Kim Dae-jung Leaves Some Cash To His Family

This story about former President Kim Dae-jung, who died last August, says he's leavng the equivalent of $1.09 million to his family.

The fact that he's leaving a fairly large portion of cash to his family isn't too interesting. After all, he was president of South Korea as the country hit it's stride in manufacturing and global trade. It's what his family is using the money for that is pretty neat.

From the story:

'Lee plans to spend the inheritance to support projects that cherish the spirit of her deceased husband, a life-long pro-democracy leader, Choi said.

He served as president from 1998 to 2003 during which he held the first inter-Korean summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-il.

After the summit in June 2000, he won the Nobel Peace Prize later that year in recognition of his lifelong fight for democracy and reconciliation between the two Koreas.'

So with his struggle to reconcile with the North one of his main passions, will his wife do anything with that money to help improve those relations? It's not a ton of cash on the global stage, but she might be able to make an impact in Korea if she is smart about it. We'll see what she does.

All Is Very Well

After my little vent session a week or so ago, things started to turn around and everything is going incredibly well right now. I'm currently on vacation, which is just extraordinary. I was really starting to get stress and this was totally necessary. Not going on a trip does not bother me at all, because I have a bunch of other things to keep me occupied.

The first is, of course, dance. We had a couple days off for the new year, but thanks to vacation, I've been able to focus a bit more on it this week, rather than worrying about getting home so late and not getting enough sleep. That lack of sleep would cause me to have a bad practice every couple of weeks and totally draw blanks on the routine. But as of now, I'm feeling pretty good about the patterns.

 

All the good stuff during my break has involved dance and my dance friends, actually. On Friday, after class, a group of about 10 of us went out for some dinner and drinks. It was really great to hang with them outside of class. I got to practice my Korean a lot, which has improved dramatically over the past couple of weeks, as my comfort level increases.

As the group dwindled Friday, four of us ended up staying together and out even later to continue the fun. I started to really get to know them well, including Jeong Mi Park, who will now have a more steady role in my life.

On Saturday, I got to just hang out and relax. We had no dance because of the new year. I was originally invited to Jeong Mi's house for the celebration, but her family had some things to deal with, and I had to accept a rain check.

On Sunday, I met with Jeong Mi and my dance buddy Eun Sang, who happens to be the only dance student who speaks English well, or really at all. The three of us went to 'The Lightning Thief" and had lunch together. 

Then, we all met up with 6 more training/performance team members and went to a salsa club in Seoul. It was a lot of fun. I danced with all my girls a couple of times, but then they encourages the guys to dance with random chicks, and I pretty much froze. Everyone there was so good, and it's hard to get out there for that. But I got to see a lot of new moves and talented dancers and had a wonderful time.

After that, the group of us went back to Bupyeong and got dinner and drinks. We really had a fun time. And I let everyone know that I really liked Jeong Mi. Apparently, they all had a sense that the two of us were already a couple.

Monday was a total recovery day after getting home at about 6 a.m. in the morning.

But on Tuesday, Jeong Mi came to my house and I made her lunch. It was Kraft Mac 'n Cheese and chicken breast with peppers. Haha. That may not sound fancy to you, but it's been a long time since I enjoyed some Mac 'n Cheese.

That day is important because after that, we talked and decided we really enjoyed each others' company and became a couple, officially.

Now, this is huge for many reasons. The biggest is that she does NOT speak English. When I dated Vicky, I was studying Korean, but we based our communication on English. This is totally opposite. We have to base our communication on Korean because there's no other option. Haha.

What's nice is this girl and I seem to have a really good connection as far as communication goes. My Korean is now good enough that most people get what I'm trying to say, but Jeong Mi truly understands me for whatever reason. And she's able to explain her thoughts to me in a way that I always understand. It's a really nice connection.

It means that my Korean studying is currently proving itself invaluable, while also improving every day. It's a really cool feeling to meet someone you connect with so well, even though I'm speaking my third language with her.

Everyone at dance is really excited for us. We're all a tight-knit group, and it's so much fun to be a part of it.

So that's the big news as of now. I'm taking things day by day, but since that venting post, everything has been coming up roses for Aaron. Happy and healthy. That's a good start to a new year.

So Much Sporting

The Chinese team stuck it to the other Asian nations by taking home the East Asian Championship. Should other countries worry? No. Not even a little bit. But congrats to China.

 

China is also jumping on the Koreans in speedskating, a sport that the Koreans have dominated in recent years. Nothing like getting in the head of your opponent. You know I love that. 

 

Speaking of getting in heads, Koreans HATE Apolo Anton Ohno. Why? There are two reasons. He is a threat to them, and he blames them when he doesn't win. Haha. Wonderful.

 

But I'll throw them a bone here, as Lee Sang-hwa pulled off a huge upset to win a gold medal this week.

 

And they get that previous bone because Shani Davis is America's current Wonder Skater. Davis defended his gold from 4 years ago in the 1,000 meter race. Number two in that race? A South Korean.

Welcome to 4D

It seems that the only place in the world where you can currently find the Fourth Dimension is right here in South Korea.

A theater close to Seoul is showing Avatar in 4D. That means you get the movie, as well as a shaking chair, smells and splashing water.

A group of my friends went to check this out and said whether you like the movie or now, the 4D part of it was really fun and worth the trip.

An Actual Informative Article About Native Speaking Teachers

Kang Shin-who throws us all a curve ball with what appears to be an actual news article regarding native speaking teachers in Korea. This one isn't just busting balls and filled with lies. As far as I can tell, he may have done a little legwork this time.

The story says that instead of trying to punish or deport foreigners who illegally give private tutoring lessons on the side, the government is trying to figure out a way to implement taxes on them.

"Kim Chul-woon, director of the Private Institute Monitoring Team at the ministry, said, "It is hard to control the mushrooming illegal private tutoring, so it would be better for immigration offices to allow foreigners to tutor privately and impose taxes on that income."

The National Tax Service also supports the idea of opening the tutoring market to foreigners and making them pay taxes on the money they make."

Now, I could be mistaken, but that appears to be a logical solution to what is now considered an annoying problem for both the government, teachers who want to make some extra cash and students who are willing to pay for it.

Bravo!

Judges Told To Behave Themselves???

This goes back to a series I've been following with the help of Asadal on a certain level of respect being maintained among Korean culture. After a 69-year-old man was urged to behave himself in court by a judge, some members of the "media" have been discussing weather or not the honorific words and phrases in Korean society are becoming a thing of the past. Check out the other posts here and here.

The Korea Times put out an editorial on the situation and unsurprising sided with the old man.

"A recent complaint by a 69-year-old plaintiff in a civil lawsuit reminded the public of how he was humiliated by a 39-year-old judge at the Seoul Central District Court in southern Seoul last April. According to the National Human Rights Commission that conducted a probe into the case, the judge told the plaintiff, ``You are acting like an undisciplined child. Behave yourself." The judge made the remarks when the plaintiff repeatedly spoke without his permission.

It is generally improper for a young person, no matter who he or she is, to utter such words to the elderly. It runs counter to traditional Confucian values in Korean society, which call for respect for your elders. The plaintiff claimed that his human rights were infringed upon by the judge's harsh words. And the commission accepted his claim and recommended that the court issue a reprimand to the judge for his use of the inappropriate expression. The chief of the court did what he was told by the rights panel."

Dear Korea,
     Hi! I'm the year 2010! Have we met yet? I would love to be your friend, but you've got a few issues you need to sort out first. Please call me when you figure out what you're doing with your life.
Sincerely,
The Present

Weapons at the G20???

An editorial in The Korea Times points out that certain concealed weapons may not be detected at ports of entry and are now being traded freely among bad guys.

The G20, scheduled in November in Seoul, will bring some of the world's most influential leaders out for discussions. Korea is always trying to establish itself among the global elite, and is taking the best precautionary measures it can to make sure things go well.

"They are made from such materials as zytel and grivory, both reinforced plastics. Some of them have blades over 18 centimeters and can inflict fatal injuries.

They are classified as "pseudo-knives" in Korea because they are not made of metal, and so can be possessed without legal permission.

Making them even more problematic is that it is highly likely that terrorists could smuggle them in, considering that current checks are not fool-proof. Only 10 percent of arrivals undergo thorough checks by hand and metal detectors fail to provide 100 percent detection."

While they have some work to do to ensure people's safety, they've got some time to get things together. They're going to be just fine. Although, the protests will be massive. Yikes.