Winter Break

Just writing to let everyone know that this will be my last post for about a week or so as I’m heading to Beijing to check out the sites and ring in the New Year. Hope everyone had a great 2008, and may 2009 be even better.

Hear the Good

A Korean friend of my mine recently phoned me with some exciting news: after years of diligent study and hard work, she finally saved enough money to travel to San Diego, California to partake in an immersion English course. It had been her lifelong dream to study in the states, and in a few short months, it would soon be a reality.

As we drove to a restaurant to celebrate the milestone event, she turned on her car’s stereo and popped in a CD she had burned; skimming the tracks until finally she found the one she was looking for. To my surprise it was Albert Hammond’s 1972 AM Radio hit, “It Never Rains in Southern California.” Some odd music filters it’s way into Korean radio waves, and this song was no exception.

“This is the song I listen to to prepare for my trip,” she said giddily. “I can’t wait!” On its surface, the song, which once charted at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 list, certainly makes California seem like an ideal place. But listen a little closer and you might find that titles can be deceiving. Sings Hammond in the chorus:

Out of work, I’m out of my head
Out of self respect, I’m out of bread
I’m under loved, I’m underfed, I wanna go home
It never rains in California, but girl don’t they warn ya
It pours, man it pours

As I watched her sing along and sway her shoulders to the jangly beat, I didn’t have the heart to tell her that song is actually about someone who travels to California seeking success, only to have his hopes and dreams crushed by disappointment and failure. I kept my mouth shut, and she just kept tapping away at on the steering wheel, oblivious to the song’s intended meaning. It was better that way. The way she so effortlessly gravitated to the positive virtues of  a depressing song was kind of inspiring. It was like the way a cat manages to find the one sliver of sunshine in dark room and to lay down in, or the way a little kid can take a mangled old refrigerator box and turn into a spaceship. Why dwell on the negative when all you have to do is simply latch onto the thing you like the most and discard the rest? It never rains in California, and as far as my friend is concerned, it never will.

*Interesting Side Note: If the name Albert Hammond sounds familiar, that’s because it is. He is the father of Albert Hammond Jr., the rhythm guitarist for The Strokes. Don’t believe me? Here’s the visual evidence:

Albert Hammond

Albert Hammond Jr.

Albert Hammond Jr.

Far From Home no. 13

“Santa Claus is Coming to Town” Live From Korea

There’s a reason Christmas carolers are get a bad rap: they’re boring and they sing dull songs. Maybe the stiff old crooners back home could take a lesson from these second year girls from Seosan High School. Instead of going door to door, why not plop down your stereo outside a movie theater, pump up a Mariah Carey jam, and just sing along. Throw in some killer choreographed dance moves and you got yourself a winning combination. These girls had their routine down perfectly – they even sang “Feliz Navidad.” I held out for a while, but sadly there was no rendition of “I Had a Little Dreidel” in their repertoire. Maybe next year. If they can learn a song in Spanish, why not a little Hebrew to round things out? Anyway, state-side carolers take note: it’s time to put down your stodgy songbooks and bring the Christmas funk.

“Way Back Into Love” (Charlotte’s Version)

Meet Charlotte. She’s 7 and she’s hands down one of my favorite students at the English academy I teach at here in Seosan, S. Korea. About two months ago she walked into class randomly singing this song and has not stopped since. It’s called “Way Back into Love,” and it originally appeared on the soundtrack to  Music and Lyrics. Sure the lyrics are a bit out of Charlotte’s league right now, but like any great performer, she just keeps plowing away whether she hits the notes or not. I’m sure in a few years she’ll have it down pat.

Sadly, today was Charlotte’s last day at the academy. In just three short days Charlotte and her mother Jini, who just so happens to be the director at my school, will be moving to the Czech Republic, or as it’s called in Korean, “Checko.” Once there, she will reunite with her father, who for the last year or so has been managing a major automotive manufacturing plant there. Jini bought her a cake today and Charlotte and her classmates devoured it, seemingly oblivious to the gigantic change that she is about to undertake. I guess that’s the beauty of being a seven year-old: why worry about the future, especially when’ there’s a cake on the table, right now.

While Charlotte and her mother seem relatively low key about the situation, it’s a bit bittersweet for me. On the one hand, I’m losing a big part of what I consider my “Korean Family.” Jini, Charlotte’s mother, basically took care of me for the first month or so while I figured out how to navigate everyday life. She took me to the doctor, got me a cell phone, showed me how to use my bank card and turn on my hot water. If I needed a hair cut, she took me down to the shop and told the barber how to cut it, the same way my mom did when I was a wee little kid. It was an odd position to be in. Here you are, 23 years old and yet you are totally reliant on a single person for almost everything you do, from eating to grooming. At times I couldn’t help but feel like I was being a burden, but Jini didn’t seem to mind. If I was an inconvience, Jini never showed it. She never once complained or made me wait. In fact she would often rearrange her schedule just to help me out. Eventually I learned how to manage everyday life without her help, but as far as I’m concerned, for the last nine months, Jini has been my Korean mother.

Then there’s Charlotte, who would easily fit into the roll of “little sister.” A endless ball of energy, Charlotte was always bouncing around the halls or the teacher’s room, asking questions or playing little games to keep her occupied. Mostly though, she was just singing. Or humming. Or some mixture of the two. Often times if she would have difficulty with a particular phrase or reading passage, all you had to do was turn it into some sort of chant or melody and she would jump right on it. I guess you could say she was an auditory learner.

So yes, it is not without a bit of sadness that I will watch them go, yet I know exactly how rewarding it will be for them to move to and experience a new country and culture. Once you get over the initial shock of the situation, all that’s left to do is take it in and enjoy it. Jini has always wanted to travel and Charlotte will attend an all English international school, so both will no doubt benefit greatly from the experience.

Even after all these months, I can still vividly recall the moment the three of us met. It was around 6 pm in the Seoul airport. I had just stepped off a 13 hour flight, collected my luggage, and stumbled out into a concourse feeling dazed and overwhelmed. It didn’t take long to spot them. They were standing behind a rope-barrier, backlit by the sun which hung low and filtered in through a wall of windows. Charlotte and Jini were there, along with Jini’s husband, who had made the trip just to come greet me at the airport. They were dressed up in nice outfits, smiling and waving, greeting me like a long lost friend rather than a new employee. Charlotte was holding a brightly colored sign with my name on it. My last name had three “M’s” in it. I gave her two chocolate bars. Her father gave me the keys to my new apartment. He smoked a cigarette, loaded my bags into the trunk of their white SUV, and with that we were on our way.

As a going away present I bought them a series of English books that hopefully they can share together, and maybe Charlotte can learn a little something from them along the way. In the end it’s a small gesture, especially when you consider that they have already taught me so much.

Hanu-Korea

Tonight is the first night of Hanukkah and I think I can safely say that I am the only one in Seosan who will be lighting the menorah. Actually, that’s not quite true. Last night I met a software programmer visiting on business who happened to be from Jerusalem. I asked him how he felt about spending Hanukkah in Korea. He told me it doesn’t matter where you are, but to just enjoy the time with the people you’re with. To that I say La’Chaim!

Though there won’t be any latkes or brisket this year, being Jewish in Korea isn’t too bad -a least once you accept the fact that there will undoubtedly be some sort of pork/pig product in nearly every meal you eat. Unlike the States, religion is topic that comes up frequently when speaking with Koreans, even if you’ve just met them for the first time. Normally when I tell people I’m Jewish they initially respond with a quizzical look, then I try to explain it a little more, sometimes drawing the Star of David in the air on a piece of paper. I can tell they understand because normally they will say, “Einstein!” in a very excited voice, referring to, of course, Albert Einstein, the great physicist and thinker, and apparently the only Jewish person Koreans seem to recognize. This is both a good and bad thing. One the one hand, people assume you are intelligent and exceptionally good at math, which is flattering. On the other hand, being compared to Einstein is a lot to live up to, especially when one considers that I couldn’t calculate myself out of a paper bag (how I got into said bag in the first place is beyond me).

So tonight I will be lighting the candles alone, but all the while knowing that deep down, I’m not really on my own. All around the world people will be reciting the same prayers, acting out the same ceremony, and singing the same songs. Even Einstein would agree. When you’re celebrating a holiday in foreign land, everything is relative.

Related Listening: “One Big Holiday” – My Morning Jacket

Crime of Passion

South Korean starlet Ok So-ri was convicted of adultery yesterday in a case that challenged the constitutionality of Korea’s stance on extra-marital affairs. Ok, who admitted to a brief affair with an opera singer, was sentenced to a suspended 8-month jail sentence, which means she will serve no time; which is fair, considering her name contains a built-in apology (think about it). I really don’t think this is a big deal, but it is kind of unfortunate that someone gets punished for a borderline blue law.

Despite decades of Western influence, South Korea remains deeply conservative and is influenced by a Confucian heritage. Those convicted under the anti-adultery law face prison sentences of up to two years, though few serve time.

Supporters of the adultery ban say it promotes monogamy and keeps families intact. Opponents argue the law violates privacy. Complaints have been filed with the Constitutional Court three times in 1990, 1993 and 2001 to abolish the law, but the court has upheld it every time.

What’s more surprising to me is the fact that all those people who believe in “protecting the sanctity of marriage” back home in the States haven’t latched onto this law and ridden it for all it’s worth. If they’re going to decry gay marriage for eroding the meaning of marriage, shouldn’t they also stand tall against adulterers. Seems to me that if these people were smart they would quickly try to adopt this Korean law before the divorce rate climbs any higher. While their at it, why not take it one step further? If we just follow their train of thought to it’s next logical point, how bout all people convicted of adultery never be allowed to remarry. I dunno, just sayin’ is all.

Read the whole article here.

Related Listening: “Your Cheatin’ Heart” – Hank Williams

Maru The Box Surfing Cat

Couldn’t think of anything to write about, so here’s a video of a cat sliding through a box – over and over again. That is all. Enjoy your day.

Warning Fail

Went to Itaewon last weekend to do some holiday shopping when I spotted this bootleg DVD stand right outside one of the subway station exit. At first I thought nothing of it, because the streets of Itaewon are literally covered with vendors of one sort or another hawking their wares. Yes, there’s nothing unreasonable about this at all, that is, until you look at that sign placed prominently above the crappy selection of movies. Let’s have a closer look shall we…

Doesn’t get any clearer than that. The fact that the vendor so blatantly thumbs his nose at the restriction is pretty amazing, and the fact that he doesn’t get shut down (he’s there every time I go) is even more astounding. I’m no lawyer, but I’m pretty sure a law is being broken here. Signage Fail at its finest.

Related Listening: “Temporarily Blind” – Built To Spill

Photo via the Washington Post

Shin Dong-hyuk, 26, is the only known person ever to escape from a North Korean prison camp. The Washington Post recently ran a feature article about Shin, who told the paper of his nightmarish experiences in Camp No. 14. The passages recounting the everyday savagery at the camp are truly horrifying. At 14, Shin was bound and tortured with fire by North Korean guards. Later that year, he was forced to watch the execution of his mother and brother in the center of the camp. So harrowing were the conditions at the camp that he considers the time when he found three kernels of corn in a pile of cow dung his “lucky day”.

At 23, Shin finally escaped.

He was working in the camp’s garment factory with an older prisoner who had seen the outside world and wanted to see it again. When they were collecting wood in a mountainous corner of the camp on Jan. 2, 2005, the two ran to an electrified barbed-wire fence. His friend got hung up and died in the fence; Shin stepped on his body and managed to get through.

“I could afford little thought for my poor friend and I was just overwhelmed by joy,” he writes of his first moments beyond the fence.

Though he is now free and living in a small apartment in Seoul, his new life in South Korea has been anything but easy. There are day to day struggles with depression, loneliness, and the memories, like the scars on his back, that can never be erased.

Making money. Saving money. Dating. Loving another human being. These are all strange concepts that Shin has struggled — and largely failed — to understand.

“I never heard the word ‘love’ in the camp,” he said. “I want to have a girlfriend, but I don’t know how to get one. Two months ago, I found myself without any money. It suddenly occurred to me that I had to go out and support myself.”

Though difficult to read at times, this is a very enlightening article which not only highlights the many struggles Shin has faced throughout his life, but also raises awareness about the horrid conditions in North Korea, a reality that many people throughout the world, South Koreans included, have overlooked for far too long. Definitely worth a read. Check it out here.