All's Well That Ends Roughly

So... it has come to my attention that some people are rather disturbed by my last blog. It was not meant to be a doomsday message, just an overly dramatic statement of the current state of affairs. My situation is not typical, how apt for it to happen to me, yet it is one of the horror stories of what can happen with a corrupt boss. I am going to Japan on December 1st for a visa run, so I can keep everything legal here. I finished my job last Friday and moved to Busan without event after work Friday night. I am returning to Daegu to file my complaint with the Department of Labor and enter into arbitration with my former employer and will update everyone on the current job situation as it develops, as there are numerous jobs here and I can afford to be picky about the situation I get myself into after my auspicious beginning in Daegu. Anyway, I spent a fabulous day on the beach with Angela and Locky (was supposed to be Rocky, but he was named by a Korean... L-R issue) and here are some bright sunny days to clear the clouds away. All is well in Korea and I have nothing to worry about and neither do you. Life is good, you just have to search a little harder to find the true treasures sometimes. I will write more and give you some more happiness soon. As far as future plans, this January I will be taking a vacation with Angela and some friends to either Jeju Island (Korea's tropical island, similar to Hawaii) or Thailand for a little vacation. That's all I've got for now... Enjoy the pictures!

This is the end, my only friend the end...

So, some of you know and some do not, that this has been an abrupt week to put it mildly. I returned from Busan to Daegu to check my bank account and find that I was missing approximately 2 million won from my bank account... I proceeded to work and was shown a receipt for my pay which had reduced my pay by exactly 2 mil (current economy makes it worth around $2,000 here but if i were to transfer that back home only about $1400) in order to compensate my director for the recruiting fee and the airfare along with an email from him saying that Thursday would be my last day and Friday I would be paid for November and be finished. Wow! Okay, now breathe... So it appears that today, Friday will be my last day in Daegu as I head on down the road to Busan. Don't for a second think that this roadside brigandry will pass and I will leave this matter lie, the kid gloves just came off. At least there is some measure of legal recourse for such action which will be now employed to the fullest.

*NOTE* As far as the tail is concerned, my fellow cohorts and I have now decided it was probably just some Korean that didn't particularly like Weygeukens. No worries.

More as the current situation unfolds.

Interesting Times... developing story

So, I'm not quite sure what, if anything, that it means, but as I moseyed on down the street today on my way to the closest cab stand to head to work I encountered a strange situation. Maybe it is just paranoia due to the tension with my work situation, but there is no denying the fact that I picked up a tail on my way to work. I know it sounds straight out of a movie, but a seedy looking Korean man in a nice tweed suit fell in step, not one step behind me. I felt him right behind me so I stopped into the closest mart under the pretense of buying something to drink and he sat outside and waited for me to emerge from the building. He fell right in behind me and as I sat at the crosswalk waiting to cross the street, he spoke to me under his breath, but combined with my limited knowledge of Korean and the fact I had my iPod in one ear, I couldn't understand a word. It was the style of speech I call Moscow speak, which I learned when I lived there and people use so that they can have personal conversations in the midst of millions of people. It was quiet, yet directed solely at me. I crossed the street and proceeded to get into a cab and the man proceeded to get into the next cab and follow me. I got out at the intersection of my school and wandered off to get some food and didn't see him again, but that doesn't leave me thinking it was an isolated incident. After speaking with my fellow American teachers, they agreed with my analysis that it was either government (probably immigration) or the mafia as the neighborhood I live in is quite mobbed up. Since he didn't completely stop me, odds are he wasn't government, leaving the mob... I haven't done anything to warrant any type of warning, which this obviously was, or any type of harassment. I am keeping my eyes peeled to see if I spot him again around work or my neighborhood... more to follow when this situation develops more. Obviously, I hope that it resolves itself and falls to rest with no further interaction or confrontation. This is relatively unheard of, so it has everyone a little concerned, but not overly so as nothing was done. Love you all and hope everyone is enjoying a beautiful fall! Talk to you all again soon.

Random Musings from an Autumn Day

I forgot how enjoyable autumn truly is on a nice crisp fall afternoon, watching the wind rustle through the leaves as you walk down the sidewalk. After not having been in autumn in over a decade I had forgot what a pleasurable experience it truly is......
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It's an interesting point of view, one is forced to take when one lives as a visible minority in a country. As a wegouken (foreigner), here in Korea, one has to take a step back and be ever mindful of how people react to you. It was weird the first time, I made a baby cry just because she looked at me and started screaming Wegouk!! Wow. Some have a much better go of it than others, for instance the Canadians and Aussies/New Zealanders. Americans and Russians have such a skewed image that it is sometimes difficult to understand or react to the blatant racism, and not just racism like the nightclub just down the street that foreigners aren't allowed to enter, but outright hatred at times. It has definitely been a revelation in the fact that people all around the world have their own measure of racial intolerance. One would think that coming over here that being American, there would be some form of gratitude considering we are the reason their country exists in the first place, liberating them from Japan and then fighting for their further establishment on this peninsula against the Russians and Chinese, but don't get self-righteous, there is a severe distrust that permeates deep within the country. True, Americans have not done the best in international relations with their little toehold into Asia, but the open disdain can sometimes be a little much. I think this little rant has been brewing for awhile, well basically for a couple weeks and it culminates with my particular haegwon, ECS... this is a little manifesto I wrote a couple weeks ago...

...PLEASE DON'T BE CONCERNED... THIS IS JUST A MEDIUM TO RELEASE SOME TENSION...

Upon reflection of their complete and utter lack of respect, not to mention failure to comprehend compassion or the human condition, I find myself wondering how an entire culture can be devoid of any emotional tie to one another. After watching the intentional waylaying of a comrade, not only in need, but in a state of emergency requiring immediate medical attention, I wonder if the worker bee mentality isn't too firmly entrenched that it makes advancement as a culture completely superficial. I watched my friend, W-, suffer needlessly in massive amounts of pain, while two of the Korean teachers (KT's) were sent home early in order to save as much money as P- and I had spent on our day's coffee purchases. Without becoming too graphic, my friend was plagued by a golf ball sized hemorrhoid which appeared suddenly on Sunday morning. He worked through the pain on Monday and came to work Tuesday, asking for directions to a clinic because it has started to bleed. They not only wouldn't tell him, they said they were concerned because he had classes, only to turn around when his last class cancelled and switch him to a KT's class so she could go home because she had a presentation the next day. The true underlying motive is the fact that the KT's are paid by the class as opposed to the foreign teachers who are paid a monthly salary. Today, Thursday (this was written nearly 3 weeks ago), the day after W- had emergency surgery, he came in to work still connected to a morphine drip because they brought him in. This is a man used and abused to the extreme by the establishment, as last November, he was hospital stricken due to a heart attack and was called in to work the same day. The same story happened six months ago when he had surgery to have his gall bladder removed. They won't kill you here, but they will work you until you die. It is truly amazing that we rate lower than animals, we are a disposable commodity and for a country so enthralled and predisposed to the idea of face and respect that we receive it nominally or not at all.

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Really, don't be concerned, they aren't all like this, I have in my own way become one of those people who give talks to others about what could happen to you if... LOL
I really do love Korea and I am very happy with most everything, the atmosphere at work over the past few weeks has diminished to a toxic level with everyone yelling at everyone else, I don't mean for you to think that it's all a huge pile of cow manure waiting to be shoveled, but it isn't all a bed of roses either... Yeah, I love the fact that my daily expenses are under $15 including my $4 24 ounce cup of coffe. And that's on the expensive days. You can keep your costs down to about $5/day, but why suffer if you have the resources to indulge a little in the midst of such a wonderful opportunity. Anyway, this little story should be done now. I love you all and I can't wait to talk to you all soon. Good night and good luck!