Category Archives: Korea

Pronouncing brotherhood (via @hanbae) – dialect problems cause adjustment issues for North Korean defectors

Check out this website I found at joongangdaily.joins.com

Thanks to @10_Magazine @holterbarbour @a_ahmad and @hanbae for this resource and their discussion of it on Twitter.

I’ve heard about this problem for a long time and it’s good to have some examples of the differences.

It’s common to hear Seoulites talk/complain about dialect distinctions that, not just with North Koreans but in those from other Provences as well. I’ve long held that Koreans in general, but Seoulites in particular, have very difficult time with language variance.

There are many reasons why this might exist, if it does. One of my theories is that Koreans have not had to deal with foreigners learning and using their language in the same way that Americans, for example, have. This may be true for Americans in more isolated areas, but in large urban areas you are likely to hear/interact with non-native English speakers every day. This has resulted in better coping mechanisms for language variation.

This is purely anecdotal, but a good deal of experience in both places leads me to believe this might be true. This is not to say that all Americans are better with language variation than Koreans, but I do suggest that this is likely a cognitive skill that is developed more in areas that see more variation.

Everything! about Twitter in Korea

Even if you cannot read Korean, you can still understand most of what is in this presentation. Great detail on Twitter use, particularly in regards to apps and Web usage.

S.Korea schools get [racist] robot English teachers (via @daylemajor )

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via news.yahoo.com

Do I find this implementation racist and insulting to non-Caucasian teachers, hell yes! They are taking a teacher from the Philippines and putting a white women’s face on them. This could have been done a lot more realistically with true videoconferencing without having to add a layer of animation, which will end up deadening much of the facial cues leaving the animation nearly useless in this regard.

One defense of this could be that they want to maintain consistency in the appearance of the teacher even when using a variety of staff on the back-end. However, that still doesn’t explain the white-washing.

With that said, this is the first implementation of robot teachers (robot-assisted language learning–RALL) I’ve heard about that make some sense. This is basically videoconferencing with a mobile monitor (with some ability for arm and leg movements). This is much better than the stuff presented before that is basically a rolling tape player with some ridiculous voice recognition. Having a skilled teacher behind the robot is key and, at least for the foreseeable future, the only way to provide an optimal educational experience.

As I saw in a presentation by KICE a few months ago, the biggest problem with using videoconfernced teachers in classrooms is having a trained (and motivated) teacher/facilitator physically in the classroom with the videoconferenced teacher. Local teachers tend to sit back and watch or, worse yet, just leave the classroom during the videoconferencing time. In addition, there is little planning time afforded local teachers, thus they tend not to plan classes with their videoconferenced co-teachers. This finding is nothing new to native English-speaking co-teachers in Korean public schools. The same complaints have been heard for years. They were hired as co-teachers, but end up planning and conducting classes alone as a result of both teacher apathy and poor oversight and training.

With all this in mind, I’d say where is the time and money for training local staff? Without it, these high-tech innovations make for great publicity, but lousy education.

Corporal Punishment Ban Undermining School Discipline – should read, lack of training undermining…

Around 12:30 p.m. Oct. 15 in a middle school classroom in Suncheon, South Jeolla Province, a teacher approached a female student and asked her what she was writing in her notebook.

When the teacher tried to take the notebook, the student protested. The teacher hit her on the head and the student revolted, saying, “Is it right for a teacher to hit a student? Just teach!”

The student tried to leave the classroom but the teacher grabbed her neck and hair to force her to sit down. The student then grabbed the teacher’s hair.

An official at the education office said, “What teachers want most is alternatives to corporal punishment,” adding, “We will encourage implementing alternatives next week at the earliest.”

via english.donga.com

Aside from the fact that these problems occurred before the ban and stories are plentiful of large students beating their smaller teachers, this is a natural process of adjustment. There is a culture of violence in classrooms that relied on a mixture of affection and abuse to “control” students. New bans on corporal punishment are, thus, causing great consternation for teachers who relied on this method.

Schools need to provide better training and options for handling difficult students. One idea that some schools have implemented are “reflection rooms”. A mix of positive and negative engagement is probably best. The best way to improve student behavior is to engage them as individuals. Give them choice in their studies, projects, and interactions in the classroom. Respect their contributions. Of course, there are always going to be those who will not respond to this treatment (and teachers who are unable to do so for reasons of skill or simply oppressive teaching conditions and requirements). For those, more punitive measures may be more (at least immediately) effective. Detention, suspension, expulsion, labor (cleaning, volunteering), extra homework, seclusion, and removing of freedoms/opportunities discussed above are all possibilities.

Above was my measured response, and this is my emotional response. If you hit your student, you should not be a teacher. In fact, you should be arrested and charged with child abuse. Teachers who cling to these outdated, brutal classroom management techniques would be comfortable as prison camp guards, as their approaches are more akin to this profession than education. Those who cry that they cannot control their classroom without this brutality should ask themselves whether it is worth it? Is it worth torturing your students to help them? I hope that sounds as silly to you as it does to me.

RT @yokkaichi1 Why Are 6 Of Top 7 Fattest Countries English Speaking Ones? AND some interesting info on Korea

Although obesity rates in South Korea are the second lowest in the OECD, after Japan, they have been increasing. Approximately 4% (1 in every 25) of South Korean adults are obese, and about 30% are overweight (including obese). The OECD estimates that overweight rates will go up by 5% during the next ten years. Adult females are five times more likely than more educated women to be overweight, while differences among males hardly vary across socioeconomic or academic groups. Korean researchers found that if at least one parent is obese, boys are about 3 times more likely and girls almost 6 times more likely to be obese too, compared to children with no obese parents in the household.

via medicalnewstoday.com

Of course, the findings that English-speaking countries have high levels of obesity is no shocker. Just looking out the window (or in the mirror) confirms this for me. However, I was interested on the snippet about Korea.

This has also been my observations in Korea. There has been a noticeable increase in obese children and adults over the last 10 years.

Also, the observation about educational attainment and weight (in women) interesting. It’s something I’ve noticed, but I didn’t think it was a larger trend. This makes sense given the increasing price of fruits and vegetables versus availability and dropping prices in processed goods. Not to mention the increase in dual-income families, given women (who traditionally manage the home) less time to prepare traditional (and healthy) Korean food.

Seoul Ascending – NYT – I like the article, overall.

via nytimes.com

Thanks to Adam Turner for pointing me to this.

I like this article overall. It paints a good picture of Seoul, and one that I think is accurate. It’s a picture of a city (and country) that is emerging quickly as a global powerhouse. This come complete with the requisite tensions that come with such a metamorphosis: personal, social, corporate, and so forth.

The article itself is certainly a slanted view of the city and larger culture of Seoul and Korea. The author seemed to be hanging out with the urban bohemians and yuppies that, while representative of one part of the culture, are surely not representative of the greater Korean culture. If one spends their time primarily in the cafes of Gangnam, they will get the culture marketed both at home and abroad. Affluent, trendy, and not so much different than any other urban area.

A friend pointed out that the author should have spoken more to expats. I don’t really agree with that, though many knowledgeable and thoughtful expats could provide excellent insights into Korea and Seoul. However, I do believe that the author should have spoken to some people who don’t live on the 20th floor overlooking the Han.

Starbucks raising prices again – Hey that’s the market, but is there a limit to what you’d pay for mediocre coffee?

Secrets Starbucks Doesn’t Want You to Know


by Michael Koretzky
Thursday, September 23, 2010

Starbucks announced Wednesday that they’d be raising prices soon, apparently due to higher bean costs.

“Over the last six months a highly speculative green coffee market and dramatically increased commodity costs have completely altered the economic and financial picture of many players in the coffee industry,” said Howard Schultz, the chairman, president and CEO of Starbucks (Nasdaq: SBUX – News). “And while many, if not most, coffee roasters and retailers began raising prices months ago, we have thus far chosen to absorb the price increases ourselves and not pass them on to our customers. But the extreme nature of the cost increases has made it untenable for us to continue to do so and we have been forced to take the steps we announced today,” Schultz added.

via finance.yahoo.com

Guess I picked the right time to stop drinking coffee. Are we going to see the 5,000 Won regular coffee soon in Korea? They mention a $1.50 tall in the States, I would have loved that here. I’m pretty sure the tall is 3,300 here in Korea, isn’t it?

Let’s also not forget that Starbucks coffee is not really that good. So, what was I paying those prices for? A second office. Now, I just go to my real office and enjoy better Internet and a comfy chair.

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