So after committing to Tokyo a few months ago, I decided to go ahead and change my mind at the last second and go in a completely different direction.
How different? Well, still in Asia but a bit further than originally expected.
I will now be moving to Hochiminh City (formerly Saigon), Vietnam in September of 2010 after over 6 years of residence in Seoul. A hard decision but one that will more than likely prove to be the best choice I could have made.
There is much to write about and much to be done before the final move so I hope to update about the situation a little more indepth with my next post which I promise won't be 3 months from now.
A few things I have to cover:
- Reflecting on my time in Korea
- How the Vietnam decision was made
- How this alters my journey for the next few years
I will finally be getting my life back from my soon-to-be-former employers which will allow me more time to write and reflect so I hope to find my pre-2010 form in the coming months.
More to come soon...
Wednesday, July 07, 2010
Friday, April 16, 2010
Korean Train Card
Riding the trains in Seoul is a generally pleasant experience in my opinion. For many years I swore by the train system here and used it to basically get me anywhere I was going. I think I went a solid 3 years without ever taking a bus. However, since my move 6 months ago, I've found that I am always taking buses and rarely hop on the train anymore. I guess I'm a bit nostalgic about the whole thing.
Unlike some of the stories you may hear from people who ride the train in Seoul, I can only think of one bad experience while riding them and it involved an old drunk guy at 9am. Outside of that I can count a few weird experiences and perhaps a few interesting ones but most of the time being on a train here meant I was in for a pretty mundane experience.
One of the interesting/flat out funny things I ran into on the train, and the center of this post, is a little card that I found a guy hanging up in the corners of posters one fine Tuesday morning while I on my way to work. I've actually had this card for probably about a year so I guess posting about it now goes hand in hand with my general level of procrastination when it comes to this blog.
In any case, here are pictures of both sides of the card:
For those who lack Korean abilities, allow me to translate the important portions of this card. First, the big letters in the middle read "Marry a North Korean (Woman)." Some of the other important parts read "We guarantee they'll have strong home values and attractive features." They also repeat a phrase at the bottom left "남남복녀" which is an old belief (I'm not sure how prevalant it is today) that the best marriages happen between a South Korean male and a North Korean woman. Finally, we end with the fact that you have the option of picking woman between their 20s and 60s.
Now this isn't too strange to me to be honest. I've seen these kinds of advertisements before and not just for North Korean woman but also for Vietnamese woman and Cambodian woman. What made me pick up this card and keep it in my wallet for the last year is the back side of the card which looks like this:
Basically the top just reads "Believe in Jesus our savior!" and the line underneath it reads "..and you and your family will secure salvation." I won't get into translating the block text as its just a quote from the bible but here is the funny part. Look at the phone numbers from both sides of the card. It's the same phone number!
So basically, you can call this one number and either get yourself a hot, spankin' new North Korean wife or get some Christian consultation. Maybe you can do both at the same time? I'm working up the courage to call this number and see what its all about but I don't think I could contain myself from laughing as soon as they picked up. What could their company greeting be?
"Hello, you've reached Jesus's North Korean Wife placement service. Red or repent department?"
Make up your own.
Unlike some of the stories you may hear from people who ride the train in Seoul, I can only think of one bad experience while riding them and it involved an old drunk guy at 9am. Outside of that I can count a few weird experiences and perhaps a few interesting ones but most of the time being on a train here meant I was in for a pretty mundane experience.
One of the interesting/flat out funny things I ran into on the train, and the center of this post, is a little card that I found a guy hanging up in the corners of posters one fine Tuesday morning while I on my way to work. I've actually had this card for probably about a year so I guess posting about it now goes hand in hand with my general level of procrastination when it comes to this blog.
In any case, here are pictures of both sides of the card:
For those who lack Korean abilities, allow me to translate the important portions of this card. First, the big letters in the middle read "Marry a North Korean (Woman)." Some of the other important parts read "We guarantee they'll have strong home values and attractive features." They also repeat a phrase at the bottom left "남남복녀" which is an old belief (I'm not sure how prevalant it is today) that the best marriages happen between a South Korean male and a North Korean woman. Finally, we end with the fact that you have the option of picking woman between their 20s and 60s.Now this isn't too strange to me to be honest. I've seen these kinds of advertisements before and not just for North Korean woman but also for Vietnamese woman and Cambodian woman. What made me pick up this card and keep it in my wallet for the last year is the back side of the card which looks like this:
Basically the top just reads "Believe in Jesus our savior!" and the line underneath it reads "..and you and your family will secure salvation." I won't get into translating the block text as its just a quote from the bible but here is the funny part. Look at the phone numbers from both sides of the card. It's the same phone number!
So basically, you can call this one number and either get yourself a hot, spankin' new North Korean wife or get some Christian consultation. Maybe you can do both at the same time? I'm working up the courage to call this number and see what its all about but I don't think I could contain myself from laughing as soon as they picked up. What could their company greeting be?
"Hello, you've reached Jesus's North Korean Wife placement service. Red or repent department?"
Make up your own.
Monday, March 15, 2010
The Beginning of the End - Seoul Version
No, I haven't completely forsaken my blog though I'm sure one might think so since there hasn't been a new post in almost 4 months. What can I say? I'm good at pretending I'm busy.
So let's see, what's happened since the end of November?
My trip home for all of December was copacetic as usual. Since I had a full month this time and not 2 weeks like usual I didn't have my normal whirlwind of activities that always resulted in my going back feeling more tired than when I left. This time I spent the first full week recovering from jet lag and relaxing while watching the dark circles under my eyes slowly dissipate. Some things stayed the same as usual (hanging out with family, getting trashed with friends) and some things were new and different (having the lady visit for 2 weeks from Korea, meeting old classmates from grammar school) but overall, it was a nice, relaxing visit. Spending Christmas time at home for the first time since 2004 was also pretty nice because I forgot how nice a real Christmas tree in your home can look when its not 1 1/2 feet tall and covered with dust. I'm thinking I might actually try to squeeze down there again for this Christmas so I'll see how it goes.
Other than that, its been mostly getting back into work and acclimating myself to my new role. I've been promoted to manager (과장) and so I must now take on the added responsibility that that title brings. Granted, this is a seniority-based promotion (meaning my hard work means diddly squat) and though I disagree with the methods in place for performance based reviews and work merit, that is a long series of posts reserved for another day. In the meantime I'll bask in the fact that I've managed to work here for so long without killing anyone.
A few weeks ago I got a small break from work and went to Tokyo for 5 days as is my habit for birthdays lately. I ended up hanging out with Doug and showing my friend Carl around before he went back state-side. Needless to say my liver was pretty spent upon my return. Gotta love Tokyo.
Finally, I have decided the next step I'm going to take after Korea, along with my significant other. After living out the rest of 2010 here in Seoul I will be moving back to Tokyo for an as-yet undetermined amount of time (probably a year). I decided a long while ago that 2010 would be my last year here in Seoul and though I will miss the country, people and friends I have here, I've decided that 6 1/2 years is quite long enough. There is too much of a draw for me to return to Tokyo and would like to spend some more time there before the willingness to live in another country besides my own leaves me. I will post more on this as things move along. In the meantime, I plan on enjoying my last full round of 4 seasons here in Seoul.
At least my blog title can still stay "Secret Asian Man".
So let's see, what's happened since the end of November?
My trip home for all of December was copacetic as usual. Since I had a full month this time and not 2 weeks like usual I didn't have my normal whirlwind of activities that always resulted in my going back feeling more tired than when I left. This time I spent the first full week recovering from jet lag and relaxing while watching the dark circles under my eyes slowly dissipate. Some things stayed the same as usual (hanging out with family, getting trashed with friends) and some things were new and different (having the lady visit for 2 weeks from Korea, meeting old classmates from grammar school) but overall, it was a nice, relaxing visit. Spending Christmas time at home for the first time since 2004 was also pretty nice because I forgot how nice a real Christmas tree in your home can look when its not 1 1/2 feet tall and covered with dust. I'm thinking I might actually try to squeeze down there again for this Christmas so I'll see how it goes.
Other than that, its been mostly getting back into work and acclimating myself to my new role. I've been promoted to manager (과장) and so I must now take on the added responsibility that that title brings. Granted, this is a seniority-based promotion (meaning my hard work means diddly squat) and though I disagree with the methods in place for performance based reviews and work merit, that is a long series of posts reserved for another day. In the meantime I'll bask in the fact that I've managed to work here for so long without killing anyone.
A few weeks ago I got a small break from work and went to Tokyo for 5 days as is my habit for birthdays lately. I ended up hanging out with Doug and showing my friend Carl around before he went back state-side. Needless to say my liver was pretty spent upon my return. Gotta love Tokyo.
Finally, I have decided the next step I'm going to take after Korea, along with my significant other. After living out the rest of 2010 here in Seoul I will be moving back to Tokyo for an as-yet undetermined amount of time (probably a year). I decided a long while ago that 2010 would be my last year here in Seoul and though I will miss the country, people and friends I have here, I've decided that 6 1/2 years is quite long enough. There is too much of a draw for me to return to Tokyo and would like to spend some more time there before the willingness to live in another country besides my own leaves me. I will post more on this as things move along. In the meantime, I plan on enjoying my last full round of 4 seasons here in Seoul.
At least my blog title can still stay "Secret Asian Man".
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