My Salsa Video #2

And here's salsa video #2 for me. I'm going to an extra class on Tuesdays and Thursdays to help prepare me faster for performing.

This video was taken this Tuesday.

Check out my salsa moves here.

Lunar New Year Party

Even though the Lunar New Year isn't until Feb. 14, Bamboo Academy celebrated it last weekend with a performance and dance party.

The performance showed off the Gold Team, Ladies Team and Shango Team. They were really incredible. The place was packed with people, there was a ton of food and drinks and there were a lot of talented dancers.

The party was a blast. There was one small problem for a guy like me. It was hard to get out on the floor to dance. There were so many talented dancers who were there, that it made me feel bad about my feeble skills.

Now, I know I shouldn't be comparing my skills to theirs, considering I've only been doing this two months, but it's hard to ask a girl to dance right after another dude showed her awesomeness. That's like dating a girl who just broke up with Peter North.

It was a great time, nonetheless. Here are some videos. This is the Gold Team and Ladies Team and the Shango Team. Thanks, Jay, for taking the time and getting these up for me!

Gold Team

Ladies Team

Shango Team

Kim Jong-il Created New Race of Subhumans???

Here's an article from a very left-leaning Slate on the wackiness of Kim Jong-il's incredibly depressing empire. There's a lot of talk about brain washing and totalitarianism. It also talks about racist nationalism. Hmm ... this is starting to sound familiar. Haha.

The one super-interesting part of the article is the picture of the Korean peninsula at night. It's pretty easy to see where the border is.

Korean Men Getting All Dolled-Up

This is a hilarious story about how many Korean men are starting to wear makeup.

 

I have no problem with a little product in the hair, skin lotion to keep you looking fresh and a little cologne. But I think it's a bit weird for guys to be applying any kind of foundation or blush or eye shadow. Though, I will allow eyeliner, because I am super emo.

Hilarious quote from the story:

'"Men are interested in looking good, too. I thought men also had the right to enjoy their life, looking good with cool makeup on," said Kim Doo-ha, director of Loft:D.'

He talks about men wearing "cool makeup." HAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

There's a reason most men don't wear makeup. It softens your appearance and makes you appear more feminine. I'm not perfect in any way, even though I did go to Handsome Boy Modeling School. (It was the best $60 I've ever spent. If not for Handsome Boy Modeling School, I'd probably be a model in some Balkan country ... still.)

Yet, this is one of Korea's current cultural trend. The celebrities -- especially singers -- all look very feminine. In some cases, it's hard to tell who is a chick and who is a dude.

Oh well. Welcome to Korea. Cue Buffalo Bill dance (the killer, not the football team.)

 

He's wearing makeup. It must be cool!

And P.S. -- The girls still want a masculine guy. That's a fact.

US Trade Losing Out In Korea

This story in The Korea Times is pretty much a tribute to Captain Obvious, but it is interesting in terms of financial issues, especially within the current financial crisis that will continue for awhile.

It is a brief explanation of how the US is losing a lot of ground in trade when it comes to Korea and most other Asian countries. With the emergence of China, the re-emergence of Russia and the always-solid (in recent decades) Japan, Korean officials are shifting their trade focus to those three giants.

From the story:

'South Korea was able to rise from the ashes of the 1950-53 Korean War on the back of international aid, most of which came from the United States.

The world's largest economy imported Korea's agricultural products, garments and other manufactured goods from the 1950s through the '70s on favorable terms to help the Asian nation outpace the Communist North Korea.

The U.S. also provided Korea with flour and other basic necessities at lower costs to help it feed its people. It was the country's largest trading partner over the past five decades.

But its influence in what is now Asia's fourth-largest economy has been diminishing rapidly over the last 10 years, with Korea expanding trade relations with China, Russia and other emerging economies.'

 This is not something that will cause a huge reaction anywhere, really, because it just makes sense. When the US began it's trading with the Koreans, China, Japan and Russia really didn't exist as economic powers go. But as those countries rise in global supremancy, it is just natural for Korea to look to them more, as opposed to the US, which is 7,000 miles away.

This Is Just Painful

National soccer icon Park Ji-sung scored his first goal of the season in the Barclays Premier League on Sunday.

The worst part is that it was against Arsenal, and could damage their title hopes significantly. In my former academy, all the students knew of my love for Arsenal. They would give me a very hard time about this.

Private English Lessons

Here's another story from crack Korea Times "reporter" Kang Shin-who. It's about native speakers giving illegal private English lessons outside of their private or public school job.

From the story:

'Asked whether he knows that such tutoring is against immigration regulations, he said, "I don't understand why it could be a problem. Most of my friends are doing part-time jobs like me."

Many foreigners are unaware that private tutoring is illegal. Under the Immigration Law, E-2 visa holders and foreigners on tourist visas are banned from making money through giving private lessons'

Now, this clearly is an issue here. It is against the law, yet a lot of native speakers do it to make extra cash. Regardless of how the people in this story feel like it's not a big deal, it is illegal under Korea's visa regulations.

This might be a legitimate story, as well. I find it hard to believe that this guy found three people willing to potentially incriminte themselves by agreeing to an interview for this story. Even though they use fake names, how hard would it by for Kang to go ahead and turn them in. He's made his dislike for foreigners fairly clear with his body of work thus far.

Of course, many native speakers who come here to teach are giant idiots. Last year, a poker game got busted in a native speaker's house. Gambling is illegal here. One of the accused poker players said Korean police should respect HER culture of gambling. Yes, that makes sense (sarcasm).

Yes, it sucks that giving private lessons is illegal, especially when people so clearly want them and are willing to pay a premium to get quality extra lessons. If you do it, you run the risk of being deported.

The chances of you being found out are slim, though I've hd two friends already who were reprimanded for their extracurricular lessons. One of those friends was threatened with deportation. He was forced to quit the extra job and pay the money back.

If you decide to give private lessons, good luck to you. I'm in the camp that sees no problem with it, yet I still recognize that we're breaking the law by doing it.