WHY? (Beyond Konglish, how some communication between Korean and English flops)

So, I injured my left knee about two weeks ago and after getting my MRI on Monday, but before my surgery on Thursday, I was able to get myself to work for Tuesday and Wednesday. Sporting a pair of crutches for the first time in my life, I hobbled along to my elementary school, leaving extra early for two reasons: I wanted to give myself extra time as I was moving slow and I wanted to avoid as many kids as possible, certain they would all be asking me what had happened?

And that’s what we would say in English, right? “Oh, Brian, you hurt your leg? What happened?” In Korean, this would translate as: “아이고 브라이언! 다리 다쳤어요? 왜 그랬어요?” The phrase 왜 그래요? means “why that way?”

Well, on my way to school on that first morning, I did encounter my first student who stopped in my tracks, wide eyed and slack-jawed–in utter disbelief perhaps that the superhuman Foreign Teacher was susceptible to injury. After a moment, I could almost see his brain untangling sets of learned English patterns, could almost see him searching for the right question to inquire about my injury. But, as is often the case when learning a foreign language, when put on the spot, the best response often just isn’t there. I would have accepted any of the following:

1) “Mr. Van Hise, what happened to your leg?”

2) “Mr. Van Hise, what happened?”

3) “What happened?”

Instead, the 6th grade boy just stood there and said: “Why?”

Why?

I was stuck for an answer. How to answer? Why did I hurt my leg? Was he looking for a perverted, malicious reason that I might have willingly and maniacally chosen to injure myself? And if so, did he expect to understand any response that would explain such an intent? “Why did I injure my leg, you ask? Well, you see, I like getting kinky with knitting needles and sometimes, when a man is feeling lonely…”

Ok, so he really meant to say: “What happened?” not “Why?”, so I understood his intended concern, but I only responded: “I just did. Just hurt my knee.” He didn’t seem to care much about my answer, and soon he had run off to rejoin his friends on our schoolyard’s 200 meter track.

So, in Korean, instead of saying the full phrase: 왜 그랬어요? (What happened?), they can sometimes shorten it to simply: 왜?  This word by itself, and out of additional context, simply translates to: “Why?” However in my case, the missing “그랬어요?” makes their question “Why?” in English seem like an awkward, hanging insult: “Why would you hurt your knee? That’s stupid.” is how I took it.

Learning languages and hearing them translated back with various misunderstood nuances can be fun and aggravating at the same time.

I carried on, past the playground that morning and within another few seconds could sense a car sneaking up behind me. I pivoted myself to the side, to let the car pass, probably looking lonely and helpless as my huge foreigner body hung from the thin metal crutches, adjusted earlier to their maximum reach for my apparent giant-like body.

In the driver’s seat was Mrs. Lee, my main English co-teacher from last year. I brightened at seeing her, as I’d been meaning to stop by her new office and catch up with her this new semester.

But, obvious panic struck her face.

She gave me the once over.

“Oh, Brian! Why?”

대구 성모병원 슬관절 수술

Be Awesome.

Found this on a train tonight going from Busan to Daegu. The bottom sign reads: 비었음 which, when read phonetically sounds like: “be awesome.” It really means the toilet is vacant (as opposed to 사용중 when occupied).

So. Be awesome.

[Feb./Fun Things to Do] Suseong Artpia–Arts Academy

Daegu is a great city for offering its citizens free time activities. Donga Department store offers a quarterly newsletter showcasing it’s various craft, cultural, and continuing education programs. The target of these course offerings seems to be stay at-home moms who have pockets of free time scattered throughout the week and want to build social unity among their peers during those times. Book clubs, bread-baking clubs, weaving groups and the like can be found there.

However, for those who have more of an artistic interest the Suseong Artpia might be for you.

Nestled just north of Apsan Mountain the Suseong Artpia is primarily a concert venue for visiting conductors, orchestras, solo artists, musicals, and plays. But, the Artpia also offers an art academy for interested members of the public. Ballet, painting, and musical instrument training are among the offerings at the facility. While all instructed in Korean, as with art in any country, a simple brush stroke or strum of a chord can be communicated beyond words.

The Arts Academy of the Suseong Artpia is located in the lobby of the Muhak Hall (무학홀), on the lower level of the building, left of the grand staircase (street level, no stairs required).

Classes can be signed up for easily (fees vary) through an in-house application process. Follow the example application provided and hand it in to the friendly staff on hand.

Upon completion of the courses, exhibitions and/or recitals are given. Currently, there is a fantastic display of student artwork donning the foyer walls.

Not interested in the academy? Well, you can still attend the numerous shows offered at the venue. Visit the Suseong Artpia’s website at: http://www.ssartpia.kr/  The Artpia is located in southern Suseong-Gu, just East of Suseong Lake.

[Feb./Life] F2: Upgrading Your Life in Korea

For a few years now the Korean Ministry of Justice has offered visa upgrades to foreigners working professionally and lawfully residing in Korea. These professionals, who have resided in Korea for at least one year, can participate in a point system to change from an E or D visa to an F-2 visa. F2 visas are “resident status” visas and can open up a wider range of employment options for holders.

The point system is calculated by age, academic career, Korean language proficiency, yearly income, and some other factors including volunteer work, professional work experience outside Korea, and any study done within Korea. In addition to accumulating points towards your upgrade, certain illegal activities (such as illegal stays) can create minus points. Of the 120 points available, only 80 are needed to apply for the visa upgrade.

Most applicants might be curious about gaining the necessary Korean language proficiency points. This is where KIIP comes in. KIIP is the Korean Immigration and Integration Program, a step-by-step program to help foreigners gain their residency status.

The first step with KIIP, is registering on the website (Korean only): http://www.socinet.go.kr

Those interested in the 2013 program, should be aware of the following open windows for applications this year:

The program begins with a pre-test (level-placement test) and is offered three times a year:

Upon the results of this test, participants may then take their required Korean language courses at local educational venues (each level is 100 semester hours, or about 3 months of participation). In Daegu, these educational venues are Keimyung University, Kyungbook University, and the YMCA downtown.

All participants are also required to successfully complete the Korean society comprehension course (한국사회 이해), which is only 50 hours of coursework.

Finally, after this entire process, you can visit the Daegu immigration office (대구출입국관리사무소) located at:

Address: 1012-1, Geomsadong, Dong-gu, Daegu. Phone: 053-980-3512

(Take Exit #1 out of Red Line subway stop Dong Cheon (동촌) and walk straight to the intersection. Cross the street and turn left. Walk about 1 block. The building is on your right and has recently been painted white).

At the immigration office you can contact their friendly, helpful staff for further information on upgrading your visa from E or D to F-level status.

Additional information:

Andong: Into the Great Wide Open

This past weekend was a special one in Korea as the Lunar New Year, Seollal, was celebrated. Along with Chuseok in the Fall, Seollal is one of the largest Korean national holidays celebrated. Typically, it’s a time or families to travel to each other and spend time together. For foreigners, it usually means a long-weekend full of travel opportunities.

The Daegu-Gyeongbuk Free Economic Zone hosted a Gyeongbuk camper car tour for 3 days. Our group was 3 Koreans and 3 Americans and we set off for a fun-filled adventure around the region.

First on our list was Andong, a city boasting a variety of cultural sites and activities to take part of. Our group got a view of the lovely Hahoe Folk Village (하회마을), a UNESCO World Heritage site which can be seen via a lovely outlook cliff from the north. History claims that the line of trees planted along the edge of the village are part of a pungsu, aka Feng Shui, design intended to ward off evil from the direction of the cliff.

Andong is famous in Korea for its local Jjimdalk (찜닭), which is a chicken stew. I’ve eaten jjimdalk in Daegu several times and have always loved it (personally I always get the boneless option when available). Well, Andong jjimdalk didn’t fail to impress. It was the best I’ve eaten. Particularly, the stew broth when mixed with my small bowl of rice was really, really good.

In Andong, we also visited the Byeongsan Seowon, a lovely Joseon dynasty-era academy. It was gorgeous in winter time which means it can only be more miraculous in the Fall, when the surrounding hillsides change in color.

Last on our list for the day was the “Moral Cultural Capital of Andong” traditional village of Andong (정신문화화의 수도 안동). Set along a striking hillside and along the river, the village showcases thatch-roofed houses and very old systems of heating these traditional houses. In the kitchens, the same fire used to heat a pot of water was linked to the adjacent bedroom, which was raised higher to accommodate the heat passing from the kitchen, under the bedroom floor boards, and then out an exhaust hole. This system of Korean floor-heating has been modernized, of course, but is still used widely today in Korea with gas ondols.

Andong had been on my “too-see” list for quite a while. The experience did not disappoint and I would love to return when everything is in bloom there.

[Jan./Transportation] Above the Below

Two years ago I remember the hassle of getting to Yeungnam University. It seemed like it should have been easy–just jump on the subway and jump off. Instead, one had to take the green line east-bound to the end station and then transfer to a bus. Well, as if the Daegu transportation gods heard my cries, last year marked the opening of three additional subway stops.

Suddenly, it’s become much more convenient to access not only the university, but the surrounding area as well. I recently joined some friends at a little place called Cafe Treez. It’s located just off the Yeungnam University stop, scattered among the windy neighborhood of shops, restaurants, cafes, and karaoke rooms. Having exited the bright, shiny new station, it felt good to explore a newer part of the city for me. Now, let’s face it, I haven’t done the same with *every* stop between my home’s subway station and this one, so what’s the difference? I guess, the new opening compels me more to witness it and explore further. The extension of the new subway line gave me the motivation to see what was out there that made it worth the extension.

And there was Cafe Treez. A moderately priced cafe, tucked away nicely with a front door accessible by a small alley. There, I enjoyed a hot chocolate and some waffles. I’m not talking IHOP style from back in the States, but rather thick, perfectly-golden, tear-apart waffles nudging up against a huge scoop of ice cream and wall of freshly-cut fruit. Oh, and let’s not forget the sprinkled powered sugar and drizzled chocolate on top. Wanna see the pic? All right then:

I mention all of this, not so much to make recommendations of new places to visit, but to point out that as Daegu’s public transportation system expands further, more and easily-accessible neighborhoods will open up to Joe Commuter.

What was already noticeable in 2012 will become much more obvious this year, and that is the construction of the 3rd Daegu subway line. Subway is perhaps a misnomer since it’s actually above ground, but will be tied into the whole system just as well. Construction of the tracks keeps some adjacent traffic moving slowly, but seeing the new frames being erected for the future stations is a magnificent sight.

Construction will continue through 2013 and wrap up by Summer 2014. So, if you’re here in Daegu then, take the opportunity to explore Line 3 and in the meantime, head out to Yeungnam University station and see what the area has to offer. Or just take my recommendation and stop by Cafe Treez for a nice warm, waffle.