Into the World:
The Random Thoughts in My Mind

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...

In all societies, there are students who do not give a damn about school. It is nothing surprising that some people, under any environment, would think that school can be worthless or that they can find other ways of success beyond prestigious schooling. And similarly, there are parents who believe in the same thing. They allow their kids to choose their own paths, or simply just do not care where their kids end up without proper schooling. Sometimes, the students and the parents who do not give a damn happen to come from the same household. The result can be a disaster for the kid (in the normal case) or creation of some sort of absurdly unique and widely envied stories of abnormal successes for the kids in question. Well, not in Korea. Kids might be varied in enthusiasm for school just like kids are in any other country, but parents see absolutely no variance whatsoever. In the financial situation allows them to do so, the Korean parents will gladly pay up (and in my opinion, ...

For anyone who reads this blog regularly, there should already be a realization that "individuality" is a recurring theme in its long ranting passages. From fighting for my personal freedom at work to seeking the most unique personalities I can find during my travels , I have spent a large portion of my free time looking for sparks of rebellion against meek collectivism in some of the world's most collectivist societies . And, in all honesty, Korea, like Japan, definitely belong in the ranks of brutal collectivism despite improving political and economic individuality over decades of opening up the countries for Western-style reforms. The resulting social bipolarity, appearing in the form of never-ending conflicts between institutional needs for absolute obedience and the economic glorification of individual materialism, has been a matter of great interest for me as I walk about the streets of the Korean metropolis dissecting its human side. Recently, the concept of fa...

Working within Korean society can bring surprising findings at random moments. The other day, we the teachers came across a gel-tipped highlighter that is unlike anything we have ever seen. Soft and smooth when it touches paper, it actually does to make any marks when slashed across the skin. The Korean students must have been quite amused by a bunch of foreign teachers being amazed by a piece of stationery so commonly used and seen in this country. And this is not the only time I have been amazed by highly practical and technically sophisticated products found on this side of the Pacific. From heated-up toilet seats in Japan to cheap yet extremely multi-functional pirated goods in China, the Asian economic miracle based on strong manufacturing sector has in essence created societies with strong materialistic convenience. The unique products are further complemented by increasingly polite and respectful services when the products are sold or repaired. Certainly beyond anything the...

Another weekend, another round of random adventures in Seoul, with random musings, random meet-ups, and random places....senses overflows with brand-new knowledge, no matter how trivial, and the body overflows with more and more alcohol under random conditions leading to random consequences. For just another foreigner living in the massive metropolis, no experience is really off-limits and no activity really deserves to be set aside as off-limits for any reason. But increasingly, as a foreigner living in a foreign country, not just here in Korea but Japan and pretty soon in the future, England, I am increasingly an inner split between two different kinds of foreignness , battling inside of me for supremacy in every situation I get into. As an Asian-American, the side of me that exemplifies the “Asian” natures of humbleness and respect for authority clashes with the “Western” natures of individuality and spontaneity at every opportunity I get. Without a doubt, these are the clashes ...

"How do I get my kids into Ivy League schools?" Working in the hagwon business , it is THE fundamental question teachers and consultants must be held answerable to their clients. The inquiring looks of the students and their parents are surely never to be satisfied by any explanation, no matter how long, sophisticated, detailed they are...but the question still had to be answered. Amid the non-ending competition for clients among different hagwons, the standard answers about extracurricular activities, SAT scores, and essays, at some point many many years ago, have became nowhere near sufficient.... In a market where anyone who lived and went to school in the States can claim (and often do so shamelessly) him or herself to be an "expert in American education system," the shadowy arts of "unconventional persuasion" becomes not only handy but also completely necessary and required for the very economic survival of the so-called "experts" in the ...

I have said to many people many times in the past, and I will say it again, "every spot in Korea, if not specifically designated as another function, can be and is a dating spot." Strolling through malls, parks, and random streets, the sights of couples with locked hands and loving conversations are something that cannot be avoided by any means. As if to declare to the entire world that they are in love and with complete disregard for the (supposedly) Confucian tradition of toning things a bit down in public spaces, the young couples have made the streets of the metropolis dissipate invisible pink hearts at any corner and at any time of the day. Pardon the completely overused and cliched "soul=Seoul" pun, but for the past days, I have been trying to track down exactly where all these energy for romance are generated...and gets dissipated. In a society known for social conservatism based a strong sense of different social groupings , it is always a wonder how peop...

Walking through the little lobby of my service apartment here in a neighborhood frequented by high-end foreign visitors, I would commonly find the newest brochures for English-language tours of Korea. The familiar Seoul city tours, the Korean drama tours, the historical Korean culture tours...but even in this day and age, the most prominent and most used tour packages are still the "Korea divided" tours headed up to the northern border. DMZ tour is a crowd favorite and commonly acknowledged must-do in Korea, and wait it minute, can it be? NLL tours?! NLL, for those who are unfamiliar, is short for the "Northern Limit Line," a highly disputed "maritime border" between the two Koreas extending west from the land border that we call DMZ. And the biggest military news of the last few months, namely the alleged bombing of a Southern frigate by a Northern torpedo, and the deadly bombardment of the nearby Southern island by Northern artillery, both occurred n...

Class, prep for class, sleep, class, prep for class, sleep...the normal cycle of being an "educator" in an "intensive" summer SAT program seemed to finally come back to me. Even though it has been more than a year and a half since I taught similar programs, it seems that I am having much easier time getting used to the life of an English teacher this time compared to the last few times. Perhaps it is really because that my discipline and worldview changed much since I went through my full-time job in Japan ... Perhaps, just perhaps...but what is interesting is that I can confidently say that I worked harder and had a much broader view of the world back when I was a Yale student ( even though I am in many ways quite dissatisfied with it ) and will certainly do when I start another tough year at LSE . My Japan experience should not play that big of a factor. So, I took a few minutes out of my prep time to rethink about exactly what is making my few days of teachin...

People always question me why don't I just work in Korea full-time when I seem to love the country so much even though I do not even speak the language properly. No knowing the language, they argue, only works in my favor here because I can truly pretend to be completely oblivious to the "social rules" here and play the "foreign card" literally 100% of the time . No need to be like in Japan, where I still try to do as the Japanese salary-men do (occasionally) to score some brownie points and "increase friendships ." But my answer has always been the line about how the every "social rule" that exist in Japanese workplace definitely exists in Korea, and they are enforced more strictly here than over in Japan. After having a night-long conversation with a Korean friend that works in a government financial agency, such "harsh" opinion of mine just got reinforced, much more strongly...the stories of a bottom-rung Korean white collar w...

...Well, the streets of Gangnam welcomed me back almost exactly the same way as I left it almost three years ago. The familiar convenience stores, Karaoke parlors, little restaurants, and of course, that gigantic COEX Mall across the street...the energetic, vibrant feel of the town is on full display for my first weekend in Korea since 2008. A few more happy businessmen having afternoon beers in a few more Western-style bars, a few more stylish cute girls walking through a few more luxury shops, and a few more sales ladies peddling to a few more happy customers...beneath the physical sameness was a country gradually moving forward... To be honest, the fact that I am walking down the streets of Seoul still has not really settled in my mind just yet. Having been told by a straight-faced, no-mercy immigration official that my work visa to Japan was officially cancelled and my Alien Registration Card (外国人登録書) need to be confiscated on the spot, I was still reeling from the sense of sudd...

...And then, there was an empty one-room apartment, in the exact same condition as exactly 8 months ago, when I set sights on it for the first time, full of anticipation and newfound exhilaration . Under the unusually crisp, fresh, and not-raining early summer sunshine, the room, to me, shined just as brightly as it did in chilly October. It remains, in my view, that serene safe haven for the tired sailor, coming back to her warm embrace after another day of battling the constant storms that is Japanese society . Yet, at the same time, the room was not, and cannot possibly be, in the same condition. What is unseen, floating in the still air and absorbed in her walls and furniture, are memories, thoughts, and endless self-reflections , stemming from so many observations, experiences, and occasionally, lonely nights looking up at the stars. The room, even devoid of all her material possessions, cannot hold all my random thoughts. They threaten to overwhelm her and escape her contain...