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Okay, so let me add the rest of the videos I didn't put on last time.
I thought this song was wicked boring, so I didn't take much video:
This is a sad song about Japan killing one of Korea's queens of old:
This is a rap band that I assume is at least semi-famous in Korea. They weren't in the contest, but were just there to provide extra entertainment. They're called One-Two, or One-Two something or other:
These boys are from Ulsan. They didn't win any award, despite trying to be like, the Backstreet Boys or something:
Monday, October 6, 2008
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Go Bok Su Song Festival
Last weekend Heather called me up and said she'd seen a sign for the Go Bok Su Song Festival right here in Ulsan Grand Park, and said we should go. We tracked down Leon, the new teacher, and walked over there. Apparently this is a big deal. It was on TV. The guy who started it slash whom it's in honor of was like a big star. They showed a short documentary, which I didn't understand, at the beginning that told about him.
There were nine acts (the program said ten, looks like one dropped out or something), and this was the final round of what started off with several hundred contestants. Many previous winners of this festival have gone on to become very famous in Korea, said Heather. Each contestant got one song, and they ranged from traditional to pop. It was all quite funny. Some of the songs even had a few English phrases, but the only reason I know that is because there was a big screen showing shots of the singers, stage, and audience up there, and it had subtitles. The English was completely unintelligible.
The prizes at the end were very, very odd. They awarded seven prizes for nine acts. There were some placings that Heather didn't translate at first, then they had bronze, silver, and gold, then I think a runner-up, and finally first prize. It all seemed like nonsense. Leon said they should have learned from the Olympics that gold is the highest prize, but I said they must have taken a cue from the credit card companies and gone platinum and diamond. I'm funnier than Leon.
Here are some pictures of the venue, in the park. I was surprised that such a big event would have chairs put in such shoddy rows, which of course you can't see here. When we sat down, though, I noticed that besides that fact that the rows were all uneven, you had to move the chairs in the row in front of you forward in order to actually be able to sit down and have room for your legs. Idiots.
In the background is the band that accompanied all the acts, the Ulsan Pops:
Here are all the contestants:
And the hosts. I enjoyed their feigned playful banter, even though I couldn't understand it.
I took a lot of video of this thing. In fact, I took so much video that I filled up my card before all the acts had gone one, so you only get to see a few. For those of you who actually know me, YOU get to see the rest on tape. Something to look forward to... By the way, it's not in focus half the time because it was hard for the camera to figure out what it was looking at with all those bright lights and junk in the background, plus being so far away. We should have sat closer. I didn't think of it. Sorry.
This first video is all the contestants singing a lame song together. Because I didn't get the winner on my video card and can't put her act up here, I'll tell you who won: the chick in the red school girl skirt. To her credit, she is a high school student and so is allowed to wear that skirt without ridicule. HOWEVER, she sucked big time and Heather aptly suggested that she won only because all the judges were 50 year old men.
This is the first contestant. We really like him. Heather translated a little of the summary of all the acts that was given later for us, and she said they said this guy's voice needed more power. I think those judges should be shot right in the ear. When they awarded prizes, he got one, as I recall, but it was one of the lesser prizes.
This act was really funny. The strange thing about this contest was that the acts were allowed dancers, backup singers, and special effects, unlike in American contests, where everything is (supposed to be) fair and equal. So this chick had all of the above. Actually, the backup singers were there for most of the acts--these are the people on the left in white. Anyway, I liked this one, but Leon thought they sucked. Heather said she made a mistake, but she still got like a bronze or something somewhere in the middle to upper-middle place.
Well, Blogger is acting funny, so maybe I've hit my media limit for this post. I'll finish tomorrow.
There were nine acts (the program said ten, looks like one dropped out or something), and this was the final round of what started off with several hundred contestants. Many previous winners of this festival have gone on to become very famous in Korea, said Heather. Each contestant got one song, and they ranged from traditional to pop. It was all quite funny. Some of the songs even had a few English phrases, but the only reason I know that is because there was a big screen showing shots of the singers, stage, and audience up there, and it had subtitles. The English was completely unintelligible.
The prizes at the end were very, very odd. They awarded seven prizes for nine acts. There were some placings that Heather didn't translate at first, then they had bronze, silver, and gold, then I think a runner-up, and finally first prize. It all seemed like nonsense. Leon said they should have learned from the Olympics that gold is the highest prize, but I said they must have taken a cue from the credit card companies and gone platinum and diamond. I'm funnier than Leon.
Here are some pictures of the venue, in the park. I was surprised that such a big event would have chairs put in such shoddy rows, which of course you can't see here. When we sat down, though, I noticed that besides that fact that the rows were all uneven, you had to move the chairs in the row in front of you forward in order to actually be able to sit down and have room for your legs. Idiots.
In the background is the band that accompanied all the acts, the Ulsan Pops:
Here are all the contestants:
And the hosts. I enjoyed their feigned playful banter, even though I couldn't understand it.
I took a lot of video of this thing. In fact, I took so much video that I filled up my card before all the acts had gone one, so you only get to see a few. For those of you who actually know me, YOU get to see the rest on tape. Something to look forward to... By the way, it's not in focus half the time because it was hard for the camera to figure out what it was looking at with all those bright lights and junk in the background, plus being so far away. We should have sat closer. I didn't think of it. Sorry.
This first video is all the contestants singing a lame song together. Because I didn't get the winner on my video card and can't put her act up here, I'll tell you who won: the chick in the red school girl skirt. To her credit, she is a high school student and so is allowed to wear that skirt without ridicule. HOWEVER, she sucked big time and Heather aptly suggested that she won only because all the judges were 50 year old men.
This is the first contestant. We really like him. Heather translated a little of the summary of all the acts that was given later for us, and she said they said this guy's voice needed more power. I think those judges should be shot right in the ear. When they awarded prizes, he got one, as I recall, but it was one of the lesser prizes.
This act was really funny. The strange thing about this contest was that the acts were allowed dancers, backup singers, and special effects, unlike in American contests, where everything is (supposed to be) fair and equal. So this chick had all of the above. Actually, the backup singers were there for most of the acts--these are the people on the left in white. Anyway, I liked this one, but Leon thought they sucked. Heather said she made a mistake, but she still got like a bronze or something somewhere in the middle to upper-middle place.
Well, Blogger is acting funny, so maybe I've hit my media limit for this post. I'll finish tomorrow.
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Korean Won
The problem with working in a foreign country without paying off all your debts in your native country is that you become subject to the whims of the exchange rate. Right now I am getting slammed.
My boss recently told me that when the US gets a cold, Korea gets pneumonia. With the American economy in such big trouble (and right now I'm just relying on episodes of the Daily Show posted online to get my news), Korea is in a crisis. The won is practically worthless. The government has been trying to force it to stabilize lately, but it hasn't worked very well. They froze the rate at 1000 won to the dollar last month for a couple days, but of course that couldn't last long. Someone told me tonight that they're going to start "injecting" money into the economy as a result of the bailout bill not being passed in the US. Here's a quote from Korea.net:
"If necessary, the government will inject foreign exchange liquidity into the spot exchange market. We'll prevent the won from further plummeting despite a short supply of dollars," said Minister of Strategy and Finance Kang Man-soo on Sept. 30.
When I got here, the exchange rate was around 1000 won to the dollar. Yesterday, the won broke 1200 won per dollar. This means I lose around $300 a month in transferring money to my American bank account, compared to what I was getting at first. I'm really hoping this injection thing, or SOMEthing works out long term. My advice to anyone thinking of coming over here who hasn't signed a contract yet: wait until this money thing gets resolved. Who needs this kind of stress added to the stress of being away from home?
My boss recently told me that when the US gets a cold, Korea gets pneumonia. With the American economy in such big trouble (and right now I'm just relying on episodes of the Daily Show posted online to get my news), Korea is in a crisis. The won is practically worthless. The government has been trying to force it to stabilize lately, but it hasn't worked very well. They froze the rate at 1000 won to the dollar last month for a couple days, but of course that couldn't last long. Someone told me tonight that they're going to start "injecting" money into the economy as a result of the bailout bill not being passed in the US. Here's a quote from Korea.net:
"If necessary, the government will inject foreign exchange liquidity into the spot exchange market. We'll prevent the won from further plummeting despite a short supply of dollars," said Minister of Strategy and Finance Kang Man-soo on Sept. 30.
When I got here, the exchange rate was around 1000 won to the dollar. Yesterday, the won broke 1200 won per dollar. This means I lose around $300 a month in transferring money to my American bank account, compared to what I was getting at first. I'm really hoping this injection thing, or SOMEthing works out long term. My advice to anyone thinking of coming over here who hasn't signed a contract yet: wait until this money thing gets resolved. Who needs this kind of stress added to the stress of being away from home?
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Other Telephone Weirdness
It just occurred to me that, not only do Koreans not have voicemail or answering machines, but they also don't say "goodbye" before hanging up the phone. They just kind of finish what they're saying and hang up. The closest I've seen to a closing like we do is "ne," which is just "yes." It's so counterintuitive. At least they say something in the beginning: "Yeoboseyo?"
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