Korea Life Blog
Saturday, December 06, 2003


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Korea Life Blog - Bar Names

I went to Gumjeong tonight to meet my friend. We went to a video room. There wasn't much of a selection. After looking for a while I gave up and let my friend pic the movie for a change. She picked one called 28 Days Later. It was really awful, boring, ridiculous. Perhaps it was decent for the genre, but I just can't take scary movies seriously and found myself laughing at how stupid the plot was. (Almost everybody in England has fled or been infected with the "Rage" virus which came from some monkeys that were being used for laboratory tests. Only a handful of normal people are left, on the run, trying to escape the "Rage" victims from biting them. Can they do it? - this is their story).

Gumjeong is a very small downtownish area 5 stations north of Suwon. At first I looked around for things to take pictures of and saw nothing. Then suddenly it seemed there was something funny everywhere. All in all I got a decent load of shots which I'll post over the next few days. First off, check out these strangely named bars:



Here's the Lotto bar. Maybe if you go here you'll get "lucky" hahah! Damn, I'm good.



It isn't the No. 1 bar. It's the No. 10 bar! It's not the first, it's the last! The ajushi at the health club I used to go to in Ulsan called me "number 10" all the while. I never knew what he was talking about. It turns out he meant number 10 as in the last person to finish the race. Huk!




If you're poor, don't go here. You're simply not welcome.




Now come on. Is this really a good name for your business? Do they mean the bar is ugly? Or is this a place to meet ugly people?




This one was my favorite, I bust out laughing when I saw it. Guus Hiddink, the ever beloved coach of the Korea soccer team during the World Cup in 2002 (if you don't already know that you are very new to Korea), has become a cultural icon. He was given honorary citizenship and for awhile there was talk tht he should run for president. No doubt he would hve won. They still use his name and likeness everywhere. This is the Hiddink No-rae-bang, or the Hiddink Karaoke club. Stop in and relive the magic. "Oh, Pilsung Korea." I never want to hear that cheer again in my life.


written by shawn matthews   -|link

Friday, December 05, 2003


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Korea Life Blog - Lucky Guy

I edited this a bit today, but I didn't want to delete as it kind of cracked me up. (Note to self: Don't post things online after drinking soju with co-workers, post them after you proofread in the morning).


As I sat here thinking about what to update, it occurred to me once again what a lucky person I am to be here in Korea. Unlike when I lived in America and was on my own after graduating from a University, twenty-one years old, shuffling from job to job, searching, always searching, endlessly searching for some non-existent ideal, I have no cares now, no worries, no dread, no paranoia, no disillusion. Not only do I wake up without that sickening feeling of facing another day of work, I wake up full of enthusiasm. I bounce out of bed as if I were a kid on a Saturday morning and the Smurfs were coming on TV. Everyday has the potential of being THE day. I wake up like a light being switched on, like a wild creature awaken by the scent of prey, hungry, yes, but not for food - hungry for life. Hungry to feast on the sun that pours through my little window. I have nothing to hold me back from whatever it is I choose to do. No commitment, no struggles, no endless endlessness.

I say all this because at one time I was so close to becoming part of the societal ball and chain that everybody else was choosing to become attached to that it scares me even in retrospect. Once I was so in love with a girl that the Earth was not the Earth anymore but only a place for my lover's feet to walk upon. What a relief that she broke my heart, left me cold, left me newer, left me stronger. Stronger than I ever was. I can't imagine waking up day in and day out, after the passion had worn out, to only the comfort of knowing that I have somebody that will bail me out of jail or be by my side in the hospital if need be. I don't need it, I don't want it, I will never exchange it for the open ended future I am still blessed to look forward to now.

A few years ago waking up was like starting the engine of a long unused tractor. I had nothing, no longing, no inspiration, no field of corn ready to harvest. What I had was a couple of cats, a divorced neighbor cursing in his apartment, and a mailbox full of bills, always a bill, more bills, every bill one can imagine: rent, cable, car, telephone, heat, hot water, credit card, student loan, you name it. And I had a broken heart, not broken all at once, but slowly, girl by girl, job by job, interview by interview. I felt I was looking at a dead end and I had no prospects. My friends were getting married, having kids, buying houses. Were they happy? At that time maybe yes. Now, I don't know - maybe they are, maybe they aren't. They're too busy to get online. But me, I am glad I have no wife and kids, no ex-wife and a custody dispute, no alimony, no child support, no anything that could keep me from taking off tomorrow for an excursion to the country of my choice, let's say New Zealand, if I were to choose. I wake up knowing that I could go to work or go to China, if that be my wish. I wake up full of life again. The struggles I endured to get to this point were hard, I didn't think I'd ever get here, but in retrospect they were well worth the price of admission.


written by shawn matthews   -|link

Thursday, December 04, 2003


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Korea Life Blog - Help

If you would like to contribute some pictures and funny comments about them, please e-mail me at assakorea10@yahoo.com (I set this up so as not to crowd my regular e-mail). I just checked and realized I have absolutely no new pictures to post and not sure when I'll get out of Nowhere-dong again. In the meantime I guess I will update the Geoje-do story finally. I've rewritten most of what I lost, but in my notebook. I'll try to get online soon the rest of the part where I went to Japan on my first E-2 visa run and met the strange Canadian guy.


written by shawn matthews   -|link

Wednesday, December 03, 2003


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Korea Life Blog - Architectural Wish



I'm not sure what this building is, perhaps one of my readers will know. What strikes me about the design is that it's a perfect rendition of how I imagine apartment buildings should look like in Korea. Picture a landscape filled with architecture of this style rather than the dull, plain highrises that monopolize the scenery. I suppose construction of this style is much more costly, but it certainly would make the cities more pleasant to see. Undoubtedly there are those who would pay more to live in such a stylish place. In fact, why not make every building this style, even small houses and businesses. Yeah!


written by shawn matthews   -|link

Tuesday, December 02, 2003


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Korea Life Blog - Vending Machines and Cider?



I've grown quite accustomed to buying those little cups of coffee from vending machines such as the one here to the right. I enjoy them now, especially in the winter. I dig the picture of the happy foreigners sharing a good time, perhaps after having had a coffee themselves. The machine to the left disperses soda with ice also in little paper cups, cost: 400 won, usually. I've only used those machines a handful of times. I'd rather pay 100 won more for a whole can. Korean "cider" is not made from apples. It's pretty much the same thing as ginger ale. (Click the link to see a rather odd recipe using Canada Dry, a popular brand of ginger ale, that's not looking too appealing.)


written by shawn matthews   -|link

Monday, December 01, 2003


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Korea Life Blog - Final Philippines Update

Well, some of you will be happy to see that I finally updated the Philippines section as promised. Others will be disappointed that it took me so long and now I don't feel like updating the Korea section tonight. Oh well, can't please everyone all the time.



written by shawn matthews   -|link


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Korea Life Blog - Stats Update and More
Stats from main blog:

Page views today: 718
This hour: 20
This week: 4467
This month: 18527 (full stats for Novmeber)

In addition to getting a lot of hits on the main blog, I realized bstats hasn't been recording hits to the other pages such as Philippines, Fukuoka, Geoje-do links, Seoul 1, 2, etc. as part of the whole. I never bothered to think about it; I just figured nobody was reading them anymore. The previous stats, including what I posted now, have been just for the main page and archives. Last week I went in and added bstats to the other pages individually. I was really surprised to find hundred of more hits are coming in daily on those links. Lots of people are searching for "Geoje-do, Philippines Blog, and Fukuoka Blog," all of which show those pages first on Google, I discovered. Thanks everybody and I'll finish the Philippines section tonight or this week, I promise. Also I got a new writing notebook and, while at "work," have rewritten some of what I lost on the Geoje-do section. Stay tuned!


written by shawn matthews   -|link


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Korea Life Blog - Subway Entertainment


One thing I enjoy about taking the subway in Korea is that you come across some unusual things. Whether it's an old woman pushing people of of her way to get an open seat or a subway salesman attempting to sell you shoe shiner, there's something to rouse your attention. The subway stations can also be interesting. You can get a lot of bargains at some of the makeshift shops, see various events for a new product or even watch live music.



I caught this performance briefly in the Sadang subway station in Seoul. The music was a little old, but it was still nice to hear while I was waiting. There was quite a crowd gathered, about 100 people. Not bad. Perhaps I should have my mom send me my electric guitar and jam out some Iron Maiden tunes. I bet people would enjoy that!



written by shawn matthews   -|link

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