My brother and I rung in the New Year, 2007, in Seoul a couple days ago. He has just arrived in Korea to teach alongside his younger brother for the next year or so. Many beautiful sights and experiences occurred during out New Year's Eve exploration of Seoul, but one particular I would like to relate in detail. The New Year’s Photo He and I were enjoying the beautiful lights decorating a popular walkway near City Hall in the center of Seoul. Many people were taking pictures in front of various decorations and both my brother and I lamented that we [View Full Entry]

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January is "busy season" which means that there's a good chance I won't have a significant amount of time to write. This just happens to be the way it is. Busy Season You may or may not recall the following facts: 1. Korean children go to regular school just like most children in Western cultures (America, Canada) 2. They attend school during the same general time frame - 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. 3. However, after regular school, many Korean children attend "Academy" 3a. "Academy" is a private school specializing in a particular subject - Math, Science, Animation, and the most [View Full Entry]

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It's just another Thursday night. A little after eleven o'clock at night and I have just arrived home at my studio apartment in Royal Palace Housevill. As I'm sitting in my chair, drinking a cup of grape juice and checking my e-mail, the phone rings. "Uggh" (that's how old Korean men answer the phone, and aspiring to be like an old Korean man, precisely how I answer mine) "Yo, Shawn, it's Dave." "What's going on Dave?" "Not much. Me and Mary are meeting a couple others down in Seohyeon at Dublin Bar to get some drinks and hang out. You want [View Full Entry]

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Wine Party About a week ago, Dave organized a little wine party for anyone who was interested. He was able to gather about 12 of us and naturally it ended up being mostly foreign teachers. So, this wasn't the kind of wine and cheese party where everyone brings something and all share, or the kind of party where Dave is kind enough to supply several bottles of wine for the enjoyment of others. Though Dave may be a generous guy, he's a bit smarter than that. If you're going to have a wine party, how about you find out a way [View Full Entry]

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Pre-Thoughts After reading my "Early Thoughts on the Korean and American Education Systems" I realized that some people may not wrap their brain around the information with the same global perspective with which it was written. Therefore, I have decided to add this additional thought that may help clarify the point of view of "Early Thoughts." I teach between 28 and 34, 40 minute classes on average a week. This adds up to a decent amount of teaching. Despite my concerted effort to impart knowledge, since I have been in Korea I have learned more that I have taught. Though [View Full Entry]

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A girl in one of my classes asked me, "If Americans go to school less than Koreans and study less than Koreans then why does America have more geniuses than Korea?" This is a question that requires more thought than usual because it asks about deeper implications on the differences between the Korean education system compared to the American education system. Koreans are very smart. They study much harder than the average American. Koreans are taught to memorize. They go to school Monday through Saturday for an average of 3 hours more a day than Americans. At age 13 they take [View Full Entry]

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So my buddy Warren asked me one of my first days if I had had a Johnny Cash Dump yet. I didn't know what he was talking about... One of the best things about Korea is obviously the extreme cultural differences. Eating in Korea can be nothing like eating in a Western country (the States). Sure, Korea is a developed country and they have taken their fair share of ideas from the West and introduced them into their culture. You can go to an Outback Steakhouse, TGIFriday's, McDonald's, Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts, or even Baskin Robbins if you'd like. Or you can [View Full Entry]

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America has its fair share of commercial holidays. I won't list them, but you can imagine which holidays were created simply to sell things, and which holidays over time have become extremely commercialized. Well, in Korea, there's a day called Pepero Day. Now Pepero is a candy treat of sorts. It means "thin, like a stick" and is simply a thin cylindrical cookie-stick dipped in chocolate. Most Holidays are commemorating some special date, or event. Now, why would there be a holiday celebrating candy? Does it have some historical or religious significance? Or is there simply no shame at [View Full Entry]

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Alright, so karaoke is huge over here. Maybe some of you knew that, maybe some of you thought you knew. Karaoke isn't just for a random Tuesday night at a Mexican bar like Amigo's with cheap Tequila shots and townies doing their impressions of Barbara Streisand and Ray Charles. Oh no, my friends, one need not wait for Karaoke Night at the local dive just to "mix things up a bit." Karaoke is its own business around here. Any night of the week, at practically anytime. And, no, you don't have to know which bars have karaoke, all you need to [View Full Entry]

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So, I was walking in downtown Seoul among all the neon signs and Korean faces and all of a sudden I see a giant billboard of Hines Ward wearing a "KEB" Jersey - KEB is Korean Exchange Bank (see attached pic). Apparently after he won the Super Bowl MVP, Koreans found out his mom was Korean and now they love him. Anybody can represent Cambell's Chunky, but you're not the man until you're sponsored by KEB. Sick. Also, smoking is pretty popular among Korean men and all you have to do is stop by a stand on the street and buy [View Full Entry]

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