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Hanoi Fallout (2): Trump is Too Incompetent and Unprepared Tweet

This is a re-post of an essay I wrote for the Lowy Institute earlier this month.

Basically, Trump blew Hanoi, because he is lazy and poor negotiator. He has no empathy, so he cannot put himself in another’s shoes. Nor does he read, so he has no idea what the issues really are. He isn’t preparing for these meetings. He is throwing them together as he goes. So he walks into them unprepared with little fallback when he doesn’t get his way. Both Singapore and Hanoi failed along the same lines. Trump is 0-2, because he’s winging it.

This is classic Trump of course and shows yet again how badly suited for the office he is. A normal president would have at least had staff hammer out some basic agreement beforehand so that acrimony was not the only outcome. But not Trump. Negotiating to him is laying down ultimatums and sounding off on Twitter. And the response is predictably: the North Koreans are upset at the snub and threatening to restart testing.

For the life of me, I cannot understand the affection of Trump’s voters for such rank incompetence. He is so obviously in over his head, bungling a rare window of opportunity with NK, because he simply will not read, plan, or prepare like a normal professional. It’s amazing he hasn’t wandered into something genuinely catastrophic.

The full essay follows the jump:

 

 

There is enormous uncertainty now about the failure of the summit in Hanoi between US President Donald Trump and North Korean supreme leader Kim Jong Un. There will be a natural rush by hawks and doves to frame this, respectively, as proof that North Korea is belligerent and overdemanding, or that Trump is inflexible. Both may well be true, but analysts should be careful. We just do not know enough yet; we are not even sure which leader pulled out first, despite Trump’s claim it was him.

But if the ideological and policy fall-out is unclear now, one thing that is clear is that Trump’s thrown-together, fly-by-the-seat-of-his-pants diplomacy has reached the end of the road. This is an argument I have made for a year now, both on the Interpreter and on Twitter. So at the risk of belaboring the obvious, it should be pretty apparent now that Trump has whiffed twice in summits with Kim, almost certainly because of a lack of staff preparation and presidential commitment.

The US and North Korea face a decades-old strategic and ideological divide. The issues are deep-rooted and genuine. North Korea is a terrifying country that treats its people barbarically. That is a powerful moral reason why so many countries hold it at arm’s length. The US also has a strategic interest in seeing South Korea hold its own against this orwellian state. The South Korean constitution does not recognize North Korea. The US has stood behind that for decades. In South Korea, Japan, and the US, there are many interest groups and actors with deep commitments – some of them ideological, many hawkish – on North Korea. So the status quo with the North is very deeply entrenched – for moral, ideological, strategic, and bureaucratic reasons.

This does not means that the US (and South Korea and Japan) cannot change or evolve regarding the North. We can, and perhaps we should. That is a policy and ideological question. My point, rather, is methodological. Changing the relationship with the North will require a major and serious effort. The notion that Trump could simply swoop in and turn the allies’ relationship with North Korea on its head in just a few months with a few meetings was always hugely provocative – all but guaranteed to produce a serious backlash from the many interested parties in South Korea, Japan and the US. And indeed, a wide, informal coalition of human rights activists, hawkish analysts, conservatives in South Korea and Japan, the US military (quietly), the US Congress, including Democrats, and others have all expressed deep anxiety and pushed back. Trump even acknowledged this in passing at Hanoi, when he remarked that ‘you people would have criticized me for a bad deal.’

This bureaucratic resistance was fairly predictable, but Trump approached negotiating with North Korea as he has so many other major initiatives in his career – with a mix of bluster, laziness, and media over-exposure. As with reforming health care, building his wall, or pursuing an infrastructure build-out in the US, Trump showed once again regarding North Korea that he is just too slothful, impulsive, and disinterested in details to really do the work necessary for a major bureaucratic push.

Revolutionizing US relations with North Korea may be possible, but it will take much effort. Trump needs to use the ‘bully pulpit’ of the presidency to sell this to the many skeptical parties concerned about North Korea. He has to try to bring these groups – US allies, Congress, the think-tanks and media, military elites – along and assuage their fears – that he is abandoning South Korea or Japan, that is ignoring human rights and abductees, that he is bending on North Korea to get a deal from China, and so on. This might be doable – I am not actually sure myself – but something this big requires sustained, serious, public presidential leadership.

And Trump just cannot do that. He is just too checked-out from his own presidency. He is too lazy, most obviously. He goes to work late, watches too much TV, does not listen to briefings, does not read, and so on. In the two years he has spoken about North Korea as president, there has been no perceptible improvement in his grasp of the issues. He is still grossly uninformed about Korea, nuclear weapons, and missile technology, and so wildly unqualified to go one-on-one with Kim Jong Un.

Staff work would presumably fill in these gaps in presidential leadership, but here too Trump has undercut his efforts by throwing these summits together in just a few weeks. Given how deep, serious, and complex the issues between Pyongyang and Washington are, it would be a remarkable bureaucratic feat if the relevant staff work could be done in a month – which is the time Trump gave his team before both the Singapore and Hanoi summits. Previous efforts to engage North Korea involved months of planning (the Agreed Framework, the Six Party Talks), while the Camp David Accords, which brokered peace between Israel and Egypt, benefitted from years of rethinking by all parties and serious, committed, focused US presidential leadership. If Trump really wants something big like that between the US and North Korea (so he can win a Nobel Peace Prize, which he apparently really wants), he needs to make a much greater effort, really learn about these issues in order to speak of them in at least some level of convincing detail, and lead a major presidential, cross-party, cross-ally bureaucratic and public relations push.

He has not done that, relying instead on his supposed chemistry with Kim Jong Un and South Korean President Moon Jae In. As should now be clear, that is woefully insufficient.

It is now apparent that Trump will not mature into the presidency and acquire these skills. Hence the next step should be to kick negotiation with North Korea down to the staff level at the State Department. Let the diplomats and technicians hammer out some small, workable trades with the North Koreans to build some basic confidence all around. Otherwise, a third summit with Kim will founder just as the last two did. Presidential whimsy and lust for recognition is not enough.

In a normal presidency, the preparation for a further summit would see Trump learn the issues at least somewhat, work up a few trades with North Korea (aid for missiles, for example) which will enjoy some kind of consensus among the many interested parties, and then give some major programmatic speeches laying arguments for these deals with North Korea in the context of why a dramatically changed relationship with North Korea is a good idea.

This is actually doable. US presidents launch major initiatives like this all the time – George W. Bush’s war on terror, or Barack Obama’s push to expand health care come to mind. But Trump is just too lazy and disinterested, relying instead on these thrown-together-at-the-last-minute summits. They have now pretty obviously failed.

Robert E Kelly
Assistant Professor
Department of Political Science & Diplomacy
Pusan National University

@Robert_E_Kelly

 

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신조어 ("newly coined words") are recently made words that are gaining popularity. Sometimes they fade away, but other times they get popular enough to stick around for a long time.

Today's new word is 뽀시래기. What do you think about this word? Have you ever heard it before? When would you want to use it?

The post What is 뽀시래기? | Korean Language Trends Ep. 3 appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

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Nothing's Really Real Podcast: (Ep 53) Alcoholic Tweet

I’m joined on this episode my one of my best friends from all time, Michael Laperle. Michael is a recovering alcoholic. He joins me on the podcast to talk about his life, his childhood, some of his lowest lows, his theories on addiction, relapse – and the daily struggle that is sobriety. It is a pretty heavy episode.

For anyone listening in Korea who may be struggling with alcoholism and wants to talk with someone about it, there are English AA groups that meet around the peninsula. More information about those can be found at www.aainkorea.org

If you’re interested in reaching out to Michael with comments or questions, he has given me permission to include his email address: michaelalaperle@gmail.com

If you enjoy the show, please recommend it to a friend, leave a review on iTunes or whatever app you listen to podcasts on – and remember I love ya.

 Nothing's Really Real Podcast:  Soundcloud    Stitcher    iTunesKoreabridge.net/NothingsReallyReal
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Spoken Korean vs Written Korean | Korean FAQ Tweet

There are many differences between spoken and written Korean - that is the Korean you'll actually hear Koreans using, and the Korean you might see written somewhere. They're the same language, but there are some fundamental differences that can make the two difficult. In order to master reading, writing, speaking and listening, you'll have to understand these major differences.

These differences include word order, grammar forms used and conjugations, verb endings, as well as vocabulary, phrases, and more. Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments~

The post Spoken Korean vs Written Korean | Korean FAQ appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

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Cinemagraphs are great for ads and promotions, but it is always a challenge blending in your text or logo into a cinemagraph. Dues to the way that we currently create cinemagraphs, having test that may bleed over onto the masked out move areas, just didn’t look that good as you would still have to cut away parts. It just doesn’t look good.

For an idea of the old way, check the video below and excuse the lame joke at the beginning. At any rate, you had really only one option and that was to export the top image and add text away from the moving parts of the cinemagraph and then import into cinemagraph pro.

Fortunately, Flixel and Over have found a solution to this import/export/can’t have graphis over the moving parts issue. I will be taking you through both apps today to show you their new functionality and how it can make your cinemagraphs event better!

Cinemagraph Pro

For years, I have been export the image out of Flixel’s Cinemagraph Pro and hoping that any graphics that I added didn’t cover the intricate mask that I made. It was annoying sometimes when you had a great logo or graphic that just didn’t work with the cinemagraph that you created.

Now, you don’t even have to leave the app to add in text and graphics to your cinemagraphs. Here is how to do it:

Click the layer icon

Click the plus icon

Tap the spyglass and start editing!

You can edit your text, change the size, font, and colour all from in the app. There is a basic editor much like you’d find in any word processor and that works great for a myriad of purposes.

Over

The real power house here is Over due to their library of free and paid graphics and fonts. The fact that you have the ability to find and/or buy well-made graphics, icons, and quotes is a real bonus.

Once you have created your cinemagraph, load it into Over. Once you do that, it is then just a matter of finding the right text or graphics to add to your cinemagraph.

There are a ton of different fonts and graphics that you can use in Over for free and a lot more that you can purchase. It is just up to you and what you want to do with them.

The bottomline here is that now you have some pretty power and creative option that allow you to overlay icons, text and graphics over the moving parts of your cinemagraphs and even videos.

I encourage you to check out the new features of both these apps and sent me a link to your work. I would love to check out what you created.

The post Text and Cinemagraphs: 2 Options to Make More Creative Content appeared first on The Sajin.

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Getting an Apartment in Korea Tweet

While getting an apartment in Korea may not be of much concern to you if you are only planning to travel in Korea, it will be a big deal if you’ll be working here and staying for longer. In that case, you absolutely should familiarize yourself with how the Korean apartment market works. And also, you should conduct research on your needs, what options there are out there, and what requirements there are. To make all that easier for you, we’ve done a lot of the research for you. Read on for our advice about getting an apartment in South Korea!

 

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WHAT TO TAKE INTO ACCOUNT BEFORE BEGINNING THE APARTMENT HUNT?

First and foremost, before you even start looking at apartments, you should organize your needs, wants, and requirements when it comes to where you’ll live. This can have a big impact on what types of apartments and accommodation you’ll be looking at. Here are some essentials:

• Your length of stay in Korea. As far as actual apartments go, the rental contracts typically start from 1 year. So if you’re staying for less than that, it may be less hassle to consider alternative types of accommodations instead, such as shared apartments and share houses.
• Your budget. Mind you, apartments in Korea typically have a higher key deposit to pay in comparison to other countries, usually starting from 5,000,000won (approximately $4500) and up. You’ll get this money back at the end of your stay, but it may be difficult to cough up that kind of money to begin with. But if paying a large key deposit is no objection then you have no problem!
• Can you live with other people? What about the layout and size of the apartment? These are also some questions you should ask yourself while making preliminary decisions, although remaining flexible will provide more options.

WHERE TO START LOOKING FOR APARTMENTS?

Once you have sorted out some of the basics of what type of place you want to live in, and what you can afford, it’s time to get started on the search itself. Know that the apartment market in Korea moves at a hectic speed, so there isn’t a strong need to sign up for anything until a week or two before arrival. Better yet, do not commit to anything until you are already in Korea and have seen your new apartment in person first. You’ll usually have a lot of options to choose from. Here are some of the main ways which you can find your Korean apartment or other accommodation while you’re living in Korea.

• Realtors – This is the absolute best way to get your own apartment and rental contract in Korea. Choose the neighborhood, or neighborhoods, you are interested in finding a home and visit realtors in the area to have them show you around. Tell them what kind of apartment you are looking for, and especially what your budget is. They’ll usually show you around 10 apartments in one go, depending on availability and your limitations. You don’t need to decide on an apartment on the spot, although it’s typically advised to choose quickly if there is one that interests you. The downside of going directly to realtors is that they do not usually speak any English, so you’ll want to take someone who can speak Korean with you.
• Apps – There are apps like dabang (다방) and jibbang (집방) with which you can view rooms and their prices in specific neighborhoods without actually visiting them. You can’t actually rent one directly through the app however. It will give you the contact information of the realtor in charge of renting it out. By using these apps, you’ll get some advance insight on the apartment you’re interested in, before you’re taken on the tour. And when you do go to the realtor’s office, make sure that they show you other rooms as well, since sometimes the pictures give out a different impression of the room than what it looks like in reality, or the apartment in question is no longer on the market but the information hasn’t been updated yet.
• Craigslist – There are a lot of apartments, and rooms in shared apartments available here. The price is usually lower than if you go through a realtor, but it typically won’t be you making the actual rental contract. Most of Craigslist is also in English!
• Other services – In addition, there are many websites and apps from small start up companies offering translation services as well as other help in finding an apartment in Korea. If you can afford this, it’s definitely a service to use in order to make your moving in process smoother!

WHAT KIND OF RENT PAYMENT OPTIONS ARE THERE FOR YOUR APARTMENT?

When you are renting an apartment in Korea, whether it’s for 1 year or longer, there are two main ways with which you can pay your rent. These will be the same for Koreans and foreigners, although most foreigners will fall into the first category, and you’ll likely have been in Korea for a long time with a well-established status before you’ll try the second.

• Paying monthly aka wolse (월세): This is sort of a no-brainer, as it will be similar to how most of us would pay our rent in our respective home countries. You’ll pay the key deposit, which can be 5,000,000won or even more than 20,000,000won, and then you will pay the normal monthly rent each and every month. If you pay with 월세, there is some flexibility in extending your rental contract if you end up liking your apartment a lot, and you’ll get the key deposit back when you move out. It is possible to also negotiate whether it’d be possible to pay a higher rent for a smaller key deposit, or the other way around.
• Paying everything in advance aka jeonse (전세): In the long run, this is actually the more sensible option, but obviously it’s a lot of money to put in, think about multiplying that 5,000,000won key deposit by 6 at least. Typically the Koreans who go for 전세 get a loan from their bank, but while it is also possible for some foreigners, it may be overwhelming to navigate, especially if you aren’t fluent in Korean yet. The advantage to this option is that there’s no monthly rent fee and you even get the money back when you move out! This option is far less common these days though.

Of course, in neighborhoods like Itaewon you may find apartments with a smaller key deposit burden, so don’t break into cold sweat just yet! Additionally, for shared apartments, share houses, and other types of accommodation, the renting may happen a bit differently (and more cheaply) than it does for your very own wonrum (원룸) aka a Korean style studio apartment.

Regardless of how long you’re planning to stay, know that there are no shortage of options to choose from.

What house hunting advise would you give to would-be South Korea residents? Let us know in the comments below!

The post Getting an Apartment in Korea appeared first on 90 Day Korean®.

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Teaching English In Seoul Might Not Be What You Expected Tweet

Want to teach English in Seoul, Korea? Are you looking for a job teaching English in Seoul, Korea? Well, guess what? So is everyone else!

In this article I am going to cover a few topics not usually covered about teaching English in Seoul. Teaching English in Seoul might be great for you, but like other things in life there are 2 sides to a coin.

I lived in Korea for 3.5 years and in that time I lived mostly in Busan and in Changwon. So how does Seoul compare to Busan? Well, from my point of view it is only better for one thing.

What's that?

It's more cosmopolitan. Maybe you love K-pop, Korean dramas, you want a wide variety of restaurants and foods catered towards foreigners, or English bookstores, shopping experiences, nightlife, to be in a big Asian city or whatever. The bottom line is Seoul is going to have the most options in Korea.

So it just might be for you.

So what's the darkside of teaching and living in Seoul?

• Monsters
• Competition
• Pollution
• Seoul is in Korea and there are reasons why some people don't like Korea

There are monsters in Seoul

And unlike the rest of Korea it looks like they don't get plastic surgery.

\

Haha, very funny.

That's a joke you probably don't get now, but plastic surgery is very common there and Korea does have a growing film industry too hence the screen shots of "The Host" and "Colossal".

But what are the real monsters to teaching in Seoul?

Well, your monster might not be the next person's monster. It could be the culture, a co-worker, a hagwon horror story or something else.

But for starters...

It's competitive

So if you are like half of the people that want to teach English in Korea then that means you probably want to teach in a public school in Seoul.

Good luck.

Or maybe you want to teach in a hagwon in Seoul? That's actually more likely and towards the end of this article I'll give you a tip for that.

But...

What happens when you want to be where everyone else wants to be?

I spend a lot of time on Reddit answering people's questions about teaching in Korea. I see a lot of people asking questions about teaching in Seoul. Now it's possible that you will find a great job teaching in Seoul.

But...

When everyone wants to be in a certain place that creates competition. It's good for the employers, but not for you. They don't have to pay you anymore money or treat you any better because if you don't work out there is always someone else that would love to teach in Seoul.

So you are more dispensable.

They could take you or leave you. They will be less inclined to treat you well because they don't have to. There is always another naive foreigner around the corner.

But hey you are different so maybe you will find a great school teaching in Seoul.

Lots of people want to teach English in Seoul. It's a big city. And it's going to have the problems that other big cities have: it's going to be crowded and polluted.

Seoul is polluted

I see a lot of people complain on Reddit about pollution in Korea. But honestly I never thought it was that polluted, but hey, I didn't live in Seoul. I lived in Busan for 3 years and in Changwon for 6 months.

So if you really want to teach English in Korea and avoid the pollution then I would aim for smaller city on the east coast. Busan is not that small and it's not perfect, but the pollution never bothered me and I have traveled and lived throughout Asia.

I thought it was much cleaner pollution wise compared to the cities (Taichung & Tainan) that I lived in Taiwan while teaching English.

So when I see people complaining about pollution in Korea I can't relate. It's not going to be Beijing or as bad as some cities in China.

But...

Did you know that it snows in Seoul?

Yes, the white stuff, but also the yellow stuff and it looks like this.

Seoul joins the ranks of the most polluted places in Asia

Why?

It's caused by dust from the deserts in Northern China and Mongolia. Then as the winds blow across the most polluted areas (Northeast China) it picks up air pollution particles and then drops them down on Seoul and other places.

Doesn't it look nice?

"...It is normal seasonal dust with some increased year round pollution that has been around for years. All these people are complaining every spring when the dust comes, but not the rest of the year where it's just as polluted. If you look at the graphs it's been pretty polluted all year, and often it's most polluted in the winter, and indeed pollution has been a problem for decades, but for some reason you all are only dying from "pollution" exactly during yellow dust season every year."- bukkakesasuke

More posts on Reddit about the pollution in Seoul.

But wait, if you REALLY want to be in Seoul

If the monsters, crowds, pollution and competition didn't discourage you then here is some advice you probably haven't heard of yet.

Go there and look for a job.

Sure you could get a job in Seoul online. That's definitely a possibility, but being there in person will increase your odds of finding a job teaching there.

Think about it like this...

The school has to make a decision between the teacher standing in front of them vs. the teacher online. Who are they going to choose? They will choose you because for them "a bird in the hand is worth 2 in the bush".

Scared to?

Well, you are going to have anticipation anxiety whether you get a job beforehand or not. It might not be for you, but there are a lot of advantages and really only one disadvantage to going there to find a job teaching abroad.

This would increase your chances - if done correctly of finding a job where you want to teach. It worked for me. I found a pretty good job in the center of Busan with a nice studio and loft because I went there and looked.

Are you sure you really want to teach English in Seoul?

Because chances are it's not going to be what you expected. Things are always different. Yes, you might still like it or you might not. Also if you are 100% sure that's where you want to teach then don't complain about the...

• pollution
• lack of "good" jobs
• plastic surgery and other sucky things about Korea

...because that's the other side of the coin. I personally think the desire to teach English in Seoul is overrated. It never really appealed to me, but I can understand as one time I wanted to live in Shanghai. I did and now I have no desire to do so.

I also lived in San Francisco. It's a nice place, but you know these big popular cities aren't that appealing to me now. There's too many people and yeah, it's too busy for me.

I'd rather live in a place with an easier going lifestyle, some place closer to nature.

Anyways...

If you are a socialite then Seoul or any other big city might be for you, but if you aren't then why bother enduring the crowds and pollution?

I think you could probably do better in a different place where there is less competition and you might find a better job there.

Related:

• What's it like to teach English in Korea? 17 teachers share their experiences
• Online TEFL for Korea

 ESLinsiderThings You Probably Didn't Know About Teaching English In Asia, But Should Know

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Want to test your Korean? Here's a test question geared toward intermediate level Korean learners. Can you get it right? Let me know if you did.

What level would you like to see more of? What types of problems would you like to see? Let me know and I'll try to make more of these videos.

The post Korean Test Practice with Billy [Ep. 16] – Intermediate Korean (Listening Practice) appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

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The Worst Guys A Re-Pat Can Date in Toronto

If you’ve been following along with my “Tinder Nightmares” stories on Instagram, this will not be a surprise. In fact, after my series on “The 7 Worst Guys an Expat Can Date“, this one’s a long time coming. A year in the making, if you will. Women of Toronto are incredible, educated, intelligent, ambitious, successful, beautiful people who take care of themselves and their communities. The men in Toronto are old, crusty towels with tinder profiles stating their height and “no fatties”. I thought dating while living in another country was tough, but damn is Toronto ever slim pickin’s. Here are just some of the offenders. These are their stories.

Mr. Still in Love with His Ex

Let’s be real – this one should be the most obvious. Not unique to Toronto, there are plenty of men around the world who think the best way to get over one woman is to get under another – or 12. He hasn’t spent time identifying and working on the emotions associated with the end of something meaningful. If enough time and introspection hasn’t been given to mourn the loss, comparisons will be made. I don’t know about you, but the feeling I get when I can’t measure up to someone I don’t even know is torture. Don’t date until you’re ready. Please.

Mr. Still in a Dang Relationship

This lunatic has so much love to give that he’s shopping it all over the city. I can’t even get 1 person to like me long enough to be exclusive. How is this dirtbag carrying on multiple relationships? Sadly, this one is hard to spot. Why do you think women have gotten so good at the social media sweep we’re practically CIA candidates?

Mr. Doesn’t “Believe” in Monogamy

On the flip side of Mr. Ex and Mr. Relationship comes the man who doesn’t believe in monogamy. There’s nothing wrong with being in an ethically non-monogamous relationship even though it’s not what I’m seeking personally. This guy is the flat-earther of the dating scene. He explains ever so tenderly that he just doesn’t believe that homo sapiens should be anything other than hetero erectus. Mr. Monogamy is incredible in bed – and why wouldn’t he be? You keep him as a priority because he does it better than any of these other losers. Unfortunately, you’re making a priority of a dude with a big dong who has you saved on speed dial as “Thursday”. Don’t waste your time (even though it’s really, really tempting).

 The Visitor

I often match with guys on dating apps who are in town for the weekend and it’s just such a disappointment. You can’t determine whether you want to build something with someone after just one date. Well, you can – but it’s incredibly rare. The logistics of doing long distance dating can get really complicated, and that’s just when he’s honest. Who knows what’s going on in a different city or even country? Co-P cheated even though we only lived 45 minutes from one another, imagine someone on the other side of the world? The Green Card Monster comes to mind, too…

The Monster who “Won’t Go Downtown”

Feelings are all this guy will eat, but he fully expects you suck that silly, selfish sausage. It’s gunna be a “no” from me, dawg.

Mr. Lives With His Parents

This one isn’t always the worst case. If he’s lived away from home and knows the basics like how to boil an egg and how to do his own laundry it helps. I know some people who have moved back home so that they can save for a downpayment in this horrendous housing market, and to them I tip my hat. It’s not easy returning to “my house, my rules”. That said, if he’s just comfortable letting mommy cook and clean up after him he has no place in my home, nor my heart.

Mr. Unemployed

Mr. Unemployed could be Mr. Parents’ twin, or the same person altogether. I would never have dated when I lost my job back in 2014 because I knew I was watching every penny and couldn’t afford the luxury. I didn’t want anyone else bankrolling me either. I’m plenty happy to go for a walk and get to know someone, but it can get really frustrating when he either expects you to bankroll him or complains that he can’t participate over and over again.

Prince Charming

This one you really, really have to watch out for. He’s trouble you can spot a mile away, but the speed at which your hit makes you completely unable to move out of the way. Prince Charming has a great relationship with his family, a stable job, his own place. He’s probably endearing and attractive. He says all the right things because he’s the perfect manipulator. Prince Charming knows a little bit about a lot of things so he’s able to tackle any of your hobbies and interests, creating a fantasy if just for one night. Prince Charming is like personality photoshop. Don’t fall victim to the imaginary.

Me

My best friends are living with their boyfriends, engaged, or married. I am the last Single Sally. Sometimes it’s really fun going out with these awesome women ready to dive down the rabbit hole. There’s no competition when we’re out and about, because they’re off the market. That said, it can be really rough when I’m sick and taking care of myself. UberEats is the closest thing you someone ensuring I’m on the mend (but there’s no playing doctor with the delivery person). Events like Christmas, New Year’s, Valentine’s Day, my Birthday, or say – my best friend’s wedding can really get you down. Jordan Quinn, author of Korkscrewed (buy it), calls them the “Alcoholidays” because you’ve gotta knock a few back to get through them solo. A lot of guys who read my blog say it comes across as me being “A Woman Scorned”. I like to make light of these pathetic situations through my writing. I’m not angry; I’m perpetually alone.

Mr. King West

‘Nuff said.

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One thing that many young Koreans, especially those living in Seoul, enjoy doing on their weekends is to go dancing. Whether in a dance group or at a night club, it’s a popular past-time with young Koreans, and there are even many high school dance troops you can spot practicing in any out of the way place with a large reflection in Seoul.

Not only that, but both boys and girls in Korea also love to rent out studios with their friends for some dance practice together. It is probably no surprise to anyone that the citizens of a country with a pop industry that relies largely on fun choreography, are also wildly interested in dancing themselves.

So today we will learn how to say ‘dance’ in Korean. It is especially good for you to learn if you share this interest in dancing, as it allows you to quickly start making dancing activity plans with all your new Korean friends!

Can't read Korean yet? Click here to learn for free in about 90 minutes!

‘Dance’ in Korean

First of all, you can use the Konglish word 댄스 (daenseu) to refer to dance in Korean. However, the word is not used that commonly and can confuse many Koreans with its meaning. Therefore, often the better word to say dance in Korean is the purely Korean word 춤 (chum).

To make it into the verb ‘to dance’, you also have two choices. The first one is forming the expression as 춤을 추다 (chumeul chuda). It is highly likely that this is the form our minds would first jump to. However, there is an easier choice as well, which is 춤추다 (chumchuda). It still has all of the same ingredients, it just drops the object particle and merges the noun and the verb into one word.

Associations for ‘Dance’ in Korean

To remember how to say dance in Korean we’ll create an association for it in English. You can do this using similar sounding words in English, or associating images with the Hangeul characters, basically anything that helps you remember the word and its meaning.

For 춤 we’ll use the English word chum meaning ‘friend’. The pronunciation is different between these two words, what’s important is to just be able to recall the target meaning of dance.

The association is: “Who do you go dancing with? Your chum of course!”

See if you can come up with your own association and share it in the comments below!

A word of caution about Romanization

While 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

Standard:

춤추는거 좋아해요? (chumchuneungeo joahaeyo?)

Do you like to dance?

저는 춤을 줄 모르겠어요. (jeoneun chumeul jul moreugesseoyo.)

I can’t dance.

Informal:

이게 뭔데? 아까 춤을 추자고 했을때 춤을 못 춘다고 했잖아. (ige mwonde? akka chumeul chujago haesseulttae chumeul mot chundago haetjana.)

What is this? You told me you can’t dance when I suggested to dance a while before.

그렇게 잘 춤을 추는것을 어떻게 배웠어? (geureoke jal chumeul chuneungeoseul eotteoke baewosseo?)

How did you learn to dance that well?

Want more Korean phrases? Click here for a complete list!

Photo Credit: BigStockPhoto

The post How To Say ‘Dance’ In Korean appeared first on 90 Day Korean®.

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This is the abridged version of the live stream about Korean nominalization.

By the way, my live streams all come from votes from members who watch them - so let me know if you have any requests for future live classes.

The post Korean Nominalization (~는 것 & ~기) | Live Class Abridged appeared first on Learn Korean with GO! Billy Korean.

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In this video I talk about my first 6 weeks in Japan. I have been living in Fukuoka, Japan and it's going good. I like Japan a lot, but I have had some challenges or difficulties with the place I live.

I talk a little bit about some of the things that I am doing like jiu-jitsu, learning Japanese, how I am living cheaply in Japan and then I talk about some of the things that I like and the flip side of the coin.

 

The light side of the coin

• Japan is very clean and orderly
• People are very polite
• People work very hard

The dark side of the coin

• Some people can be pretty rigid
• Some people will not tell you how they really think so they can seem two faced
• Many people work way too hard. Some may say it's a workaholic culture.

TweetThe newly built Jijang-jeon Hall at Okjeongsa Temple in Gijang, Busan.

Hello Again Everyone!!

Okjeongsa Temple is located in eastern Busan in Gijang. It’s situated east of Mt. Dalumsan. Okjeongsa Temple was first established in 1907 by the monk, Bak Geung Hae. Since its creation over a hundred years ago, the temple continues to grow and be popular with mountain hikers in the area.

Depending on where you access the temple, you’ll first need to make your way up a long winding country road. Near the temple parking lot, you’ll notice a large temple shrine hall that kind of hovers over top the rest of the temple complex. This newly built, and beautifully decorated, hall is the temple’s Jijang-jeon Hall. On the first floor of this building, you’ll see the temple’s visitors centre and kitchen. But it’s the second floor, with its beautiful artwork, that you’ll be drawn to first. Surrounding the exterior walls to this shrine hall are a set of murals that depict the life cycle from birth to death. Housed inside the Jijang-jeon Hall, and seated on the main altar, is a golden statue of Jijang-bosal (The Bodhisattva of the Afterlife). This statue is joined by a row of five statues on both sides of the Ten Kings of the Underworld. All eleven main altar statues sit under a beautiful golden Datjib (canopy).

Walking away from the Jijang-jeon Hall and towards the southern courtyard, you’ll notice a stone shrine with a statue perched up a flight of stairs. This statue is dedicated to Yaksayore-bul (The Medicine Buddha). And a little further along, and with the monks’ dorms to your left, you’ll notice an open shrine to your right. This is the Yakwang-gak. Seated on the main altar is a statue of Yaksayore-bul. This statue sits underneath an intricate mural of dragons. And out in front of the main altar is a large stone bowl. Inside this stone bowl is mountain water.

A little further along, and in a closed, compact courtyard, you’ll find the temple’s main hall. Out in front of the main hall is a simplistic three story stone pagoda. And it’s joined by the temple’s bell pavilion. As for the main hall itself, it’s surrounded by older Shimu-do, Ox-Herding, murals all around its exterior walls.

Stepping inside the main hall, you’ll see a triad of statues seated on the main altar. In the centre rests 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 the main altar, and unique in design, as well, is a statue of a green haired Jijang-bosal. And on the far right wall is an elaborate Shinjung Taenghwa (guardian mural). But most impressive in the main hall is the multi-armed and eyed statue of Gwanseeum-bosal. This incarnation of Gwanseeum-bosal is one of the most impressive I’ve seen in Korea and perhaps only next to the one at Girimsa Temple.

To the rear of the main hall is the Sanshin-gak, which functionally acts as the Samseong-gak. All three murals housed inside this shaman shrine hall are older in composition. Hanging in the middle of the three is a beautiful Sanshin mural with a suspicious tiger by the Mountain Spirit’s side. To the left is an equally older horizontal mural dedicated to Yongwang (The Dragon King). And to the right, and just as original in composition as the Sanshin mural, is the mural dedicated to Dokseong (The Lonely Saint). And rounding out the set is a large prayer stone on the far right wall.

The final shrine hall people can explore at Okjeongsa Temple is the Chilseong-gak, which is situated to the rear of the Sanshin-gak, and is surrounded on all sides by a bamboo forest. And if you look through an opening in the bamboo trees, you’ll see the two story Jijang-jeon Hall to your right. As for inside the Chilseong-gak, you’ll find a mural dedicated to The Seven Stars that appears to date back, and be composed by the same artist, as both the Sanshin and Dokseong murals.

HOW TO GET THERE: To get to Okjeongsa Temple, you’ll first need to get to Ilgwang subway station, stop K124, on the Donghae Line in Busan. From this subway stop, you’ll need to take a taxi to Okjeongsa Temple. The cost will be 8,000 won, and the car ride will last about 15 minutes.

OVERALL RATING: 6/10. There’s a lot to see at Okjeongsa Temple. The main highlights of the temple is the elaborate Gwanseeum-bosal statue inside the main hall, the shaman paintings inside both the Sanshin-gak and Chilseong-gak, as well as the beautiful Buddhist artwork inside the Jijang-jeon Hall. But take your time and enjoy all that this little known temple has to offer.

The Jijang-jeon Hall at Okjeongsa Temple. One of the life cycle murals that surrounds the exterior walls of the Jijang-jeon Hall. A look inside the Jijang-jeon Hall at the main altar. A full look at the Jijang-jeon Hall. The Yaksayore-bul shrine at Okjeongsa Temple. The Yakwang-gak outdoor shrine at Okjeongsa Temple. The intricate mural that’s painted above the Yakwang-gak main altar. The bell pavilion as seen from the main hall. The three story stone pagoda out in front of the temple’s main hall. One of the Ox-Herding murals that adorns the exterior walls of the main hall. The main altar inside the main hall. The altar inside the main hall dedicated to Jijang-bosal. The temple’s guardian mural. The amazing golden statue dedicated to Gwanseeum-bosal inside the main hall. The Sanshin-gak to the rear of the main hall. The older looking Yongwang mural inside the Sanshin-gak. Yongwang is joined by this beautiful mural dedicated to Sanshin. And not to be left out, here’s the mural of Dokseong inside the Sanshin-gak. Rounding out the Sanshin-gak collection is this prayer stone. The Chilseong-gak at Okjeongsa Temple. The main altar dedicated to the Seven Stars inside the Chilseong-gak. And the view from the Chilseong-gak.