Its V-Time: Vacation Time

Jyea! I'm outta here tomorrow.

I'll be rolling in Japan for a while, so if I happen to find a PC, I'll put some entries about my escapades in the Land of the Rising Sun.

I finished three straight weeks of winter camps, two at my school, and one at the local girls high school. It was like a race to the finish, and the finish line smells real good after all that hard work.

Props to God for giving me patience, to enjoy the experience of 2007, and teaching me new things. Japan is going to rock!

I'm out.

Appreciating Differences

"...and Japan also believed that everyone from the outside looking at Japan thought this way as well (that everyone in Japan is essentially the same). They are teaching them 'everyone is the same.' Everyone is the same, so you don't discriminate. But in fact, indifference, disregard, basically the lack of appreciation for peoples' differences becomes discrimination."

- Dr. Yasunori Fukuoka

Saitama University


I was watching a report on Al-Jazeera English TV (on YouTube) about the plight and struggle of the Zainichi Koreans living in Japan, who face discrimination if they reveal their identities as Koreans. The above statement is very profound because it is so true in our world today, and my thoughts about the professor's insight kept rolling.


We live in a world that is globalizing. With communication and travelling become more accessible and cheaper, more people are on the move. People's curiosity about the outside world have never lived in a prime time of opportunity to pounce on their desire to seek and sightsee places of other cultures. That's why I'm going to Japan again! Jyea!


I think the biggest challenge for societies, especially in East Asian countries like Korea and Japan, is how will they cope with this trend? Living in South Korea for ten months now, one of the biggest fads for future is "we are the future hub of Asia," aka hub for technology, transport, and economic cooperation. Koreans are trying to make their society improve by making it English-friendly (which they've done especially well), implement English instruction in the classrooms, and recruiting all sorts of foreigners for works of all kinds. Trends for success? We'll see.


At first glance, Korea is a wonderful country built on a strong economic uprising (even though it got somewhat rocked in the late 90s due to the major financial fallout). It is home to some of the most powerful companies in the world (Samsung, Hyundai, KIA, GM-Daewoo, POSCO, LG), and a society that is very modernized and well off.


But for some friends and I, becoming comfortable is a difficult task. Being a foreigner, I have alot to offer this country. Globalizing means to share in each other's cultural assets and improving on them, to create inter-cultural understanding.


Yet, one of the interesting things about Koreans, especially in very remote places in South Korea, they have hardly seen or met foreigners. They stare at them (I too am a foreigner, but I attract less attention because I fit in better, until I speak English) and some like to point, which is rude to us. To them its not rude, and they are just being curious.

My quick and major point is that to really become globalized is to change your way of thinking. It does not mean you have to sell out your culture so that you can suck up to the English-speaking world. On the contrary it means to adapt and showcase your culture in a way that people can understand it.

One writer, Maarten Meijer, wrote in a book called What's So Great About Korea, Maarten? that Korea has this "us or them" mentality. Basically its us (Korea) versus the world. "Our culture is unique, only Koreans can understand it, you can't touch it."

Yet slowly and surely, the trends are changing. I'm seeing more mixed couples in the street, usually a male foreigner and a Korean woman, a more diverse foreign community here in Incheon/Seoul, and a more influx of foreign influences. What Korea can start doing is take the English education that they are so desperate for and start using it, share their culture with us! That's one of my purposes of coming here...to share with my students that there is a world out there for the taking, and I want to learn from them.

The older generation, though appreciative of the foreign influences that helped shape Korea for the better, seem not ready for change. They want to keep the culture and way of life intact. They sometimes distrust foreigners because of the stuff they see on TV or from the stereotypes they get from films or the general media. They are not sure these new trends of globalization will benefit them or start to change their people for the worse.

The solution is that you don't have to change your country...just appreciate the differences from your new friends, the foreigners, and add the things that you can use to help improve your society. Appreciation means saying, "wow, that's neat they are from that culture. Tell me more." Indifference means "wow, that's weird. Don't tell me more."

Appreciation or indifference? Take your pick. Look at my country or South Africa to see the reprucussions of the latter. It can be done.

Back to Japan...Return of the Dragon

Classes are out for the winter break...but since Korea is the bastion of educational junkies, classes are not really out for winter break. From 8-12PM everyday, there are "supplemental classes" to make sure the children stay on top of their game. I know, its crazy in this country when it comes to the amount of effort kids put into education and you wonder why these kids just take a "huge nap," but you have to realize what it comes down to: competition. The other kid may get some more "education" (tutoring) elsewhere, so "I must take this extra class to stay ahead of the game." Its a tough life for the young one in this nation, but I know the system will crack sometime...

Another topic. Weather has warmed up recently after a spell of vicious Siberian winds pounding the peninsula lately. Today was a gorgeous day in Seoul, South Korea, as I went to my Korean class and went through the shopping district of Myeong-dong with a friend of mine.

I have to conduct three winter camps this January: two for my 1st and 2nd level students at Yeonsu High School, and recently I volunteered to take on a camp at a local girls' high school in another district in Incheon. I will definitely enjoy this period because I can work with a less amount of kids, be more relaxed with my boys, and just flat out have fun. What will get interesting is how this girls' camp is going to run, because I have never taught English to a bunch of lady students...we'll see the results in a few weeks.

Now, to the title of the post..."Back to Japan." For my winter break, I decided to go back to Japan. I just can't get enough of the Land of the Rising Sun! My teachers were also curious why I wanted to go back a second time.

The reason I'm going back is simple: I just like it. That's it. Its modern enough, and in some ways, more neo-futuristic enough to keep you amazed (in the cities) while maintaining a historical and natural aura to keep your mind engaged. Japan is historical and advanced in many ways, from technology (robotics and electronics) to its olden samurai eras (the many Shogunates that lead the chaotic nation).

Also, in respects to Korea, the two nations are similar enough to have some realistic expectations about their societies: such as top-down social orders, Asian work ethics and laws, and a sense of restraint and discipline to their peoples. So I have some sense of what I'm getting into when I enter a Japanese city.

However, the differences between Japanese and Koreans are different as night and day. I want to go back to do more "social/cultural" comparing between the two nations. I also want to practice and try more Japanese, which is clearly minimal now at the moment, but its a language that I eventually want to learn.

Perhaps this time around I can make more Japanese friends and perhaps a pen pal. That would be kinda cool.

So, towards the end of January, my new travel partner, Dave, and I will step back into the land of the Rising Sun...and see where God takes us as we take another angle on what life is like in East Asia.

Happy New Year

Happy New Year, everybody.

I hope you make new plans, goals, and work hard to achieve them. Stay healthy, enjoy your life because you are created by God, and continue to grow in Him.

2008 is going to be...in the words of Tony the Tiger: "Grrrrrrrrreeeat!"

End of the Year...Have No Fear...Change Is Near!

So the Fall 2007 Semester has officially ended, and my first full teaching year is done...yes. Yes! About diddily time! For serious, it was really a long semester, with some challenges in learning how to be a better teacher while fighting/working with the Korean education system.

Its been an interesting ride of growth, learning to work inter-culturally with my Korean co-workers, while mentally and spiritually challenging myself to be more stronger. This past Fall was also a season of beauty in Korea, and I remember some of the best of moments of my tenure in Korea were my two trips to Busan and a trip to the Yangjae Citizen Forest, which boasted some of the best in Korean natural beauty.

To be more concrete, 2007 has brought some great victories. I am blessed by God to see where I'm at now, and I still marvel at God's Power and how He works.

Some things that I have accomplished that I give credit to the One that is due:

1. My Korean skills have vastly improved - I was so shocked by this one myself to this day. In 10 months, my Korean speaking and listening skills have grown very surprisingly. I credit this to pain. Yes, no one likes pain, but that's how I gained. And I'm talking about how to really learn a language: to mess up, to learn from it, to slow down, and keep practicing. Ironically, I am here to teach kids how to speak the English language, but I have progressed on how to speak Korean in a variety of situations in 10 months than most of my kids have learned how to speak English in 6 years. That's a shame, because my kids know all the grammar and vocabulary, but they never use it. So I would like to take this moment to brag because I stumbled, got frustrated with Korean, but God used it to humble me while I slowly grow in the language sphere. And I got still lots more to learn...more pain anyone?

2. I got to know my relatives better - That was one reason I came...to meet my relatives against and get to know their lives. Its been a real blessing to spend time with my mom's side of the family and gain insight on how their lives have been working out. I hope to continue to grow in Korean language so I can share my life with them, and learn about theirs.

3. I am slowly getting a grip on how to teach - but I am nowhere near good still! I just came to realize a simple formula for teaching ESL - warm-up, game, concept, visual, and cool down. "Keep it simple," Bobby said, "and they should be okay." Bobby was an experienced teacher from Ohio who knows his stuff, and he taught me to simply keep my lessons focused and don't focus on details. Learning a foreign language is tough as it is, but Korean kids, they can only handle so much info. Also, I learned to be creative and find topics that they want to learn about it, and not just conventional book stuff.

4. Travelling Skills - I am proud of the fact that I figured out how to use the subway and bus systems in due time, and more recently, how to use the KTX and other long-distance trains. It will be useful in my upcoming year to travel around my mother's homeland and see more of natural Korea.

5. Fellowship of the King - a play-on words about the famous film, I have to give props to my friends Trey and Becky for giving me a strong Fellowship of the King, or Jesus Christ. There are many Christians who say they are Christians, but they don't really take it seriously and just use it as a crutch. These two missionaries have been helpful in my spiritual walk and keeping me accountable as a growing young man. I hope to keep the Fellowship alive for 2008.

6. Understanding the Korean Soul - I just got back from an End of the Year Teachers' Retreat yesterday, where we went to a ski resort in Pochon, north of Seoul. This whole year has been a learning experience on "who is a Korean." I've gained many insights to Korean character, their dreams, their challenges in Korean society, and ultimately, what motivates them. I'm still not done though. During the trip, I got to see these Koreans at their most vulnerable and more real side to them: caring, fun-loving, passionate, and hearty people.

7. Becoming a Man - means I had to face issues on my own without the help of my parents, brother, or my friends from home. Even though I had the Fellowship of the King, I had to face these problems on my own. It was cool to see how I had face them and become a little more humble in the process.

So what is my goal for 2008? I'll let you know soon.

Life keeps going, despite the crazy issues in the world such as former Pakistan prime minister Benazir Bhutto's assassination, the war in Iraq, the 2008 Election in the US, global warming, breakdown of morals and truth in society, and the list goes on.

2007 closes, a new chapter begins, this time in a foreign land.

We shall see what new adventures Mr. Soni will land in next.

For Foreigners In Korea...Life Takes A New Visa

There's been uproar in the online community here in South Korea...particularly for the expats who teach English in this country.

Not too long ago, a Canadian named Christopher Paul Neil was arrested in Thailand last October on child molestation charges. This guy also taught in Korea for a while too, but this guy would make trips to SE Asia and do some very wicked things to people, and adding insult to injury he would put it on the Net. Soon, cops were his tail like white on rice, and soon enough, they busted his tail and hauled him off. Case closed.

However, slowly and slowly, the news trickled back to Korea that this guy who got arrested revealed that he was a former teacher in Jeollanam-do Province, which is on the southwest edge of this nation. The media fallout that followed this arrest had some really tough reprocussions.

Keep in mind foreigners are not viewed with the best of intentions in this country. Whether they are here to fill dirty jobs that Koreans will not work (many migrant workers from South or Southeast Asia), or to teach the wonderful language of English in the many private academies (hagwons) or public schools, foreigners are welcomed, but are perceived with stereotypes and misunderstandings. Of course, this problems is in every country that receives foreigners, especially my own, where stereotypes remain supreme based on class and race, especially outsiders.

Long story short, the Korean government made some new reforms of how the Korean schools recruit foreigners for English programs. The Visa that most foreigners get today is called an E-2, or language instruction visa. In the past, many programs and schools recruited people from the major six nations that are deemed major English speaking nations: the USA, Canada, the UK, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand. The process depended on each school, but being in the public school program, I had to submit a local criminal check to let them know I'm not a hoodlum out to drop bows on my students. I also did a health checkup to verify that I'm kicking it and not kicking buckets, and I submitted a verified copy of my diploma so they know I'm legit and not forging it.

The Korean government is now trying to track down those who come and go out of this country illegally, and trying to reform a system of just bringing English-speaking goofs who "cause social turmoil" in this nation, which is the charge in the new legislation.

In many ways, I think reform is necessary. There is an adverse selection problem when it comes to recruiting some teachers: some schools, especially the private academies, sometimes recruit socially or culturally insensitive people who are here just to make a buck but have no interest in Korean people and their culture. They just binge drink and keep to themselves without making efforts to make their experience more worth it.

But the way the Korean government wants to reform is just wrong. They are now requiring teachers to get criminal background checks at the central government level, and America simply does not do that, because most checks are done at a state level. If you want an FBI background check, it will require a good 6 months to get down and dirty on a person, but the job seeker and recruiter alike don't have that time to do that, neither does the school. Korea's demand to globalize and learn English cannot simply put up with a new bureacratic nightmare that faces the applicant when he or she has to rock several state criminal checks just to show they are legit.

Many expats in this country call these policies racist, and in many ways, they already dampen the worse reputation foreigners have to put up with in this nation. What reputation? Foreigners are portrayed in the media as money grubbing, womanizing, and ill-qualified teachers. Yet for the reforms, to me the major issue is what is Korea doing now to improve itself to be a major world player, a globalized nation ready to receive more visitors? This is not the way to do it.

Policies like this will make expats here have more to put up with...as Korean people might see from the fallout of the Canadian pedophile's case to stereotype the many who are doing the right thing here in this country and trying to earn a decent living while trying to enjoy life in East Asia.

So, foreigners have to get the same visa to keep teaching, but now in tougher circumstances. Its going to be a difficult pill for many to swallow, but I think the losers on this one is the Korean community. The more they view foreigners as just commodities (for English-speaking skills or cheap labor), and the more the Korean government discourages the labor pool by putting policies that restrict applicants, it could be just another wide turn towards more ignorance.

Its reality though, and I think it will give more foreigners a fresh new challenge to overcome before Korean society realizes how much they need us for a mutual friendship, and not just for each other's benefit.

Movements in Korea

So there was a big election today. Unless some major fiasco hits, the winner will be a conservative candidate by the name of Lee Myeong-bak, a former mayor of Seoul. His whole platform is to transform the South Korean economy to become the 7th biggest in the world. Right.

Thanks to Election Day, it was a day off for the majority of the country, including myself, so I went to COEX Mall in Seoul for some shopping. After a few hours loafing around there (and not buying anything), I found myslf fighting a sea of people. It was a day off, and with Christmas right around the corner, I'm here in an exodus of materialistic eye-shoppers storming the gates. They just kept coming in waves and waves, so I essentially had it with the density and rushed back home. I was like, "I'm out yo!"

Home sweet home. Its kinda funny even though Korea is not my permanent home, my apartment is sort of my refuge. That's what a home is, even though I'm not a family man yet, a home is a place where you are more than welcome and there is peace. You can be yourself and God makes my home. I like that concept of "home." I hope to build a home with God in the center one day me-self.

In other news concerning my contract situation, I've decided to re-sign for one more year in the school program. However, the biggest development in my free agency is that I requested a "trade," or asked for a transfer to go to another school.

I told my VP this past week about my decision, and if things go well, I'll be looking at a new school next year.

It was really a tough decision, something I have been mulling over for months, literally. I almost wanted to opt out and pursue Korean language learning at an accredited university, but with grad school plans in the works, saving cash money and travelling is a better pursuit for now. The Lord might open new doors in the future here in South Korea, but I feel confident in this decision.

In the end it came down to experience. I know my time in East Asia will not be forever, so I had to think about priorities and my effectiveness as a teacher. Staying at this high school has so many advantages: I know the staff, the teachers, and the students, and I know what the program is like. I have my apartment. I know the area.

However, moving to another school means a risk. A risk of going into a less-supported English program, not-so-supportive staff, or a student body that is generally not English-tuned. I have to start over at a whole new place. But risk is always a part of life, and as a born-again Christian, "all things work together for those who love God." (Romans 8:28)

I'm not worried about the future as I'm moving on. I still have 2 months left to finish up at this school, so there is plenty of time to improve my skills as a teacher, to prepare for future plans, and to continue to learn Korean language and culture. Ultimately, two months where God can still use me a vessel of light to the people I encounter at my school.

In other cool news, I won a small second place prize for an essay contest for English teachers. It was a contest about English Education in Korea, so it was nice to see my writing skills pay off.

Have a great week.