Random scenes in Seoul

Yesterday morning I stopped by to buy some kimbab 김밥 at one of the places that sells rolls for 1,000 won (about $.80, depending on how much the Korean or U.S. government have screwed up their respective currencies).

I stop by there often so of course the woman there recognizes me. Of course, they probably recognized me from the first time I went there...

Yesterday, she asked in Korean if I liked tan mu gi 단무지. I said yes, that I loved it.

As I was trying to pay, she hurriedly cut some up right then, then fed it to me, like I was a 6 year old child...

I could see everyone in the shop watching...

then, I said, "맛있어요!" delicious!

I could see everyone smiling. I'm surprised they didn't start applauding.

* * *

Friendly fights

Saw a funny fight the other day. Two guys in a restaurant were wrestling with each other, knocking over at least one table. I watched, not really interested in getting involved. They could be two friends fighting over a woman or for some other reason, but they might unite against me. The best way to end a civil war is to have an outsider come in and try to break them up.

An older Korean then went rushing over from a different restaurant to yell at them to stop.

Which they did.

They then walked outside. I watched for a minute...they started staring at each other, as if they were ready to fight again...

one of the fighters then handed his opponent his fellow pug a cigarette and lit it for him.

Too bad, I thought, that it wasn't an exploding cigarette. They seemed to talk a little, still eyeing each other before they took a seat. I then left, sure that they started fighting again a few minutes later...

Friends don't let friends drive drunk PSA

I told the story about the rassling match I had seen to a Korean colleague. He said I was right, they could have been friends just having too much to drink, no reason to get involved.

He then told a story from his drinking days (which I don't think have really ended). A friend of his way past drunk was determined to drive home. My colleague tried to get the keys from him but the guy wouldn't listen.

So my colleague wound up and absolutely leveled his friend in the face. That then started a tremendous fight between the two of them. My colleague said he was winning and had his friend on the ground and almost had the keys...

until his body suddenly remembered that it was drunk, at which point he threw up on his friend.

I suggested that would be a great Public Service Announcement...two guys fighting over the car keys, with a friend doing his best to rassle the keys away from his even more drunk friend before throwing up all over him.

Then, the voiceover: "If you drink and try to drive, a friend could beat you up and throw up all over you. So give up the keys."

CJL

Random photos from today

I went walking around today. Whereas some people like to go walking in the mountains, I enjoy walking around in the city. Well, not D.C. or other cities with many homeless, crazy and/or armed people walking around... * * * Here's where I had lunch today. About $1.90 for a hamburger hamberger. * * * Ha-ha! Bet you never would have guessed that Batman is a drinking place in Korea! * * * Man Clinic? The Koreans walking by seemed to be very curious about why I was taking a photo of a "Man Clinic." They may know something I don't know...Actually, I wasn't curious enough to go in and find out what it was... * * * Right down the street from the Man Clinic...there's a Love Shop! I love the euphemism. "Love Shop" sounds much better than Sex Shop. I'm guessing that if you don't go to the "Love Shop" to buy condoms that you may need to visit the Man Clinic a short time later? * * * Nobo

Teach North Korean Refugees Project

On November 1, we will be holding the 20th "Teach North Korean Refugees Project" session. The project launched in March 2013 when Casey Lartigue Jr. and Lee Eunkoo matched 5 North Korean refugees who were teachers in North Korea with 5 English speaking volunteers. The refugees wanted to improve their English in order to improve their chances to become teachers in South Korea. We met at a Toz in Gangnam, matching them. We have directly matched at least 117 NK refugees and 8 South Koreans who assist NK refugees with 164 English speaking volunteers. We have since hosted numerous sessions with a number of themes matching NK refugees with volunteer English speakers: * Staff at NGOs helping NK refugees (to help refugees working at NGOs and also helping NGOs build up their capacity) * special summer or winter study sessions (for students who have more free time during the break, look for another session in late December and early to mid January 2015) * Bring or recommend a

2014-02-14 Yeon-Mi Park`s debut

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From nothing to something super special (2023-02-10)

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CFE forum on Korea-EU FTA (Korea Herald)

Public forum on FTA on Thursday 2011-07-05 19:21 A conference on economic opportunities and challenges arising from the Korea-EU FTA which came into effect on July 1 will take place in Seoul on Thursday. The conference, taking place at the Koreana Hotel from 2 p.m., will also examine the current economic crisis in Europe and economic development in Korea. The event is being jointly hosted by the Center for Free Enterprise, a Seoul-based free market think-tank, and the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Liberty, a German foundation for the promotion of individual freedom which has offices around the world including in Seoul. “We picked the date hoping National Assembly members wouldn’t find a way to delay the agreement going into effect. So this is really timely because we are holding this less than a week after the agreement went into effect,” said Casey Lartigue Jr., manager of international relations at the CFE. Speakers at the conference titled “Economic Freedom

The Casey Lartigue Show!

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