Kang Tae-yong, a 35-year-old South Korea, threatened to blow up the Australian Embassy in Seoul because the judge who disqualified the Korean speed skating team is an Australian. The same judge also disqualified another Korean at a previous Olympics.
Of course, the Koreans will tell you that it was Apolo Anton Ohno's fault.
Dummies.
Thursday, February 25, 2010
Inevitable -- Kim Yu-na Wins Gold
Look up the word "inevitable" in the dictionary. You know what you'll find? No, not a picture of Kim Yu-na. That's just ridiculous. But you will find the definition of the word "inevitable," which is exactly how Kim's chances of winning gold could be described after her short program earlier in the week.
Not only that, but she broke her own world record with a new score of 228.56 points. Yes, that's 18 points higher than her old world record.
Many of the articles about her talk about all the pressure she faced being the favorite. I understand that that pressure can be great. I was the kind of chokers in high school. And Canada's men's ice hockey team hasn't been dealing too well with the pressure thus far. That being said, they are in the semi-finals and look to be a lock to make that gold-medal game.
But the pressure isn't nearly as much as people think, in my opinion. If she were skating in Korea, then I could understand. But not only was she on the other side of the world, but she was on her home training soil. She spends at least 3/4 of the year now living and training in Canada. So she probably had a 3-hour plane ride to get to the games. Other Korean athletes training in Korea faced anyway from 20-30 hours, depending on layovers.
Regardless of my rant about the pressure, she's cleary the greatest skater of this current generation, and warrants discussion already among the best of all time. Congrats to Kim, even though I'll hear about it from every Korean I meet until I stab myself and end my misery.
Not only that, but she broke her own world record with a new score of 228.56 points. Yes, that's 18 points higher than her old world record.
Many of the articles about her talk about all the pressure she faced being the favorite. I understand that that pressure can be great. I was the kind of chokers in high school. And Canada's men's ice hockey team hasn't been dealing too well with the pressure thus far. That being said, they are in the semi-finals and look to be a lock to make that gold-medal game.
But the pressure isn't nearly as much as people think, in my opinion. If she were skating in Korea, then I could understand. But not only was she on the other side of the world, but she was on her home training soil. She spends at least 3/4 of the year now living and training in Canada. So she probably had a 3-hour plane ride to get to the games. Other Korean athletes training in Korea faced anyway from 20-30 hours, depending on layovers.
Regardless of my rant about the pressure, she's cleary the greatest skater of this current generation, and warrants discussion already among the best of all time. Congrats to Kim, even though I'll hear about it from every Korean I meet until I stab myself and end my misery.
South Korea World Cup Profile
Here is the Sports Illustrated team profile for South Korea for the upcoming World Cup. Anyone who follows soccer on a regular basis, will know that South Korea has a tough road to plow, considering their group consists of Argentina, Greece and Nigeria.
Bryan Armen Graham, the profile's author, says the most important game for the Koreans is their first match against Greece. This is true for sure. Greece is the team that South Korea has the best chance of getting three points against. But that doesn't mean it's easy. Though this isn't the same Greek team that won the 2004 European Championship, they're still a tough squad.
South Korea plced first in their qualifying group, but they come from a region that is worse than the USA's region. That's saying something.
Korea had a very memorable run to the semi-finals on their home turf in 2002, which culiminated in a last-place finish. Anything can happen, but South Korea's chances are not looking great in this one. Of course, their group was a monster in 2002 as well, and they fared just fine.
Bryan Armen Graham, the profile's author, says the most important game for the Koreans is their first match against Greece. This is true for sure. Greece is the team that South Korea has the best chance of getting three points against. But that doesn't mean it's easy. Though this isn't the same Greek team that won the 2004 European Championship, they're still a tough squad.
South Korea plced first in their qualifying group, but they come from a region that is worse than the USA's region. That's saying something.
Korea had a very memorable run to the semi-finals on their home turf in 2002, which culiminated in a last-place finish. Anything can happen, but South Korea's chances are not looking great in this one. Of course, their group was a monster in 2002 as well, and they fared just fine.
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
What Goes Around Comes Around
Koreans experienced joy and heartbreak thanks to ridiculous speedskating rules.
Lee Seung-hoon won the men's 10,000 meter gold Tuesday when his opponent, and reigning world record holder, failed to change lanes at the appointed time/location.
Lee Seung-hoon won the men's 10,000 meter gold Tuesday when his opponent, and reigning world record holder, failed to change lanes at the appointed time/location.
But today, in a soul-crushing blow, the FOUR-TIME DEFENDING CHAMPION South Koreans were disqualified in the final of the women's 3,000 meter relay. The Koreans crossed the line first, but were disqualified after a judges review. Making it more painful, is that China was then awarded gold. The US benefited as well, picking up the bronze.
I walked in to talk to Ridia today and found her with tears in her eyes while sitting at her desk. She was watching the race, but she hadn't yet found out they were disqualified. She was crying tears of joy, waiting for the review. When she found out they lost, she immediately stood up and left the room, most likely for a little more crying. Nationalism is a very strange thing in Korea, isn't it?
First Dance Performance Delayed
I wondered if this might happen and I'm not surprised. I found out Tuesday that my dance performance will be delayed for two weeks because the other students aren't prepared yet. I have the routine down solid, but an extra two weeks can only make it better for me. And I want it to be the best.
Winter camp is finally coming to a close after two grueling months, with a couple varied weeks in between. We're finishing up with the fourth graders. They've been a fun group to work with this week.
It's the fewest we've had in a grade level so far. I suspect that has something to do with this being the last week of school vacation. A lot of kids are probably on trips.
We get a three day weekend because Monday is a special national holiday. Known simply as 3-1, the date refers to a movement that took place in 1919 in which Koreans started to stand up to Japanese occupants and push for their independence.
Check out a Wikipedia article about it right here.
As March begins, we get back into our normal routine with some slight changes. We'll now teach 4 morning classes, instead of the usual 3. But that knocks out afternoon classes down to 2, instead of the usual 3. I kind of like it better this way. Ridia came up with the schedule, and as of now, it feels like it will be a more efficient way to use our time.
Other than that change, things will be back to normal.
Ridia said we had more kids sign up for the afternoon classes. Apparently, they really enjoyed our winter camps and wanted to learn with us some more. This is a great sign for us, and makes us look really good to the principal.
The weather is turning to Spring, thankfully. It's rainy today, but the temperature is nice and comfortable. Hopefully my ridiculous utilities bill will come down, and my comfort in my house will go up.
This week after vacation has flown by, and I'm thankful for that. I certainly didn't want to slog through this week after having some rest. Dance has been good all week, and classes have gone well.
I'm pretty happy right now.
Winter camp is finally coming to a close after two grueling months, with a couple varied weeks in between. We're finishing up with the fourth graders. They've been a fun group to work with this week.
It's the fewest we've had in a grade level so far. I suspect that has something to do with this being the last week of school vacation. A lot of kids are probably on trips.
We get a three day weekend because Monday is a special national holiday. Known simply as 3-1, the date refers to a movement that took place in 1919 in which Koreans started to stand up to Japanese occupants and push for their independence.
Check out a Wikipedia article about it right here.
As March begins, we get back into our normal routine with some slight changes. We'll now teach 4 morning classes, instead of the usual 3. But that knocks out afternoon classes down to 2, instead of the usual 3. I kind of like it better this way. Ridia came up with the schedule, and as of now, it feels like it will be a more efficient way to use our time.
Other than that change, things will be back to normal.
Ridia said we had more kids sign up for the afternoon classes. Apparently, they really enjoyed our winter camps and wanted to learn with us some more. This is a great sign for us, and makes us look really good to the principal.
The weather is turning to Spring, thankfully. It's rainy today, but the temperature is nice and comfortable. Hopefully my ridiculous utilities bill will come down, and my comfort in my house will go up.
This week after vacation has flown by, and I'm thankful for that. I certainly didn't want to slog through this week after having some rest. Dance has been good all week, and classes have gone well.
I'm pretty happy right now.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Kim Sets Record ... Takes Early Lead
Yeah, she's that good.
While it's technically not over yet, Kim Yu-na has basically locked up the gold medal for South Korea in women's figure skating by setting a world record with a score of 78.50 (ed.) points in the short program. The long program is still to come, but Kim has a comfy 4.72-point cushion over her biggest rival.
Monday, February 22, 2010
President Obama, Please Stop Talking ... Forever
Obama once again praised the structure of the South Korea academic system, even going as far as to say the US should implement more after-school programs. Obama has a huge boner for South Korean schools, and it's a bit difficult to see why.
From the story:
There's a lot going on there. I will never claim that America's educational system is perfect, but when I was growing up, standardized testing was still minimal. Of course, these days, students face a ton of terrible standardized tests. I don't think most teachers have given into soley teaching to ace the test, but it's moving that way. When I was a reporter, various school boards encouraged teachers to focus only on things that would help the test scores improve. After all, good test scores = more government money.
The problem in Korea right now is that they have already reached the point where students are studying basically just for the test. It's all memorization and no creative thinking.
That problem is addressed in yet another Korea Times article, right here.
From that story:
I think this is a real problem in society. America, while never finishing super-high in rankings, has a lot of creativity under its belt. Look at all the famous inventors and ideas that have come from America, if you need an example.
Like I said, it's unfortunate, but America seems to be going the way of Korea. This is NOT good. Both countries need to find a better system. I have no clear answers for them, or else I'd probably be swimming in my coin-filled vault right now.
But as that blurb states, companies find that their employees are having trouble solving problems. The reason is, of course, that in real life, there's no multiple choice section for which to cram.
Lengthening a school day has no benefits if the students just sit their memorizing. So President Obama, for the sake of the future, please never talk again.
No more talking, please
From the story:
'In March last year, only one month into his assuming president, for example, he called for the United States to look to South Korea in adopting longer school days and after-school programs for American children to help them survive in an era of keen global competition.
Obama's remarks came as a surprise to many South Koreans at that time as the country's education system has been under constant public criticism due to its lack of creativity and heavy dependence on private tutoring.
South Korean bloggers were not necessarily euphoric about Obama's renewed comment. A blogger commented that the South Korean government should give Obama an award for elevating Korea's international image. Another said, "It's good to be complimented. But I fear his frequent compliments on the Korean education might mislead some South Korean politicians to really believe that the Korean educational system is good enough."'
There's a lot going on there. I will never claim that America's educational system is perfect, but when I was growing up, standardized testing was still minimal. Of course, these days, students face a ton of terrible standardized tests. I don't think most teachers have given into soley teaching to ace the test, but it's moving that way. When I was a reporter, various school boards encouraged teachers to focus only on things that would help the test scores improve. After all, good test scores = more government money.
The problem in Korea right now is that they have already reached the point where students are studying basically just for the test. It's all memorization and no creative thinking.
That problem is addressed in yet another Korea Times article, right here.
From that story:
'Korean students still spend most of their study for rote memorization, while companies complain that new recruits lack problem-solving abilities.
The fundamental problem lies in that school tests are still based on multiple-choice questions that prompt students to choose the "right" answer from the preset choices, dampening their creativity to solve unforeseen problems as adults encounter in their real life.'
I think this is a real problem in society. America, while never finishing super-high in rankings, has a lot of creativity under its belt. Look at all the famous inventors and ideas that have come from America, if you need an example.
Like I said, it's unfortunate, but America seems to be going the way of Korea. This is NOT good. Both countries need to find a better system. I have no clear answers for them, or else I'd probably be swimming in my coin-filled vault right now.
But as that blurb states, companies find that their employees are having trouble solving problems. The reason is, of course, that in real life, there's no multiple choice section for which to cram.
Lengthening a school day has no benefits if the students just sit their memorizing. So President Obama, for the sake of the future, please never talk again.
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