18 COMMUNITY
‘Misuda’
Expat Living is a section dedicated to the daily
living of expatriates.
It is printed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
To share stories about your life abroad, send stories
or story ideas to Matthew Lamers at
mattlamers@heraldm.com
Submissions may be edited for length or clarity.
Young Koreans
look to Ireland,
U.K. for school
By James Hendicott
DUBLIN, Ireland — “As a
little girl, I always had an im-
age of England as a place
where people wear top hats
and dandy suits, and walk
around umbrella in hand,” said
Kim Do-young.
“I always believed there was
something out there in a for-
eign country, just waiting for
me.”
At 26 years old, Kim lives by
the motto “seize the day,” and
has only returned to her native
Korea twice in over ten years.
She’s one of an increasing
number of young Koreans look-
ing to expand their horizons on
foreign shores, seeking a differ-
ent type of education and a
slower-paced lifestyle.
Kim chose the United
Kingdom — and the industrial
town of Coventry — as her new
home.
As the geographical center of
England, Coventry is mocking-
ly nicknamed “the car park of
Great Britain,” and Kim ad-
mits she sees it a little like a
“black hole.”
“For the locals, it’s the center
of the earth,” she adds. “But
you can get almost anywhere
in a day, and the Cotswolds
and other scenic farming areas
are within easy reach.”
After going through school,
university and now entering
employment in the United
Kingdom, Kim concedes “the
longer I stay, the less likely it is
I’ll ever go back to my home-
land.”
But even after 10 years
there are still things she miss-
es. “I’m surprised how little
fish English people eat, consid-
ering all four corners of the
country are surrounded by the
sea. I miss my family of
course, and I’ve had to tone
down my spice-loving palette.
At the end of the day, though,
people are the same in terms
of living.
“They eat, they work, they
watch TV, they laugh, they cry,
they go to the toilet and they
sleep. The difference is that in
Korea everything happens
faster with ten times the inten-
sity. In Coventry you get to do
everything slow.”
Of course most expats do in-
tend to return home.
Ham Ryul-suk — a former
Gwangju resident — chose
Dublin, Ireland as his destina-
tion, and sees himself as a
more short term resident. “I
expect to stay two or three
years,” he says. “Until I’m sat-
isfied with my English level, I
probably won’t leave. English
An Ulsan bar that also acts as community center
By Jason Teale
ULSAN — A bar isn’t usually
a place where you’d expect to
find a thriving and positive com-
munity atmosphere, but the
Benchwarmers Bar in Ulsan is
one of those places that defies
common stereotypes. Since
opening its doors down a narrow
alley in Ulsan’s “old downtown”
Seongnam-dong district, it has
become a pillar for the expat
community, providing home-
cooked meals and valuable ad-
vice to those who seek it.
What sets this bar apart from
others in the area is its commit-
ment to the community, which
owner Troy MacDonald insists
is the backbone of his popular
night spot; Benchwarmers is
different from your average ex-
pat bar.
is more important now than
other things.”
There are other benefits too,
though: “In Korea I earned
about 1 million won a month.
For that I’d have to work 40-45
hours a week, minimum. Here
I can make double that, and I
only have to work 20-30 hours
a week. Of course, the price of
living in Ireland is higher, but
whether I spend the money or
not — at least to some extent
— is up to me.”
Having lived with his par-
ents right up until his move to
Ireland, Ham met a host of do-
mestic challenges head on. “I
have to make meals, wash
dishes, wash clothes, clean my
room ... in Korea, my mom did
all of that. I miss my family.
Things are not easy at home,
and I miss Korean food and
friends too.”
Overall, however, Ham
seems to enjoy his new life.
“Dublin’s very cosmopolitan.
I speak to people from many
countries every day, and I have
to speak to them in English.
Sometimes I don’t want to, but
in the long term it’s always an
opportunity and a great bene-
fit. At first I used to freeze
when I tried to talk to people in
the street. In my first week I
walked into someone, and I
couldn’t think what to say.
“He said sorry even though
I knew it was my fault. I
think the people here are
very kind, gentle and polite.
I’m no longer afraid to talk to
foreigners. I have changed
my life, and my personality.
Now I feel brave, I believe I
can do anything.”
The cosmopolitan streets of
English-speaking Western
Europe, it seems, are a new
refuge for Korea’s enthusiastic
youngsters to seek out an edu-
cation in languages and cul-
ture, with many looking in-
creasingly likely to stay put.
As Kim puts it, “I could
write a book about it. Every
day’s an experience. I still
have problems sometimes.
Like at university, when a
friend told me a professor was
going on sabbatical.
I confused the word with
‘Sabbath,’ and said I didn’t
know the professor was
Jewish. But we all laughed
about it. I still think the
biggest challenges are yet to
come, but at the end of the day
I wouldn’t change it for the
world.”
To contact the author, go to
http://hendicottwriting.com
— Ed.
When an Ulsan English
teacher was raped in her apart-
ment on July 7, a meeting was
held to help women protect
themselves and a portion of the
proceeds from the evening’s
sales went to help fund her re-
turn to South Africa. It was
MacDonald who was called
upon to assist when this horrify-
ing event occurred. “I am usual-
ly only a phone call away”, Troy
said in reference to his efforts to
help people.
When a Korean family was
feeling overwhelmed by med-
ical bills for their child who
had been diagnosed with
leukemia, Benchwarmers,
along with other expat commu-
nity groups, stepped in to raise
money to help ease the pres-
sure.
In fact, if you were to look
PHOTO CHALLENGE — Weekly winner —
A wet evening in Seomyeon, Busan.
Sam Wigginton
Film or digital? It’s all economics
The Photo Challenge is spon-
sored by Hyosung Camera
(English: 010-7203-9599) and
Babo Shirts (www.baboshirts.
com). Winners of the weekly com-
petition receive a 50,000 won
store credit at Hyosung Camera
and a Babo Shirt. To take part
in the competition, simply up-
load your photo at
www.flickr.com/groups/seoulp
hotoclub — Ed.
By Aaron Raisey
The great debate since the ad-
vent of digital photography is on-
going: Which is superior, film
photography or shooting digital?
Over the next couple of weeks
we’ll look at the pros and cons of
each, and hopefully have a better
handle on each medium as a re-
sult. Probably the best way to do
this is compare different areas of
photography and image quality,
using the SLR style camera as
the common denominator.
This week we’ll compare some
costs associated with owning
cameras.
closely at the end of the bar you
would see, not a tip jar for
servers, but a collection jar
stuffed with money to help out
this Korean family.
English teachers head to
Benchwarmers for support
and to develop a connection to
the community, said
MacDonald. As a 10-year vet-
eran of Ulsan he’s ready with a
wealth of advice to anyone
who needs it.
In response to the recent in-
flux of public school teachers to
Ulsan, the staff at
Benchwarmers provided a night
of information for the new
teachers, and is planning to
hold another session. While
there is little profit gained from
these nights, he said, the benefit
to the teachers is great.
Zach, a public school teacher
A 35mm film camera is cheap-
er than the equivalent digital. A
comparable digital camera will
set you back in excess of a couple
of thousand dollars, whereas a
good film camera is considerably
cheaper. However, you can still
pick up excellent DSLRs for less
than $1,000, but because the im-
age sensor is smaller than 35mm
film image quality suffers as a
result by comparison.
Don’t misunderstand, the im-
age quality you get from con-
sumer and pro-sumer DSLRs is
still very good (actually better in
some areas), but when directly
compared to a 35mm print, the
difference in quality is unmistak-
able. We’ll look at the issue of im-
age quality in a couple of weeks.
The option that the film cam-
era presents that digital does
not is the second-hand pur-
chase. You can pick up a used
in Ulsan explained how ‘the
Bench’ has become more of a
community center than a bar.
“It helps foreigners touch base,
as well as release tension,” he
says. Macdonald helped him
learn how to interact with his
fellow teachers in order to make
a better environment, not only
at school, but for his new life in
Korea.
“Our culture is a process of
learning from one another,”
Zach adds in relation to what
he has learned from spending
time at Benchwarmers. On
weekend nights you’ll see a mix
of expats and Koreans min-
gling over plates of hot wings
and poutine — a Canadian spe-
cialty of French fries topped
with cheese and gravy. It is
these interactions, along with a
community-minded approach
film cameras as much as 10 or
20 (or more) years old that func-
tion as new, and often for less
than $500. In contrast, advanc-
ing digital technology renders
the modern DSLRs obsolete
quickly: A good film camera will
last you a lifetime, while that
state of the art digital you
bought the other day is junk in a
few years. In terms of value for
money combined with longevity,
the film camera would appear to
be the best option.
The digital camera has the ad-
vantage of lower running costs.
After all, the ongoing purchase of
rolls of film combined with pro-
cessing and printing costs con-
spire to make shooting film a
high maintenance endeavor,
while these costs are non-exis-
tent shooting digital, right? Well,
yes. But think about what you
would spend on keeping up with
technology — buying several ex-
pensive DSLR cameras over the
years — against a single inex-
pensive film SLR plus film and
processing.
How does it stack up?
that has created a healthier en-
vironment for expats coming to
Ulsan.
Over the years MacDonald
has organized many events for
the community. The annual
triathlon - which brings togeth-
er the expat and Korean com-
munities — typically involves
soccer, volleyball, and Frisbee,
and is a great way for everyone
to let off steam.
The Korean staff at the Bench
is always willing to offer valu-
able insight about their home
country which goes a long way
in helping foreigners under-
stand Korea a little better.
The actual bar at
Benchwarmers often looks more
like a conference table than a
platform for drinking; this is
where MacDonald and his staff
offer their advice to newcomers,
TUESDAY AUGUST 25, 2009
As digital is the preferred
method of storing and sharing
images, you can further save in
the film arena by forgoing phys-
ical prints and getting your neg-
atives processed straight to CD.
I don’t know the definitive an-
swer to this question, but seen
in that light, the costs associat-
ed with shooting film don’t seem
quite so great. It’s certainly food
for thought.
So all things considered, eco-
nomically speaking, which is
the better option? The justifica-
tion for the purchase of many
expensive DSLRs is the claim
that “we’ll save money on film
and processing,” but as we’ve
just seen over the long term,
this argument isn’t necessarily
founded on facts, and you may
just be better off with an inex-
pensive 20-year-old film cam-
era.
Next week, we’ll look at the
question of how easy it is to use
film cameras vs. digital. In the
meantime, head over to the
Seoul Photo Club on Flickr.
(raisey@hanmail.net)
usually resulting in lively dis-
cussions.
Recently, Hazel Smith from
England became co-owner of the
bar to allow Troy to focus on his
new family. Hazel has been a
member of the Ulsan communi-
ty for some time now and is do-
ing her part to maintain the
strong sense of community spir-
it at Benchwarmers.
While expat bars flourish
across Korea, with many popu-
lar ones in every city, the staff at
Benchwarmers has put in a
great deal of extra time and ef-
fort to make sure the expat com-
munity feels at home in Ulsan.
See Jason’s website at
www.jasonteale.com. To reach
him, e-mial contact@jasonteale.
com — Ed.
girl in hot
water for
criticism
A panel member of the
popular KBS TV show
“Misuda,” or “Chatting with
Beauties” has written a book
on her experiences in Korea.
Although the book is said to
be positive in tone, anony-
mous Korean netizens have
pummeled her online, taking
issue with some passages in
the book.
Vera Hohleiter, the 29-year-
old German, said she wrote
some comments in the book
“Schlaflos in Seoul,” or
“Sleepless in Seoul” that have
been taken out of context.
Regarding the purported
“criticism of Korea” in the book
that has netizens here in a
rage, she said on her website:
“I do not know where they got
that from, but certainly not
from my book.”
The book is only available in
the German language.
Korean media has picked up
on the story, quoting one
anonymous Korean netizen ex-
tensively, as is normal here, as
their primary source.
Hohleiter’s blog can be seen
at blog.brigitte.de/korea
The blog in particular has
become a venue for netizens to
express their consternation. It
has received nearly 200 post-
ings, about 190 more than
what would be considered nor-
mal for her.
On it she wrote: “Since I
now know the idiosyncrasies
of Korean internet users, I
had already expected such an
incident. I have basically no
problem if someone who has
read the book and under-
stood it says that he does not
like. I am also aware that
some passages may sound
negative from the Korean
perspective.
“The German and the
Korean sense of humor are
just very different. What
German readers have a good
laugh at, Korean readers
would probably not find fun-
ny. But those who have not
even read the book cannot
judge it.”
One of the nicer anonymous
posters wrote on her blog: “If
you don’t like everything about
Korea, just leave.”
(mattlamers@heraldm.com)
ATEK
presidential
nominations
extended
The Association for Teachers
of English in Korea’s elections
committee will be accepting
self-nominations for president
until Saturday.
The original deadline for the
nominations was Friday, as re-
ported in Friday’s Expat
Living. ATEK’s election com-
mittee chose to extend the
deadline until noon Saturday
because only one nomination
was received, according to an
e-mail sent to ATEK members
this weekend.
If only one nomination has
been received in time for the
new deadline, that person will
become ATEK’s president, the
e-mail said.
All general members of
ATEK are eligible for presi-
dent. Interested members
must submit a resume de-
tailing their experience
teaching English in Korea,
as well as other relevant ex-
perience and a short mes-
sage explaining why they are
the best candidate. This in-
formation will be viewed by
all general members during
the voting.
“We’re excited about the
election,” said Jason
Thomas, a member of
ATEK’s founding board said
in a previous interview with
Expat Living. “A lot of people
have worked hard to estab-
lish the association, and the
founding board was pleased
to be able to pass responsi-
bility for leadership over to
members.”
For more information, visit
www.atek.or.kr or sent an e-
mail to elections@atek.or.kr.
(rjamesyork@heraldm.com)