Random Musings

- Self-Conscious Koreans -

In my travels around the Korean countryside, whether it be train or bus, I have found many Koreans, especially the younger generations & even more specifically, the girls/women are immensely self-conscious. I was on the train to Pohang one weekend and this group of three college aged girls sat across the aisle from me & for over an hour they took pictures of each other on their smartphones & digital cameras. Sure, there were a few breaks to fix their hair, add some make-up or adjust their garments but it didn't last more than a minute or two & then, without fail they were back at it....giggling & snapping away like they were on the set of some glamorous photo shoot for Vogue.

It's pretty common to see many Koreans wearing glasses as well. And I'm not talking simple glasses, they're usually big, wide, black frames which are thought to make the face appear more narrow & oblong rather than wide & more flat. To me, though, it almost seems to have the opposite effect.

Jumpsuits, bedazzled ties & dress shirts & cargo/fishing vests seem to be necessary attire for the older generation Korean man - either in an effort to show a strong fashion sense or simply get noticed by the ladies. I've also been keeping a very unscientific calculation in my head & I think about 87.4% of all Korean men smoke cigarettes, couple that w/a rough estimate of about 94% crazy, middle aged alcoholic men & you've really got something to hang your hat on....not sure if it's the pressures & stress of life as a male (providing for your family, excelling in school, actually getting a job after so much time & money has been invested in your education since elementary school) in this culture or simply to be fashionable, hip & relevant amongst your peers but regardless, these guys suck 'em down like it's their job!

As for young Korean men, all I can say is extremely metro sexual. 

It seems this is the mindset of Koreans across the board. They want to feel pretty, look good & get noticed by the opposite sex - which I suppose is common the world over - but it just strikes me as something of an overdone obsession amongst Koreans. What the hell do I know, though!

- God The Mother -

There is an entire sect of Christianity which wholeheartedly believes that, although there are only a few vague references to a mother figure in the Bible, that there is an actual God the Mother who just so happens to live & roam freely in Korea. Sure, it's completely plausible that the mother of Jesus Christ is alive & well, living a fully important & prosperous life right here in the midst of modern day Korea.


Even harder to wrap my mind around is that she has hundreds of thousands of followers all around the world who drop plenty of money & sometimes sacrifice their life savings for a pilgrimage to merely be in the presence of 'The Heavenly Mother'....although she has been kind enough, given the tremendous amount of technology we have these days, to personally spread her message to various other parts of the world. The 'church' has over 400 branches in Korea & nearly 2,000 spread across the globe in 150 countries.


In one of my earlier blogs, I talked about a couple of the ladies who did their best to persuade me to join them for a service as they showed me all sorts of 'solid evidence' as to the truth of her existence. They even had a DVD that 'refuted' much of what science, history & common sense have proven over the many years of our existence.

Sure, Catholics seem to revere Mary as the mother of Jesus, she certainly isn't identified as divine in her own right. I mean, seriously, I find myself believing very little in the true value of organized religion but this is almost getting to the point of ridiculous....Scientology, God The Mother, Flying Spaghetti Monster (alright, that one's actually pretty funny in the entire premise of it).  Look around, people hate, kill, stereotype & persecute others based on things like religion. Humans have fought wars for centuries based on 'my god is better than your god.' I get it, people need something to believe in but seriously, how far is it gonna go? 

For some light reading, check this out:


THE God The Mother Homepage


Another God The Mother Homepage


Wiki - God The Mother

- American's embarrassing the country all over the world -

I understand a majority of ESL teachers over here are recent college graduates, many from the states & w/recent grads remains a bit of the rebellious, overzealous & boisterous ambitions of youth. However, either I'm just getting older or this next generation of Americans have been inundated w/far too much reality television, 'extreme' lifestyle thoughts & a simplistic desire to be uniquely different (which ultimately seems to propel them into a subtle majority). 

Either way, I have seen some truly annoying, ridiculous and embarrasing actions out of my fellow Americans....loud, obnoxious, rude & entitled behavior that simply makes our entire country look shallow, pompous & downright silly.  Just because you can be more annoying & childish than some of the low level elementary school children you teach, doesn't mean it's OK. By dressing like a completely colorblind & fashion handicapped moron doesn't allow you strut around town acting as if you are a gift to all those having the unfortunate luck of being in your presence. Due to the fact you are drunk, riding the subway in a big, foreign city during the middle of the day doesn't allow you to disrespect the fine people of the country you're a guest in while cursing like a sailor on shore leave! 

I can understand these actions to a certain level (not condoning, just realizing the reality of the world Americans live in)but something I painfully have trouble accepting (no matter how much I respect the military & what they do to protect our rights & freedoms) is the actions of the US military personnel as they get some free time off base. More often than not, the ones I've seen in public places are generally loud, arrogant, rude & idiotic - running up the wrong side of an escalator, brushing past Koreans as they confusedly make an effort to get out of the way; cutting in front of elderly Koreans as they hurry to board a train or bus; failing to offer those same elderly Koreans a hand as they struggle to load their luggage onto said bus or train; acting loud & entitled while causing a scene on the trains & buses. The worst was a couple of military guys defiantly berating a Korean mother and daughter as they politely attempted to sit in their seats, even though the military guys were raising hell & insisting they didn't have to move, even though they weren't their seats (most of the time passengers w/last minute tickets don't have seats but if they find an empty one, they'll sit until the actual ticket-holder arrives). 

It embarrasses me tremendously & I usually can't even bear to watch as the bystanders look on either mouths wide open, amazed at what happens to be transpiring or simply shake their heads in disgust while turning away. Sadly, I often find myself reacting the same way....who teaching these people how to act? Have they no sense of decency?