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Bogwangsa Temple – 보광사 (Dong-gu, Busan)
Inside the Hall of 1,000 Buddhas at Bogwangsa Temple in Dong-gu, Busan.
Hello Again Everyone!!
North of Sujeong Tunnel, and southwest of Mt. Palgeumsan (236m), is where you’ll find Bogwangsa Temple in Busan. This modern temple can be found up a long narrow road that leads up from the mountain’s base.
Finally looking up from the temple’s parking lot, you’ll see the main gate precariously placed on the edge of a mountain ledge. Up the side-winding stairs, you’ll be welcomed by a gate that has Vajra warrior paintings framed by a blue background. And up above, you’ll see an intricate dragon mural.
Through the wooded gates, you’ll gain entry to the stacked temple grounds. Looking back, you’ll notice that the main temple gate also acts as the temple’s bell pavilion on the second floor. There’s a large bronze temple bell that takes up residence in this pavilion.
Straight ahead of you sits the main hall at Bogwangsa Temple. Out in front are a pair of beautiful lion based lanterns reminiscent of the ones at the famed Beopjusa Temple. Surrounding the exterior walls are simplistic Shimu-do, Ox-Herding, murals, as well as intricate dancheong colour patterns.
Stepping inside the main hall, you’ll notice a triad of statues seated inside a glass enclosure. Seated in the centre is Amita-bul (The Buddha of the Western Paradise). This statue is joined on either side by Gwanseeum-bosal (The Bodhisattva of Compassion) and Daesaeji-bosal (The Bodhisattva of Wisdom and Power for Amita-bul). To the right of this main altar is a shrine devoted to Jijang-bosal (The Bodhisattva of the Afterlife). This slender, green haired statue of Jijang-bosal is backed by an intricate, red mural of the Bodhisattva. To the left of the main altar is another red mural. This red mural is the temple’s Taenghwa Shinjung, guardian mural.
To next shrine hall visitors can explore to the right, and almost stacked on the main hall, is the Hall of 1,000 Buddhas. Housed inside this large shrine hall, as the name kind of gives away, are one thousand all-white statues of the Buddha. The interior is colourfully painted, and a more modern guardian mural than the one inside the main hall hangs on the far left wall of the Hall of 1,000 Buddhas.
Past the low hanging eaves to both the main hall and the Hall of 1,000 Buddhas, you’ll follow a pathway up to the Samseong-gak. Along the way, have a close look at the beautiful artwork that adorns the exterior walls and roof of the main hall. From the perch where the Samseong-gak is located, you’ll get a beautiful view of Busan in the valley below. Stepping inside the Samseong-gak shaman shrine hall, you’ll notice yet another red hued painting; this time, this mural, in a set of three, is dedicated to Chilseong (The Seven Stars). To the left and right of the Chilseong mural are two modern paintings, beautiful in composition, dedicated to Dokseong (The Lonely Saint) and Sanshin (The Mountain Spirit).
HOW TO GET THERE: From the Beomnaegol subway station, line #1, stop #118, you’ll need to leave the station and find the the bus stop called the “Beomnaegol Station Stop.” From this stop, take Bus #86. After 4 stops, get off at the bus stop called “Beomil Chodeunghakgyo Stop,” which is an elementary school stop. From this stop, walk three minutes, or 266 metres, to get to Bogwangsa Temple.
OVERALL RATING: 5/10. There are several beautiful highlights to this modern temple like the beautiful shaman murals, the large Hall of 1,000 Buddhas with its modern guardian mural, the murals surrounding the main temple gate, as well as the Buddhist statues inside Bogwangsa Temple’s main hall. As you can see, there’s quite a bit to see at this little known temple in Busan.
A look up at the entry gate at Bogwangsa Temple.
A beautiful panoramic view of the murals inside the entry gate at the temple.
A look up at the dragon mural that adorns the ceiling to the entry gate.
The main hall at Bogwangsa Temple.
A look up at the intricate eaves.
One of the simplistic Ox-Herding murals that adorns the exterior wall to the main hall.
A look inside the main hall at the main altar with Amita-bul in the middle joined by Gwanseeum-bosal and Daesaeji-bosal.
The Jijang-bosal shrine to the right of the main altar.
Joined to the left by this Shinjung Taenghwa, guardian mural.
The bell pavilion that’s positioned above the entry gate at Bogwangsa Temple.
A look between the main hall and the Hall of 1,000 Buddhas.
The amazing interior of the Hall of 1,000 Buddhas.
To the left of the 1,000 white Buddhas is this newer in style guardian mural.
An up close look at the tiles on the roof of the main hall.
A look up at the Samseong-gak at Bogwangsa Temple.
A pretty nice view over the temple buildings down towards Busan.
The Chilseong mural inside the Samseong-gak.
The lonely looking mural dedicated to Dokseong.
And a rather original mural, housed inside the Samseong-gak, dedicated to Sanshin.
What is 워라밸? | Korean Language Trends Ep. 1
Want your Korean to sound more like a native? You'll need to learn current Korean language trends, and know how to use them appropriately. So I started this new series called "Korean Language Trends" to show what's currently trending in the Korean language and help keep you up to date.
Today's first language trend is 워라밸. You can use this word in your Korean sentences just like in the example sentences I give in the video.
The post What is 워라밸? | Korean Language Trends Ep. 1 appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.
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How to Say Train in Korean
How much do you already know about Korea’s public transportation? What are the main public transportation options within Seoul? What about when going from Seoul to other cities and towns in Korea? Even if you already know all of the available options, do you know what they are in Korean? In case you don’t, today you can add how to say train in Korean to your Korean vocabulary.
Can't read Korean yet? Click here to learn for free in about 90 minutes!‘Train’ in Korean
There are two main words for how to say train in Korean. The first is 기차 (gicha) and the second is 열차 (yeolcha). With either word, if you want to turn it into an action verb, you should add -를 타다 (-reul thada) to the word’s ending. This is the basic form for the sentence ‘to take a train’ and ‘to ride in a train’. Both of the words are also fairly interchangeable with each other.
Associations for ‘Train’ in Korean
So how to remember train in Korean? We’ll use associations to remember the key parts.
For 기차, we’ll use the association of a key for 기 and cha tea for 차. We then construct a simple story with these elements. For example, “on Korean trains everyone uses keys to stir their cha tea instead of spoons!”
Can you think of a story that would help you remember 기차?
What about associations for 열차? You can reuse the cha tea association and 열 sounds a little like your. Remember, the association doesn’t have to be exact, it just has to help you remember the keyword, in this case train.
Give it a try and let us know your association in the comments below!
Related Vocabulary기차편 (gichaphyeon) = railroad service
기차 여행 (gicha yeohaeng) = a train trip
기차 승객 (gicha seungkaek) = a train passenger
빠른 기차 (bbareun gicha) = a fast train
아침 기차 (achim gicha) = morning train
부산행 기차 (busanhaeng gicha) = train for Busan
장난감 기차 (jangnangam gicha) = a toy train
관광열차 (gwangwangyeolcha) = sightseeing train
급행열차 (geubhaengyeolcha) = express train
야간열차 (yaganyeolcha) = night train
여객열차 (yeogaekyeolcha) = passenger train
완행열차 (wanhaengyeolcha) = slow train
직행열차 (jikhaengyeolcha) = direct train
통근열차 (thonggeunyeolcha) = commuter train
화물열차 (hwamulyeolcha) = freight train
열차 종점 (yeolcha jongjeom) = the last train station
열차 운행 (yeolcha unhaeng) = train service
서울행 열차 (seoulhaeng yeolcha) = train for Seoul
A word of caution about RomanizationWhile it is possible for you to study the words in this article simply by reading their romanized versions, it will come in handy for you to be able to read Hangeul if you ever wish to come to Korea. Hangeul is the Korean alphabet, and not difficult to learn. In fact, you can learn it in just 90 minutes.
After you’ve familiarized yourself with Hangeul, life in Korea will suddenly seem so much easier and the country won’t appear so foreign for you. So, if you’re serious about learning Korean, why not learn Hangeul today?
Sample Sentences Formal:정말 죄송합니다. 기차가 한 시간 연발해서 어쩔 수 없게 지각돼었어요. (jeongmal jwisonghabnida. Gichaka han shigan yeonbalhaeseo eojjeol su eobge jigakdwaeeosseoyo.)
I’m so sorry. I couldn’t help being late due to the train being delayed by one hour.
울산행 기차가 몇 시에 출발하실거에요? (ulsanhaeng gichaka myeot shie chulbalhasilgeoeyo?)
What time will the train for Ulsan depart?
다음 기차는 언제 도착하세요? (daum gichaneun eonje dochakhaseyo?)
When will the next train arrive?
Standard:기차가 10분 일찍 도착한대요. (gichaka 10bun iljjik dochakhandaeyo.)
They said the train will arrive 10 minutes early.
Informal:지금 열차에 오를게. 곧 봐! (jigeum yeolchae oreulgeoya. Got bwa!)
I will get on board the train now. See you soon!
Now you’re ready to ask the station master which train you should take to Busan! What Korean transportation would you like to learn to say next? Let us know in the comments below!
Want more Korean phrases? Click here for a complete list!Photo Credit: BigStockPhoto
The post How to Say Train in Korean appeared first on 90 Day Korean®.
Learn to read Korean and be having simple conversations, taking taxis and ordering in Korean within a week with our FREE Hangeul Hacks series: http://www.90DayKorean.com/learn
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ReLEx Smile: The Future of Laser Eye Surgery
ReLEx Smile: The Future of Laser Eye Surgery
In 2019 we’re not yet in the business of space exploration or active stem cell therapy, however, we are at the forefront of the exciting and incredibly advanced changes in the field of vision correction.
The newest revolutionary technique providing patients a new eyesight in a fast and effective manner, is called the ReLEx SMILE surgery. With the minimally invasive treatment, it is now possible to perform an eye surgery through a keyhole operation, without the need of separating a corneal flap from the eye, as it used to be in LASIK.
Whereas in earlier days a whole door needed to be opened, nowadays, the operation can be performed through the keyhole. This means that the ReLEx technique is a completely new method in the world of eye laser surgery. The execution of this very complex procedure obviously requires specialist skills that you can get at BGN Eye Hospital, that has been performing SMILE procedure for over 7 years and has experience of over 350,0000 refractive surgeries.
As during surgery only a small incision of 2 mm is done on the cornea, recovery process of the ReLEx method is remarkably smoother than for the other techniques. Immediately after the intervention the eye starts healing. For most patients, the eye recovers so fast that in the evening they are capable already of reading the subtitles on TV. Within 24 hours patients can get back to normal activities, working or studying. As well as patients can back to all kinds of activities including swimming, sport, sauna and ball games as soon as after 1 week.
ReLEx SMILE is also a great solution for patients with a thinner cornea, because this technique doesn’t require the creation of a corneal flap as it is the case with LASIK. Therefore, the treatment is less dependent on the thickness of the cornea.
The reason why only limited deviations can be corrected with the traditional laser eye surgeries is that the higher the deviation, the more tissue needs to be removed from the cornea. For some patients, the cornea is not thick enough to remove the necessary tissue after the creation of the corneal flap. As the ReLEx SMILE treatment is performed through an extremely precise miniscule hole at the side of the eye, the front side of the cornea remains intact, allowing for the treatment of larger deviations. Therefore, the method can be applied on a larger number of patients.
Eye Dryness was also one of the main issues for patients who did LASIK or LASEK surgeries. SMILE, as a minimally invasive surgery shows much less dryness after surgery compared to conventional refractive surgery techniques.
During ReLEx method, the state-of-the-art Carl Zeiss VisuMax laser is used. This is the only femtosecond laser that limits the pressure on the eyes (this is why you don’t feel anything during the treatment) and which is more precise than any other laser.
The revolutionary approach and technology used in SMILE greatly improves safety, speed, and effectiveness of the procedure, and as result makes for a patient experience that is extremely hard to beat — now, or in the future.
If you would like to learn more about ReLEX SMILE surgery, or book a free vision correction consultation to check if you are a candidate for a refractive surgery, contact BGN Eye Hospital at:
tel. 010-7670-3995
kakao: eye1004bgnbusan
email: maria@bgnhospital.com
https://www.facebook.com/eyehospitalinkorea/
https://www.facebook.com/lasikinbusan/
Currently BGN Eye Hospital offers 2019 promotional prices for all types of Laser Vision Correction Surgeries, including ReLEx SMILE, LASIK and LASEK starting from 990,000 KRW.
How a New Personal Project Keeps Me Inspired
A few months ago I got a call from Dylan Goldby, who is a legendary photographer and writer for F-stoppers. He was coming down to my neck-of-the-woods and wanted to meet up for some sunrise shots and some coffee.
Checking the map, I had to laugh as he told me to meet him at the baby bottle lighthouse, which is in front of the Mazinger Z Lighthouse which next to the Taekwon V Lighthouse. I got a good little chuckle out of this.
Chatting over coffee, Dylan and I discussed some of the many unique lighthouses that there are around the area. This got me thinking about a new personal project. Why not shoot all the unique lighthouses that I can find in Korea?
Fishing for more information, I posted to several photography groups in the area. My friend Leigh MacArthur suggested starting a new instagram account for this project as he did. Leigh started a new account some time ago for Buddhist temples around Korea. It is a great project with some truly stunning images.
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Leigh MacArthur (@koreantemples) on Jan 2, 2019 at 11:27pm PST
On January 1st, I started the new account and began my search. It was a refreshing challenge to find these places. It took me to a few new places too. I love the thrill of finding new lighthouses like I did recently in a village called Gampo, near Gyeongju. I was there to shoot one set of lighthouses and then I found another and while I was scouting the new lighthouse, I found yet another!
View this post on InstagramA post shared by Jason Teale (@korean_lighthouses) on Jan 9, 2019 at 11:30pm PST
This project sparked a thrill and a challenge that has sort of reinvigorated my love for photography. Having this new project has also challenged me to use equipment that I don’t normally use like my 70-200mm lens or my 10-stop ND filter.
It also adds a nice bit of variety to my typical routine. Having the second instagram account means that I can organize my images better. I can keep a concise portfolio of lighthouse images on one account and the rest of my work on another. This also makes it easy for me to update my website galleries as well.
Strangely enough, today I watched the new Peter McKinnon video about becoming uninspired with photography. He touched on this very topic and also offered some other ideas as well.
The bottom line here is that at times you are going to run out of ideas or simply become uninspired. I know that I certainly was in many regards. However, things like getting a drone, making cinemagraphs, playing around with a crystal ball, and now lighthouses, keep me inspired and above all keep me learning.
One bonus that comes from doing all these projects is that often you will have to learn how to do something new. It keeps you sharp and constantly learning. I encourage you to get out there and start a new project for 2019. Let me know what it is in the comments!
The post How a New Personal Project Keeps Me Inspired appeared first on The Sajin.
Grateful Dead and the Traveling Soul
I told Althea I was feeling lost
Lacking in some direction
Althea told me upon scrutiny
That my back might need protection
There are many tales as to how the Grateful Dead arrived at their name, but the best is rooted in pre-modern Britain, and can still be of help to any traveler looking to juice some new town karma.
So it goes that among the horse-pie ridden roads of ye ole England, among the daily melee of human, animal, and the yet to be discovered universe of microbial traffic, a passing traveler might spot a human corpse or two who’d been propped up in their wooden eternal home, on display at the front of certain institutional buildings. The intrepid traveler would know that these unfortunate souls hadn’t been so good at balancing their pre-modern budget. Having failed to pay off their worldly debts, their posthumous punishment would be rights to a proper burial, until somehow their deeds on earth coaxed some willing witness to satisfy the debtors.
Often the families of the deceased would gather their meager feudal bits together to put their tap-dancing Uncle Jack six feet under. Or perhaps Jack’s old buddies would send out ye ole collection plate and hope to let the essence of Jack get on its way.
Another option however presented an ethereal opportunity for the fresh newcomer. In order to get into the good graces of the gods of debt, Jack’s soul, and massage the town’s collective gestalt abit, a mindful traveler could take it upon themselves to void that debt. No doubt a bit of a financial setback, the eager to please traveler would toss their coin purse onto the block still, and with Jack finally liberated into the spirit world he could show his gratitude by helping ease the traveler’s way into town, helping to fulfill whatever might be their intentions.
Now, if you see corpses lining a modern town’s streets, I wouldn’t suggest sticking around too long (unless you’re in Tana Toraja). The moral of my reminder here is to help out my fellow travelers abit. So when riding into some new spot try and locate similarly unique ways to be charitable. You don’t believe in god? The afterlife? Karma? Or even a higher force? That’s A-Okay. But helping out a family or friend of the recently deceased is still something wonderful, that is looked kindly upon, and helps to lift us all not to mention your own spirit. and might help keep the existential travel devils at bay along your journey.
(For Jen Sotham, you will always remain in our wayward hearts)
Korean FAQ – Transitive and Intransitive Verbs | 타동사 & 자동사
Just knowing this one tip will help you to be able to use Korean verbs more easily - transitive and intransitive verbs.
What's the meaning of an intransitive or transitive verb? Is it important to know these words, or what they mean?
The post Korean FAQ – Transitive and Intransitive Verbs | 타동사 & 자동사 appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.
Think Global Act Local: Alienate Fascists
“We believe that we believe but we do not believe”
-Merleau Ponty
Me attempting to keep out of the discursive ambush that comes with unleashing on the last remaining MAGA trolls that haven’t exited my Facebook cosmos:
But I won’t let a shared past sanction some old pal’s, some old itchy flame’s, some old grade school acquaintance’s budding fascism, as unconscious of it as they maybe, and y’all shouldn’t either. The few FB acquaintances I’ve had to openly kick in the nuts had been flagged too many times for being way out of bounds. Knee-jerk hate I can deal with but threats, family defamation, and that malicious mischaracterization of viewpoints that’s been unique in driving MAGA nuts to POP and shoot places up (all hallmark hatin MAGA moves), are all beyond reproach, and their spewers need to be flicked out into their own private site beyond the thunder dome. They suffer from what I call “deep hate”, that’s perhaps more so about their own issues then it is about politics:
However, there’s a subtler specie of MAGA folk out there who also need a serious reality check I do believe. It’s the cleaner, more tidy, gleaming white young professional ones we remain somehow connected with. And really, it’s these hyper-burbian social chameleons that need to be doled down a reality check. While you’re clinging to a distorted nostalgia of those halcyon days when you bonged beers with em and puked in a parking lot somewhere a lifetime ago (leaving it to be cleaned up by someone else because you were also kind of a piece of shit), they’re now actively supporting the NRA, or the inhumane mistreatment of immigrants and other human beings seeking a better life. While you defend your continued friendship because they never did anything bad to you personally, they’re totally cool and supportive of bombing the hell from innocent brown people the world over. While you’re agreeing to disagree (about an openly fascistic regime who’s actively engaged in the most bizarre smear campaign in presidential history via his twitter account, your old shot queen now supports the active destruction of the environment because climate change is basically fake news to her. While you’re trying delude yourself into believing you’re both still in the same idiotic clique in high school or college, they’re actively supporting a regime that wants to overturn roe v. wade, build a stupid wall of fear across our southern border, and affirm a leader who retweets messages from open hate groups. While you’re trying really hard to laugh with them about those alleged glory days, you’re failing to see that you were once perhaps a blind privileged unapologetically elitist barbarian you see them as today.
I get it. We want so badly to believe that old Steph is still that sweet girl that once cheered us up after we got dumped in the ninth grade. And perhaps she still does have something of that. But it pales in comparison to her active support of all that is driving the world over the fucking edge. We give far too much harbor to those who’ve become unconscious enough to peddle fascism, hate, and or blindly support it. All based on a bond that once existed in a totally different plane of experience of self, worldly understanding, and education, in a previous life. Such safe harbor gives them further impetus, further affirmation of their actions. Ask yourself in complete honesty, would you avoid a friendship with this person today? If so, don’t be a coward. My suggestion? Cut off communication with them. Be honest and live a life that caters to principle and not your petty ego story…ffs, it’s no longer as simple a split where “agree to disagree” is a plausible scenario, and it’s never a good idea to instigate violence. Stand up for all the lives these fascists are destroying, human or otherwise. They aren’t alienated via strangers, and if it’s not you, who? (if you don’t know why supporters of fascism should be alienated, well…god help you).
Nothing's Really Real Podcast: (Ep 49) Cult Survivor
Amy Rose writes:
“I was raised in a cult. You might be imagining white robes, chanting, pentagrams, prayer circles, meditating, group singing, forced sterilization, or even dixie cups of kool-aid. You'd be right about most of it ...”
Amy joins me on the podcast to tell her fascinating story, and answer as many questions as I could throw at her.
If you enjoy the show, please leave a review on iTunes, share it with a friend, and remember I love ya.
Nothing's Really Real Podcast: Soundcloud Stitcher iTunes @NothingsReally
How to Make Korean Sentences | Live Class Abridged
How do you put together sentences in Korean? What order do the words go in? How about longer, more complex sentences with multiple verbs, adverbs, and particles? I cover all of that in this video.
This is the abridged version of the live Korean class we had last year about Korean sentence structure.
The post How to Make Korean Sentences | Live Class Abridged appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.
Flickr’s ReBirth
Flickr for me was my starting point as a photographer. It was way way back in 2006 when I first started uploading my photos and I really haven’t stopped. Flickr has served me as a backup and as a portfolio for many years. Flickr was always a place for photography and photos… good or bad.
I watched flickr go through some low times and slowly slide into obscurity. Sites like 500px and instagram came in and pushed Flickr further away to the point were few were using it and the groups were dead. Yet, flickr somehow stuck around. It got handed off to different people who promised to make it better or at least “what it was” and then nothing happened.
Now, we see that Smugmug has picked up the torch and is planning to do something with Flickr. What that is, I am not sure at this stage in the game. However, those with a free account are seeing the first of many changes. This being the recent limitation of the free accounts to 1000 photos.
While this may have made a number of people angry, the fact of the matter is that for Flickr to work, it has to be profitable. Before you you start talking about greed and whatnot, you have to be realistic. Flickr was dying a slow death. Smugmug wants to improve the platform but that takes money. Money is something that Flickr is losing on a daily basis. Hence why there is a shift towards paid accounts.
Why Flickr? Why Now?Flickr is like a homebase for me. It is ad free (for pro subscribers) and doesn’t have that “like/unlike” thing that instagram has. It was for photography and full of photographers, at least it was 5 to 10 years ago. For me it just has a familiar feel and I appreciate that.
My most recent addition to the explore page.I think that people are now getting disillusioned with sites like instagram and they are looking for a place that is more about the photos than the places or products in them. I feel that photographers are also looking for a place to chat about lenses and share their photos with said lens.
The groups in Flickr were great. There was a group for just about everything! From your favourite lens to city-based photo clubs. These were not just hashtags but actual groups where people went to discuss everything related to that topic and plan meetups.
This terrible image is my most viewed image on flickr. It has 23,954 views thanks to an inclusion on one of those strange places lists.This is something that is missing from instagram and even 500px. There is not a sense of community. Facebook groups have come a long way and for most part have replaced the need for groups but if you look at how Flickr organizes the topics you can see there are differences. Again, Flickr is geared more towards photography than social networking in my opinion. Which possibly is a reason why people abandoned it for facebook and instagram if you think about it.
The other thing to point out is that Flickr has been around and many sites still accept imports, uploads, and embeds from Flickr. A huge plus is also the fact that you can export directly from Lightroom simply and easily. The export dialogue has a number of specific settings that you can customize like the watermark that you now see in my images on Flickr. Somehow Flickr retained some usefulness especially since you can’t export to Facebook from lightroom anymore.
Lessons from 500pxSmugmug needs to look at sites like 500px and see what worked and what went wrong. A number of years ago, 500px was THE photography site to be on. It had all of the trappings that photographers craved. It also seemed to be a huge improvement over the then dying Flickr, or so we thought.
There are many photographers who gained their following from 500px but many more complained about the system used to get to the top. From their acquisition by VCG to shutting down their online marketplace last July, it has left a lot of photographers wondering about the future of 500px.
In many regards, 500px has fallen from grace and it would be important if not critical for Smugmug to figure out why. For many years, 500px reigned supreme with portfolios, websites, and a market places that help photographers make money. Now, I can find little value in even maintaining my profile.
The Future of FlickrWhat I would like to see is more life being brought back to the platform. As Nicolesy points out in her article, many of the groups are long since dead. I am not just talking inactive but dead as in the last discussion ended 5 years ago… So yeah, more energy and people are needed.
I would also like to see a more community-based approach to the renewal. If they started working with photographers around the world and figuring out what they wanted or what would work for them would be a start. While I like seeing input from celebrity photographers like Trey Ratcliff, I feel the success of the platform depends on the regular photographer’s input and enthusiasm. Fan appeal is one thing but when people feel apart of and appreciated by a site that they use could be a game changer.
My second most popular image. With over 20,000 views thanks to explore. What this means in reality? Not much.The other thing that I hope they stay away from is trying to emulate instagram. It’s been done and done to death. I would love to see the Smugmug team sit down and restore what is currently broken and drive towards building Flickr into something beyond what it was and beyond another ad-filled social network full of boomerang vids of people drinking starbucks coffees.
With regards for the app, I think that they can ditch camera unless they do something REALLY special with it or partner with an app like camera+ to make it stand out. Otherwise just focus on streamlining the user experience.
Personally, I hope that this fresh perspective can breathe new life into Flickr. I never really had a problem with the platform or the app. Fact is, the only thing that I really didn’t care for was explore. That was simply because the algorithm seemed to favour either coffee, cats, or lego.
So if your photo managed to get picked up by explore it was not really a mark of excellence because the 5 photos next to yours were snapshots of a latte with a lego figure on the edge.
The bottomline here is that the future of Flickr rests on the proverbial knife-edge. The changes that Smugmug makes could change the industry or go the way Google+ did. If you remember, Google+ was all the rage in the photography circles and poof! people left it to die.
I am hopeful for a future for Flickr. If handled correctly with the right vision then we could see this being a new era for the site. If they screw it up, then just let it die this time as I don’t think anyone can help if smugmug can’t.
The post Flickr’s ReBirth appeared first on The Sajin.
Using The Bus In Korea
Although Korea, and especially Seoul, has an extensive subway and train network with which you can painlessly get from point A to point B, it is far from being the only choice of transportation. Another means of transportation that you should give your attention to is the bus network. After all, it is the one that also operates in the villages and smaller cities of South Korea, unlike the trains and subways. And although Seoul’s subway lines have amazing reach, you would definitely find it lacking without the bus network to complement it.
Many foreigners in Korea, however, continue to find the bus system complicated and difficult to figure out, especially in the bigger cities like Seoul and Busan. Typically, the longer you stay in Korea and the better your Korean gets, the easier it becomes to figure out. In the beginning it’s understandable, because it can seem so hard and impossible that many don’t even give it a try. But opting to use subway only often means having to walk longer distances, or having to take a taxi to get to many places.
But what if that was something you didn’t need to do? By reading through our guide, you can shortcut your way into a better understanding of the Korean bus system. The sooner you have a grasp of it, the sooner your life in Korea will transform for the better!
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Bus Network In Seoul
Unlike many other cities and towns in Korea, Seoul has an incredibly extensive subway network system. This enables for relatively easy travel from one’s home to wherever you need to go. However, as extensive, convenient and great as it is, it’s not perfect. The simple fact is that not every spot in Seoul can be reached by the subway, or at least not by the subway alone. At the same time, its bus network is also more extensive than other cities and towns, but also seemingly more complex to understand.
In Seoul, the buses are divided into color groups based on their routes. Green buses are ones that go a route that only accesses a select number of neighborhoods in one part of the city. Blue buses, on the other hand, go from nearly one side of the city to another. Then there are red buses which actually go outside of Seoul and into surrounding areas such as Ilsan, Bundang and Yongin. There are other buses in the Seoul area, but these three are the main ones.
Unlike many other countries, the buses in Korea do not have a fixed operating schedule. However, they do typically come every 10 to 15 minutes, depending on the route and the amount of traffic. Luckily you won’t have to stand on the bus stops completely clueless over when the next bus will come. Many bus stops will have an electric sign telling you how many minutes later the next bus will arrive. There are also apps, KakaoBus being the most popular, with which you can check out the arrival time of the next bus as well as its route. On KakaoBus, you can also check out which buses stop at your bus stop.
It really isn’t that difficult to figure out which bus or buses to take to get to your destination. All you need is Naver Map, where you can input your starting location as well as your desired destination, and it will give you the suggested directions, typically mixing both subway and buses.
So what exactly do so many foreigners in Korea find difficult about navigating the buses? There is one issue that seems to rise above everything else: getting off at the right bus stop. Chances are it’s not that difficult for you to find the right bus to take you where you want to go, or the bus stop to get on that bus from. However, actually getting off the bus may be tricky. But why is that? Well, the unfortunate reality of the bus system in Seoul, and frankly all over Korea, is that all of the route information on the bus stop and inside the bus is only available in Korean! This can be tricky to handle for someone who can’t speak Korean, especially if their Naver Map application shows the bus stops in English only. And although many bus stops on many routes are announced in English, not all of them are, leading to anxiety over whether you’re getting off at the right stop. Besides learning to read Korean so you know which stop is coming up, the best you can do in this situation is try to keep track of where you are with your smartphone’s GPS. At least then, you’ll be getting off close to your intended destination.
Bus Network Elsewhere In Korea
Most cities and towns are accessible by express buses from Seoul. There are several terminals all over Seoul, such as East Seoul Terminal in Gangbyeon and Express Bus Terminal, from there you can take a bus to just about anywhere. You can buy the tickets online or at a ticket counter at the terminal. Many of the bus terminals in other cities and towns also offer transportation to other cities and towns besides Seoul.
Compared to Seoul and Busan, many cities and towns in Korea use buses alone as their public transportation. The routes are typically less complex and there are less buses to choose from. However, in these towns the buses will come at larger intervals from one another, so it’s best to plan ahead which bus to take so you won’t end up waiting an hour for a bus to come.
At the end of the day, Korea not only has an extensive subway and train transportation network to get you where you need to go, it has an incredible bus network as well. And although it may be beneficial for you to learn how to use apps such as Naver Map and KakaoBus, as well as learn the names of the needed bus stops in Korean, you’ll be delighted to know that navigating the bus in Korea really isn’t all that difficult after al!
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Korean FAQ – Is June 유월 or 육월? Is October 시월 or 십월?
Why is June 유월, and not 육월? And why is October 시월, and not 십월? It would make more sense for them to be 육월 and 십월 due to 6 being 육 and 10 being 십, right? Well, not really.
There's a reason why these words are the way they are, and it has to do with them being easier to say that way. Find out more in detail~
The post Korean FAQ – Is June 유월 or 육월? Is October 시월 or 십월? appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.
Teaching English Is Difficult, But Fortunately You Can Improve Your Situation
Is teaching English difficult? Are you stressed out? Do you have any of the following problems?
- Kids that won't pay attention
- Kids that are talking when they shouldn't be
- Classes that are out of control
- Students who won't talk
- Students who use inappropriate language
- Teaching large classes
- Students who are bored
- Students who don't want to be there
- Students who are speaking their native language
- Problems with your boss or management
Do you have any of those problems?
If so then I can understand as I was there once. I have had all of those problems. And most of them are the result of poor lessons.
Sure...
Sometimes there are difficult kids too, but if you make your lessons better and improve your teaching methods I can guarantee that your situation will improve dramatically.
How do you do it?
Well, the free way is start researching: read books, watch videos, attend workshops, etc. But if you want some guidance and a streamlined course especially focused on teaching kids and solving your problems then I recommend this advanced course.
ESLinsiderThings You Probably Didn't Know About Teaching English In Asia, But Should Know
