Pintglass DC

Before reading further, please watch this video. I warn you that it’s graphic but it gives the story depth and makes you realize the gross negligence involved.

On March 27th of this year, at 3:44pm, a ten year old, third grade girl was going home from school in Ilsan, a satellite city of Seoul, Korea‘s largest city. As she got on the elevator in the building in which she lived, a man attacked her, kicking her six times, punching her in the face, and holding a box cutter out in front of her. Thinking that he had scared her enough, he attempted to pull her by her hair out of the elevator and to who knows where. However, the girl did scream and a college student one floor above acted heroically, running downstairs and scaring off the man. Her parents, obviously beside themselves, called the police immediately. After two officers came to the home and also watched the video tape, the Ilsan police department decided that this was merely an assault and not an attempted kidnapping. A detective came for the formal investigation a full two days later on March 29th. This is where the story is a bit unclear. Somehow the elevator videotape got in to the hands of television news and began being circulated via the Internet on March 30th. The footage immediately began gathering steam both domestically and internationally, especially because it was also circulated that Ilsan police had done little about it. Both Korean and international news covered this story. This leads me to believe the parents had something to do with leaking the footage. It’s reported that the Ilsan police department began getting phone calls…thousands of phone calls. The other thing that isn’t clear is how Korea’s new President, Lee Myung-bak came across the footage. It’s unclear to me whether the President saw it himself or whether someone at the Blue House saw it and thought it would be a great PR move for the President to get involved. In any case, when the President saw the story, he apparently became enraged. The next day, Monday, the chief of Ilsan police got a call from the Blue House telling them to prepare for a visit from the President and that he was coming to check on the case involving the elevator videotape. There are different reports but one report I read said that every single officer and detective was put on the case. I’ve read that this totaled between 170 and nearly 300 people working the case. Regardless, massive numbers of people were working. Only four and a half hours later, the man in the videotape had been picked up in a sauna in Daechi-dong, a southern part of Seoul. The President did arrive and the Ilsan Police chief was rebuked and humbled (see this photo of the Ilsan police chief eating it. He’s the one bowing in shame). There’s no word on what happened to the officers originally involved. The suspect in custody is a 41 year old man that just two years ago got out of jail. He had served ten years for habitual child molestation.

• Read More »

Last Sunday, my friend and I took her dog out. We took, Jongee (apparently a typical dog name in Korea), to a nature walkway in South Seoul for a couple hours. We ran all over the place and although I was holding the leash, I think Jongee had control of ME and not the other way around…see the pictures I posted.

Today, I decided to skip just out of Seoul for a day of hiking at a national park that holds Bukhan Mountain. The park had tons of rock climbing and more hiking than I could have imagined for a place just minutes out of Seoul. See the video above and check out the pics.

And as always, I try to keep posting something new about the music that I like now. Somehow I overlooked Andrew Bird’s new album that came out last year. Check him out playing his song, Plasticities, on David Letterman.

• Read More »

If you hit play, you will be hearing my newly created radio station that I have (sort of boringly) named “Pintglass DC Radio.” Last.FM Radio allows you to make and tailor a radio station that you can play 24/7. It’s much like Pandora in that it plays songs and allows you to rate them. But it also scans your iTunes list and uses those songs to choose songs it thinks you would like. It’s pretty accurate but once in awhile it’ll play some crap song and I have no idea where it came from…So far the mistakes have been NSync and Spice Girls. I think those mistakes are funny because they’re clearly bad. But there are others…the thing played a Dan Fogelberg song this morning! That’s where I draw the line. I simply can’t be known as someone that likes Dan Fogelberg…no. That and the occasional lame rock that newer rock bands play…But it’s mostly good…so get yer self some sensory overload by playing the station while reading my blog!:)

• Read More »

Not a ton to report but I haven’t blogged recently so I thought I should. On the work front, I did a full day of videoing for the first time yesterday. So I headed down to south Seoul, to my employer and for seven hours I was basically reading children’s books in front of a camera with five very bright lights on me and people telling me things like “can you please read the script off the teleprompter but don’t LOOK at the teleprompter, look at the camera.” I still don’t know what that meant exactly but its amazing how quickly a person can adapt and by the second of the seven hours I was doing much better than I had been. I even began to use hand gestures, like putting my hand behind my ear, when I said “Listen closely to my pronunciation.” And let me reiterate, NO ONE is ever going to see these videos outside Korea…I hope:)

I also finally made it down to Pusan. Strangely and I suppose happily, much of it has stayed the same…at least it seemed that way. Jagalchi, the open air fish market is certainly no different. As you walk through the market, people basically acost you and try to make you buy their fish. If you say yes, you get to watch them pull pretty much any ocean creature you can imagine from a tank and cut it up right in front of you. They then drop it on a plate, sit you down at a plastic picnic table and charge you somewhere between $40 and $80 dollars so you can watch your meal move while you eat it…um, no thanks. My old stomping ground is also pretty much as I remember it. There are some new buildings and a lot of new western stores and restaurants. I even spotted a Columbia Sportswear and an American Apparel. But these things didn’t seem to take away from the atmosphere that I remember. Haeundae, the most popular beach in Korea, which is in Pusan, is actually quite a bit nicer than I remember it. It’s tidier and more organized. In any case, “check”…I’ve been back to Pusan:) You can see a few pictures I have in the photo section.

I’ve had a couple requests for a new music list but I haven’t compiled one. I did run across a couple new songs: one by Band of Horses called Detlef Schrempf It’s really beautiful. I still don’t know why the Northwest is allowed to name their bands and songs after basketball players while the rest of the country and world are stuck with poetry and literary references. I blame it on the pre-Pearl Jam band “Mookie” after the Oklahoma point guard Mookie Blaylock (that later went on to be a mediocre NBA player). The other is by Australian, Sia, called Little Black Sandals I hope you like them.

• Read More »

After a firestorm, on par with the news of the Spitzer resignation, erupted last night concerning a blog entry titled “Vacuuming and Dusting and Washing Dishes and…” yesterday referring to a purchase of “red-colored, untested, Korean pills”, the executive board of Pintglassdc felt it necessary to state for the record that this purchase and said consumption of “pills” was fictional and meant for comedic purposes only. Any misguidance was not purposeful and Pintglassdc begs your forgiveness. Pintglassdc defines “begs” as “asking you once then forgetting if you accepted the apology or not.”

• Read More »

It’s Wednesday, late afternoon. I write to you from my apartment, of course, because this is where I work. It has become very apparent to me that my life is about as easy as it will ever be. And I like it very much. Don’t get me wrong, I go through the periodic bout of guilt about it too. I think things like “what am I doing? I’m 37…I should own a house, I should have a real job…and probably a dog…or a baby…and plants on my sills.” It doesn’t help that my friends here consist of diplomats, PR execs, journalists, and high level government officials. But I have to tell you, after the bout is over, I pop four red-colored, untested, Korean pills that I buy off a guy selling bootleg prescription drugs and illegally ripped DVDs in the subway and I’m right back in the game. I have become very, very involved in my life. This consists of four daily major events:
Events (in no particular order):
1. Vacuuming - I have come to very much enjoy my daily vacuuming. I move the couch and the coffee table around and suck up dust bunnies. I do not mop however but I don’t think its necessary…at least not in the near future. It wouldn’t fit in to my routine.
2. Washing Dishes - I have purchased two of all the basics…utensils, cups, plates, etc. I wash them and feel very strongly that I don’t want to ever leave another dish in the sink for more than 30 minutes at a time. I am doing it now and I can do it even if I do end up working again, in an office…like normal people.
3. Garbage Disposal - Korea is very serious about its garbage disposal and its separation of different types of garbage. I separate food items, paper, plastic, and the last category “other” (I really don’t know what this category is but I have been told that it includes dung, stuffed animals, and cashmere. Maybe other stuff too) out and then put them in different bags before I tie them off and take them downstairs to the back of the building. The doorman must also be involved with the garbage because he generally follows me out to see if I put everything in its right place and then helps me if I do it wrong. He’s probably also thinking, “what the hell is this guy taking garbage out for on Wednesday at 10:45am?!!” I admittedly am not an expert in work related event three and it takes me longer than it should. I plan to get faster as my process becomes more clear.
4. Writing this blog and uploading pictures. Depending on the Internet connection speed, this can take half a day at least. It’s out of my hands though and I just do the best I can.

Other than that, I edit English books and go to my Korean class each day. But I’m finding that my other daily work is taking more time than I thought and I may have to cut back.

On weekends, I’ve been doing things like joining a photo club. This at first, scared me. I wasn’t prepared for the idea of leaving my apartment or getting behind on vacuuming…the dust bunnies…they seem to hide.

So there you have it. For now just go ahead and watch THIS video and know that Bob Mould, DC’s local hero, is alive and well.

• Read More »

Hats off to my friend Rory and his band the New York Times. To be honest, I’m suprised they even have time to play in bands. Rory is a journalist in DC covering economics and politics, Tom’s beginning to make it big as an actor on both stage and screen, Rebecca graduated from one of the top creative writing programs in the country and rubs shoulders with the NY literary elite, and Tara is a famous graphic designer and artist. Plus they’re all hot! Do you guys REALLY need to play music too? Just a question:)

• Read More »

I’d heard of this Korean language school, Best Friend Culture Center, in Seoul, and last night while doing a walk around my neighborhood, Sinchon, I just ran in to it by accident. The school is literally one block from my apartment! And of course I walked in and signed up. So for the next month, for four days a week, three hours a day (before homework), I’ll be immersing myself in Korean. My teacher is a grad student in Korean language studies at one of the top 2 or 3 universities in Korea, Yonsei University. The other interesting thing about my class is that there are only three students; one from Japan, one from China, our teacher, obviously Korean, and myself. It’s a completely diverse class. Since one of my main goals, while here, is to study Korean…just seems like everything is falling in to place well. So check the video. There’s also a picture of our class in the photos section.

Alright, I can’t help it…I just saw a new video by the Mobius Band that I really like. Just click on THIS. Actually I can’t believe how few people are at the show as they are pretty big now. I assume none of you has probably heard of them…well except Allison and Jim. I’m sure you guys have known about them for a bit:)

• Read More »

I woke up this morning to a grey, overcast sky and it reminded me of Portland. It actually made me miss home, which I imagine I will always consider to be Oregon, however long I am away from it. Still, Seoul isn’t Portland. Even in this colorless haze, it lacks the crispness, the clean…ness that Oregon and Washington have.

It’s now 10:02am Friday and I have a busy day of writing and editing curriculum ahead. In the afternoon, after finishing up here at my desk here at home, I’ll then go to the main office in southern Seoul to go on camera to read what I have written. This will be used by children when they access the Internet to study. I guess it’s a subscription deal so its not available for you guys to see!:) Thank god. There are rumors of having to wear camera make-up and the last thing I want is for anyone I know to see me:)

Just to clarify, I now am doing the writing/editing and the on-camera project. This is my only gig right now. I work from home except for the on-camera stuff. Since this doesn’t take that much time, I decided to follow up with some contacts here in Seoul that I got through people I know in DC. I’ve met with a number of PR firms about short-term projects and also just to know more about Seoul’s expat job market in general. This has proven very interesting and I have basically received a couple informal job offers as well as a way in to the expat community. The expat community here is quite small, once you get out of the ESL/Teaching world. ESL teachers are here in masses and represent the bottom of the pecking order:) But, ironically, I think they end up making similar money to those at PR firms and other companies.

When I went down this morning to grab my morning tea at Starbucks, I saw a few teachers with their students. They had done what I did in Pusan back in the 90s which was to take their class out of the classroom for morning coffee. I liked doing this because it made for a less formal atmosphere and to be honest, killed a bit of time in transit:) When you see the same students every single day, 5 days a week for a month, you tend to resort to such tactics. As I sat, waiting for my tea and bagel with cream cheese, a couple thoughts crossed my mind. 1. Korea has changed. I couldn’t find American food anywhere in Pusan back in ‘95 The only coffee I could get at coffee shops was instant back then. Now, in Seoul, I live next to Outback, Starbucks, Caribou Coffee, and numerous other western restaurants. Seoul has much better western food even than DC. It’s more like living in NYC. I went to a Mexican place last weekend that made the guacamole in front of you. The fajitas were very good…IN KOREA. And the meal only cost $60…NYC prices too. 2. Seoul in many ways is just not Korea to me. Or at least not the one I knew. I am SO glad that I taught in gritty, dirty, cheap, authentic, wonderful Pusan. As I watched the teachers sitting in Starbucks with their students, I realized that these westerners probably weren’t learning much about Korea or having the crazy adventure I had. I mean, my friends Lisa, Jon, and I got teargassed at a rally two blocks from my house. We rock climbed every weekend on Kumjung mountain with our Korean climbing club members, and went weeks without seeing other foreigners. It was a big deal when we got real western food and we HAD to learn some Korean just to survive. We lived in harsh, drafty apartments that we had to share with two or three other teachers, not the high rise, plush flats that teachers here get by themselves now. I would never change a thing about my experience. It was truly an adventure and I don’t think the kids here, now are getting that. On the other hand, I haven’t been down to Pusan yet. I am hoping that somehow, Pusan has been kept in a time vacuum. When I get there, I hope it’s the same old crazy, overrun, smokey, Gotham-like city it was before. We’ll see. My friend Matt tells me that it is. He tells me that Pusan won’t ever change. It’s too backward. I hope so. I’m looking forward to going down on the new bullet train, which takes only 3 hours (as opposed to the 5.5 hours it used to take on the Saemal train) for a nice, sunny weekend there so that I can take that day-long hike on Kumjung Mountain that ends above the city at the serene Pomo temple.

• Read More »

It’s been a bit of a whirlwind since I arrived. I got in late last Thursday night without incident…well besides almost having my flight grounded at Dulles which made my connection tight. I got in to a guest house where mostly backpackers stay. It’s actually been really nice as I’ve met people from all over the world here. Breakfast is free so each morning everyone congregates in the kitchen, eats and shares whatever tidbits of information about traveling in Seoul and Korea that they gleaned the day before. Friday, I went to meet a potential employer just after lunch. After giving me a tour of their business, they immediately hired me and are in the process of getting me an apartment! They also got me a cell phone that same day (I’ll email it soon). Needless to say, I was pretty excited. Since then, I’ve just been hanging out with my friend here in Seoul going to restaurants and coffee houses. Oh and I saw the movie Jumper and…don’t bother. It should’ve been a two hour TV special.

• Read More »