R e – P e t e

In Korea

Hey guys! I’m in Korea right now for those that don’t know. The weather here is pretty bad because it’s monsoon season. That means it’s hot, it’s overcast (or raining) and it’s humid. Blech!

More specifically, I’m in Busan to see some family. It’s pretty cool to be back here. I’m surprised at all the urban development there has been. I don’t remember much of it from 8 years ago when we last came. All my relatives look pretty much the same except older.

I flew into the Inchon airport at Seoul which is the new international terminal built several years ago. It’s a pretty impressive airport. That was the extend of my stay in Seoul. I have to say that the women there look much better.

The other shocking thing is how much American culture has penetrated society here since I left. Last time I was here they had some western brands such as Calvin Klein, FILA and the infamous Playboy. There always seemed to be a bit of a lag between the korean society and american society (movies would come much later here, fashions here would match american fashions from the previous year, etc.). But things have really changed. Driving through Pusan I’ve seen everything including North Face, Popeye’s, and Kappa. I’m not sure if the style is exactly the same… my intuition tells me that it’s a bit different, but I’m still very surprised to see how globalized korea has become since I was last here. The most popular pizza place here is Pizza Hut!!

I’m very curious to see what Seoul is like. Pusan is the second largest city, but Seoul, the capital, probably is the most modernized of any city in Korea. I think the funniest image I’ve seen here are old grandmas (the type that walk hunched over) whipping out their polyphonic, camera-cell phones.

30 days

I’ve been out-of-touch lately. Nothing much to report except 1) had a cool house party with lots of fun people and 2) thought I had appendicitis but really just turned out to be a fluke-stomach thingy.

Last night I saw an interesting show called 30 days on cable. The guys and I had come back from Cha Cha Cha and we were busily channel surfing while still enjoying post-Sangria buzz. I recognized the guy from Supersize Me who is the host of this new show. It seems that the basic premise is that he “explores what life changing experiences are possible in 30 days.”

In the show I saw, him and his fiancee try to live off of minimum wage for 30 days. In the end, it seemed like it was all pretty hopeless. It really put things in perspective and it made me think of my parents when they first came to america back in the 70s. If I were ever that destitute, and lived in a situation like that I think I would turn to a life of crime.

In light of the rejection of the EU constitution by the french, it made me wonder how the people at the bottom rung of french society fare in a socialist system.