Korea, Sparkling!

My thoughts on the tourism campaign aimed at boosting interest in Korea as a travel destination...

I think that "Korea Sparkling" is completely inaccurate campaign slogan by Korea Tourism Organisation. Korea doesn't sparkle, and neither it should. The awful websites sparkle with photoshopped clear skies and blue oceans but when people actually arrive here they see that Korea glows, subtly, behind the mist. (Or find out that what they thought was 'Dream Bay' is actually a harbour built in aid of a free-trade zone. They may very well have chosen this particular destination, 'Masan, Dream Bay', due to its visual promise of sun, sea and sushi, and be more than a little irate only to find the sushi in abundance. Nevertheless.) And, sadly, they will miss the pride and beauty that is behind that glow because they will primarily feel annoyed at being hoodwinked on the sites and the KTO will have no-one to blame but themselves for people missing out on what Korea truly has to offer....culture, temples, a lush countryside filled with helpful and welcoming people. Not to mention the cuisine. Perhaps they should offer cuisine tours of various regions. Promote packages focusing on well-being tours. Thats all I bloody hear about here. The tea fields, the springs, the healthy diet, people in the west (if thats what they're aiming for) are interested in that. The campaign is all wrong. Vegas sparkles, Korea lives and enlivens.

Six Months Down, Six to Go

And is the soju bottle half-full or half-empty? I guess that depends on which day of the week the question is asked, its been drunk and re-filled innumerable times since I've been here. There's the anticipation of the first sip, alot of fun to be had half-way through and sense of regret, and a terribly heavy head, once the bottle is polished off. So, yeah, at this half-way mark, I'm having fun, and surely there'll be no regrets once the year comes to a close, though can't be sure about the heavy head, especially considering the amount of freaking walls its been banged against.

Vacation came to an end this last weekend and, to be honest, I am looking forward to getting back to work. The students are what make being here so much fun, they are so adorable and cheering

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I find Mondays particularly amusing....I spend the day at a country school called Gusan, in Sujeong-ri, which is about 25minutes bus ride from Masan. At this school my office is actually the school nurse's office, as she has Mondays off, and all day long I have visits from little cherubs with splinters, headaches, tummy aches, and various other diversion tactics from their regular class. Little do they know that I am completely ignorant about the creams and lotions I am using on their wounds, as its all in Korean (ha!), but with a swab here and a bandage there and a sticker on their hand they are good to go. I dread the day a student's mamma removes the bandage only to find their soft little skin festering away, but, HA, that'll teach the f'ers to preserve their beer with FORMALDEHYDE.

Yes, I believe it is true. A Korean (and some South-East Asian beers, as I've been reading) brewing company seems to believe that formaldehyde is the most efficient and economic preservative to use in the brewing process of their most popular drop, Hite, hence hangovers verging on hallucinatory since drinking the shite here in Korea. A recent move to the peninsula's next finest drop, Cass, has seen my hangovers improve 100%, if that makes sense for a hangover to 'improve', ifyknowatimean. Perhaps its all balderdash, really, I'm only getting this theory from the www and that doesn't mean anything. It kind of wouldn't make sense for a country so obsessed with well-being to choose formic acid as their poison, 'scuse the slang, but then they smoke like trains. I guess its good to combat the bad with good, and those who know me well will agree I can hardly point a finger at hypocrites (; .