North Korean Drones in Gangwondo

Three crashed drones have been found in South Korea suggesting that many more have traveled into and back out of South Korean airspace.  One of these Unmanned Ariel Vehicles crashed near Samcheok, which is quite a bit south of where I worked, already 80 or more kilometres south of the border.

Arirang video - autoplay - on the subject,

Dong-a Ilbo, which called the UAVs suicidal,

and the Marmot's Hole on the subject.

Koreans Carrying on - and other Google Alerts

Although I'm no longer in Korea, much less Gangwondo, I have a Google alert set for Gangwon News (and also for my name.  Man, a whole of people with the same name die every year).  Most of the alerts are about soccer standings, others appear interesting to me but not enough to share.  I am not sure if these three articles are, in fact, interesting enough to write about but the first one I looked at filled me with cynical snark.

Indeed, I felt so bad about being so snarky, let me point out the positives in Strittmatter's opinion article in the Gazette.  Strittmatter is a new teacher and probably a fresh college grad who is in a tiny town near the DMZ.  I first planned to write about her naivete, but really, it is a tough time to be a newby in Korea and having military tanks frequently driving through town.  She does pass on the important message that most 'old Korea hands' share:

Although I awake daily to emails from uneasy family and friends, the South Koreans are unintimidated by the North Korean nuclear threats. Even in this small town, the residents carry on with their daily lives despite the escalation of threats from the North. Korean families have not stockpiled bottled water, rice, or kimchee (a Korean food staple often made by fermenting cabbage underground for several weeks). Farmers continue to tend their crops, shops stay open until dark, and children still practice taekwondo after school.

I guess I feel her naivete most shines through in the way she describes her Korean friends optimism for reunification.  This is a popular line, and relatively easy to explain in a second language, but the less palatable truth is that reunification, even peacefully arranged, will be hugely costly and few South Koreans are eager to consider it.
Now that I have just remarked on how most Koreans are unconcerned about North Korea's bluster, let me offer the contrast of  a Chosun Ilbo account on the lack of emergency shelters in Gangwondo.

South Korea started building evacuation shelters in 1975, but the project was virtually suspended in the late 1990s since rapid urbanization and industrialization meant many buildings had their own underground facilities. 
Instead, the government designated underground car parks, basements of apartment buildings and subway stations as evacuation points.
But critics say even purpose-built shelters cannot guarantee the people's safety since they cannot be perfectly sealed against chemical attacks and lack gas masks.

Indeed, CNN knows about the Parking Garage- Bomb Shelters.


Finally, my son loves the big cats, especially cheetahs.  This story doesn't feature cheetahs but it does feature leopards.  The Hankyoreh reports that there may still be some in Gangwon Province.  The evidence, as supplied by the article, seems pretty weak to me but I can still hope it is true.  To my Minjok Sagwan friends, be careful!

"Makeshifts" at the Pyeongchang Olympics

I have an idea for an Olympics-themed post but this is not it.  While my big idea percolates a little more, let me discuss 'makeshifts' a little.  From the Herald:

The Ice Hockey I arena for the men’s competition will be constructed at the Gangneung Athletic Complex as planned but in the form of movable makeshift so that the facilities will be relocated to Wonju, Gangwon Province, after the Games for use as a gym for ice hockey and other sports....“In a bid to provide the maximum benefit at the minimum cost, we are trying to build makeshifts as much as possible, for example, media centers. By doing so, we will be able to minimize problems in redeveloping Olympic sites after the Games,” Kim said.

In the context, I understand what a 'makeshift' is, but I have never seen the word as a noun before.


Provisionally, I like the idea.  In Canada, we may still be paying for the Olympic stadiums used in the '76 Montreal Olympics.  Olympic stadia are often underused after the games finish, so making the facilities transportable or temporary might be a good idea.  Indeed, if done well, my fading love for the games (and this is the concept for my 'big think' post on the Olympics) may well brighten again.

Government blacklist of Korean universities includes one in Gangneung

The news was apparently on Monday: now the English news is full of it.

I first learned of the blacklist from Asiaone:

The naming and shaming of 43 poorly managed universities by the Education Ministry on Monday has spawned confusion and concern among universities, with some decrying the label or expressing worries about next year's freshmen recruitment.

But a closer look and deliberate search finds the news everywhere.

Yonhap:

 Officials have said that an equal provision of funds to all schools would be a waste of taxpayer money and could end up as a lifeline for uncompetitive colleges. President Lee Myung-bak has also called for college restructuring as a condition for providing government money to universities.
   In South Korea, 80 percent of higher education institutions are operated by private foundations that rely heavily on tuition for revenue.

And also:

The ministry said it has chosen the universities in consultation with advisory bodies based on the results of a university evaluation that used criteria, such as the employment rate of graduates, the yearly enrollment rate and the number of full-time instructors. 

The Herald has copied the same press release as Yonhap.

The news has reached Malaysia, where Bermana reports:

The education ministry has selected 43 private universities that will have their subsidies partly cut or denied next year as part of a government drive to weed out poorly managed schools.

I find this big news especially as I just finished writing a big article saying that blacklists couldn't happen here.  I don't exactly have egg on my face, but perhaps on my freshly washed jacket.

My old university is on the list, which I cannot find in full anywhere - Asiaone names a handful of the schools in question.  I hope that my friends are okay, or will be okay during the next semester.  Time to dust off those resumes!

Obligatory Flood post

It seems too early yet to have a strong opinion, as a layman, on what the flooding and resulting deaths and property damage means.  Newspaper articles try to connect the weather to global warming and the damages to negligence or malfeasance by the Korean Meteorological Administration:  I don't know.  I do know the destruction was terrible but not how it relates to larger issues.

I am currently in Gangwondo and inconvenienced by the incredible rains, but my life and belongings have not at all been threatened.  In this, I am very lucky, compared to the people in Seoul, Chuncheon and elsewhere in Gangwon and Kyeonggi Provinces.

From the Dong-A:

Safety standards for flooding should be urgently raised. Unexpected heavy rain can fall at any time, so drainage ways, underground water storage systems and levees should be built in areas vulnerable to floods. Existing flood prevention facilities are ineffective against torrential rain because they were designed based on standards of the past. Accuracy of weather forecasts and public awareness of the danger of flooding should also be raised. The landslide in Chuncheon is akin to a manmade disaster. The Korea Meteorological Administration’s weather forecast was incorrect and residents in the affected areas were not evacuated though houses were deluged due to blocked drainage ways an hour before the accident. In Seoul, evacuation orders were repeatedly issued for people near Cheonggye Stream Monday night amid the forecast of regional torrential rain, but most of the people along the stream remained.

I remember the typhoon flood in July, 1998, almost exactly 13 years ago, that drowned many people camping on the banks of a mountain-fed river in Chilisan.  They were camping in places where camping was forbidden.  I haven't heard enough yet to say for sure that the Chuncheon deaths were due to any kind of malfeasance.


From The Hanky:

On the morning of July 27, an automatic weather station in Seoul’s Gwanak District measured 110.5mm of rain per hour (4.4 inches per hour), although this was not included in the Korea Meteorological Administration’s (KMA) official statistics.

Such powerful banks of rain clouds normally pass by in a few hours. This time, however, a cold anticyclone near Russia’s Sakhalin blocked their way. As this configuration of air pressure persists, heavy rain continues to fall.

In South Korea, the pattern of a monsoon season followed by a period of sweltering weather is being broken. Even after the monsoon front dies out, heavy and localized downpours, like the current one, resulting from atmospheric instability continue until September. There is no longer a long-term forecast of when the monsoon will begin and end.

The first paragraph of the Hanky's report reinforces the claim of the Dong-A article that some of the damage and deaths could have been prevented.  Why didn't the KMA report the weather correctly?

Surfers from Gangwon - and elsewhere - try to compete in Busan

The original post is here at my new blog.  Note the final few paragraphs where I discuss the typhoon's effect on Gangwondo and nationally.

snowboard competition cancelled in Yongpeong

An international snowboarding competition was canceled after boarders and coaches claimed the course was too dangerous.

Canadian team coach and former snowboard cross champion Drew Neilson said the course at Yongpyong resort was too steep at the top and very fast at the bottom, raising concerns about the athletes’ safety.
“The turns were very tight, on a very steep pitch. With the speed involved, if there was an accident, there would be nowhere for anyone to go,” he said.
“What we do is dangerous. It’s a dangerous sport,” Neilson said, and many athletes were already struggling with injuries following the recent X Games competition.
The snowboard cross, the fourth event in the FIS World Cup season, will be rescheduled at another venue, officials said. Meanwhile, the parallel slalom event will go on as planned Wednesday, Ma said.
Pyeongchang in eastern South Korea is mounting its third bid to host the Winter Olympics, and the cancellation comes just a week before an International Olympic Committee team is due in South Korea to inspect the city’s 2018 bid.
Neilson said snow conditions were fine and praised the local organizing committee in hosting the event, but blamed International Ski Federation officials for picking the wrong slope.

Oh, it wasn't just the Canadians complaining.

Ticks in Gangwondo

Here is a PDF on tick numbers in Gyeonggi and Gangwon provinces.  Mammals were trapped at various locations, including Cheolwon in Gangwon, and their ticks counted and identified.

It's relatively dry, and there are no real standout short quotes.  If you read scientific jargon or spend a lot of time outdoors, it is probably worth the read.

I thought it would change after I left.

Gangwon is apparently full of fatties.

From the Chosun Ilbo:

In the study of data from 9.88 million people who had checkups in 2008, Dong District in Ulsan topped the list with 43 percent of its residents overweight, followed by Yanggu in Gangwon Province with 42 percent.

Four other areas in the Gangwon Province recorded obesity rates of over 40 percent: Inje (3rd place), Yeongwol (5th), Yangyang (7th), and Cheolwon (9th).

Of the 230 administrative areas nationwide, Gangnam and Seocho districts in Seoul ranked the lowest with 28 percent.

I have never noticed any place in Korea having a third of the population obese. I think someone's definition of 'obese' is wrong - it could be mine.

To look for a silver lining, this may mean Gangwon residents are less dependent on pharmaceuticals (wow, I spelled that right on the first try). From the Chosun Ilbo (note the obesity rate and compare it to the above article - consistency, guys!)

Korea's use of slimming pills and appetite suppressants ranks near the top in the world despite an obesity rate of 3.5 percent, only a quarter of the OECD's average 14.6 percent.

Production and import of obesity drug Sibutramine rose 11 times from W4.4 billion in 2003 to W49 billion in 2008 (US$1=W1,140). The market for psychotropic appetite suppressants, which are categorized as narcotics by the International Narcotics Control Board, also grew four-fold.

It is a paradox that one of the skinniest countries in the world consumes the largest amount of diet drugs. In a survey of 1,000 Koreans aged 15 to 59 by Consumers Korea, 86 percent had gone or were on a diet in 2008, while 13 percent said they had resorted to diet pills.

So, are gangwon residents obese? Is the rate 3.5% or 35%?

Download the Gangwon chapter from Lonely Planet

Not much more detail needed here: Lonely Planet is offering their Gangwon Chapter as a preview to the book.

Well, some details are needed. Google Alerts had the title "Download Lonely Planet chapter" and I, for some crazy reason, thought it was a free download of the whole chapter. Anyway, you can download the first two pages of the chapter for free and buy the chapter for $2.10 US, which seems like a good deal.

Korean fighter planes crash near Pyeongchang

From Xinhua, which I guess is a Chinese news source:

The jets seemed to have crashed into a mountain in Pyongchang, Gangwon Province, and the Air Force is searching for the three missing pilots aboard the jets. The drill was a daily routine, according to the Air Force.

Yonhap has the same news, with little more detail.

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I hope this story has an better ending than appears likely, I really do. Still, I can't resist reminding people that this was one thing you didn't have to worry about at Vancouver's Olympics!

Olympics and corruption

First, I must state that I love the Olympic Games.  The Games didn't directly lead to my athletic training; I didn't look that far ahead, but they were always there, in the background, and the Olympians of my childhood were as massive and brilliant and awe-inspiring as the originals, the Greek Gods.

In 1988, I qualified for the Olympic Trials in Canada.  At the Trials, the top one hundred men and one hundred women competed to see who would represent Canada at the Olympics in Seoul.  I was probably ranked 100, or maybe more swimmers attended; maybe there was a 20- or 50- way tie for one hundredth and I was in that group at the end.

I did not attend the Trials but I followed them in the news and cheered for our swimmers and other athletes.  Even Ben Johnson losing his medals for steroid use and the shame we Canadians felt didn't tarnish the Games for me.

I continue to love the Games and the athletes but the organizers, the OIC, have earned my disgust.

It started with a book, The New Lords of the Rings, a somewhat tabloid style expose of the lives and decisions of the members of the IOC.

From Amazon:

The world of modern Olympic sport is a secretive, elite domain where decisions are taken behind closed doors, where money is spent on creating a fabulous life-style for a tiny circle of officials and funds destined for sport are siphoned away to offshore bank accounts. This investigation of the hidden corruption behind the Olympic ideal reveals: how Princess Anne's attempt to unseat the unpopular athletics supremo Primo Nibiolo was sabotaged by secret deals from within, how bribes were paid to win gold medals for Korean boxers in the Seoul Olympics, that Berlin's bid for the 2000 Olympics was so corrupt that the State parliament set up an enquiry, that millions of dollars are spent by bidding cities to woo those who decide where the games will be held, when in fact often the decision has already been made, and that the Olympic number two, Korea's Dr Kim Un Yung, is a trained killer and a former spy.

Notice how Korea is mentioned twice.  I have been following the pressure on the Korean government to pardon convicted former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee.   Now, it has happened.  Pyeonchang may now get the 2018 Olympics, and they might have gotten them without Lee's help, but if they get the Olympics now, those Games will be further tarnished.


From the Herald:

President Lee Myung-bak has decided to pardon convicted former Samsung Group chairman Lee Kun-hee to give him a free hand to work for the nation's bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics.

The Cabinet yesterday approved the Justice Ministry's proposal to restore his civil rights in a special yearend amnesty as of Thursday.

In August, a court sentenced him to a suspended three-year prison term and a fine of 110 billion won ($94 million) for tax evasion and breach of duty, wrapping up years of litigations over company bond issuances in the late-1990s allegedly aimed at transferring management control over the group to his son Lee Jae-yong.

The 67-year-old Lee had led the nation's largest conglomerate before he resigned in April 2008 in the wake of the scandal. At his own request, the International Olympic Committee suspended his membership in that year.

The presidential pardon is aimed to boost Korea's chance to host the Winter Olympics at the northern mountain resort of PyeongChang after two unsuccessful bids.

During the Cabinet meeting, Lee said he made the decision "for the sake of national interest" following repeated requests from sports circles, businesses and Gangwon Province, where the city is located.

"He should make efforts to contribute to the nation in the world of sports and help boost Korea's national competitiveness," the president was quoted as saying by his spokesman Kim Eun-hye.

The Justice Ministry expects the tycoon to be able to restore his IOC membership and participate in an IOC conference scheduled for February, which is crucial for the selection of the venue the 2018 games. Samsung expressed gratitude in an official statement, saying Lee will exert his utmost effort to support PyeongChang's bid.

Business groups welcomed the decision. "We hope Samsung will take this opportunity to redouble efforts to restore public trust through more transparent management and the implementation of increased social responsibility," the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry said.

In the penultimate paragraph, Lee is expect to restore his IOC membership.  Now that Korea has lost some credibility in the rule-of-law department, the OIC could gain some credibility by denying Lee a position.


In the last paragraph, business groups hope Samsung will restore trust by becoming more transparent. Why would Samsung do that?  The pardon shows that there is no downside to unethical behavior.

Help a Gangwon Teacher with a broken back

John Yost, apparently working in Pyeongchang, was paragliding recently and had an accident.

BizarroBrian was the first I noticed reporting the accident and request for donations, but Kimchi Icecream also broke the story.  John Yost has his own website, where you can donate.

I donated ten dollars, I think.   The credit card I used was issued in Canada, but the website only accepted American states so I was unable to enter "Ontario".  It seems to have gone through, but I am not sure.

Odds and sods

The anonymous blogger at The Korean Front is having housing problems but, admirably, admits that this is uncommon in the EPIK program.  I've been working on updating the blogroll but this blogger may be gone, due to housing issues, soon.  I hope things work out for him/her.
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Ex-Gangwon KOTESOL president Chris Grayson is featured in a Times articles about EPIK teachers.

Being from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, he was a former stained glass artist. Seeking a new adventure, he came to Korea and started to teach in a private English institute or "hagwon" for two years before joining EPIK. "I chose Korea because I knew very little about Korea. It was a mystery to me," Grayson said.

Grayson liked the mountains and the sea of the port city and now meets his former students all around the city. "Korean students are bright and innocent. I see my students everywhere since Sokcho is a small town," he said. He also liked being a part of the regular school system and available to teach students of all classes.

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Hoengseong Gun is concerned about over-drinking during Christmas parties and offers a list of eight nuisances.
Number 2 on the list is boilermakers.  Strange seeing as they originated in Gangwon.

obligatory ski post

I enjoy skiing  but have typically kept to nordic skiing because I could start at my doorstep in Canada and could afford to go every day.  Downhill skiing is a little too pricy for my taste but I go out when I can.  Still, in a blog devoted to Gangwon Province, I need to at least mention skiing now and then.

The Joongang has an article about ski hills, mostly in Gangwon, that offers plenty of detail.

Currently, there are 16 ski resorts in South Korea, with the number of fans of skiing and snowboarding rising annually.

Those craving a world-class experience should try Yongpyong Ski Resort in Pyeongchang County, Gangwon Province, which is once again trying to host the Winter Olympic Games. Nearby Phoenix Park ski resort is known for its spectacular scenery. You can reach High1 Resort in Jeongseon County, Gangwon Province by train, and if you want to stay closer to Seoul then Konjiam Resort in Gwangju County, Gyeonggi Province is the way to go.

...

[High1] Staff members dress up and entertain skiers waiting to board the gondolas with magic shows, pop quiz games and raffles.

I have not been to High1, but they do a lot of do a lot of advertising and promotions in Sokcho.

Read the article for more details.

More Mulling! About the DMZ!

I recently wrote about plans to mull wine (and what a weird word 'mull' is after a few repetitions) and about the DMZ.

It's interesting that the Chosun has an article "Gov't Mulls Turning DMZ into Eco-Peace Belt".

The ministry laid out potential plans mainly focused on making the DMZ an eco-peace belt that would include biosphere preservation districts, geoparks and an ecology tour program. 

The ministry also plans to turn the 495-km line that runs between Ganghwa in Incheon and Goseong in Gangwon Province into a bicycle path, possibly holding an international mountain biking competition once it is completed. 

Areas surrounding the truce village of Panmunjom are to be turned into a symbol of world peace. Efforts to establish a United Nations peace conference center and a UN peace university are currently underway. 

I like the bicycle paths and the other plans but hate, HATE the idea of making the DMZ a symbol of peace.  That is as wrong as George Bush II's "Mission Accomplished" banner.  Make it a peace zone after there is peace, don't distract the people away from the horrors on the other side (this is what my previous post on the subject was about).

Migratory Birds in Korea

The Joongang has an article and map describing how and where to see migratory birds.



There are plenty at CheongCho Lake in Sokcho, as well.  The cormorants, standing on provided perches and drying their thin wings are the most interesting here.  For size and grandeur, I can't think of any better than the cranes in Cheolwon, but there aren't many specific details in the brief article.

Elsewhere online, I first found one should look for unplowed fields - the plowed fields will also have cranes, but the unplowed fields will have happier cranes.

The Visit Korea site has more information:

The most spectacular views are generally at sunrise, between noon and 2pm, and at sunset, and for the rest of daylight hours you can choose from a wide variety of attractions located near the demarcation line. North Korean infiltrating the second tunnel, Woljeong Station Observation Deck, the former Labour Party building, Baekmagoji highland (백마고지) and Dopiansa Temple (도피안사) all reside nearby. Since the Cheorwon Plain is located north of the Civilian Control Line and normally not opened to civilian access, the ecosystem is very well preserved.

Tour Course Information

* The Four Best Bird-watching Spots  1) Togyo Reservoir (Yangji-ri): Birds dancing/taking off en masse before sunrise, vultures. 2) Dongsong Reservoir (Gangsan-ri) area: White-naped cranes, hooded cranes, wild geese. 3) Woljeong Station Observation Deck area: Observing DMZ, bird watching.  4) Saemtong area (habitat of migratory birds): Migratory birds including cranes.  * Caution: Illegal hunting is prohibited by any means, whether it is by means of traps, snares, toxic substances, air rifles, or shotguns.

Activity Dates

November ~ February

Private cars cannot cross the CCL (Civilian Control Line) but buses are available and frequent (so the page claims).  The site also has specific directions for travelers from many starting points.

Turumi.go.kr is the local site.

I went to Cheolwon perhaps eight years ago with the Royal Asiatic Society.  I think I need to return soon.  Perhaps next weekend.
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Really off-topic - The Turumi site is good but has interesting English, most notably "Introduce of cranes" and "Introduce of crames" next to one-another.  Bizarro-Brian posted about another site with similar problems and a commenter defended English speaking staff and pointed the blame elsewhere: Mr Foreman said, "...I can say (at least in my experience) that the problem often resides with the company doing the actual coding of the site. Often (and regrettably) text cannot simply be cut and paste into the application that is being used to build the site. So, people who often have no knowledge of English whatsoever are asked to physically type certain portions of the site into various different applications and that is, obviously, never given back the the "conscientious native speaker" to proofread; that is where the problems resides."

The problem then seems to reside with incompatible software.

Mulling Things

Acocrding to the Dong-A, "Lowering of School Entry Age to 5 Mulled".

(Man, using the word, or even thinking the word, 'mull' a few times really destroys it's meaning.  Mull.  Mulled.  Mull. Mulled.  I don't even know if I'm pronouncing it right anymore.)

Anyway, back to the article

The government seeks to lower the age of school entry by a year to encourage people to have more children.

Also under consideration are incentives to households having three or more children, such as giving the third child and beyond extra credit for college entrance and employment and financial support for high school and college.

Encouraging to parents,maybe.  Even more hellish for Korean kids, definitely.
In the future, I promise a serious post about Korea's falling birthrate and methods I think would solve the problem.

For now, while the government is mulling children, I plan to mull wine.

When I was a wee lad, I read the Hobbit and Lord of the Rings, and other fantasy fare of greater or lesser substance.  One thing that stood out was the healing and restorative power of wine and brandy.  Wine was nearly magically in it's own right.

The truth; that while good,it was nothing special, hurt.

I am hoping that mulled wine will be a wonderful evening treat after a cold day outside, warming my insides and my spirits.  I am hoping that one more dream won't be crushed.

Anyway, here is a recipe:

My favorite spices are cinnamon (6 sticks), cloves (12 whole), nutmeg (1/4 tsp), ginger (1/8 tsp), and allspice (1/8 tsp).
Combine the spices and citrus in a dry red wine, such as Burgundy. Add 1/4 cup sugar. Heat this through for at least 15 minutes, but don't boil. A clean, large coffee pot is a great method for heating the wine.
Use an inexpensive wine for this recipe. Don't get something that tastes absolutely horrible, but this is the time to look at the bottom wine shelf at the grocery store.

And here is the wine (from Gangwondo, no less):

Diony Castle Wine of Hoengseong, Gangwon Province announced on Thursday that its 2007 Domaine Han 23B received 80 points in the famous critic's 100-point rating system.

Enjoy winter in Gangwon

The Herald has an article titled, "Climb and carve your way out of the winter blues" The 'blues' they write about seem to be those suffered by people living in tropical areas. I hope the tourism plans are well supported by more than awkward slogans as Gangwon could be well situated for such tourism.

I am disappointed, however, that the 'carve' in the title seems to describe how to ski or snowboard rather than carve wood. I would like to attend a workshop or two in that field.

Anyway, here is an excerpt:

Gangwon Province for one has begun actively promoting its various ski and snowboard resorts to potential tourists especially from all over Southeast Asia.

The province recently invited 120 Thai tourists from Chiang Mai for a tour of Nami Island - where the hit Hallyu television drama "Winter Sonata" was filmed - as well as an idyllic trek through the foliage covered Seorak Mountain.

A group of 16 travel agency executives from Malaysia were also invited on an excursion around the province's key attractions along with an introduction of various winter travel packages they had in store for potential inbound Malay tourists.

Last month, a travel seminar was held in Taiwan - considered the biggest market for Korean winter travel packages - where major travel agencies and brokers congregated for a summit to further enhance inbound winter tourism to Korea.

Of them, one of the new packages developed specifically for tourist from Taiwan was a tour tied to the forthcoming Hwacheon Ice Fishing Festival to be held early January next year.

One bit of snark, already covered by the writer:

A package aimed at potential Russian tourists will commence this winter season called "Rus-Ki," in the province's efforts to reach further out to non-Asian regions.

Although organizers might want to change the name of that package for obvious reasons pertaining to it being an offensive epithet which was used on Russians by American soldiers during the days of the cold war.

The article goes on to describe ice climbing and where you could try it in Gangwon as well as gives contact information for some ski resorts.

With the recent surprise of waking to snow, I think people are currently excited about winter. A state which dries up about mid February - the excitement, I mean.

Names in Foreign languages

Imagine you're a teenage girl in a Confucian country that values neither youth nor females. You try to assert yourself, possibly for the first time, and discuss your opinions about your country to a newspaper columnist you disagree with. What happens next? BizarroBrian shuts you down. Hard.

Alright, there wasn't much controversial or explosive there but I was interested to read his post about the English name for the Sea to the East of Korea and West of Japan, then read an article in the Chosun about the prevalence of English names in Korea*.

"Coffee is imported, so we cannot do anything about the names," says one man in his 60s. "But why are the sizes classified as 'short' or 'tall' in English?"

...

stress levels began rising in the mid-1990s when so-called "family" restaurant chains began to pop up in Korea. T.G.I. Friday's, Bennigans, Outback Steakhouse and other restaurants featured menus in English, or words created by mixing Korean and English.

...

Eight students at Doseong Elementary School in Pyeongchang, Gangwon Province sent a letter in 2007 to the heads of confectioners asking them to use Korean names. The petition drew support from around 1,000 people after it was posted on an Internet portal. At about the same time, a survey of third- and fourth-graders in elementary school showed that 79 percent favored Korean names for snacks, saying they sounded more familiar and made it easier to determine what kind of snack it is.

Korean language experts say we may end up thinking that it is only natural for products to have foreign names. This perception becomes ingrained as we become adults and create stereotypes that favor foreign words and developing disdain for our own words.

First, note that the article is not specifically about English infiltrating Korean**. The sizes of coffee are often not in English. The comment about coffee sizes being in a variety of languages is a staple of English stand-up comedy and the like. I am under the impression that 'Grande' and 'Vente' are words in two different languages for tall but used at Starbucks for different sizes.

The mixing of Korean and foreign words for product names has been a source of amusement for, well, forever. I am particularly amused by 'Coolpis', 'Ricetards' and 'Lezpo' - the latter sounding like slang for lesbians, but here is short for leisure sports.

The final paragraph, the one about favoring foreign words and disdaining native ones, is one I am learning to care about. Being from English-speaking Canada, I was annoyed, when I bothered to think about them at all, by the efforts of French-speaking Canadians to protect their language. And that is an international language, while Korean is very discrete and poorly known.

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* BizarroBrian has also blogged about this article.

**I remember an ex-blogger, possibly the Lost Nomad, discussing the same thing when a Korean wrote to a newspaper complaining about English names like 'Vita', which I believe is Latin and was the name for a make of car.