The Business of Education is Business

It’s often observed that education is big business in today’s South Korea — among the OECD nations the ROK is tops in public and private spending education spending (as a percentage of GDP), though it’s not always clear just what that money is buying as, like any easy to enter industry, education in Korea has a more than its share of hustlers and hucksters. Most hagwon teachers can tell you plenty of laugh-till-you-cry stories of directors cutting corners on kids’ educations in pursuit of a few more won.

Even institutes of higher learning have gotten in on the game, with a growing number in recent years opening up their own hagwons. Now, the Chosun Ilbo reports the government is allowing them to expand into plenty of other businesses as well. I wonder how they’ll do.

From now on colleges and universities can operate department stores, supermarkets, and movie theatres. They can also lend unused land for developers to create cultural, printing and physical education facilities.

On the 31st at a meeting of college presidents in Seoul, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources announced the “Plan for the Elevation of University Educational Power”. The ministry’s plan safeguards the existing system while support for universities will be strengthened and regulations loosened.

According to this plan there will be an increase in schools and educational institutes that will be reclassified as ‘educational businesses’, which will reap profits from their curriculum development. Right now there are 102 prohibited categories of business but in the future 81 of these categories will be permitted with 21 remaining excluded, categories such as lodging, real estate, cigarette vending, games, and drinking establishments. Private universities are required to report beforehand to the government before making any expenditure over three hundred million won, but in the future that will change to one trillion won.

The Department of Education also announced that the 330 private universities (including specialized institutions) will be able to invest up to 5.7 trillion won in stocks and bonds for construction costs. Until now they could only invest at banks. Vice-minister Lee Jong-seo said “We are also preparing a plan to fix the percentage ratio of investments that considers the risks of investing in stocks.”

In order to appraise the content used in education at universities, the Department of Education has decided to investigate into the satisfaction university graduates feel towards their university, and the satisfaction companies feel towards freshman graduates. A system that awards outstanding classes is also being set up. The Department of Education will also recommend that each university make Ph.D theses public to the Korean Education and Research Information Service (KERIS) in order to raise their quality.

How North Korea learns English

This article starts out with the program this school uses for learning to read ‘books in other languages’ but then when going into detail it all seems to be about English. Perhaps North Korea has the same situation happening where the word 외국어 (foreign language) is a near synonym for 영어(English). Either that or the article only focuses on the English program in the school. Given the number of North Koreans in neighboring China, I suspect they’re more likely to just send people out of the country for a few years instead of working on complex programs like these, though that’s only a guess.

Original article

North Korean gifted schools - let’s learn to read English like it’s our native language

In North Korea the movement for English reading centered on gifted schools is in full bloom.

In the latest edition of the North Korea educational newspaper, published May 31st and obtained on June the 12th, the example of Pyeongyang’s successful Jeil Middle School is given, saying that “Let’s raise the level of education at Jeil Middle School (both middle and high school curriculum) and raise larger numbers of brilliant students,” and that “Morale for reading texts in foreign languages has been put on firm footing.”

Jeil Middle School is a school where gifted students from each province, city and county gather, and out of those the most gifted gather at Pyeongyang Jeil Middle School.

Quoting Kim Jong-il in the educational newspaper, “Once a student graduates from Pyeongyang Jeil Middle School he or she must be able to read books from other countries,” and “What the phrase “being able to read books from other countries at will” implies is a level where the student is able to understand the text at the same time as it is being read.”

The newspaper stressed that “In order to create the ability to read English books just like you read your native language, in class not only must there be intensive reading of content to be learned from textbooks, but also an aggressive promotion of reading many books during extracurricular time as well.”

Following this, Pyeongyang Jeil Middle School has chosen books presented for reading class in accordance with such items as the students’ age, psychological character and vocabulary.

‘English extracurricular reading’ generally starts from grade 3, and the reading list changes by grade.

Books for grade three are selected from those made up of the daily vocabulary and relatively easy sentences learned during grades 1 and 2, such as ‘Little Tom’, ‘The Ant and the Grasshopper’, ‘The Cat and the Dog’, and ‘Pele’.

In fourth grade the students read books with longer sentences such as ‘Sherlock Holmes’, ‘David Copperfield’, and ‘Gulliver’s Travels’, and during the highest grades, fifth and sixth, the students are recommended to read original works on natural science.

With original works on natural sciences, Pyeongyang Jeil Middle School first increases the students’ ability through introductory works with vocabulary explanations and translation on the side such as ‘Conventional Scientific English’, ‘Scientific English Self-study Reader’ and ‘Scientific Technical English Q&A 100′, after which they are to read science textbooks from foreign middle and high schools.

In addition to this, the school gives questions both before and after reading in order to increase comprehension, guides the students in looking up important vocabulary, and takes careful care to keep a record of all books read by the students in the ‘read books’ record.

 The newspaper reported that “as a result of promoting the reading as an extracurricular activity, the reading ability of the students has reached a considerable level.”

Foreign Ballplayers in Korea

In my travels I’ve found that two of the most fun places to spot differences among cultures are movie theatres and sports events. Spending a few hours at the ballpark in Korea is very different from anywhere else — cheerleaders (male and female), boisterous fans banging drums, squid instead of hot dogs, and the whole stadium divided lengthwise into fans of the home and road teams. I’m not big on the cheerleaders, drums, or squid, but that last one could avoid some incidents like the one at Yankee Stadium a few years ago where a Padres fan’s hat was set on fire.

Having casually followed Korean baseball the last few years I’ve often wondered how good they are. Compared to Japan, of course, not that many Korean players have made it in the US, though they shocked everyone with their very strong performance in the World Baseball Classic. The Sports Chosun decided to ask the foreigners playing in the KBO — every team is allowed to have two — what they think of the quality of Korean baseball.

                    

What is the quality of Korean pro baseball as reflected in the eyes of foreign players? We went straight to the horse’s mouth.

The most common answer was that it’s between MLB and triple-A. Out of 15 players asked (except those on the Samsung Browns), 6 answered that way. Hanhwa outfielder Jacob Cruise made his estimation by saying “It’s a little better than triple-A. About 60% of players are better than triple-A but 20-30% aren’t quite good enough.” Doosan pitcher Matt Randall also said “There are a few teams better than triple-A”, adding “I don’t think it’s less than Japan. Japanese hitters focus on precision while Korean hitters focus on power.” Lotte pitcher Jose Cabrera said “The pitchers are close to triple-A. Hitters on the other hand are close to the majors. Like major leaguers, after two strikes Korean hitters bat differently.” Those who said it was the same as triple-A numbered 5. Lotte infielder Edward Rios  answered “If you combine the hitters and pitchers it’s the same level as triple-A but a few players are good enough to be in MLB.”

There were also answers emphasizing the diference in styles. SK pitcher Kenny Lavin, who experienced playing baseball in Taiwan, explained that “Hitters’ power is similar to the International League in triple-A. Korean hitters also swing hard with two strikes. Each team has one or two guys who can carry the team and get the big hit like major leaguers. Lotte’s Lee Dae-hu and Kia’s Jang Seong-ho are like that. Korea’s different from Japan and Taiwan and close to American baseball.”

Last to make his appraisal, LG pitcher Tim Halikala said “If you look at the starting lineups, one or two guys could be in the big leagues and three to four would be at triple-A. Another three or four would be double-A. If a Korean team played a season in triple-A they’d be in the lower ranks.”

The Millimeter War

One of the most immediately obvious pop culture differences between Korea and western countries is the amount of exposed skin that it takes to be considered risque. Open up a Korean edition of lad mag Maxim and compare the Korean models to the Americans — the Americans are typically clad in almost nothing, with the Koreans looking like they’re planning a trip to Siberia by comparison. Even big-name actresses in the States will appear in photos I wouldn’t want my grandmother to know I have — without raising anything near the stir they undoubtedly would in Korea.

Nevertheless the Korean situation, as with most everything here, is changing rapidly. Short shorts and miniskirts are among the biggest-selling items of clothing and fashion gets sexier every year. It’s certainly no secret that top female stars vie to be considered the sexiest. As always in such matters, the Sports Chosun is on top of it.

“Shorter, sexier.”

This is the ‘1-mm war’. The open competition of these sexy singers is beyond imagination. The hip line has shot up to the point that you can almost see their butts, and chest lines are nakedly exposed. The more singers who attempt comebacks the more intense the level of exposure.

In the music industry’s sexy competition Lee Hyo-ri, Seo In-hyeong, Seo Ji-yeong, Babyvox and Uhm Jung-hwa lead the way. The thought “if you’re gonna take it off, make it hot” is the driving force. To be the topic of more conversations than the first showcase-grabbing singer, they aren’t unwilling to cross the line of dangerous exposure. The strategy is to attract more attention than the other singers by exposing an extra millimeter.

Bold Exposure from Butt to Chest

On the 15th at Seoul’s 1988 Stadium in Deungchon-dong the ample bosom of Lee Hyo-ri, who performed various one-act plays, was the point of attention. She wore a black jacket, hot pants and a fedora in an attempt to restrain her overexposure, but instead, in a frenzied display of dancing at the last minute her cleavage was deeply displayed through her jacket and drew all eyes.

Seo In-yeong, of the four-member girl band Jewelry, puts particular emphasis on her crotch. On the 13th on a music video shoot she created a stir by wearing hot pants so tiny they made people think of panties. The first Korean singer to expose her hip bones, she drew gasps with her revealing gold outfit.

Recently Seo Ji-yeong is proving no exception to the rule in her comeback, showing off her sexy beauty to the best advantage. Though it’s through her vivid stage clothing concepts that her second life has come, as her thighs and chest line go by turns her exposure is creating a doubled feeling of sexy beauty.

The most exciting comeback star of late, Ivy, is drawing attention with her S-line body, emphasizing its silhouette. From her chest to her waist and thighs, the lines of every part of her body, freely exposed with clothing made of spandex, really stimulate the imagination.

Lighting a fire in this exposure competition is “the original sexy star” Uhm Jung-hwa. Last year she grabbed the spotlight by appearing on stage clad in her underwear.

When everyone puts this much emphasis on exposure, the difference in sexiness felt from the difference of one millimeter is huge.

The effects of this sexy exposure competition are extending to ordinary women’s underwear. Recently released women’s underwear is showing this influence in daringly exposed chest lines and shrinking panties. One representative from lingerie brand Vivian said “As exposure becomes popularized recently, brassiere shapes are changing. At the same time that the center of attention in brassieres is moving south with cleavage more exposed, designs which have the effect of pushing the breasts together and making them look big are picking up in popularity.”

Which one’s the taxi?

Yet another article on city design by Prof. Kwon Yeong-geol. What would your ideal Korean taxi look like? No sense in doing it only on a municipal basis as often you can never tell where a city ends and another one begins here.

Original article

One of the first things people see after they arrive in a foreign country and leave the airport are the taxis. As taxis carry a core role in creating the image of a city, world-class cities have a certain colour motif on their taxis to distinguish them from regular cars. The most prominent example of this are the black cabs in London. They are a core factor in the image of London with their classic design, black body and kind service provided by the drivers. This black cab with its tall roof was designed with an eye on habitability in London where at the time the wearing of hats was common. Now it has become one of the images of England known to the public.

When you think of New York you think of rows of yellow taxis covering the road. The vehicular style of the New York yellow cab is a standard one. However, its yellow paint job contrasts with the grey concrete and dark steel buildings, making it easy to see anywhere.

How about us then? There are a total of 200,000 taxis in the country, 70,000 of which are in Seoul, but not only are they not distinguishable from the local environment but nor are they from regular vehicles. Without a special standard colour, the only thing that lets us know that this is a taxi is the 택시 (Taxi) symbol on the roof, and the red 빈차 (empty car) letters lit up inside the window. Taxis need a design so that people that are not used to a place are able to easily distinguish them at a distance. Just as commercialized products are sold based on the black cabs of London and the yellow cabs of New York, our taxis need to become a symbol loved by the people of the city.

Lesbian pies in Korea

Earlier we saw news that the 8th annual gay culture festival had kicked off. Now the Sports Seoul reports on what the women students of Yonsei University are doing. Considering the schlocky tabloid nature of the sports papers in Korea I had expected a lurid write-up but, instead, they give us a surprisingly fair-minded and even touching report. Whenever I hear people complain about the state of things in Korea, I always think of stories like this which illustrate just how rapidly the country is changing.

“Would you like to buy a lesbian pie or a gay cookie?”

In front of Yonsei University in Yeonhui-dong, Seodaemun-gu in Seoul on the 1st at 12 o’clock, the voice of a group of female students wearing t-shirts inscribed with the phrase “I am a lesbian.” caught the path of students passing by. Awkwardly stealing a glance in front of the women students, one male student explained that “They’re raising money for sexual minorities so I’m making a donation” and lightheartedly bought two cookies.

The festival is the first Yonsei campus ‘Lesbian Culture Festival’, run by the female student body as a whole with the aim of eliminating prejudice against sexual minorities.

According to those running the festival, the name given to the event is “L (Lesbian) in Queerland”, a take-off of the name Alice in Wonderland, in order to state that just as with Alice from the book, lesbians are not different from others, but should be recognized the way they are.

The most popular part of the festival is the ‘Question Stairs’ which reveal what lesbians think about themselves. By walking up the stairs and moving in directions based on whether they answered ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to the questions inscribed on them, the thoughts of lesbians regarding themselves can be seen.

On May 30th, the first day of the festival, 10 students wearing “I am a lesbian” shirts formed a same-sex ‘Free Hug’ flash mob as at least 100 spectators gathered.

Also, a self-made film inspecting the realities of life as an openly gay middle or high school student, called ‘Out’, has attracted deep attention.

This first festival has had its own share of difficulty. Lee Na-rae, 21, summarized the festival by saying “On the morning of the festival’s first day we found a placard that had been ripped apart by someone, and on the festival grounds there was someone saying right out loud that homosexuality is evil.” She also told about how when she wore one of the festival’s shirts and walked around people would whisper around her or even come up to her and ask brazenly if she was a lesbian, and that she was able to feel somewhat what it felt like to live as a homosexual.

Festival spectator and student Shin (23) said “I didn’t know that so-called ‘outings’ where someone else reveals that you’re homosexual instead of ‘coming out’ where you reveal it yourself could be so painful to the person involved.” Another student named Kim (20) said that she had had the opportunity to “clear away the ambiguous stereotypes I had had towards lesbians,” and that “I hope the festival becomes established as an annual one.”

Bikini Bars

One of the fun things about life in Korea is the ease with which you can find at least a decent bar. The sheer number and variety of drinking establishments is a testament to the important place drinking holds in modern Korean society. Nearly as ubiquitous as the bars — and, of course, usually pretty close by — are the brothels. Naturally the two industries tend to combine in various ways, some more licit than others — there is actually a chain of bars called Sexy Girl and bars of that ilk are known as sexy bars, which are basically bars where the waitresses wear bikinis.

I never went to one as the prices are steep, but apparently some of them could be getting in trouble soon. Perhaps you should go while there’s still time!

If women servers wear extremely skimpy outfits in regular restaurants, could they become the target of regulation due to a breakdown in public morals?

All eyes are on whether the prosecution will file charges against a ‘bikini bar’ the police cracked down on for creating problems for public order.

The Gunsan Police Department is waiting for a decision by the prosecution on whether to file charges against Mr. Park (43), owner of a ‘bikini bar’ in Gunsan City’s Miryong-dong where female servers in revealing outfits entertain guests, on suspicion of violation of public morals in food safety regulations.

In case the prosecution decides to indict this business without detention or more heavily, the police plan to pursue a vigorous investigation of bikini bars in the province. This is the first time in the country for an autonomous police force to regulate bikini bars. The police are looking at this decision as a test case for charging bikini bars with public morals offences.

It was announced that there are 3 or 4 such bikini bars in the province, and it appears that from the day that prosecution is decided in this matter any business classified as a normal restaurant and having servers in revealing costume will be the target of regulation.

One member of the police force emphasized that “regular restaurants that sell food with excessively-exposed servers entertaining guests are clearly going to be the target of regulation.”

However business owner Park retorted the investigation by asking “Is that level of exposure in business disallowed in society’s usual sense of morality?”

In other news, on the 11th the Daegu District Court ruled about a prosecuted bikini bar that “When women workers wait tables while clad in underwear there are two things — exceeding the bounds of lewdness to attract customers’ gaze, and obscene actions” and gave a bikini bar which fell into that category an administrative punishment of a 2-month suspension of business.

New tattoo trend…?

Tattoos are not popular in Korea, partly because they’re associated with gangsters and partly because there just isn’t any cultural history of them. Foreigners who come here with tattoos often say they may draw some odd looks or resort to covering them up somehow. The Chosun Ilbo, however, reports here about one foreigner who shouldn’t have any trouble having his tat accepted.

In America tattoos are popular. Men and women, young and old, people want to write things on their bodies. There are so many kinds of tattoos it boggles the imagination.

A few years ago tattoos in Chinese were in vogue. There were plenty of Americans who got tattoos in Chinese without even knowing their meaning. For example there was even a store employee who had the phrase “hard times” (不景氣) embossed on his arm.

But one Major League athlete is being talked about for having gotten a tattoo on his throat — in Korean.

It’s Milwaukee Brewers star hitter Prince Fielder. Fielder proudly got a tattoo on his neck of the Korean meaning of his name ‘Prince’. When Fielder steps into the batter’s box the word 왕자 is clearly visible on the left side of his neck. Korean fans who watch him on TV wondered about it.

According to Fielder the story of the tattoo is like this.

About 2 or 3 years ago he went into a market in Florida and talked with a Korean working there as a clerk, and learned that his name means 왕자 in Korean. He took a paper with 왕자 written on it and went straight to a tattoo parlor.

Though he doesn’t have any special connection to Korea, Fielder lives with Korean daily and says “I used to know how to pronounce it but now I forgot.”

In the current powerful season of the Milwaukee Brewers Fielder is hitting .277 with 18 home runs and 34 RBI. Fielder is the son of former Detroit Tigers slugger Cecil Fielder.

For the record, 왕자 is pronounced wangja, with two long a’s. For more stories of people who don’t understand their tattoos, head over to Hanzi Smatter.

An English Village in Name Only - This One Uses Korean

KBS has just aired a report from one of their reporters that went to the Paju English Village to see just how much English is being used there over a year after commencement, and it’s not a pretty picture.

One odd thing I found about the report is his claim that an entrance fee of 6000 won for adults is a high price. 6000 won isn’t even enough to get you a bagel on top of a macchiato at Starbucks. Why so cheap?

Original report - video embedded on page

Anchor: In the Paju English Village, opened under the banner of giving people the experience of using English, English is disappearing.

An English village where you can’t use nor hear English - our reporter Jeong Changhwa finds out exactly what’s going on from the scene.

Reporter: Last year after opening its doors, the Paju English Village claimed that English was used there from the moment you buy the tickets.

Ticket counter employee: (In response to “do you use English here?) “Yes, we carry out all the classes in English.”

Reporter: However, right from the beginning, the village guides themselves talked not in English but Korean.

Guide: (in Korean) “You have to run to get to the 2:10 class.” (Where is it?) “It’s not far…”

Reporter: Here we have ten exotic-looking shops inside the village.

Every one you go to is supposed to have at least one foreigner or a Korean that speaks English well, but the rules are hardly enforced at all.

In one place there’s a sign asking people to please use English, but this didn’t seem to help at all.

Shop employee: (In response to “do you have to only use English here?”) “Uh, no, well it doesn’t matter…here, take a look at this to order.”

Reporter: It’s no small price to get in here, costing 6000 won for adults and 5000 won for children. However, there was almost no place to actually use or hear English inside the village.

It was next to impossible to find people getting used to English in a natural way while purchasing goods.

Why has this happened? Last year when it was opened each shop had two foreigners for a total of 26 people, but now after the year-long contracts have ended, there is only a total of about two foreign employees in the shops.

You have to pay extra to get into a real English program here.

Interview with customer: “People should be coming here with the goal to speak and experience English, but there really isn’t a chance to do so here.”

Reporter: Last year the English village here had a loss of 20 billion won (20 million dollars), and left the hiring up to the shop proprietors.

Phone interview with person from the English village: “When we first started the English village itself hired the foreign employees but now that the contracts have ended it’s changed over so that each store owner has to do the hiring by themselves.”

Reporter: In an educational project where making a profit should not be the goal, having to match revenues and expenditures is what has given rise to this problem.

Interview with Professor Han Munseop from Hanyang University: “Don’t just look at this from the point of view of profit, you need to think about how to run this from an educational point of view, that’s what will bring in more profits in the long run..”

Reporter: A high-quality English village with 85 billion won (85 million dollars) poured into it - this place is becoming a ridiculous English village, where English isn’t even used.

Honey Lee Interview

Though we saw in this previous post that there’s been some controversy over the decision, Honey Lee — a.k.a. Lee Ha-nui — doesn’t seem upset at all. In a press conference at Incheon International Airport, she sat down with reporters and dished on her feelings about the pageant’s outcome, and the Sports Chosun brings us the goods.

“I was proud to be a Korean.”

2006 Miss Korea Lee Ha-nui, 24 years old and a student at Seoul National University’s graduate school, has revealed her thoughts about her participation and success in achieving fourth place in last month’s 56th annual Miss Universe pageant in Mexico City.

In an interview after arriving on the 1st at 6 o’clock at Incheon International Airport’s CS Academy, Lee ha-nui started off by putting on a bright smile.

Lee Ha-nui, second only to Jang Yun-jeong who placed second in the 1988 pageant, announced “In the pageant I felt proud of being a Korean” and “when I wore the traditional clothing, hanbok, it really made a big impact.”

On her feelings about the end of the pageant, she said “I’m really happy”, adding “Even though I couldn’t bring the universe to my homeland, it was really great to be in the top five.”

At the start of Lee’s arrival at the press conference in the room in the airport for greeting presidents and foreign dignitaries, there had been a meeting of protestors about 3 hours before and the room had to be quickly modified into to a place for asking questions.

Now, the questions and how Lee answered them at the press conference.

How do you feel?

Great! I really feel overflowing with happiness.

Your thoughts on the end of the tournament?

When I went to the pageant, no matter how little I thought it possible my goal was to be Miss Universe. Even though I couldn’t bring the universe to my homeland, it was really great to be in the top five.

How did you feel when they called your name?

I was so nervous I was shaking all over, but on the other hand I was also calm. Ever since I was a little kid I’ve had a lot of experience on stage which had a good effect on me.

What’s your goal from now on?

For me this Miss Universe pageant was a place where my dreams came true. When I entered the pageant I had 3 goals. First, for my religion (for the Lord); second, to spread awareness of Korea’s traditional culture; and third, to become Miss Universe.

From now my plan is to work to bring life to Korean culture. But in the short term, with my name off the register I have to go back to school! (laughs)

How did you prepare for the pageant?

It wasn’t really a process worthy of this kind of attention. I kiddingly used the expression ‘just bear up by eating mugwort and garlic’. (laughter) I slept only about 3 to 4 hours a night and practiced Korean dancing and the gayageum intensely, and through that I came up with my concept. I did jazz dance and really modern dance, and also Latin dance.

Since in relation to the western participants my body wasn’t so good, I had to be successful by exercising a lot. Also in the standard of facial beauty, in relation to the other participants I thought I couldn’t be the same so I was always thinking “I have to work out hard and harden my body” to be successful.

Also, as I practiced makeup really hard it seems I practically became a great makeup artist.

In spite of criticism of them, what do you think is the reason beauty pageants should exist?

I have one answer. To spread Korea’s beauty around the world. You shouldn’t look at the Miss Universe pageant as merely a beauty contest but as a global celebration.

More than just a pageant to choose beautiful people, it’s a place where all kinds of traditional beauty and customs and etiquette are displayed. More than merely a standard of the commercialization of women, it’s an opportunity to view and display the world’s beauty.

What do you think is the reason that the representative from Japan took first place?

I continually met and prepared with the announcer Kim Ju-hui who was in the same situation as me last year. Even so, when I saw how the Japanese representative meticulously prepared for the interview, photo shoot, the internet, and everything with a specialist director I thought ‘wow, that’s amazing’. I was really envious of their preparation system.

What do you most want to do right now?

I want to go straight to church. Starting 100 days before the pageant I started praying daily, but in the pageant I was really agitated that I couldn’t go. Also in Mexico City they don’t have separate bath booths so I could only take a lukewarm and, of course, brief shower. When I go home I want to take nice, warm, long shower.

What’s your plan now? Got some thoughts about going into show business?

Right now I’m trying to think of what kind of work it would be good to do as Miss Korea. I’m thinking I should do something serious and restorative like last February when I went abroad as an official foreign delegate doing public service.

My dream is set. It’s definitely to increase global awareness of Korean culture. My dream isn’t only that but as I haven’t decided what road to take I still need to think a little more seriously about it. Because of that going into show business is also a point that requires more thought now.