Fire Festival - Oreum Torching Rescheduled

Last Saturday the culmination of the yearly Fire Festival on Jeju was supposed to occur. The culmination is the burning of a grassy hill called an "Oreum." I went to it last year and it was quite beautiful.

Unfortunately, this last Saturday the burning of the hill was cancelled due to high winds. Well, that was the official reason. However, looking at the KBS News footage of the festival (drunk foreigners puking - yep, it was shown on the news. Aren't you proud!) and from anecdotal evidence, I would put my money on the cancellation being caused by the high levels of alcohol in the blood stream of several foreigners. Well, that's just me. Actually, it was really cancelled due to high winds. However, the opportunity to watch a bunch of people burst into flames when they stood too close to the fire was probably very hard to resist. Oh well, maybe next year.

Anyways, I heard on the news that the hill burning is going to take place on March 1st around 6:00pm or so.

I asked Mrs. LOJ why they just didn't save it until next year and have a bigger weenie roast or something. She said that the "older people" wouldn't like that at all. It has to be done this year, as quickly as possible, to appease the ghosts.

When you dive into the culture of Jeju you find that in many cases the dates of festivals, when you can move into a new house ("Shin Gu Gan") and other events in the daily lives of native islanders such as "Jessuh's" are controlled by "ghosts." For all its modern trappings Jeju is still steeped in traditional beliefs concerning spirits and ghosts. So the next time you ask to do something on a certain date and are told it is impossible, and then not given a good reason why not, it may/probably has something to do with not wanting to piss off a bunch of ghosts.

Movies - FYI

It doesn't take long for a person to become bored on Jeju. After all, there are so many times you can go to a temple or visit interesting places on Jeju. In a short time Jeju can become a boring place to live and work. This is especially true if you are not "into" spending all of your time drinking at the local "foreigner bar" or playing frisbee (do they still call it that?).

Many people on Jeju try to kill time by watching movies. Unfortunately, it seems that the local movie theaters are showing fewer and fewer western (i.e. good) movies. I don't know why. It could be that foreign movies are more expensive for movie theaters to get or it could be that another wave of "우리나라" garbage has hit the movie industry. I honestly don't know. All I know is that the selection of western movies at local movie theaters on Jeju has decreased in the last couple of years.

I find that many people turn to the internet to watch movies. I know I do. It is cheaper and more convenient. However, after awhile you find yourself getting tired of seeing the same movies over and over again, or relying on friends for recommendations. So what do you do?

Before dowloading a movie I go to a website called "Screen It" to check it out. This website provides an overview of the movie - spoilers included. This website can save you hours of wasted time downloading and watching a boring movie or watching a movie that looks like it's been made by a Steven Spielberg wannabe on crack. ("D-War" anybody?).

Screen It also allows parents to find out about a movie before allowing their child to view it. As a parent I find that I am having to do this more and more, unfortunately.

So before deciding to spend time downloading, or forking over hard earned Won on a movie you don't know anything about, you might want to check it out on Screen It first.

www.screenit.com

Jeju City Sand and Food - Great Sandwiches in the CGV Building

When I as back home in the States, I use to travel across country for various reasons. While away from home I always looked for the small, out-of-the-way places to eat. It has been my experience that it is in these small places that you find the best food.

Jeju is no exception. Now I love Korean food. There is nothing better than sitting down to a Kalbi dinner or maybe some Sam Gae Tang. What I have always looked for, however, is a sandwich shop where I can get a great “Western style” sandwich at a reasonable price.

My search ended a couple of weeks ago. I found a small place that reminds me of "Subway" back home. The name of the place is “Sand and Food.”

It is a small place located in a small food court that I happened to stumble upon during one of my “walk-abouts.” I was hungry so I ordered a regular bacon sandwich. Darn it was good. So I ordered a hotdog. It was good also. I went back this last weekend, had a quick chicken sandwich and, you guessed it, it was also good. Now I am hooked on the place.

For the health conscious, Sand and Food tries to make their sandwiches and other items as healthy as possible. It seems they are trying to balance a healthy food with a great taste. They seem to have succeeded. Most of their sandwiches are made with a type of rice bread. It’s great bread.

The sandwich menu items include Spicy Chicken, Cheese Steak, Bulgalbi/Hot Bulgalbi, Chicken, Sweet Potato Salad, Double Ham, and Crab. The sandwiches come with lettuce, onions, tomatoes, etc., etc. The also offer 3 types of hotdogs. If you order a hotdog just tell them you don’t want the mayonnaise on it. To me a hotdog just isn’t a hotdog with mayo. But if you like mayo on your dog no problem it will be on there.

They also serve several different types of coffee, caffe latte, cappuccino, mocha, and macchiato. They also serve different kinds of hot and iced teas

For dessert or a snack you can get nacho’s, sweet potato salad, or mini sweet potato’s.

I haven’t tried everything on the menu but I am going to be doing so over the next few weeks.

Sand and Food is located in the same building as CGV movie theater near City Hall. The "CGV Building" is on the big street around the corner from Holley’s Coffee. Sand and Food is on the 3rd Floor of the CGV building in the food court area near the entrance to the movie theater. It appears to be run by a mother and her teenage son and daughter. They are very nice people. After ordering my food, during my first visit, I went to sit down in the small food court area and, after just a couple of minutes, the young man brought the sandwiches, wrapped in wax paper, to my table. During my second visit there, after watching me devour the chicken sandwich, this same young man brought out extra napkins to my table without me asking. A small thing, yes, but it is the small things that separate good service from great service in my opinion.

If you are in the City Hall area and get hungry I definitely recommend you check it out. It is place where you can go grab a quick bite and maybe see a movie later on.

Phone Number (064) 753-0500

Bad Husbands and Kimchi Revenge

I hate reality TV. This evening I came back into Casa-de-LOJ and sat down to watch some mind-numbing TV show about top models. As I was watching, I glanced over at Mrs. LOJ in the kitchen. She was giving me the evil eye. Any man that is married for more than ohhhh 5 minutes or so can relate to the look I was getting.

I asked Lil’ Miss LOJ, “Why is mommy PO’d?” Lil Miss LOJ’s reply sent shivers down my spine. She said “Mommy was watching a show about married people on TV and got mad at you.” Great. I was guilty before even knowing what the charge was. Were we magically transported to Zimbabwe or something? I asked, while keeping an eye out for household cutlery flying in my direction, “What was the show about?” To which the smirking Lil Miss replied, “The person on TV said that if a husband sleeps with his back to his wife then the marriage is not good.” Oh crap……

A week ago my back started to bother me due to the heating pad we use to heat the bed when it gets cold at night. I was losing a lot of sleep because of the pain. Because of this, and not wanting Mrs. LOJ to sleep in a cold bed (a fact she has somehow conveniently forgotten), I have been sleeping on the living room floor. My back has been pain free at night.

Well, apparently Mrs. LOJ thinks that if turning your back on your spouse while sleeping is a sign of trouble, then sleeping on the floor in the living room means that hubby has got himself an ajumma harem at the local GS Mart or something. Friggin’ wonderful.

Of course, being the intelligent, thoughtful, wonderful, caring husband that I am, I laughed and said to Mrs. LOJ “That’s gotta be the dumbest thing I’ve ever heard.” Not stopping when I was clearly behind I added, “I can’t believe there are morons who believe that kind of B.S.” Silence. The only sound I heard was the chirping of imaginary crickets while the theme song from “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” played in the background of my mind. Oh crap……..

Later, during dinner, Mrs. LOJ asked “So are you going to sleep in the living room tonight?” Thinking about the pain in my back, and knowing full well who wears the pants in THIS family, I replied in a firm voice, “I’ll be sleeping with you honey, bunny, boo.” I guess I'll just suck it up and try to make amends for....uhhh for.... awww hell I dunno, maybe for the crime of being male, a husband, and letting my wife watch reality TV without adult supervision, I guess. Unfortunately, I just know what’s going to happen later….

Now some of you may be thinking “What’s the big deal?” Well, there is something that men who are married to nice Korean ladies may have also experienced. I call it the “Kimchi Revenge.” Whenever, Mrs. LOJ is PO’d at me she usually waits until right before bed to eat a large helping of kimchi and rice. Have you ever spent 8 hours with your nose just inches away from somebody who has eaten kimchi? That, ladies and gentlemen, is torture. To hell with “waterboarding” or car batteries attached to genitals, kimchi breath is the very definition of torture. Oh well, I’ll just have to suffer through it like a good "convicted" husband.

I just have to remember to call my ajumma harem at the GS Mart and tell them that the kinky kimbap party is cancelled.

More on the Nurses

I received a comment to my recent post about the Cheju National Univerity Nursing School's test results, "Why Don't I Think This A Good Thing." The information was disturbing. I did a quick Google on the subject and came up with two articles from the Chosun Ilbo about the subject to which the person who sent the comment was referring. You can read the comment under the original post. I am linking to the newspaper stories below.

Cheating School Gets Banned From U.S. Nursing Test

U.S. Nursing Body Nullifies Some Korean Test Results

Now you know why I asked question number #6 in my original post.

Incredible.

Giving Blood On Jeju

Calm down my friends from down-under. I'm not talking about playing rugby. I am talking about actually donating a pint or two of blood to the Korean Red Cross on Jeju.

From time to time I will see the "Blood Bus" operated by the Korean Red Cross (KRC) parked in the City Hall parking lot across from Holley's Coffee Shop. Usually, meandering around the area are workers from the KRC with their hats, yellow vests and sashes trying to entice people to give blood. Personally, I am all for people donating blood to help their fellow human beings.

In the past, I have read "horror stories" on the web about foreigners wanting to give blood, but were turned away because their blood was "dirty" or "foreigner blood" was not accepted because "all foreigners have AIDS." Admittedly, this turned me off on the idea of giving blood in Korea for obvious reasons.

The other day Mrs. LOJ and I were walking past City hall on the way to meet a friend for coffee. I noticed the KRC blood bus was there and the workers were meandering about as usual. There was a sign near the bus asking people with rare blood types, which I have, to please donate. I commented to Mrs. LOJ about what I have read on the 'net and how this turned me off from offering to donate. Mrs. LOJ told me to keep walking toward the coffee shop while she went and asked the workers about foreigners giving blood.

A few minutes later Mrs. LOJ rejoined me and told me about her conversation. Mrs. LOJ told me that the KRC does accept blood from anyone willing to donate. The problem, according to the KRC workers, are the questions they need to ask the potential donor in order to ascertain their suitability. These questions are in Korean and there is no one available that can translate the Korean into English and, more importantly from their perspective, the English answers into Korean. The workers told Mrs. LOJ that that is why foreigners are often turned away. It is the communication barrier. Now, of course, this could be countered by saying "Well, why don't they have English interpretation or forms available." This is a good point, but really, just how many non-Korean speaking donors are there in Korea that would meet the strict criteria set forth in order to donate blood? Not that many I would assume.

So, will the KRC accept donations from foreigners? The guys at City Hall say "Yes." So if you want to donate and can't speak good Korean, take a Korean friend along and see if you meet the criteria. If you do, please consider giving a pint or two. Thanks.

Teaching English at Camps on Jeju

Back in June I posted a warning of sorts about teaching English on Jeju. You can search the archives for the orginal post if you're interested. Today I received a comment to that original post. It reminded me that my original post was spot-on and things haven't changed much. The comment from the teacher described the same problems concerning money, management incompetence/hostility, etc. that have become all too common. I am posting part of the comment here:

"Teaching English on Jeju - A Warning": this is right ... XXX IS A SCAM!!! I'm a teacher who has worked at XXX camp ..... and they didn't pay ANYTHING. They refused to pay and when i threatened legal action the manager said "do whatever you like" DON'T go here whatever you do!!!!!p.s. what do i do to try and get my money? Does anyone know what i should do?

Admittedly, I don't know the particulars of the situation so I can't provide any useful information. I post it here in order to give those wishing to come and work at a camp on Jeju a moments pause.

As we know "Camps" are run during summer and winter breaks during the school year. Unfortunately, my reasearch has found very few, if any, that are worth their salt. It should be remembered that the Korean EFL industry (and it IS an industry) is basically unregulated. Yeah, I know there are laws and regulations for owner/operators of these camps. But let's get real. You can, in many cases, get the shaft and then get a favorable ruling from the Labor Board and STILL not get any money. What many people forget is that the Labor Board CANNOT enforce its own friggin' ruling. You must sue the owner in court and this takes knowledge of the system and time that many young teachers in the EFL industry just don't have. Academy and Camp operators know this and, in too many cases, rely on this to increase an already razor thin profit margin. It is quite accurate to say that working at an English academy/camp/whatever in Korea (and on Jeju) is a gamble.

From speaking with many people over the years I have come to the conclusion that when it comes to teaching English in Korea, sometimes you are the windshield but, more often than not, you are the bug.

Whenever I am asked by someone if I would recommend a first timer coming to Korea to teach English as a Foreign Language (EFL), I usually respond with an emphatic "NO!!." For the sake of brevityI won't go into the many reasons why I feel this way. If someone does decide to come over the one piece of advice I always give is that you should not come to Korea without the money to get home. You should be prepared to walk away from a situation at a moments notice. Don't EVER rely on the goodness of some hogwan owner or camp operator to pay you the money you earned in order to get home.

To the teacher who sent in the comment: Sorry to hear what happened. I hope everything works out for you.

Why Don't I Think This Is A Good Thing?

I was watching the news this morning. One of the stories had to do with the latest crop of graduates from the nursing program at Cheju National University (CNU). According to the story, 100% of the CNU nursing students that took the national nursing test passed. Mrs. LOJ commented "Wow, that's great. The University's reputation will definitely improve."

I looked at it a different way. It kind of concerned me, actually. I asked myself six questions:

1) "Is the test too friggin' easy?"
2) "Is the CNU nursing curriculum too focused on test takin'?"
3) "Did someone buy the answers like happened during the national college entrance test?"
4) "What measures were in place to discourage/prevent cheating?"
5) "Was someone in the testing process hierarchy an alumni of CNU?"

And, the most interesting question to me:

6) "Why did these questions come to my mind after hearing the story on the news?"

If I had been in Korea for only a year or two I would have thought "Wow, they must have a great nursing program at CNU." However, after 8 years, I now find myself asking WTF!!!???

Korea's 9-11? I Don't Think So.

The other evening Mrs. LOJ and I watched the live news coverage of the fire at Namdaemun (South Gate) in Seoul. As we watched the firefighters run around like chickens with their heads cut off, I remarked to Mrs. LOJ, "I wonder how long it will be before they compare this to the September 11th terrorist attacks?"

I didn't have to wait long. Today in the Chosun Ilbo I read the following:

"The Korean equivalent of the 9/11 attacks happened while the whole country was watching."

and this:

"Just as Americans were thrown into a panic after watching on TV the World Trade Center buildings, the symbol of the U.S., collapse in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Koreans now feel a great sense of loss and frustration at the sight of the Namdaemun collapse. The disaster in Seoul didn't pose any threat to their lives. But they psychologically felt the equivalent of feelings the American had in the wake of the 9/11 attacks."

Excuse me? Are you really trying to tell us that there are similarities between 9-11 and a fire at a building? I could go into great detail discussing the differences between a terrorist attack that killed approximately 3000 people and an arson fire at a national monument. But it would be wasted breath and time. As an American, I do feel it is an insult to even try to compare them, psychologically or otherwise.

But, on the other hand, the article did give me a chuckle when I read this:

Oh Ji-hye (25), an elementary school teacher, said, "As a teacher, I feel ashamed to tell my children that our country is still experiencing a disaster that would occur in an underdeveloped country."

So, according to Ms. Oh, Italy, France, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, the U.S., etc., etc., etc. are "underdeveloped" countries. All of these countries have experienced damage to and/or destruction of landmarks or much, much worse. Get a grip people.

On a related note, I guess the local fire watchers uhhh I mean fighters did (didn't) do it again. After the abortion that happened with the Daegu subway fire, one would think that they would have improved. I guess not. But they do look snappy in their uniforms, doncha think?

link

The Latest From Jeju Life - A Detour?

The latest issue of Jeju Life has hit the neighborhood. I picked up the latest copy at a restaurant near Holly’s Coffee in Jeju City. As usual the guys and gals at Jeju Life have put out a fine little magazine. In the latest issue staff and contributors wrote articles about “Magic World,” the “Fire Festival,” a coffee shop in Seogwipo, Jeju Peace Museum and SCUBA diving on Jeju.

Let me say up front that I appreciate the efforts of all involved in putting out the magazine. However, there was one article that kind of concerned me. It as the article titled “The Grace and Majesty of Jeju Mandarin Oranges.” The focus of the magazine is to introduce the foreign community to the many different cultural aspects and activities on Jeju Island. I believed the articles were to be written from the perspective of foreigners for foreigners. However, I think my previous impressions were mistaken after reading the article in question.

I began thinking I was mistaken after reading the title of the article. If you work in Korea long enough you will probably be approached by someone asking you to proofread or edit an English language document written by a native Korean. The articles/papers I have read (or suffered through) ranged from excellent to absolute rubbish. But they all shared one thing in common, that is, evidence of the Korean English language learner’s love affair with adjectives. In almost every article or paper I have “proofed” the adjectives have to be toned down, eliminated or replaced. When I read the title of the article it screamed to me “A Non-Native Speaker Came up With the Title!!!” I looked at the words “grace” and “majesty” and tried to apply them to the tangerines I had sitting on my dining room table. Delicious? Definitely. Healthy? Absolutely. I love Jeju tangerines. But are they graceful? They didn’t move, they just sat there. Are they majestic? I think of Mt Everest or maybe something by Mozart as majestic. A tangerine, no matter how delicious, is also majestic? I have a hard time buying that one. So I began to think that the title of the article had its origins in a Korean authored document of some sort. OK, no problem. But then as I read further I became more convinced that almost the entire article was a rehash of something written for the local tangerine growers association.

The fourth paragraph of the article seems to me to be taken almost verbatim from some anti-FTA pamphlet. For the sake of brevity I won’t quote the whole paragraph here, but the statement about soil nutrients in the U.S. without citing a source to back up the “fact” is also indicative of something I have seen many times while reading something prepared by Korean political action groups. The last sentence of the article “For Korea, the best choice for good health might be the Jeju Mandarin Orange.” clinched it for me.

There are many, many, many other examples in the article that lead me to believe it was based on something written by the “Citrus Growers Co.op” and not the author of the article.

If this is the case (which I believe it is) fine, no problem. But I think it should be identified as such. I really think a magazine for foreigners by foreigners should refrain from using such source material. If the articles in Jeju Life start to become nothing more than another oblique propaganda tool, (like Arirang TV has become for Korean businesses) it will be evidence that the original vision of the fine people at Jeju Life has taken a detour. I will miss it as it travels down the road to becoming nothing more than a mouth piece of sorts for the Jeju tourism organizations.

Nothing I have written should be taken as a criticism of the author. This person took their time to contribute to the magazine and I am grateful. However, I think the articles in the magazine should be in line with the original intent of the magazine. The article in question, in my opinion, is not in keeping, strictly speaking, with that intent.

Some may say, OK, LOJ where is YOUR contribution? Guilty as charged. I have not contributed for various reasons. The chief one being that I am really lazy. And, after writing several text books recently, I am a wee bit tired of sourcing, fact checking, editing, proofreading and arguing with publishers.

Overall, I think the latest issue of the magazine is another fine effort by the volunteer staff and contributors. I thank them, all of them, for their time and effort in putting it together. And, regardless of what I think about one particular article, I still recommend newcomers to the island and others interested in Jeju, check it out.

(You can check out Jeju Life at their website http://www.jejulife.net/)

I Don't Think So and Wishful Thinking

I was bored so I was reading the Chosun Ilbo today. I came across another "feel good" article about Miss Korea being accepted to MIT in the U.S. I glanced at the article and something caught my eye. It was this sentence:

The letter from MIT stated that Ms. Keum is an outstanding student with a great deal of potential and possesses both beauty and intelligence.

Did you catch that? According to the Chosun Ilbo writer, MIT wrote "..... possesses both beauty and intelligence."

I have a really hard time imagining that the ultra-PC university establishment at any university in the U.S. would comment in writing on an applicants physical appearance. If they did (which I seriously doubt) they screwed up big time - from a legal perspective. It is more likely that journalistic liberties were taken when writing the story. For newcomers to Korea, including Jeju Island, it is important to remember that the Korean media is filled with unabashed editorializing and wishful thinking in many of its stories. Something to consider before getting too wound up about something you read in the Korean press.

Something else I have come to realize in my time on Jeju Island is that many people believe that if it is written in the newspaper it must be true. Remember that the next time you feel the need to get into a political discussion with a co-worker!!!!!!

LINK

Jeju, The Hawaii of Korea?

Not lately. It's been friggin' cold.

Daddy, When Can I Go On A Date?

A question that sends shivers down the spine of any girl's father. I haven't been asked the question yet, but I'm sure it will come up in the next decade or so. I was watching a drama on TV where the question was asked by one of the characters. I thought about it and came up with "The Lil' Miss LOJ Dating Application". All young men wanting to date my daughter in the future will be asked to complete the application when they show up to take Miss LOJ to the movies.

Application To Date Miss LOJ

NOTE: This application will be incomplete and rejected unless accompanied by a complete financial statement, history, lineage, recent FBI background check, psychiatric evaluation, and updated medical report from your doctor.

Section 1: Personal Data:

Name:_________________

Date of Birth:______________

Height:_______________

Weight:______________

I.Q._______________

GPA____________

Social Security#_______________

Drivers License#_______________

Boy Scout Rank:_________________

Home Address:_________________

City/State_______________________

Zip______________________________

Do you have one MALE and one FEMALE parent? __ Yes? __ No?

Number of years parents married:_____

Section 2. Additional Information

Do you own a van? __

Do you own a truck with oversized tires? ___

Do you own a waterbed? ____

Do you have an earring, nose ring, or belly ring?___ Tatoo?___

(IF YES TO ANY OF THESE QUESTIONS, DISCONTINUE APPLICATION AND LEAVE THE PREMISES)

Section 3. Essay Section (Complete the answers on the back of this page):

In 50 words or less, what does DO NOT TOUCH MY DAUGHTER MEAN TO YOU?
In 50 words or less, what does LATE mean to you?
In 50 words or less, what does ABSTINENCE mean to you?

Section 4. References:

Congregation/Church you attend:______________

How often do you attend?________________

When would it the best time to interview your father, mother, relatives, neighbors, minister/rabbi/priest, and past girlfriends? (supply phone numbers)

Section 5. Future Plans:

What do you want to be IF you grow up?

Section 6. Additional Important Questions:

1. "If I were shot, the last place on my body I would want to be wounded is :
2. "If I were beaten, the last bone I would want broken is my:
3. "A woman’s place is in the:
4. "The one thing I hope this application does not ask me about is:
5. "When I first meet a girl, the thing I notice about her is:

(NOTE: If the answer to #E begins with "T" or "A", discontinue and it is advised that you leave the premises right now keeping your head low and running in a serpentine fashion.)

I SWEAR THAT ALL INFORMATION SUPPLIED ABOVE IS TRUE, UNDER THE PENALTY OF A SLOW DEATH, DISMEMBERMENT, SOLDIER ANT TORTURE, RED HOT POKERS DRIPPING WATER TORTURE, ELECTROCUTION, AND THE HILLARY CLINTON KISS TORTURE.

____________________________________________
SIGNATURE (That means your name, moron!)

Thank you for your interest in my daughter. Please allow four to six years for processing. Don’t call us, we’ll call you. You will be contacted in writing if you are approved. Do not try to call or write (since you probably can’t, anyway). Any attempt to make contact might cause you injury. If your application is rejected, two gentlemen with violin cases and cement shoes will notify you – one size fits all.