Thursday, September 17, 2015

What the ... top list?!?!?!?

Yet another top list about South Korea. :(

A friend sent me a link to The Top 7 Things South Korea Does Better Than Anyone Else. Against my better judgement I took a look at it. The author (who is never given any recognition) says it is 7 things that South Koreans are world champions at. That automatically had me shaking my head. It can only go down hill from there. And it did.

When I first read this post I had hoped it was a tongue in cheek one. But after reading and rereading it I don't think it is.

Here are the Top 7 and my thoughts on them.

#1 Flight Attendant For their service and beauty. Seriously? First off, that is subjective. Second off, everything I saw (experienced living in Asia for 10 years) and read had Thai Airways, Cathay Pacific, and Singapore ahead of any Korean airline. While I would rather travel any Korean airline before Air Canada they weren't the best I experienced. Close but not there.

#2 Plastic/Cosmetic Surgery I always heard that was true. Is it something to be proud of though? Your kids all want to look "western" and get double eyelid surgery instead of being proud of who they are. Yeah. Something to feel great about.

#3 Working Hard & Drinking Hard First off I call bullshit on this. Having lived and worked in South Korea for 10 years this made me laugh. It should have said Seeming to Work Hard & Drinking Hard. They definitely drink hard. Work hard? Fuck off. They LOOK like they are working hard. My co-workers always looked busy unless you actually looked at what they were doing. Shopping online. Playing online games. If you wanted to LOOK like you worked hard all you had to do was have a LOT of photocopies to hand out to your students.

As for the drinking not negatively affecting productivity. Please fuck off. I guess I was just imagining those days after the drinkfests when my co-workers would show up late, INCLUDING my boss, and hung over. They couldn't do their job properly. But what the fuck do I know.

#4 Credit Card Transactions  Is that really something to be proud of? Credit card debt is a big problem in  South Korea.  It is a reason why people kill themselves and get divorced.

#5 Starcraft   Once again is that something to crow about? Not even Starcraft 2 which is more recent but the game that came out in 1998. Get with the fucking times, and for god's sake not The Korean Times!

#6 Cosmetics Yes they are obsessed with beauty. Is that something to brag about?

#7 Internet Connectivity FINALLY, One I can agree with. The internet in South Korea is fucking amazing. The cost is low and the quality is high. Canada can only dream of having the same level as South Korea.

1 out of 7 actually made sense as something to brag about. Wow. What a load of shit. Then I looked at the site itself. Koreaboo. What a load of shit. Even though the post wasn't meant as tongue in cheek it was definitely a joke. Much like the site.

There are a LOT of things Koreans should be proud of. This list and site isn't one of them.

Saturday, August 29, 2015

What the ... title?!?!?

A friend showed me the cover of a Korean magazine that is making the Social Media rounds. The Catholic University Magazine.


Or as they call it CUM Story. :)

Ok, I had to take a break to stop laughing. I can continue now.

The reaction of a lot of people I know reminded me of how friends would react when I told them some of the things that happened in Korea, or that Koreans say and believe. They can't believe people would really do or say that. They think it is made up. Then they learn that the wackiness is real.

"Why would they give a magazine a title like that?"

Odds are, and this is from personal experience, the person who came up with the title is a senior who thinks he knows English. Which meant that the juniors would just have to bit their tongues, IF they knew it was wrong, and agree with him. A lot of the time, when I lived in Korea, the answer was just that simple and that stupid.

"Why didn't they get someone who knows English to give input?"

Odds are for the same reason as above. It would tell a senior he was wrong. Or hubris. They just thought they knew best and didn't accept or want any input

It does seem insane considering how many Koreans study English and how many English speaking foreigners live and work in Korea that this sort of shit happens. I think of some of the stupid t-shirts with horrible or insane English on them that I saw when I lived there.

"What the fuck does 'Window of the challenge' mean?"

Who knows? Jut another example of Konglish. Like 'Hyorish". And seriously how can this be the first thing someone noticed and not teh title of the magazine?!?!?! But I digress.

There is another possible answer, one friends and I would chuckle about over drinks. Maybe somewhere there is a Native English speaker in charge of t-shirts, signs, magazine covers, and the like. Sometimes, just for shits and giggles, he approves the fucked up stuff just for a laugh or to see if Koreans actually notice. ;)


Thursday, June 25, 2015

Kite

Oops, I posted this on the wrong blog. It should have been posted here.

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Tonight I watched "Kite". I had never heard of it before, or the anime that came before it.


It started off gory enough. I found out the impetus of the main character quickly enough. Samuel Jackson is in it!!!! Damn!

Sawa, the main character, is out for revenge. Someone killed her father, a cop, and mother. Jackson is her father's partner.

The film has a gritty look to it. Gangs running the streets. Lots of violence.

The acting so far is kind of shite. The action is waning. Damn she just ganked the fucker! Damn, a dildo gun! Ok. It just got a bit better.

The plot is kind of blah. She kills someone who will lead her to the one who killed her parents. Then SJ gives her a drug to make her forget everything. But she remembers ... something.

Meh ... it is hard to get into this movie. It is too jumpy. The fight scenes are pretty good though. It kind of helps make up for everything else. But not really enough.

God damn. Stun gun to the nuts!!! God damn!!!!

Yet I keep having to skip forward for some reason.

Ok, the skewer up the nose was great.

Too predictable.

Oh fuck it. Had to just stop watching this one.

I want my time back.

What the ... rut?!?!?

It is strange how things come to mind sometimes. The other day, while talking with some co-workers, I realized that South Korea was my rut.

We get stuck in a rut at times. Whether it is literally or figuratively. Figuratively, our lives are going in a direction we can't seem to get out of for whatever reason. Often because it is what we know. What is comfortable. Or at least safer than the unknown. Literally, especially here in the winter, our car tire gets in a rut and it is hard or impossible to control where it goes.

For me it was a combination of things. While South Korea is the most racist and bigoted place I have ever lived it wasn't all shit. I actually enjoyed what I did. Add to that the fact that because I enjoyed it I found it easy to do. So good money, easy work. Fear of the unknown.

Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention that. Fear of the unknown is a powerful motivator, or de-motivator, depending on how you think. I had a job I liked with good pay. I had friends and a good social life. I could travel and have fun on my free time. If I left what was I going to do? Would I find a job I liked? One that made good money? Or would I be miserable. Great de-motivator to making any changes.

Oh yeah, and I was also morbidly obese and didn't give a shit. What a combination. Kind of surprised I am still here and actually happy with life. Surprisingly change was good. This time.

Why did I go to South Korea? I actually wanted change in my life. Something I feared. I had a job I hated. REALLY REALLY hated. Pay was good. Benefits were good. Job was shit and I hated it. But that is a story for another time. ;)

I lucked out when I got home. After taking a year off and shedding a lot weight I found a job. I didn't think I would like it. I didn't think I would last long if they hired me. I have been there for almost 4 years now and have started the move into the management side of things. I never saw this coming. Luckily, I got over my fear of change, and out of the rut, came home and took a chance.