Happy Lunar New Year

I've taken on some extra part-time work this week, so have been forced to favour my computer screen this long weekend rather than partake in extended family rituals this year.

This also means that instead of gorging myself on festive foods indoors, I've experienced the one time of year that Seoul closes down. Shops and restaurants might be open on Christmas Day in Korea, but the 24-hour convenience lifestyle is annually renounced for the first day of the year by the lunar calendar.

This year that day is today, Monday 26th January.

One thing that the second national turnaround does give, is an excuse for establishments to keep their excessive Christmas decorations up a little longer, much to the horror of Korea's western residents. Although the shops are shut, Yongsan's CGV was screening some films which gave me the perfect excuse to dust my camera and snap some shots at the I-Park Mall - hence the unseasonal photograph.

Subok and I checked out Changeling, and despite craning our necks to view the big screen from the second row as we battled all the other cinema-goers on this national holiday, it was an excellent choice. Definitely recommended.

The perks of an F4 visa

Since I have "at least one parent or grandparent who renounced their Korean citizenship", I am eligible for the "overseas Koreans" F4 visa. This gives me the same residency rights as Korean nationals for the next two years and I am not legally tied to my job. Even though many people take on private tutoring for some extra cash under the table, I am now legally entitled to do part-time work. Score.

So lately, qualified by my British accent, I have been recording part-time for English text books. Example sentences include:

1) useful everyday phrases, e.g.: "The living room communicates with the dining room", "It is abnormal for a two-month-year-old baby to have teeth", "He caught our eyes with his characteristic beard";

2) patriotic indoctrination, e.g.: "Korea worked a miracle in economic development";

3) political generalisations, e.g.: "Old men tend towards conservatism";

4) motivational slogans, e.g.: "No reward without toil", "Don't drink raw milk";

5) observations of the heart, e.g.: "A good wife is a household treasure", "Children and lovers like to blow bubbles", "Young men should not yield up to any temptation", and, one to watch out for, "Silence often implies consent".

I have actually found that I occasionally have to take educated guesses at the pronunciation of some of the more advanced vocabulary, and it is thus that I will endeavour to stop carrying around my Korean phrasebook and replace it with my English dictionary for perusal during my ever-dwindling free time instead. :P

Regarding my visa, I am currently considering what I am actually going to do between the time my non-existent contract at the kindergarten is up at the end of February, and the time I start my masters next September. Hence, I am in the process of re-negotiating my present working agreement to work in favour of both the school (not having to hire and train a new teacher) and myself (not having to find a job in the increasingly expensive UK, or having to take on new and inevitably bratty children).

I shall keep the blog posted.