Today the world is as globalized as it could be - - yet we struggle to find meaning in our daily existence.

27 December 2009

dear compassion...

... If you do exist, I hope that the N. Korean regime will recognize this one man's decision to make such a perilous journey into the unknown, and show mercy as they once did with the two female reporters earlier this year. I know that right now, I would not have been able to muster up that type of strength and courage as Mr. Robert Park has shown today.

This was the first thing I saw when I got home today.


Activist: US missionary crosses border into NKorea
Sat Dec 26, 2009 2:19 AM EST
world-news, us, as, north-korea, nkorea, kim-jong-il, missionary
Kwang-Tae Kim, Associated Press Writer

A Christian missionary from the U.S. has entered North Korea carrying a letter to leader Kim Jong Il in order to call attention to the tens of thousands of political prisoners believed held in the communist state, an activist said Saturday.

Robert Park, a 28-year-old Korean-American, crossed the frozen Tumen River into North Korea from China on Christmas Day to urge Kim to release political prisoners and shut down the "concentration camps" where they are held, said the activist, who spoke on condition of anonymity, citing the issue's sensitivity.

It was unclear Saturday if Park was in North Korean custody. Illegal entry into the country is punishable by up to three years in prison. The communist regime held two American journalists for nearly five months earlier this year before freeing them during a visit by former President Bill Clinton.

Park is a missionary from Tucson, Arizona, according to the activist, who works for Pax Koreana, a conservative Seoul-based group that calls for North Korea to improve its human rights record.

"I am an American citizen. I brought God's love. God loves you and God bless you," Park was quoted by two activists as shouting in Korean as he crossed the North Korean border, according to the activist who spoke to The Associated Press.

He said Park was last seen by the two other activists, who saw him enter North Korea near the northeastern city of Hoeryong from the poorly guarded border late Friday afternoon. He added that the crossing was videotaped and the footage would be released Sunday.

North Korea holds some 154,000 political prisoners in six large camps across the country, according to South Korean government estimates. The North has long been regarded as having one of the world's worst human rights records, but it rejects outside criticism and denies the existence of prison camps.

North Korean state media did not mention any illegal crossing. The country's criminal code punishes illegal entry with up to three years in prison.

Park carried a letter to Kim calling for major changes in how the country is operated, according to Pax Koreana.

"Please open your borders so that we may bring food, provisions, medicine, necessities, and assistance to those who are struggling to survive," said the letter, according to a copy posted on Pax Koreana's Web site. "Please close down all concentration camps and release all political prisoners today."

The activist said that Park also carried a separate written appeal calling for Kim to immediately step down, noting alleged starvation, torture and deaths in North Korean political prison camps. The second letter was addressed to the leaders of South Korea, China, the U.S., Japan and the United Nations.

North Korea is expected to react strongly because Park raised the issue of its political system, said Koh Yu-hwan, a professor at Seoul's Dongguk University.

Demanding Kim step down is "a kind of hostile act" and "the North won't likely compromise on such an issue," Koh said, predicting it will take time to resolve.

Kim wields absolute power in the communist state of 24 million people. Any acts seen as hostile to him and his leadership carry harsh punishment, said Choi Eun-suk, a professor on North Korean legal affairs at the Institute for Far Eastern Studies at Kyungnam University in Seoul.

The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said it is looking into Park's case, but it had no details.

"His fate to us is unknown," said embassy spokeswoman Susan Stevenson. She said a charitable organization, which did not identify, had notified the State Department in Washington of Park's actions.

The activist said Park came to South Korea in July and stayed there until leaving for China earlier this week to enter the North.

"I would not go to North Korea to live. Even if I die, world leaders should really repent for keeping silence" on North Korea, Park said in Seoul before leaving for China, the activist said.

The activist said Pax Koreana is affiliated with another organization called Freedom and Life For All North Koreans, which is a coalition of advocacy groups for North Korean human rights. Park is a member of the broader group, he said. The coalition and other activist groups plan to hold rallies in New York, Tokyo, Seoul and other cities from Sunday to Thursday.

In August, North Korea released two U.S. journalists it had sentenced to 12 years of hard labor for trespassing and "hostile acts." Their release came amid a trip to Pyongyang by former President Clinton aimed at winning their freedom.

American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee were captured by North Korean guards near the Tumen River in March while reporting a story on North Korean defectors.

Park's reported entry comes weeks after North Korea held one-on-one talks with the United States and signaled its willingness to return to international negotiations on ending its nuclear weapons programs. Pyongyang said earlier this month it would try to resolve remaining differences with Washington.

___

Associated Press writer Cara Anna in Beijing contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS that Park entered near city of Hoeryong, sted entered Hoeryong)

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

17 December 2009

Fishtanks, and the Silver Fox.

In the span of a week and a half, I... stuck my tongue out to gobble up the first few flakes of snow that fell, went to the wrong Immigration office, went to the right Immigration Office, applied for/and received my Alien Registration Card (equivalent to U.S. "Green Card"), took part in a 10-year anniversary celebration, visited my Grandfather's final resting place (for the first time since his passing over 10 years ago), ate some delicious seafood + spicy seafood soup (Maeun-tang?), and of course, taught some English. It was a busy week indeed. When I get up in a few hours, it will be Friday. Meaning this: after work, it will be the well sought after weekend.

I want to say that time has despicably flown by, but it doesn't make sense for me to piss on it either. Sure, it's definitely accelerated ten-fold since those middle school days, where we waited impatiently for our menial lives to turn eighteen. Remember that one? In three days, I will have been in Korea for a month. Yet, it seems like I have been here for months already. Each day rises, whether you're ready for it or not, and each day sets, whether you're ready for it or not. That is the obvious cycle, however the obscurity of each day makes it impossible to predict and gauge it's speed.

Here I am, in the Motherland, hanging out with myself, content inside this warm apartment, while the Siberian winds outside are doing pirouettes firing salvos against an indiscriminate face. This week on the Korean forecast - - minus Celcius degrees, and dropping! Really though, sometimes it feels like a thousand needles are piercing your face, & it's only the beginning they say...

Oh December, you are merely a zephyr, in this cold-blooded Korean Winter.

On a brighter note, a Radomski did grace us with his presence last night, and it was great to see a familiar face. Seeing a great friend in another country is an incredible thing.* It's as if we had never left the States. Scare tactics, including a bus transfer, and an adventure in the hood, with Korean BBQ, a few drinks, and finally a hooka to end the night equals an effin excellent time.

and some pictures,
enjoy!

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Happy 10 years!

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supposedly, I use each half of my brain equally.

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my cousin rockin them bootleg FILAs that the restaurants let you wear (*Korean sportswear since 1911).

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do you see the spaceship?

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340 degrees of separation.

*[With the whole "seeing another friend in another country thing," maybe we (meaning "you", yes "you." I mean the "you" who is reading this, right?) can rendezvous in Sao Paolo sometime in the next decade, or possibly London! (the Olympics [XXX] 2012 - England, World Cup [20] 2014 - Brazil, Olympics [XXXI] 2018 - Brazil [again!]) Okay Rosetta, please be kind and teach me correct Portuguese, I do not want to end up face down on the wrong side of the favela!]

Muito obrigado por visitar!!!

Tchau,
plp

06 December 2009

Walking, a forgotten human stimulation.

I like it that I walk a lot here in Korea. Once I hit the 1st floor of my uncle's apartment, I walk to the nearest subway station entrance, which is located out by the major intersection (about a hundred feet, or so). There I hop on the subway that takes me across the Han river to a district called Chung-Dahm (like my hagwon's name). Luckily, as I exit this particular subway to the apartment complex where I privately tutor "Kelvin," the walk is only another meager hundred feet. After an hour and a half of going through grammar books, I begin my twenty to thirty minute trek to another district called Sam-Sung to hop on a different subway towards my hagwon. It's difficult to find a seat, therefore I stand firm amongst the swaying hordes of underground commuters gallivanting to their next destination. I take that subway down a few stops before getting off and transferring to another line. As I walk with a hundred people on the right side of the transfer tunnel (for another two hundred feet) another hundred approaches us from the other side. It's like the classic scene from West Side Story, where the Jets and Sharks are about to musically throw down. From there, I hop on the final subway taking it down three stops before finally exiting these underground labyrinths.

After that, I walk about a mile or so to my "hagwon," a.k.a. "private after-school", a.k.a. "more schooling for kids who have already gone to school all day." If I have lunch that particular day, then I'm walking around the area looking for a place to eat. Finally, with my stomach satisfied, I lug my backpack filled with books to my hagwon. I prep for about an hour, make some photocopies, and then teach from 4 to 10. I get a five minute break at the end of each hour, including the break between my two classes. That break between classes is... you guessed it.... 5 minutes. Each one of my classes run for three hours... well two hours and forty-five minutes to be exact.

It's not as glamorous as it seems, but I am taking everything in stride, and if anything, I am re-learning basic grammar skills, and acquiring a new passion towards teaching. For that I am thankful, and I am looking forward to teaching my students not only English, but seeing them develop intellectually as children. I'm glad I've made it through the first week!

On a different note, if you mix soju + vodka cocktails + gnt's + jager shots in one night, you are guaranteed to have one ridiculous night. Notwithstanding these minor details, you might get into a fight, get denied into a night club, perhaps lose a jacket, maybe pass out next to a car outside the club, then fight the urge to regurgitate your stomach fluids, and somehow, just maybe get back to your place after waiting for a cab in the heavy rain for thirty minutes. On a different night, you might not remember what happened after coat-check, and therefore have to be reminded by a fellow ex-pat on your previous night's endeavors later in the week. Oh the joys (& sorrows) of alcohol.

All in all, I am extremely enjoying my first few weeks here in Seoul, and I hope everyone back home is doing well!

And WOW, did you see Kobe Bryant's last shot *three pointer with 3.2 seconds left in the game to beat the Heat?!?! Take that haters!

Enjoy!

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bloodstained leaves of yesterday

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the transformers, slinking in the dark.
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excuse me ma'am, which way is the wash-room?

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it's lonely here.

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got kiss?

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soju cocktail bar theme.

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a forgotten history.

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thou shalt not pass.

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President Lee Myung Bak's legacy.

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I hear that's a spacecraft launch site.
*edited: actually, according to my uncle, it's the I.R.S. GG

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my arsenal.

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RIP grandfathers. May you watch over us mortal humans with diligence, and remind us how to live like good beings.



See you later, alligator.
plp

25 November 2009

I dream of one Korea

Even though I've been in Korea for only 6 days, it seems like I haven't even left the States. English is as prevalent as it is in K-town, Los Angeles. Well, at least in certain areas of Seoul. I haven't heard many people speaking English (aside from the other trainees), but it's written on signs all over the city. You have to remember that Seoul is a big gigantic metropolis, filled with many "dong" (), or districts (with another definition being "east"). One can feel engulfed in a city obsessed with high-rises office towers and apartments. This methodology is the most economic, because space here is a luxury to have. Aside from the menacing buildings around Gangnam (financial sector in Seoul), the food here is excellent! I did feel like I had I.B.S. after the first few meals, but an ex-pat assured me that this happens only during the first week. My stomach seems to be adjusting well to the new diet now. Phew~!

I wish I had more free time, but training is as intense as things go in Korea, and my Hagwon *Chung Dahm Learning* is no joke. If you don't pass your tests, nor do well throughout the duration of training, they will not hire you. Which means that you must pay for your stay in the hotel during the week, your plane ticket to Korea is not reimbursed, and on top of that - you must pay for your own flight back home! With that being said I am making sure that I soak in every bit of information like a sponge.

I'm blessed I have relatives here in Korea. They have been making the adjustment a lot easier for me, and it definitely wouldn't be the same without them. I had dinner the other night with my grandma, uncle, and two aunts (all from my mom's side). My uncle and aunts are married with two children each, and those kids (age 6-12) make me appreciate them even more. It's their zeal for life, and their curiosity that reminded me of my childhood. Damn. We do grow up too fast. Yet, you don't realize how good you had it until you graduate from school. Hah. Right when I entered my uncle's apartment these kids were jumping and screaming - seriously they were going hysterical! I felt like a pop-star or something. A child's laughter will instantly take you back to your youth; temporarily erasing all the stresses in your life.

Oh, and while pedestrians have the right of way back in the States, that is not the case here. As they say, when in Rome...


farewell
couldn't have asked for a better send-off! much love!

peace out cali
adios cali-forn-i-aye!

blue skies
beautiful

yuki-flakes

wow
as the elements collide

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hotel provista

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star city building 2

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gangnam

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again

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peace n love please

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a sitar, percussion, cello ensemble for the psychedelic mind.

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a contract between two districts


until next time!
plp
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