This afternoon Julianne and I decided to head to the War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan-dong, Yongsan-gu (about 4 blocks away from Itaewon), Seoul to take pictures and walk around. I've been to the memorial several times, but for Julianne it was her first visit. (You can see pictures I took of the War Memorial during another visit here, about half way into the post.)

I'm always struck by the vivid bronze sculptures standing just inside the main gates of the memorial grounds.

One of the first things that struck me when I came to Korea in 2005 was how mountainous this country's landscape is. I tried to imagine how Canadian soldiers who fought (516 died) in the Korean war would have dealt with the terrain while wearing full combat gear with a ruck sack loaded with ammo, food, sleeping bag, and whatever else they needed for the missions they completed. (Check out the Canadians in Korea website for info about the 27,000 Canadian Forces personnel who fought and served as a part of the massive UN Forces in the Korean War.)

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Click on the link below to see pictures and read more at Kimchi Icecream: The Second Serving . . . . I've moved over to wordpress.com and will be blogging there from now on.

Korean War/War Memorial of Korea in Yongsan-gu (near Itaewon), South Korea – Revisiting the Past

J

Hard working Koreans in Seoul, 2010

I haven't been outside taking pictures very much over the last couple weeks because of the very low temperatures. Today, however, was above zero so I decided to walk around with my camera.

I'm always very impressed with the motorbike delivery guys in Seoul who work in all conditions, rain or shine. Based on how many delivery scooters and motorbikes I see every day all over Seoul, without the efforts of these Koreans I imagine that businesses would suffer a major slow down without the delivery guys. If you look closely at the center biker you'll see the special wrapping he has around the bike's handle bars . . .

Click on the link below to see pictures and read more at Kimchi Icecream: The Second Serving . . . . I've moved over to wordpress.com and will be blogging there from now on.

Hard working Koreans in Seoul, 2010

J

Anti-mosquito white chemical fog truck (thermal fogger) in South Korea -- Ah, to be young and free and run and frolic inside poisonous clouds

When Julianne and I headed out to get dinner tonight we ran into the infamous anti-mosquito fog truck.

I've been wanting to get good quality video of this vile scourge for a long time. Usually what happens is the thing has already driven by when I notice it's in the neighborhood, or it's too far away by the time I get my camera out to film it.

Tonight, the timing and location were perfect. I got an excellent close-up of the rig itself, the truck, and the kids running after the truck and playing in the chemical fog . . .

Here it is,

I decided I should do a bit of reading cause I'm no expert on pest control and don't know much about chemicals and mosquitoes . . . an excerpt from the wikipedia.com's entry on mosquitoes has some relevant info.

Mosquito control (from wikipedia)

Adulticiding

"Control of adult mosquitoes is the most familiar aspect of mosquito control to most of the public. It is accomplished by ground-based applications or via aerial application of chemical pesticides. Generally modern mosquito-control programs in developed countries use low-volume applications of pesticides, although some programs may still use thermal fogging. DDT was formerly used throughout the world for large area mosquito control, but it is now banned in most developed countries. Controversially, DDT remains in common use in many developing countries, which claim that the public-health cost of switching to other control methods would exceed the harm caused by using DDT. It is sometimes approved for use only in specific, limited circumstances where it is most effective, such as application to walls.

The role of DDT in combating mosquitoes has been the subject of considerable controversy. While some argue that DDT deeply damages biodiversity, others argue that DDT is the most effective weapon in combating mosquitoes and hence malaria. While some of this disagreement is based on differences in the extent to which disease control is valued as opposed to the value of biodiversity, there is also genuine disagreement amongst experts about the costs and benefits of using DDT. Moreover, DDT-resistant mosquitoes have started to increase in numbers, especially in tropics due to mutations, reducing the effectiveness of this chemical; these mutations can rapidly spread over vast areas if pesticides are applied indiscriminately (Chevillon et al. 1999)."

I guess for those of us expat/foreign English teachers that come from home countries/regions that don't have a serious mosquito problem, and where we haven't seen trucks spraying chemicals every spring/summer/fall, we tend to react rather harshly and condemn the act.

I'm trying to open my mind up to the idea of chemical spraying being the better of two evils . . . not fogging resulting in health problems (diseases spread by mosquitoes) and costs that South Korea might not be able to deal with, etc. I can do it, but I still get stopped by the outrage that nobody (i.e. adults, parents, etc) stops the kids from playing in the chemical fog.

I include this next video from youtube cause it shows a guy using the fogger in full protection gear . . . something that I have yet to see in Korea.

This next video shows a guy using a hand-held fogger and spraying INSIDE people's homes--wow.

And then you have this guy back in America making his own custom-design fogger that can be attached to his lawn mower . . .

I did a quick Google.ca news search for "mosquito fogging" . . . and found some articles . . .

Conditions ripe in Winnipeg for surge in mosquito numbers

Mosquito fogging set for this week

Va mosquito pool contains equine encephalitis

Anyways, I'll continue to cover my face with my t-shirt, and close the apartment windows whenever I hear the brrrrrrr of the approaching fogger truck . . . and hope that Korean parents are one day educated to understand that the fog truck is a health hazard for their children--and that they'll STOP them from playing in the fog . . .

J

A: "Jason, isn't it delicious?" B: "Uhm . . . yes?"

One of the 6 month trainees in my class brought in a traditional Korean dessert/snack for all of us to have after we finished the last class I'd be teaching them for the program.

The trainees kept asking me if I thought the rice/potato dried pieces (I'm not sure what the name of it is) was delicious . . . I said it was to be polite all the while chewing on a small piece and thinking: what the hell? it's dry, there's hardly any flavor, and the texture is . . . something else.

Here's a shot of it.

And here's a close-up . . .

I can really only think of one thing that comes even close to a comparable flavor in western cultural food from Canada: burnt toast with no butter or any kind of sweet flavor topping/sauce . . .

I guess I should be proud of myself for having developed diplomacy and tact skills after nearly 5 years in Korea. When I first came here I held to my personal belief about always telling the truth in every situation . . . I've learned that this is not a universal value and that telling the truth is NOT always the best choice. Often, if you tell the truth in Korea, it leads to unnecessary stress and conflict that could easily be avoided if you just take the time to learn the expected/scripted responses for the role foreign teachers play on the Korean stage of 'reality' . . .

I don't know whether or not it's a case of my taste buds just not being developed enough, sensitive enough, to 'savor' the subtle flavors of this snack . . . or if it's just a case of I didn't have my mother and/or grandmother indoctrinate me into seeing it as delicious over the course of my childhood . . . maybe if I eat more of it I could learn to appreciate the flavor more . . .

Maybe . . .

Anyways, the 'moral' of this story is that one should just generally say 'it's delicious' every time they're asked that question in Korea--unless of course your face is turning inside out and green from trying not to be sick or something from the food you're eating at the time, lol.

I wonder where the trainees are taking me for lunch . . . knock on wood.

J