I just added an earlier Korean pic on my photo stream, I don’t think this will enlighten you much, but a talking point regardless.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/taaleem/2436934495/in/photostream/

you must have a very good memory, because that must have been about ten years ago!

I recall that I’d been doing weight-training for about 2 years, and was getting a little bored with it and wondered what else I could do with all the muscles so to speak. I tried both roller-blading and rock-climbing, but soon gave up on the latter, partially because my funds were limited, but primarily because I lacked the patience to learn. Like most guys, I really enjoyed the first few times because my strong arms made everything easy, but when I had to make the transition to using my legs more, I’d find that my waifish female friends could learn how to handle the harder courses but I simply physically couldn’t.

If I wasn’t roller-blading I probably would have stuck to it though. Years later I tried to find something similar for my wife (then girlfriend) and I to use here in Busan, but in the entire city of 3.5 million there was nothing even remotely like the climbing wall at the rec centre.

I confess, I can’t recall you without seeing a picture sorry…is there one of you in your Flickr collection that I missed? Where did you teach in Korea? What was your major? Regardless, thanks for your comment, and it’s always good to hear from someone from Auckland Uni.

I believe at Auckland uni we teamed up in the rec center for an introduction to the rock climbing wall; I was not cut out for this at this time and after spotting me on a couple of occasions, we thought it best that we move onto new climbing partners who more matched our skill level. Maybe this memory is incorrect but our paths were crossing at the time, so it does seem possible.

So, I am glad you found a good thing in South Korea and have managed a good veterans stint; enjoying reading your blog posts and if you ever end up back in Auckland trying to establish yourself like I have been doing for the last 2 years, please get in touch and I would hope to extend a hand in any way I possibly could.

Cheers

For what it’s worth, I recall thinking that the movie had very very little to do with the reality of the ESL industry, and that the teacher would have been pretty hopeless in real life. But that’s all I can remember.

What do ya think?

I’m glad the blog helped you. I’m sure that immigrant children the world over face similar problems, although of course it depends on the person and circumstances. My sister is only 1.5 years younger than me, but was much more social as soon as we arrived in NZ the first time, and now no-one would ever describe her or her accent as British. I’m the complete opposite, and stand out amongst Kiwis as soon as I open my mouth. And of course, I stand out 24/7 here.

So I’m not surprised identity issues would be a common topic amongst mixed-race people…it was bad enough just for me! But at least you have a much larger and more readily accesible group of people in a similar situation to connect with I think, whereas I’ve always felt quite isolated. Not to belittle your experience though!

Anyways, your blog helped me out a lot about my culture and such, I guess I’m not ashamed of being a Korean anymore since I understand a lot more about their culture now thanks to your blog once again.

I’ve always wondered if this was in issue faced by most people that lived in different countries. I have friends here who are half Korean, and half Caucasian by the way, and they tend to have conflicts between their backgrounds. They can never truly determine whether their ethnic, or their Caucasian. In the end however most of them chose to adopt a Caucasian style of living because it was more socially accepted and was not as strict.
Seems to be a common topic among Asian/Caucasians.

I didn’t major in economics, I majored in History and Political Studies.

Like most teachers here, I just fell into it. Not being able to find jobs with decent salaries in New Zealand after graduating, naturally I jumped at the chance to not only make a very good salary, but also have free accomodation and a free return ticket to Korea.

Must get back to studying Korean now sorry. But thanks for the comments.

You seem like a great teacher. Have you always wanted to be a teacher Mr. Turnbull?
You said you Majored in Economics, and something in Politics. How did you end up becoming a teacher?

I completely agree that most Korean pop music is unoriginal and derivative. But there are some gems out there, some of which I mention on the blog, although they’ll never be as popular as the sugar-pop bands that dominate Korean music.

I’m not the right person to write about Korean nightlife though. With one baby already and another on the way, it’s very very rare that I so much as go to the cinema these days. And when I do go out with friends, it’s always to the same bar.

Besides, you must be familiar to Oasis, the Verve, the Beatles and such. In my opinion, thats real music. Really gets you thinking. But hey, everyone has their own tastes right?