Exploring a Country in Asia not called Korea.

On Christmas evening I, along with two other good friends, left Korea and headed south. Our destination: a tropical paradise also known as Thailand. Excitement had reached its apex when we boarded the plane. It was after all the first time I would leave Korea in over nine months. Further, the cold weather we were leaving behind would not be missed.

Wanna know one of the greatest things you can do? Board a plane in a country that is freezing then exit that same plane in a country that is hot. It’s as if you have been morphed back into summer. Anyone who has had the good fortune to experience this knows exactly what I mean.

In total we spent nine days in Thailand. Three nights in Bangkok, one night in Surat-Thani, and five nights on the marvellous island of Ko-Samui.

It was my second time visiting a Less Developed Country, the first being the Dominican Republic. There is an ere of irony in visiting these places. While the largest percentage of the country’s inhabitants have very little in regards to money, those visiting, affluent Westerners mostly, spend recklessly as we meddle their land and soak up its delights. One quickly realizes how these countries have been transformed to cater to its visitors. From the motels, shops and restaurants, everything is designed to make life away from home feel more like home.

Thailand offers its visitors an array of different things to do. The beaches are what I enjoyed the most. Perfect white sand that never gets too hot to walk across as well as the bluest of waters is what became the norm while on vacation. As I have mentioned before, an entire day spent on the beach is in many ways a blessing and in no way a waste.

Other activities that became part of the Thailand experience include: renting a Jeep and nearly dying on several different occasions, hiking through the jungle to find an elusive waterfall, riding jet skis, making irrational purchases on items that we have no need for, seeing ‘interesting’ stage performances, going to one of the world’s biggest New Year’s Eve parties, getting swindled by a tuk tuk driver, spending too much money (typical pleasure seeking Westerners), and oh yeah, over indulging in both food and drink.

Wanna know one of the, for lack of better words, shittiest things you can do? Board a plane in a hot country and exit that same plane in a freezing cold country! With that said however, I was happy after nine days to get back to the cozy confines of my new homeland. While Thailand was an exceptional experience, due to its economic despair, people are seemingly out to get as much money from you as possible.

From the moment you exit Bangkok’s airport until you go back through those doors to fly home, you’re continuously pleaded with to buy something or pay for a particular service. On the flip side of that, once in Korea, we boarded a bus then had to rely on a taxi to get us the rest of the way home. The fare came to 2,900 won (roughly $2.50). I handed the cabbie 3,000 won and without thinking he handed me back my change, roughly 10 cents. Moral of the story, Koreans will rarely try to swindle you.

But alas the weather has been missed since my return on January 3rd. In a sick twist of fate there was a major blizzard the next day. However, I really shouldn’t complain because next month I will be off to another hot destination, the Philippines. How will it measure up to Thailand? I’ll let ya know.

Until next time.

Christmas Away

And so for just the third time in twenty-six Christmases, I will not be spending it at home. A single tear trickles down my face. But that is life I suppose. An indication that I am becoming older, more independent and for the time being, really far away from home. This is, however, the first time that I will be spending Christmas away from Canada. I can assure you that the holiday season feels much different in this part of the world.

Christmas in Korea gives you the feeling that if your not careful and not paying attention, you may miss it all together. Yes there are a few Christmas trees around and yes the stores do try to capitalize on the western world’s success of exploiting the day into something almost solely based on consumerism, but it just doesn’t have that feel of Christmas in Canada.

Maybe it’s the lack of Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s famed Christmas duets on the radio, or perhaps it’s a result from the lack of fabulous smells that permeate from my parent’s kitchen during this time of year. I am missing Christmas season cruises, in which the purpose of the car trip, not counting the burning of fuel, is to discover the coolest, strangest and most outrageously decorated houses. My Grandfather was a shoe in for each of these awards when he was alive. God Bless him.

It’s obvious though really. Christmas, without family, simply lacks that main reason why one loves this time of year in the first place. Family customs and traditions evoke memories of past Christmases. All the while new memories are made each year and with them a greater fondness and appreciation for the importance of family grows.

While the feeling is different over here, my love remains constant during this time of year.

Merry Christmas everyone, and for those who I will not see, believe me when I say that I am thinking of you.

Until next time.

Grab Those Skis Boy!

To avoid fulfilling my own prophecy that this blog would eventually self implode and end up in the dark dusty annals of the cyber graveyard, I feel compelled to write something.

Allow me to tell you about my trip to Taebaek City from December 11-13th. The reason: Skiing. The motive: enjoyment, clean air and exercise. The rub: It was a scout trip that included 242 children aged 6-14. The result: an exceptional weekend.

Taebaek city is located to the east of Seoul and took approximately 3.5 hours to reach from Incheon. It’s population of 56,000 renders it quite small in regards to Korean cities. However, it has experienced a boom in the last two years, a result of a brand new and very impressive resort named O2. It is a four season resort offering hiking, golfing, fishing, and of course skiing packages.

Without so much as a few flurries of snow that has fallen in Korea, a colleague and very good friend, Mr. Han Chang Hawk asked me if I was interested in going skiing with him on a Scout trip. Not unaccustomed to the sport and having always enjoyed myself immensely each and every time I have skied, I leaped at the opportunity. My only concern was this: it has not snowed and the weather had been quite warm. To my delight, the snow makers defied the laws of logic and some how made enough snow so that 3 slopes could be used.

For three days I carved snow as if I were the great Austrian skier Hermann Maier. Fear, as often is the case, never enters the fray when I am skiing. I love going fast, getting occasional air and showing off (I’m a humble person in most regards, I assure you). One of my most vivid childhood memories was watching Karen Lee Gartner, a virtually unknown Canadian downhill skier, win a gold medal during the 1992 Olympic Winter Games in Albertville, France. She was fearless and full of grace. Evidently she became one of my first heroes. Sadly this never blossomed into me becoming an exceptionally talented skier, the ski hill was too far away and the cost too much for it to be anything more than an occasional hobby. Nonetheless, I thoroughly enjoy each time I get the chance to do it.

Not only was the skiing fantastic, so too was the condo we stayed in. I have always envisioned someday being able to step out of a hotel, take a few steps then donning the skis for the first run of the day. I feel very fortunate to have gotten this chance as you can see from this photo.

A note on the 242 children who accompanied us on the trip. Well, they were a non-factor. Luckily for Chang Hawk and I, and not so much for the students, our school’s Principal announced that the Scouts of our school were not permitted to go. He felt a weekend away before final exams was not in their best interest. In sum, any Scout on the trip was none of our concern, as they would be supervised by their respective schools. We were off the hook and used this to our advantage as we skied until our bodies would not permit us to do so any more.

Finally, a quick story. The owner of the resort was understandably thankful for all of our business. In most countries that is where it would end. In Korea, however, being very gracious does not usually end with only a sincere thank-you. In typical fashion of this country,  all of the adults were treated to a massive serving of food and drink (the good kind) on our last night. The drink, as it so often does reduced the language barrier to a degree. You see, drunk Koreans become less and less shy to speak English as they consume more and more Soju. Ahh liquid courage. For this I say ‘Kom Bei’! or in English, Cheers!

Until next time.

Make up Your Mind Young Man…

What if life were a straight path, defined not be free will and choice, but rather a fixed series of events? If we never had to endure a major life decision or a fork in the road how then would we reflect back on what we did? Life’s tough decisions are those which define and shape us into who we are and what we will become. For this reason they are not and should not be, easy decisions to make. Seven and a half months have passed by me at a rate in which I could never have possibly conceived. This time has been spent far away from the country and people whom I love. Soon I will have to make a decision, that being, to stay in Korea or make my way home. I’m not sure that I have ever had to make a tougher decision.

Admittedly when I first arrived to this peninsula I was not keen on the idea of sticking around too long. I suppose the culture shock, coupled with feelings of homesick and and what I first perceived to be bad food made me think that Korea was at most a temporary stay. Then I started to embrace all that was different, meet wonderful people, experience a foreign culture and appreciate it. I also began to not only accept the food, but love it. So here I am, my fork in the road awaits, and while there is still plenty time to make that tough decision, time, like it so often does, seems to speed up in moments such as these.

Sometimes I am greedy. I wish for a window to peer into the future to help make my decisions. In this yearning, what often happens is that I put major decisions on the back burner, allow more time to pass and procrastinate until my wits end. But who doesn’t? Perhaps that is what makes life exhilarating and not mundane. And hell, I work good under pressure. When the snowball gets bigger and the task more insurmountable, that is when I’d like to think that I have made some of my biggest accomplishments and best decisions.

Moral of this story: I am no closer to making my decision and well, that’s just fine by me, at least for now.

Until next time

Divided and Never to be Reunited?

Out of site out of mind. Swept under the rug. These catch phrases have become an integral part of the English language. They are used regularly to absolve trivial things such as stuffing unused household knickknacks into a ‘junk closet’ and ‘forgetting’ to pick up Snoopy’s (or whatever you call your dog’s) doings in the park. These minor incidents cannot stop you from living, in fact you might say that attending too much attention to unsightly worldly concerns will leave you a suicidal anal retentive moron. But what do we make of those issues in the world that when swept under the rug, or left unnoticed, lead to mass poverty and starvation? When people and their basic human rights have been surrendered to a lunatic dictator then what, if any responsibility should one assume? What about the issue of proximity? Should there be a greater responsibility to assist those in need of help if they live only a short distance away. Finally, is accountability to assist in making one’s plight better increased if that person or group of people shares a collective past? I have thought about these questions quite frequently since I arrived in Korea. Why? Well here’s my point, one of the most brutal regimes of the twentieth century has been able to persist and flourish into the twenty-first century and their border resides a mere 30 km North of Seoul. For this post I will uncover some of the reasons why two nations within a nation have been maintained, as well as why South Korea, a democratic country enjoying a high standard of living, continues to sit idle and allow a nation of people with a shared past to suffer under a ruthless regime comparable to Hitler and Stalin.

Brothers from a different mother

Let it be said, I believe in social justice. That is I believe that people, regardless of country, race, or religion are entitled to the same fundamental rights. This includes but is not limited to equal opportunity in the workplace, access to basic needs such as clean water and healthy food and a democratically elected government that serves the needs of its people. I cannot accept any argument that suggests a group of people should be stymied from these things on the basis of anything ‘culturally accepted.’ Any cultural norm that disenfranchises a particular sect was created and maintained throughout history so that a dominate class could be preserved. Therefore any accepted norms that undermine basic rights on the basis of birthright is whole heatedly wrong. That is what I believe.

Let it also be said that North Korea is a place where its citizens have been removed from basic human rights. Food shortages have plagued NK. Decades of poor weather compounded with exhausted crop lands have left a country of over 23,000,000 hungry and on the brink of starvation. Add to the fact that Kim Jong-il (their leader) has maintained a closed door policy on the rest of the world and thereby shutting out aid relief, and their situation becomes more bleak. Military, not its citizens receive what money there is to be had in North Korea. This has always and continues to be the case.

North Korean children dealing with starvation.

Equal opportunity is a foreign concept in this country. A glass ceiling could not even be understood by its citizens because they are ignorant to what possibilities exist in this world. It’s not a result from their own malice or not taking the time to become educated, the opportunity to achieve this understanding is just not possible. It is in effect a classic case of being brainwashed, only it’s not just a chosen few who have haphazardly joined a cult, it is an entire nation of people who through the unfortunate conception of birth were born there.

So often do we take our right to freely travel and migrate to other countries for granted. Consider that thousands of English teachers decide to, many on a whim, settle distant lands including South Korea for work. In effect many of us leave a country behind which is full of opportunity. Now consider North Korea. Outside of government held positions, a ‘fair wage’ generally translates to you being able to just barely put food on your table. And forget leaving the country, those who do and are unsuccessful are either killed, or and perhaps more tragically, sent to intense labour camps where the likelihood of starving or being worked to death is prevalent.

I am not  slandering North Korea, these fore mentioned statements are well known and well documented. Their leader is whole heatedly an evil man who has stripped the rights of his countrymen to self-serve his own interests. He is corrupt, those serving him are corrupt and the country is in effect as bad or worse than any other least developed country in the world. But all the while, a neighboring country, one who from a historical context could not be more alike, turns a blind eye towards the tragedy that is NK. While the North and South share a closely linked past, presently they could not be more different. And so the question remains, why does the South not do more to assist in making better the lives of North Koreans?

A symbolic representation of a unified Korea

Resentment may be a factor. Let’s not forget that it was the North who invaded the South to initiate the Korean War. As the belligerent, the North must be held mostly responsible for the deaths, injuries and the displacement of millions of people during the war.

Another issue that surely motivates the South not to assist NK is the economic burden that would have to be assumed if the two countries were to unify. On one hand it could be argued that the North would provide a great deal of man power as well as much needed resources such as coal, zinc and copper. On the other hand, the North Korean economy is a mess, most live below the poverty line and they have very few trading partners.

One is also left to wonder if the international community, especially the United States would want the two countries to unify. Currently the U.S. holds major influence over South Korea because of the amount of military support that is lent to the country. A unified and peaceful Korea would surely not need that kind of support and therefore American influence in terms of trading and military stronghold would be compromised.

Undoubtedly the cards are stacked against the hope for reunification, and at this juncture, one must be exceptionally idealistic to think that it is possible anytime soon. Much longer, it seems, will people with a shared past of nearly 10,000 years have to wait until once again they can be part of a single Korea. But what about the moral responsibility of the South? Should they, regardless of any immediate obstacles, feel collectively responsible in assisting those living to the North? If my country of Canada were split into two, would those living in the affluent half not take efforts to lend a hand to the other? Perhaps a better question would be how much would the affluent Canadians be willing to give up? Is it this reason that more is not done by the South to help the North, or instead, has the 59 years since the beginning of the Korean War sufficed in allowing this entire situation to be swept neatly under the rug? That my friends is a good question.

Until next time.

A Little History Lesson

‘There remains only one divided country.’ This is how tourism Korea advertises its trips to the peninsula’s Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). A good friend of mine pointed out to me that this was actually not the case. Western Sahara remains a divided country with an oppressive Moroccan regime holding 2/3′s of it, while the other is declared a ’liberated zone.’ Perhaps a more accurate description of Korea would be ‘the last divided country that anyone cares about.’ Indeed the continent of Africa and the countries within it are deserving of much more media attention than they are afforded. But allow me to invest my efforts in this post to giving some insights into how and why Korea is a divided country, then, in a future post, I will explain how this divided country is maintained.

Here is how the country is divided, note how close South Korea’s capital, Seoul is to the DMZ

Quickly I will scratch the surface of Korea’s past. First, Korea was not always divided. Compared to their long history, the concept of North and South Korea represents a minor fraction of its past. There is evidence to suggest that Koreans have been inhabiting their land since 8000 BC. Through out its history, Korea, as mentioned in an earlier post was forced to endure several Japanese invasions as well as a vicious  rule that lasted between 1910 and 1945.  With Japanese surrender at the end of WWII, Korea was once again an independent country, well kind of. You see after the war, as is the case in many post war negotiations, the big players, those who won the war that is, negotiated what should become of Korea. However, the UN along with the Soviet Union and the Untied States would find no resolve and the country became split along the 38th parallel (referring to the line of latitude). From this, two dominate and very different governments emerged. The North would be led by Kim Il-sung, a staunch communist who received the blessing and backing of then leader of USSR, Joseph Stalin. The South, on the other hand, would be led by a democratic, US backed individual named Syngman Rhee. It does not take a rocket scientist to predict what happened next.

Emerging leader of North Korea Kim Il-sung (The Great Leader) who, after WWII, effectively began ridding North Koreans of basic human rights.

Animosities would come to a head on June 25h 1950, when the North invaded the South. Fighting would continue until an armistice was signed three years later on July 27th 1953. Casualty statistics prove to be quite severe. Estimates indicate that South Korea loss 137,800 soldiers, while the North loss 215,000 in combat. In addition, more than 2.5 million civilians either loss their lives or were severely wounded during the conflict. While an over used expression suggests that there are no winners in war, the Korean War proved just that. After three years of brutal combat, the North and Southern borders remained unchanged. 

 

Shallow grave used to bury the dead during the Korean War

And here we are today, more than 56 years removed from the date in which an armistice was signed, North and South Korea are still technically at war. With the fall of the Iron Curtain in the early 90′s and with it the collapse of Communism over Eastern Europe, how can this be so? How is it that such a small peninsula as Korea can have within its land mass two completely, incomparable countries? A starting point would be to consider North Korea. With Kim Il-sung’s rise to power after WWII, immediately he went to work at putting blinders over an entire country of people. The dictator threw money exponentially at two things, military and the propaganda machine. As a result, those living within this dictatorship felt powerful, well defended and ready for any attack that may ensue. In addition, the propaganda insured that its citizens would would be subservient to the ‘Great Leader.’ In a twist of irony, it almost seems likely that Kim Il-sung used George Orwell’s 1984 as his manifesto on how to control a nation of people.

Kim Jong-il, current leader of North Korea who assumed leadership role after his father’s passing in 1994. He, like his father has helped maintain a nation of people in starvation and hardship.

South Korea’s post war years have not been met without criticism either. Syngman Rhee, the post war president of the South has left a legacy that, depending on who you ask, is either criticised or praised. While he did help bring Korea into the twentieth century, his tenure of seven years (1953-60) was met with strong opposition and a military coup. Suceeding presidents would also be criticised for forcefully rigging elections and challenging the fabric of democracy. However, in 1988, Seoul, the capital city of South Korea successfully staged the Summer Olympics Games, not an easy feat. As well, the rapid economic expansion following the war and continuing until the present time would suggest that while leadership has perhaps been suspect, it has in effect brought Korea into the 21st century as a highly developed, fully democratic country with a high standard of living.  

First South Korean president, Sygnem Rhee

And this is where I am going to end this discussion for now. Knowing all to well that many of you may have given up on this post for its heavily ladened historical content, and appreciating that all of you have much better things to consume your time with, I will pick up on this issue in my next post. It will offer a discussion as to why Korea can remain split, as well as why the South sits idle and allows a nation of people with a shared past to suffer under an oppressive regime. I hope that I have not bored you, and if I have, you can always check what Perez Hilton is up to. I have heard that his discussions are exceptionally thought provoking.

Until next time

 

 

On a White Sandy Beach…

In my last post I suggested that no natural creation compares to the beach. Add to it human inventions such as beach blankets, frisbees, sun umbrellas, good books, bikinis, and beer and the beach becomes a sanctuary. It’s a place where one can remove themselves from the troubles of the world and forget about anything that may be pressing their mind. What also makes the beach phenomenal is that regardless of how much time you spend lounging around on the sand, never are you left feeling, ‘shit, why did I just waste an entire day?’ Indeed, I believe it to be impossible to waste a day on the beach.

Famous Haeundae Beach

From August 17 to the 20th, the beach and I were nearly inseparable. Our affair with each other was  only compromised when it was time to sleep, though that sort of happened on the beach, and when it was time to indulge in fiery cocktails served up at a local watering hole named the Fuzzy Navel. Oh what an affair we had together, but allow me to digress. The place was Busan (pronounced Pusan). Busan is the second largest city in Korea and one of the world’s most important ports. What makes it special though is its beach/night life. I stayed in a place called Haeundae-gu for four of the five days spent in Busan, which, just so happens to be home of the renowned Haeundae beach.

The daily itinerary ran something like this. 1) wake up at 10 and eat breakfast. 2) spend the day at the beach. 3) leave the beach for supper. 4) relax for a couple hours. 5) drink cocktails. 6) grab some beers and head back to the beach for some late night drinking with a few thousand others doing the same.  7) leave the beach in the wee hours of the night/morning and go back to the luxurious (possible overstatement) hotel. Then repeat steps 1-7 the next day. Sound boring? If so my friends, I challenge you to do the same. Just remember to have good company as this can make or break the experience.

Heaundea Beach 4am?

How strong was the pull I felt to Haeundae you ask? Well, leaving Busan became a quagmire and at times an insurmountable task. On a vacation that was suppose to end on Wednesday, I uncharacteristically faked sickness, called my school and told them I was unavailable for work on Thursday, which, not overly proud of, was something I did for Friday as well. Will the karma gods strike me down? Time will tell. Do I regret this? Not even in the slightest!

As I write this I am left to reflect back on what has been an incredible summer in Korea. The weather has been exceptional and I wish it would never end. But as usual the summer has this uncanny ability to pass by us in the blink of an eye. September, however, has had the ability to surprise me in the past and I am positive that more beautiful beach days are destined to occur. With that said, let me add this: if you have not made the beach a habit this summer then do yourself the favor of packing up what is needed and taking yourself there the next hot day, because, you know you will be ‘California Dreamin’ (amazing song by the Mama’s and Papa’s) when Old Man winter comes back upon us.

Until next time.

Tales from a Trip

Is there anything more enjoyable than getting away from the concrete jungle of a city and into the expansive wide open country? Being born in Nova Scotia, I have in many ways been fitted with a burden. The burden, one surely felt by many other Maritimers, is one in which complete happiness is truly unattainable unless wide open space and the sea are both within close proximity. I am willing to bet that even the most converted country to city dweller yearns at times for the simple beauties, fresh air and feelings of freedom afforded to those in the country. It was to my distinct pleasure then, that I got away from all of the concrete last week when I traveled to Jeju.

Jeju is a small island off the southern coast of Korea. It provides Koreans looking to get away with a sanctuary of beaches, beautiful countryside and mountains. I enjoyed all three of these things during my four night five day stay. I also indulged in their delicious fresh tangerines the island has recently became famous for. Thus, I ate, drank, hiked, swam and reveled in the peacefulness not offered by the city I currently occupy. Hence, I thoroughly enjoyed my retreat.

Here are a few highlights for your reading pleasure,

1. Hiking the Hella. Hella mountain is Korea’s highest peak.  Hiking nearly 18 kilometers in total was not without its challenges. I can say with conviction that there were times when I did not want to continue. However, the 5.5 hours it took to complete was met with an exceptional sense of reward when it was all over.

2. Beach Bums!! To me, a good beach ranks number one in Mother Nature’s creations. We found an exceptional beach named Jungmam not far from where we stayed and we made use of it on two separate days. The sun was hot, the sky blue and the waves big on both occasions.

3. The Final Night. Reeling from the exhaustion felt  from all the sun and drinking of  ‘sodie pops’ the days (plural of course) previous, Friday night, my last night, at first seemed destined to be a low key, uneventful evening. Instead, this was substituted with batting cages, a bar named Havana and the greatest Nora Bong (a place to go and sing Karaoke) ever assembled. Oh the times we had. It was a fitting end to a great week away.

But, like all good times they inevitably end. How drab. Reality has hit me square between my eyes as I sit and write this in the office of my school. And once again a country boy is left to yearn for things not offered to him in the city.

Until next time.

You’ve Heard the Good, Now it’s Time for the Ugly

Ever go camping and forget to bring toilet paper? It stinks (deliver punch line drum roll please!) Evidently, forgetting to bring your own toilet paper to many places in Korea can leave you in the same, well, mess. It is quite bizarre really. In so many ways Korea is such a highly developed, modern world on the cusp of great things and yet, it can be so archaic. To this point in Tanner’s Tales I have painted a pretty positive, certainly fair portrait of Korea. But please don’t be mistaken, Korea is not an oasis for everything that is good. With that said, I will give you to my top five ’worst things about Korea’ 

Number 5: ‘The Paper Trail’ I think there may be a direct corelation bewteen the lack of toilet paper and the amount of unnecessary documents required by this country. From the moment one touches down in Korea you are bombarded with an endless array of paper requiring your John Hancock. I don’t even know how many copies I have signed of my eight page contract. This silliness has been maintained and has most recently surfaced with me being required to submit twenty pages of lesson plans for Summer School. Wanna know the best part?  They are sent to be reviewed by my Principal. Thing is though, the guy can’t speak, nor read a lick of English!

Number 4: ‘Coffee, Coffee Everywhere and not a Drop Fit to Drink’ A friend and I were talking about this today. Korea, for reasons unknown, have not yet mastered the art of preparing a real deal tasteful coffee. Prepare yourself for the most weakest, blandest, tasteless coffee you’ve ingested since your last visit to Starbucks. Wanna make your own you say? Well your options are: instant, instant and instant. Referred to by many ex-pats as ‘crack coffee,’ its convince quickly evaporates as it begins to eat away at your stomach.  

Number 3: ‘Bathroom Etiquate’ Because Koreans have decided to contribute to deforestation by collecting unimportant documents from its citizens, it has left us without toilet paper. Other things that will drive a person mad and make you shake your head are squatter toilets, communal bars of soap and no paper towel. Hygiene seems almost foreign sometimes in Korea. One can only hope they soon make strides to enter the 20th(not a typo) century in this department.

Number 2: ‘Cry Me a Freekin River’ One thing that has always made me feel queasy is the sound of someone whining. It cuts through me like a knife.  The constant barrage of whining I hear coming from women and children in this country is astounding. It’s as if they are wired with a special circuitry. Listening to this is painful. I don’t even know for sure if they are actually whining or if that is just how they talk. Regardless, it’s very annoying.

Number 1: ‘Oh, You Don’t Speak English?’ For the millions of dollars Korea has invested in its citizens learning English, it has, in many ways, been a complete and utter failure of epic proportions. I really don’t know what to make of this. By the thousands, new foreigners have been brought to this country for years, paid handsome salaries and have been given free accommodations and for what? Korea has and continues to rank exceptionally low in English assessment scores. I wonder, what will be the tipping point? Will all of this cowboy spending of the government eventually pay off, or will they eventually assume defeat? Until this time comes, all us ex-patriots in unison should yell out ‘giddy-up,’ because in times of economic collapse in our home nations, teaching in Korea is always a viable option.

Well folks, there you have it. I hope I did not come across to rough on my new homeland. Thing is, every nation in the world is full of things they could collectively make better. Lastly, I am very interested to hear if any of you living in Korea have anything to add to this list. Feel free to drop a comment if that is the case.

Until next time.

Oasis: Better Than the Beatles?

On Sunday, July 26th I enjoyed the coolest rock concert I have ever witnessed. Of course I am referring to Oasis. For years I have waited for this moment and strangely enough, of all places in the world to see them, it happened in Korea. They did not disappoint. Given their reputation in the past to simply go ‘through the motions’ on stage, it occurred to me that I was not only witnessing one of the greatest bands of all time, rather they were also really enjoying themselves. From start to finish they held the audience in the palm of their hands and dazzled us with a solid combination of classic and modern songs.

Ever since Oasis announced they were ‘bigger than the Beatles,’ angry fab four lovers have done everything in their power to squash this, albeit bold claim. Having never experienced the Beatles’ era, I admit that comparing these two bands is something I am, to borrow a line from ‘Wayne’s World’ not worthy of doing. However, because we live in a time where everyone is a critic, I’m gonna give ya my two cents.

I’m not going to waste anytime in saying this. I think that Oasis is every bit as good as the Beatles. Why you say? Well first look at the competition that Oasis has had to compete against to get to their moment in the sun. In a sense, Oasis had to overcome forty years of great rock music to establish themselves as the premiere band of the 1990′s. It’s unfathomable to think that the Beatles had anything resembling this challenge.  In many ways, the Beatles  exploited a period of time in which people were ripe for a change in music. Good on them for doing so. Now look at Oasis, rock and roll had been so heavily defined when they appeared on the scene. Making something ‘fresh’ was a much more daunting task for them. We can see this now in the generic B.S. that rock music has recently become. Undoubtedly this has been a result of so many great bands preceding up and coming ones.

Doing some very basic research on the net, I have discovered that the Beatles toured only a fraction in comparison to Oasis. It is well documented how incredible the Beatles were at pounding out record after record. If, however, they dedicated more of their efforts, as Oasis has, in touring, it would be very unlikely that the Beatles catalog would resemble anything like it does. More time in a studio + less time touring = more music.

Now the last and most important comparison criteria, the songs. Both bands have deeply planted music in my head that I will sing for the rest of my living days. When looking at singles, it is tough not to give the edge to the Beatles. Indeed a true greatest hit compilation of the band might be worthy of at least three CD’s. However, is it not fair to say that once you go beyond the singles, the Beatles have also produced a lot of fluff? In my humble opinion a typical Oasis album, played through without interruption, is much more enjoyable than a  Beatles album.

Regardless of your opinion on this matter, I wish  that you too could have experienced the show I did last Sunday. In many ways it was one of the most captivating events I have ever witnessed. Friends, allow me to give you this sound advice: if the opportunity to see this act is ever afforded to you in the future, do not let it pass you by, or else, you might look back in anger.

Until Next time.