Massive Debt
A story in the Korea Times says that Koreans are at a record low when it comes to the ability to repay debt.
I've been telling this to my friends in America since I came here. Knowing that the average salary is not ridiculously high, I always wondered how it was that many of the Koreans I know live what I consider to be a pretty darn good lifestyle.
And possessions aside, Korean parents have to pay not only for a house, but also for their childrens' university tabs. Now add those possessions (like cars, gigantic TVs, etc.) and it it baffling how they afford it.
Well, this article is saying that they can't afford it, and now will have a very difficult time paying back all the debt that has piled onto them.
I'm not really in the know when it comes to prices of things. I've never asked an adult Korean how much a house or car is. I don't want to seem rude. And I certainly have never asked any Korean adults what their salary might be.
So I end up asking the Koreans my age things like that. Yes, I know they're adults, but they live with their parents still, so they have very little concept of prices. Thanks, Korean Dad!
I asked one of my co-teachers how much a small house would be on average, and she told me the equivalent of $1 million. Now, I'm sure there are places that expensive. But I want to know the average place. There's no way the majority of Koreans could afford a $1 million house. I guess that's where the debt comes in.
The article says that other industrialized nations like the US and Great Britain are improving in their debt payment capability. But don't let that get you too optimistic.
This story from Yahoo Finance says that the US will not recover too quickly from "a truly extraordinary slump."
Anti-English Spectrum ... again
I haven't heard anything about these guys in a month or so, but someone wrote a story in the Korea Herald this week. The Anti-English Spectrum is a forum on Naver, Korea's number 1 search engine, that claims to be working to protect Korea from foreign teachers. Naver denied a request to remove the group's site this week, claiming that the group doesn't violate any rules or regulations.
From my point of view, they're basically just an Internet-based hate group.
From the story:
'Since its inception, the group has increasingly pursued the deportation of "illegal and problem teachers." As for who should be deported exactly, it looks for fake degree holders, drug users and HIV/AIDS-infected individuals. If those don't work, their target could be accused of "violating the Korean moral code."'
Members of the group have been known to use racially-charged insults. Some have even gone as far as, admittedly, following and photographing foreigners to try and catch them breaking any laws. These guys are basically douchers.
What does all this mean for your average native-speaking teacher? Not too much, really. While the Anti-English Spectrum members are a tiny thorn in our side, they haven't substantially affected us in anyway.
Movements have been formed to try to combat their Internet-based hate spewing, but I doubt anything will happen. Naver certainly won't remove the group, and the government isn't going to step in on the side of English teachers. That's a guarantee.
I suppose you could file this one in the "annoying jerks" folder.
Now, my take on this is a little light, but check out my k-blogging pals Brian and Chris (also linked on the left side of this page) to get their takes on it. They go more in-depth and have links to some others who are also on top of this.
China Dealing With H1N1
I haven't seen too much in the news in the past week or so on Korea and H1N1. But here's a story from the AP about China's struggle with the illness.
It seems health officials think that China's extreme reactions, including mass quarantines and school closures, won't do a darn thing to control the flu.
It's interesting this story is about China, because in the last couple of months, Korea's been handling things in a similar fashion. Waves of native-speaking teachers have been quarantined after getting off the plane.
While many are just told not to come in for their first week of classes, others were actually put up in motels immediately after arrival.
Chinese health workers doing some exams.
As many of you know, my school was closed down for a week to try to prevent the further spread of the flu, after roughly 25 students were diagnosed with it.
Of course, all the teachers still had to go into work, so it may have slowed the sickness among the students, but if any teacher had it, it certainly would still be hopping around the school.
I was told that we have mandatory H1N1 vaccinations this coming week at Hambak. I don't want one at all, and I will try to avoid it, but I might not have a choice. More on that later.
World Cup Rankings
So all 32 teams have solidified their places in qualifying after this week's games. That includes a dubious handball that led to a goal for France by my favorite player ever, Thierry Henry. I feel bad for Ireland on that one. But I still love Henry. Maybe I'm a horrible person.
Anyway, a Yahoo columnist put out his rankings for the 32-team field.
The US is sitting in 14th on the list. That's probably pretty accurate. If they're at full strength and were a little more consistent, they could beat anyone in the tournament. They proved that at the Confederations Cup earlier this year by beating Egypt, Spain and taking Brazil to the limit before going down. Injuries are a major issue for the team right now and their depth is certainly being tested.
The South Koreans didn't get a very promising ranking. They're all the way down at 28, accompanied by "Not good enough at this level." Yikes.
The North Koreans fared even worse. They are ranked at 32 with "Expect some heavy defeats."
How some racist Koreans view native-speaking teachers.
Members of the group have been known to use racially-charged insults. Some have even gone as far as, admittedly, following and photographing foreigners to try and catch them breaking any laws. These guys are basically douchers.
What does all this mean for your average native-speaking teacher? Not too much, really. While the Anti-English Spectrum members are a tiny thorn in our side, they haven't substantially affected us in anyway.
Movements have been formed to try to combat their Internet-based hate spewing, but I doubt anything will happen. Naver certainly won't remove the group, and the government isn't going to step in on the side of English teachers. That's a guarantee.
I suppose you could file this one in the "annoying jerks" folder.
Now, my take on this is a little light, but check out my k-blogging pals Brian and Chris (also linked on the left side of this page) to get their takes on it. They go more in-depth and have links to some others who are also on top of this.
China Dealing With H1N1
I haven't seen too much in the news in the past week or so on Korea and H1N1. But here's a story from the AP about China's struggle with the illness.
It seems health officials think that China's extreme reactions, including mass quarantines and school closures, won't do a darn thing to control the flu.
It's interesting this story is about China, because in the last couple of months, Korea's been handling things in a similar fashion. Waves of native-speaking teachers have been quarantined after getting off the plane.
While many are just told not to come in for their first week of classes, others were actually put up in motels immediately after arrival.
Chinese health workers doing some exams.As many of you know, my school was closed down for a week to try to prevent the further spread of the flu, after roughly 25 students were diagnosed with it.
Of course, all the teachers still had to go into work, so it may have slowed the sickness among the students, but if any teacher had it, it certainly would still be hopping around the school.
I was told that we have mandatory H1N1 vaccinations this coming week at Hambak. I don't want one at all, and I will try to avoid it, but I might not have a choice. More on that later.
World Cup Rankings
So all 32 teams have solidified their places in qualifying after this week's games. That includes a dubious handball that led to a goal for France by my favorite player ever, Thierry Henry. I feel bad for Ireland on that one. But I still love Henry. Maybe I'm a horrible person.
Anyway, a Yahoo columnist put out his rankings for the 32-team field.
The US is sitting in 14th on the list. That's probably pretty accurate. If they're at full strength and were a little more consistent, they could beat anyone in the tournament. They proved that at the Confederations Cup earlier this year by beating Egypt, Spain and taking Brazil to the limit before going down. Injuries are a major issue for the team right now and their depth is certainly being tested.
The South Koreans didn't get a very promising ranking. They're all the way down at 28, accompanied by "Not good enough at this level." Yikes.
The North Koreans fared even worse. They are ranked at 32 with "Expect some heavy defeats."
