate competitiveness.

To this business/economic list I'd like to add a cultural 10 mysteries of modern Korean culture, if I may.

#1 Koreans often speak of love for their children and the sanctity of marriage but many men (and women) have lovers on the side.
#2 Many Korean parents (or grandparents) insist that children marry Koreans, even though they send their kids overseas to study, or to hagwons (language academies) here. (N.I.M.F.T Not In My Family Tree)
#3 Everyone seems to like the promise that is living in a different country, but very few can make the move out of Korea.
#4 Koreans (especially the young) love the outdoors and clean air, but they hate to live in the country.
#5 Korean students hate learning English, but older ones seem to love taking English classes.
#6 Even after years of incredible progress Koreans always compare themselves to foreigners: the Rodeo Drive of Seoul, the Silicon Valley of Korea, the Harvard of Korea.
#7 Most Koreans seems to have a negative attitude toward U.S. soldiers here (especially those who served in KATUSA-Korean Army Training with U.S. Army) but they don't seem to want them to leave (and leave South Korea vulnerable).
#8 Koreans spend 10-16 hours a day (for years on end) studying for major exams but at the end of it all don't seem to have a stored library of knowledge to use in everyday life (or even at work!).
#9 Koreans are very (over) protective of their children, and yet they have few child restraint seats and no one uses seatbelts in the back seats.
#10 Many Koreans have dogs as pets, but many other Koreans eat dog!

Another interesting story came to me from a friend of mine. A group of 20 or so young people were on the subway when it came to a station with about 20 older folks waiting to get on. The kids were sitting down in the seats, but without a word or any signals they ALL stood up together and offered their seats to the older folks. Unreal. The more things change, the more things stay the same.

Koreans living in a dreamworld starting to wake up.

Paris Lovers...what a happy couple.

Looking at Korea one can see something of a Leave it to Beaver mindset when it comes to relationships--especially in the minds of 20-something girls here. One could compare it (as I will) to a monk living life in a temple and then having everything changed when he starts to see what happens over the hills where he makes his home.

Thankfully, some movies are starting to show that life may not be what we assume. Recently I watched Hi, Dharma! (a story about a gang of criminals that hides out in a monastery) and In-eo Gong-ju (literally means mermaid princess, but is translated to My Mother the Mermaid or Little Mermaid; a story about a daughter who somehow visits her parents when they first meet and fall in love).

Dharma is a comedy where the gangsters find out something about themselves within the (relative) purity of the monks and the monks gain a new perspective from their dichotic encounters. Both learned that their so-called 'pure' states (of peace or brutality) are not perfect and they can grow from knowing one another.

The daughter in Mermaid had a revelation as well. She hated her parents (her father seemed a dim-witted postal worker and her mother a cussing rubber/masseuse at a bathhouse). She wished she were an orphan like her boyfriend. An odd occurrence (I still don't know how this happened) put her back in time to when her parents met on Jeju-do where her mother was a diver (mermaid connection) and her father a postman. She comes to see them in their innocence and pure state--full of dreams and potential; not the broken and bitter people they became. A picture taken at that time shows the village in and around their first bus and her young father on his bicycle, smiling. The daughter asks her mother why he is smiling...and in the last scene her mother says, "Of course he is smiling, what else could he be doing?" (or words to that effect). Yes, the young have every reason to smile.


My Mother the Mermaid and Hi, Dharma!

Mermaid seems to show that the 'pure' state of youth and promise is a transient one and Dharma could be saying that moving from purity may actually be good (adding another dimension for growth). This is something that some young people here don't seem to grasp...they need to have perfect grades to get into the perfect university and get the perfect job and marry the perfect spouse and have the perfect family (which means grandsons for many parents and in-laws). Perhaps in the future less emphasis will be placed on keeping up with the Kims/Joneses but for now many still aspire to a pure and perfect dreamlife.

Of course, if they don't marry the perfect person Koreans can now get a divorce quite easily...which is another problem.

Canada Day in Seoul

I must have been nuts. Every 2-3 months I take off to Canada for 1-3 weeks. My latest trip ended in late June, and I ended up getting into Incheon on Sunday (June 27th) evening...just missing the Canada Day party. (Canada Day is on July 1st, but they staged the party early so it'd land on a holiday.) Last year it apparently sucked and the beer was OB (local brew), not a Canadian lager so I thought I might not be missing much. Man, what a mistake that was (as you can see from the pic below).


Canadian guys chugging beer...Canadian gals striking a pose. Click to see larger version.

Here's your typical Canadian situation. The boys are gathered around the beer and the gals are lookin' fine. Hey! Why aren't the guys with the girls?!?! Crazy Canucks!

A Night in DaeHak-ro

A night out in Korea can seem pretty overwhelming, especially in HongDae, Kangnam Sinchon, Sincheon, Itaewon, Daehak-ro or any of the other major hotspots in town. Hongdae, Sinchon and Daehak-ro make a name for themselves by being close to the major universities; Kangnam is a place for lavishing high-priced liquors and girls on clients; Itaewon is near the US Army base, so it's a haven for GIs and other English-speakers (who seem to have more money than brains sometimes, myself included) and Sincheon is a teen district as well, in the well-to-do area of Songpa-gu.

My latest foray was to Daehak-ro (daehak/daehak-kyo means college/university, ro means street). We went to a ddak-kalbi (grilled chicken) place and saw a group of 3 guys whooping it up Korean style (copious amounts of soju and food and louder speaking). One was pretty funny. I don't know if he was doing it for my benefit or to show-off to the Koreans around him (Koreans sometimes show that they know English as a form of one-up-man-ship...it shows they are educated and studied a lot, no matter how brutal the usage). He was saying such things as "Excuse me, could you calm down?" (actually, he said that A LOT) and "I'm sorry" and "Okay!". I think he was practicing to be a bar bouncer or something. Anyways, these guys got pretty loaded. When one of them was away from the table it looked like the other two were a little amorous (Korean men sometimes hold hands or put their arms around each other, especially after a gallon of soju). I snapped the picture below before we left.


2 guys who really like each other (but they are not gay).

Then when we finished walking nature was calling me...but not #1. I took a look into the hwa-jang-shil (bathroom) in the restaurant, but it was a squat-type. Then we came across this theatre (below...oh, and Koreans usually pronounce theatre and Seattle the similarly). It was new so I took a look. Man, that bathroom was spotless--maybe it looked so good because I figured that all of the ones in the area were squatters or brutally dirty affairs, as they usually are in smaller, older buildings (man, how do these women do it?). Anyways, that's the tip. Look for the newest, hippest building (especially ones with Western food or themes inside) to find the best W.C. (another way Koreans denote watercloset).


Fantaseum

Since Korea has millions (ten of millions, likely) of cellphones (handphones, as they call them) you'll find public pay phones only in a few places: the airport, the train/bus stations, major hotels and the subways. (Well, I've seen them on the street sometimes, but not that often, and not when you need one.)


phones

Another instance of Korean marketing gone bonkers. Red Mango is a major bing-soo (shaved ice garnished with fruit and stuff and then topped with yogurt or ice cream). But the tagline for the firm is a little....well, weird "Start loving myself!". When I explain it to people they really get confused.


Red Mango
Another thing here that's funny is girls wear shirts that say "69", it's a brand here but they are oblivious to the hidden meaning (if you don't know I can't explain it here, this site is family-friendly). Or church-going girls will have a Playboy scrunchie in their hair...not knowing who "The Hef" is. Koreans also have no idea the multitude of words we have for a part of the male anatomy (so the scene in Austin Powers where they say "woody, Johnston, boner, balls, willi...) goes over most of their heads. They have one word here for it go-choo (hot pepper), and they're pretty surprised to learn that their word for 'ward' in a city (dong) is also another euphemism for gochoo.


And, to cap it off, in the subway there was a guy taking a snooze right on the floor.

Korea, the land of one-up-manship.

Some of you may remember my first article on oh-gyup-sal (five layers of fat pork). Oh-gyup-sal is a one-up on sam-gyup-sal (three layers of fat porl), so it only makes sense that this land of hyperbole would come up with chun-gyup-sal (1,000 layers of fat pork)--and it did. As amazing as it may seem, someone got the great idea of leap-frogging all of the competition and calling what is basically pork chop a name that denotes something a little more superlative. Why not trillion layers of fat pork (jo-gyup-sal)? I have no idea.


The sign says "1,000 layers of fat pork"...mmmmmmm.

Well, Korea isn't the only place where things get blown out of proportion sometimes, it's just that they do it so well here and we're not used to it. Who can forget the launch of the Gilette Mach 3? Yes, that's what I need! Three blades on my face! (Of course they had 'Excel' versions of their Sensor, Mach 3 and ladies' razors, too, as if we needed that little white strip to save from cutting our faces open.) Recently the Schick Quattro came out (for those of you who failed Latin, Italian, Audi or whatever language this is in: quattro means expensive). Now Gillette has a 'power' version of its razor. Now this is getting ridiculous! Here in Korea I get 10 good razors for 2,000 won (USD 1.75). (Yes, 17.5c each!) They're so cheap I only use them twice then throw them away. (Please no Greenpeace/eco-friendly group flamings.) And you know what? I get a pretty good shave out of it, too...similarly I only buy plain ol' pork chops at home.

Morning! (and other surprises in Korea)

Sometimes this place really makes me think. So many things are so different here (language, expressions, people, culture, shopping, driving habits) but, yet, some things are just like home. Take my building, for instance, there are a few guards (we call them 아저씨, ajeosshi, or 'mister') in the lobby...well, they're no so much guards as they are greeters, like at Wal-Mart (neat article here). After they figured I was not a visitor, but a long term resident of Seoul they started saluting me, waving and saying "Morning". Huh, morning? Ok, I guess they learned that greeting somewhere. Many Koreans in lower-level jobs know absolutely no English and what they may have learned these old timers probably had long forgotten, so I appreciated the effort.

Then I was inline skating (rollerblading to those of us who can pronounce it easily) one lovely 4AM and another 아저씨 said "Morning!". Ok, that's two. Interesting.

Then I got to thinking (well, it came to me while watching a Kia ad) that Morning is everywhere in Korea. This morning (there I go again) I saw a give-away paper called 모닝 (Korean phonetic of morning) and then recalled the ad for Kia's sub-compact car. A simple search on Google Korea came up with more: an online bookstore, an online flowershop, a golf site and a news organization. Then there's Good Morning Shinhan, one of the largest secutities dealers in Korea--with its flagship building in Yeouido, one of the largest in town and flaunting its name, albeit in Hanguel/Korean text, for all to see. And, of course, this is the "Land of the Morning Calm". I could go on, but you get the point.

'Morning' is not without it's detractors, though. About a year ago there was a major scam where a real estate developer conned million from many small investors. One lady summed it up well saying, "Now I know what it is like to go from a rich person to a begger in one day." Definately not a good morning for her.

As an aside, apparently another Western idea is hamburgers, and in NORTH KOREA, no less. (JoongAng Article here.)

Here's your factoid for the day: although most words are pronounced and even used differently than the original, Korean has incorporated about 10,000 English words into its language; much like Tagalog/Filipino has a lot of Spanish and we Westerners are comfortable with Bon Appetit and Domo Arigato, Mr. Roboto.

Shopping in Seoul

A readers will know, shopping in Seoul is a little different from back home (assuming back home is a Western country like Canada, the US, UK...). For one thing (more things here), you can haggle at almost every 'store' (and some for sure at every place that is not a store, but like the picture below). This includes the 'department stores' like Migliore, Doota and Hello ampm that are in Dongdaemoon (each area actually stalls of independent sellers) but not such high class/price places like Shinsegae or Lotte Depart. There is also no haggling at Lotte Mart, LG Mart nor E-Mart, but in those places you're getting a bit better surroundings than the true discount stores.

Anyways, I find that haggling is a bit of an art...and it takes a little while to get the hang of it. After a while you'll wonder why you don't get a discount back home, though. (There is also no tax on purchases; it's either included in the price or just not paid--especially at street-sellers.) Like today, I went to Namdaemoon for some shopping, had to get a few undershirts and towels. I found a seller of both and asked the prices: 2,200 won for a shirt, 1,700 won for a towel...no discount. Huh, ya, right. I offered 16,000 (compared to the 16,800 total price...this is NOT a big discount, just 5%, but I was in a hurry and didn't have 5 minutes to haggle for $1.50 off). She said, "no discount" again, but I said (in Korean) "I'm buying 3 of these and 6 of these, discount!" and she relented. Oh, it helps if you can do simple math in your head (the seller sure as heck can) and if you know enough Korean to at least say the prices in Korean. Otherwise you're a bit of a mark.

Now for this picture. This 'store' popped up literally right on the street near my work and the sellers were luring the office girls to try on their lovely selection of shoes. No guarantee, but for $10 a pair and the way fashion trends have the life of a gnat here who cares?


Get your ladies shoes right here!

Phone Chargers and Other Things to Like About Korea

Recently I downloaded Go-Stop (a traditional Korean card game, played almost exclusively by men, Yahoo!'s version is here) to my phone. (There is one called Sexy-Go-Stop too, for those who are into Anime.) Well, I've been playing it (the clean version) so much that my battery dies sometimes when I'm out (is this an addiction?). The last time was out at the movie theatre (the MMC in Dongdaemoon is open 24 hours, if anyone is looking for a flick at 3AM). A friend of mine said they have chargers at convenience stores (I also remember them at some restaurants too). Then we found that they had them at the theatre, too. The young kids there knew how to hook up the battery...they were really helpful, actually. Koreans are so nice sometimes. Here's a pic of what to look for if you're in Korea and your phone goes dead.


You stick your battery in here for about 5-10 minutes and it's powered up (but the charge wears down more quickly, I think).

More things I like in Korea: delivery services. I ordered a few books from Seoul Selection (a great foreign bookstore that has an interesting newsletter that's worth subscribing to--it's free). Anyways I ordered online at 3:00PM. The order showed up at my door at 9:30 the next morning. This would not happen in Canada unless you paid extra for delivery, and even then it'd maybe be 2 nights as I ordered late in the day. Korea, though has a ubiquitous number of quick service delivery services (as they're called). This means it takes about 1-2 hours for a package to get across town because a motorbike courier takes it rather than taking it in a van to a sorting station then another van for delivery. (It's similar to the bike couriers that we have in the West, but no one bikes on the roads here.)

I also like the way Korea updates things. The pics below show one example. In the old days there was a rarefied breed of warrior who guarded the main palaces and nobles, today there is another (decidedly more leggy) version. (Um, this is a joke, for those who believe everything they read.)


Changing of the Guard and Twirling of the Rifles.

New Bar in Yeouido

One of my favorite places in 여의도 (Yeouido) is Wingswing located on the second floor of the building behind the Lexington (formerly the New Manhattan) Hotel. It's run by the son-in-law of a Korean who spent 20 years in New York and Atlanta running similar places...and now the old man is here to revamp it. They added 2 bar counters and hard liquor (and recipes) as well as more to the menus (spaghetti, quesadillas). Last time I was there I had Crown Royal (oh, how I love it) and the time before they served us this Flaming Dr. Pepper which is a shot of Bacardi 151 in a glass of beer. It's not as tasty as the version I know (Amaretto shot in a 50/50 beer/Coke mix) but not bad. Probably one of the few places in Seoul you can get some of the booze this place has--and the only one in Yeouido.



Flaming Dr. Pepper at Wingswing

Cop Movies are Big in Korea (and Trend-Following)

Over the last few weeks I've been to a couple of Western movies (Troy and Spiderman 2) and a few Korean ones as well: 여친소 (Yeochinso/Windstruck); 올드보이 (Old Boy); 공공의적 (Gong-gong-ui Jock/Public Enemy; 와일드카드 (Wild Card); and 범죄의 재구성 (Beomjwi-ui Jaegooseong/The Big Swindle). I really liked all of the Korean movies (actually the Western ones seemed pretty predictable compared to the Korean fare) but found it interesting that 4 of the 5 (all but Old Boy) were cop movies. (To be fair, in The Big Swindle it was more about the robbers than the cops--still, the theme was intact.) Maybe this is typical to movies in general (going in phases, all of the movies are from the last year) or maybe it's just how (again) in Korea things are very much fads; where once a theme gets started it's difficult to stop it.


Public Enemy, WildCard, The Big Swindle and Old Boy

With that in mind, I think of my night out on Saturday. A group of friends and I had dinner and a movie in the 동대문 (Dongdaemoon) area then headed to 대학로 (pronounced Daehan-ro, but the Korean spelling is Dae-Hak-Ro: Daehak means university, ro is street, so (as you may have guessed) it is a street near universities--so, of course, there are tons of bars there). It was raining as a typhoon is in town (see the typhoon tracker page for updates of when one is on its way here) so there weren't many people out on the town. (I, however, didn't mind it as the rain here is pretty warm and I was in shorts a shirt and cut-away sneakers...really quite comfortable.) We went to about 5 places before finding one called 꾼 (Kkoon, an intersting name). The gal running the place said it was their first business day, but the place was empty. The music, however, was really good so I said, "Service.", as in: what will you give us to come in? She offered plates of snacks and such...sold! The prices were lower than I'm used to, too...a good place.

So, how does this connect? The ambiance. The bar was like many other ones out there with tables, low lighting, club music, and a table or two that has a trough in the middle for ice and imported beer and coolers (we had 8 different kinds). I guess this is a safe business strategy as it may be fatal to go out on a limb with a new concept in this town unless it does very well, in which case you'll have lots of imitators.

I wonder what the next trend will be? Whatever it is, it'll catch on fast. (JoongAng Ilbo article on this topic.)

Update on the New Transit System

It seems everything is not all that smooth in Seoul concerning the recent changes. This makes sense because, as Koreans would, they decided not only to change the payment system but also all of the bus color-schemes, routes numbers and routes and even the structure of the roads in some areas of the city (see pic below of a fast lane for buses in one of the worst traffic areas of the city).

More in this Korea Times article.


Life in the fast lane.

Math Theory Meets Social Theory

This may be a long blog...got a lot of thoughts going through my head this last couple of days, not least because of my reading A Mathematician Plays the Stock Market--a very cool book and one that I wish I read before embarking on the CFA designation exams (wrote 2 of the 3 required exams already).

Anyhoo, went out for some drinks last night (yes, Thursday night, a school night, but I really wanted to break this jetlag and I find that going out is one of the most effective, and most fun, ways to do so) at a little place called Han's Sausages near Hong-Ik University (usually referred to as HongDae). So upon ordering the bratwurst and beer I noticed something interesting, the beer came in a special pitcher that has dry ice in a compartment in the bottom of it and passages that allow the vapor to flow to the top and escape. Pretty cool idea, and I had seen it before in another bar in Sinchon (another teen/bar district near HongDae).

While out on the town I started to think, "What are the odds that I know someone here in this bar or meet them on the street?" Likely pretty low, but then I remembered the last night I came here and got a call from an old co-worker who was basically 2 blocks from me and had just had 산낙지 (san-nak-ji, living octopus) in a little place that we almost went to (now that was interesting). Then I remembered that a friend of mine's former girlfriend is in Korea--not Seoul, in Pusan. But her sister-in-law's friend is engaged to a Korean girl in Daegu who often comes to Seoul (HongDae/Sinchon specifically) to see friends. So, what if one of the thousands of people I saw were one of those friends? How many degrees of separation is that? Two to the Pusan friend (or one, if you count that I know her now), plus three to the groom-to-be (or two as the Pusan friend already knows her sister-in-law) and two more to the friend(s) in Seoul. So that's 4 to 7 degrees, not bad. I could also suppose that the people on the street know my wife or one of her friends (as she went to school there) but we are older than these kids and it's not quite as interesting a story as going to Vancouver then Daegu then back to Seoul.

Another area: yesterday I met some guys from an asset management firm here (for business). One spoke quite good English, and when he found out I was from Vancouver he noted that his brother-in-law is living here. As well, the owner of the 삼계탕 (samgyetang, ginseng chicken soup) place across from my apartment has a home in a suburb of Vancouver. What are the odds of that?

Now let's deconstruct this a bit, and take a bit from my current reading (and suspend for a bit the idea that I have incredible selective memory and am merely drawing connections from random events).

On the beer: both restaurants were in the same relative are (more or less) and it makes sense that a seller of those dry-ice pitchers would service both of them.

For the people on the street: the university district is full of school kids, school kids are not (usually, especially in Korea) destitute poor and they are (by definition) educated (or nearso) and it is the well-to-do and educated that end up going to foreign countries and meet/marry foreigners (there are exceptions, just humor me for a bit). Thus, it makes some sense that I (who knows many educated people in Korea and Canada, as I am one myself) would have an ok chance to have some connection with similar people in another country, no matter the whereabouts. (This reminds me of when I spent a month in the Philippines with my bud Carlo who met a friend there who ended up being his distant relative. Especially in places where the economic/social strata is well-defined the 'top 1%' seem to flock together.)

Concerning the people who have ties in Vancouver. Proximity is one factor, and wealth is another. Vancouver is the closest airport to Seoul (one hour longer to go to San Francisco) and it also has an inviting climate and seems to attract the wealthy from many countries (including the U.S.). So it makes sense that these, again, well-to-do and educated people would have some connection to my other home.

What's my point and how does it lead to a better understanding of Korean culture? It's this: When you meet a Korean (or when they are on their first dates) they will always ask questions to figure out if they have some connection such as age and ethnicity or school ties or anysuch thing that could prove a connection. For foreigners this kind of questioning is sometimes seen as rude, but this is just a part of Korea: you get used to it. This is one reason that Koreans study their butts off to go to the best/largest schools such as Seoul National University, Korea University, Ewha Women's University and Yonsei University and then put themselves through incredible stress to get into major companies such as Samsung Group. It's because after all that study and hard work one will have instant camaraderie with fellow alumni and, thus, be able to move to Vancouver when they retire and not have to work selling dry-ice beer pitchers to every bar in Korea.

A New Day for Seoul (and Korea's) Transit System

I've always thought of Seoul's subways as a real joy to be on. They are clean, fast, efficient(more or less) and CHEAP. Buses, on the other hand, are a bit of a mystery to me. I take one bus regularly, but that's it. taxis, however, are plentiful, cheap and (once you know a little Korean) pretty easy to use.

Now things are getting a lot easier and logical. As of today (July 1st) rates will be based on distance traveled rather than number of rides. This makes sense as it always irked me when you had to pay again to transfer from one bus to another or from the bus to subway (this doesn't happen in Vancouver). The new system just has you pay for the length of each little trip. As well, my phone will be able to house my T-Money so I don't need to carry change or fish around for my wallet or 'stored-value' ticket. (It can even be used in convenience stores and cabs soon! And carry up to 500,000 won, or about 435USD)There's also a color-coding scheme to the buses which may or may not make things easier. Unless they have little maps on the buses I think most foreigners will find the new system about a confusing as the old, but a lot of that has to do with the language and familiarity with a city/district that covers many, many square kms.

Check out articles on all this stuff here, here and here.

The Cost of Living in Seoul and Triangle Gimbap

Big cities are famous for being expensive places to live, some more than others, of course. Here is the latest (2004, source) list of priciest cities to live in (sorry not sure how to format a table):

1 Tokyo, Japan
2 London, UK
3 Moscow, Russia
4 Osaka, Japan
5 Hong Kong
6 Geneva, Switzerland
7 Seoul, South Korea
8 Copenhagen, Denmark
9 Zürich, Switzerland
10 St. Petersburg, Russia
11 Beijing, China
12 New York City, USA
13 Milan, Italy
14 Dublin, Ireland
15 Oslo, Norway
16 Shanghai, China
17 Paris, France
18 Istanbul, Turkey
19 Vienna, Austria
20 Sydney, Australia
21 Rome, Italy
22 Stockholm, Sweden
23 Helsinki, Finland
24 Abidjan, Ivory Coast
25 Douala, Cameroon
26 Amsterdam, Netherlands
27 Los Angeles, USA
28 Berlin, Germany
29 Hanoi, Vietnam
30 Shenzhen, China
31 Taipei, Taiwan
32 Guangzhou, China
33 Tel Aviv, Israel
34 Budapest, Hungary
35 Chicago, USA
36 Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
37 Beirut, Lebanon
38 San Francisco, USA
39 Luxembourg
40 Düsseldorf, Germany
41 Glasgow, UK
42 Frankfurt, Germany
43 Munich, Germany
44 Bratislava, Slovak Republic
45 Jakarta, Indonesia
46 Singapore
47 Dakar, Senegal
48 Riga, Latvia
49 Prague, Czech Republic
50 Athens, Greece
51 Birmingham, UK
52 White Plains, USA
53 Brussels, Belgium
54 Kiev, Ukraine
55 Miami, USA
56 Barcelona, Spain
57 Honolulu, USA
58 Hamburg, Germany
59 Zagreb, Croatia
60 Algiers, Algeria
61 Madrid, Spain
62 Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates
63 Amman, Jordan
64 Kuwait City, Kuwait
65 San Juan, Puerto Rico
66 Casablanca, Morocco
67 Melbourne, Australia
68 Washington, USA
69 Lyon, France
70 Boston, USA
71 Lisbon, Portugal
72 Morristown, USA
73 Houston, USA
74 Almaty, Kazakhstan
75 Tallinn, Estonia
76 Warsaw, Poland
77 Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
78 Manama, Bahrain
79 Sofia, Bulgaria
80 Auckland, New Zealand
81 Jeddah, Saudi Arabia
82 Ljubljana, Slovenia
83 Dubai, United Arab Emirates
84 Mexico City, Mexico
85 Atlanta, USA
86 Wellington, New Zealand
87 Brisbane, Australia
88 Adelaide, Australia
89 Toronto, Canada
90 Seattle, USA
91 Vilnius, Lithuania
92 St. Louis, USA
93 Leipzig, Germany
94 Perth, Australia
95 Limassol, Cyprus
96 Vancouver, Canada
97 Accra, Ghana
98 Cleveland, USA
99 Cairo, Egypt
100 Denver, USA
101 Detroit, USA
102 Monterrey, Mexico
103 Kingston, Jamaica
104 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
105 Portland, USA
106 Panama City
107 Winston Salem, USA
108 Guatemala City, Guatemala
109 Mumbai, India
110 Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei
111 Lagos, Nigeria
112 Pittsburgh, USA
113 Montreal, Canada
114 Calgary, Canada
115 Tianjin, China
116 New Delhi, India
117 Dacca (Dhaka), Bangladesh
118 Lima, Peru
119 Bangkok, Thailand
120 Tunis, Tunisia
121 Nairobi, Kenya
122 Tehran, Iran
123 Santiago, Chile
124 Ottawa, Canada
125 Lusaka, Zambia
126 Johannesburg, South Africa
127 Colombo, Sri Lanka
128 São Paulo, Brazil
129 Bucharest, Romania
130 San José, Costa Rica
131 Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
132 Karachi, Pakistan
133 Chennai (Madras), India
134 Caracas, Venezuela
135 Blantyre, Malawi
136 Quito, Ecuador
137 Bangalore, India
138 Manila, Philippines
139 Bogotá, Colombia
140 Harare, Zimbabwe
141 Buenos Aires, Argentina
142 Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
143 Montevideo, Uruguay
144 Asunción, Paraguay

Whew, that was long...I have to learn more about cutting code so I can make this thing prettier.

Anyways, Seoul is #7 and the first Canadian city is the "Big Smoke" (as my Dad calls it), Toronto at #89 then my recent/dual hometown of Vancouver at #96 (I suspect it'll rise next year as real estate is on a bit of a tear lately).

Thing is, if you have the residence/home thing taken care of (as most teachers do in Korea) then living in Seoul/Korea can be pretty cheap. Of course you can always spend $4,500 USD for a bottle of Macallan 50 year-old whisky at SkyBar, but if you keep your head on straight it's not too bad. Every morning I go to my local 7-11 and have 2 삼각김밥 (sam-gak-gim-bab, literally 3-angled/triangle seaweed and rice) for about 1USD. Today I splurged for a 새우버거 (say-oo/shrimp burger) but the price was still under 2USD. (It's good for dieting too, as my wife near-constantly reminds me, because rice has 1/3rd the fat of bread and likely 1/100th that of a croissant, muffin or bagel.)


My lovely breakfast. Shrimp burger and triangle kimbap.

Down and Out in Sinchon

Koreans have a great sense of community. So much so that sometimes they figure they can have a nap any old place. Now I understand taking a snooze in a subway car (they are safer here) or taxi (done that a few times), but on some steps? Well, it happens.


I couldn't resist taking a pic of this guy...it was like 6PM and he was already sacked out on the front steps of a building in Sinchon (teen district of Seoul). Notice his jacket is a step or so down from his resting place. Must be nice to be in a virtually crime-free city.

The business class tag for baggage. I have to keep this in pristine condition for future flights.

My Lovely Diet in Seoul

I used to cook for myself all the time (making bulggogi, kalbi and even lasagna). Now, however, I'm getting pretty lazy. Food is so good, plentiful and cheap in the restaurants (nevermind that Koeans love to go out to eat so if I did cook a large amount of food about half of it would go to waste anyways) that I've decided not to shop for anything more than noodles and booze. (See photos for the result.)

Far from what I expected, I ended up losing weight and spending about the same amount of money, go figure.


What a balanced diet I have...noodles and more noodles, tuna, gochoo jang (sauce).


My fridge, the oranges are just for show, they've been in there for like 6 weeks. Notice the contents: ketchup, mayo, orange juice (jeju-do) beer, soju, beaksayju, mayshilju, onions.

That's where they heat up the bricks!

I often wondered where the restauranteurs heated up the briquettes or brinks or rocks that they placed in the table for traditional Korean cooking...then I saw this. This place (not a good pic, it was from a taxi with my phone-camera) actually has a fire on the sidewalk right in front of it! The guy is pickin out a red/white-hot brick for the patrons inside. Only in Korea.


Fire in the hole!

Back in Seoul....Back in Smog

It feels like I didn't even leave this place, which is a little scary. Things will be a little weird for a bit (as I take about a week to get over jetlag, unlike some people I know who take about 2 days) so postings may be a little sporatic for a bit. As well, work is getting busier...which is fine my me.

It's kind of interesting, actually. At this job we always have something to do (I do the weekly newsletter, research, presentations to clients, and liaise with our foreign partners) but there are definate lulls and busy times. Just before my vacation was a lull, now we're back in the thick of things.

Speaking of thick, take a look at this pic. Many days here are like this (although, admittedly, not this brutal). Some are blue-skied, but even then you know that the pollution is there. I left my windows upon when I went home and when I came back there was a thin layer of soot on the floor...hmmmm, that seems real nice, eh? Now I know why my mother-in-law always cleaned the floor every day or so. Apparently Seoul has DOUBLE the amount of particles (I'm assuming 'bad' particles) in its air. Anyone who jogs here is nuts (but I, of course, do inline/rollerblade almost everyday, so I'm no better).


Lovely Seoul smog.

One problem is the number of cars here, another is the level of industrialization and lack of environmental laws (or enforcement thereof) but there is also the polution that comes over from China (where things, from what I hear, are a lot worse) and the Yellow Wind/Dust that makes its way to our shores once or twice a year. I was in one of these storms a few years ago (I was the only gomer without a surgical mask on) and I felt pretty weird afterward. If you have a respiratory problem things could get ugly.

More to Come

It's been a busy last couple of weeks, but I'm on my way back to Seoul today. Didn't get near what I wanted to get done on this trip--had planned on heading downtown to see a few buds but couldn't get the time to get away at all. A few friends made the trek up to our place, though, which was cool. It's nice to see friends you've known for 10-20 years after being away for a while.

One guy that came up here was a friend of a sister of a friend who is marrying (as soon as he gets the familial blessing) a Korean, so my wife and I gave him the 411 on Koreans and ways to do things. (More on that when I get back to Seoul, and have more time.)

Got to go now.

The Unreal Tiredness of Raising Kids

When I was in Seoul these last few months I thought my wife had it kinda easy here with 'just' our 2 kids to take care of. Now I know that this parenting thing is pretty tough. The worst thing is they 'tag team' us. For example, one stays up til 3:30AM, the other wakes up at 7AM. One has a nap, and the other gets hungry. And my wife isn't into lots of crap food for them, too...so she is constantly cooking and preparing wonderful delicacies like 'rice brocolli cheese tofu cakes' and 'seaweed and beef soup'--sounds great, eh?! Well, the kids like it and I guess it's good for them.

When I go back to Seoul I know I'll miss these days (and nights) and start my old routine of 6PM rollerblading and going out to the bars on the weekends (maybe even during the week a bit, as my CFA test is finished for a few months). I know the days will be a little less full without my 3-year old jumping (from the couch) onto my stomache/back/gonads...ah, how can I survive? We will have the webcam and daily phonecalls to make things a bit easier, but it won't be the same.

Ug, so tired now...it's past 11PM and I know tomorrow will be busy...and the next day too. My bud of almost 25 years is coming to visit and I'll make the trip to the ferry terminal to pick him up and the new place is now inconveniently 60 minutes from the docks compared to 30 minutes for our old place. No matter, I imagine I'll relish the time alone on a simple car trip.

New Blogarithm Feature

You may have noticed a new feature on my blog...it's a blog email notification thingy (Blogarithm). All you need to do is put your email in the space and "Keep it Fresh" and you'll get an email every time I update this blog. I use this on blogs that I normally read (once I get better at code I'll actually have them posted on this page too) and find it pretty handy.

The last few days have been pretty hectic. Basically in the pool (our complex's or the public one) everyday and running around with the kids and not getting a lot of sleep. My wife and I take turns (one was up til 3AM last night, the other awoke at 7AM)...man, getting back to Seoul and my bachelor pad will be like a vacation--no matter how much work I have at the office.

There they go again...gotta go.

Things I'll Miss

Korea, especially Seoul, is pretty cool; and Canada, especially Vancouver is pretty cool too. Here are a few things I will (and will not) miss:

Things to miss about Korea: being a celebrity (well, a little one, at least...just for being me); 100 kinds of ice cream at the local convenience store (and all for 500 won/USD 0.40); 7 24-hour convenience stores within a block or two of my place; inlining/rollerblading along the Han River; bars with no line-ups; bar-hopping to at least 2-4 places in a night; Korean people; not worrying about water on the floor of my fully tiled bathroom; super-efficient subways; super-cheap cabs where the subways leave off; no taxes, no tipping; great food, and seconds for free; alcohol available at any store; eating live octopus (I mean live as in swimming around in a bowl/on a plate on the table); getting free fruit and/or tea and/or coffee and/or sugary drinks after every meal.

Things to miss about Canada: no pollution (or not noticeable, at least); good mixed drinks (like Dr. Pepper and Long Island iced teas, although that's changing in Seoul now); our complex's pool just 5 minutes away (and it's usually just us or a few people there); burgers that are not served raw (hellloooooo! heard of e-coli?).

Things not to miss about Seoul: drunk guys pissing in the streets at night (well, I am one of them sometimes); people always thinking I'm crazy for not liking tofu; paying like $10 for enough ground beef for 2 hamburgers; having to go to the foreign food section to get my M&Ms.

Things not to miss about Canada: line-ups and cover charge at almost every good bar; larger Canadian chicks (hey, no flamings, please); union leaders who think someone should make $20 an hour to pick up trash when Korean 60-year-old men do it in Seoul for like $100 a month; Vancouver rain in the winter...and spring...and fall...and summer; high (14.5%!) sales tax; tips treated as if they are expected (no matter the service); having to go to the foreign food section to get my ramen noodles.

J.J. Mahoney's: Watch your men, ladies.

Here is the latest from the Korean rumor mill (it made it all the way to Coquitlam, and my wife's ears). It seems The Grand Hyatt Hotel's (in Itaewon) J.J. Mahoney's has a reputation for beautiful Korean ladies using it as a place to pick up foreign (likely white) men...even married ones. So, if you're single and looking for a good time check out J.J.'s (just bring a lot of dough, the prices are about two times that of most other Western bars). If you're married...well, that's up to you (you should know that some of the gals on the prowl there are 'ladies for sale' there was well, and the prices are reportedly quite high). If your man is in Seoul and reading this (or otherwise knows the score) better get a polygraph...from what I saw some of those gals are pretty good looking (not that I was looking, of course).

Well, that's it for tonight. I gotta take the boy to school tomorrow at like 9AM (which is early for my vacation-time now).

There ARE Koreans here

Well, I stand corrected, again. Yesterday I blogged that Coquitlam was an oasis of Whiteness in the sea of Asians that is Vancouver, but oh how I was wrong. We went to the, aptly named, Coquitlam Mall today and put Spencer in the play area with a few other kids. I heard a lady speaking Korean to her boy, then a flock (well, three) ajumas (older Korean ladies) came and sat near us. Later, when we went to the pool, we saw that the neighbors right next to us and across the street are Koreans too. Then on the way back I learned that another two sets of neighbors are Korean as well. They're everywhere!

It's actually pretty cool. One thing about Koreans is they have a pretty good sense of community. Get a group of white people (who aren't farmers) together and we seem to be pretty stand-offish...or at least it takes a while to warm up. Koreans, as you may know, refer to each other as sister or brother as soon as 3 minutes of meeting one another (as I have seen). This is, I think, quite extraordinary. From first meetings with my son my wife called the girls in the area "nuna" or "older sister, as said by a younger brother" (they have a special word for every family member). Also, since Koreans don't normally take to English all that well (or quickly) they really, really appreciate speaking with someone from home. Thus, the community here is quite tight.

So I've still got jetlag...although it's pretty nice not to have to work through it. The boys tend to keep me moving all day, though. Usually I sleep at 3AM or 4AM then get up at 11AM, but it's not a good REM sleep. My best sleep seems to be 1-2 hour naps at 3PM or 7PM. When I wake up from those it's really like getting up in the morning; and getting up in the morning is like waking up at midnight. My father-in-law thinks I should just adjust 100% in like 2 days, but I'm not sure if I'm built that way. If I need to I can do it, but it's like I'm on vacation here. Besides, I do my work at night anyways, when the kids are asleep (and Seoul is awake).

I guess that's it for now. Nothing more profound than this from the day, which is a little sad. I love it here: so clean, peaceful and easy to live; but I kinda miss Seoul too: so dirty, loud and easy to get run down by deliveryboys on motorcycles.

Feels like the O.C., and thinking of T.V.

So I've been in Vancouver a few days now...in Coquitlam, actually. It's really an interesting place; I used to think it was full of Chinese people (not that there's anything wrong with that, but Vancouver's #1 mother tongue is Mandarin/Cantonese, so you'd assume there'd be tons here). Our area is up on a hill in a little bit of paradise, actually. It has started to remind me of Newport in that show The O.C. (O.C. means Orange County). Well, it isn't full of million dollar homes (but there are a few) but the topography is similar (hills, lots of parks, but no beach) and it's really, really white here. I think the only Koreans I've seen have been family and Ensign Harry Kim on Star Trek: Voyager (ya, still have jetlag...watching anything that hits the screen here).

On that note, I think I'm having T.V. overload. Well, with the kids I don't get to see too much of it, but when I do I'm boggled by the 60+ stations (and that's not even satellite!) and all, save one, of them are in ENGLISH! Wow! In Seoul I didn't even bother with cable so all I had was AFN (American Forces Network) (that guy on the homepage is their 6:30 newsanchor...the very reason I like to inline/rollerblade from 6-8PM). Even if you have cable you only get like 2-3 other "B" movie stations...nothing to write home about. Truth be told, though, AFN has a pretty good lineup and I get to learn all about opsec (operational security) and that the U.S. Army in Korea is looking for E-4s and E-5s (enlisted ranks) to be MPs (Military Police). So if you can handle the G.I. ads AFN is pretty cool. Anyways, I didn't remember so many ads for weight-loss programs, get-rich-quick schemes and fantastic kitchen products, but there they were. Of course in Korea most people are pretty fit and they know the best way to get rich is to marry rich or work hard--there are some ads there for kitchen and cleaning product, though, proving that some things truly are universal. One ad that did throw me, though, was one for a 'male enhancement' pill. What?!?!? You take a pill for a bigger willi? One version even had about 30 allusions to 'wood' throughout it. I thought it was a spoof...maybe it was...it was on CNBC during The Dennis Miller Show. If anyone knows, please comment.

Ok, back to my time here. We went down to the clubhouse to have a dip (ya, it's a little swanky...but the pool is outside, so it's not super-swanky) and there were some 18-something gals there sunning themselves and gabbing. Man, this is NOT Seoul. For one thing, no one actually tries to get a tan in Korea. They wear Darth Vader-inspired visors to keep out all the rays they can and everyone is totally covered up. Even when exercising Korean have pants, long-sleeves, even suits. Also, two of the three of them were 'plus size'. They weighed like 2-3 TIMES that of a typical Korean gal. (Not that that's a bad thing...it's just differences...please, no flames.) Then you have to think...if they are 18 aren't they still in school? By that I mean, they have not graduated from college. An 18-year old Korean would be in the library or at a DVD bang, at least. Most likely not at a pool (and I hear they're there everyday for hours on end)...what a different lifestyle. Even after school is finished they'd be working or looking for a husband, or both. Let's face it, many Koreans have little time to be idle (I must say, they do take time to drink and go to the sauna, though). Maybe I'm becoming too Korean now, beating up these gals simply for having a little fun. All I know is if they did that in Korea people might think they are R.S. (room salon, or places where men pay women to drink with them, sing with them and...uh...do other things) girls.

Maybe that's part of the Korean ideal. Women should study and work and find a husband and if they are 'wasting' their time everyday then they must be of low moral fiber. Hmmmm...there could be something to that. Maybe it's part of the reason why so many Korean gals work their butts off (literally, Korean women are usually devoid of a derriere) and seem to push off their own pleasure in some Calvinist tradition. Korean men seem to support this as it not only support the Confucius ideals that many Koreans follow but makes their place as symbolic leader of the home that much more solid (whether it is deserved or not, and we know that in many Korean homes a strong wife controls more than she advertises).

Two kids? You've got to be crazy?!?!

Whenever I see a pregnant Korean lady I really feel for her, because I know that within a few months she will have a 3-5 year sentence to complete and utter child-rearing duties. As with most things Korean, mothers go all out...right from before conception to...well, it never stops.

Today I got a taste of that. What a day! My 3-year old (Spencer) woke me up at 9AM (which is early seeing as I still have some jetlag and was up from midnight to 3AM last night). The younger, Winston, was already up, too. My wife and I must have fed these kids like 5-7 times during the day, they just never stop!

Spencer and I went to his swimming class. We get a discount on regular swimming since he's enrolled. The gal behind the counter asked if he was swimming outside of the class as well...I really had no idea what was happening and said, "I'm not sure." She said, in no uncertain terms, that it meant a lot to her whether he was or not. I just said, ok, he is, how much? Let's see $1.30 plus $2.60...$3.90. You've got to be kidding?! You're bent about chun-on? (1,000 won/$1.15)? This would not happen in Seoul. They'd see Spencer and pay HIM to come into there! Anyways, what I did with him in the pool was pretty much what the 'instructor' did as well...but she had 3 kids to handle. I thought he'd be doing lengths or strokes, but I guess not yet.

After swimming I got my wife a Starbucks coffee. She loves the stuff, and apparently can't justify to herself to buy herself one...those selfless Korean women, bless their hearts. After I came home there was shopping to do. I volunteered to go (kudos for me and time to think), then I suggested Spencer come too (thought he'd fall asleep in the car, especially after swimming) then thought we might as well all go (the list she gave me was going to take a couple of people to complete). Well, the kids stayed up the whole time and I started to realize that this parenting thing is a lot harder when the kids are actually in the country with you (I'm usually in Seoul) and it's just you two (her mother and sister were out of town). Good God, these kids didn't sleep until 11PM! Someday they'll make great investment bankers, I mused.

To all those out there who are single parents, or even just parents, get yourself a Starbucks...you may not be able to drink it before it gets cold, but at least you have a piece of luxury in your hand for a few seconds.

Your Mother or Your Wife!

My wife posed a strange question to me tonight. Apparently this is the new fad in Korea...men are asked "if your wife and your mother are drowning (neither can swim) and you have time to save just one of them who would you choose?". Many men say, "my mother, because I can always remarry...but I can never replace my mom." Ok, true enough, but usually its the wives who ask this and one fellow I know said, in front of a throng of relatives (including his wife) that he'd save his mom. The wife was not impressed.

Let's look at this on a more cultural level for a moment. Much of Korean tradition is based on Confucius' teachings; where younger take care of elder, women take care of men and duty to family is first. Parents sacrifice a lot for their kids to get them the best education, lifestyle and necessities; children, in turn, are expected to do the same when they have the means. Thus, a man should choose to save his mother, who did everything for him (and perhaps still does) rather than his wife who is a bit of a late-comer.

The reason for all of this ultimatum questioning comes from family conflict. A husband's mother often endures a lot from her husband, children, society and her own mother-in-law and, not one to stop the cycle, she will often unleash her frustration on the unsuspecting wife. She comes to pry into, advise upon and attempt to control many parts of the couple's lives under the guise of helping her dear son. With divorce becoming more accepted and this has broken up more than a few marriages lately; and now people are getting a little pre-emptive, perhaps, in asking the husband to make a choice in order to ascertain his convictions.

So, men, if you get this question posed to you first think of who is asking it (probably your wife) take a look around the room to find out who is listening and then give the best answer you can. Just remember, you likely sleep with your wife every night, not your mother.

My trip...not too shabby

As readers will know, my favorite airline is Singapore Air (SAI). They have those personal monitors for everyone with on-demand movies, TV shows and games..and some lovely-looking stewardesses, of course. Another thing going for them is their empathy with their passengers. I've twice been bumped up to business class (with it's better meals and basically flat sleeper beds...what an experience that is). Once because the travel agent made a mistake and SAI decided they'd make my life a bit easier (hint: if you take the same flight 5-10 times they get to know you, too) and another time my flight was overbooked so I too business to San Francisco and got another one to Vancouver (both covered by SAI) as well as 500 Sing$ (300 USD, 350,000 won) which made for a 40% discount from my ticket price.

Anyways, this time I was in line for about 30 minutes (maybe it was longer) and a few times I squatted to relieve my legs a bit. The gal at the counter apologized and put 2 'Solitaire' tags on my bags (will upload pic when I get back to Seoul so you can put your color printer to good use and make a few of your own) that basically put them on par with business class for unloading. Nice.

The meals on the flight were good, there were lots of good movies and, as usual, they gave me one of those sleeper masks when I asked for it (in business it's automatic, but if you ask in economy you'll get one). Upon arrival in Vancouver I saw a rare sight, the customs area was packed! A cruise was in port and normal flights all bunched up to. Not to worry, though, as just as I approached the line they opened another area of inspectors...and in about 10 minutes I was picking up my bags.

To top it off my cabbie spoke English (something that eluded me in Seoul and Vancouver much of the time) and we had a pretty cool conversation about life, marriage and cultures. (He too believes that once you stop looking for a spouse you'll meet them...a little wisdom for you single-but-lookings out there.)

My phone can take pictures here but needs a special chip to connect. I forgot its charger and extra battery, and already ran down the old one...so that's the only blotch on this trip so far; which ain't too bad. I've decided to start to teach him my limited French...which should keep him on his toes. He's already got some of the accent down when he speaks baby-talk.