Posted on January 19, 2009 by sleepingcow
There’s a homeless guy I pass in the train station every night on my way home from work. He reeks, in a tattered winter coat and pants that end in shreds around his cracked black feet. He stands motionless, bedroll in hand, staring into space as throngs of well-dressed Seoulites hustle about giving him a [...]
Filed under: Asia, Daily life, Korean Society, Opinion, Seoul, buddhism, religion | Tagged: buddhism, confucianism, family, homelessness, Korea, religion, Seoul, soju, spirituality, travel | 1 Comment »
Posted on January 16, 2009 by sleepingcow
As Seoul’s first snow this winter is already turning black, I find myself pondering the quirks of a language I have resolved — again — to learn. I’m essentially at a very rudimentary level of Korean, which allows for basic communication with a lot of umms and ahhs and jerky hand gestures thrown in for [...]
Filed under: Asia, Daily life, Headlines, Korean Society, North Korea, Opinion, Politics, Seoul, media | Tagged: blogs, candle light protests, confucianism, English, internet, Korea, language, media, North Korea, Politics, protests, pyongyang, Seoul, travel | Leave a Comment »
Posted on September 3, 2008 by sleepingcow
A couple of peices in today’s Korea Times point to the growing impact of Internet technology on Korean society. (Even on the remote Dokdo islets, seven hours by boat from the mainland, broadband has been installed.) The first is on the withdrawl of Sony Pictures from Korea, due to slumping sales caused by the nation’s [...]
Filed under: Daily life, Headlines, Identity, Korean Society, media | Tagged: confucianism, internet, Korea, movies, technology | 1 Comment »
Posted on July 12, 2008 by sleepingcow
A close friend (who shall remain anonymous) called recently, needing someone to talk to. I could hear her voice sobbing over the phone as she spoke to my wife, explaining how she’d run up the credit card bills and was now forced into declaring bankruptcy, a move that would spell disaster for her entire family. While [...]
Filed under: Daily life, Korean Society | Tagged: confucianism, divorce, family, Korea | 2 Comments »
