Saturday, October 6, 2007

Corporal Punishment

I remember back to when I was in Junior High School (Junior Middle School for those in China, Middle School for those in Korea). I was standing in line to get my lunch with my good friend Henry. Henry was a passive individual who was much more interested in mathematics than in anything physical. Standing in line was always an ordeal because it put your in a confine place with very little escape.

Our class had a bully by the name of Jerry Foster. He wasn't really big...more fat than anything. He always picked on Henry, pushing at him, threatening him. Eventually Jerry began to think that because I was Henry's friend, that I was the same pushover. Well, one day I had had enough. I don't know why Henry hadn't done anything before, but I was not going to allow things to continue.

I stepped forward and swung my clenched fist wildly at his head. I hit him in the ear and his overly white skin turned a deep shad of red where the blood had rushed to the point of impact. He was shocked at first but gathered himself quickly. I didn't allow him to have a chance to fully regroup and gave him a shove before he had regained his footing. He fell to the ground and all the other tortured souls in our class were cheering.

Well, all the noise was going to be a problem. The vice-principal had heard the noise and was quickly on the scene. Our school had an interesting form of punishment meant to really make people think twice about doing anything wrong. The school cafeteria also served as the school's auditorium, with a stage at one end of the room. Jerry and I were marched up on stage in front of the entire student body. We knew what was coming. We were to bend over and grab our ankles. And with his large 1/2 inch by 6 inch, hole-drilled aerodynamic paddle, the vice-principal reddened our back sides.

It was the only time in school I ever received such a punishment. It went on but I was never one to do something to receive it. I have to believe that it was limited greatly.

I have to say, for me that one time it was worth it. I learned to assert myself a bit, I stood up for my friend, and Jerry never bothered us again. Given the same situation I would do it again. The paddling was a sober reminder the rest of my academic career. I don't know if that is what kept me out of trouble directly or if it simply served to instill in me a strong sense of the consequences of right and wrong actions. Who knows. I could have gotten that from watching Leave it to Beaver or Brady Bunch reruns.

But I wonder how much is to much. I work at a school now in Korea where the teachers regularly beat their students. I am surprised at how much it happens. Barely a day goes by that I don't see some student down on his knees being beaten with some bamboo or wooden stick. It almost seems brutal. Teachers equipment to go to class, beside their lesson book and materials, is always there paddling stick. It is really quite a shock to me.

left: student being punished in Korea.

Corporal punishment had been banned in Korea, as it is in many places in the United States, but in 1999 it was reinstated as an attempt to get control of rebellious students. My feeling is this should not be handled but teachers, however. This should be handled by staff and should be a much more limited event. I think students may have gotten to the point that they no longer care much.

I think everyone wants to completely ban corporal punishment until they become teachers. Then they change their song a bit.

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

中秋节



Autumn Equinox

The Mid-Autumn Day Festival 中秋 zhōngqiūjié, also known as the Moon Festival, is a popular East Asian celebration of abundance and togetherness, dating back over 3,000 years to China's Zhou Dynasty.

In Malaysia 말레이시아 马来群岛 and Singapore 싱가포르 新加坡, it is also sometimes referred to as the Lantern Festival or "Moon cake Festival," which is just the same as "Mid-Autumn Festival" but with different names. As you might guess by this name, eating and giving moon cakes is a very popular thing to do this week.

The Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th lunar month of the Chinese calendar, September in the Gregorian Calendar), a date that parallels the Autumn Equinox of the solar calendar. This is the ideal time, when the moon is at its fullest and brightest, to celebrate the abundance of the summer's harvest. The traditional food of this festival is the moon cake, of which there are many different varieties.

I’ve never been a big fan of moon cakes, though I remember being offered them many times. There is another time during the year that it is popular to eat moon cakes. Recently there had been debate in China about whether the cakes were becoming too sweet and therefore unhealthy. The other time that moon cakes are eaten is around the Chinese new year, if my memory serves me right. These two holidays are the most important in the Chinese calendar.

In Korea they celebrate 추석 Chu'sok which means, “fall evening.” It is a Korean "Harvest Moon" (Han-gawi) festival set on the 15th day of the eighth lunar moon. Early on this morning, some Koreans perform an ancestor worship ritual with an offer of food made of new crops to thank their ancestors for giving them good fortune.

This festival is a harvest moon festival, but it's also a Thanksgiving Day for the Korean people. This festival is one of the most important festivals in Korea.

Like the Chinese with their moon cakes, the Koreans eat songpyon (full-moon rice cakes stuffed with sesame, beans, chestnuts, or Chinese dates).

The celebration starts on the night before Chu’sok and ends on the day after the holiday. Thus, many Korean families take three days off from work to get together with family and friends. This year the holiday began on Monday, Sept. 24th and goes until Wednesday, Sept. 26th. This coupled with the weekend before gave Koreans 5 days during which they could easily travel to be with family.

Traditionally, the celebration starts with a family get-together where Songphyun are served. These special rice cakes are made of rice, beans, sesame seeds, and chestnuts. Then the family pays respect to ancestors by visiting their tombs and offering them rice and fruits. In the evening, children wear their favorite hanbok and dance under the bright moon in a large circle.

They play games and sing songs. Like the American Thanksgiving, Chu’sok is the time to celebrate the family and give thanks for their blessings. Tradition, however, is fading. I did not see any

dancing or singing under the moonlight.

In what ways is Mid-Autumn Day Festival changing in China? How closely is it observed? Is it disappearing?

Practice Your American English Pronunciation

Want to practice your pronunciation. Have a specific problem? Practice your American English pronunciation at the phonic level.

http://www.uiowa.edu/~acadtech/phonetics/



Sunday, September 2, 2007

Traditional Asian Music

In China I had some good opportunities to hear some traditional Chinese music instruments, particular the Erhu 二胡 and the Pipa 琵琶. A good friend of mine from Shanxi Province played the Pipa which has a very elegant sound.

Pipa This instrument resembles the Spanish guitar in some ways, with long fingernails being cultivated to pluck the strings. The Pipa has a history of over 2,000 years spanned from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty. The most common pipa has a body with a short neck and a wooden belly. There are 19 to 26 bamboo frets called Xiang on the neck. The Xiang are either made of wood, jade, or elephant tusks. A pipa traditionally had 4 silk strings mostly with common tunes of A, D, E, and A. With the pipa held vertically in the lap, the player plays it using imitation fingers. This allows more freedom for the player to perform various techniques on the four strings. The range of techniques that can be used are the widest among all of the Chinese plucked-strings, making it the most expressive instrument in the plucked-string section. Some of the techniques include: fretted pitch-bends, tremolos, various double and triple, and a continuous strumming of the strings with four fingers.

http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Music/mus-pipa.html

Another instrument I like is called the Erhu.
he Erhu has a small body and a long neck. There are two strings, with the bow inserted between them. With a range of about three octaves, it's sound is rather like a violin, but with a thinner tone due to the smaller resonating chamber. In the 2nd orchestra they are usually divided into 1st and 2nd parts. The Erhu first appears about 1104 AD during the Song Dynasty. We bought ours in Zhengzhou in 1999. It hangs on the wall in our Great Room. You often see blind men playing this instrument in some of the big cities. I always enjoyed listening and gave them money for their efforts. Er is two in Chinese.

The Chinese 2-stringed, vertical fiddle has a history of more than 500 years. It started to be popular in Southern China during the Sung Dynasty (960-1279 AD), which gave it another name "Nan-hu" (the word "south" pronounced in Chinese as "Nan"). Erhu is still the most popular bowed instrument in today's Chinese music. An erhu is quite different from a western fiddle. There is a vertical post with a fingerboard, which goes through the sides of a resonator at its base. This resonator is covered with a piece of stretched snakeskin (python), which results in a unique "whining" tone color of the instrument. The bow for the erhu is placed between its two strings. Traditionally the two strings are made of silk, although metallic strings are used as well. The player of an erhu usually sits, and the erhu is placed on his left upper thigh in front of his left hip. The instrument is played by moving the bow horizontally through the two vertical strings. Erhu's range spans about three octaves. It has some of the qualities of a violin, but having a more nasal tone. Erhu is capable of producing a gentle but firm tone.

Erhu is a kind of violin (fiddle) with two strings, which, together with zhonghu, gaohu, sihu, etc, belongs to the "huqin" family. It is said that its origin would be dated up to the Tang dynasty (618-907) and related to the instrument, called xiqin originated from a Mongolian tribe Xi. During Song dynasty (960-1279), the second generation of the huqin was among the instruments played at the imperial banquets.

http://www.paulnoll.com/China/Music/mus-erhu.html


Recently I had the chance to hear a traditional Korean music concert. One of the
instruments used resembled the Erhu. The rousing performance was by the Cheongju City Korean Traditional Performing Arts (CCKTPA). It was hard to get a picture of the man playing an instrument that looked very much like an Erhu.

Do you know much about Korean Traditional instruments? I am going to post information in the future about the concert. Let me know if you know what this instrument is.

The convert was very powerful. The audience was non-Korean and I think they did not know what to expect. I made a recording and I will share some of the music with you in the future.

They gave a re
ndition of Arirang which I recorded on my MP3 player. The quality is not that good but I am sure you will find it interesting.

Arirang is arguably the most popular and best-known Korean folk song, both inside and outside Korea. Arirang means : Ancient native Korean word. 'Ari' means "beautiful" (example. 아리따운 native Korean word means "beautiful", "lovely", "charming") 'Rang' means "dear" so, arirang means "beautiful dear"

Literally hundreds of variations of the song exist,[citation needed] and they can be grouped into classes based on the lyrics, when the refrain is sung, the nature of the refrain, the overall melody, and so on. Titles of different versions of the song are usually prefixed by their place of origin or some other kind of signifier.

The original form of Arirang is Jeongseon Arirang, which has been sung in Jeongseon County for more than 600 years. However, the most famous version of Arirang is that of Seoul. It is the so-called Bonjo Arirang, although it is not actually bonjo (본조; 本調; "Standard"). It is usually simply called Arirang, and is of relatively recent origin. It was first made popular by its use as the theme song of the influential early feature film Arirang (1926).[1]

The table below gives the refrain (first two lines; the refrain precedes the first verse) and first verse (third and fourth lines) of the standard version of the song in Hangul, romanized Korean, and a literal translation into English.

Hangul

아리랑, 아리랑, 아라리요...
아리랑 고개로 넘어간다.
나를 버리고 가시는 님은
십리도 못가서 발병난다.

Romanization

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo...
Arirang gogaero neomeoganda.
Nareul beorigo gasineun nimeun
Simnido motgaseo balbyeongnanda.

English

Arirang, Arirang, Arariyo...[3]
I am crossing over Arirang Pass.[4]
The man/woman[5] who abandoned me [here]
Will not walk even ten li before his/her feet hurt.[6]

Download CCKTPA's version of Arirang recorded live.



Thursday, August 30, 2007

People of Korean Folk Villages


Acrobats show their skill on a teeter-totter, throwing the other into the air where they do flips or other moves.














Farmer Ribbon Dancers showed some acrobatic ability as well as synchronized dancing. A ribbon fastened to their hats trailed behind gracefully. People watched from around a small enclosed arena.

Horses were a big part of early Korean lives. Some riders showed their acrobatic ability.

In this early society men were often entertained by women as dancers or musicians. Others showed their talents as pottery makers. Below is a man who walks on a single tightrope doing simple acrobatics.





A big part of Korean life is Kimchi, even today. Below you can see that early Kimchi was prepared in pots and placed in the ground where it fermented.

Today this is done artificially.




The traditional Korean dress is the Hambok. Here you can see the female version of the clothing.

At the gate to the village are placed wooden totems.


Education during this time largely followed Confucian style.

Korean Folk Village

The lives of early Koreans, just like the lives of all early people's was tied to agriculture. Many of the practices of the Koreans resembles that in China and Mongolia, due largely to the connected early histories of the nations.

A small grinding mill for a home, and and early "desk."






Villages were surrounded by walls and homes were primarily lit by what ever sun entered the home.






People's lives were simple. They farmed their fields, made their clothes and followed their religious/superstitious beliefs.







Sunday, August 26, 2007

Day of the Dead




Remembering Ancestors

Ghosts are a big deal in China. You have several rituals or observances that are connected to ghosts. There is the hopping ghost, a ghost who hasn't quite made it to the afterlife.

Thee are countless Chinese movies that deal with ghosts on some level.

Chinese people will sometimes say of ghosts, "If you believe it, there will be, but if you don't, there will not."

Coming up soon is the the Chinese Ghost Festival (you can read the borrowed article near the end, from Wikipedia).

Chongqing, China is a place where tradition has it that this is where hell is at. On Hell Street you can buy ghost masks.

For three days in July people in Japan observe Obon お盆, which once was an ancestor remembrance holiday but has turned into a family reunion time as more people set aside superstition. Obon お盆 was shortened from urabon'e which came from the meaning "hanging upside down in hell."


In Korea there is a tradition that you should not leave your chopsticks sticking up out of your rice. This was sure to draw in old family ancestors who were roaming around the spirit world feeling a little hungry. I don't now much about their festival, but I guess it is not too unlike what you have in China or Japan.

The Chinese Ghost Festival Zhongyuan sounds interesting. A friend of mine told me that recently her mom had her folding up gold paper into the shapes of things and fake paper money in billion RMB denominations. They were also collecting pictures of clothes and expensive appliances.

Her mother is going to burn these things for her parents who have passed away. This should be done in the right attitude and in the right condtions (a sunny day) lest they not be well received by the spirits.

A quick search of the internet found the following article below, detailing the reasons for things and comparing it to the Mexican day of the dead.

My feeling about this sort of thing is that it is a way to remember lost relatives. There are certainly enough people who believe that someone is handing around out there as some sort of a spirit after they have died. Whether I believe doesn't really matter. In my mind observances like this are akin to weddings and funerals and some other passage of life ceremonies. They are often more for the observers of the ceremony than those whom are the subject of the ceremony.

Obviously a funeral or a wake have very little to do with the dearly deceased, and much more to do with people saying goodbye, getting closure. Maybe my views about weddings are a little callous, but if two people love each other the ceremony is just fluff. Mothers and Fathers let go of their families. Friends wish them well and give them a gift to help them start their lives out right. I suppose it is a bit of a stretch to say that a wedding ceremony is not that much for the couple being wed, but only really for the families.

However, I will not bend on the whole ghost thing. I say the only ghosts are in people's minds and in Hollywood.

In Chinese tradition, the thirteen day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called the Ghost Day and the seventh month in general as the Ghost Month (鬼月), in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower world. During the Qingming Festival the living descendants pay homage to their ancestors and on the Ghost Day the deceaseds visit with the living. On the thirteen day the three realms of Heaven, Hell and the realm of the living are open, the Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute and absolve the sufferings of the deceased. Intrinsic to the Ghost Month is ancestor worship, where traditionally the filial piety of descendants extends to their ancestors even after their deaths. Activities during the month would include preparing ritualistic offering food, and burning of hell money and bags containing cloth to pay homage to the visiting spirits of the ancestors, treating the deceased as if they are still living, elaborate meals would be served with empty seats for each of the deceased in the family. Other festivities may include, burying and releasing miniature paper boats and lanterns on water, which signifies giving directions to the lost ghosts and spirits of the ancestors and other deities.

The Ghost Festival shares some similarities with the predominantly Mexican observance of El Día de los Muertos. Due to theme of ghosts and spirits, the festival is sometimes also known as the Chinese Halloween, though many have debated the difference between the two.


I cam across this very interesting little story:

Zhuxi was a famous scholar in the Song Dynasty (960 - 1279). He believed there were no ghosts in the world, so he decided to write an essay "No Ghost." It was said he was a great sage so even ghosts were afraid of him. If he said no ghosts, ghosts could no longer exist. When ghosts knew he was writing the essay, they gathered together to discuss this and decided to send the smartest ghost to entreat him abandon the writing.

So one night, the smartest ghost appeared at Zhuxi's desk and kowtowed towards Zhuxi repeatedly. Zhuxi was surprised and asked:

    "Where comes the ghost? H
    ow dare you disturbing me at night."
    "Yes, I am a ghost, but ..."
    "Why don't you leave and why do you come in my study room?"
    "I am here to entreat ..." replied the ghost.
    "People are in the Yang world and ghosts are in the Yin world. We are in the different worlds so there are no way I can help you."
    "I have very important things to entreat you, Sir."
    "Ok, say it!"
Then the ghost told Zhuxi the reason and beg him to abandon the writing to save them. Zhuxi laughed and said:
    "You, the ghosts have been worshipped in the human world for so long. Isn't the time for you go away all together."
    "We also have good and bad ghosts..."
    "Well, I heard you can do anything. Can you move me to the outside?"
    "Certainly, Sir."
Zhuxi was moved to the outside instantly without even noticing it. Zhuxi was astonished by the ability of ghosts, but was unwilling to say it. Then he asked again,
    "You can move my body. Can you move my heart?"
    "That is impossible to do, Sir." "But we can move things or a person's body so that it proves we exist." "We exist in illusion. If you believe it, there will be, but if you don't, there will not." "Can you say something like that in your essay, Sir?"
Zhuxi felt the words did have some merits so he promised the ghost he would do that. The ghost left happily. Therefore, Zhuxi wrote the words, under the title of the no ghost essay, "If you believe it, there will be, but if you don't, there will not."

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Visa Run to Fukuoka

Living in Korea and needing to go on a "Visa Run."
The process is relatively straight forward. You have to get yourself to Japan. An easy place to go to is Fukuoka, a smallish coastal city which is the closest location to Korea. You can get there one of two ways: ferry boat from Pusan (approx: 200,000 won round-trip) or by Air (approx. 400-450,00o including all the taxes, round-trip from Incheon).

In the past if you had arrived at the consulate before lunch they would process your visa by 3 in the afternoon. However now it can be picked up on the following day at 10 am.

DOCUMENTS NEEDED
You need:
your passport
Your employers certificate of job offer
5400 yen processing fee
A single passport sized photo
The completed application form (gotten from the desk in the consulate)
An address and phone number in Korea

The Subway costs anywhere from 200 to 5-6 hundred yen depending how far you go. The underground area near Tenjin (3 stops from the Tojinmachi) is very nice. It has a lot of shops and restaurants in the case that weather drives you for cover. Taking exit #11 at the Tenjin subway stop and going to floor "b-1" will take you to a currency exchange office of a bank, in case you are funning out of funds. Also, if you go to the "Media Mall" there is an internet bar at the b-1 level. Internet Bars/Cafes are hard to to locate here. There seem to be none anywhere near Tojinmachi.

FILLING OUT THE FORM
The address and phone number is required for the form as well as the entrance slip you fill out when you come to the embassy gate. Be aware, the guard is Japanese, not Korean. Speaking Korean to him seems to annoy him.

GETTING FROM THE AIRPORT TO THE CONSULATE
You will land in the International Terminal in Fukuoka. You must take the shuttle bus (Bus No. 1 picked up right outside the terminal) to the Domestic Terminal. The subway can be gotten at the Domestic Terminal.

You can buy a subway ticket from one of the machines. The machines take 1000 yen bills (the smallest Japanese bill). The subway from the airport to Tojinmachi Subway (see a pdf of the subway map, requires acrobat reader) stop (where the consulate is) will run you 490 yen as of 8/2007. The trip won't take more than 20 or 30 minutes.

Once arriving at the subway station go all the way down to "exit 1/2." Exit 1 exits on the right side of the street and exit 2 exits on the left side of the street.

On the right is a sign. Turn right at the next intersection going toward Seaside Momochi.


When you come out of the subway keep walking directly in the same direction. On the left side of the street about 150 steps is the Haiwadei Hotel. It runs 6,000 yen for a night. The Haiwadei is less than 15 minutes walk from the Korean Consulate. As you continue down the street you will see a traffic sign for the first coming intersection.

At that intersection turn right. Eventually you will want to be on the left side of the street. You will come to the next big intersectionn. At that corner you will see a Shell Gas Station. The Korean Consulate in Fukuoka is directly across the street. If you get there during lunch time the gates will be close and you will have to come after lunch. The day I went only the side gate was open, while the main gate was closed. Be sure to check both.

In the picture above you can see the Korean consulate on the left, behind it the JAL Seaside Resort and to the right, the Yahoo! Dome.
The second picture is from inside the consulate.



Once you've dropped off your paperwork you need to burn some time. Just down about 5 minutes from the JAL Resort Building is a free public beach. You can go for a swim or go buy a drink and lounge on a deck in the shade.

Get your bearings. Looking at the consulate, behind it you can see the JAL Seaside Resort Tower. To the right you can see the Fukuoka Yahoo! Dome (home of the Fukuoka Hawks).

You can go to a baseball game if one is scheduled. A game in the cheap seats will run you 1000 yen. Games are usually, but not always, scheduled in the evenings (Fukuoka Hawks Schedule).

Just across the street from the consulate you will see a building called Wonderland. There are some lockers that you can rent to get ride of things you are carrying around. They have many restaurants near their including a Hard Rock Cafe and a McDonald's.

This is just some information. Look for it to be updated.

A good website to find out about events in Fukuoka is Fukuoka Now
who publishes a monthly events magazine in English and maintains their website.

Korean Flash Cards