The sociologist in me is asking you for a favour.

I was sent this request, and since my major was sociology, and who doesn’t love a survey …. well, if you could follow the link and answer his questions about marketing that would be appreciated!

 

Here is a copy of what he sent me:

 

My name is Roger Wellor and I’m doing a study of the successes and failures of Korean International Tourism Marketing. I have a brief survey online that I invite you to take. It is designed to be answered by Korean/US bloggers and to give a slight outline of how these cross-cultural thinkers evaluate Korea’s International Marketing.

Your email will not be used for anything other than this survey (in fact it is not a required field in the survey) and if you have any questions, I can be contacted here at rwellor@spunangel.com.

Here is the link:

http://www.surveymonkey.com/s.aspx?sm=C1BZDkamZB1C03Q_2ftJTkVw_3d_3d

thank you,

Roger…

PS - feel free, if you’re feeling extra-charitable, to link this survey for your browsers. 

A soggy weekend on the SK Pen.

We rented a car and went to the central area of South Korea for the long weekend + 1 extra day.  We drove to Chungcheongnam-do and Chungcheongbuk-do.  According to the guide book, taking a bus, it should take about 2 hours to get to Daejeon but with long weekend traffic and lots of rain it took us almost 6 hours.  That night (Friday) we went to a fantastic hotel buffet - always a fan of buffets!  After stuffing ourselves with fresh sushi, sashimi, tempura, salad, steak, chicken, fruit and desserts we went to our hotel and watched TV!  Now, for most people TV isn’t that exciting but since I haven’t watched TV in 4 months (ie last time we stayed in a hotel) it was great.

Saturday morning we got up early and went to the Expo Science Park.  Since it was drizzling and then outright raining, the park was quite empty.  Many exhibits were closed but we got to see a 3D movie (my first time and I loved it! YEAH geeky glasses and creepy things coming out of the screen at you!!), an IMAX cartoon about space travel, all in Korean so not very easy to understand, the Electric Energy Pavilion - boring for the non science type, the Tower of Great light - only half of it was open, the Turbo Ride Theatre - where the seats actually move and bump around, again, great fun even if we were the oldest people in there without children :),  and I think that was it.  We wandered around and took some pictures which I’ll put up on my FB account.

We were definitely a source of curiosity and chatter for some folks - one guy even asked “Is she a foreigner?  Is she your wife?”  Children stared a bit but I find moms in the country to be more mindful of their children’s behaviour and the kids were give a sharp tsk and sometimes even a pull of the arm to get them to stop.  Thank you Korean moms!

That afternoon we drove to Gwanchoksa Temple.  There, we saw the “Buddha of the future” standing at 19 meters (63 feet) and over 1000 years old, made for some great pictures.

Then we drove to Gongju but missed the hours for the Tomb of King Muryeong - too bad since it is the real thing that they have copied at the Jamsil Lotte World Folk Museum (very interesting for a rainy day).  We did go into the Gonju National Museum but there wasn’t very much to see.

Finally, we drove to Cheongju to spend Saturday night so that we could wake up early and go to Sangsu Herb Land.  I think we got there around 9:30 or 10, shortly after it had opened and so it was very quiet and peaceful.  Although late in the season for most of the flowering plants, it was still a lovely way to spend a morning.  We wondered around and then at lunch at the herb restaurant - kkotbap, an herb-rich variation of bibimbap.  The herbs in it tasted wonderful but the flowers were too bitter for me to eat.  We also bought some herb infused water (highly addicting), mint candies, and hot pepper paste.  Everything is organic which makes it taste incredibly fresh.

The only draw back was that they had these 2 baby bears in this tiny cage situated in an area meant for eating.  I assume this is just one of the many horrible animal rights violations that occur daily here.  A posted sign indicated that the bears had been seen on the news and were ‘rescued’ after their mother was killed.  The Girl Guide in me wanted to race over, open the cage, and set them free (thus earning me my ‘be kind to animals’ badge) and then perhaps go sell some cookies.

Afterwards we drove to Chungjuho Lake and took one of the pleasure ferries across part of the 32 mile long waterway.  The guide book says you can “…enjoy a stunning view of Danyang Palgyeong, the “Eight Scenic Wonders” of the limestone region surrounding Danyang.”  It was a very pretty spot, but I suppose I was spoiled growing up in Canada where, again perhaps related to the weekly torture of Brownies and Girl Guides, you could always see clean lakes.  In fact, most people on boats would drive over to garbage and make a point of picking it up, rather than speeding past it….

Aside - on our last trip, part of it we stayed the night in Danyang (which is a dump btw) but the Gosu Cave was great - but there should be some sort of warning that there are some spots that are really tight to get by and if you are larger than the average current Korean, you could have some difficulty in squeezing yourself past the rocks.

Sunday night we drove up to Yongin with the idea that we would go to Everland in the morning but it was pouring on Monday and so instead went to see “The Dark Knight” and hit Emart (which is selling Stella Artois again!!!!  I have a feeling we will soon have more beer glasses than regular glasses…. but no good beer to put into them ).

So that’s that.  Lots of rain, lots of driving, lots of looking for radio stations since there was a CD stuck in the player and lots of giggles.  All in all, a great time.

Do you know of any good dentists?

In this business you get used to your picture getting taken a lot.  I mean a lot.  I was discussing with a coworker, how in a previous job I had students from around the world, that finished their sessions at the school at irregular intervals, causing weekly photo sessions with them.  Literally my face is around the world, perhaps I should say ‘was’ - who knows if they deleted me, put me on facebook, myspace, cyworld or some such thing.

Students generally email you pictures that they’ve taken and I noticed a common occurrence with my Korean students; they didn’t know how to smile.  When I asked my husband about it he told me of the “Korean grin”; teeth somewhat bared, focusing mostly on the lower jaw, lips uncomfortably pulled back, eye bright full of life, fingers posed in mandatory “peace/victory/f*u” position.  He told me that he had to actually practice how to smile so as to drop the ‘Korean grin’.  I, on the other hand, made it my mission to adopt the grin as often as possible but huge shit eating grins often emerge in its place. 

I’ve been thinking about teeth a lot lately because it’s been over a year since I last went to the dentist, my electronic toothbrush (Sonicare) is more like Sonichalt since the battery is on its last legs.  I looked into buying a new one here but the cost was close to $200!  Good grief, there is no way that is the true cost of it.

My parents were always very diligent about tooth brushing and dental checks when I was growing up and so from a young age was subjugated to horrifying images of dental and gum decay whilst waiting to see the masked man that would make or break my day.  On the whole they were nice, but the sound *shudder* I still hate the sounds and smells associated with dental clinics.

The last time I went in Canada my dentist *almost* hugged me.  Why you ask?  Well, that’s because I am still on the Crest wall.  Do you remember the Crest wall?  They used to advertise it on American TV that if you were a good child with sparkling teeth (of course assisted by Crest toothpaste) ie cavity free, then your dentist would take a polaroid picture of you and put it on the wall.  I think they even wrote the date and your age - I found copies of the “look ma, no cavities” ads but thought that this link was more …. shocking, geeky, in tune with childhood memories.  It’s amazing the crap you can find on the internet…. In your face Cavity Creeps!  I still have no cavities, fillings, caps or other strange things forced on my teeth.  Mind you I drove my dentist insane insisting on ’sealants’ for my molars when in my 20’s but hey, they worked for so long, why would I want to stop?

I almost fell from grace when I was in Taiwan.  The combination of greasy food, buckets of green tea, barrels of gin and a lack of hard foods (funny how we are like canines in that we need to eat hard foods to help maintain healthy gums - sounds like an Iams ad) almost caused the “evil gingivitis” to move in.  Whenever I think of those days I am reminded of how toothbrushing in Taiwan had only recently caught on.  A commonly followed practice was to not make children brush their teeth; seeing as they would fall out anyways.  I am not sure of anything more revolting then seeing chunks, and I do mean, chunks of plaque hanging off of tiny baby teeth.

WARNING - if you gag easily this story may not be for you.

I was teaching a class of 5-7 year olds and this lovely little boy named Sam was in my class.  Cute kid, terrible at English, shy and lacking in confidence but having enormous plaque issues on his teeth.  One day we had given the kids some juice to drink and it just so happened that we had talked about teeth that day - I think the kids had gone to the dentist at Chinese school and were proudly showing off their cavities and missing teeth.  They started to bug Sam about his ‘big yellow spot on his tooth’ and Sam drank his juice silently.  Then pandemonium, Sam is pointing in his cup and the others are trying to grab it from him to show me.  I am a tad confused at to what the hell is going on and Sam is grinning wildly while the screams of joy/disgust continue.  The ‘big yellow spot on his tooth’ aka massive chunk of plaque that had built up over years of not brushing, had fallen into his cup of juice.  By the time I had deciphered what was going on it was too late; ha had drunk the chunk. (I am gagging right now while writing this, and giggling, but lots of gagging too).

*shudder*

Right, so now I’m looking for a dentist.  I’ve been fooled before by advertisements claiming “Harvard Medical School” etc — doesn’t really mean that they speak English or that you actually get to see the people that do speak English (read as 3 hour eye appointment to get new contact lenses that left me confused and a staff of 6 sweating, a brother-in-law on the phone waiting to translate more (not mine, one of theirs), a doctor telling me to get eye drops AND I would like to add I was on my best behaviour, I even had a nap prior to going there so there would be no chances of “extra pale Canadian snapping” going on, plus no contacts.) 

On a completely unrelated note we found out that you can rent treadmills here.  How exciting!  I am sure there will be some sort of weird ass story that comes of this

look grandma, I failed

11  

As a 1930s wife, I am
Very Poor (Failure)

stuff/enviro-glam

There’s lots of ’stuff’ on the internet lately but this one is a mix of enviro-glam with stats and buzz words to get you going.

Same message but with more background information which is appealing to me.

HT to Ron for pointing this out to me via facebook.

I know enviro-glam isn’t a word, but, sounds like something hipsters would mention so I’ve taken some creative liberty ie my word, don’t care if you hate that I’m butchering my own language.

Yeah, what that guy said

I just saw this on Angry Asian Man and thought it worth sharing.

Phew! Think of it as a conversation between us, rather than some mishmash of unconnected ramblings.

6:30 AM. 23 degrees C. 100% humidity but no rain.
3:30 PM. 35.5 degrees C. 49% humidity…. sweaty….

My new “I ♥” is Stuff Korean Moms like.  I almost peed my pants at work reading it.  

I just had the realization that with this new UNI position that I will get the chance to meet, teach, study, pick apart, share, teach younger Koreans.  With my current position, for the most part, my students were in their 30’s to 50’s, give or take.  I am excited to find out more about what the younger generation thinks since I haven’t spent much time with them.  Even in Canada, I think that the youngest Korean I taught was maybe 23 (so 21 in real age).  AHHA, I can force some Canadianness into them!  

Speaking of that, last night I was chatting with an American man married to a Korean and he asked me the question “Are you Canadianizing your husband?  I know I am Americanizing my wife.” (side note, Canadianizing is rejected by spell check but Americanizing is accepted …. hmm).

My instant answer was “YES!”.  I explained the glazed doughnut idea (as in any country you get people that are either ‘turned on’ or glazed doughnuts - as seen in their facial reaction towards your interaction with them) and that he is now fully an ‘international person’ IMHO of course.  

We both commented on how funny it is to hear our respective spouses sigh and say “Ugh, Koreans!” - in relation to hearing foreigners complain (which is why the “what Korean moms like” website is so funny.  Really, we all have the same complaints, assuming you are ‘turned on’ or not.

I’ve also been thinking a lot about a post that Expatriate Games wrote, indicating that her spouse wasn’t  isn’t hasn’t been self reflective nor able to, I assume, deal with emotions in a manner to which we are accustomed to.

I believe that contributes to some of the frustration that builds up here (not related to her own issues, generally speaking mind you).  I also think that if people got more sleep and didn’t leave things to the last minute that tempers would cool dramatically here.

Switch.

I’ve had some great ‘realization/light bulb’ moments lately that have made me feel really proud of how far I’ve come living in other countries, settling into my life here, as a wife, in Korea, with a Korean husband and ascertaining more about who I am as an individual — very in-powering.  (Reality sets in when I realize that I am no better of a speller than I was when I was in university - I blame it all on spell check).

Ah!  And, I went to check out the yoga place and well…. It is with private trainers, but I would be paying them more than I make per hour…. and my VS order is arriving tomorrow!  10 days sooner than anticipated.

OH and one of my current students gave me 2 sites for nonprofit organic food stores that deliver.  I (who am I kidding)  my husband hasn’t checked it out yet (not because I’m giving him my new found power, rather I’m illiterate) so am excited at the prospect of that.  Produce is super expensive here anyway, and I have always wanted to buy organic so I hope that this is a viable option.

I would love to get organic meat too, but I’m not sure if they offer it.  I did see a picture of people feeding cows but that could be in reference to dairy products.

Perhaps you’ve heard about all of the protests about the deal with the US and importing beef?  (If not, look it up.)  

What’s surprised me about it is how vehemently some Americans have been advocating for the safety of American beef.  Now, I am from Alberta, major beef country.  We are so proud of it we don’t even talk about other provinces raising cattle (or perhaps I am just naive and assumed that everyone is as hyped up about Alberta beef as I was lead to believe). Regardless, Canada is thought to be a country with extremely strict, and for good reason, health standards regarding food.  I, up until a few years ago, fully believed this too.  That was until I was exposed to the documentary “FrankenSteer” on CBC and couldn’t eat beef for about  2 months (then my iron levels were plummeting and really, who can eat enough beans or nuts to supplement a juicy steak?….).  I digress, again.

Anyhow, my point is, if I, as a moderately well educated, fairly well traveled, individual of such a rich, safe, clean, whatever you want to call it, country didn’t know/think/contemplate this, about something that is such a vital part of the economy, than can you really tell me that all these people that are so hell bent on saying US beef is ’safe’ have all of the facts?  Now, I’m not just talking about BSE, I mean all the other aspects too.  Watch the documentary and you will see what I mean.  

The really sad part is that I made hamburgers last night and have left overs to eat tonight but really really want to watch that doc again…. how strong is your gag reflex?

Where’s everyone going?

This explains the 20 riot buses I saw driving by on my way home today.  I’m not sure that the “Seoul of Asia” ad is really going to offset the impact of the negative footage about Korea.

Here.

So, what you’re saying is that eating the whole pan of Betty Crocker brownies isn’t a good idea?

Usually about twice a year I get into an obsessively clean phase/mode/mood.  It feels as though nothing is ever clean and I can’t stop washing my hands, other people’s hands - or at least the desire to, and everything else around me.

This year it began around March, the time we moved into a ‘new to us’ apartment that a different teacher had occupied.  The place was nasty.  It felt as though I had rubber gloves on for days attempting to clean it (let me put it this way, the dude that moved out, left his dirty dishes in the sink along with food in the fridge, yuck).  

Then we moved again about 6 weeks later.  There is a different system here where people don’t clean prior to leaving, rather you clean when you move into the new place.  My dad would be convulsing in disgust if he were to see some of the places that looked at to move into - hell I almost vomited at one place when I saw the bathroom…. picture 20 something man, living alone for 1 year, never cleaning…. enough said.

My in-laws were very kind and so very helpful when we were getting to move into this place.  They live over an hour away but were willing to come up to help us clean, put up wallpaper in the bedroom and fix all the little annoying broken things - loose handles on cupboards, missing covers for outlets, re-caulking around the sinks etc.  If they didn’t help out I would of had a break down.  Even after 3 years in Asia, I can’t get accustomed to it… well, that coupled with I find moving to be the most stressful thing in the world.

*A former coworker in Canada told me, when I was getting ready to move to Korea, “Moving is one of the most stressful events, that along with marriage/weddings, new babies, new jobs etc.  You should be careful, my cousin who wasn’t mush older than you had a heart attack last year from all the stress.”  

Me - OMG SHUT UP, how is that helping????*

Moving on.  haha…  anyway.

So my obsessively clean mind has now figured that it is about time to actually care about my health.  No more eating pasta 3 times a week because it’s quick and easy.  Time to figure out what I eat and how to eat more of a balanced diet.  But, that is about as far as I get.  I got my milled Flax seed and am adding it to my smoothies.  I eat pasta maybe once a month.  I can’t seem to find bran anywhere so have given up on bran muffins.

I’ve been looking at labels and am shocked at sodium contents or other stuff that I can only assume is bad for my health.  

I’ve attempted to count calories just to see how much is a 1500 -2000 calorie diet…. but when I eat a piece of fruit isn’t that like negative calories?  I know there’s sites you can visit that will tell you but I can’t be that bothered to care.

For weeks now I’ve been telling myself to go check out the yoga place behind my house… and yet am able to delay it (I really have a skill for this) by convincing myself that “what if they have some sort of special where I will have to sign up right away and I don’t have anything to do yoga in!  No, no, it would be better to outfit yourself with the proper yoga attire prior to heading over there.”  Hence the incredibly large shipment arriving in 2 weeks from Victoria Secret ^_^ (there was no point in only ordering the yoga pants, really, for the price of shipping it would be such a waste). tee hee (insert excited clapping hands here, and throw in a shit eating grin too).

I’ve also discovered the hygienic joy of Lysol wipes!  I love them!  All I picture is that crazy ad that used to air about how if you are using your kitchen cloth to clean your counters you might as well be doing this - and then you see the mom wiping the kitchen down with a raw, whole chicken… gross.

I put into my bag those disposable hand wipes too - terrible for the environment but great for me!  Now the bag I take to school is getting rather heavy.  I am my own sherpa for food and coffee (snacks, lunch, coffee in to-go-mug, thermos with coffee), hand wipes, umbrella, plus all the teaching supplies I need for the day.  No wonder I’m so tired by the time I get there.

The point of it all?  I don’t know.  Guilt over not being a ‘go get ‘er’?  Apathy and being easily distracted seem to have carried me thus far.

On a completely unrelated note I started watching “Rome”.  I know, I know it came and went like 2 years ago, but I’m just getting to it now.  Pretty good.  I was a bit surprised that the story line is actually keeping my attention, since, from a surface overview it is just sword fighting and lots of naked people having sex.

Summary - it’s too freaking hot to do anything and I’m getting antsy from being tied to A/C controlled places for fear of collapsing due to heat exhaustion.

A little advertising never hurt anyone

My sister in law designs the jewelry for a business that my friend has started. They have/will have a shop in Shanghai along with Seoul. If you see anything you like you can also order it from them (or let me know).

 

www.threelaces.kr