While, in my opinion the decision was overly harsh and therefore  disqualification was not warranted,  I don’t think any sane individual can justify the following developments undertaken by the Korean netizen community: threatening to bomb the Australian Embassy in Seoul, death threats made against Mr. Hewish with his Sydney house subsequently being placed under police protection after his address and Google map image of his house was leaked onto the Internet via enraged Korean netizens as well as Mr. Hewish being placed under police protection in Vancouver and unable to officiate Friday’s racing due to death threats and 20,000 angry emails.

Here’s a Youtube video of the critical decision in the race, judge for yourself.

I posted my comments in regards to this situation on the Marmot’s Hole, who along with Brian in Jeollanam-do (now in western Pennsylvania) have covered this latest controversy.

With reports now that Hewish’s house in Sydney is under police guard due to threats from the Korean netizen community I think it’s finally time to say that yes, whilst the decision was quite harsh and a bad question, the netizen community has to take a deep breath, release any lingering han and chill the hell out because you’re not doing your country any benefit and in fact are potentially sabotaging any chances of South Korea holding a major sports event in the near-future.

Ohno and Jim Hewish in ‘02, the Swiss national soccer team and FIFA in ‘06 and now Jim Hewish and the Australian Embassy in Seoul – death threats, e-mail bombing and other malarkey may help overturn decisions within Korea but does bugger all for your cause in the rest of the world. FIFA and the IOC have long memories and it’s not a good idea to piss ‘em off if you hope to host a winter games in Pyeongchang and the ‘22 World Cup in Korea.

I think someone high up really needs to step in and tell the lunatic-fringe subset of the population that these shenanigans that follow any and every time something goes against Korea, has the potential to damage the country’s image far more than a hundred Korea, Sparkling™ ads can help the country’s image.

I hate when netizen losers sabotage Korea’s image as often the result is Korea making news for all the wrong reasons. One minute we have Kim Yu-na, the personification of grace, goodwill and ability; the next we have the netizen nutbars. *sigh*

P.S. I lost interest in short-track skating once Steven Bradbury retired.

Yie Eun-Woong, manager of 'Anti-English Spectrum'

John M. Glionna of the Los Angeles Times has written an excellent piece on Yie Eun-woong, manager of ‘Anti-English Spectrum‘, a group which I posted about last December, who actively go about finding and following foreign English teachers in the hope of finding some dirt on them to pass onto the local authorities. These self-proclaimed patriots have been embolden by the arrests of individuals being caught teaching illegally, engaging in gambling or engaging in otherwise illegal activities.

Not content with just that, they also actively work on rumour-mongering, demonising and stereotyping the foreign English teacher community as a whole, but when called out on it, fall back saying we’re only looking out to catch the bad guys. Well, I guess if you scrutinise and demonise an entire community for long enough, you’re bound to catch one or two bad apples, aren’t you?

Anyways, here’s some of what the man himself, Yie Eun-woong, had to say about the group’s activities along with his own activities and experiences as manger of the online community. (The rest can be found here).

Reporting from Seoul – Sometimes, in his off hours, Yie Eun-woong does a bit of investigative work.

He uses the Internet and other means to track personal data and home addresses of foreign English teachers across South Korea.

Then he follows them, often for weeks at a time, staking out their apartments, taking notes on their contacts and habits.

He wants to know whether they’re doing drugs or molesting children.

Yie, a slender 40-year-old who owns a temporary employment agency, says he is only attempting to weed out troublemakers who have no business teaching students in South Korea, or anywhere else.

The volunteer manager of a controversial group known as the Anti-English Spectrum, Yie investigates complaints by South Korean parents, often teaming up with authorities, and turns over information from his efforts for possible prosecution.

Outraged teachers groups call Yie an instigator and a stalker.

Yie waves off the criticism. “It’s not stalking, it’s following,” he said. “There’s no law against that.”

(Somehow I can’t see Mr. Yie being as happy if it were I following, not stalking, him all hours of the day as it’s not illegal, is it?!)

Understandably, this article has created quite a buzz in the Korean ex-pat blogosphere with Brian, Robert and Matt being just some of the bloggers posting on this article, along with some discussion over at Dave’s ESL Cafe.

It is true that they are and have been some bad seeds in the foreign English teaching community, it would be almost statistically impossible to have such a large population of individuals and not have at least a few dodgy individuals. Individuals who break laws and commit crimes should be punished accordingly regardless of nationality, race, creed or ethnicity. That said, there’s a major difference between catching and reprimanding law-breakers, and brushing an entire community as evil and in need of constant monitoring over the actions of a limited few individuals.

I’m thankful that Mr. Glionna took the time to interview Mr. Yie and that this piece has entered a major Western newspaper. For all the millions of welcoming, friendly, hospitable and open-minded Koreans unfortunately there still is a significant number of misguided, self-righteous, nationalist individuals of Mr. Yie’s ilk whose thinly disguised xenophobia and racism undermine and threaten to sabotage the leaps and bounds this country has made over the last 50 years from war-ravaged impoverished agrarian society to modern, wealthy, democratic, economic powerhouse of today. Mr. Yie and his ilk are not the future of Korea, they are the past. I hope and trust that the majority of good people in Korea will eventually see through the lies, hate and mistrust, and move on to a more integrated, welcoming and tolerant nation.

Enjoy~!

Kenna – Out of Control

Keane – Everybody’s Changing

Kenna – Say Goodbye to Love

I’ve thought about it for a while and have decided it’s time to move on for now at least. Though, I’m not writing off Korea just yet as my girlfirend (Hyun-jeong) and I are planning on going back to Australia for a year and then most likely heading back here if not mainland China or somewhere else where I can get paid relatively handsomely for speaking my native tongue.

So, I guess this blog will be taking a change of direction soon or perhaps I start a new one with a quirky like Wollongong Livin’, Illawarra Life, Honourary Jeonnam-saram down under, or some such crap.

Anyways, cheers and for the meantime I’ll keep blogging on whatever interests me when I have the time.

That issue is decentralisation and the article is based on rational, logical, intelligent and thoughtful analysis by experts in the fields of demography and geography, Bernard Salt and Graeme Hugo. Demographer Bernard Salt makes the claim that Australia should consider building a planned city(/ies) to take in the growth that is expected to continue in Australia, and looks towards the relatively under-populated Kimberley and Pilbara regions of Western Australia as an areas with sufficient rainfall and agriculture to be able to accommodate greater numbers of residents in the future.

Salt states that improvements in renewable energy resources and other technologies along with changes in the current usages of cars and an increase of individuals working from home would help make decentralisation a more viable option than is perhaps considered today, given its relative inattention. Salt also makes the claim that Australia cannot just turn off the tap of immigration as with our aging population and greater numbers of individuals preparing to leave the workforce than enter the workforce, immigration is needed to keep the economy and society growing at a steady pace.

Coupled with this is the moral obligation on Australia’s part to be open to immigration seeing as the world population will grow from over 6 billion currently to over 9 billion by 2050 and with the problems this influx will create to already impoverished regions of the world, it would be imperative that the huge landmass of Australia takes its fair share of migrants.

Likewise, Professor of Geography Graeme Hugo cites Australia’s aging society stating that 40% of the workforce will be lost over the next 15 to 20 years, so it will be a matter of finding people to replace the jobs being vacated.   Hugo states how jobs are less determined on a particular location adding that ”we have to look at the technological and environmental situation now.”  Hugo furthers that, ”whether it’s a totally new city or development in places less affected by climate change, such as Tasmania or the northern parts of Australia, all those options have to be on the table.”

Decentralisation. It makes sense on so many levels, yet until now it has been seemingly a forgotten concept in Australia ever since the Whitlam era with the scrapped proposals of new towns in the New South Wales and Victoria interior.  Major centres of Australia, in particular Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane are choking on their own success. Each year the cities swell in size and numbers as migrants – both international, inter- and intra-state – flock to these hubs of politics, business, culture, industry, education and life. The end result is an ever-growing urban sprawl, half-hearted (and loathed by many) urban consolidation and a major strain on already overstretched basic amenities and infrastructure – in particular, transport networks, roads, water supplies, schools and hospitals.

Decentralisation and planned cities are concepts Australia has tackled before and with – dare I say it – much success. After all, Melbourne and Adelaide were surveyed and established as planned towns by Hoddle and Light respectively in 1837 . And, most importantly of all, our national capital – Canberra – is the quintessential planned, decentralised city being born for the sole purpose of being the national capital, whilst at the same time being in between but not in Sydney and/or Melbourne! Walter Burley Griffin, architect of Canberra (along with his wife, Marion) also went on to design the New South Wales Riverina cities of Griffith and Leeton.

Walter Burley Griffin's final plan for Canberra (1913)

As we can see, decentralisation and planned cities have been tackled in the past in Australia and with great success. So, why when Australia is experiencing substantial and sustained population growth, ever increasing stresses and strains on its existing major centres, a relative decline in quality of  life in these major centres due to the stress of extra numbers put on the urban and surrounding physical environment, its infrastructure and amenities has the powers that be not adequately looked at decentralisation as a solution or at least an alternative to sustained population growth both now and in years to come in Australia? Why, indeed.

One good thing about urban development in South Korea, despite its relative lack of respect for the physical and natural environment – something that is starting to gain more attention but as of yet not nearly enough, is the ability to think outside the box and look to  forward when deciding where, when and how to develop new centres rather than add on already largely crippled urban environments. South Korea has the disadvantage of a population of 50 million cramped in a bottom of an already small peninsula of which 70% of mountainous and a large proportion of the rest is needed – or at least used – for agriculture. The end result is extreme land availability issues. But, with challenges often comes creative solutions, and this has been the case to some degree with Korean urban planning with the development – both completed, under developed and planned – of new towns.

Changwon, nearby the cities of Jinhae and Masan and not far from the port and second largest city of Busan, is a planned city of 500,000 residents (soon to be significantly bigger with the proposed merger with Jinhae and Masan) near the southern coast of the Korean peninsula. The city was established in 1974 as industrial and residential centre to stimulate growth in the region and take pressure off nearby overloaded cities such as Busan and Masan.

Likewise, Songdo International City is a planned city under construction within the metropolitan city of Incheon and the Incheon Free Economic Zone. Here a forward-thinking, ambitious and modern city is being built on reclaimed land a new, long, grand bridge across from Incheon International Airport, South Korea’s premier international gateway. The city is being built to capitalise on its convenient location – both within the Korean peninsula and East Asia as a whole, to entice foreign direct investment and job growth, and rejuvenise the industrial, port city of Incheon nearby the national capital of Seoul. Currently, residents and businesses are starting to move into the half-completed mini-city and by 2020 the city should be fully up and running, and it will be fascinating to see just how well this city develops off the planning board, and just whether it can be the successful model for the world’s future city it plans to be.

Songdo International City's Asia Trade Tower and Convensia exhibition centre on a gloomy winter day

Meanwhile, Korean lawmakers are currently negotiating the size and scope of the next major new planned city in South Korea, Sejong City. Located in what is now South Chungcheong province not far from the city of Daejeon, the city was originally planned as an administrative capital to take the strain off Seoul. However, this has since been scraped and instead the city is planned to be developed as a science and technology hub.

My belief is that Australia needs to be more like South Korea when it comes to urban development and think outside the box when planning where, how and when to develop a new centre. Whilst, Australia may not be as geographically challenged as South Korea when it comes to space and while Australian cities may not be as choked and congested as their South Korean counterparts. Surely it would make sense for the Federal and State Governments to ‘look forward to the past’ and reconsider developing new towns in areas of sufficient rainfall and resources away from already established and relatively crowded areas whilst taking into account the natural environment making sure there is as little detrimental impact as possible.

I recommend the region south of Longford, Tasmania nearby the town of Perth and the second largest city of Launceston (info & aerial satellite, zoom out to see more thorough view of the region), areas to the east and north of Kununurra in Western Australia nearby the Northern Territory (info & aerial satellite) and Katherine area of Northern Territory (info & aerial satellite) as three sites which could be considered as possible new town development regions.

What started as a guide on places to see ended up more as a social commentary on the place, but I always end up writing about the society of places as to me it’s often entwinted with the local attractions, and also having been out of the country for the bulk of the past decade, feeling like an outsider-insider looking in, I feel like myself – and the many Australian like me who now live abroad – have a unique perspective on the place as we know, understand and respect the place but at the same time can look with the place with a more balanced, critical and clinical approach than perhaps many locally based Australians can.

Let me know what you think, I’m interested in your thoughts.

~ Australia ~

If you’re planning on going to Australia for up to a month and money isn’t too much of a problem I’d recommend seeing as much of the country as you can as the landscape and geography of the country is very different from one side of the country to another and often the culture and history is a little different too.

I’d recommend you definitely spend time in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane/Gold Coast as these are the three biggest cities with often the most to see and do in one location. Sydney is the largest city and first site of European settlement so there is a lot of history there, it also has the advantage of being located on one of the most beautiful natural harbours in the world with great beaches just 10-15km away. I’d recommend you see The Rocks (historical neighbourhood), Downtown & Chinatown/Haymarket (great food), Darling Harbour (just to the west of the city), Bondi and/or Manly Beach (the 2 most famous beaches, Manly is a great ferry ride from the city). Other places include the Homebush area (where most of the Olympic events were held, 15km from downtown), the Blue Mountains (a beautiful range of mountains, 1 to 1 and a half hours from Sydney), Port Stephens and the Hunter Valley (beautiful beaches and wineries, 2 to 2 and a half hours from Sydney).

Whereas Sydney is a brash, cosmopolitan city, Melbourne is a more cultured, reserved city, which has a very different European feel to it, whereas Sydney has a San Francisco-like east meets west feel to it. Melbourne came to prominence on the back of the Victorian gold rush during the 1850 and 1860s and at one stage was the largest city and capital of the country, until the compromise capital of Canberra was built between the two main cities. Melbourne gained a great culinary and cafe culture largely due to huge numbers of Italian, Greek and former Yugoslav migrants following WWII, coupled with the retention of trams and grand Victorian-era architecture still give the city a European air about it. I’d recommend seeing the city and Southbank area just south of the city centre including Crown Casino (even if you’re not a fan of gambling, it’s a colossal centre with many other distractions), St Kilda (a bayside suburb 10km from the city), the Melbourne Cricket Ground (Australia’s largest and most famous stadium, holding a capacity over 100,000), Lygon Street in Carlton (just north of the city and home to great cafes and Italian restaurants). Other places to visit could be Ballarat (an hour from Melbourne and gold rush centre), Bendigo (another city built from gold, 1 hr and a half from Melbourne), and Torquay (a beachside suburb, one hr from Melbourne where Harold Holt, Prime Miinister at the time disappeared).

Brisbane is often referred to a big country town but in the last two decades since World Expo ‘88 has transformed itself into a modern, cosmopolitan metropolis. Helped from large interstate and overseas migration, Brisbane’s population and influence within Australia has doubled in the last two decades. It and its brash neighbour, the Gold Coast attract scores of domestic and international tourists who take in the beautiful beaches, nightlife, wonderful scenery in the hinterland, and many amusement parks and other attractions. Whilst, Brisbane and the Gold Coast doesn’t have as much history as Melbourne or Sydney, it makes up for it with its weather, beaches and modern attractions. The Sunshine Coast an hr and a half north of the city, is another booming area of golf courses, beachside resorts and natural beauty. Further north in Queensland is the Great Barrier Reef with its beautiful, endless reefs of coral and resorts. Townsville and Cairns up in the north of the State are tropical tourist oases with easy access to the Great Barrier Reef and other attractions and worth a visit if you have the time.

Canberra, the national capital and 2 and a half hrs from Sydney, is another place worth a visit if you are interested in the country’s history, culture and development. A planned city, developed over the 20th century it has wide boulevards, scores of interesting museums, art galleries and government institutions but little other distractions. A lot of Australians find the city boring, dry and difficult to get around but if you like history and a culture, it’s  a must see which can be done in two to three days. I recommend the excellent Australian War Museum, Parliament Houses (both new and old), the new national museum, the science centre and the Art gallery.

Perth is unique in that it has virtually half a continet to itself. One of the most isolated cities in the world, Perth and its surrounding centres are separated for two thousand kilometres by seemingly arid wasteland and desert. Perth has developed its own brash, modern feel and is a fast-moving modern city, growing at a fast rate largely thanks to Western Australia’s abundance of natural resources. Like Brisbane, Perth was once a relative backwater but has doubled in the last 20 years to a metropolis rapidly approaching two million people. Large scale immigration particularly from the UK, the Indian subcontinent and South Africa has given Perth a more cosmpolitan, less provincial feel. Set on the banks of the Swan River, it’s a beautfiul modern city, though be warned the city experiences a dry Indian summer where temperatures can often reach 40 Celsius until the coastal ‘Fremantle Doctor’ breeze arrives to quell the heat in the late afternoon. I recommend the city and Swan river, the beautiful, yet sometimes strong beaches with their torquise water, the port of Fremantle and its beautful retained historic centre, Rottnest Island, and if you have time the Margaret River district a couple of hours south of the city.

The Northern Territory is in many ways still Australia’s last frontier, but that is slowly changing. Consisting of a tropic north and desert centre with a whole lot of savannah in between, it is where Australia’s current and future meet with Australia’s past. The Northern Territory’s population is roughly 30% indigenous and as a result Australia’s indigenous cultures and their histories and hardships are much more apparent, respected and observed in the Northern Territory. Whilst, the race relations between indigenous and non-indigenous are often far from perfect in NT, it is one part of Australia where indigenous culture has been largely given the respect that it is due and as such is something the rest of Australia could learn from. That said, there still are very substantial differences, past atrocities and animosities and present troubles to be fully addressed. Darwin is an interesting, strong and resilient place. Bombed by the Japanese, devastated by Cyclone Tracy, the city has rebounded and is now bigger than ever. Growing rapidly due to its proximity to Asia, increasing military presence, improved infrastructure links and mineral boom, the city once-mocked by southerners is now one facing a very promising future. The city has long been one of the most multicultural in Australia with its both long standing and more recent European, Asian and indigenous population, it truly is a melting pot of several very distinct cultures with a fascinating hybrid culture the result. I’d recommend taking in the city and its various attractions and cuisine and Kakadu National park, a beautiful tropical wilderness several hours east of the city. The Red Centre is centred on the outback city of Alice Springs, which is a great launching pad for Uluru (Ayers Rock) several hours away. The city itself has many tourist attractions and cultural experiences along with the opportunity to go camel riding among other things.

Adelaide in South Australia is a refined, cultured, sedate city which prides itself on having never been a penal colony. The city was founded in the 1830s and is a beautful planned city with an abundance of gardens, parks and green space. It was once the 3rd largest city in Australia but has stagnated in the past three decades often due to the loss of manufacturing base to Asia. Nevertheless the city still has plenty to offer and is a little more relaxing and friendly than some of the larger, faster-moving cities. I’d recommend the city centre, Glenelg (a beachside suburb) and the nearby Barossa Valley wine-growing district established by German Lutherans 150 years ago and still with a unique antipodean German feel to it.

Tasmania is a beautiful isle separated by Bass Strait, and has wonderful scenery and countyside with a more mild, temperate climate. Hobart, the capital, is Australia’s 2nd oldest capital and as such has an abundance of historic attractions. Tasmania has the dark mark of in the past being home to some of the most violent and dangerous criminals, who were housed at Port Arthur penal settlement (an hr from Hobart), and with extermining all of Tasmania’s full-blooded indigenous population during the 19th century. Thankfully, Tasmania is a much friendlier place these days with beautiful scenery especially in the Cradle Mountain national park in the centre of the state and the wildnerness areas of the west coast. Relatively largely unaffected by a lot of the cultural and demographic changes which have swept Australia over the past five decades, Tasmania is still largely a microcosm of past ‘British’ Australia, where folks are friendly, polite but overwhelmingly Anglo-Celtic.

Hope that helps. Australia’s economy and cost of living would be on a par with North America’s, with its dollar slightly weaker than the US’s at the moment. Sydney and the other big cities can be expensive in terms of accommodation, food and other attractions especially in the city and around tourist resorts. Some parts of the city can get rough particularly at night, though most of the bad neighbourhoods are well away in the suburbs, though the city centres and nightclub districts can get a little dodgy at night so exercise some caution. If travelling, in summer, exercise caution as the temeratures can get high and often it cane be windy. Dress appropriate to the weather, keep yourself adequately covered with a hat, sunscreen and sunglasses as the Ozone hole gives an extra bite to the summer heat!

Thanks Mum, Dad and the rest of the family for my stay back home. And, thanks also to Paul, John, George and Ringo.

So, I hope everyone out there has a happy, safe and enjoyable festive season. I’m glad to have finished off my work year this afternoon and am looking forward to some downtime back home with my friends and family in the Australian sun.

I always try to get back home once a year if I can – preferably at this time of year – as deep down I’m family person who loves spending time with my family and people I know best and have known all my life. It’s always good to get away back home and recharge the batteries, get some space to reflect on the past year and see things though a clearer perception away from all the pressures and stresses you sometimes experience in a vastly different culture to your own.

I often face the trip back home with a bit of anxiety and trepiditon. It’s nothing to do with my family or Australia, it’s mainly to do with the symptoms of reverse cultural shock. I always find it difficult to adjust back to the sheer casualness and laidback approach to life in Australia – even in big city Sydney – compared with the high tension, hustle-bustle, uber-competitiveness of Korea. These days when I get back home for the first few days at least I walk different, sound different, dress different and act different than the average Australian. People often think I’m either a tourist, a foreigner, or a freak and give me a wide berth. Then, they get to know me and realise that I am indeed a freak! Once I get adjusted back to Australian life I calm down again and everything is sweet, just that by then it’s time to head back to Korea!

Anyways, I’m looking to some sun, sand, surf, real sandwiches, cheese, meat pies, roast lamb, real steak, real beer and no kimchi. Hope you all have a good festive season wherever you are and I’ll be back in 2010, if not sooner!

Cheers~!

Working on these photos has brought back memories of all the places I’ve been to over the past few years. It’s a blessing to live in the modern world and be freely able to travel extensively and see new places, and experience new cultures. I hope I can do so for many more years to come.

Here are some samples of the album below, the full collection can be found on my Facebook album.

Enjoy~!

• The ongoing trials and tribulations of the Tiger Woods infidelity scandal have continued as sponsor Accenture terminates partnership with the golf champ after six years but other sponsors such as Tag Heuer and Gillette decide to stand by their man, Tag Heuer releasing the statement that Woods is ‘the best in his domain’. Meanwhile, it looks like his wife, Elin Nordegren, has possibly bought a $2 million secluded house in Sweden, perhaps where the couple will sit out for the next few months and escape the media spotlight. No doubt of some comfort to Tiger is that Playgirl magazine has decided not to publish nude photographs allegedly of the golf star, as they can not verify 100% whether the photos are indeed of him.
• Silvio Berlusconi was attacked by a projectile whilst signing autographs during a rally in Milan. The attack left the Italian Prime Minister with a bloody face and in considerable pain with a broken nose and two broken teeth. He will remain in hospital for the next thirty-six hours. His attacker allegedly has a history of mental illness.
• Last month it was revealed that North Korea had been building bunkers under the DMZ from 2004 until 2008 during the leadership of South Korean President Roh Moo-hyun, whilst the two nations had a relatively closer relationship than now under the failed ‘Sunshine Policy’, which aimed to bring closer ties and trade with the view towards eventual reunification between the two Koreas. North Korea was found to have built 800 bunkers between 2004 and 2008, and had planned 1,000 bunkers all in all. Despite the Sunshine Policy, North Korea had plans and made war preparations with a look towards possible invasion by ground troops.
• Meanwhile, just one week after US envoy Stephen Bosworth’s trip to Pyongyang, Thai authorities in Bangkok, following on a US intelligence tip, have seized a plane from North Korea piloted by a Belarussian and with four Kazahk crew members which contained a large amount of powerful weapons, in clear violation of UN-imposed sanctions on North Korea. The planned final destination of the plane is thus far undetermined.
• And last, but definitely not least, straight off the press and Twitter. The Copenhagen Climate Summit has been suspended and is in chaos as member nations of the G77,which represents 130 developing nations, have decided to walk out of the Conference due to what they believe is Western reluctance to discuss a legally binding emissions treaty. This is coming after last week’s leak of a document supposedly delivered to developed nations in which they would sign a secret deal amongst themselves between the scenes of the Copenhagen Climate summit. No doubt more news on this to come…