Rachel Hui gave us a shoutout on the award-nominated Amateur Traveler podcast.
Specifically, she was referring to our Top Ten Things to See and Do show. If you are coming here from the Amateur Traveler, may I also recommend our Super Survival Korean episode.
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The Korea 2008 Halloween Carnival
Come to the 2008 Korea Halloween Carnival! Fun for the whole family! With new rides, attraction and food, we promise the scariest Halloween carnival ever!
Ride the Korean won freefall and drop almost as fast as the currency!
Have a celebrity makeover (trendy suicide not included)
Eat at the American Mad Cow Burger Barn
Enter the raffle to receive a year’s supply of Chinese made milk products
Or dare your friends to enter the Haunted Hanok. Can you stand the horror of..
The enclosed room with a fan
The Korean mother-in-law
The standardized college entrance exam
Screams, thrills, spills and chills, complete with stumbling drunk ajosshis! Come join the fun!
PANELIST
Roger Fusselman, Stand Up Comedians Korea (SUCK)
MAIN TOPIC
What’s so funny?
NEWS
Korean Won Biggest Loser to the US Dollar
Fire, Stabbings Kill Four in Nonhyeon-dong
Great Moments in Korean Journalism
Anyang Child Killer Given Death Sentence
English Teacher Gets 10 Months in the Slammer (HA! Not a foreign English teacher.)
OK, You Don’t Read Crimes Like This Everyday
Police in Cheonju have asked for an arrest warrant for a 50-year-old man they believe tried to rape his mother-in-law while in drag.
The Bushmeister will announce today — if he hasn’t already — that Korea would enter the US Visa Waiver Program, allowing Koreans to stay in the United States for up to 90 days without a visa.
Man Fined $8,000 for Urinating Over ATM
“We would have ignored the case if he had not broken the machine. But we had no choice but to report it to police so as to get the eight million won needed to repair the ATM,” said a bank official.
The “negotiations” fell through, so it’s being investigated.
Crackdown on Korean Designers Ripping Off Foreign Designers
Hey! We are more a like than you think!
It seems that as many as 100 of rice “farmers” who needed protection from the evil Americans were simply Korean bureaucrats lining their pockets. Remember this the next time they want to trot out poor weather-beaten “aboji” and his straw hat and how the evil American cows want to kill him off.
Itaewon Considered Loudest Place in Korea
“Nothing Suspicious” On Itaewon’s Hooker Hill
Korea’s Integrity Level Still Lags
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO WHAA?
The state-run Seoul National University (SNU) said it will launch a project to nurture a Nobel laureate from the school.
In other news, a Korean jazz artist has planned to release a CD internationally next year, prompting the Chosun Ilbo do write the only natural thing: is this the beginning of a Korean Jazz Wave? See, stuff like this is why people here enjoy seeing Koreans fail.
Korean Slogans Comical to Foreigners
Unfortunately, egotistical government officials, when often making off-the-cuff decisions, seem only in retrospect, if ever, to understand the damage they are doing to Korea.
The good news is this kind of problem is not part of the “Korean DNA.” Private industry has shown itself to more likely to pay sincere attention to outside professionals’ advice.
It is no wonder. Private companies properly understand how hard it is to earn money and generally invest more wisely than many government officials. That is why brand names like Samsung and Hyundai are now globally respected. In contrast, consider the frequent giggles generated by ads touting “Korea Sparkling” and “Hi Seoul.” (Tom Coyner)
Bae Yong-jun in New Ambassador Role
Branding Korea: the REAL Recommendations
David Kilburn, a journalist with 20 years of experience in advertising, wrote one of the articles which have been appearing in the Korea Times, discussing the problems with Korea’s national brand.
The Power of Branding « Hermit Hideaways
Read David Kilburn’s comment on what they cut from his article—most all of his suggestions on how to improve Korea’s branding.
Oh Jesus Tapdancing Christ, are you serious?
Notice something about this picture? (Hint: Look at the faces.)
Who the fuck is doing the cartoons over there?
Yeah, okay, the guy was extreme, but on what planet is this Korea Times cartoon titled “Austria’s Far-Right Leader Joerg Haider Died at Car Crash” appropriate?
As the title indicates the Austrian politician died in a car crash, on October 11th. More on him from Wikipedia.
English Zone Allowed in Apartments
Partly because the English villages are hemorrhaging money
Disney to start opening up hagwons in Korea?
In a “shocking” move, and I mean we are all “SHOCKED”, KTF will not roll out the iPhone handset in Korea anytime soon. And in a similar ”shocking” development one issue is Apple’s failed adherence to the WIPI industry standard (not a trade barrier we are assured). Even more “suprising” is the effort so dependant on one guy that nobody is there to take up the slack when he is “unexpectely” under an invesigation for bribery (again just “shocking”).
EXPAT COMMUNITY
Foreign professor at SNU does a runner?
English Teacher Sites Demean Korean Women: Chosun Ilbo
Got an immigration question? Here’s the meeting for you.
TIME WASTERS
Lisa Kelley (Notice anything different?)
Exhibit A
Exhibit DD
Cool comic strip written by a local English teacher
PLUGS
Survey
Buy Us a Beer
GoToMyPC
Ex-Pat Living (The Korea Herald)
ESL Planet Recruiting
SEOUL Magazine
ZenKimchi.com
KOTESOL
NEXT WEEK
Topic: The Life of a Cartoonist
Panelists: Luke Martin of ROKetship
MUSIC
Main Theme — Ben McPherson – “2wksnyc”
News — satya – “Silk Route Album Mix”
Things That Make You Go Whaa? — cjacks – “Candyland”
Job of the Week — Bit Rationale – “Orthodox Pleasure”
ExPat Community — Deyo – “Retro90210fun”
Time Wasters of the Week — EV Boyz – “Kickin’ It in Geumchon”
Jim Tetlow
Persian Palapin
Brolax Bones
cjacks
Phillip Flathead
Robert Anton
Naomi Yohani
Little Red King
hairclub fo men
daveski
Kathy Reynolds
Fortune for Tune
Sleaze Patrol
The Suicide Denial
ISON
Outside
cat-o-nine-tails
Hop On Pop
Tanya Witt
Postmark Twain
Sumo Sisters
Don Rudnickes
Jonathan Coulton
Conconquidore Truidore
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The Organization of Out-of-touch Ajosshis
PANELISTS
Andrew and Michelle (former long-time ex-pats)
MAIN TOPIC
Making your Korea experience work for you
NEWS
S.Korea won extends gains, up 9 pct vs session low
I Guess It Really Is a Crisis — Gov’t Bitches About Foreign Press
More on the Korean Won (Iceberg)
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO WHAA?
1% of Europeans Know Anything About Korea
Why Korean Tourism Campaigns Fail, Fail, Fail (Metropolitician)
- One Sidedness
- Nationalism
- Misunderstanding
- Cheese
Symposium on Korean Food — October 16
Yanggu-gun | Gangwon-do | South Korea
EXPAT COMMUNITY
ABC News: foreign English teachers are contributing to increased drug use in Korea
A little more on Cho Joo-hee, including a hell of a KBS write-up.
“This is what I realized I should do: correct biased views on Korea by the foreign press, which is unaware of the actual reality here, and make it my duty to accurately and objectively report issues and affairs in Korea,” she says.
PLUGS
Survey
Buy Us a Beer
GoToMyPC
Ex-Pat Living (The Korea Herald)
SEOUL Magazine
ZenKimchi.com
KOTESOL
NEXT WEEK
Topic: What’s So Funny?
Panelists: Roger Fusselman
MUSIC
Main Theme — Ben McPherson – “2wksnyc”
News — satya – “Silk Route Album Mix”
Things That Make You Go Whaa? — cjacks – “Candyland”
Job of the Week — Bit Rationale – “Orthodox Pleasure”
ExPat Community — Deyo – “Retro90210fun”
Chris Townsend
Crush
curious hands
Gray Martin
The Kokoon
Sundown Caffeine
Tea Leaves
Seraphic Panoply
Frenz
STEVE RED BAND
deadpan
one sound
Platinum Life Productions
KlassicK Productions
Kathy Reynolds
Bit Rationale
Devin Anderson
Pan
Roger Bagula
SPONSOR
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PANELIST
Panelist: Robert Wicks
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO WHAA?
No Banknote Would Be Complete Without Dokdo
How Not to Protest the Military (Korea Beat)
HAHAHAHA! Holy fuck! (B in J)
Social activist Kang We-suck was detained by police Wednesday for running naked into the 60th Armed Forces Day anniversary parade.
Study Suggests Fan Use Cuts SIDS Risk in Babies – WSJ.com
So much for fan death… or is it?
Well, I Can Sleep Better At Night Knowing Our Lawmakers Are Monitoring Paraguayan Textbooks (Marmot)
Asbestos and The Subway Again . . . (Marmot)
30 out of 33 stations on the orange line
“Sea Story” Makes Comeback on the Internet (Marmot)
The gambling scandal from 2006 of rigged machines that use a loophole payout system similar to Japan’s Pachinko is coming back.
80% Jump in School-Related Violence (Korea Beat)
This compares to 3980 such cases in 2006 – representing a 36.9% increase, while the number of victims rose by as much as 80% from 6267 in 2006. 63% (7021 students) of the victims of school-related violence were middle school pupils – constituting the bulk of the cases. 34.2% (3855 students) of them were high school students, while 3.5% (394 students) of them were elementary students. By sex, 64% (7217 students) were male, while 36% (4053 students) of them were female.
By punishment: 4283 (38%) of the offenders were given school duty, 1991 (17%) were given community service, 1478 (13.1%) wrote letters of apology, while 1129 (10%) were given special education. A further 716 (6.3%) were suspended from school, while 105 (0.9%) were expelled. By method of violence: 4134 (66%) of the cases were physical violence – as in 2006 the bulk of the cases, 915 (14.6%) were extortion/robberies, 627 (10%) were related to group exclusion and associated bullying, while 174 (2.8%) were related to threats and blackmail.
Almost Half the Korean Kids Who Go to the Ivies DROP OUT (Metropolitician)
Move over, PopSeoul! (Roboseyo)
Her name: 혜나 or “Hye-na” in Korean, is being written on the posters in a way that could cause some, uh, confusion, if she ever goes international.
Does anybody else here spot the problem?
New Phone, Correction Plus Jo Gwon; also, Expats and the DEAR LEADER HIMSELF! (Roboseyo)
(Proposed) Korean Foods in English from the Ministry for Agriculture, Forestry, Fisheries and Food
Most are good. Some are a bit wacky. Check out Budae Jjigae.
Sex Toy Shops Selling Fake Viagra From China (Korea Beat)
Just part of our public service to you
EXPAT COMMUNITY
Visa Rules Favor Gyopo Teachers Over Non-Koreans? (Marmot)
Regarding the complaints, the Korea Immigration Service said it was “reasonable discrimination under the Immigration Law.”
Kim Tae-soo, an immigration official said, “It’s our authority and policy to favor ethnic Koreans. We know there might be unqualified ethnic Koreans teaching English here, but you also need to understand there is no 100 percent perfect system. Other European countries also favor to their own people.”
**Maybe talk about health insurance for foreigners
Foreigner Crime Rate Steadily Increasing (Korea Beat)
Of the crimes committed by foreigners since 2003, 52,455 were committed by Chinese, the greatest number, followed by the 7,899 committed by Americans, 5,452 by Mongolians, 3,307 by Vietnamese, and 2,153 by Japanese.
Murder and assault accounted for 19,478 crimes, followed by traffic accidents (18,478), financial crimes (7,324), immigration offenses (3,374), and theft (2,901).
As recently as 2006 financial crimes came in last at 848, but in 2007 they increased to 2,622 and number 2,156 through August of this year. But this is mainly because of the large number of Chinese and Taiwanese being caught for voice phishing.
FeetManSeoul.com in the Japan Times!
US Embassy freeloading. (B in J)
Lawmaker Lee Mi-kyung of the 민주당 says the US Embassy in Seoul hasn’t paid rent on the government-owned since 1980, and thus owes some $200 million.
USFK Contractors Could Lose Jobs Over Visa Changes (ROK Drop/Stars and Stripes)
U.S. Forces Korea officials are denying status of forces agreement visa renewals to many civilian contractors who lived in South Korea under a different visa when they were hired.
TIME WASTERS OF THE WEEK
“The Hub of Sparkle” KoreaSparkle.com
Found | Delta Airs Grainy Tourist Clip
Actually, I didn’t think it was so bad
McDelivery: Fast Food Gets Faster
PLUGS
Buy Us a Beer
Thanks Therese!!
GoToMyPC
Ex-Pat Living (The Korea Herald)
SEOUL Magazine
ZenKimchi.com
KOTESOL
NEXT WEEK
Topic: Making Your Korean Experience Work for You
Panelists: Andrew and Michelle Barton
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TV Show
“The Guard: South Korea”
Episode 1: Well, Blows Me Down!
PANELIST
Panelist: Daniel Gray (Seoul Eats)
MAIN TOPIC
EATS!
NEWS AND STUFF
Chinese Fishing Boat Took Four Coast Guard Officers Hostage!
Chinese Crew to be Charged
Blow Them Out of the Water
North Koreans Showing How It’s Done
THINGS THAT MAKE YOU GO WHAA?
Hey, But At Least We’re Not as Shitty as Taiwan!
Ranked 7 our of 8 Asian nations in a poll on tourism attractiveness
Second most expensive in five-star hotel rates
Korean Electronic Passports “Hackable in 10 Minutes”
Bae Yong-joon is the face for “The Faceshop” (POPSEOUL)
Why Ambulance Chasing Doesn’t Pay in Korea (Korea Law Blog)
The damages available in the case of shocking medical malpractice resulting in wrongful death were only W15 million (about US$13,000 at today’s exchange rate).
Why I Still Hate The Korean Internet (Chosun Bimbo)
Google will probably poop in your baby’s diaper if you’re not careful. (B in J)
Stop Stealing Foreign Movie Posters. Thanks. (Marmot)
EXPAT COMMUNITY
Teach English to the stars . . . for free! (B in J)
Here’s part of an ad running on WorknPlay:
*Starting date: ASAP
*Time and Date: Will be decided after meeting but mostly it will be once a week.
1.5 hrs/1 day
*Student information : Celebrities of Climax Entertainment, CJ Entertainment
http://www.climix.co.kr/
http://www.cjent.co.kr/
(They belong to the top 5 entertainment company in Korea, They make movies, dramas, produce albums, manage stars,..etc.)
*Notice: There will be no payment. It is a volunteer job.
It is a social networking between Entertainment/ Broadcasting celebrities and English teachers.
You will have lots of fun with Top stars and CEOs.
And you will gain a popularity being as English teacher of those top stars.
(Just like Madonna’s Trainer, Celine Dion’s English teacher ^^)
We will help you to take picture with them all the time and when you write a book they will be glad to write a recommendations for you.
Jeon Ji-hyun
Kim Tae-hee
Goofy Dancing Ice Cream Girl
Preview: Gangnam Fashion Festival (GAFF)
Michael Hurt gets Andre Kim to pose for Feetman Seoul
And check out those pants…
This is a bad joke. (A Geek in Korea)
90% detention rate and two crying boys. Good job!
Korean doctors charging “foreigner fees”? (B in J)
TIME WASTERS OF THE WEEK
Not that I don’t appreciate the offer (B in J)
Behold! Our shiny replacements.
You might be tempted to put your cat in there . . .
but that’d be a bad idea.
Mokpo, ROK City took that photo of his washing machine. Reminded me of this picture and unfortunate headline that accompanied it in the Joongang Ilbo.
New Dokdo shirt on the market.
PLUGS
Survey
**Donations**
Ex-Pat Living (The Korea Herald)
SEOUL Magazine
ZenKimchi.com
KOTESOL
KOTESOL Seoul Chapter Conference 2009
NEXT WEEK
Topic: The Ansan Professor
Panelist: Robert Wicks
Lives of the Party
(those who have donated at least $20)
Ian Anderson
Chris Fuller
Gregg Dowdy
Tahseen Ismail
Denise Cameron
Chris Dyer
Robin Hudson
Stephanie White
Aaron Shearin
Naomi Neckoway
Chae An
Kevin R.
Otto Silver
Drinking Buddies
(those who have bought us beers)
Nomad Scry
Mary Campbell
Mimi Snider
Elton Fry
Therese MacSeain
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