Jim's Korea

Tow Trucks

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 24 Jun 2005 11:41:42 +0900

This was an interesting incident.

Yes, even though no cars were damaged, three tow trucks held a drag race in hopes of winning a customer. This story illustrates the fierce business competition in Korea nowadays. As Korea becomes economically stronger in the global sphere, business managers and owners are doing anything to gain the upper edge. Probably the most fierce competition is in English language education.

Odd Cinema

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 16:42:51 +0900

Just when I thought I had seen it all.

The cinema where we had purchased the tickets was not the cinema where the movie was playing. The movie was playing at another branch located at least 10 minutes away by car. How is that for odd? We did not have time to flag down a taxi so Sunmi and I refunded out tickets and watched a different show.

Dog in the House

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 10 Jun 2005 10:25:00 +0900

A little dog made a big shock.

As in Roller Boy, this story highlights another, cough, benefit of having a first-floor pad.

Magpie in Flight

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Tue, 31 May 2005 16:54:03 +0900

While hiking, I was determined to get a photograph of a magpie. Sunmi and I followed every magpie we possibly could.

I had to get a photo of this Korean symbol. I snapped and snapped but the magpies did not want to stay still. Finally, I managed to snap one taking off from a limb. To view the actual photo, please click here.

A Dog's Love

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 27 May 2005 10:15:00 +0900

A mountain brings all kinds of hikers.

Yes, dogs have invaded Korea. In fact, dog grooming is a big fad. It is not uncommon to see shops where dogs can receive everything from a shampoo to a manicure. I have seen poodles with pink and purple fur. I have also seen shops that specialize in clothing for dogs.

Occassionally, a big husky, Labrador or duck toller retriever like those native to Canada cross my path but tiny dogs are the big hit here. Some are just too friendly.

Call for the Alien

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Mon, 23 May 2005 10:01:31 +0900

This was another linguisitc challenge.

The first challenge was my perception of alien. In modern TV and movie culture, an alien appears as a green being from outerspace but in reality, the word refers to a person from another country. For English-speakers, the nuance of this word may genearate images of UFOs but for Koreans, it usually refers to a foreigner. In fact, the term appears on my foreigner's ID card.

The second linguistic hurdle was connected to the woman's English-speaking ability. When I told her that I'm Canadian, she did not know how to respond linguistically. Speaking English is difficult for many Koreans but speaking on the phone without the advantage of visual input is 100 times more problematic. In this case, the woman's only option was to hang up and end the conversation.

Yet Another Umbrella

noreply@blogspirit.com () — Fri, 20 May 2005 12:04:35 +0900

Even the weather generates challenges.

While others have difficulties holding onto wallets or keys, I am always losing umbrellas. On the day depicted in the above cartoon, I must have lost my 30th umbrella in two months. That is not an exaggeration. The umbrella was in my possession for only 30 minutes. As soon as I entered my office, I realized that it was enjoying a taxi tour of greater Busan. What made this event even more frustrating is that Sunmi had bought me a really nice umbrella just two days earlier . You don't have to be a genius to guess what happened to it.

Busan does have a great deal of rain. While some parts of Canada are infamous for showers, my hometown in the east is not. I'm just haven't adapted to Korea's rainy season.

If it is scientifically possible to produce an umbrella tree, please tell me how. Otherwise, I stand to lose a fortune on umbrellas.