원주 Wonju
27 Feb 2010, To start my long weekend, I take a bus to 원주 Wonju in northern South Korea and enjoy a quiet
meandering walk around the city.
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Coco Shanghai
This is the kind of thing that really gets me stoked.
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Especially when it lets me into a country where a band like this awaits.
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Canadian Indie rockers Jets Overhead are currently powering through an 11-day, eight-show tour of China, kicking it off with three performances on the Expo 2010 stages. The band will be blowing out Shanghai with a finale at a club called Yuyintang, where, following an early rise, two taxis, one plane, and a high speed train, I’ll be soaking up the melodies and taking notes for an upcoming feature in Eloquence Magazine.
All this means I should have been asleep two hours ago. Back Sunday…updates to come!
Pong
Normally, I don't really sweat that much, and this may have been the reason why before this summer I've only had around five mosquito bites in Korea. In the last two days, I've been bitten seven times in our apartment, and I have the itchy red spots to prove it.
Having a large apartment can seem like a step up from the 'one-room' place we spent the first fifteen months in, but I discovered it had a downside: the air conditioning unit in the one-room could keep the air cool with only intermittent efforts, but the one in our four-bedroom apartment would need to stay on all the time to have any chance of making a significant difference to the temperature of our office on the other side of the building. The upshot of which is that I'm working in a room which hits 30 degrees and 80% humidity on the bad days, while three computers pump out warm air which has nowhere to go. It's hot, uncomfortable, and apparently it's made me more of a mosquito target.
The question of where the dreaded mosquitoes are actually coming from became a pressing one after their seven-bite feast. Our bed is protected by a large mosquito tent, so it isn't while I sleep. Logically then, it's almost certainly in the office where I've spent almost all my time this week. It wasn't long before careful examination of the large wire gauze cover which prevents insects flying through the otherwise open window (aka 'mogi jang' - 모기장 - mosquito net/bar) revealed it to have four large gaps in the frame where insects can enter the apartment as they wish. One of them is the gap beneath the window and the frame, which might be unavoidable, but the other three are a little inexplicable – they are lozenge-shaped holes which are clearly part of the design of the frame.
Since my wife became pregnant we can't liberally employ mosquito spray wherever we want to as we used to, and truth be told I was never convinced of its efficacy – only a direct hit at close quarters ever seemed to kill, so Korean Mother's strategy of spraying a room heavily and then closing the door for ten minutes before going to bed never seemed like it was going to harm anything apart from the person sleeping inside. I can't spray my office even if my wife isn't in the room now either, since we acquired an aquarium. So I've had to resort to using an insect swatter, which often involves cleaning up blood-splattered walls afterwards.
I hoped technology might come to the rescue, but was disappointed to find that most people on the Korean Internet felt that the kind of electrified lights which I often see in fast-food places back in the UK, but not so much in Korea, don't actually work very well. So we ended up buying an electrified mosquito swatter.
The electrified mosquito swatter seems typical of so much that is sold in Korea. It's made in China, and it's so dangerous that almost two-hundred people were injured by it last year. Shopping forums are full of cautionary tales of the huge sparks which are created and the dangers of it touching yourself or any close family members you'd like to keep. Despite this, the solution is not to ban the product, but rather to offer 100,000,000 won (£53,600/$81,500) of product liability insurance. A Samsung Insurance sticker is therefore attached above the handle for your peace of mind. If that isn't enough, the box has the word 'Safety' written in large letters in the corner, and 'As Seen on TV', though it isn't clear to me whether this was in an advert or a news report.
What kind of design aesthetic should such an apparently dangerous device have? Something that doesn't look attractive to children? No, worryingly it looks like a toy with a tennis racquet shape, a bright orange frame, and a friendly-looking cat face in the middle of the metal strings, inviting you in for a closer look.
The initial test came the day the package arrived. The device is activated with a button which must be held in while hitting the offending mosquito, although apparently it can retain a charge even after it's released. I quickly put the batteries in and pressed it – a loud crack accompanied by large retina-blurring spark immediately jumped off the metal wiring. There was no doubt this was going to be satisfyingly deadly, the only question remained as to who the victim would be. The second loud crack came as I moved the now electrified racquet gently towards the flying insect, which was left motionless in the wiring.
It's easy to be frightened by the rather cavalier attitude to public safety that exists in this country – but the electrified mosquito swatter stands as an example of how it can actually work for you; just because some ajumma set fire to her apartment with one, and just because a young girl put one in her mouth with predictably horrific consequences (yes, both actually happened), apparently nobody is going to stop you from buying it. Which is good if you're careful and responsible, but not so good if you might be Darwin Award material. Later, I'll let you know at a later time which group I fall into. Unless I can't.
Having a large apartment can seem like a step up from the 'one-room' place we spent the first fifteen months in, but I discovered it had a downside: the air conditioning unit in the one-room could keep the air cool with only intermittent efforts, but the one in our four-bedroom apartment would need to stay on all the time to have any chance of making a significant difference to the temperature of our office on the other side of the building. The upshot of which is that I'm working in a room which hits 30 degrees and 80% humidity on the bad days, while three computers pump out warm air which has nowhere to go. It's hot, uncomfortable, and apparently it's made me more of a mosquito target.
The question of where the dreaded mosquitoes are actually coming from became a pressing one after their seven-bite feast. Our bed is protected by a large mosquito tent, so it isn't while I sleep. Logically then, it's almost certainly in the office where I've spent almost all my time this week. It wasn't long before careful examination of the large wire gauze cover which prevents insects flying through the otherwise open window (aka 'mogi jang' - 모기장 - mosquito net/bar) revealed it to have four large gaps in the frame where insects can enter the apartment as they wish. One of them is the gap beneath the window and the frame, which might be unavoidable, but the other three are a little inexplicable – they are lozenge-shaped holes which are clearly part of the design of the frame.
Since my wife became pregnant we can't liberally employ mosquito spray wherever we want to as we used to, and truth be told I was never convinced of its efficacy – only a direct hit at close quarters ever seemed to kill, so Korean Mother's strategy of spraying a room heavily and then closing the door for ten minutes before going to bed never seemed like it was going to harm anything apart from the person sleeping inside. I can't spray my office even if my wife isn't in the room now either, since we acquired an aquarium. So I've had to resort to using an insect swatter, which often involves cleaning up blood-splattered walls afterwards.
I hoped technology might come to the rescue, but was disappointed to find that most people on the Korean Internet felt that the kind of electrified lights which I often see in fast-food places back in the UK, but not so much in Korea, don't actually work very well. So we ended up buying an electrified mosquito swatter.
The electrified mosquito swatter seems typical of so much that is sold in Korea. It's made in China, and it's so dangerous that almost two-hundred people were injured by it last year. Shopping forums are full of cautionary tales of the huge sparks which are created and the dangers of it touching yourself or any close family members you'd like to keep. Despite this, the solution is not to ban the product, but rather to offer 100,000,000 won (£53,600/$81,500) of product liability insurance. A Samsung Insurance sticker is therefore attached above the handle for your peace of mind. If that isn't enough, the box has the word 'Safety' written in large letters in the corner, and 'As Seen on TV', though it isn't clear to me whether this was in an advert or a news report.
What kind of design aesthetic should such an apparently dangerous device have? Something that doesn't look attractive to children? No, worryingly it looks like a toy with a tennis racquet shape, a bright orange frame, and a friendly-looking cat face in the middle of the metal strings, inviting you in for a closer look.
The initial test came the day the package arrived. The device is activated with a button which must be held in while hitting the offending mosquito, although apparently it can retain a charge even after it's released. I quickly put the batteries in and pressed it – a loud crack accompanied by large retina-blurring spark immediately jumped off the metal wiring. There was no doubt this was going to be satisfyingly deadly, the only question remained as to who the victim would be. The second loud crack came as I moved the now electrified racquet gently towards the flying insect, which was left motionless in the wiring.
It's easy to be frightened by the rather cavalier attitude to public safety that exists in this country – but the electrified mosquito swatter stands as an example of how it can actually work for you; just because some ajumma set fire to her apartment with one, and just because a young girl put one in her mouth with predictably horrific consequences (yes, both actually happened), apparently nobody is going to stop you from buying it. Which is good if you're careful and responsible, but not so good if you might be Darwin Award material. Later, I'll let you know at a later time which group I fall into. Unless I can't.
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Source: Busan Mike
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Busanmike.blogspot.com
Twitter: @BusanMike
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Flickr: /busanmike
Question from a reader: studying in Korea and being transsexual
A reader - fifteen years old, by the looks of things! - writes in:
Hello! I just recently stubled upon your blog and just wanted to say I think it's fantastic. I'm currently committing myself to reading pretty much everything on the site, all the way back to '07....
I plan on moving to Korea one day, not to teach English, but to go to Seoul Institute of the Arts to train to be a game artist/designer(I looove online gaming, and apparently, so do Koreans! :D Says my internet research). It's been my dream for as long as I can remember, to go to South Korea, but I need a few things clarified first...(I'm only fifteen, by the way, if that holds any sway on things. I have some time before I need a concrete plan). First, I want to go to a South Korean college- not as an exchange student, but preferrably as a fully recognized student. I also want to live in Korea permanently (save for the holiday flights to visit the family). Does going to college in Korea require a Korean citizenship? I'm dilligently working on my Korean, and hope to be fluent by the time I graduate high school, but don't you have to have lived in Korea for five+ years in order to qualify for a citizenship? And, Can I apply for Seoul Inst. while I'm still in the US, and fly to Korea if I get accepted? Also, I know sexual identity is a debated issue in most countries; gay marriage is currently illegal where I live. I believe it's legal in Korea, but I'm transsexual(and not afraid to say it at all). If I move to Korea, will that affect my ability to get a job, rent an apartment, or get into school? [T.]
T.
You certainly have your head on straight! At 15 years old, I was still trying to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. At 28 years old, I'm still working on that.
Regarding coming to Korea to study at a Korean university - I wrote about a website last year that promises to assist foreigners wishing to study in Korea. Check out studyinkorea.org - give yourself some time to really explore the site.
Does going to college in Korea require a Korean citizenship?
No - there's quite a few international students that maintain citizenship in their home country. While I don't know a lot about studying in Korea, I'll plug a fellow blogger. Check out Matt Strum's 'On My Way To Korea' blog for life as a student in Korea. If interested in Korean citizenship, it is possible after some years in Korea. Get here first, then ensure you actually want to aim for that. Unless you're only coming to study for a year (as an exchange student), you'll be considered a fully-enrolled student by the institution you attend.
Can I apply for Seoul Inst. while I'm still in the US, and fly to Korea if I get accepted?
Also, I know sexual identity is a debated issue in most countries; gay marriage is currently illegal where I live. I believe it's legal in Korea, but I'm transsexual(and not afraid to say it at all). If I move to Korea, will that affect my ability to get a job, rent an apartment, or get into school?
Fabulous! The good news is there is a small but vibrant GLBT community in Seoul, although it can be a bit harder to find it outside of the big city. The bad news is that gay marriage (to my knowledge) is illegal, and most take extreme means to stay in the closet. If they're found out, their families may disown them, their employers may fire them, and they may find it much harder to exist in everyday society. You'll have a place to associate with the community (Itaewon's Homo Hill being the most visible, although a scene also exists in downtown Seoul's Jongno area), but for the most part you'll be wise to keep your sexuality under your hat. We recently had a gay pride parade in downtown Seoul, and there were plenty of supportive organizations for people of all kinds.
You still have sometime before coming to Korea, but it sounds like you're doing everything right. Keep up the research, and good luck!
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© Chris Backe - 2010
This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.
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Recording the radio show was nerve wracking as hell and then it was over.
Spaz update:
1. Microphones are not fidgeting friendly. I had be reminded a few times not to rustle my papers or tap my fingers on the table. I finally settled for waving my fingers around in the air while I talked. Why yes, I did look ridiculous!
Rainy season has set in. I want to go out and be a tourist but when it rains I just want to hang about the apartment, read, and eat chocolate. Very exciting, I know.
Anyways, stay tuned for the radio show, Busan FM 90.5, "Let's talk Busan" on July 11th. It starts at 7:00pm Korea time (though I don't go on until 7:30) and should be available steaming on their website if you don't have access to a radio, or you know, Korean airwaves.
Spaz update:
1. Microphones are not fidgeting friendly. I had be reminded a few times not to rustle my papers or tap my fingers on the table. I finally settled for waving my fingers around in the air while I talked. Why yes, I did look ridiculous!
Rainy season has set in. I want to go out and be a tourist but when it rains I just want to hang about the apartment, read, and eat chocolate. Very exciting, I know.
Anyways, stay tuned for the radio show, Busan FM 90.5, "Let's talk Busan" on July 11th. It starts at 7:00pm Korea time (though I don't go on until 7:30) and should be available steaming on their website if you don't have access to a radio, or you know, Korean airwaves.
Korea Herald: visiting this site may damage your computer
Today, I visited a library near DaDaePo Beach. It had a pretty good English section for children’s books – from the Jungle Book, the Secret Garden and White Fang on down to younger ages.
It also had the Korea Herald available. I haven’t seen the herald in print in years and haven’t visited the site in a few months, since Safari recognizes it as a malware site. Is it okay to visit? Anyway, I took a few photos of things that caught my interest. Click to embiggen if you want to read them.
Last year, at Gangwon Notes, I wrote about trans-boundary water and water recourses so this conference sounds interesting. There was only the photo and caption, though. No further details.
I also read about a ‘Green camp’ in Gangwondo. I am busy – and they haven’t asked me- but I would love to be involved in a wilderness/conservation-themed camp here.
Since I cannot link directly to the articles, let me say they were in the July 2nd, 2010 edition.
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a Foggy Morning
I walked along the shore this morning and here is some of what I saw.
a california prelude
i’m going to south korea this weekend. i’ll be living there until the end of next july, living in the major port city of busan and teaching english to kids, ages 5-13. i leave saturday morning from san francisco, and until then, i’m frolicking in santa cruz with one of my best friends from college, boda. i’ll get to the california adventures in a moment. but first, some ground rules.
there’s only one, really. i don’t capitalize much of anything. if you think this is lazy or reflects poorly on my intelligence and upbringing, so be it. just don’t complain about it to me. i like the way a page of uncapitalized text looks. it’s an aesthetic choice! no bitching.
now, for california: dad’s suggestion to go the redwood forest was brilliant. we checked out big basin yesterday, which meant hours driving through the mountains and a staggering amount of colossal trees. i was surprised how many had been struck by lightning, some of them so damaged that they were leaning at a sharp angle, yet were still growing. in the forest, it was remarkably quiet, and even the harsh winds we’d felt as we drove to the state park were dramatically calmed. there were blue jays all over the place, and we could hear an owl, though we never saw it. it was simply awe-inspiring, being surrounded by something so clearly ancient. i thought of tolkien’s tree people in the lord of the rings, the slow mannerisms he gave them, and it seemed the perfect personification. words and photos can’t do it justice, but i attached a wee slideshow anyhow.
today has been lazy. boda cooked me some broccoli and mushrooms with egg and ginger for breakfast. it was kind of a weird combination. we walked the whole one block from his house to the beach, which is mostly shale cliffs punctuated by the occasional small beach. the water near the shore is thick with kelp, and the weather was chilly today. later, a trip to the “medicine” dispensary, which i was not allowed inside, as i don’t have a medical marijuana card. chase (boda’s roommate) is a pothead of the highest order and has in his possession an impressive variety of both products to smoke and devices with which to smoke them. hash oils, THC extract, cow pie cookies with a dose of “medicine” baked into each, not to mention endless tiny plastic petri dishes containing samples of all the strains the dispensary has to offer. his room is like the lab of some mad scientist/apothecary. it’s like a caricature of stoner life. this guy’s dedication to getting high is nearly religious and can only be broken when he gets caught up talking about, get this, conspiracy theories. his favorite is that 9/11 was an inside job. so far, his winding comments on the topic have tied in blackwater private security operatives, nazis, prescott bush and some secret israeli fighting force.
boda is attempting to bake a loaf of bread, though he added three times the water his recipe called for. the glop on the counter is rising at an alarming rate, spilling out of its stainless steel bowl and threatening to take over the entire kitchen. we’re off to the store to buy more flour to feed the thing. by the time we’re done, we’ll have enough bread to feed the entire neighborhood.
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Rules about trash – what happens
Freakonomics has a few articles about the unintended consequences of rules for trash (1, 2).
“The introduction of new pay-by-weight trash charges in Ireland seems to have produced a strange and troubling effect: an increase in burn victims at St. James Hospital in Dublin.
Huh?
The theory is that people wanted to avoid having to pay for all their trash so instead they burned it in their backyards.”
and
“Now, a family in Sharon Township, Ohio (where residents are charged for their trash), left behind a big mess when they moved out of their home. “When I opened the garage door, there was a year’s worth of garbage stacked in the garage, and on top of that garbage was a rat that looked like a small cat to me,” said a neighbor.”
Canada has some restrictions on home garbage pickup (I think it is one or two free bags and once a week or once in two weeks). There are also many public garbage bins in towns, cities and parks. I don’t know where the garbage goes, but the towns, cities and parks do look clean.
Contractors – home builders and renovators- must pay for commercial garbage collection. I think, in fact, that anyone doing home renovations must pay for special collection. I recall that while working at the recreation centre in Bracebridge someone was dumping their renovation waste in our dumpster at night to avoid paying fees. Good for them but annoying for us.
In Korea, there are almost no garbage bins in, well, anywhere. Garbage bags in a variety of sizes are bought from stores and recycling is very well followed with great source separation -three or more kinds of plastics, at least two different kinds of glass…- so household waste is efficiently taken care of. Still, the ditches of many backroads are filled with waste. The lack of garbage bins in towns means that just dropping the trash on the street seems a reasonable option even for me and I am pretty careful in such matters. Here in Korea, I have seen more rats than I ever did in Canada, but the trash seems mostly to feed the feral cat population.
Tragedy of the commons indeed.
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