Travels

Travels

Jessica sleeping, Korean-style.

Summer Camp Week 3

Down the home stretch now. Jessica and I are staying in a beautiful condominium overlooking Busan. This has been the easiest three weeks of money I've earned in my life. John is sharing one of the bedrooms. In general, it's been good.

However, that being said, I still can't shake the idea of Korea being nothing more than a bunch of peasants with technology. The educational system is a fraud. No wonder a degree from Korea is worthless in the States. I certainly wouldn't accept an applicant holding a title from here, being that I have observed first-hand how Korean Ph.D.s have paid people to write/copy sections of their dissertation, and have spoken with Western academicians that state such practices are commonplace here.

Another thing I can't understand is the strong Anti-Americanism. Just do a search on the internet and look up pictures of Seoul in the 1940s. Seoul in the 40s was a sewer dump. America gave the Koreans roads, ship yards (along with the Japanese), buildings, and manufacturing. Now our troops are the ones who would be killed first instead of the Koreans.

Korea for the Koreans. I guess that's ok, they certainly don't have any other place to go. It would be nice to see this place enter the global economy but I can't see that happening in another 100 years, if it all. Right now the country has been invaded and pillaged for centuries and is now bankrupt with nothing to offer the world. Name me one INTERNATIONALLY recognized Korean writer. See?

The economy. Crap. Maybe in the 80s and the early 90s, but now the jobs have gone to China. Just walk in any Lotte Department store or Samsung and offer a reasonable economic explanation why there are four employees in every aisle. Good service? Hardly. More like the government has instructed the large conglomerates to support as many employees as possible to prevent a collapse of the economic system here.

Enough home truths. Back to fun.

View from the Condo

Last Friday was "Star Search", Big John, John and I were judges. We came in to the auditorium with Big Poppa Pump's theme music and the lights down. Lights up and:

Derrick, Me, John and Big John: Toga Time!

Non-functioning Speaker #3. They are going to have to fix those things!