No text messages from ex-girlfriends, sadly, but Yonhap still puts in a stellar effort with this classic on foreign English teachers.
The money quote:
Yonhap News learned from parents and teachers of middle school D in Jangan-gu, Suwon, where a native-speaker teacher from the United Kingdom came to school drunk and caused a disturbance.
The drunken teacher began teaching sex education to the students in words they could not understand, saying “the reason I’m not married is I don’t want to have kids like you,” and “Dokdo is Japanese.”
All he needed was a blunt and the imagery would have been perfect.
(HT to Roboseyo)
{ 94 comments… read them below or add one }
Not meaning to sound like a racist, but that’s one of the worst examples of ‘Yellow Journalism’ I’ve ever seen in Korea. Truly repugnant stuff.
The Dokdo thing is fucked up, it’s all hearsay and nonsense. Also how did the British chap teach them about sex education if they can’t understand English anyway.
“The Ministry says such native-speaker teachers are a minority, but statistics say otherwise.”
Somebody help me out here. Just what is it exactly that Yonhap is trying to say? Is this one of those things that people print that isn’t true but sounds like it should be, so let’s believe it anyway?
bla bla bla…whites are inferior…we Koreans are perfect…we are the victims of a vast racist international conspiracy…blame somebody else for my misery…wake me up when it’s over…
I think most of us are from the States here, so we have the notion of a free and unbiased press, but Korea is NOT like that. I think any time an article comes up like this, we need to put it in context. Is there some fear mongering by the media from the West? Sure, but look at the vitriol Koreans toss as their own, whether it’s celebrities, politicians or fans.
I’m not saying this coverage is all that accurate or representative — it is, but it isn’t — but this isn’t “Yellow Journalism,” really, unless it’s completely made up. I think what the Korean press is guilty about is reporting about a reckless minority of English teachers: we all know them, see them on the streets (especially in Itaewon), but they are not a completely accurate portrayal.
I do not know about middle school English teachers, but from my experience, it is Korean college students who come to class drunk and without book, pen, or paper. Then after failing both the midterm and final exams and doing few if any of their assignments, there are still some who come to my office and say, “I attended all of your classes, so why did I get an ‘F’”? The most likely reason they ask such a stupid question, considering that they know from the beginning of the semester that attendance counts for only 20 percent of their grade, is that Korean professors often pass them, regardless of the poor work they do.
Then, when the “I-was-never-absent” ploy fails to work, they try the “give-me-an-assignment-to-make-it-up” ploy, which is code for, “Give me a chance to copy something off the Internet to give to you.” Again, the most likely reason they make such a proposal is that their Korean professors often let them do it. However, I usually just tell them to go screw themselves, but always in a nice way.
At our school, almost everything has priority over English classes, including departmental soccer games, soccer practices, marathons, festival preparations, class field trips in other subjects, meetings with professors in their major subjects, student council meetings, and, of course, the “membership training” (MT) trips, which is when freshmen learn the fine art of drinking until you throw up.
For our spring semester freshmen English classes, we use the Oxford textbook “First Choice,” which is essentially a primer for elementary English, yet our college freshmen still have trouble understanding it. We have freshmen who cannot read simple English sentences or can even understand the question, “What is your name?” How did such people graduate from high school? Is that also the fault of the foreign English teachers?
By the way, I think “First Choice” and the rest of the books in the series are a great set of books for Koreans studying beginning and intermediate English conversation.
Finally, Dokdo was historically Japanese territory.
Yawn.
It will continue until there is international scrutiny or Koreans call other Koreans on it. There is a big don’t rock the boat mentality in Korean culture.
Oh, and, BTW, again…not all of the foreign EFL teachers there are white
ExpatJane wrote,
Are you 100 percent positive?
Judging from your pic, ExpatJane, some come in scruptious shades of chocolate brown.
That was the most “70′s era” ajosshi thing you have ever said in this blog Mizar… and that’s NOT a compliment…
gbevers,
Your first two paragraphs sounds like a typical UK university.
What would you know about the 70s, WK? You missed that boat.
“began teaching… in words they could not understand” — so where do the quotes come from? lol…
Of course, the article makes no mention of the idiot co-workers we public school teachers have to put up with everyday… just last week, my coordinator sent an IM message to the English teachers that there was open class at a nearby school to observe a foreign teacher… 2 responded they would go… and on the day of the open class somehow forgot me. I took them to task over it but they simply blamed the coordinator for not calling them via phone. How can they possible expect the students to follow instructions when they can’t…?
#5: OT
MTs and drinking with the professor are fun! I remember my time at the (in)famous SNU and the parties we had. One special occasion comes to my mind and still makes me feel warm an fuzzy inside:
A bunch of us students were drinking with our professor. We went to a soju place for the 2nd round, but unfortunately for me, I don’t drink soju. The professor asked why I wasn’t drinking. I told him that I don’t drink soju, but would gladly drink vodka or whiskey… which the place didn’t sell. *sigh*
After hearing my lamentations, the professor stood up, walked to a store next door, and came back with a bottle of “Korea’s finest whiskey”, and we continued to drink all night! God bless that man and his kind heart! More than the watery whiskey, which was still better than soju, I liked his kind gesture. Awww…
This is pretty amusing – I don’t teach over there, so I don’t know, but I’m assuming it isn’t standard practice to cover sex ed in English class. Throwing in Dokdo belongs to Japan at the end is like saying “oh, by the way, fuck you”. It would be cool if he just walked out of the room at that point.
Also, why does it have to be “yellow” journalism? I’m getting a little tired of this persecution fixation from some (most) of the foreign teachers over there. You aren’t saints – occasionally one of you gets drunk or stoned and goes off the rails; if you have a sense of humor, like this guy apparently does, you make a few incendiary comments before stumbling out just to liven things up a little. It was probably the most memorable class those kids will ever have.
@10
Wangkon, you obviously don’t go to Oxbridge. It may sound like some crappy, jumped-up polytechnic, but it doesn’t sound like my university. Are you sure sure it’s Wangkon? Er…
john_galt:
Wikipedia: “Yellow journalism is a type of journalism that downplays legitimate news in favor of eye-catching headlines that sell more newspapers. It may feature exaggerations of news events, scandal-mongering, sensationalism, or unprofessional practices by news media organizations or journalists. ”
I cannot think of a more accurate description for this type of “news” story. Sorry if it bothers you. Also, the reason some of us foreign teachers get so upset about Korea’s yellow journalism is because we legitimately care about Korea and have deep-running personal ties to this country. Further, while this story may seem really funny to you, I assure you stories like this can have a real effect on the quality of our lives in Korea. So, again, sorry if you’re “getting a little tired” of hearing about it.
As an instructor in high school, I have to say that the students that come to us are already ruined. They have terrible study habits like not bringing books and pencils to class even though they will lose points if they don’t. The students that are poor at English mostly don’t care to learn and ( basically ) cannot be taught what they don’t want to learn. I have a 50 minute period once a week with half the students in the school. Classes are above 40 students, so that works out to about 1 minute per student per week individual time. How could they NOT get better with that kind of attention???
Granfalloon:
I thought the story was limited to the anecdote quoted on MH – I should have realized that it was part of much longer and nastier piece demonizing “native-speaker English teachers” in their ever increasing numbers and further, none of the incidents relied on sources, just hearsay. So, fair enough, yellow journalism.
I still sense that you guys make too much of these stories. My Korean in-laws and friends, most of whom live in Seoul, don’t take this stuff seriously so I don’t know why you do. You guys keep saying that these stories can have a “real effect on the quality of our lives” but you rarely detail how. Aside from the manditory medical tests (which I don’t think are worth resisting – as I’ve mentioned, getting a job in the US in finance requires rigorous background checks and drug testing). Finally, can’t you “legitimately care about Korea” (I’m tempted to ask exactly what that means) and pursue some other career?
But I’ve been over these arguments before and they are tiresome, so I’ll leave it at that.
I can’t believe the article didn’t once mention FTs’ sex lives. It must have been written by a woman. Here’s what I emailed the reporter.
Thanks so much for writing this collection of rubbish. I’m going to show it to my co-workers, as it will make me look like the greatest foreign teacher ever.
You’ll be happy to know it’s also been translated into English so everyone can see the quality of “journalism” your “news” agency produces.
Oh, and out of curiosity, what credentials do you possess? Based on this article I’m quite sure you couldn’t get a volunteer job at a university newspaper in the west, so it’s good to know that low-quality, underqualified English teachers in Korea have plenty of counterparts in the Hanguel press.
The “real effects” are two-pronged. First, they result in legislation being passed. Now, this round, I have no particular problem with the medical and criminal checks. But make no mistake: these measures were taken not because they are good ideas, but because the government needed to show the people that something was being done about the “foreign menace.” This sets a pretty dangerous precedent, no? This is exactly the sort of thing that leads to armbands.
Second, they result in a more hostile attitude from Koreans. This manifests itself in small ways, like not being able to get a taxi, to more serious ways, like getting jumped by a gang of Koreans and having a bottle broken over your head. Both have happened just a few hundred meters from where I live.
Finally, you can go ahead and ask me what caring about Korea means, but assuming English is your first language, I don’t see what’s unclear about it. And I’m not about to give up on my career of choice because Korean journalism sucks. My mother was a teacher, my father became a teacher, my brother is a teacher, his wife is a teacher, and my partner is a teacher. I’m a teacher.
Is Naver News getting less popular these days? I only see 10 comments attached to the korean original. You would think this kind of article would garner a little more attention among the usual trolls.
Maths fail…
54 in the first four months is still a minority by quite some margin.
@JW
Why no comments? I think most Koreans, though holding mostly inaccurate stereotypes about FTs, give a collective “meh” when asked about English teachers. In the same way Dokdo is an incredibly divisive, yet unified, opinion, I think most Koreans believe foreign teachers are here to booze it up and make a high salary–but don’t give it much thought at all.
“most Koreans” – as in, most Koreans without children, I assume.
Linkd, you ever work in a hagwon? Mothers constantly bicker and complain, not as much about the foreign English teachers, as they do about the advancement up the meaningless levels.
And do you think Mom and Dad talk much about the actual English teachers–or rather that little 민히 or 재원 need MORE English lessons. I mean, my cousins go to hagwons and it’s just another cram school for them, and my aunts and uncles, like pumping their children with kimchi, just think: the more, the better. They don’t think much of WHO is teaching them–just as long as they aren’t Korean, because gyopos aren’t “native” speakers.
gbevers @5
Oh good lord. Do you mean to tell me the endless series of diversions from actual learning (the assemblies, festivals, picnics, sports days, elections, etc.) continue at the college level? Wow.
“We have freshmen who cannot read simple English sentences or can even understand the question, ‘What is your name?’ How did such people graduate from high school?”
Because in Korean high schools (I was astonished to learn) all the students have to do is show up. As long as they show up, they are promoted each year until they graduate. Seriously. The physical beatings and other discipline is the only way the teachers can motivate the students, who have no fear of failing or flunking out, provided only they are in their seats.
P.S. Don’t tell anyone back home about this stuff. It’s great that so many Westerners (like me before I came) believe Asian students are over here working their tails off six days a week, ten months a year, trying to overtake the West. That belief, though wrong, is a great motivator, as Obama’s recent comments about improving U.S. schools showed.
Yeah, my last online exam of the university semester yesterday, and was Open Book (as were their Midterm and quizzes), with the 19 students having been given repeated advance notice. Most actually arrived, but about 50% or more did not bring their text, which was essential for the exam as the questions related specifically to textbook content. One didn’t have a pen. About 60% were late, some were an hour or more late (for a 90 minute exam). One student was caught cheating, using IM to get answers from someone else…
What, me worry?
uh…korean press sucks. and the sun rises from the east. what else is new? the fact is, there are a small group of english teachers who do make an ass out of themselves. i’ve witnessed it. you’ve seen it. how about changing the focus on fellow co-teachers. if you see them behaving badly, tell them to stop making everyone else look bad. as for the korean media, i like to see people directly email the reporter instead of coming here and complaining. what good does that do? i’ve emailed reporters before and got a response right away.
not that people have implied it here, but i’ve seen in other blogs where people complain the shit out of korea. i know korea has its warts, but i also know what it offers. i think the pros outweigh the cons…for me. unless you’re a military guy, i’ve always wondered why people who’ve stayed here more than a year keep staying here despite korea being the source of their misery and general unhappiness. even people who have left keep checking on korean blogs. why are they so obsessed with korea, if korea was such a shitty country? i’ve asked this question before here and i remember people answering they can choose to live wherever they want. no shit. but why? why korea, if korea is the source of your misery?
and i’ve read in other blogs people talking about how much japan is better than korea. that’s great. why not go there. you get the same adventure but better people, right? go.
Linkd, you ever work in a hagwon?
Are you kidding me? He was working in a hagwon when the thing with the tiger, the bear and the garlic happened.
One student was caught cheating, using IM to get answers from someone else…
Rob, I caught one of them doing that in the Kwangaetogwan, um, 5 years ago? Good to see they’ve come so far.
Hey Mao,
tick tick tick…’just a couple weeks to go now. Make sure you’re stocked up, eh?
Song- yep, 97/98, but only adults. I defer to your greater and more recent experience with the agi-ommas.
Ok, B. Let’s kick it.
Where on Earth do you live? Fort Lee or Newark?
i had a meeting at a korean company’s U.S. headquarters in fort lee recently-what a trip. i grew up in the newark area and never even knew fort lee had a substantial korean population. of course, when i grew up there it probably didn’t.
Wow, my neighborhood ranks with Jersey? That’s depressing.
However, I meant “gang” in the sense of “group,” not in the sense of quasi-organized crime. The perps in this case were probably university students.
Uh, somebody help me with english comprehension here. Are you trying to suggest that fort lee sucks?
Btw, those of you talking shit about korean kids cheating and what not…I hope ya’ll feel much better now. Real mature.
yeah, I’ve mentioned this before – none of the committed teachers appear committed to teaching in the US – at least not in Brooklyn, Detroit, etc.
Also, a “group” of Koreans jumped you and smashed a bottle on your head? Did you report it? Do you think that this was direct result of your being a teacher or just white guy or just a guy in the wrong place at the wrong time? Were any of the group current or former students of yours?
john,
I have no idea where you’re going with this. Do you?
About the incident that you seem very curious about, I’m not sure if I can give you exact details, because I’m actually referring to a few separate incidents, none of which happened to me (they happened to my coworkers). To be fair, there’s no way I can PROVE that any of these incidents were fueled by the xenophobia, nationalism and borderline racism spread by articles like the one in question. But I’ll stick with my hunches on this one.
Do you actually have a point? You started saying that this article isn’t really yellow journalism, and you were wrong about that. Then you said that these articles don’t actually matter, and I’m very inclined to believe you’re wrong about that as well. So, again, where are you going with all of this? Because I can’t think of anything you could say that’s going make me believe articles like this don’t make any difference. Even if your in-laws say so.
Btw, those of you talking shit about korean kids cheating and what not…I hope ya’ll feel much better now. Real mature.
I know it’s hard to deal with, but cheating is the salient feature of teaching in Korean universities. Deal with it.
Sure Mao, whatever. 너나 잘하세요.
“is the salient feature of”
doesn’t make much sense in english. sure, all the words are in the right order, but it doesn’t mean anything. WHAT do you mean?
JW wrote (#36),
Reminds me of the Rolling Stones
“Satisfaction” by Gerry Bevers
I can get some satisfaction
I can get some satisfaction
when they fail, when they fail, when they fail, when they fail
I can’t get some, …I can’t get some
When I’m dissin’ my bad students
JW comes on the Marmot’s Hole
Tellin’ me how I’m talkin’ shit
Wonderin’ how good it makes me feel
Tellin’ me I should feel ashamed
But com’on, man, if no Dokdo
Hey, hey, hey, what can I say?
If I want some satisfaction
If I want some satifaction
Must talk shit, must talk shit, must talk shit, must talk shit
I can get some,…I can get some….
When a student comes to me
Asking me what his grade will be
Beggin’ me please not an “F”
That’s when I tell ‘im to go fuck himself
cause he hardly came to class
I can get some, oh yes, yes, yes
Hey, hey, hey, that’s what I say.
I can get some satisfaction
I can get some satisfaction
when they fail, when they fail, when they fail, when they fail
I can get some, … I can get some
When my students sleep in class
And talk to their friends and play their games
That’s the time I think to myself
Just you wait ’til test time, man, I’ll get you back.
’cause I know they’ll fail and feel like hell
I can get some, oh, yes, yes, yes.
Hey, hey, hey, please make my day
I can get some, … I can get some
I can get some satisfaction
Yes, satisfaction, yes, satisfaction, yes, satisfaction
“I do not know about middle school English teachers, but from my experience, it is Korean college students who come to class drunk and without book, pen, or paper. Then after failing both the midterm and final exams and doing few if any of their assignments, there are still some who come to my office and say, “I attended all of your classes, so why did I get an ‘F’”? The most likely reason they ask such a stupid question, considering that they know from the beginning of the semester that attendance counts for only 20 percent of their grade, is that Korean professors often pass them, regardless of the poor work they do. ”
Uh, wasn’t the topic one particular middle school teacher from the UK? How did this have anything to do with your students at a four-rate college (which might explain their poor behavior study habits)? No, if they didn’t study, then they deserve to go to a four-rate college…and they deserve a fourth-rate college instructor.
“Finally, Dokdo was historically Japanese territory.”
No, it’s not. Just accept it.
I swear, no one strays off topic more than gbevers…especially if it’s a way to slam Koreans as a whole. Somehow his poor students at his fourth-rate college (which sounds like it’s barely above junior college level) are representative of all Korean students, including those who go to Seoul National University, Yonsei, and Korea University? WTH?
JK, i think it’s a better school than the one you went to.
He supposedly taught English to Korean medical school students at a Jibang.
In my book, it’s better than PoliSci/History major at SNU.
Well, I think they end up living better.
JK, tell us once again about your Christian sexcapade by taking advantage of some dwaenjanggirl who wanted you to take her to the USA, but suddenly you felt THAT was somehow immoral.
Your fellow gyopo Christian doctor, wjk.
Dude, study the East Coast Haninrok about half a decade from now.
You never know who you’re talking to.
Be suspicious of every doctor with my intials.
moo ha ha ha.
Let me ask you something Gerry Bevers. Don’t you really hate it when you have to do something you really don’t want to do? Yes? Well, I can understand those kids cuz I really hate being forced to study also. So what options do they have?
Not go to college?
I guess you can do that, if you’re a goddamn idiot.
What the hell is it with this forced illiteracy? And Judge Judy has the nerve to deliberately avoid capitalisation except where the “U.S.” and her name are concerned. Is it some kind of reflex?
Has anyone else noticed that in some style manuals, “U.S.” gets full stops, while “UN” is naked? What the fuck is that – and all of the above – about?
My mistake – I saw capitals in JJ’s name. Sorry. Hallucinations. You know how it is. Or at least I do.
It makes perfect sense in English. Are you sure you know all the meanings of all the words there?
You know, adams-awry, with your consistent inability to perceive sarcasm and your apparent lack of knowledge of the English language, I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that you’re a numbskull.
In light of this, your implication above that you went to “Oxbridge” or some university of similar caliber really starts to smell like bullshit. So much for that UK education system!
Am I the only person who thinks this story is f’ing hilarious?
Most of y’all here–be you teachers or business folk or lawyers or whatever– can’t tell me you have never dreamed of doing something like this
at one point or another.
I would have added a few more choice comments though . . . .
maybe one or more of the following:
“Fans don’t kill people!”
“Kimchi cures and/or prevents NOTHING!!!!!!”
“Korea does NOT have 5000 years of history!!!!
“Koreans are NOT a race unto themselves; there is no such thing as
Korean pure-bloodedness!!!!!”
“Dokdo is for dorks!”
etc. etc. etc.
I am still convinced of the UK dude’0 comic genuis.
Ha! F’ing hilarious!!!!!
well colontos, I’m starting to doubt if I do know the meanings of all these words.
“I know it’s hard to deal with but cheating is the salient feature of teaching in Korean universities.”
WTF? I know it makes grammatical sense, but WHAT DOES IT MEAN?
The teachers are cheating? the most salient feature of TEACHING is cheating? WHAT DOES IT FRIGGING WELL MEAN? Salient to whom? or does it mean that when teaching, the most salient feature of the job is all the students cheating? that would make some sense. but that isn’t what it says.
as to your other dribblings:
i don’t have an “inability to perceive sarcasm.” you – under your sock-puppets – have the inability to relate sarcasm in the written form.
and debating my alma mater over this forum is pointless. no proof would satisfy you and i really wouldn’t go to any lengths to offer you any, anyway. you’re simply not worth the effort.
so, please enlighten me.
JW wrote (#46),
What options do they have? How about the option of their bringing a book, pen, and paper to class and, at least, trying to learn? They also have the option of dropping out of school and getting a job? However, they have no option but to study if they want to pass my class.
Yes, I have done things I hated doing, but I still did them, especially the work for my “required courses” in college.
One of the things I “hate doing” is teaching English to college freshmen who do not give a shit and who go out of their way to show you they do not give a shit. Though I remember seeing such people in my high school back in Texas, I do not ever remember seeing such people at any of the American universities I attended.
When I fail my students, I am teaching them a valuable lesson, which is, “You get what you deserve.” If Korean teachers started teaching the same lesson to primary and secondary school students, then I think Korea’s educational problems would be solved. What Korea needs is more dropouts.
Not more dropouts, are you crazy? They’ll just re-enroll and do whatever bullshit work necessary — as opposed to not doing the work and getting the degree — but work that they won’t ever put to use in real life — to get that degree. Same result. What they need to do is shorten the number of years spent in primary and secondary schools so that they can get that college degree as soon as possible, cuz alot of it is a waste of their fucking time. They learn everything in advance in hagwon anyway. You of all people should know that standards are different in Korea.
Oh, did you mean that you want them to drop out of school for showing their displeasure at having a foreign language shoved down their throat? Interesting idea. Have you tried suggesting that idea to your supervisors?
JW,
The standards are different? No, the problem with Korea’s education system is that there are no standards, or rather, that the standards are not being enforced, which results in the same thing.
You have it backwards, JW. Undergraduate college education should probably be shortened, not the time spent in primary and secondary eduation. However, that would still not solve the problem of Korea’s lazy, irresponsible students. That can only be solved by Korea’s Ministry of Education and Korea’s teachers’ teaching the students to be responsible.
This year our school added, at least, three new computer areas, including two Internet Cafe stlye areas with a total of about fifty or sixty new computers with 20-inch monitors. The areas are glassed-walled, so when you walk by you can easily see what the students are doing on the computers. When I walk by, I see that nine out of ten of the them playing computer games.
Korean students are not wasting their “fucking” time studying; they are wasting it playing computer games.
colontos:
Adams-awry is right – “is the salient feature of” is improperly applied given the context. The sentence suggests that cheating is the most prominent feature of teaching, suggesting cheating is the most prominent feature of the act of teaching itself or, perhaps, that teachers themselves are somehow cheating (as A-A tried to explain). You could say that “cheating is the salient feature of student life…” or something along those lines, but even this is clumsy. The intended meaning would have been better conveyed by simply saying something like “cheating is commonplace in Korean Universities”.
My advice to you in the future is to explain why you believe your understanding of a word’s meaning is correct rather than resorting to juvenile personal attacks; just makes you look like you don’t know what you are talking about.
Granfalloon:
So your hunch is that these racist stories are inciting “groups” of college kids to attack English teachers and you are aware of some specific examples that occurred near your house involving your co-workers. Really? Sounds fishy. However, supposing this was the case, my hunch would be that Korean college students out drinking would be more likely to kick some random white guys ass because they are sick of having the US military occupying their country or the US government foisting contaminated beef off on their country or maybe just because they are sick of seeing white guys going out with Korean girls.
Your talk of armbands is ridiculously melodramatic; reminds me of Benicio comparing the plight of English teachers to that of blacks under slavery in the US.
I don’t think you really “care about Korea” (without some larger context, that kind of bland statement doesn’t carry much weight). I think you have some friends and probably a significant other there and it would be a hassle and emotionally distressing to give all that up if you had to pursue your path elsewhere.
Mr. john_galt718.
I had to smoke an extra joint from my very low stash in order to temporarily suppress my extremely negative reaction to your postings. You, sir, must contribute to my next purchase if you are going to continue posting.
kpmsprtd:
I don’t know what I said to upset you but feel free to keep it to yourself.
Gerry Bevers, having an extended period of pretending to be in preschool while actually being enrolled in college is actually due to the fact that South Korean higher ed is mirrored upon Japanese higher education.
this is what some dude in my former lab, who graduated from Wasaeda University said (bio major),
“they were baby sitting us.”
Also, have you forgotten the American college experience?
Admittedly, it’s hard to find someone playing games at the school’s library computer stations.
However, it’s not uncommon to hear a boom here and a zoom zoom there from dorm rooms. Rest assured there is no war going on in the dorms. Someone who has caught himself between not needing to study for another test is pretending to be in the military at the moment–playing video games.
South Koreans of late have been trying to ditch some parts of Japanese influence on higher ed and adopting American ones.
That means I guess we can see a Kevin Kim in South Korea in the future.
Major: East Asian studies (for crying out loud, you are already Korean !)
Masters: Sociology (both in Stanford. However, it is Sociology)
This is where it gets interesting.
JD: Columbia Law School.
So, South Koreans can have people who major in basket weaving in college turn out to be lawyers of some sort by copying the American way to become a lawyer, too. Why do this? I don’t know. The Japanese way seemed to pick the best of the best of the best.
http://www.votekevinkim.com/about-kevin-kim/
Kevin, I’m doing this, because I heard you provide unintelligible, blind lip service to Obama’s Cairo speech on Korean radio. Plus, you don’t have the balls to run as a Republican, despite the fact that you have like a less than 1% chance of actually winning the nomination from Democrats. Hope you and other Korean politicians in the New York tri state area fail, if your only way to get there is Donkeycrat.
WJK,
Playing computer games in your dorm room and playing them on the school’s research computers are two different things. There are many students at our school who are serious and study hard, and they often have to wait for the ones who do not study to finish their computer games before they can get on to do searches or print out homework from USB memory cards.
Our job placement office also has about ten computers for students to use for job search, but everytime I walk into that office to chat with a friend of mine, all ten computers are usually filled with students playing computer games. It looks like an game arcade even though there is a sign on the wall that says, “Computers are for job search only.” I think Korea’s young people have a serious addiction.
By the way, my school also has some great students who are very serious about learning. The problem is that they are mixed in with the bad apples who stink up the place and pollute the learning environment for everyone. That is why I say the bad apples should be thrown out.
“Your first two paragraphs sounds like a typical UK university.”
How exactly I’m not aware attendance making part of the result only coursework and exams, accordingly no need to plead; and as for exams/late coursework you typically have to go through the admin office with an official plea of extenuating circumstances with substantiation to be let off.
As to the rest, I might challenge it if I could ever remember being awake long enough to have noticed
“you obviously don’t go to Oxbridge”
Since when are Oxbridge typical universities (except maybe hundreds of years ago when the were the only ones)?
“all ten computers are usually filled with students playing computer games”
don’t they have student union bars and drinkers degrees in korea?
wjk wrote:
“JK, i think it’s a better school than the one you went to.”
I sincerely doubt that. Really.
“He supposedly taught English to Korean medical school students at a Jibang.”
I doubt that those failing a beginning English course are Korean medical students, wjk.
“In my book, it’s better than PoliSci/History major at SNU.
Well, I think they end up living better.”
Wow, your standards are amazing. To get into an Ivy League in the US, irregardless of major, it is a major accomplishment over going to a 4th rate Law or medical school any day.
“JK, tell us once again about your Christian sexcapade by taking advantage of some dwaenjanggirl who wanted you to take her to the USA, but suddenly you felt THAT was somehow immoral.”
??? What stories are you making up now, wjk? Sexcapade? Yes, I had lots of sex (apparently unlike you, wjk, Mr. Virgin) be she Korean (since you said dwaenganggirl) or otherwise; last night was no exception. But what’s your point?
“Your fellow gyopo Christian doctor, wjk.”
I am NOT a doctor, wjk. And I pray you never are anyone’s.
“Dude, study the East Coast Haninrok about half a decade from now.
You never know who you’re talking to.”
Dude, you make no sense at all.
“Be suspicious of every doctor with my intials.
moo ha ha ha.”
Welcome to Obama country, wjk.
There’s a little thing called “ellipsis,” where you leave out some words because anyone who has been following the conversation will understand what you mean. In the case above, the word “teaching” stands for something like “the experience of teaching.” Now, most people with a good grasp of both English and the conversation will not even blink at that. People might blink at it for one of a few reasons:
1) They don’t have a good grasp of English
2) They haven’t been following the conversation
3) They are ignorant of the subject matter
4) They wish they could be curmudgeonly grammar mavens, but don’t have the chops to do so
5) They are a bunch of damn weenies
You can pick which one, but at least one of these applies to you.
Internet Rule #116
The probability that a poster’s claim of having had sex is true is inversely proportional to the recency with which the sex is claimed to have taken place.
How’s this for ellipsis: you’re a total * wanker.
(In case you are confused, I left out the word “fucking” where the asterisk is.)
Colontos – out of curiosity doesn’t Ellipisis involve using marks to indicate the missing part. Where are your ellipsis marks? (BTW I don’t think adams example qualifies either)
Why the * not?
because there’s no previous context to get the missing word from, could mean almost anything… that’s why the * not.
Colontos wrote:
“Internet Rule #116
The probability that a poster’s claim of having had sex is true is inversely proportional to the recency with which the sex is claimed to have taken place.”
You can quote whatever self-made-up rules you want, Colontos. I was responding to WJK’s provocation about my supposed sexcapade (that had nothing to do with what I originally wrote AT ALL).
BTW, I don’t lie (nor do I believe in one-night stands…at least not anymore like in my younger days in Korea). Being in a happy relationship with a nice girl is a good thing (with good sex being just ONE of the many perks).
john,
I’ll let your assumptions about my character slide. When I say that I care about Korea, and your respond with something to the effect of “no you don’t,” it’s not so much arguing as watching somone draw a mustache on a portrait and giggle about it.
You reference a lot of issues that are a favorite of the Korean media. Considering the topic of this thread, I hope the irony isn’t lost on you. You reference Korean anger over the US military, beef imports, and mixed dating, and yet you fail to see how articles like this one feed into those issues, which astounds me.
More than ever, you have convinced me that Korean yellow journalism truly does have an impact. Not only does it sway the attitudes (and policies) of the government and population at large, but apparently it does a pretty good job of swaying folks like you as well.
JK wrote:
Just thinking…
Maybe I haven’t been paying close enough attention, cuz I can’t really tell john galt and Adams apart yet (I think Adams has a more detailed back-story, IIRC). Regardless, you know how the Mizar5 unit was launched as an “anti-kyopo” combat droid? There are some very Mizar-ish qualities to john and/or Adams. Could they be the 6-point-O we’ve been dreading?
Reluctantly, I’m going to weigh in on the debate over this quote. “Salient” is a great word when it’s used properly. In this sentence, it is not. The sentence, as it reads, means that teachers employ cheating as part of their job (…salient feature of teaching), and that it defines their job (…the salient feature…). Neither is true.
One commenter correctly reworded this sentence to something like “Cheating is a salient feature of student life in Korea.” I would modify it further to delete “in Korea” since cheating is a big problem in the US, too, and probably in most countries where exams and short research papers are a regular part of assessment.
No gbevers, I’d rather read stuff about how you sang “You’ve Lost That Loving Feeling” to your wife before she left you or how you lost this job or that job because Koreans were bad to you, etc…like you did in the “good ole days.”
If you don’t like what I say, what does it matter under which name I comment? In point of fact, this is the only name under which I’ve ever posted on this blog – or any other, for that matter.
As to my “back-story”, what might that be? I haven’t given one! As far as I’m aware, it appears I just turned up here out of the blue about 10 days ago.
Here’s my back-story: I am personally acquainted with a couple of the people who comment here. I’ve also met Robert on a number of occasions. I came across this blog after stumbling on a copy of a book called “Outsiders” in a book store near Itaewon. A story/memoir called The Blogger begins on page 105. It’s all about someone using sock-puppets to stir up trouble. The text has been heavily annotated by someone who seems familiar with the personages involved: Gerry Bevers, Brendan Carr, Robert Neff, Hardyandtiny, Dogbert, Iheartblueballs, Songai, hamel… I thought it would be fun to come along and see if these people still hung about here and whether the margin notes were at all accurate. That’s all.
Looking back at my other posts, you may glean that I was educated in the UK, I’m not a teacher and I’m not so keen on the tossers who come here just to bash Koreans. But really, what other back story do you mean?
I’m not sure what IIRC means? Is it If I Read Correctly? What is 6-point-O? I’m not anti-kyopo. I’m not Mizar5. I’m not john_galt718. I am foul-mouthed. I am having some fun here. I’m Adams-awry.
*My mistake: the book is called Outlanders, not Outsiders.
I don’t think Adams-awry or Mizar5 or I would have each other as an alter ego.
Leeeeeeeeeeeeeet’s see… what would I have said if I were the drunk teacher?
Probably…… You pathetic, lifeless drones..while your parents force you to study like an Hasidic Jew they drink like Irish sailors. While you’re taught ad nauseum about the glories of Korean history, those of you who grow up and go overseas will realize it was all poppycock.
While you’re taught to parrott the song and dance about Korean purity, a passing glance at the results of a DNA test would have the most fervent Korean “Nationalist” (read racist) dancing the fandango backwards.
Kimchi sucks. Live with it.
Finally, Dokdo will be Chinese when it’s all said and done.
There…that’s better.
Ellipsis as a typographical term indeed refers to marks, usually periods or asterisks, inserted to stand for something missing. But ellipsis as a linguistic term refers to commonplace omissions that everyone makes every day.
Example:
Q: Do you like kimchi?
A: Yes, I do (like kimchi).
That’s ellipsis.
Risky of you to weigh in Sonagi. People might start to think I’m your sock-puppet.
IIRC = if i recall correctly.
The meaning of 6.0 should be obvious.
That little tale about the book is sweet. And you’re entitled to have fun, even without dropping the boss’s name. Lord knows, what Mizar5 has laid on the kyopos is no worse than what you and john galt are doing.
JK, long time no see. Hope you haven’t mellowed; Gerry’s been honing his craft.
Has everyone signed on to Roboseyo’s “angry” protest email, btw? If you haven’t, please do – I’m pretty sure this will solve everything.
This is my favorite part:
“The vast majority of native English teachers show up for work every
day ready to teach, and actually enjoy what they are doing. ”
Now if I could go to work drunk, I’d show up every day and enjoy what I was doing as well…
(I added an ellipsis in there for colontos)
Keep grinding the axe, John. It’s still a bit dull.
What am I doing, exactly?
Colontos (#80) wrote, “[E]llipsis as a linguistic term refers to commonplace omissions that everyone makes every day,” then gave the following as example:
Q: Do you like kimchi?
A: Yes, I do (like kimchi).
And explained: “That’s ellipsis.”
Actually . . . isn’t that a parenthetical remark?
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
Oh stop being such a grammar nazi…
When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie…
that’s elipsis!
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine
That’s a bad metaphore.
When the stars make you drool joost-a like pasta fazool
That’s hunger,
When you dance down the street with a cloud at your feet, you’re schiztoid.
When you walk in a dream but you know you’re not dreamin’, signore
‘scusa me, don’t you see, you’re not really insane, you’re Colontos!
Grammar Nazi? Me? Mizar, how could you? I’m merely offering final solutions to grammar problems.
Jeffery Hodges
* * *
When the world seems to shine like you’ve had too much wine
That’s a bad simile, actually.
And for what it’s worth, colontos could do with getting his head out of his colon. He’s defending something he supposedly didn’t write as though… well, as though he [i]did[/i] write it!
I’m a newb, too. So sue me. (Unless your name is Brendan Carr.)
“The meaning of 6.0 should be obvious.”
Nope, what does it mean?
I no that the answer to life the universe and everything is 42, but I have no idea what 6.0 means other than its conventional snese of a number 1 higher than 5.0.
‘point-0′ is a common moniker these days to denote versions, as in ‘Web 2.0′. ‘G’ is used the same way, as in ’3G smartphone’.
The above quote could have used 6G instead of 6.0, which I wrote as “6-point-O” because Mizar’s handle is written to just a single significant digit, and I wanted to make my reference even more obvious. But we can’t always get what we want – maybe Gerry will be inspired to whip up some Stones 2.0 lyrics about this sad breakdown in communication.
I see. Not bad. Not bad at all.
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