Archive for December, 2009
Just so nobody suffers under the illusion that Korea is a warm, or even pleasant country in the winter, I bring you this barrage of snow we’ve had in the last two days here in Gwangju (the southern part of the country). In Korea, while it does snow regularly enough and you do get the occasional [ READ MORE ]
“Korean versions of Christmas carols were playing incessantly all day, mostly in Korean, though some were in English. It was fantastic.” Stuart’s article on Christmas and a recent query from a friend back home has inspired me to put up this short piece. It’s more of an audio visual piece than commentary, but focuses on the [ READ MORE ]
The South Korean government announced last Friday that it will increase it’s civilian presence in Afghanistan from 24 to 150. To accompany – and presumably protect – it’s civilian aid army are a reported 200-300 military and police personnel. This is fairly major development for South Korea. Those following international news might remember the hostage crisis [ READ MORE ]
News from the last couple days is that the two Koreas have reconnected with new military telephone lines that will allow the two countries to directly communicate with each other more swiftly. The new fibre cables replace old copper ones which could sometimes create delays in communication between the two sides (obviously unacceptable given their current [ READ MORE ]
“You better not cry; you better not cry; Santa Grandfather knows what everyone does; Santa Grandfather doesn’t give presents to children who cry.” These are the prescient lyrics of the Korean version of “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (directly translated from Korean, of course). It’s true; in Korea Santa Claus is called “Santa Grandfather.” Hilarious! I [ READ MORE ]
On July 27th, 1953, the United Nations Command, supported by the United States, the North Korean People’s Army and the Chinese People’s Volunteers, signed the Armistice Agreement bringing an end to the Korean War. Republic of Korea President Syngman Rhee refused to sign it. The Korea Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) was established along the 38th parallel [ READ MORE ]
Merry Christmas and have a happy 2010 from all at speakingkorea.com. We would like to take this opportunity to thank you all for reading our blog during its early days, and as soon as the holiday season ends, myself and Stuart will return with more insights into living in Korea. Enjoy! [ READ MORE ]
It’s one of the first things you’ll notice when you come here, and one of the most unusual things to get used to seeing everyday on your walk to teach children – small cards of women, nearly, or (very rarely, but if your lucky!) completely naked. Below, or to the side, of the exposed female [ READ MORE ]
Negotiating a contract with an agency prior to arriving in Korea can be daunting. ‘Teaching English in Korea blog’ brings up over 31 million hits on Google and it is fair to say that not all speak positively about life on the peninsula. Even a former employee at our school, who departed two months into [ READ MORE ]
I’ll admit that I didn’t expect to have a minor existential crisis in Mickey class this morning, but there it was. It happened as we were sitting around pleasantly doing Arts and Crafts, as we do every Thursday morning, when one of the kids brought up God. Now, I find it slightly annoying whenever the kids [ READ MORE ]