I wanna be on Misuda....

Ok, not really, only kind of...

If you read this blog regularly enough, you might realize that I have a very deep jealousy for non-Koreans who can speak Korean very well. I've been attending my hagwon for nearly 9 months now, and for some reason I thought that would mean that I'd be fluent by now. Obviously, I know it doesn't work like that, but it sure would be nice, though, huh? I know I'm improving daily, but it just feels so slow.

Anyway, I'm sure any language learner feel the same way. I'm sure many of you are wondering, though, what exactly is Misuda...

Misuda, or Minyeodului Suda (미녀들의 수다), or Global Talk Show, is a program that airs on KBS on Monday Evenings. The title of the show more or less translates to "Talking with Beautiful Women", but the show it a bit more than just beautiful women.

Guests on the show are usually women (sometimes men too) who are foreigners living in Korea and speak Korean fluently. Guests come from all walks of life in Korea. Some are married to Korean men (or some men are married to Korean women), some are students, some are half Koreans, and others work in various fields in Korea. The show discusses many topics and promote cross-cultural awareness. I think the idea of the show is great, I just wish it didn't center around "beautiful" women so much. Asian Offbeat has an article about how this show is able to shake the misconceptions around foreign women.

Episodes I've seen discuss everything from what kind of guy is your type, to child rearing in other countries, to appropriate marriage ages from country to country. It's really interesting to hear the differences between various cultures on these topics, because, quite often they are more different than you think. A show like this has a lot of potential to change the mindset of the average Korean. I'm not sure if they're actually doing that because they could pick much more controversial topics or at least, less female-centric questions and more broad questions that have wider appeal and could be watched by younger audiences too.

I really enjoy watching this show because it's one of the only shows that I have a chance of understanding enough to follow the dialogue. Even still, though, I have a hard time understanding... Some of the guests have really amazing Korean. I guess I should say... I wish my Korean was good enough to be on the show... I don't think I could stand the new stares on the subway when a foreign TV personality gets on and tries to read a book in peace and quiet..

운현궁: Unhyeongung

Sunday, after making my way through the backstreets of Jongno, I found myself at the doorway to Unhyeongung. Despite the name (gung) it is not officially a palace, per se, but it was the home of King Gojong (26th Joseon King) lived before he became the King of the Joseon Dynasty. Though not as impressive as any of the large palaces in Seoul, if you're passing by, it's certainly worth the 700 won to get in and wonder around for a little while.





To get to Unhyeongung, go to Ankuk Station, line 3, and walk about 100 meters south from Exit 4.

Backstreets of Jongno

If you walk around the back streets behind Jongno, you'll find some funny little places. This neighborhood was full of old style homes. It was rather strange, though to walk around. There seemed to be a large concentration of ajosshis drinking at 3 in the afternoon on a Sunday. Anyway, definitely worth the walk, just watch out for strange men stumbling through the streets on a Sunday afternoon.

Yellow Sand decends upon Seoul

The sky looked ominously black all day yesterday and kept me from checking out the St. Patrick's Day celebrations downtown (yes, they even celebrate St. Patrick's Day in Korea), but somewhere around 4 or 5 the sky started to change to a new color, Yellow. If you check out the US Army's Asian Dust monitoring system, you can see the spike into dangerous levels for that hour or two yesterday afternoon. Fortunately, for today, it has dipped back to normal, low levels.

If you've never heard of Asian Dust, it's basically sand that is picked up by wind in the desert in China, swept through the toxic air of China, where it picks up all sorts of toxins, and then sweeps over Korea and Japan and reeks havoc on the lungs of unsuspecting folks. On heavy dust days, everyone wears masks around the streets.


This was the exact color of the sky yesterday at 6 o'clock. This was the best photo I could get... Roboseyo got a much better photo while he was in Busan yesterday.

Looking for Advice about Laser Hair Removal

I've only known one other blogger to write about this subject, though there are many threads on Dave's ESL (here, and here) . I would like to get laser hair removal here in Seoul. It seems there are many places around, but, as I'm looking to get it done in a very visible place, I want a very trustworthy place that has a good reputation. It seems that most of the places that have been listed on Dave's are clinics specially geared towards foreigners (Western and Japanese mostly) and therefore, it seems that their prices are higher than your normal clinic that caters only to Koreans. I feel that my Korean skills are high enough that it can compensate for any lack of conversation skills from doctors that are skilled in their trade, but not in English. If I can, I'd like to go to a place that doesn't overcharge their patients for the extra service of speaking English.

So, here are the questions. Have you gotten laser hair removal in Seoul?, if so, where?, how was the price?, how were the results?, would you recommend it? Obviously, if they can speak English well, it's a plus, but if not, I'm ok with it.

Even if the price is high, though, I'm still ok with it, as long as it has good results... I just hate the idea of being overcharged just because I'm a foreigner. Please let me know your experiences in general. Thank you.


Some friends of mine went to :
Nova Skin and Hair Clinic
02-563-7977
ijune@novaskin.co.kr

if I don't get any replies here, I'll go here, but, as it's in Gangnam, it's a bit inconvenient for me to get to...

Children and Cell Phones

How early is too early to give a child a cell phone? I know in the US the ages seem to be getting younger and younger, but I've realized that Koreans take the cake. Here, starting in Kindergarten, you start seeing students with cell phones. When one of my old kindergartners back at Seongdong got a cell phone, she was the coolest kid in the class, the first to be wirelessly connected to the rest of the world.

In a typical 2nd or 3rd grade class, I would say at least half the students have cell phones, some of them, quite nice phones, better than mine, I'd say. Once you get into 5th and 6th grade classes, most if not all students, will have a cell phone.

It seems, though that these children, being children, haven't learned the proper etiquette with which to use a cell phone. They don't realize that there are appropriate times, and inappropriate times to answer phone calls and make phone calls. I understand this, as they are all still elementary students, but what really floors me is the parents who still haven't realized appropriate phone etiquette. I can not tell you how many times a student has received a phone call and told me it is their mother or father and they HAVE to answer it. Generally, I say no. Call after class is finished. Sometimes these students try to sneak a phone call when I'm not looking or just give me the f* you look and answer it anyway. Sometimes the students actually listen to me, and their parents continue to call them until they answer. Really? What kind of example are you teaching your kids? It's ok to answer your phone in the middle of class? In this technologically advanced society, they should be able to figure out the mysterious TEXT MESSAGE to relay messages without interrupting class.

As I mentioned before, these children often have very nice phones. A few weeks ago, my students were showing me that you can take a photo with your cell phone, then edit it to make the photo look funny, animate it with blinking eyes, add shapes and colors, etc. etc. This same phone also had shortcut hand motions. If you made a triangle shape on the screen with your finger, it would open, say, the phone book, or call a certain person. In short, a clearly, very expensive phone, geared specifically for kids. When does it become too much? Maybe I'm biased. I'm a person who is rather minimalistic.... for someone in this day and age. As long as I have my computer and a functioning cell phone (aka, calls and sends texts) I'm a happy camper. I have an old MP3 player that I got from my cousin when she upgraded, but it only gets used once every 3 months or so. I do have my nifty camera, but I lived with a 2.3 megapixel from high school until last year. I don't see why young children should be given the newest and most exciting technology. If they are anything like I was, as a child, they tend to lose things and abuse them until they are no longer functioning.

Anyway, in short, I don't think elementary schoolers should have cell phones. Or if they do, they should be those emergency style phones that only call 5 numbers and receive calls only from authorized phone numbers. Kids are far too distracted by the technology in their pockets to focus in class.

Anyone else have similar experiences? What's your opinion on giving kids cell phones?

E-mart Discounts

First I should mention what E-mart is. E-mart is sort of like a Korean style Walmart, with a full sized supermarket. They are found all around, and there are other similar chains, such as Homeplus and LotteMart. These places don't offer dirt cheap prices like a Walmart at home, but Koreans are much happier with E-mart and other similar places because they offer the services and products that Walmart never figured out how to provide to the Korean consumer (Walmart here was for a short while, but didn't last long and pulled out after a few years). Visiting E-mart is like a bombardment of the senses. Women dressed in aprons or mini skirts are trying offering samples of products at the end of every aisle, fresh seafood can be seen in tanks, swimming free, waiting for their eventual demise, and customers hustle and bustle on all sides, especially if you make your shopping venture on a weekend. You'll probably bump into one of your students because when you ask them on Monday, "What did you do this weekend?" they nearly always reply, "I went to E-mart!".

I've found the best time to go to E-mart is after 9:30 pm or so. Why? Well, there are less crowds, which is definitely a plus, but, all the fresh food is on sale for up to half price. Some meat and fish are discounted. Sushi is about 30% off. Ready-to-eat food is usually 50% off or so. Also, sometimes you can get decent deals on vegetables (probably the ones that are about to go bad). Frankly, I still prefer shopping at my market for my vegetables, but sometimes it's convenient while I'm here to pick up something if it's cheap enough.

Anyway, if you're planning a trip to E-mart, I suggest waiting until after 9:30.. they are usually open until 11 or midnight anyway, and check out the sale items.

*Note, the E-mart pictured here is in Daejeon, and is not my photo.