Comments on: Korean prison — a spiritual experience?

By: gbnhj

gbnhj — Thu, 17 May 2007 08:19:15 +0000

‘Thomas was enchanted by the rebelliousness of the man’s lifestyle, the ease with which he made his money, and the amount of it he made. The attraction to the way of life was stronger than the possible consequences.’ (from the article)

Wow - Cullen Thomas was ‘enchanted’. That’s the same thing that happened to the Charming Prince when he first saw Snow White. After reading that, I get the impression that the Joongang’s Richard Scott-Ashe is a bit interested in ‘the lifestyle’ as well.

By: gbevers

gbevers — Thu, 17 May 2007 07:39:43 +0000

The guy had it easy. One of my Korean students told me he spent two weeks in a Korean military jail where he had to spend his waking hours staring at the wall on his side of the cell. He said the cell had closed-circuit cameras that the guards used to make sure prisoners did not look at or talk to each other in the cell. Can you imagine doing that for two weeks?

He told me he spent the two weeks in jail for hitting a lower-ranking soldier, who reported him to the commanding officer. However, he told me it was a Catch-22 since higher-ranking soldiers were expected to hit lower-ranking soldiers and could get in trouble if they did not. He also said that the soldier who reported him was also put in jail for two weeks for reporting him.

By: Brendon Carr

Brendon Carr — Thu, 17 May 2007 07:14:47 +0000

I don’t think hopheads are “terrible” or “evil” because they willfully consume ganja. Nor does being a pot smoker make one a dummy, necessarily.

But to do it here, in Korea, makes you a certifiable idiot. Do it in Cambodia, or Canada, or the Netherlands, or somewhere in Africa if you like — just don’t do it here. The official Korean reaction to drugs and the foreigners who use drugs is so ridiculously hysterical that calamity is all-but-guaranteed to those who can’t put their habit aside for the time being.

By: kpmsprtd

kpmsprtd — Thu, 17 May 2007 06:51:25 +0000

Not all dogs work for the dark side. We once had a dog who loved to eat the leaves as we–how shall I say it–processed the harvest.

I could tell you that he was the best dog we ever had (which he was), but you wouldn’t be able to believe me. The fact that he willfully consumed ganja speaks for itself. He was obviously a terrible, evil dog (even though he wasn’t, in fact).

By: Sperwer

Sperwer — Thu, 17 May 2007 02:25:19 +0000

So Brendon, extrapolating from your list of favorite contraband items, are we to assume that you are trying not to lose the hair on your ass, or that you need instructions for the butt plug?

By: peninsular aborigine

peninsular aborigine — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:56:42 +0000

For an apple computer hippie you sure hate weed.

By: Brendon Carr

Brendon Carr — Thu, 17 May 2007 01:16:32 +0000

I don’t think it’s true that Customs opens EVERYTHING with a foreigner’s name on it. I order packages of dutiable goods pretty regularly but get dunned for customs tax only about one out of six arrivals.

Now I’ve gone and done it! Potheads now are going to get the idea they can slip their weed through the post. Attention potheads: You can’t. Dogs can smell drugs in the package; they’re not trained to sniff for generic hair-loss drugs, business software, programming manuals and science fiction books, or butt plugs. So all of my packages arrive unmolested, but yours will be caught!

The latest variation I’ve run across is the pothead having weed mailed to a friend’s house with a fake name for the addressee. Pretty clever, huh?

By: Vacilando

Vacilando — Thu, 17 May 2007 00:31:07 +0000

I enjoyed the book mostly for the info on an aspect of Korea I rarely hear anything about. I can’t fault the guy for making the best of a bad situation. Learning from mistakes and experiences is a part of life. The people that refuse to do so I usually find quite boring. Plus, getting coerced into a confession when the police had very little actual evidence just isn’t cool, even if you were stupid and actually did it.

By: michael

michael — Thu, 17 May 2007 00:23:13 +0000

“trouble-making wandering slackers devoid of purpose and meaningful existence” That describes most of the foreigners in Korea.

I keed! I keed!

By: SomeguyinKorea

SomeguyinKorea — Wed, 16 May 2007 22:58:55 +0000

“If anything is suspicious, the package is opened and searched. ”

Actually, they open nearly everything that has a foreigner’s name on it. They don’t always reseal the packages properly either.

PS. Thanks for smashing to pieces the expensive Swiss chocolate Easter Bunny that my mom sent to my son.