The End of an Era

Dear Readers,

I am now back in the United States, and will be discontinuing my blog, at least for awhile. I became critically ill in South Korea and had to return to the United States due to medical complications from my condition. It was very difficult to give up what was a very fulfilling job, a beautiful apartment, and even a new romance. We can only go where God determines we will go, however; or, as the eternal pessimist Yeats said, "things fall apart, the center cannot hold."

I will be taking the next few months to revisit my old blog and clean up some of the grammar and typos. I will be adding details along the way as I remember them. This is in preparation for publication. I have not decided whether this will be the form of a memoir or a "faction" novel. I may also try to clean up and publish some of my more interesting blogs.

I would like to know from my readers which blog entries they liked the best. My readership is not very wide, of course, but if you stumble upon my humble little blog, feel free to vote. Post your votes as comments, and I will read them.

Sincerely,

R.E.

PHOTO JOURNAL: May North Korea Trip FINAL

In May of this year, I went on a three day trip to North Korea. Mt. Geumgangsan is just north of the DMZ on the East Sea (Sea of Japan) and is quite breathtaking in its own right. Although I did not see much of North Korea itself due to severe restrictions on our movements, I can say I have seen on of the natural masterpieces of the world - God in one of his melodramatic moments, if you will.

We left Seoul at 11:00 pm from Hongdae, picking up other groups of people on the way. There were approximately 80 people on the tour, all of us with Western country passports except the driver and the tour guides. I knew a few people on the tour, though not very well. Adventure Korea does not require you to come with a "buddy," and solo travellers are quite common. I shared a hotel room with a very nice African-American girl from New York state (whose name escapes me).

The bus ride was long and tedious, as most bus trips are, so I passed the time speaking with Phil, a Welshman I had met by chance at a mutual friend's birthday party some time ago. We had hit it off during the party... until he made an indecent (and drunken) proposal later in the evening. I had completely forgotten about him until we ran into each other on the tour. He turned out to be a very nice person, if a bit confused about the direction his life was going. Actually, this is true of most foreigners (myself included) one meets in Korea! But I digress...

We arrived at 4 a.m. at the "Asian Rest Area" (where do the rest of us...er...rest?) by Donhae Freeway Gate; this is the purported main supply route between North and South Korea, though it is not currently in use. We then stood in line to get our tickets for the tour, our visas, and our bus assignments. We were each given a specific number and were told to memorize the information on our name tags, whether it was spelled correctly or not! This was a vital step, because the information could be asked at anytime by the North Korean Military Personnel. If we got the information wrong, we could be fined and/or deported. We were then told to go to our new buses, taking our belongings with us. The buses were equipped with special flags designating "tourists coming!"
We drove for about 15 minutes, then arrived at the DMZ. The large, modern, and spacious building screamed "TOURISM!" at the top of its iron lungs; most of us were too tired to explore further than the restrooms, however. There seemed to be quite a bit of wasted space, and I am guessing this building is just for "show." After quite a long wait, the South Korean Military personnel began processing us. Our passports were stamped with an official "departure" seal, which read "Mt. Geumgangsan Tourist" at the bottom. We then reembarked on our buses, and headed through the DMZ.

The DMZ, as has been noted on many tourist sites, is by its very nature a natural preserve. The no-man's land is composed of flat grasslands, wetlands, and sandstone. Moon bears have been sighted in this area, as well as a host of other species of rare animals. We were not allowed to take photos anywhere in the DMZ for security purposes. I did note that wide railroad tracks had been newly built, but they were presently empty of trains. North Korean guards stood at attention on the tracks, their beady eyes taking in the line of tourbuses, most of them full of South Korean tourists.

As we crossed into the North Korean side, the landscape dramatically changed. High and jagged peaks with black striations threatened the landscape. The hills appeared to be barren, although there were what appeared to be salt marshes along the roads. Not a single tree stood, and the landscape showed scarring from the war not yet over. The tour guide flatly stated that the bombing and fierce fighting had wiped out all the trees, and that the North Koreans left the landscape as it was rather than try to revitalize the torn up and cratered earth. Large bunkers had been built inside the hills, and in the bunkers were tanks with their guns aimed directly at the road. No, not a friendly place.

We arrived at the North Korean processing site. We were again instructed to know the information on our cards, and told not to volunteer any information or engage in conversation with any of the guards. Our cameras would be checked; our cell phones had been left behind in the original tour bus. Sometimes, apparently, they try to trick people into giving false information, and they also like to confiscate random cameras (as two members of our group found out). This was to rack up fines on the tourists, though serious offenders were subject to deportation. The North Korean processing site, unlike the South Korean site, was definately military. A series of ragged army tents served as the center, contrasting strongly with the "Pangapsumnida!" theme song playing over the loudspeakers (which would drive us all loopy within three days incidentally). We were informed to stand in line by the numerical order on our cards. Each person would pass through a checkpoint, where our visa would be stamped. The vias was NOT in our passport, but on a separate card. To have a North Korean visa in an American passport would not be looked upon with favor; the cards were taken away when we returned to the South Korean side. I was very calm as I went through; the officer merely looked at my documents, then at me, and sent me through without comment. I accidentally made eye contact with the guard at the exit to the tent, and I swear he almost smiled. I did not mean to do it, but the officers are very short, and at five foot two, looking forward to me was looking into his eyes. I did note that their uniforms, though fancy and well-made, were quite old and dusty. They had been mended many times, but clearly with pride.

On the way out of the tent stood a dilapidated bear mascot. The "bear" was very short, and appeared to be weary with his duties. He halfheartedly waved at the tourists, and appeared oddly out of place inside the military tents...

We boarded the bus, and crossed the border into North Korea. We passed several propoganda villages along the way. The village scenes had a curiously staged feel to them; people passed on bicycles, but never seemed to arrive anywhere. Strollers along the pathways kept pace with each other, and once again, had no seeming direction or destination. Workers in the field wore brightly covered clothing and industriously avoided staring at the line of 30 tourbuses passing by. A picturesque group of serfs on their lunch break precariously balanced themselves and their neatly packed meals on a rock in the center of a field. Soldiers in full uniform stood guard in each field, a red flag in their hands to alert each other of any violation (tourist or serf). For us, a red flag meant a fine. For the people...who knows?

We drove for about ten minutes, and then arrived at the Onjeonggak Tourist Area. The facilities included a mini-mart, bathrooms, and several hotels. There was also a large auditorium, where the North Korean Acrobatic Show was featured. This was the area we were confined to when not hiking or with a group. Shuttle buses shunted people off to the Hot Springs or Kumgang Pension Area. We did not unload our gear at this time, but did take a rest break.
The first tour of the day included a rather strenuous hike on the Guryong Falls Course. It is supposed to take up to four hours; we only got two hours due to a slight schedule delay. I did make it to the top, but I was quite literally the last one to arrive...I guess I was a bit out of shape! It was my first hiknig trip of the season, after all. It's hard to make out, but the bottom picture has a poem to the "Great Leader" chiseled into the rock. There were many of these poems scrawled on the rocks, both in Chinese and in Korean - sort of like a personality cult "Mt. Rushmore."

After the grueling hike, we returned to the tourism zone. I chose to take the time for a nap, and we were allowed to go to our hotel rooms. After a refreshing snooze, my roommate and I headed over to view the Korean Acrobatic Show. The first acrobat was a young girl in a green costume, and I remember the look of sheer terror on her face as she was put through her paces and stunts. I am guessing that she was new, as some of her stunts were carefully supported by her male counterpart. She made a sincere effort to smile, but, her fear often showed through. The live orchestra underscored the show with what I can only describe as Russian Communist Pop from the 1970s...quite amusing. The rest of the show was well put together, if a bit surreal. Oh that music!

A sudden downpour came upon us as we left the show, so we returned to the hotel. After dinner, my roommate and I decided to visit the Hot Springs. My roommate chickened out because the Hot Springs turned out to be "naked only," but I am used to this in Korea, so it didn't bother me. I spent a leisurely amount of time soaping up, hosing off, and hunkering down in the hot and slightly sulfuric water. A group of chatty ajummas almost ruined the event for me, but the novelty of being nude, in a hot spring, under the starry skies of North soon distracted me from my annoyance!

The next morning, we took a tour of Haekumgang Seashore. The East Sea is very rocky, and the way out onto the larger rocks is treacherous. I was content to just take photos rather than climb the rocks...

Later, I took a tour of Samilpo Lake. I got some good photos of both the lake and the trail to the lake, especially the rice fields. The lake itself is unspectacular, and only of note for yet more propoganda rocks.

The people who live near the "Special Tourist Zone" are well-cared for and looked after. They are usually the high-ranking officials and families that are in good with the government. These people, at least, have enough food and gainful employment, albeit only to "look good" for foreign visitors. As wel travelled, we could see people working in the field, heavily guarded. Gasoline is hard to acquire, so we were treated to the sight of a wood-fueled tractor as it belched smoke across a grain field. The tractor, we were told, was a gift from some dignitary or other, but the fuel did not come with the machine. So the resourceful villagers adapted it.

Disturbingly, one group of workers was apparently ordered to get down low to the ground as we passed. Another group half-heartedly waved at the tourbuses, the armed guards standing behind them. Life did go on in these show villages, however. Each village had a guarded gate; no one could enter or leave without permission. Next to one of these gates was an irrigation ditch. In full view of the soldiers, a group of young boys swam around and splashed each other. The soldiers ignored them, dodging the flying water as necessary.

For exceptionally good Party members, the Kumgang Pension Town had been built. On the days we were there, it was eerily empty. A restaurant full of servers stood idle. The hotel was empty, and there were no people in the town.

We returned to the tourist area at around 3:30. I took a stroll to one of the other hotels, where I was told a huge mosaic of "the Kims" had been rendered. I was not disappointed. The bellboys were the only ones allowed to take photos, so we had to hand our cameras over to them. I did pose under the large portrait, but I will not post it here. I have posted a photo, however, of the portrait itself (not terribly straight due to the odd angle the bellboy used).

As many people did, I left North Korea with more questions than answers. Everything was like a magic show; illusion and reality were hopelessly muddled. I could only get glimpses of "real life"
by proxy. As a hiking excursion however, I would definately recommend the tour.

TEACHER'S NOTES: Sex Education in Korea- An Alarming Trend Update

I keep updated on "current events" for my advanced university students, and one of the debate topics in the Korean controversy-centered book I use is obscenity/pornography laws in Korea. This was something I was not too well-versed in as it pertained to Korea when I first began to teach. I had to do quite a bit of research in order to keep up with my students, who took the topic and ran with it. Obviously, they had more access to Korean articles, and it turned out to be a more complex issue than I (and most of the students) had thought. Keep in mind that many (though certainly not all) Korean university students are a bit more "innocent" than their American counterparts. A recent article in the JoognAng Daily News, the most "liberal" newspaper in Korea, sheds some light on the issue, and exposes an alarming trend.

In my first year in Korea, I came across an article on sex-education from 2003, and found that there was very little to no sex education in the schools. According to the more recent article, nothing has changed much. Here are some highlights from the article:

A slew of sex crimes committed by teens in recent years has raised public awareness and anxiety about the quality of sex education provided by schools. Five months ago a case in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi shocked the entire country when police revealed that six middle school students had repeatedly raped a 14-year-old female classmate over a period of two months. Adding to the public’s dismay was the fact the boys showed little remorse and did not seem to understand the severity of their crimes. One boy claimed that he merely wanted to copy scenes from a pornographic film he’d seen on the Internet. In other words, many kids are now getting their sex education from triple-X porn sites rather than their parents, peers or teachers. [. . .]

According to National Police Agency data, one fourth of sex crimes involving teenage victims are perpetrated by teenagers and 13 percent of them involve preteen assailants. These numbers are much higher than in Japan and the United States, both countries that already have standardized sex education programs in their elementary, middle and high schools. According to statistics compiled by law enforcement agencies in the three countries, six out of100,000 teenagers in the United States committed rape in 2005. In Japan the figure was 1.1 out of 100,000 and in Korea it was 11.5. Korea’s incidence of teen rape is almost double that of the U.S and ten times that of Japan. Part of the problem is that Korea’s sex education programs have been stuck in the past and have not kept pace with the rapid development of Internet technology. We live in an age where adolescents are frequently exposed to sexually explicit material via the Web.

The Ministry of Education and Human Resources Development currently mandates 10 hours of sex education a year for every grade from elementary through high school. In reality, the ministry admits that in just under half of the 10,063 schools they surveyed these sessions are conducted for less than eight-hours.

“Most of the time, our gym teacher turns the sex-ed tape on and goes outside and then comes back in when the tape has ended. Meanwhile, we sit in class and make fun of the tape,” K said. This is partly due to the fact that sex education isn’t an independent subject. At present, sex ed material is loosely scattered around physical education or biology classes. In Japan, the required minimum of sex education is 70 hours per year; sex education is a separate subject. The United States has “health” classes, which include sex education, and these have been set apart as an independent subject since the start of the 20th century.

For the rest of the article: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2879587

What are these crimes? Well, a later article summarizes:

A recent series of disturbing sex crimes committed by teenagers have worried and saddened many Koreans, because the rapists are shockingly young and some of the incidents took place in classrooms during school hours. These middle-school rapists showed little remorse for their acts, police and psychologist who questioned them said, with some of the young criminals viewing gang rape as part of growing up. Others, investigators say, are acting out scenes from pornographic movies they find on the Internet.

I can personally attest that even elementary students are left for long periods of time unsupervised. The Korean teachers leave the room during the ten minute breaks and go into the teacher's lounges. Many of them are themselves late coming back to class. To be fair, their is usually a class captain (responsible student), but children will be children...

The number of sexual crimes committed by teenage students has risen steadily, but an incident at a middle school in Gapyeong, Gyeonggi province, shocked the nation last month. Gapyeong police said six male students were accused of the serial rape of a female student over a two month period. The school only had 30 students in each class, and the offenders and the victim were classmates, police said. Of the six students, four were arrested for criminal investigation. According to the police, the nightmare for the 14-year-old victim began in January when one of her classmates sexually abused her. Using that incident as a point of vulnerability, the boy and his friends began raping her repeatedly. The police said the crimes all took place inside the school compound with as many as four boys raping her each time. The last episode took place on March 15. During lunch hour, three boys raped her in an empty classroom, the police said, adding that afterwards the offenders and the victim went back to class and finished the school day. The victim finally told a teacher about the abuse on March 21, and her parents were immediately notified.

The downside of group mentality is that, mixed with teenage hormones, teenagers can become a pack of wolves. In another city in the province, the girl was left unconscious, and apparently died from her injuries and/or the copious amounts of soju she was forced to drink that rendered her unconscious:

"[. . .]clearly these young boys appear to think gang rape is a new coming-of-age ceremony,” Lee Soo-jung, a criminal psychology professor with Kyonggi University, said. “When you closely follow the cases, you can see that their methods are the same. They pick one of their classmates and force her to drink soju. When she becomes unconscious, they rape her in turn,” Lee said. The pattern, Lee added, has spread among middle school boys because the teenagers “bragged about their experiences” at school and in Internet chat rooms.

For the full article: http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2874477

I don't honestly know quite what to make of this. I have observed Korean middle-schoolers at close range, and they appear to be (generally) even more psychologically vulnerable than their American peers. They are strongly kept under control by their culture; respect for teachers and elders is absolutely demanded, but to the point that if something bad happens, they literally have no one to talk to. The school system is pretty much akin to military school - school uniforms, the "middle school girl haircut" (to show she is underage), and harsh discipline.

Outside of school, the outstanding feature I have noticed (and I am not the only one) among middle-schoolers is the intensely physical same-sex friendships that develop. Some of this is cultural; same-sex adults are also very physical with each other (heck, they get naked in the jim jil bang/sauna together!), but not with the same intensity as I have noticed among middle- schoolers. I have observed adolescent boys sitting in each others' laps and cuddling, girls holding hands and stroking each others faces, long and intense staring into each others' eyes (both sexes), and other behaviors that make me well, frankly, uncomfortable. I do not believe this is intentionally homosexual behavior, but it does smell (sometimes literally) of "hornymones" going full blast. Many of them are still "innocent" enough not to understand why they are acting this way, but this innocence is what has perhaps led those poor girls from the article into the dangerous situation. It is pure biological urge untempered by understanding, in other words.

For the record, I do believe that American sex education is doing pretty well. I don't have a problem with teaching safe sex (only 12% of sexually active Korean men use condoms), biology, "just say no," and "alternative lifestyles." Although I am a practicing Christian, I am not an ostrich, and I believe in the world that we live in, it is important to know how to be safe by knowing what is out there. I think that basic health information needs to be passed on to Korean schoolchildren, as well as accountability. For all of the hullaballoo about America's sex education programs, I must say that in California (one of the more liberal states), they do a pretty good job of teaching accountability (as anyone who has had their class interrupted by "Baby-Think-It-Over's" crying can attest to). Abstinence is still taught as the only 100% "safe sex," but the other options are also taught as well. Knowledge is power, but only with accountability.

JOURNAL: A Fresh Start in the "Foreigner Ghetto"

I have just moved back to Seoul - new job, beautiful apartment, and an interesting neighborhood. I will be blogging regularly again as my new job features less hours and I will have to spend less time doing battle over lack of water/blue water/lack of electricity/ lack of Internet/etc.

I am officially finished with my year of purgatory, and I hope never to have to visit the place again. I said goodbye to the green-haired hooker, the convenience store owner, and the apartment manager (who was equally glad to get rid of me I'm sure!). I hired a bongo truck (Korean pick-up) and hauled my belongings up to Seoul and my new home in Yongsan-gu, the so-called "foreigner ghetto." Actually, I would call it more a neighborhood with "character" than a ghetto. But first, the apartment...

It took me a good two weeks to find a good apartment - I knew I wanted to live in a certain area (i.e. cheap!), and most of the good options were already taken or out of my price range. I also had a bout with a rather nasty case of the stomach flu, followed by a severe food/medical allergy which sent me to the hospital twice. This all happened while I was apartment hunting, and suddenly I found that I had three days left before losing my old apartment. Needless to say, I was in a bit of a panic!

The first day I was allowed out of bed, I called yet a third realtor. She showed me a basement apartment (good size but no natural light) and a nasty mold farm, these being the only options in my price range. I was about to give up when she suddenly remembered another place that had just opened up. Although it was way out of my price range, I agreed to see it. It was perfect.

The landlord brought the rent down significantly; it turns out that his son graduated from the university I will be teaching at! Although the rent is still a bit high, it is doable. I have a three "bedroom" (only one of them is big enough for a bed), fully-furnished apartment with partial utilities included in the rent. I have a nice sized kitchen with an oven (a rarity in Korea), a bathroom with a bathtub (ditto), a fully furnished TV room, a patio/balcony, and even a computer desk! The apartment is clean and in good condition; it has been well-maintained and looked-after. I did see one cockroach, but the place is fully roach-trapped and appears to be bug-free. I am near a wooded area, so I fully expect to see a few bugs!

The neighborhood? Well, it is singularly unique for Korea. Koreans give this area a bad rap for some reason; it may have been a bad area at one time, but I feel much safer here than I ever did in Byeongjeom. First of all, the language of commerce is English. This is for a practical reason; for one, it is just outside the 8th Army Base Wall. Another reason is that there are a multitude of ethnic groups living around here besides Westerners - there are Nigerians, Filipinos, Southeast Asians, Turks, Arabs, and a few East Indians. It is a very heterogeneous mix of peoples and culture; the common language is English.

So is it "third world"? Not really. There are some signs of moderate poverty, but there are also signs of thriving businesses, gentrification, and a neighborhood life all its own. I enjoy hearing children playing in the street, old people nodding and grumbling out in the sun, dogs barking, cars passing by; these are all sounds of a healthy neighborhood. Everyone is friendly; I don't get the hard stares I got in Byeongjeom. Instead, people look at me, smile, and nod or bow, then go on their way. I do not feel like a Martian.

I live towards the top of a hill that makes Lombardi Street in San Francisco look like the flat Midwest. It is a bit dangerous for pedestrians as cars can't really stop once they get going...There are many blind corners, and you must rely on your ears rather than eyes to know when cars are coming. It is a good fifteen-minute hike, ten of it uphill, from the subway station to my place, but I like the exercise so far. The view is nice at night; I can see Namsan Tower all lit up from the main road as I trudge up the hill. There are several thriving "ethnic" restaurants around, a sports bar that serves very good hamburgers, and am honest-to-goodness American-style coffee house (not Starbucks), complete with tatty paperbacks in the corner. They also serve an American breakfast.

I think I am going to like living here. It is not very "Korean," but it is a functional international community. Some may scoff at me for not wanting to live the "authentic" Korean life anymore; the truth, as I have learned the hard way, is that no one who was not born and raised here will ever be allowed the authentic experience because Korea still embraces a culture of exclusion. This is their struggle as they join the international community - how to integrate globalization without losing their precious sense of national pride and identity. I am educating the new generation as best I can to be more tolerant of others, and I hope to help these young adults open their minds and hearts to outsiders.

JOURNAL: What Happened to My Vacation?

I know I haven't posted for two months; the truth is I just haven't had the heart to do much lately. I have been on a three-month job-hunting odyseey that has left me jobless, hopless, and frankly, down in the dumps.

To update: the University did want to renew my contract with me; I politely but firmly requested that the housing be changed. They would not move on this issue, so I declined their offer. The University does all it can to have full control over our lives outside of the university without taking into account the fact that we have lives outside of work. Which brings me to my second point.

The chance of renewal was offered to me again, this time with an alternative apartment. I requested to see the said apartment and was denied this simple request. Furthermore, I was given less than one day to make my decision. The liason further said that the housing policy had changed so that everyone had to live in specific housing provided by the university near the university - in other word, no commuting. When I asked about this "new policy," I was informed that it was for emergencies (ie. sick teachers needing subs). The school does not pay substitutes; the person who is out pays the substitute, so it is none of the University's concern. In my previous contract, a minor housing allowance was provided for those who already had an apartment, but this has changed. I pointed out that this new clause makes the contract a "renegotiation" and not a "renewal," but the liason seemed inclined to (wrongly) quibble over semantics so I dropped it.

So I have been job hunting. Rather unsuccessfully. I am looking for a Uni position IN SEOUL; none of this rural crap anymore. I am also looking at upscale high schools. There is one high school in a nice suburb of Seoul that sounds promising, but I would still prefer a university (looks better on my resume). Even so, a foreign high school will get me brownie points when doing my teacher's credential. I am gambling on the breadth of teaching experience rather than the length of time that I have been here.

It only looks bad in Korea if I "step down" from a university. But Korea is a small place in the world, though full of stubborn and tenacious adherence to culture; sometimes we who live here forget that. They have survived numerous attacks and assaults on their culture after all. Saving face is everything.

NOTE: Guest Editor

I am currently working on a multiple-part journal entry detailing my trip to North Korea. For those of you who have been waiting, I apologise. I have been very proactive in job hunting, writing final exams, photo editing, etc. and have had very little time to do any productive blog maintinence.

If and when (God-willing) I find a better university situation in Seoul, I solemnly promise to blog more often; my work hours doubled and my prep time vanished due to the loss of ten teachers...As a job, it has been a wonderful and life-changing experience, but I am ready to move on to more professional challenge and less, shall we say, lifestyle challenge...

That said, I did squeeze out some time to write a review as "LadySapphire" for another blog:

http://www.eflgeek.com

The blog itself is very well-written and has good information about the EFL instructor's life and job here in Korea. Check out my review of the Global EIL Conference last Saturday if you are interested in such things. I have been invited back as a guest editor.

PHOTOS: Beauty Among Squalor

This is a rare moment of color in Byengjeom. The azaleas (Korea's national flower) are in full bloom along the gloomy pathway that heads under the bridge. I am standing a few feet in front of my apartment complex, looking left. You can see the train tracks opposite the flowers.

This is a hanbok (traditional dress) shop across the street from "the hood." Above it is a bank. In the window, the bank advertises in several different languages for the migrant workers. Philipinos and Bangladeshi are the "Mexicans" of Korea.

The Korean farmers grow chili pepper bushes to protect their main crop (rice) just as Americans plant corn. The only time of day that this scrubby bit of farmland is lovely is at sunset. Although it is not evident in the photo (my camera being what it is) the sky was actually mixed with violent shade of pinks and oranges; the sun appeared blood-red. I am standing at the bus stop as I take this in.