The Korean Work Schedule Sucks, or Example Of Me Hating My Girlfriend's Schedule

There are a couple of stories in The Korea Times today concerning Koreans lack of sleep and overworking.

Check out the story about needing sleep here. There's not too much to say on that. I think it's pretty obvious that people in most countries don't get enough sleep, and it can be a danger to others as well as unhealthy to the individual.

It's certainly a well-known facet of Korean culture that workers will go out with their bosses for meat and Soju on a regular basis. The streets are packed at midnight on any given day of the week, and it's commonplace to see children in bars running around, wow mom and dad get plastered.

This is definitely a very social culture among people who have already met. I think that's a good thing. I don't see the going out as the main culprit behind Koreans' lack of sleep. The main culprit is the fact that they work too damn much.

With my only school-given vacation days ending, I think this is an appropriate topic. Now, I have 14 days per year to use. That number is inflated because it includes national holidays as well as any school holidays. But when all is said and done, I still have about 5 days to pick and choose for my own personal vacation.

With those days, I -- and other native speakers in my position -- definitely take full advantage and either plan a trip or simply take the time off to recharge our battery a bit.

But Koreans -- even though they have the option -- don't REALLY have the option. Check out the story here.

It uses a typical salaried worker as an example, but that model could be used with nearly all Koreans. My girlfriend works in the department store. During a regular work week, she will work anywhere from 40-50 hours, not including the extra 6-7 hours she's at work and on a break.

Contrast that with my schedule. I am at the office 40 hours per week, but teach only 24 hours worth of class. I also have to use my other hours as prep time. But in a given week, I don't usually work more than about 32 hours. The rest is time that I'm browsing the Internet, writing in my journal, studying, etc.

That's not because my job is easy, necessarily. But when I finish my work, be it teaching, preparing future lessons or doing administrative work, I simply have nothing else to do for the time being. I can't go home until that clock strikes 4:30 p.m., but I'm not just working for the sake of working, really. And don't forget, I'm only there Monday - Friday.

My girlfriend on the other hand, works at least 6 days a week in her normal week, and that ALMOST ALWAYS includes Saturday AND Sunday. She gets one day off per week, normally, and it's during the week. That sucks big time for hanging with her. Either way, one of us is going in quite tired on our work day, while the other gets to sleep in.

She usually has to be at work by 9:30 a.m. and works until about 8 or 8:30 p.m. Of course, sometimes on Saturday or Sunday, she'll get off by 7 p.m. Wow. Awesome. She also has about 45 minutes of lunch time that she doesn't get paid for, but has to take.

Her schedule can change here and there, but that's a pretty normal look at it, and that's terrible.

To make matters worse, her schedule is typical of most Koreans, and that isn't likely to change.

From the story:

'Lee is Korea’s typical salaried worker of today, working the longest hours and taking the fewest holidays among the members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Koreans worked an average of 2,256 hours in 2008, down from 2,316 hours a year earlier. But it was still the highest among the 30 OECD members and far more than the OECD average of 1,764 hours.'

The story also list a few reasons people don't want to take the time off, including negative views from co-workers and superiors. That sucks. Because it means that even when they do take vacation, they probably feel guilty the whole time.

This is one huge cultural aspect I'd gladly change if I was World Czar. I wish I could get that chance for everyone here.

Vacation Is Over

It's the end of my vacation and I'm pretty much ready to get back to work. Without dance, I have plenty of free time at the end of the day, so going to work isn't as stressful. Of course, going to dance also helped relieve some stress. But it did so at the expense of free time. Balance is tough. Haha.

Anyway, I'm back at work for the next two weeks of summer camp. It'll be pretty much the same stuff as last week, and I'll have to prepare a couple lessons as well for the final week of August.

After these two weeks, it's off to America with Jeong Mi for a whirlwind 7-day tour and my sister's wedding. It's going to be a busy month.

This was actually my first real vacation in Korea. I didn't get one last year because I got sick and spent my vacation days in the hospital. Not so much fun, really.

But this week was great. I got to spend time with my girlfriend and her family. I also spent a lot of time with my friends, even though they didn't have vacation. I don't get to see them until the weekends, usually, because they are on the academy schedule, while I'm on the public school schedule. The different hours make it difficult to hang during the week.

But it was great to just sleep in every day, play some sports, go hiking and hang with my buddies and girlfriend and not have to worry about teaching or talking to kids all day. I did miss my co-teacher and our secretary. They're super-fun, but we'll be back together tomorrow.

So it's back to the school. I'm re-energized and refreshed and I feel good.

Songdo Waterpark

On Monday, I took what will be my only real trip during this vacation. It was a day trip to Songdo Waterpark, which is about a 10 minute bus ride away from my place. Jeong Mi and I went along with Jeong Mi's mother, our friend from dance and our friend's boyfriend, daughter and mother.

We got there at about 9 a.m. with all our food and supplies. I was responsible for chicken and beer, so you'd better believe I delivered.

We rented a tent right by the lake and settled in. There were a ton of people there about an hour later, so it was good we went so early.

I immediately took my shirt off, and we walked our friend's daughter over to the pools and rides to check everything out. The group took advantage of all the pools and slides and had a really fun time. The whole park is basically inflatable and temporary pools and rides. They set it up every summer.

It only costs like 13,000 won to get in. The tent was a bit expensive, at 40,000 won, but we got it for the whole day with a prime spot right on the shore.

I didn't go on any of the rides, because I don't really like water. But I had a wonderful time. I played some hacky sack and spent an entire day without my shirt, and getting quite sunburned.

It was nice to go out with Korean families as well. It's always a bit of a different dynamic from being with just friends.

We left the park around 7 p.m. and Jeong Mi and I came back to Yeonsu-dong and met with Popper and his girl. Later, we had a quick beer with Josh, Alex, Geoff and Bryan.

It was a jam-packed day and our stomachs were just busting at the seems by the end of it. And while that may be the only trip I take during this vacation, it was an absolute blast.

Check out all the pics here and enjoy!!!

Starcraft Is Life

South Korea's love of computer gaming is well-documented. Starcraft matches are contested between pros with big-time corporate sponsors on three different TV channels. Crowds show up cheering for their favorite pro to beat some other guy who also doesn't date ... ever.

The game of choice thus far has been Starcraft. It came out in 1998, but South Koreans have been pounding it out ever since.

So people's worlds will be shifting now that Starcraft II has finally come out. There could be a lot of big changes in the pro circuit, as well. Anyone who ever wanted to be a video game pro might want to bone up on Starcraft II and get over here right away.

'About 90 percent of South Korean households are connected to high-speed broadband and the nation has some 25,000 internet cafes, which took in $600 million last year, according to government figures. The gaming market is expected to be worth $5.5 billion this year with a 17 percent growth rate, according to the Korea Creative Content Agency (KOCCA).

StarCraft II was first released Tuesday in South Korea and other Asian nations. The original game sold about 11 million copies worldwide .

While gamers in South Korea are lining up to get copies of the new title, StarCraft II could be a game changer in the country's professional circuit, Fields said.

"In StarCraft II, the leagues aren't established yet, they're all building up -- it's going to be huge, but we don't know how long it will take, how huge it will be, whether (existing teams) will be good at the game or not," Fields said.'

Check out the article here about the Earth-mover that is Starcraft II. There's even a video!

Fun With Sports!

Some Koreans -- both North and South -- have had a rough go of it recently in the sports world.

The North Korea soccer team didn't arrive to a hero's welcome, as they had hoped. On the contrary, they got a scolding from about 400 people.

The team -- minus the two Japan-based players -- were forced to endure 6 hours of ridicule upon their return.

'Sports Minister Pak Myong Chol was among some 400 government officials, athletes and others at the six-hour-long closed-door session, the report said.

Team members were forced to reprimand their coach at the end of the gathering, the report said.
Japan-based players Jong Tae Se and An Yong Hak were exempted from the meeting, RFA said.

Competing in its second World Cup finals after an absence of 44 years, North Korea exited at the group stage, beaten 2-1 by Brazil, then lost to Portugal 7-0 and to Ivory Coast 3-0.'

I understand they wanted to be represented well by the team, but look at that group. It was ridiculous. I suppose they're just fortunate to still be alive. You know, if they are.

Here's a second story about the public shaming.

Sticking with soccer, South Korea's U-20 women's team added insult to injury in their crushing 5-1 loss to Germany last week.

With the score 4-1, a German player rang a shot off the crossbar. Instead of playing it out of bounds or controlling it, a South Korean player absentmindedly caught the ball and laid it down to her goalie. She clearly was under the impression that the ball went out of bounds. But it's still not a move you'd expect from someone in an international tournament. Make sure to watch that video.

Now, onto the wonderful world of fishing!

A cheating scandal has hit the U.S. Open hard, as a fishing pro was caught weighting his catches in order to win. So how is that bad for Korea. Well, the "Triple-A" fisherman he was sharing his boat with was a South Korean.

The South Korean was cleared of any charges and given a refund on his entry, but still lost out on a percentage of the winnings the two would have taken home. Pretty rough waters, I'd say.

'WON Bass determined that Hart acted alone, even though he had a lower-tier "Triple-A" fishing partner aboard his boat during each of the three days of the U.S. Open.

Naslund explained that the Triple-A partner fishes from the back of the boat while the pro stands at the bow, driving and steering with a foot-powered trolling motor.

On the third day of fishing, Naslund said, Hart was said to have asked his partner -- who had flown in from South Korea -- to change places while he rigged some tackle and checked on the fish in the live-well.

"The same scenario existed on Day 1 and Day 2 of the U.S. Open," Naslund said.

The South Korean angler, who would have shared part of whatever purse Hart had been entitled to after the third and final day, was given a refund for his entry fee.'

And the last story I have for you isn't really bad in any way. It's just funny. Apparently, there's a Korean MMA fighter nicknamed 'The Korean Zombie.' Apparently, he's pretty popular.

That's the sports update for now. Koreans are hoping things turn around for them soon.

Threats Up, Worries Down

A couple weeks ago, amid the schedule of training exercises done by the US and South Korea, the North Koreans said they're prepared to respond with a nuclear attack in order to be "big tough guys."

Now, since those exercises have taken place, there has not been any response. It is possible that the North's telegraph machine is on the fritz, though. So they may have a carrier pigeon on the way.

While it wasn't a response, a South Korean did die due to the Korean War. On Saturday, about 35 miles northeast of Seoul, a floating mine found it's way to the South Korea side of a river and exploded, killing one and injuring another.

Apparently, due to heavy rains, the North is releasing water from dams, and junk is just floating this way.

'South Korean soldiers and police have retrieved 29 boxes of North Korean mines in their joint search which began on Friday along all streams connected to the Imjin River, he said, of which 18 boxes were empty.

Heavy rain has hit the northern part of the peninsula in recent weeks, swelling water levels. The North has discharged water from dams north of the river flowing to South Korea.'

Note to everyone in that area: Stay out of the water.

Don't Call It A Comeback

Alright, my break from blogging is officially over. Starting today, I'll get back to updating on a regular basis. It was nice to have about 6 weeks of down time, but I'm ready to start sharing some more.

I have a bunch of news stories saved up that I found interesting. I'll have a little take on them as always, but I mostly just post those stories so people not in South Korea can get a better understanding of what's happening over here (even though it's impossible to ever REALLY understand, haha).

I also have the story of my trip to Songdo Waterpark with Jeong Mi, her mom and some of our friends. It was a good time, despite my sunburn.

Not much else has been going on, except I've been soaking up all this wonderful rest. So over the next couple days, expect a lot of new posts. I'll get back to averaging about a post per day again before I head to America at the end of the month for my sister's wedding.

Enjoy the upcoming posts!