AS extravagant real-estate costs and gentrification do away with most of Manhattan’s ethnic neighborhoods outside Chinatown, the valuable commercial strip of West 32nd Street between Fifth Avenue and Broadway remains firmly, surprisingly, overwhelmingly Korean. It is here that many New Yorkers and visitors first taste kimchi (spicy fermented vegetables), bulgogi (thinly sliced marinated beef) and bi bim bop (Google it), and here that Koreans and Korean-Americans gather for parties and social events.
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Many will say you haven’t experienced Korean New York without a trip to Flushing, Queens, but you can easily fill a weekend without leaving Manhattan. Among the culinary choices on and near West 32nd Street, Kunjip is your standard Koreatown restaurant, offering generous portions of do-it-yourself barbecue, other traditional Korean dishes and several brands of soju, the clear Korean liquor. Across the street, Woorijip is an informal, by-the-pound Korean buffet that also stocks Korean snacks like spicy shrimp crackers and sweet rice drinks, good for a quick lunch or bargain dinner; Korean-style fried chicken — with a full bar — is available at the largely hidden, chic gathering place Bon Chon chicken.
At the upscale vegetarian spot HanGawi, which back in the day got two stars from Ruth Reichl when she was restaurant critic for The Times, you remove your shoes as you would in a Korean home; it features rice bowls and hot pots with a stress on ingredients like mushrooms and tofu, and reasonably priced prix fixe menus take the stress out of choosing. (There are plenty of other upscale Korean spots elsewhere, such as Woo Lae Oak in SoHo.)
By SETH KUGEL
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NVDL: Of late I have been missing Korean food 0 spicy - a lot. Especially the barbecue-do-it-yourself meals (with bulgogi) would be a huge hit with South Africans. Anyone want to start a Korean restaurant with me?
Showing posts with label South Korea. Show all posts
Showing posts with label South Korea. Show all posts
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Wednesday, January 09, 2008
Who Is That English Teacher in the Window? (OHMYNEWS)
[Analysis] Discrimination encountered by foreign language educators in Korea
They zipper their overstuffed suitcases, kiss their loved ones goodbye, and take off on a plane for what may very well be the journey of a lifetime: teaching English in Korea.
If only it were that simple.
The complications that come with teaching English in a foreign country are numerous. From arranging one's housing, to overcoming language barriers, to adapting to a new environment and cuisine, to learning how to navigate a fresh cityscape, the challenges can seem daunting from the get go. But in Korea, two other problems complicate the smooth integration of foreign educators in Korean society: discrimination in the hiring of English teachers and new E-2 visa restrictions. The two topics are often treated separately through online forums or newspaper editorials, but in reality both are inextricably intertwined.
Take for instance my friend who came to Korea to teach English with his significant other. Both were hired through a recruiter, which meant that the entire hiring process was handled by a middleman. On multiple occasions during job interviews with schools in Seoul and with their recruiter, all parties involved wanted to make sure that the two men were 'just friends.' Essentially, they were put in a position where they had to lie about the nature of their relationship in order to secure jobs. The discriminatory sentiments have continued in the workplace, and although no one overtly asks about the nature of their relationship, these men feel they have no legal protections if they were to be "outed" and consequently fired.
Another friend of mine was fired from her first teaching job after she complained to her boss about her 13-hour workday. As a "tall, white, female," she was easily able to find a job with another school that offered more reasonable hours. She observed that many schools tend to prefer white, female teachers to men, who many school officials now associate with perversity and highly-publicized media scandals. She has also heard of foreign teachers being turned away by hiring officials at Incheon Airport if they appeared to be "too big" or overweight for the recruiters or school officials.
For more, go here.
NVDL: Having taught in Korea for 4 years, I can certainly attest to the discrimination going on there. I felt discriminated against, not in terms of getting work, just a lot of unpleasant attention and name-calling in Korea, in public, because I was bald. Sometimes quite funny, sometimes quite hurtful. More to the point, the Koreans as a general rule prefer not to hire black people to teach English (with a few exceptions). They also avoid employing overweight people, or people who look (to their eyes) 'too old'.
In some ways this is understandable. It's understandable because Korea is an intensely homogeneous society. All their people look virtually identical, so to some, westerners can appear quite frightening at first glance. Some small children burst into tears when they encounter us western monsters for the first time. This is changing, but slowly.
I encountered discrimination all the time for simply being South African. They could not believe we speak English in South Africa, or have any education to begin with. This is not as odd a concept as it may appear. Remember, Korea has grown phenomenally to become the 11th biggest economy in the world (with a population the size of South Africa, but 1/1oth SA's landmass, and none of our mineral resources). This being the case, why would they want to educate their people from an apparently 'backwoods' country? The answer is, of course, many South Africans are highly proficient at English, and in many cases, the average middle class person in South Africa has a better command and can spell, and read and write better than the average middle class American.
Another odd thing: white women in Korea are generally stereotyped as Russian prostitutes, and white men, as American teachers. It is a whimsical, but sometimes infuriating country.
They zipper their overstuffed suitcases, kiss their loved ones goodbye, and take off on a plane for what may very well be the journey of a lifetime: teaching English in Korea.
If only it were that simple.
The complications that come with teaching English in a foreign country are numerous. From arranging one's housing, to overcoming language barriers, to adapting to a new environment and cuisine, to learning how to navigate a fresh cityscape, the challenges can seem daunting from the get go. But in Korea, two other problems complicate the smooth integration of foreign educators in Korean society: discrimination in the hiring of English teachers and new E-2 visa restrictions. The two topics are often treated separately through online forums or newspaper editorials, but in reality both are inextricably intertwined.
Take for instance my friend who came to Korea to teach English with his significant other. Both were hired through a recruiter, which meant that the entire hiring process was handled by a middleman. On multiple occasions during job interviews with schools in Seoul and with their recruiter, all parties involved wanted to make sure that the two men were 'just friends.' Essentially, they were put in a position where they had to lie about the nature of their relationship in order to secure jobs. The discriminatory sentiments have continued in the workplace, and although no one overtly asks about the nature of their relationship, these men feel they have no legal protections if they were to be "outed" and consequently fired.
Another friend of mine was fired from her first teaching job after she complained to her boss about her 13-hour workday. As a "tall, white, female," she was easily able to find a job with another school that offered more reasonable hours. She observed that many schools tend to prefer white, female teachers to men, who many school officials now associate with perversity and highly-publicized media scandals. She has also heard of foreign teachers being turned away by hiring officials at Incheon Airport if they appeared to be "too big" or overweight for the recruiters or school officials.
For more, go here.
NVDL: Having taught in Korea for 4 years, I can certainly attest to the discrimination going on there. I felt discriminated against, not in terms of getting work, just a lot of unpleasant attention and name-calling in Korea, in public, because I was bald. Sometimes quite funny, sometimes quite hurtful. More to the point, the Koreans as a general rule prefer not to hire black people to teach English (with a few exceptions). They also avoid employing overweight people, or people who look (to their eyes) 'too old'.
In some ways this is understandable. It's understandable because Korea is an intensely homogeneous society. All their people look virtually identical, so to some, westerners can appear quite frightening at first glance. Some small children burst into tears when they encounter us western monsters for the first time. This is changing, but slowly.
I encountered discrimination all the time for simply being South African. They could not believe we speak English in South Africa, or have any education to begin with. This is not as odd a concept as it may appear. Remember, Korea has grown phenomenally to become the 11th biggest economy in the world (with a population the size of South Africa, but 1/1oth SA's landmass, and none of our mineral resources). This being the case, why would they want to educate their people from an apparently 'backwoods' country? The answer is, of course, many South Africans are highly proficient at English, and in many cases, the average middle class person in South Africa has a better command and can spell, and read and write better than the average middle class American.
Another odd thing: white women in Korea are generally stereotyped as Russian prostitutes, and white men, as American teachers. It is a whimsical, but sometimes infuriating country.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Sick bird found in Hong Kong tests positive for H5N1 virus
A sick egret found in Hong Kong last week has tested positive for the deadly H5N1 bird flu virus, agricultural officials said.
Laboratory tests confirmed the bird, found last Sunday in a park in the New Territories area, was infected with the killer strain, authorities said.
For the rest of this article, go here.
South Korea Confirms H7 Type Of Bird Flue Outbreak; H5N1 Virus Not Involved
Laboratory tests confirmed the bird, found last Sunday in a park in the New Territories area, was infected with the killer strain, authorities said.
For the rest of this article, go here.
South Korea Confirms H7 Type Of Bird Flue Outbreak; H5N1 Virus Not Involved
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
South Korea in Pictures
Korean food is good, the problem is virtually ALL of it is spicy. The other thing is this stuff is very inappropriate to training.
The beaches in Korea are grim. Surrounded by barbed wire, fenced off, and the sand isn't silky soft like South Africa's beaches. They're coarse and often, steep beaches. Jeju Island probably has the best beaches, but even these make South Africa's beaches look like excerpts from a paradise island.
Across the river is North Korea. This is the Imjin River. I cycled this road A LOT. Sometimes you heard music wafting from the Propoganda Village (a demo city pretending to prosper in North Korea), other times it was the South Koreans blasting across opera music. CRAZY!
NVDL: South Korea ia really two countries in one: the modern and the ancient, the traditional and the progressive. It's not an easy country or culture to understand, and if you ever feel like you do, you;re in for a few surprises. It's not for everyone, but some people love it. You're starting to get somewhere when you realise, in Korea, stereotypes don't work. And that you will never belong. Even so, you'll be treated very well, and it will be a grand adventure.
Friday, October 05, 2007
For Sale: Undeveloped Korean Land. DMZ Views
By NORIMITSU ONISHI
Published: October 5, 2007
YIGIL, South Korea — “There are now three people who are interested in buying this land,” said Lee Heung-bok, a real estate agent, standing atop a hill and waving with his left hand at some 57 acres of pristine river and green mountains inhabited by wild black boars.
“One person is interested in building a golf course,” he added. “Not right now, of course, but sometime in the future.”
“A golf course will take more than 10 years,” said the potential buyer, Park Jae-yong, standing next to Mr. Lee and holding a newspaper over his head against the midday sun’s glare. “Right now, even if we build a golf course, nobody would be able to come in here anyway.”
Yigil is a farming village by the demilitarized zone dividing South Korea from North Korea. It lies inside what is called the Civilian Control Zone, an area extending some 10 miles south of the DMZ and restricted to residents and soldiers. Others must get passes to enter the zone, where the military has restricted construction to low-lying buildings.
Barricades flank the zone’s main roads, built in such a way that they can be made to collapse and slow down invading North Korean tanks. Hanging on barbed wire alongside many forested areas are red-and-orange triangular signs warning about land mines. Yigil lies so close to North Korea that a tunnel leading from the North to the South, dug by North Korean soldiers, was discovered nearby in 1975.
Despite all that, warming ties between South and North Korea have been drawing speculators like Mr. Park to Yigil and other villages here in the middle of the peninsula.
Click here for more.
NVDL: Read Tour de DMZ for more background on this interesting area.
I used to live in Ilsan, 20km as the crow flies from the DMZ (North South Korean border). I used to cycle all along the DMZ to places like Han Tan Gang and Cheolwon. Since South Korea is one of the most developed and operpopulated countries on Earth, the DMZ is an amazing sanctuary for nature and a great getaway. It also provided a lovely area for cycling, although the roads and byways here can sometimes get choked up on weekends as well. South Korea has 1/10 the landmass of South Africa, but the same population at 47 million. Most of that number lives in Seoul, and the surrounding satellites (around 30 million).
Published: October 5, 2007
YIGIL, South Korea — “There are now three people who are interested in buying this land,” said Lee Heung-bok, a real estate agent, standing atop a hill and waving with his left hand at some 57 acres of pristine river and green mountains inhabited by wild black boars.
“One person is interested in building a golf course,” he added. “Not right now, of course, but sometime in the future.”
“A golf course will take more than 10 years,” said the potential buyer, Park Jae-yong, standing next to Mr. Lee and holding a newspaper over his head against the midday sun’s glare. “Right now, even if we build a golf course, nobody would be able to come in here anyway.”
Yigil is a farming village by the demilitarized zone dividing South Korea from North Korea. It lies inside what is called the Civilian Control Zone, an area extending some 10 miles south of the DMZ and restricted to residents and soldiers. Others must get passes to enter the zone, where the military has restricted construction to low-lying buildings.
Barricades flank the zone’s main roads, built in such a way that they can be made to collapse and slow down invading North Korean tanks. Hanging on barbed wire alongside many forested areas are red-and-orange triangular signs warning about land mines. Yigil lies so close to North Korea that a tunnel leading from the North to the South, dug by North Korean soldiers, was discovered nearby in 1975.
Despite all that, warming ties between South and North Korea have been drawing speculators like Mr. Park to Yigil and other villages here in the middle of the peninsula.
Click here for more.
NVDL: Read Tour de DMZ for more background on this interesting area.
I used to live in Ilsan, 20km as the crow flies from the DMZ (North South Korean border). I used to cycle all along the DMZ to places like Han Tan Gang and Cheolwon. Since South Korea is one of the most developed and operpopulated countries on Earth, the DMZ is an amazing sanctuary for nature and a great getaway. It also provided a lovely area for cycling, although the roads and byways here can sometimes get choked up on weekends as well. South Korea has 1/10 the landmass of South Africa, but the same population at 47 million. Most of that number lives in Seoul, and the surrounding satellites (around 30 million).
Friday, September 14, 2007
Tuesday, September 11, 2007
If you go off to the beach today...
...you're in for a big surprise.
We are not alone, any more, ever!
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