The Expatriate is a non-profit organization with an all volunteer staff.  Our mission is to enrich the lives of the English speaking community of the greater Pusan area.  By presenting a positive experience of and helpful information about Koreans and Korean culture to foreigners in Pusan, and by providing insight into Western culture for Koreans, we hope to build trust and understanding between the two communities. 

Readers are encouraged to submit articles, letters-to-the-editor, and poems that address our mission.  No submission will be paid for.  All submissions will be edited for content, appropriateness, and length.  Please limit your submissions to about 150 – 250 words.  We will be happy to return a submission provided it can still be found.  Send submissions by e-mail or post. 

Your Hard Working Expatriate Staff 

Managing Editor: Jon Marshall  Photo Editor: Patrick Lane  Special Assistant: Sheila : ScoopSc Windle  Classified Coordinator: Jeff Lebow Chief Distributor: Leland Ackerson Webmaster: Mark Adams Cut & Paste Goddess: T.J. Everest Writers:  D  ??,, ,   ??,, Jack Chase, Michael Duffy, Stephanie Gonda, Sean Lardner, Michael "Moby" Lesser, Timothy Young, The Chainsaw Hard disk error by Samsung, Artist: Dyke, General Staff: William Allen, Brenda Carlson, Darlene Heiman, Jerry Foley, Nicole Harrison, Andrew Lee, Paul Shoebridge, and many many  Lesser (Toe-kkae-bee) 

Registration Number: Pending                          Publisher: Veronica Choi 

Hey y'all: 
Spring is here and change is in the air, both here and in Korea!  While the worst is hardly over by any stretch of the imagination, there are sure signs that the Korean economy is beginning to recover.  There is a light at the end of the tunnel.  The March crisis never happened so the international banks rolled over Korea's short-term debt one more time.  The won is at 1450 – 1600.  International investment is up, as are exports.  The word from the international fat cats is that Korea is too important to give up on.  The basics of her economy are sound.  The government is making the right changes. 

I like to think that Kim Dae-jung and I are a lot alike.  We are both practical hard working stable liberal men.  We lead vital internationally recognized organizations.  We both work long hard hours at jobs no one else in their right minds would take.  Regardless of how responsible we are for what happens, if things go well, we are given accolades, if things go badly, we are blamed.  We are men of action and substance, working in a time and place where action is what is needed most. 

Action is what Korea needs.  Action is what the paper needs.  Action is what both are getting.  I am ever so thankful when someone tells me honestly what he or she think of the paper.  I don't care if you like it or hate it; I like to hear about it.  I love it when someone takes my suggestion and writes a letter to the editor –  which no one has done recently! Michael Lesser told me last August that he thought the paper needed restaurant reviews.  I agreed, and asked him to write them.  Surprisingly enough he did.  The Chainsaw came to me and not only said that she thought we needed an advice column, she had one in hand.  Over a year ago, Leland Ackerson took the paper he was editor of, the Yukyo Yacker, and merged it with our paper.  Ever since then he has been handling the distribution.  Jeff Lebow has been making the classified ads for at least a year.  These are all actions and actions produce results. 

These are the actions you can take to help the paper grow and prosper.  Give us any suggestion about what you want to see in the paper.  If you don't want to enact that suggestion, I'll do my best to do so provided I agree with it.  Write an article or letter-to-the-editor.  Suggest future themes.  Write to the Chainsaw.  Encourage your Korean friends to read the paper.  Tell the advertisers that you've seen their ad in the paper. 

The paper's name has changed.  We are now The Expatriate/ The Ex.  We must appeal to more Korean readers if we are to survive.  You will see an increase in the amount of Korean used in the paper, and hopefully the accuracy of it too.  There will be other changes as they happen.  Stay tuned, boys and girls, you ain't seen nothing yet. 

Mark Your Calendars 

Deadlines: For May ---- April 17th 
          For June ------ May 23rd 

Proofreading Meeting: April 19th at 3pm at Dream Internet Cafe; 
Organizational Meeting: April 26th at 3pm at Kim & Johnson's in So-myon 

What We Need 
Articles:  May's theme: International Travel From Korea –  articles and tips about travel to Thailand, Japan, China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, Canada, The United States, Europe.  Pictures too! 

June’s Theme –  The Parks, Islands, and Temples of Pusan 
E-send us articles and tidbits about any of these places you've experienced. 

July’s Theme –  Monsoon Season! 
E-send us what you know, feel, love, and hate about the rainy season. 

Other articles: any place you've traveled to, food adventures & shopping for, preparing, eating etc, where do you buy clothes?