Sunday, April 21, 2013

Hell's Kitchen listening lesson plan

A little lesson plan that I've just made up about one of my favorite TV shows: Hell's Kitchen.  I'm using it for an introduction to my lesson on TV.  I plan on putting the students in groups of 4 and letting them answer the questions.  The team with the highest score will get a prize.

Hell's Kitchen Lesson Plan

10 Signs of a Sketchy Hagwon

Some spot-on advice for those coming to Korea for the first time and looking for a hagwon (private institute job).  From Wiggle English.

10 Signs of a Sketchy Hagwon




Monday, April 8, 2013

Reader Question...what about North Korea

This question from Brittany:

"I have been offered a Assistant Professor position at a University in South Korea.  I am very excited and happy to accept the offer.  I have so many questions though and I am trying to get as much feedback as I can.  Currently the political situation between the US. S. Korea and N. Korea seems to be tense.  I am wondering if you have any advice on the matter?"

My answer...so, yeah, I basically just agree with what he said.

Or, to sum it up: I'm pretty chilled out and not so worried about it.  Over the 8 years I've been here, plenty of stuff has flared up (like every 6 months?) between the North and South and it ALWAYS just blows over, no matter how serious and scary it seems at the time.   Here is basically how I see it:

Does South Korea want a war?  No, because they'd win in like 1 day, and then have to babysit the underfed, over-indoctrinated North Koreans for the next 50 years or so until they could catch up.  Like could a North Korean army general could a job in the South Korea army?  Uhhh...no.  Could a bank worker get a job at a Korean bank?  Do they even have banks in North Korea?  Could a starving peasant turned concentration camp inhabitant get a job at Samsung, or Kia, of Hyundai?  Uhhh....no. 

Does the USA want a war?  Certainly not.  They are just finishing up their two longest wars in history and are reeling economically.  It doesn't make sense for them to even bother with an out of the way backwater like North Korea. 

Do China or Russia want war?  Of course they don't.  I'm quite sure they don't want to deal with the millions of underfed and uneducated refugees who would make a run for their borders to flee the chaos of a war zone. 

So, my short answer: just come to Korea and don't worry about it.