Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

Being an English teacher to an isolated group of English-speaking, foreign-raised Korean kids can easily deceive a person into believing the optimistic international nature of Korean society. While it is tempting to consider a country as mono-ethnic and mono-cultural as South Korea into a single block (or worse, as part of the greater Oriental "cultural group" ), the fact is, with greater exposure of the country to the outside world, those who are directly experienced in associating with foreigners in general have developed a unique sense of identity away from the general population. Admittedly, in terms of overall demographics of the country, the foreign-experienced ones has to be a tiny minority, often defined by high-end white collar jobs and privileged lifestyles. Unfortunately, for most foreigners living in Korea, these so-called "elitists," who are the only ones the foreigners really interact with, have inadvertently, in the eyes of the foreigners, the "

"But, see, you are old and you don't understand what we are talking about..." the eager female student inadvertently blurts out as we hold up a random conversation during a short break from class. To be honest, over the last two weeks, I have been getting way too many of these sorts of comments that I should really feel absolutely indifferent to them...but unfortunately, even now, each time I hear them, I cannot help but twitch a little bit on the inside from the slight, painful emotional shock... "You get older, but the kids stay the same age..." I always respond to people who ask me why I just do not be a full-time teacher in the lucrative private education industry. I am currently in it not primarily for the career, or the money (although that is also important for my next step at grad school ), but because I can actually meet people (students and other staff members alike) and be friends with them. It becomes much harder as I age and the generation gap w

...so the self-introduction of our male Korean staff went as we went for a handshake on the first day of my arrival in Chuncheon...fortunately or unfortunately, that phrase (meaning, "Sorry, but I don't speak English") has been the defining "tone" of our now 3-day-old SAT camp here in Chuncheon. Somehow feeling confident in my Korean ability more than in their own English abilities, the Korean staff has somehow now became completely alright with speaking in Korean to me 24-7, going so far as to admitting that they wish to learn to speak English...in Korean. Ambiguous comprehensions and struggling in even the simplest conversations, as much as seemingly endless preparations for classes, has become the norm. Sandwiched by a Korean-Canadian colleague with fluent Korean and an African-American colleague who no one will expect to know any Korean, I am bearing the blunt of this inherent "only Korean spoken outside of class" policy. Perhaps I was wrong to

A weekend with excess drinking here in Seoul. But at least for my last weekend here in the Metropolis , I at least had a bit of time to do a couple of things to think about how the modern side of Korea, with Seoul as her best representative, really thinks about itself, especially as she deals with an increased inflow of foreigners here for pure economic gains (rather than military, family reasons as has been the case not that long ago). Traditional culture is still very much alive in the country and among the people...or is it? The first was a sort of action play that act as one of Seoul's longest-running man-made tourist spots. "Nanta" (literally, "random hitting") is a "silent comedy + Stomp + interpretive dance(?)" show that has allegedly been running nonstop since 1997 and in 40 different countries. The lack of actual use of spoken language, the widespread use of martial arts (or what seems to be) has been a major factor for its international

My roommate and fellow coworker here at Seoul often makes this statement, "I don't know when is the next time I will be in Korea, so might as well try that too," to literally anything that we have been going through for the past couple of weeks. Whether it be trying unusual food at hole-in-the-wall restaurants with no English spoken, or wondering through sketchy neighborhoods at night drinking excessively and looking for I-don't-know-what, such an attitude gave him the courage to basically venture into sometimes quite uncomfortable unknowns that most sane foreigners in the country may never venture.

For most people, especially foreigners demanding a “foreign lifestyle,” Korea equals to Seoul, and Seoul equals to Korea. The cosmopolitan city has all the foreign people, expat-catered bars, clubs, and restaurants, and above all, a populace that is both friendly and at times, overly envious of the Western lifestyle that we the foreigners somehow come to define. Living in Seoul makes the Westerner feel like he/she is on the top of the socio-economic food chain, even if the person in question is a mere English teacher without much status or respect back home. As someone who took the time to travel to every single province in South Korea (plus one in the North), I know such attitude is definitely not prevalent in the entire country. If anything, in the parts of the country where only the well-heeled foreigners dare to venture, the local reaction to the presence of people with different beliefs (whether they are real foreigners or “foreigner-like” Seoulites) can sometimes get rather, e