Alright...this has nothing to do with teaching, but many of the people who read this blog are teachers in South Korea. Many of the folks who read this blog will have an interest in seeing these amazing pictures that were just shown in the Boston Globe.
Many of the photos are by photographer Eric Lafforgue.
Check them out....they're really impressive!
Cheers,
Kevin
Showing posts with label ESL. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ESL. Show all posts
Thursday, September 25, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Canadian New Years....with some galbi thrown in!
Well, the New Year is here and the vacation is has almost come to an end. What’s been going on? I suppose a damn lot to put it simply. I’m officially half-way through my course and half-way to becoming a certified primary school teacher. It’s been a tough go of things since I began school. In the beginning I was wondering what all of the fuss was about. I seemed to have plenty of free-time and little to study, but things quickly snowballed. My practice teaching was tougher than I imagined. After 5 years of teaching relatively well-behaved kids in Korea, I was thrown into the fray with a 3rd grade class in one of Ottawa’s Beacon Schools. It was challenging, but in the end everything worked out well and I’m certainly the better teacher for it. The kids I taught, while chatty and uber-energetic, were very cool!
Rough semester done, solid grades and an amazing time teaching 3rd grade in ottawa, it was time for a nice little break. Mai and I spent Christmas with my folks for a week and my waist grew by several centimeters...the sign of a truly Canadian Christmas. I've come to quickly realize, after spending my first winter in Ottawa, that a truly Cnadian Christmas...at least an Ottawa one is friggin cold!! Wow...this place seems to have the same temperature as Yellowknife...actually...it often does!
For New Years, Mai and I ventured to London...Ontario. Our magical VIA experience, with crying babies across the aisle had a happy ending when Tom and Amity whisked us away from Union Station to London. The four of us met in Korea and were going to have a "quasi-Korean" themed New Years. We stopped in Korea Town in Toronto and picked up supplies for a feed of New Years galbi at Tom's place. Tom and Amity supplied the Korean bbq cook plate and Mai and I supplied the Baek saeju.
Tom cookin up a storm of galbi...in the confines of his Canadian apartment. Tom's funky litle Korean cooker was compliments of Amity. I believe she picked it up at a korean market in Columbus, OH.
After a few days and enough booze to kill a small herd of cattle, the four of us were off to Toronto. it was the last stop before Mai and I were to head back to the "Siberia-Like" atmosphere of Ottawa. Our tour guides (Tom and Amity) decided that it would be in the best interest of us, as well as the rest of humanity for us to visit the Steamwhistle Brewery in downtown Toronto. It's beside the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. It was a great call on their part. A quick tour and four glasses of fabulous pilsner later, we were on our way.
A gaggle of former English and Japanese teachers enjoy the wonderful sudes at the Steamwhistle Brewery.
Here is a pile of Steamwhislte kegs on the production floor of the brewery. It's basically a "pile of heaven." Damn fine beer and in large quantities.
Tom used some of his savvy photography skills and snapped a few neat pics of Mai and myself outside Steamwhistle. EeEkkk...there appears to be a CN Tower in the background.
Ok...time in London and Toronto was finished. Back on the train for the trip to "Siberia-like" Ottawa. An annoying first-year Ottawa U student sat across from us and talked non-stop for more than four hours. A nice businessman sat beside her and somehow tolerated her babbling. I thought Mai was going to leap over me and quickly put an end to the girl's nattering. It was quite possible since two days earlier we watched the new Johnny Depp flick, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Luckily Mai didn't have a razor on her at the time!!
So, we got back to Ottawa and walked home. It's about a 15 minute walk from the train station...no problem. WRONG! IT WAS COOOLLLLD!!! Painful cold. Got home and checked online...with the windchill....-29C. Ahh well...tis life in the Great White North.
Tonight we ventured downtown to look at the lights. The NCC (National Capital Commission) lights up Ottawa for the Holiday Season. From December6-January 6, there are beautiful lights throughout the downtown area, on the museums and of course the Parliament Buildings. With only 2 nights left to see them we needed to take a gander...well worth the trip.
Here's the canada Post building on the corner of Sparks Street across from Darcy Magee's pub. It certainly looked ship-shape.
Mai stood here infron of the Parliament Buildings. They looked great. They are illuminated with massive white snowflakes and lots of other groovy little lights.
The Fairmont hotel...aka...Chateau Laurier looked awesome as usual. Whenever I look at the hotel it reminds me of some sort of Bavarian castle. Why can I imagine it full of drunken German monks for some reason?
On our way home, we stopped on the bridge between the National Arts Centee and the Rideau Centre to take a look at the Rideau Canal. At night it looks great. Check it out for yourself.
Just a few more days left and the last term of my teacher education programs gets underway. I suppose things will be the same way as last semester; start off slow and then snowball into a world of assignments, stress and this time teaching a junior grade for 5 weeks...wither grade 4, 5 or 6...not sure yet. I plan to keep folks posted about my life in Ottawa on a more regular basis now. This is definitely a cool little city to live in and a lot of interesting thngs to do and see. Oh yeah...and it's really cold too!!
Rough semester done, solid grades and an amazing time teaching 3rd grade in ottawa, it was time for a nice little break. Mai and I spent Christmas with my folks for a week and my waist grew by several centimeters...the sign of a truly Canadian Christmas. I've come to quickly realize, after spending my first winter in Ottawa, that a truly Cnadian Christmas...at least an Ottawa one is friggin cold!! Wow...this place seems to have the same temperature as Yellowknife...actually...it often does!
For New Years, Mai and I ventured to London...Ontario. Our magical VIA experience, with crying babies across the aisle had a happy ending when Tom and Amity whisked us away from Union Station to London. The four of us met in Korea and were going to have a "quasi-Korean" themed New Years. We stopped in Korea Town in Toronto and picked up supplies for a feed of New Years galbi at Tom's place. Tom and Amity supplied the Korean bbq cook plate and Mai and I supplied the Baek saeju.
Tom cookin up a storm of galbi...in the confines of his Canadian apartment. Tom's funky litle Korean cooker was compliments of Amity. I believe she picked it up at a korean market in Columbus, OH.
After a few days and enough booze to kill a small herd of cattle, the four of us were off to Toronto. it was the last stop before Mai and I were to head back to the "Siberia-Like" atmosphere of Ottawa. Our tour guides (Tom and Amity) decided that it would be in the best interest of us, as well as the rest of humanity for us to visit the Steamwhistle Brewery in downtown Toronto. It's beside the CN Tower and the Rogers Centre. It was a great call on their part. A quick tour and four glasses of fabulous pilsner later, we were on our way.
A gaggle of former English and Japanese teachers enjoy the wonderful sudes at the Steamwhistle Brewery.
Here is a pile of Steamwhislte kegs on the production floor of the brewery. It's basically a "pile of heaven." Damn fine beer and in large quantities.
Tom used some of his savvy photography skills and snapped a few neat pics of Mai and myself outside Steamwhistle. EeEkkk...there appears to be a CN Tower in the background.
Ok...time in London and Toronto was finished. Back on the train for the trip to "Siberia-like" Ottawa. An annoying first-year Ottawa U student sat across from us and talked non-stop for more than four hours. A nice businessman sat beside her and somehow tolerated her babbling. I thought Mai was going to leap over me and quickly put an end to the girl's nattering. It was quite possible since two days earlier we watched the new Johnny Depp flick, Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street. Luckily Mai didn't have a razor on her at the time!!
So, we got back to Ottawa and walked home. It's about a 15 minute walk from the train station...no problem. WRONG! IT WAS COOOLLLLD!!! Painful cold. Got home and checked online...with the windchill....-29C. Ahh well...tis life in the Great White North.
Tonight we ventured downtown to look at the lights. The NCC (National Capital Commission) lights up Ottawa for the Holiday Season. From December6-January 6, there are beautiful lights throughout the downtown area, on the museums and of course the Parliament Buildings. With only 2 nights left to see them we needed to take a gander...well worth the trip.
Here's the canada Post building on the corner of Sparks Street across from Darcy Magee's pub. It certainly looked ship-shape.
Mai stood here infron of the Parliament Buildings. They looked great. They are illuminated with massive white snowflakes and lots of other groovy little lights.
The Fairmont hotel...aka...Chateau Laurier looked awesome as usual. Whenever I look at the hotel it reminds me of some sort of Bavarian castle. Why can I imagine it full of drunken German monks for some reason?
On our way home, we stopped on the bridge between the National Arts Centee and the Rideau Centre to take a look at the Rideau Canal. At night it looks great. Check it out for yourself.
Just a few more days left and the last term of my teacher education programs gets underway. I suppose things will be the same way as last semester; start off slow and then snowball into a world of assignments, stress and this time teaching a junior grade for 5 weeks...wither grade 4, 5 or 6...not sure yet. I plan to keep folks posted about my life in Ottawa on a more regular basis now. This is definitely a cool little city to live in and a lot of interesting thngs to do and see. Oh yeah...and it's really cold too!!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Shakin Ajumma Bootie!
Sorry I haven't posted much lately, but I've been busy as Hell. I'm doing my teaching practicum in a 3rd grade class in have been swamped with work. I realize more and more everyday how much primary school teachers earn every penny they make (and sometimes I don't think those pennies are nearly enough!) The planning, the hours of preperation, the classroom management, unhappy parents, parents that are too happy, blah, blah, blah....I could go on...but I won't. Simply put, teaching in Canada is a lot tougher than any teaching I ever did in Korea. All those times that I whined about prep in Korea...well...I was simply a huge baby....the days of 30-40 minutes of prep-time have certainly gone the way of the dinosuas. That's ok though...I'm certainly loving the new challenge.
Came across this video of some wild Korean ajummas shakin it. I didn't take the vid, but I wish I did...or maybe not...looks like it was a scary place to be!
Ajummas getting down on ferryboat cruise of Lake Chungjuho
Came across this video of some wild Korean ajummas shakin it. I didn't take the vid, but I wish I did...or maybe not...looks like it was a scary place to be!
Ajummas getting down on ferryboat cruise of Lake Chungjuho
Saturday, October 27, 2007
Foreigners Clean Up Korean Mountain Trails PLUS other interesting stuff!!!
I know Shawn from my first two years in Korea when I lived in Ilsan. Great guy with a great cause!
Foreigners Clean Up Mountain Trails
By Tony MacGregor
A group of expatriates and Koreans who spend their spare time cleaning up litter on Koreans mountains are being met with applause and cries of encouragement from Korean hikers.
Shawn James Morrissey, a Canadian and president of the Korean Mountaineering League (KML), said Korean hikers have applauded them and sometimes stopped hiking and helped them clean up litter.
Shawn Morrissey, president of the Korean Mountaineering League, explains mountain ecology to volunteers, who clean up litter from Korea’s well-hiked mountains.
``It's obvious what we are doing because we have garbage bags attached to our waists as we collect the liter,'' he said. ``One woman said she feels ashamed because foreigners are doing the work that Koreans should be doing.''
Kevin Tarpey, a U.S. citizen and a member of the league, said the reaction of Korean hikers is 100 percent positive. ``They're overwhelmingly thankful. They have applauded us and even stopped to help us.''
Morrissey said over its three-year-old existence, the league _ with seven council members and about 25 Korean and foreign volunteers _ has removed 2,827 liters of trash and recyclables from Korea's mountains.
``Mountains should be a place of peace and pristine beauty,'' he said. ``People go to the mountains to get away from garbage. They shouldn't have to walk through litter on the mountains.''
The league has 20 to 30 cleanup trips on Korea's mountains, mostly focusing on the heavily hiked mountains in or near Seoul, such as Bukhansan National Park but have also worked on Mount Jiri in the south and Mount Gyeryong.
The KML is currently running a campaign with the slogan ``Pack it In, Pack it Out'' campaign to encourage hikers to dispose of their garbage properly off the mountains. At the same time the league is running the ``Root of the Problem'' sub-campaign to convince companies to reduce the amount of packaging that they use for their products.
The KML is also lobbying the government to pass legislation that would force companies to reduce the amount of packaging used on products.
Moorrissey said one of the biggest problems is lack of receptacles for litter. ``The attitude seems to be that having on litter receptacles will discourage people from littering, when the opposite is the case.''
He said the mountains, traditionally revered by Koreans who saw them as the home of spirits, need to be treated with respect. ``They are the source of clean water and contain a huge variety of plant, animal and insect species.''
He added that it takes thousands of years for some litter such as plastic and glass to biodegrade. ``Everything comes from the environment, but not everything is renewable. We have to prevent harmful chemicals from entering the environment.''
Morrissey, who grew up in Newfoundland, a mountainous province on Canada's east coast with much pristine wilderness, said he got the idea for the league when he came back to Korea from a trip to the Himalayas.
``Growing up in Newfoundland, I didn't fully realize the ecological importance of mountains because they were not only abundant but largely untouched. It was only after I came to Korea and came to love her highlands that I realized how important mountains are as bastions of wilderness and nature,'' he said. ``We need to take care of them.''
For more information see the league's Web site at www.kmleague.org/membership/4514461813
See Original...
Foreign teachers must undergo check
Joongang Daily
Days after an alleged pedophile who taught in Korea was arrested on the lam in Thailand, the Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that foreign English teachers will be required to undergo a criminal records check before they can receive a visa here.
The new rule will take effect Dec. 1, the ministry said. Starting then, all foreigners applying for an E-2 visa, which is only for teachers, must submit their criminal record from the country in which they hold citizenship.
Anyone with sex- or drug-related convictions will not receive a visa, the ministry said, while those with other convictions will be thoroughly screened. The issuance of the visa will depend on the seriousness and frequency of the offenses, the ministry said. Detailed guidelines have not yet been announced.
The ministry said it is not difficult to obtain a person’s criminal records.
The new regulations do not require National Assembly approval.
The Justice Ministry issued the new guidelines following the arrest last week of Christopher Paul Neil, who had taught in Korea for a total of about four years. Interpol named him its most-wanted suspect for the crime of child sex abuse. He is accused of molesting dozens of children and posting blurred pictures of encounters on the Internet.
The new requirement, however, does not apply to other visas, including student, tourist and entertainer visas.
Some doubt the policy will be effective enough. “Quite a number of foreign students and U.S. soldiers teach English [illegally],” Kim Jae-won, an owner of an English cram school, said. “What about them?”
Currently, 16,000 foreigners in Korea hold the E-2 visa.
Many English teachers here welcomed the news, saying a large number of people are getting a bad reputation due to the actions of a small number of people.
Jennifer Hansen, a Canadian teacher, said, “Most foreign English teachers are ‘drug addicts’ and ‘pedophiles’ to many Koreans. I think the new requirement can change that. They’ll know that legal English teachers, at least, passed the government criminal screening.”
See original...
Japan to take fingerprints, photos of foreigners
Washington Post
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is to fingerprint and photograph foreigners entering the country from next month in an anti-terrorism policy that is stirring anger among foreign residents and human rights activists.
Anyone considered to be a terrorist -- or refusing to cooperate -- will be denied entry and deported.
"This will greatly contribute to preventing international terrorist activities on our soil," Immigration Bureau official Naoto Nikai said in a briefing on the system, which starts on November 20.
The checks are similar to the "U.S. Visit" system introduced in the United States after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
But Japan, unlike the United States, will require resident foreigners as well as visitors to be fingerprinted and photographed every time they re-enter the country.
"It certainly doesn't make people who've been here for 30 or 40 years feel like they're even human beings basically," said businessman Terrie Lloyd, who has dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship and has been based in Japan for 24 years.
"There has not been a single incident of foreign terrorism in Japan, and there have been plenty of Japanese terrorists," he said. Read More...
UK embassy to help Japan teachers
BBC News
The UK embassy in Tokyo has said it will help hundreds of teachers after Japan's largest language schools chain filed for protection from creditors.
Nova Corp, which mainly offers English classes, did not pay its 4,000 foreign staff for October, unions have said.
In a statement, the embassy said it was unable to provide financial assistance to those affected, but could help them contact family and friends.
It added that its officials were "closely monitoring the situation".
Read More...
Aussie teachers stranded
The Australian
NOVA Corp, Japan's largest foreign-language teaching company, has collapsed with debts of more than Y42.9 billion ($415million) leaving about 1000 Australian instructors stranded.Read More...
Foreigners Clean Up Mountain Trails
By Tony MacGregor
A group of expatriates and Koreans who spend their spare time cleaning up litter on Koreans mountains are being met with applause and cries of encouragement from Korean hikers.
Shawn James Morrissey, a Canadian and president of the Korean Mountaineering League (KML), said Korean hikers have applauded them and sometimes stopped hiking and helped them clean up litter.
Shawn Morrissey, president of the Korean Mountaineering League, explains mountain ecology to volunteers, who clean up litter from Korea’s well-hiked mountains.
``It's obvious what we are doing because we have garbage bags attached to our waists as we collect the liter,'' he said. ``One woman said she feels ashamed because foreigners are doing the work that Koreans should be doing.''
Kevin Tarpey, a U.S. citizen and a member of the league, said the reaction of Korean hikers is 100 percent positive. ``They're overwhelmingly thankful. They have applauded us and even stopped to help us.''
Morrissey said over its three-year-old existence, the league _ with seven council members and about 25 Korean and foreign volunteers _ has removed 2,827 liters of trash and recyclables from Korea's mountains.
``Mountains should be a place of peace and pristine beauty,'' he said. ``People go to the mountains to get away from garbage. They shouldn't have to walk through litter on the mountains.''
The league has 20 to 30 cleanup trips on Korea's mountains, mostly focusing on the heavily hiked mountains in or near Seoul, such as Bukhansan National Park but have also worked on Mount Jiri in the south and Mount Gyeryong.
The KML is currently running a campaign with the slogan ``Pack it In, Pack it Out'' campaign to encourage hikers to dispose of their garbage properly off the mountains. At the same time the league is running the ``Root of the Problem'' sub-campaign to convince companies to reduce the amount of packaging that they use for their products.
The KML is also lobbying the government to pass legislation that would force companies to reduce the amount of packaging used on products.
Moorrissey said one of the biggest problems is lack of receptacles for litter. ``The attitude seems to be that having on litter receptacles will discourage people from littering, when the opposite is the case.''
He said the mountains, traditionally revered by Koreans who saw them as the home of spirits, need to be treated with respect. ``They are the source of clean water and contain a huge variety of plant, animal and insect species.''
He added that it takes thousands of years for some litter such as plastic and glass to biodegrade. ``Everything comes from the environment, but not everything is renewable. We have to prevent harmful chemicals from entering the environment.''
Morrissey, who grew up in Newfoundland, a mountainous province on Canada's east coast with much pristine wilderness, said he got the idea for the league when he came back to Korea from a trip to the Himalayas.
``Growing up in Newfoundland, I didn't fully realize the ecological importance of mountains because they were not only abundant but largely untouched. It was only after I came to Korea and came to love her highlands that I realized how important mountains are as bastions of wilderness and nature,'' he said. ``We need to take care of them.''
For more information see the league's Web site at www.kmleague.org/membership/4514461813
See Original...
Foreign teachers must undergo check
Joongang Daily
Days after an alleged pedophile who taught in Korea was arrested on the lam in Thailand, the Ministry of Justice announced yesterday that foreign English teachers will be required to undergo a criminal records check before they can receive a visa here.
The new rule will take effect Dec. 1, the ministry said. Starting then, all foreigners applying for an E-2 visa, which is only for teachers, must submit their criminal record from the country in which they hold citizenship.
Anyone with sex- or drug-related convictions will not receive a visa, the ministry said, while those with other convictions will be thoroughly screened. The issuance of the visa will depend on the seriousness and frequency of the offenses, the ministry said. Detailed guidelines have not yet been announced.
The ministry said it is not difficult to obtain a person’s criminal records.
The new regulations do not require National Assembly approval.
The Justice Ministry issued the new guidelines following the arrest last week of Christopher Paul Neil, who had taught in Korea for a total of about four years. Interpol named him its most-wanted suspect for the crime of child sex abuse. He is accused of molesting dozens of children and posting blurred pictures of encounters on the Internet.
The new requirement, however, does not apply to other visas, including student, tourist and entertainer visas.
Some doubt the policy will be effective enough. “Quite a number of foreign students and U.S. soldiers teach English [illegally],” Kim Jae-won, an owner of an English cram school, said. “What about them?”
Currently, 16,000 foreigners in Korea hold the E-2 visa.
Many English teachers here welcomed the news, saying a large number of people are getting a bad reputation due to the actions of a small number of people.
Jennifer Hansen, a Canadian teacher, said, “Most foreign English teachers are ‘drug addicts’ and ‘pedophiles’ to many Koreans. I think the new requirement can change that. They’ll know that legal English teachers, at least, passed the government criminal screening.”
See original...
Japan to take fingerprints, photos of foreigners
Washington Post
TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan is to fingerprint and photograph foreigners entering the country from next month in an anti-terrorism policy that is stirring anger among foreign residents and human rights activists.
Anyone considered to be a terrorist -- or refusing to cooperate -- will be denied entry and deported.
"This will greatly contribute to preventing international terrorist activities on our soil," Immigration Bureau official Naoto Nikai said in a briefing on the system, which starts on November 20.
The checks are similar to the "U.S. Visit" system introduced in the United States after the attacks on September 11, 2001.
But Japan, unlike the United States, will require resident foreigners as well as visitors to be fingerprinted and photographed every time they re-enter the country.
"It certainly doesn't make people who've been here for 30 or 40 years feel like they're even human beings basically," said businessman Terrie Lloyd, who has dual Australian and New Zealand citizenship and has been based in Japan for 24 years.
"There has not been a single incident of foreign terrorism in Japan, and there have been plenty of Japanese terrorists," he said. Read More...
UK embassy to help Japan teachers
BBC News
The UK embassy in Tokyo has said it will help hundreds of teachers after Japan's largest language schools chain filed for protection from creditors.
Nova Corp, which mainly offers English classes, did not pay its 4,000 foreign staff for October, unions have said.
In a statement, the embassy said it was unable to provide financial assistance to those affected, but could help them contact family and friends.
It added that its officials were "closely monitoring the situation".
Read More...
Aussie teachers stranded
The Australian
NOVA Corp, Japan's largest foreign-language teaching company, has collapsed with debts of more than Y42.9 billion ($415million) leaving about 1000 Australian instructors stranded.Read More...
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Nova, Bibimbap, and School-girls underwear...
Nova Update: Teachers Still Not Paid, Many Stop Working
Japan Probe
If you’ve been following the news about the collapse of Japan’s largest chain of English conversation schools, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that Nova failed to keep its promise of paying teachers on October 19th (after failing to pay on the 15th). As a result, a large number of teachers and staff have simply stopped going to work. According to Let’s Japan, Nova’s office staff has sent out notices to all teachers that thank those who are still working and plead for other teachers to come back to work:
We totally understand your situation, but your decision not to work is making our company’s recovery worse. If we cannot provide lessons to students then we have to close branches. In this case, the company, that has not paid us, and those that don’t carry out their duty to work bear responsibility.
We can prosecute the company for the salary delay. If you chose to walk out on the job and not work it does more damage than good for the students and for your case against the company. Striking is a legal way to do this, rather than walking out. please try to stay calm, stand together and protest to get the public’s understanding and sympathy.
If you report to your home country’s Foreign Affairs Aministration, you can and solve this problem in a diplomatic way. The more of you that do this, the better because ther’s power in numbers.
Most teachers posting on forums and blogs have scoffed at such a request, seeing no reason to work for free in the wild hope that giving a few extra lessons would somehow save Nova from its horrible financial situation.
An article in the Asahi Shimbun on Nova’s future gives three possible outcomes of the current situation:
1.Nova goes out of business
2.Outside investors step in
3.Drastic restructuring
Even if Nova doesn’t go out of business, it’s a given that school branches will continue to close across Japan, possibly leaving some staff and teachers without jobs.
Another story that's gripping the Korean Penninsula!!!!!
Foreigners pick bibimbap as favorite Korean food: poll
Korea Herald (National Page)
Bibimbap, or rice with vegetables and red pepper paste, is the most popular local food among foreigners living in Korea, according to a poll released yesterday.
The survey, commissioned by the Corea Image Communication Institute, also found that nearly six out of 10 foreigners believed Korean food could be popular abroad.
The survey was conducted among 207 foreigners from Aug. 19 to Sept. 3 to measure the appeal of Korean food to foreigners and its potential in the global market.
It found that 79 percent of respondents enjoyed traditional Korean food and 59 percent said Korean food could be popular in other countries.
When asked about their favorite Korean food, 17 percent of respondents picked bibimbap. Bulgogi, or seasoned beef, came in second with 14 percent, while galbi (barbequed beef ribs) received 11 percent and kimchi (pickled cabbage) came in fourth at 5 percent.
More than half of the respondents ate at Korean restaurants over four times a month, it said.
Of those who said they enjoyed Korean food, more than 60 percent said they liked the taste, while 17 percent said they were enjoyed trying new and unfamiliar food. Over 14 percent said they felt the food was full of nutrition, the survey found.
Eighteen percent neither liked nor disliked Korean food, and 2.4 percent said they did not like it.
However, the spiciness and smell of Korean food were the main barriers to exporting the food abroad, the survey said.
The respondents also said proper sanitation and traditional interiors were essential in order for Korean restaurants to be successful abroad.
Here's a twisted and odd story...the Mainichi Daily News always seems to have sooooo many!
Panty sellers roll in the cash by rolling off their soiled skimpies in disabled toilets
Safety and easy accessibility is increasingly transforming toilets for the disabled at Tokyo's railway stations into marketplaces for schoolgirls' panties, according to Spa! (10/23).
Large numbers of high school girls are often seen going into the roomier johns and those in the know say the kind of business they're getting up to is not what normally goes on in public conveniences.
"They're actually engaged in burusera trading inside there," a writer specializing on the adult entertainment world tells Spa! Burusera, of course, is the name given to the panty trade, with the term derived from the manufactured English phrase "bloomer seller."Read More...
This was from the Editorial section of the Korea Herald...about teacher quality....again!
[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR] Class assessment
I enjoyed reading Steve Schertzer's letter, "A message to Korean parents" (Oct. 13). He pinpointed two problems in regard to recruiting and evaluating foreign teachers.
I am a Korean teacher teaching English in Gyeonggi Province and I have been in charge of supervising a foreign English teacher who has recently come to Korea.
It is a blessing to have a foreign English teacher at hand for the other Korean teachers and my students, who normally don't have any opportunities to communicate in English. As long as the foreign teacher does his best to help the students, English classes are fascinating.
However, there are some flaws in the system, most notably the process of evaluation.
According to the contract for foreign teachers, he had to conduct a class with me which was observed and evaluated by principals and other teachers last semester. I strongly believe that there is nothing wrong with the concept of an evaluation, but its criteria were too vague and unrealistic. Furthermore, a well-prepared demonstration lesson is no guarantee of teaching ability.
Instead, the lesson is just designed to give the impression that students learn and enjoy English in a desirably effective way and that the government's investment in English education improves student proficiency.
Moreover, it does not help teachers, Korean or foreign, develop lesson plans because all they need to do is please district supervisors and school administrators with their single, pre-rehearsed lesson. Some foreign English teachers spend their time surfing on the internet and do not care about their daily lessons or students. All they need to do is borrow some teaching materials from friends or copy a couple of pages from a course book.
I think the government must get rid of this bureaucratic process of evaluation and replace it with a system that will allow foreign English teachers to be judged in a fair and efficient way, and be well prepared for their classes.
Agnes Kim, Seoul
One more quick note about another "evil-empire" attempting to spread it's money-making tentacles...
Wal-Mart to take full ownership of Japanese retailer Seiyu
TOKYO (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday it will take full ownership of its money-losing Japanese subsidiary, Seiyu Ltd., as the U.S. retailer struggles to speed up management changes and reverse its slumping business in the world's second largest economy.Read More...
Japan Probe
If you’ve been following the news about the collapse of Japan’s largest chain of English conversation schools, it shouldn’t come as a surprise to you that Nova failed to keep its promise of paying teachers on October 19th (after failing to pay on the 15th). As a result, a large number of teachers and staff have simply stopped going to work. According to Let’s Japan, Nova’s office staff has sent out notices to all teachers that thank those who are still working and plead for other teachers to come back to work:
We totally understand your situation, but your decision not to work is making our company’s recovery worse. If we cannot provide lessons to students then we have to close branches. In this case, the company, that has not paid us, and those that don’t carry out their duty to work bear responsibility.
We can prosecute the company for the salary delay. If you chose to walk out on the job and not work it does more damage than good for the students and for your case against the company. Striking is a legal way to do this, rather than walking out. please try to stay calm, stand together and protest to get the public’s understanding and sympathy.
If you report to your home country’s Foreign Affairs Aministration, you can and solve this problem in a diplomatic way. The more of you that do this, the better because ther’s power in numbers.
Most teachers posting on forums and blogs have scoffed at such a request, seeing no reason to work for free in the wild hope that giving a few extra lessons would somehow save Nova from its horrible financial situation.
An article in the Asahi Shimbun on Nova’s future gives three possible outcomes of the current situation:
1.Nova goes out of business
2.Outside investors step in
3.Drastic restructuring
Even if Nova doesn’t go out of business, it’s a given that school branches will continue to close across Japan, possibly leaving some staff and teachers without jobs.
Another story that's gripping the Korean Penninsula!!!!!
Foreigners pick bibimbap as favorite Korean food: poll
Korea Herald (National Page)
Bibimbap, or rice with vegetables and red pepper paste, is the most popular local food among foreigners living in Korea, according to a poll released yesterday.
The survey, commissioned by the Corea Image Communication Institute, also found that nearly six out of 10 foreigners believed Korean food could be popular abroad.
The survey was conducted among 207 foreigners from Aug. 19 to Sept. 3 to measure the appeal of Korean food to foreigners and its potential in the global market.
It found that 79 percent of respondents enjoyed traditional Korean food and 59 percent said Korean food could be popular in other countries.
When asked about their favorite Korean food, 17 percent of respondents picked bibimbap. Bulgogi, or seasoned beef, came in second with 14 percent, while galbi (barbequed beef ribs) received 11 percent and kimchi (pickled cabbage) came in fourth at 5 percent.
More than half of the respondents ate at Korean restaurants over four times a month, it said.
Of those who said they enjoyed Korean food, more than 60 percent said they liked the taste, while 17 percent said they were enjoyed trying new and unfamiliar food. Over 14 percent said they felt the food was full of nutrition, the survey found.
Eighteen percent neither liked nor disliked Korean food, and 2.4 percent said they did not like it.
However, the spiciness and smell of Korean food were the main barriers to exporting the food abroad, the survey said.
The respondents also said proper sanitation and traditional interiors were essential in order for Korean restaurants to be successful abroad.
Here's a twisted and odd story...the Mainichi Daily News always seems to have sooooo many!
Panty sellers roll in the cash by rolling off their soiled skimpies in disabled toilets
Safety and easy accessibility is increasingly transforming toilets for the disabled at Tokyo's railway stations into marketplaces for schoolgirls' panties, according to Spa! (10/23).
Large numbers of high school girls are often seen going into the roomier johns and those in the know say the kind of business they're getting up to is not what normally goes on in public conveniences.
"They're actually engaged in burusera trading inside there," a writer specializing on the adult entertainment world tells Spa! Burusera, of course, is the name given to the panty trade, with the term derived from the manufactured English phrase "bloomer seller."Read More...
This was from the Editorial section of the Korea Herald...about teacher quality....again!
[LETTERS TO THE EDITOR] Class assessment
I enjoyed reading Steve Schertzer's letter, "A message to Korean parents" (Oct. 13). He pinpointed two problems in regard to recruiting and evaluating foreign teachers.
I am a Korean teacher teaching English in Gyeonggi Province and I have been in charge of supervising a foreign English teacher who has recently come to Korea.
It is a blessing to have a foreign English teacher at hand for the other Korean teachers and my students, who normally don't have any opportunities to communicate in English. As long as the foreign teacher does his best to help the students, English classes are fascinating.
However, there are some flaws in the system, most notably the process of evaluation.
According to the contract for foreign teachers, he had to conduct a class with me which was observed and evaluated by principals and other teachers last semester. I strongly believe that there is nothing wrong with the concept of an evaluation, but its criteria were too vague and unrealistic. Furthermore, a well-prepared demonstration lesson is no guarantee of teaching ability.
Instead, the lesson is just designed to give the impression that students learn and enjoy English in a desirably effective way and that the government's investment in English education improves student proficiency.
Moreover, it does not help teachers, Korean or foreign, develop lesson plans because all they need to do is please district supervisors and school administrators with their single, pre-rehearsed lesson. Some foreign English teachers spend their time surfing on the internet and do not care about their daily lessons or students. All they need to do is borrow some teaching materials from friends or copy a couple of pages from a course book.
I think the government must get rid of this bureaucratic process of evaluation and replace it with a system that will allow foreign English teachers to be judged in a fair and efficient way, and be well prepared for their classes.
Agnes Kim, Seoul
One more quick note about another "evil-empire" attempting to spread it's money-making tentacles...
Wal-Mart to take full ownership of Japanese retailer Seiyu
TOKYO (AP) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday it will take full ownership of its money-losing Japanese subsidiary, Seiyu Ltd., as the U.S. retailer struggles to speed up management changes and reverse its slumping business in the world's second largest economy.Read More...
Saturday, October 20, 2007
Foreign Crime in Korea Sensationalized....Again...and Again!
Sensationalizing Foreign Crime in Korea
From ROK Drop
Courtesy of the Marmot’s Hole, the Chosun Ilbo has yet another article on the supposed "rise of foreigner crime" in Korea:
Recently, foreigner crimes have been sharply rising, including the murder/dismemberment of a Korean woman by a Chinese in Ansan, the “French Freezer Baby” in Seoul’s Seorae Village, and the 2003 hit on a Russian mobster in Busan.
In Busan alone, foreign crime has skyrocketed 250% over the last three years. Law enforcement agencies say some 27 foreign criminal organizations are operating in the port city, including the Russian mafia, Japanese yakuza, Chinese triads, and Thai and Bengali gangs.
The Chosun says the first step in preventing foreigner crime is effective control and punishment of illegal migrant workers.
I wish before people write these articles they would actually do some research about what they are writing about. As I have pointed out before foreign crime is appearing to rise because more foreigners than ever are living in Korea. However, if you look at the actual statistics from the Korean National Police Agency serious crime by foreigners is actually less per capita than the average Korean population, yet the Chosun has a graphic of a young Korean girl fleeing evil foreigners. Once again just another example of the sensationalizing of foreign crime in Korea.
Alleged pedophile who fled Korea arrested
Joongang Daily
Police in Thailand yesterday apprehended the English teacher who worked in Korea for a total of more than four years and fled shortly after being named Interpol’s most-wanted pedophile, news services reported.
The suspect, Christopher Paul Neil, 32, has been accused of sexually abusing more than a dozen boys in three countries and putting pictures of the assaults on the Internet with his face blurred.
Neil was arrested in a rural northern section of Thailand in the house of an acquaintance who allegedly helped arrange several sexual affairs with local boys, Thai police said, according to The Associated Press.
“Bingo! We’ve got him,” Wimol Powintara, major general of the police force told the AP.
Neil was on his way to Bangkok from Nakhon Ratchasima Province, about 210 kilometers, or 130 miles, away, police said.
Authorities have not yet decided whether Neil will be tried in Canada or Thailand. Canada has sex tourism laws allowing prosecution for crimes committed abroad.
Thai law enforcement agencies have issued an arrest warrant against Neil based on the testimony of a boy who said he was paid about $30 to have sex with him, police said.
In Korea, Neil started teaching at Kwangju Foreign School in Gwangju in August. He quit without any notice on Oct. 11 and fled Korea after Interpol posted his picture on their Website as a wanted criminal offender.
The Korean police have been investigating Neil, but nothing has turned up at this point, said a police official in Seoul who declined to be named.
Neil’s colleagues in Korea also say they can’t believe the man who was singing so happily at noraebangs, or karaoke rooms, was a pedophile.
The suspected sex offender also worked as a chaplain in Canada. Interpol has accused him of sexually abusing Cambodian and Vietnamese boys from the ages of 6 to their early teens between 2002 and 2004.
The hunt which ended yesterday started when police in Germany found about 200 pictures of a man committing sexual offenses against children. His face was digitally altered, but German authorities were able to restore the image enough to figure out the man’s appearance.
After circulating the picture, Interpol, the international police agency, drew hundreds of tips, including one from Amy Bowler, who knew Neil when he was teaching at a public school in Gyeonggi.
“I love teaching, can’t get enough of it really,” Neil wrote on a MySpace blog that has been identified as being his.
Read More about the same topic:
Canadian accused of internet sex crimes also under investigation in B.C
U.S. reopens Busan consulate
Joonang Daily
The United States reopened a consulate in Busan yesterday, nine years after it was closed, the U.S. Embassy here announced.
The consulate, however, will not issue visas for Koreans or provide consular services to U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Embassy. That means Koreans in Busan must still travel more than 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, to Seoul to get a visa to travel to the United States.
“We will focus on providing information on business, overseas studying and immigration to residents in Busan and the surrounding areas,” said Byun Jung-hwan, senior advisor at the consulate.
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to provide consular services to Koreans, Americans and third-country citizens, the embassy said in a press release. The consulate has no plans now to offer visas to Koreans.
The original consulate in Busan, Korea’s second-largest city, closed in September 1998 when the U.S. government was cutting back on its budget.
In July of last year, the United States agreed to reopen the consulate at a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ban Ki-moon, then South Korea’s foreign minister and now the secretary general of the United Nations.
f you've ever lived in a small or old neighborhood in Korea you may have had the wonderful experience of the "bug truck." Most pesticides are banned throughout North america, but they are liberally sprayed in many Korean neighborhoods to combat mosquitos. Check out Mike in Korea's vid!
Here's a little taste of modern history in Korea.
10 Most Remembered
From ROK Drop
Courtesy of the Marmot’s Hole, the Chosun Ilbo has yet another article on the supposed "rise of foreigner crime" in Korea:
Recently, foreigner crimes have been sharply rising, including the murder/dismemberment of a Korean woman by a Chinese in Ansan, the “French Freezer Baby” in Seoul’s Seorae Village, and the 2003 hit on a Russian mobster in Busan.
In Busan alone, foreign crime has skyrocketed 250% over the last three years. Law enforcement agencies say some 27 foreign criminal organizations are operating in the port city, including the Russian mafia, Japanese yakuza, Chinese triads, and Thai and Bengali gangs.
The Chosun says the first step in preventing foreigner crime is effective control and punishment of illegal migrant workers.
I wish before people write these articles they would actually do some research about what they are writing about. As I have pointed out before foreign crime is appearing to rise because more foreigners than ever are living in Korea. However, if you look at the actual statistics from the Korean National Police Agency serious crime by foreigners is actually less per capita than the average Korean population, yet the Chosun has a graphic of a young Korean girl fleeing evil foreigners. Once again just another example of the sensationalizing of foreign crime in Korea.
Alleged pedophile who fled Korea arrested
Joongang Daily
Police in Thailand yesterday apprehended the English teacher who worked in Korea for a total of more than four years and fled shortly after being named Interpol’s most-wanted pedophile, news services reported.
The suspect, Christopher Paul Neil, 32, has been accused of sexually abusing more than a dozen boys in three countries and putting pictures of the assaults on the Internet with his face blurred.
Neil was arrested in a rural northern section of Thailand in the house of an acquaintance who allegedly helped arrange several sexual affairs with local boys, Thai police said, according to The Associated Press.
“Bingo! We’ve got him,” Wimol Powintara, major general of the police force told the AP.
Neil was on his way to Bangkok from Nakhon Ratchasima Province, about 210 kilometers, or 130 miles, away, police said.
Authorities have not yet decided whether Neil will be tried in Canada or Thailand. Canada has sex tourism laws allowing prosecution for crimes committed abroad.
Thai law enforcement agencies have issued an arrest warrant against Neil based on the testimony of a boy who said he was paid about $30 to have sex with him, police said.
In Korea, Neil started teaching at Kwangju Foreign School in Gwangju in August. He quit without any notice on Oct. 11 and fled Korea after Interpol posted his picture on their Website as a wanted criminal offender.
The Korean police have been investigating Neil, but nothing has turned up at this point, said a police official in Seoul who declined to be named.
Neil’s colleagues in Korea also say they can’t believe the man who was singing so happily at noraebangs, or karaoke rooms, was a pedophile.
The suspected sex offender also worked as a chaplain in Canada. Interpol has accused him of sexually abusing Cambodian and Vietnamese boys from the ages of 6 to their early teens between 2002 and 2004.
The hunt which ended yesterday started when police in Germany found about 200 pictures of a man committing sexual offenses against children. His face was digitally altered, but German authorities were able to restore the image enough to figure out the man’s appearance.
After circulating the picture, Interpol, the international police agency, drew hundreds of tips, including one from Amy Bowler, who knew Neil when he was teaching at a public school in Gyeonggi.
“I love teaching, can’t get enough of it really,” Neil wrote on a MySpace blog that has been identified as being his.
Read More about the same topic:
Canadian accused of internet sex crimes also under investigation in B.C
U.S. reopens Busan consulate
Joonang Daily
The United States reopened a consulate in Busan yesterday, nine years after it was closed, the U.S. Embassy here announced.
The consulate, however, will not issue visas for Koreans or provide consular services to U.S. citizens, according to the U.S. Embassy. That means Koreans in Busan must still travel more than 450 kilometers, or 280 miles, to Seoul to get a visa to travel to the United States.
“We will focus on providing information on business, overseas studying and immigration to residents in Busan and the surrounding areas,” said Byun Jung-hwan, senior advisor at the consulate.
The U.S. Embassy in Seoul will continue to provide consular services to Koreans, Americans and third-country citizens, the embassy said in a press release. The consulate has no plans now to offer visas to Koreans.
The original consulate in Busan, Korea’s second-largest city, closed in September 1998 when the U.S. government was cutting back on its budget.
In July of last year, the United States agreed to reopen the consulate at a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Ban Ki-moon, then South Korea’s foreign minister and now the secretary general of the United Nations.
f you've ever lived in a small or old neighborhood in Korea you may have had the wonderful experience of the "bug truck." Most pesticides are banned throughout North america, but they are liberally sprayed in many Korean neighborhoods to combat mosquitos. Check out Mike in Korea's vid!
Here's a little taste of modern history in Korea.
10 Most Remembered
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Japan's Best Bottoms and other news
Burnt backside no bummer for beautiful-bottom babe
Mainichi Daily News
An 18-year-old girl was surprisingly crowned "Japan's best bottom" babe at Triumph International's "Show Me Your Sloggi" Japan contest held on Tuesday in Tokyo after a freak accident scorched her rump days before the contest.
"I always take care of my bottom, but I'm embarrassed to show it today because I burned it by sitting on a hair iron the other day," Kaho Watanabe, clad in pink baby doll lingerie, said in her short self-promotion spiel. Read More...and See Pictures!
From today's Marmot's Hole...
Need to Check English Teachers? Good Luck!
As it would turn out, the 32-year-old Canadian suspected of molesting young boys in Southeast Asia taught in Korea for four and a half years, teaching in the Seoul and Gyeonggi-do area on and off since 2000. Since August, he’d been teaching at a foreign school in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. Before that, he taught at a high school somewhere in Gyeonggi-do.
A Gyeonggi-do Department of Education official said the suspect was remembered as a rather upright character who hardly ever drank, and his former coworkers are shocked by the news.
The suspect apparently fled to Thailand just two days after Intepol posted his face on their website. A police official said they’re still investigating whether the teacher molested any of his students in Korea, but they’ve yet to discover any such cases.
BTW, congratulations to Dave’s ESL Cafe for the media spotlight, although I’m not sure if this is what they wanted it for.
Oh, and I’m sure this will drive Western Confucian up the wall. As an ex-Catholic, though, I have to question the veracity of the report — how could the guy have been a priest-in-training when the Gyeonggi-do Education Department said he hardly drank?
OK, I’m definitely going to Hell for that one.
Anyway, the Seoul Shinmun, JoongAng Ilbo and Hanguk Ibo have run editorials deploring the porous state of Korea’s foreign teacher hiring system. The Seoul Shinmun was in particularly rare form — I especially liked this line:
Korea has been a “dupe” for a long time, allowing foreigners who speak English to get jobs easily and treating them well, but with this, we really can’t help but worry whether Korea will become a “paradise for criminals from English speaking nations.”
Dupes, they are. Dupes! The JoongAng expressed concern, too:
The insecurity of school parents concerning native speaker teachers and instructors is growing by the day. This is because the teachers’ shameless crimes are growing. Just a coupe of days ago, a Canadian wanted by Interpol for sexually molesting small children in Southeast Asia fled abroad after working as an English teacher in Korea as police moved in for the arrest. A while back, there were incidents of a teacher molesting children and a group of teachers smoking marijuana. There must be even more crimes that have yet to be revealed. It’s time to hurry and formulate measures.
Good luck with that. The papers’ rhetorical hyperbole aside, it’s true that teacher hiring practices are borderline criminal — it would seem to me that most people in the English education industry or who’ve spent time in said industry would admit as much. But a revamping of that system would require change at the bureaucratic level and increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies here in Korea and abroad. Change and cooperation requires effort, however, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Or at least not before some poor kid gets molested or killed by a guy who should never have been here in the first place.
See original @ Marmot's Hole
Striking Unpaid Teachers Blamed For Nova Branch Closures
Japan Probe
Translation of a Sankei Shimbun article from Let’s Japan:
NOVA continues to close schools due to instructor shortages.
October 18, 12:51 Sankei Shimbun delivery
METI’s order to suspend part of Nova’s business has forced the Nakamozu school in Osaka and schools elsewhere to take it upon themselves to close the schools and stop accepting reservations for lessons. It is believed that the schools acted on their own in an attempt to cope with students being unable to make reservations for lessons at the times they want due to the lack of teachers.
The schools that closed include Nakamozu, in Osaka, and the Ichigaya (closed on the 17th) and Suidobashi (closed on the 18th) schools in Tokyo.
A Nova spokesperson said that the schools were not told to close. The repeated delay of teachers’ pay and the Japanese staff ready to revolt underscores the steady decline in Nova’s ability to remain in control.
The Nakamozu school reportedly closed on October 16. A notice on the entrance to the school read: Notice of school closure and that the school would be closed from October 16 until the 31st. The notice also contained messages scribbled in English from teachers saying they would miss the students.
The Nakamozu school was scheduled to close its doors at the end of October and merge with the Tennoji school (also in Osaka). Nova is reported to have sent a notice on the 19th to the approximately 400 students at the school informing them of the merger.[Comment: This was pointed out in the forums as not making any sense. The 19th is likely a typo.]
After Nova informed its foreign teachers on October 12 that they would be paid on the 19th instead of the usual 15th, around 200 teachers a day continue to be absent from work. To cope with the sudden shortage of teachers, schools have reportedly been switching to ocha no ma ryuugaku lessons taught over a videophone, but some schools have been unable to fill the gap.
According to a representative for Nova schools in Osaka, “Reservations can’t be made for lessons this week. We apologize to the students for the schools closing on their own and are refusing reservations.”
—-
So the very visible and easily blameable foreign teachers are the cause of the trouble this branch is and others will soon be experiencing? The lack of teachers or even the decision to stop accepting reservations at any branch is the decision of the teachers?
Another interesting fact: the number of ‘topatsued’ teachers on the day of the union called demonstration was pretty much the same for that day (10/16) as for every other day so far this month, about 10% of the total workforce of Nova teachers.
Japan Probe
I noticed this story today in the Korea Times and wanted to point out one thing...NONE of the suspects arrested were Canadian English teachers!!!!
Six Drug Traffickers Arrested
Mainichi Daily News
An 18-year-old girl was surprisingly crowned "Japan's best bottom" babe at Triumph International's "Show Me Your Sloggi" Japan contest held on Tuesday in Tokyo after a freak accident scorched her rump days before the contest.
"I always take care of my bottom, but I'm embarrassed to show it today because I burned it by sitting on a hair iron the other day," Kaho Watanabe, clad in pink baby doll lingerie, said in her short self-promotion spiel. Read More...and See Pictures!
From today's Marmot's Hole...
Need to Check English Teachers? Good Luck!
As it would turn out, the 32-year-old Canadian suspected of molesting young boys in Southeast Asia taught in Korea for four and a half years, teaching in the Seoul and Gyeonggi-do area on and off since 2000. Since August, he’d been teaching at a foreign school in Gwangju, Gyeonggi-do. Before that, he taught at a high school somewhere in Gyeonggi-do.
A Gyeonggi-do Department of Education official said the suspect was remembered as a rather upright character who hardly ever drank, and his former coworkers are shocked by the news.
The suspect apparently fled to Thailand just two days after Intepol posted his face on their website. A police official said they’re still investigating whether the teacher molested any of his students in Korea, but they’ve yet to discover any such cases.
BTW, congratulations to Dave’s ESL Cafe for the media spotlight, although I’m not sure if this is what they wanted it for.
Oh, and I’m sure this will drive Western Confucian up the wall. As an ex-Catholic, though, I have to question the veracity of the report — how could the guy have been a priest-in-training when the Gyeonggi-do Education Department said he hardly drank?
OK, I’m definitely going to Hell for that one.
Anyway, the Seoul Shinmun, JoongAng Ilbo and Hanguk Ibo have run editorials deploring the porous state of Korea’s foreign teacher hiring system. The Seoul Shinmun was in particularly rare form — I especially liked this line:
Korea has been a “dupe” for a long time, allowing foreigners who speak English to get jobs easily and treating them well, but with this, we really can’t help but worry whether Korea will become a “paradise for criminals from English speaking nations.”
Dupes, they are. Dupes! The JoongAng expressed concern, too:
The insecurity of school parents concerning native speaker teachers and instructors is growing by the day. This is because the teachers’ shameless crimes are growing. Just a coupe of days ago, a Canadian wanted by Interpol for sexually molesting small children in Southeast Asia fled abroad after working as an English teacher in Korea as police moved in for the arrest. A while back, there were incidents of a teacher molesting children and a group of teachers smoking marijuana. There must be even more crimes that have yet to be revealed. It’s time to hurry and formulate measures.
Good luck with that. The papers’ rhetorical hyperbole aside, it’s true that teacher hiring practices are borderline criminal — it would seem to me that most people in the English education industry or who’ve spent time in said industry would admit as much. But a revamping of that system would require change at the bureaucratic level and increased cooperation between law enforcement agencies here in Korea and abroad. Change and cooperation requires effort, however, and I don’t see that happening anytime soon. Or at least not before some poor kid gets molested or killed by a guy who should never have been here in the first place.
See original @ Marmot's Hole
Striking Unpaid Teachers Blamed For Nova Branch Closures
Japan Probe
Translation of a Sankei Shimbun article from Let’s Japan:
NOVA continues to close schools due to instructor shortages.
October 18, 12:51 Sankei Shimbun delivery
METI’s order to suspend part of Nova’s business has forced the Nakamozu school in Osaka and schools elsewhere to take it upon themselves to close the schools and stop accepting reservations for lessons. It is believed that the schools acted on their own in an attempt to cope with students being unable to make reservations for lessons at the times they want due to the lack of teachers.
The schools that closed include Nakamozu, in Osaka, and the Ichigaya (closed on the 17th) and Suidobashi (closed on the 18th) schools in Tokyo.
A Nova spokesperson said that the schools were not told to close. The repeated delay of teachers’ pay and the Japanese staff ready to revolt underscores the steady decline in Nova’s ability to remain in control.
The Nakamozu school reportedly closed on October 16. A notice on the entrance to the school read: Notice of school closure and that the school would be closed from October 16 until the 31st. The notice also contained messages scribbled in English from teachers saying they would miss the students.
The Nakamozu school was scheduled to close its doors at the end of October and merge with the Tennoji school (also in Osaka). Nova is reported to have sent a notice on the 19th to the approximately 400 students at the school informing them of the merger.[Comment: This was pointed out in the forums as not making any sense. The 19th is likely a typo.]
After Nova informed its foreign teachers on October 12 that they would be paid on the 19th instead of the usual 15th, around 200 teachers a day continue to be absent from work. To cope with the sudden shortage of teachers, schools have reportedly been switching to ocha no ma ryuugaku lessons taught over a videophone, but some schools have been unable to fill the gap.
According to a representative for Nova schools in Osaka, “Reservations can’t be made for lessons this week. We apologize to the students for the schools closing on their own and are refusing reservations.”
—-
So the very visible and easily blameable foreign teachers are the cause of the trouble this branch is and others will soon be experiencing? The lack of teachers or even the decision to stop accepting reservations at any branch is the decision of the teachers?
Another interesting fact: the number of ‘topatsued’ teachers on the day of the union called demonstration was pretty much the same for that day (10/16) as for every other day so far this month, about 10% of the total workforce of Nova teachers.
Japan Probe
I noticed this story today in the Korea Times and wanted to point out one thing...NONE of the suspects arrested were Canadian English teachers!!!!
Six Drug Traffickers Arrested
Teachers fear pedophile backlash
Teachers fear pedophile backlash
Joongang Daily
The news that Canadian English teacher Christopher Paul Neil, whose most recent job was in Gwangju, was the object of an international manhunt as an alleged pedophile shocked English teachers in Korea who worried that the case could cause a backlash.
“Now Koreans will assume that all English teachers are pedophiles,” David Brogan, an Irish English teacher in Jeonju, North Jeolla, said. “Already today, just one day after the pedophile news broke, parents have called the hagwon where I am working to see if everything was okay with my background check.”
Other English teachers also expressed their concerns through a number of outlets, including Dave’s ESL Cafe, a popular Web site frequented by English teachers, including Neil. Some posters on the site accused the media of hyping the story to the detriment of foreigners in Korea.
An English teacher active on the site had recognized Neil’s picture and identified him to Interpol last week.
Kim Jin-hui, a mother of two elementary school students, is angry that the government issued visas to teachers without full background checks. “Isn’t it the job of the employers and the government to verify foreign teachers’ qualifications?” she asked.
Neil was teaching at Kwangju Foreign School, which is usually considered to have stricter hiring procedures than the hagwon cram schools where most English teachers are employed. Neil also taught at a public high school in Gyeonggi for about a year until March this year.
Neil fled Gwangju last week for Thailand, where police and Interpol are searching for him. He is accused of having abused young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia. No evidence of any crimes in Korea has surfaced.
Neil was a chaplain and youth counselor back in Canada, The Associated Press reported. He also pursued studies to become a priest, but did not complete the requirements.
His younger brother, Matthew Neil, urged Christopher to turn himself in.
Joongang Daily
Looks as if the Canadian media is taking note of this news as well. The news of Christopher Paul Neil has brought some attention to the Korea's esl industry. There was an article about Canadians teaching esl in Korea in today's Ottawa Citizen.
Thousands of Canadians teach in S. Korea
Geoff Nixon, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian citizen originally from Maple Ridge, B.C., taught English in South Korea until he stopped showing up for work last Thursday. He is now being hunted by Interpol on charges that he sexually abused children in Southeast Asia.
Mr. Neil is only one of thousands of Canadians who work teaching English in South Korea -- a position that doesn't always require a background check, and can put a person in a classroom within a few weeks of applying for a position online.
Kara Stirling is director of recruiting at Footprints Recruiting, a Vancouver-based company that places English teachers at schools in Asian countries. She said yesterday there are three main qualifications for teaching in South Korea.
"The minimum requirements ... are a bachelor's degree, you are a native English speaker and you are a citizen of a native English-speaking country," she said.
From there, the particulars differ school by school: While all South Korean public schools require a criminal background check -- as well as a clean bill of health -- in order to gain employment as a teacher, many private schools do not have the same standards. Read More...
Caught this on the Marmot's Hole this afternoon.
Rough Night Out, Eh?
And in local news, a 50-year-old civil servant at Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Hall was arrested in Changwon on charges of fleeing the scene after he hit two parked cars while driving drunk.
The best part, though, is that after he was caught, he not only refused to take a Breathalyzer test, but he also allegedly assaulted — twice! — a 32-year-old American English teacher who tried to stop him from drunk driving and turned him in.*
*Translation edited.
Video footage here.(Original Korean news story).
Marmot's Hole
F.Y.I.
I recieved a few interesting questions recently about teaching ESL in Korea and I just wanted to take a few moments and give my two cents.
Q.#1 What's it like to live in a smaller city vs. a bigger city like Seoul?
A. I suppose it all depends on what you're looking for. Some people find a smaller place fits better while others don't.
Big City...
Upsides: There are lots of amenties and "western" things. There are lots of family restaurants (TGI Friday's, Outback) coffee shops like Starbucks. There are lots of nightclubs (if that's your scene), more foreign foods in the supermarkets and generally, a larger foreign community. There is lots of English around; on signs, menus, etc.
Downsides: Seoul is damn big. Sometimes I found it far too big. There's a severe lack of green space and when you do find some, thoudands of others found it before you and are there! Seoul isn't as friendly as smaller places. I tended to find more negative energy towards foreigners in Seoul than in other cities like Busan.
Small City...(I never really lived in one in Korea...Busan is quite big)
Upsides: Since there are fewer foreigners, you may adopt an almost "celebrity" status. Everyone will be interested in you, which means you may have more chances to snag private lessons. You may get a more "authentic" Korean experience. People in small towns tend to be friendlier towards visitors.
Downsides: There won't be as many western food products to buy. The foreign community will be smaller. There will be more of a language barrier (Fewer people will speak English). You may find a smaller Korean city more conservative. Korean people may be more shy around you than in Seoul since they are not used to seeing "non-Koreans." The fact that you are uncommon may cause people to stare at you...a lot!
Q.#2 I'm going to Korea soon and haven't learned any Korean. Is that bad?A. I don't think it is personally. Before I went to Korea, I had no knowledge of the language. I lived in Eastern Canada where there was no Korean commmunity. I had never heard the language or eaten the food.
I think it's important to learn some language when you first arrive. Learning how to read and write Korean isn't difficult and will make your life a lot easier! Learn some basic phrases as well.
An ESL teacher can live relatively easily in Seoul or Busan without much Korean language skill since there is English almost everywhere. Sometimes though, you'll wish you could speak the language. Life may be more difficult if you live in a smaller town though. In smaller areas, you'll find that few people can speak English and most signs are only in Korean. If you are to live in a more rural area, I'd definatley say, "Study Korean!"
Thinking about teaching or doing some other sort of work in Japan? There are plenty of ESL gigs in that country too (mind you, there may be more competition these days with the piles of newly unekployed Nova teachers in the job market).
Here's some great information about visas in Japan from Kevin Cooney. He's a Tokyo based comedian. He's got some great stuff on his site!
For some entertaining vids, check out Kevin's site!
Joongang Daily
The news that Canadian English teacher Christopher Paul Neil, whose most recent job was in Gwangju, was the object of an international manhunt as an alleged pedophile shocked English teachers in Korea who worried that the case could cause a backlash.
“Now Koreans will assume that all English teachers are pedophiles,” David Brogan, an Irish English teacher in Jeonju, North Jeolla, said. “Already today, just one day after the pedophile news broke, parents have called the hagwon where I am working to see if everything was okay with my background check.”
Other English teachers also expressed their concerns through a number of outlets, including Dave’s ESL Cafe, a popular Web site frequented by English teachers, including Neil. Some posters on the site accused the media of hyping the story to the detriment of foreigners in Korea.
An English teacher active on the site had recognized Neil’s picture and identified him to Interpol last week.
Kim Jin-hui, a mother of two elementary school students, is angry that the government issued visas to teachers without full background checks. “Isn’t it the job of the employers and the government to verify foreign teachers’ qualifications?” she asked.
Neil was teaching at Kwangju Foreign School, which is usually considered to have stricter hiring procedures than the hagwon cram schools where most English teachers are employed. Neil also taught at a public high school in Gyeonggi for about a year until March this year.
Neil fled Gwangju last week for Thailand, where police and Interpol are searching for him. He is accused of having abused young boys in Vietnam and Cambodia. No evidence of any crimes in Korea has surfaced.
Neil was a chaplain and youth counselor back in Canada, The Associated Press reported. He also pursued studies to become a priest, but did not complete the requirements.
His younger brother, Matthew Neil, urged Christopher to turn himself in.
Joongang Daily
Looks as if the Canadian media is taking note of this news as well. The news of Christopher Paul Neil has brought some attention to the Korea's esl industry. There was an article about Canadians teaching esl in Korea in today's Ottawa Citizen.
Thousands of Canadians teach in S. Korea
Geoff Nixon, The Ottawa Citizen
Published: Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Christopher Paul Neil, a 32-year-old Canadian citizen originally from Maple Ridge, B.C., taught English in South Korea until he stopped showing up for work last Thursday. He is now being hunted by Interpol on charges that he sexually abused children in Southeast Asia.
Mr. Neil is only one of thousands of Canadians who work teaching English in South Korea -- a position that doesn't always require a background check, and can put a person in a classroom within a few weeks of applying for a position online.
Kara Stirling is director of recruiting at Footprints Recruiting, a Vancouver-based company that places English teachers at schools in Asian countries. She said yesterday there are three main qualifications for teaching in South Korea.
"The minimum requirements ... are a bachelor's degree, you are a native English speaker and you are a citizen of a native English-speaking country," she said.
From there, the particulars differ school by school: While all South Korean public schools require a criminal background check -- as well as a clean bill of health -- in order to gain employment as a teacher, many private schools do not have the same standards. Read More...
Caught this on the Marmot's Hole this afternoon.
Rough Night Out, Eh?
And in local news, a 50-year-old civil servant at Gyeongsangnam-do Provincial Hall was arrested in Changwon on charges of fleeing the scene after he hit two parked cars while driving drunk.
The best part, though, is that after he was caught, he not only refused to take a Breathalyzer test, but he also allegedly assaulted — twice! — a 32-year-old American English teacher who tried to stop him from drunk driving and turned him in.*
*Translation edited.
Video footage here.(Original Korean news story).
Marmot's Hole
F.Y.I.
I recieved a few interesting questions recently about teaching ESL in Korea and I just wanted to take a few moments and give my two cents.
Q.#1 What's it like to live in a smaller city vs. a bigger city like Seoul?
A. I suppose it all depends on what you're looking for. Some people find a smaller place fits better while others don't.
Big City...
Upsides: There are lots of amenties and "western" things. There are lots of family restaurants (TGI Friday's, Outback) coffee shops like Starbucks. There are lots of nightclubs (if that's your scene), more foreign foods in the supermarkets and generally, a larger foreign community. There is lots of English around; on signs, menus, etc.
Downsides: Seoul is damn big. Sometimes I found it far too big. There's a severe lack of green space and when you do find some, thoudands of others found it before you and are there! Seoul isn't as friendly as smaller places. I tended to find more negative energy towards foreigners in Seoul than in other cities like Busan.
Small City...(I never really lived in one in Korea...Busan is quite big)
Upsides: Since there are fewer foreigners, you may adopt an almost "celebrity" status. Everyone will be interested in you, which means you may have more chances to snag private lessons. You may get a more "authentic" Korean experience. People in small towns tend to be friendlier towards visitors.
Downsides: There won't be as many western food products to buy. The foreign community will be smaller. There will be more of a language barrier (Fewer people will speak English). You may find a smaller Korean city more conservative. Korean people may be more shy around you than in Seoul since they are not used to seeing "non-Koreans." The fact that you are uncommon may cause people to stare at you...a lot!
Q.#2 I'm going to Korea soon and haven't learned any Korean. Is that bad?A. I don't think it is personally. Before I went to Korea, I had no knowledge of the language. I lived in Eastern Canada where there was no Korean commmunity. I had never heard the language or eaten the food.
I think it's important to learn some language when you first arrive. Learning how to read and write Korean isn't difficult and will make your life a lot easier! Learn some basic phrases as well.
An ESL teacher can live relatively easily in Seoul or Busan without much Korean language skill since there is English almost everywhere. Sometimes though, you'll wish you could speak the language. Life may be more difficult if you live in a smaller town though. In smaller areas, you'll find that few people can speak English and most signs are only in Korean. If you are to live in a more rural area, I'd definatley say, "Study Korean!"
Thinking about teaching or doing some other sort of work in Japan? There are plenty of ESL gigs in that country too (mind you, there may be more competition these days with the piles of newly unekployed Nova teachers in the job market).
Here's some great information about visas in Japan from Kevin Cooney. He's a Tokyo based comedian. He's got some great stuff on his site!
For some entertaining vids, check out Kevin's site!
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Mafia Prize goes to Busan! And More Nova woes...
More Than 11,000 Mobbed Up Nationwide
Chosun Ilbo
The number of organized gang members prosecutors are keeping an eye on topped 11,000 across the nation. According to the report submitted by Justice Ministry to Rep. Choi Byung-gook of Grand National Party on Monday, 11,476 members from 471 organized gangs are on the supervision list of prosecutors. Among them, 167 groups were deemed criminal organizations by courts. Busan district prosecutors had the most on their hands with 1,833 gang members from 101 groups, followed by 1,581 members from 45 groups in Suwon, 1,542 from 33 groups in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and 1,193 members from 81 groups in central Seoul.
Prosecutors name two reasons why there are more mobsters on the Busan list than in Seoul. One is that Busan offers more opportunities for extortion with its busy sea port, and the other is that organized criminals in the southern city often carry their activities in public, making it easy for police and prosecutors to spot them. “In Seoul, organized gangs go underground and camouflage their activities as a business,” a prosecutor said. “But Busan-based organized gangs often engage in violence even in public places.” Last January, three syndicates attacked the largest local gang at Youngrak Garden funeral home in Busan and 50 gangsters were arrested.
Gangsters are often arrested in turf wars and while extorting money from traders. Last February in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, members of the Suwon Southgate gang attacked a place where rival gangsters were staying; four died or were wounded in the attack. In the first half of this year, 75 gangsters were arrested for major offenses.
Nova Instructors Forced To Teach Retarded And Mentally Disabled
Japan Probe
Nova teachers with seemingly little to lose and possibly just wanting to relieve the stress of dealing with possible termination and non-payment of salaries, have turned to Internet forums and blogs to communicate their frustrations with their employer. One very interesting fact that has recently come to light is that apparently some teachers at Nova were forced to teach retarded and mentally disabled customers often together with normal students. Reports of stalking of teachers, threats, assaults and various odd and abnormal behavior from students has many wondering what sort of operation is/was Nova running.
Here is one especially detailed account from Nova teacher CynicalBeyondReason :
Students routinely showed up drunk, passed out or fell asleep in class. There were three cases of foreigners being stalked by Nova customers (2 of them female customers), one of which made strange, violent threats when the object of her infatuation was transferred (”I will destroy the city!”). In ALL of these cases, despite the endless complaints by us that went all the way to the AAM level, nothing was EVER done in any of these cases. Not ONE of these “students” was ever asked to leave. And this is not restricted to Nova, because I have acquaintances that work at small eikaiwa that tell me EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS HAPPEN THERE.”
It seems cases of stalking and threats are more commonplace at Nova than previously thought. One recent case that turned tragic Lindsay Hawker comes to mind, where here stalker lured her into his apartment under the guise of private lessons only to murder her and dump her body in a bathtub filled with dirt. Despite widespread publication of the suspects picture by police and authorities, he remains at large. The authorities have been accused of bungled police work in that case by letting the suspect escape bare footed out a window as 10 officers arrived to his front door.
What is disturbing in the accounts of some Nova teachers is the lack of concern or responsibility by upper level management in dealing with these cases. Many complain of being ‘chewed out’ by staff when they failed to handle what were obviously bad situations and even in some cases dangerous.
Too true, but the other eikaiwa schools don’t take it to the extremes that Nova does.
We had an obviously insane woman show up for a demo lesson.
Borderline psychos are still perfectly acceptable, and the stalking problem is both rampant and largely ignored. But that is more the fault of the lazy-ass Japanese police, who even when called up by the eikaiwa management, will cuss out the stalkee for getting stalked rather than arrest the stalker (they wouldn’t even arrest a stalker who actually attacked a teacher in the middle of a lesson! School knew he had been a stalker, too, but don’t know how they’d handle his contract because he did the honorable thing and killed himself the next day after a mere talking to by the cops. Problem solved).
Read More...
Policeman shot in butt with own gun while battling porn vending machine bandits
TAGAWA, Fukuoka -- A police officer is in a serious condition after being shot in the buttocks with his own pistol while scuffling with porno vending machine thieves here Friday, police said.
The 29-year-old sergeant from Tagawa Police Station is being treated for the wound to his buttocks.
Two men have been arrested for robbery resulting in injury in connection with the case.
Police said the sergeant was one of three policemen to rush to the scene after a security company informed them that somebody was tampering with a pornography vending machine in an isolated part of Tagawa just before 4:30 a.m. Friday.
The officers reached the vending machine to find two men trying to break into it.
A scuffle arose and one of the men took out the sergeant's gun, firing it and sending a bullet slamming into the police officer's bottom.
Mainichi Daily News
Gov't to order Nova to refund tuition for canceled lessons
Japan Today
TOKYO — The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to order scandal-hit English-language school operator Nova Corp to promptly pay back tuition fees to customers who cancel lessons in accordance with their contracts, government officials said Tuesday.
The same day, the labor union assisting teachers at Nova requested that the ministry, which oversees the industry, take action to secure the teachers' employment and prevent further damage to students.
A report filed Tuesday by Nova with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, meanwhile, showed that the company has raised about 70 million yen through issuing equity warrants, apparently aiming to finance office rents, personnel expenses and other operation costs. Read More...
Chosun Ilbo
The number of organized gang members prosecutors are keeping an eye on topped 11,000 across the nation. According to the report submitted by Justice Ministry to Rep. Choi Byung-gook of Grand National Party on Monday, 11,476 members from 471 organized gangs are on the supervision list of prosecutors. Among them, 167 groups were deemed criminal organizations by courts. Busan district prosecutors had the most on their hands with 1,833 gang members from 101 groups, followed by 1,581 members from 45 groups in Suwon, 1,542 from 33 groups in Gwangju, South Jeolla Province and 1,193 members from 81 groups in central Seoul.
Prosecutors name two reasons why there are more mobsters on the Busan list than in Seoul. One is that Busan offers more opportunities for extortion with its busy sea port, and the other is that organized criminals in the southern city often carry their activities in public, making it easy for police and prosecutors to spot them. “In Seoul, organized gangs go underground and camouflage their activities as a business,” a prosecutor said. “But Busan-based organized gangs often engage in violence even in public places.” Last January, three syndicates attacked the largest local gang at Youngrak Garden funeral home in Busan and 50 gangsters were arrested.
Gangsters are often arrested in turf wars and while extorting money from traders. Last February in Suwon, Gyeonggi Province, members of the Suwon Southgate gang attacked a place where rival gangsters were staying; four died or were wounded in the attack. In the first half of this year, 75 gangsters were arrested for major offenses.
Nova Instructors Forced To Teach Retarded And Mentally Disabled
Japan Probe
Nova teachers with seemingly little to lose and possibly just wanting to relieve the stress of dealing with possible termination and non-payment of salaries, have turned to Internet forums and blogs to communicate their frustrations with their employer. One very interesting fact that has recently come to light is that apparently some teachers at Nova were forced to teach retarded and mentally disabled customers often together with normal students. Reports of stalking of teachers, threats, assaults and various odd and abnormal behavior from students has many wondering what sort of operation is/was Nova running.
Here is one especially detailed account from Nova teacher CynicalBeyondReason :
Students routinely showed up drunk, passed out or fell asleep in class. There were three cases of foreigners being stalked by Nova customers (2 of them female customers), one of which made strange, violent threats when the object of her infatuation was transferred (”I will destroy the city!”). In ALL of these cases, despite the endless complaints by us that went all the way to the AAM level, nothing was EVER done in any of these cases. Not ONE of these “students” was ever asked to leave. And this is not restricted to Nova, because I have acquaintances that work at small eikaiwa that tell me EXACTLY THE SAME THINGS HAPPEN THERE.”
It seems cases of stalking and threats are more commonplace at Nova than previously thought. One recent case that turned tragic Lindsay Hawker comes to mind, where here stalker lured her into his apartment under the guise of private lessons only to murder her and dump her body in a bathtub filled with dirt. Despite widespread publication of the suspects picture by police and authorities, he remains at large. The authorities have been accused of bungled police work in that case by letting the suspect escape bare footed out a window as 10 officers arrived to his front door.
What is disturbing in the accounts of some Nova teachers is the lack of concern or responsibility by upper level management in dealing with these cases. Many complain of being ‘chewed out’ by staff when they failed to handle what were obviously bad situations and even in some cases dangerous.
Too true, but the other eikaiwa schools don’t take it to the extremes that Nova does.
We had an obviously insane woman show up for a demo lesson.
Borderline psychos are still perfectly acceptable, and the stalking problem is both rampant and largely ignored. But that is more the fault of the lazy-ass Japanese police, who even when called up by the eikaiwa management, will cuss out the stalkee for getting stalked rather than arrest the stalker (they wouldn’t even arrest a stalker who actually attacked a teacher in the middle of a lesson! School knew he had been a stalker, too, but don’t know how they’d handle his contract because he did the honorable thing and killed himself the next day after a mere talking to by the cops. Problem solved).
Read More...
Policeman shot in butt with own gun while battling porn vending machine bandits
TAGAWA, Fukuoka -- A police officer is in a serious condition after being shot in the buttocks with his own pistol while scuffling with porno vending machine thieves here Friday, police said.
The 29-year-old sergeant from Tagawa Police Station is being treated for the wound to his buttocks.
Two men have been arrested for robbery resulting in injury in connection with the case.
Police said the sergeant was one of three policemen to rush to the scene after a security company informed them that somebody was tampering with a pornography vending machine in an isolated part of Tagawa just before 4:30 a.m. Friday.
The officers reached the vending machine to find two men trying to break into it.
A scuffle arose and one of the men took out the sergeant's gun, firing it and sending a bullet slamming into the police officer's bottom.
Mainichi Daily News
Gov't to order Nova to refund tuition for canceled lessons
Japan Today
TOKYO — The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry plans to order scandal-hit English-language school operator Nova Corp to promptly pay back tuition fees to customers who cancel lessons in accordance with their contracts, government officials said Tuesday.
The same day, the labor union assisting teachers at Nova requested that the ministry, which oversees the industry, take action to secure the teachers' employment and prevent further damage to students.
A report filed Tuesday by Nova with the Kanto Local Finance Bureau, meanwhile, showed that the company has raised about 70 million yen through issuing equity warrants, apparently aiming to finance office rents, personnel expenses and other operation costs. Read More...
Friday, October 5, 2007
Bibimbap, Blank Stares and serial killing fishermen!
The inter-Korean Summit has finished and everyone had a good time!
Just look at the puss on Mr. Kim in this group photo. Now...this is a man who likes to have a good time!!! I can feel the fun from here...
In more Korean "Non-News"...
Visitors to an event called '4340 Bibimbap for Harmony' make bibimbap for 300 people at the National Folk Museum in Seoul on Monday, two days before Foundation Day, which marks the start of the Dangun Era 4340 years ago. Dangun is the mythical founding father of Korea. /Yonhap
Eeeek...beware...there be killers on those dangerous Korean seas. Here's a creepy tale of a serial killin old Korean pervert!! He murdered again and again cause he just wanted to touch some young women.
Fisherman Confesses to Serial Murders
Chosun Ilbo
A 70-year-old fisherman has confessed to murdering four young adults in two separate incidents in less than a month.
According to police, on the evening of Aug. 31, the fisherman identified as Oh was preparing for a fishing trip at a dock in Bosung, South Jeolla Province, when he was approached by a couple who asked for a boat ride. They were 21-year-old Kim (male) and 20-year-old Choo (female), both college students from Gwangju.
Oh took them on board and sailed for about 30 minutes into nearby waters. After fishing for about an hour, Oh threw Kim into the water in order to rape Choo. Kim struggled to climb back into the boat, but Oh beat him five times with a hook on a pole, killing him. Oh then advanced on Choo, but she fought back by grabbing Oh's waist. Finally Oh threw her into the water, too, and stopped her from climbing back into the boat with the pole, police said.
Just 25 days later, on Sept. 25, Oh was preparing for another fishing trip at the same spot when he was approached again, this time by two women who asked for a boat ride. Oh took 24-year-old Cho from Gyeonggi Province and 23-year-old Ahn from Incheon on board and returned to his fishing spot where he worked for about three hours. On the way back, Oh tried to touch one of the women. Both women fought back and all three fell into the water.
One woman was swept away by the tide and Oh climbed into the boat. When the other woman tried to climb in, Oh killed her with the same pole, fearing that she would otherwise go to police. Read more...
The English Industry in Korea is booming...we all know that...not a new revelation on my part, but here's an interesting article on the origins of Korea's English Boom! "Original English Boom" by Andrei Lankov in the Korea Times is an interesting look at the history behind South Korea's love affair with studying the English language.
Just look at the puss on Mr. Kim in this group photo. Now...this is a man who likes to have a good time!!! I can feel the fun from here...
In more Korean "Non-News"...
Visitors to an event called '4340 Bibimbap for Harmony' make bibimbap for 300 people at the National Folk Museum in Seoul on Monday, two days before Foundation Day, which marks the start of the Dangun Era 4340 years ago. Dangun is the mythical founding father of Korea. /Yonhap
Eeeek...beware...there be killers on those dangerous Korean seas. Here's a creepy tale of a serial killin old Korean pervert!! He murdered again and again cause he just wanted to touch some young women.
Fisherman Confesses to Serial Murders
Chosun Ilbo
A 70-year-old fisherman has confessed to murdering four young adults in two separate incidents in less than a month.
According to police, on the evening of Aug. 31, the fisherman identified as Oh was preparing for a fishing trip at a dock in Bosung, South Jeolla Province, when he was approached by a couple who asked for a boat ride. They were 21-year-old Kim (male) and 20-year-old Choo (female), both college students from Gwangju.
Oh took them on board and sailed for about 30 minutes into nearby waters. After fishing for about an hour, Oh threw Kim into the water in order to rape Choo. Kim struggled to climb back into the boat, but Oh beat him five times with a hook on a pole, killing him. Oh then advanced on Choo, but she fought back by grabbing Oh's waist. Finally Oh threw her into the water, too, and stopped her from climbing back into the boat with the pole, police said.
Just 25 days later, on Sept. 25, Oh was preparing for another fishing trip at the same spot when he was approached again, this time by two women who asked for a boat ride. Oh took 24-year-old Cho from Gyeonggi Province and 23-year-old Ahn from Incheon on board and returned to his fishing spot where he worked for about three hours. On the way back, Oh tried to touch one of the women. Both women fought back and all three fell into the water.
One woman was swept away by the tide and Oh climbed into the boat. When the other woman tried to climb in, Oh killed her with the same pole, fearing that she would otherwise go to police. Read more...
The English Industry in Korea is booming...we all know that...not a new revelation on my part, but here's an interesting article on the origins of Korea's English Boom! "Original English Boom" by Andrei Lankov in the Korea Times is an interesting look at the history behind South Korea's love affair with studying the English language.
Saturday, September 22, 2007
Busan Questions Efficiency of Foreign Teachers
Here's a story from my not-so-long-ago home, Busan. More ESL teacher news.
Busan Questions Efficiency of Foreign Teachers
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
BUSAN _ Busan education authorities are pessimistic about the effectiveness of native English speakers teaching English classes.
``Although many schools want to hire native English-speaking teachers, they can't afford to do so due to financial difficulties. Additionally, they are currently in need of teachers who can speak both English and Korean,'' a Busan education office spokesman said Thursday.
In the wake of this problem, the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education plans to employ foreign spouses of Korean nationals or Koreans fluent in English as assistant teachers at elementary and secondary schools starting next month.
It is Busan's first official trial in hiring non-English native speakers as assistant teachers. The teachers will be required to teach a maximum of 14 hours a week, prepare extra teaching material and lead programs such as the ``English-only zone'' and ``English library.''
Some English teachers in the biggest port city welcomed the regional government's decision. ``Many children have difficulties with English native speakers as most foreigners cannot speak Korean. I think one-way classes will not work for quality English classes,'' a teacher in Anrak Middle School told The Korea Times.
The city education government will recruit a total of 10 bilingual assistant teachers and dispatch them to several schools for a three-month trial. The results of the pilot system will decide whether the system will be expanded to all schools in Korea's second biggest city.
I saw this in today's Korea Times.
Busan Questions Efficiency of Foreign Teachers
By Kang Shin-who
Staff Reporter
BUSAN _ Busan education authorities are pessimistic about the effectiveness of native English speakers teaching English classes.
``Although many schools want to hire native English-speaking teachers, they can't afford to do so due to financial difficulties. Additionally, they are currently in need of teachers who can speak both English and Korean,'' a Busan education office spokesman said Thursday.
In the wake of this problem, the Busan Metropolitan City Office of Education plans to employ foreign spouses of Korean nationals or Koreans fluent in English as assistant teachers at elementary and secondary schools starting next month.
It is Busan's first official trial in hiring non-English native speakers as assistant teachers. The teachers will be required to teach a maximum of 14 hours a week, prepare extra teaching material and lead programs such as the ``English-only zone'' and ``English library.''
Some English teachers in the biggest port city welcomed the regional government's decision. ``Many children have difficulties with English native speakers as most foreigners cannot speak Korean. I think one-way classes will not work for quality English classes,'' a teacher in Anrak Middle School told The Korea Times.
The city education government will recruit a total of 10 bilingual assistant teachers and dispatch them to several schools for a three-month trial. The results of the pilot system will decide whether the system will be expanded to all schools in Korea's second biggest city.
I saw this in today's Korea Times.
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Teaching Math, ESL and having fun!
As some of you may already know (and if you don't, you will as of now), I am in the midst of geting my teaching qualifications. Classes at university have started and the assignments and homework have begun to flood in. These were of course things that I expected. BUT...something has happened that I never could have imagined in my wildest dreams. I LIKE MATH! A self-confessed "mathphobe" I has spent the greater part of my life ducking behind trees and hiding under shrubs in order to avoid anything mathematical! This makes sense, I was the product of a not-so-well-oiled system of education that was a(when it came to math)one-way, black and white, right and wrong sort of a show. Simply put, it made math scary for a lot of people; myself included.
Well, things have changed and if I could do primary school all over agin, I'd wanna be here in Ontario...now. The way things are done these days are sooooo cool. Kids get to be creative, explore, work together and solve problems as a team. They don't have to live in the "black and white" world of math their parents did. I could have never imagined myself saying this in the past, but "Math is Cool!"
So, on to other things. On a more serious (though the coolness of primary math is not to be taken lightly)note. As I've been thinking a lot about my future in the education profession, I have as well been reflecting on the past 5 years of my life as an ESL instructor in South Korea. I learned a lot by living in Korea for so long. Not only did I learn methodologies and tactics of teaching and managing a classroom, but I learned a lot about the private education industry in Korea...good and bad. There are many wonderful aspects to moving abroad and teaching ESL, but there are some pitfalls as well. I decided to take some of my knowledge and put it online in the form of videos. I'm starting with some general information and advice, but if the demand arises, I'll continue to make more videos on more specific topics of teaching in Korea.
Here's my first one.
If you're interested in seeing more of my videos (they tend to be about the sillier side of life), you can take a peek at my youtube site.
www.youtube.com/busankevin
Well, things have changed and if I could do primary school all over agin, I'd wanna be here in Ontario...now. The way things are done these days are sooooo cool. Kids get to be creative, explore, work together and solve problems as a team. They don't have to live in the "black and white" world of math their parents did. I could have never imagined myself saying this in the past, but "Math is Cool!"
So, on to other things. On a more serious (though the coolness of primary math is not to be taken lightly)note. As I've been thinking a lot about my future in the education profession, I have as well been reflecting on the past 5 years of my life as an ESL instructor in South Korea. I learned a lot by living in Korea for so long. Not only did I learn methodologies and tactics of teaching and managing a classroom, but I learned a lot about the private education industry in Korea...good and bad. There are many wonderful aspects to moving abroad and teaching ESL, but there are some pitfalls as well. I decided to take some of my knowledge and put it online in the form of videos. I'm starting with some general information and advice, but if the demand arises, I'll continue to make more videos on more specific topics of teaching in Korea.
Here's my first one.
If you're interested in seeing more of my videos (they tend to be about the sillier side of life), you can take a peek at my youtube site.
www.youtube.com/busankevin
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