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I'm back! Please hold all of you applause until the end, please. I'm switching it up in this post. Instead of writing a boring article for you to read I decided to make a boring video....(See? I told you to hold your applause).

But seriously I had a great time at this drum performance regardless of how random it was. And to commemorate this day I have hired a new staff member on the minimalist of wage $0.00 Take that OSHA! The character, Kevin Steel, will be played by myself on my Expat News show. So without further ado lets watch the embodiment of my neurosis fly out of control in: KIDNAPPED!

Everyones favorite neurotic news anchor, Kevin Steel, has returned for another installment of Expat News. While Joe describes a recent drum performance it is ruined by Kevin's interpretation of Joe's story.

So there has been a lot of discussion about South and North Korea's ongoing dialectic that seems to be escalating by the day.

Before I proceed with this tale of "How this began" I assure you all that I AM SAFE and sound.

On March 26th 2010 South Korea lost a naval ship, the Cheonan, after an unexpected torpedo attack. This incident claimed the lives of 46 South Korean sailors and was tied to a North Korean vessel. Mind you that this has been the deadliest attack on this country in the last 2 decades. Needless to say that North Korea's recklessness act has upset many of the local people.

Many of South Korean individuals are insisting that North Korea issue an apology. Instead North Korea has retorted by claiming that if the United Nations continues to tighten sanctions they will have no choice but to have an "all-out war" with South Korea.

Annnnd PAUSE! Now if you read my last blog "Two Sandboxes One Playground" you can probably guess what I am going to say next. Neither I nor the people of South Korea are responsive to such a threat. North Korea is a country that needs help, economic funding and aid. Their country's cries for war are null in its potency when considering that the country of North Korea is suffering from crop failure and mass hunger.



Lee Myung-bak of South Korea (seen above) is the president of South Korea. He often comes under a lot of scrutiny by North Koreans; calling him a "traitor" and "a pawn of the hostile United States."

He really taken off the Christmas Card List when Lee recently made a statement saying that North Korea "should stop wasting money on grand displays and spend the money on its near-starving population."

There's a novel idea. Instead of using all the millions of dollars in aid money that South Korea gives to North Korea for nuclear tests, why don't you play nice and open up some restaurants? And they wonder why President Lee shut off the aid.

In the end I feel that I am directly affected by North Korea's actions. They have managed to do two things that has really rubbing me the wrong way:

1st - They have my messed around and upset my mom. You NEVER mess with a mans mom!

2nd - They broke a very important commandment: "Thou shalt not play with my money!"

After their shenanigans the value of the Korean Won has fallen. That means that when I move my money from South Korea to the U.S. I am taking a literal pay cut. SONOFABI@#$!!

Alright guys...Be Good, Stay Healthy, I'll check back in with you in a couple of days.

Joe - OUT!!

No, no jokes this time guys. I gotta play this one straight. I went to the Demilitarized Neutral Zone (hereby referred to as the DMZ) a couple of weeks ago. I just really had a hard time putting the whole experience into words. When I pull up the pictures on my computer and I get ready to write the words just never came until now. None of the pictures are graphic or anything, but they just leave me asking "Why?"

Looking back, before I had went, I really didn't know what to expect. As a Sociologist you get your fair share of watching and observing Realistic, Gritty and Violent exhibits of human cruelty and exploitation against other human beings. So I felt like I was ready...



I remember that we couldn't get directly to the DMZ but we could go the observatories and see the gate which seals off the main bridge (The Bridge of Freedom) which spans across the Han River and extends from North Korea to South Korea.

While approaching the gate you feel a sort of presence. Not very strong but you automatically feel very small in relation to your significance. I know that's not an easy thing to hear , but it's not an easy thing to say. I felt like an ant in terms of the progression and the hardships that I have endured in my life. Everywhere you look there are ribbons that have either a message written in Korean or English that expressed a thoughtful sentiment or a prayer for unification.





After taking this all in we traveled to the main observatory that hosted a film that discussed the division of the country and the current state of North Korea. And to put it bluntly, these North Koreans really need help. Their farming methods are not adequate to satiate the demand that is produced from its growing population. There are little to no irrigation systems for farming crops or producing a good yield. Hence the massive hunger crises that continue to affect them.



After the film I got up and walked silently around the theater peering out of the its glass windows. Then I saw something that will be burned in my mind forever, and I would like to share it with you. Look at the following pictures and say to yourself 'What do I see?':





- To the left I saw production, prosperity, advancement and growth.

- And to the right I saw emptiness, solitude, desolation, nothing...

Unfortunately that is EXACTLY what I see when I bring up a mental recollection of North Korea and South Korea. Or until they decide to change. That's not to say that they are not trying but I see South Korea continuously lending a helping hand however I see North Korea pushing it away. Now I can understand South Koreans disposition to love them no matter how much North Korea pushes the envelope. When they see other North Koreans they do not see them as an enemy. Instead they see them as brothers that have simply gone astray.



On the car ride back home I could see the Han River on my right. The entirety of its borders are protected by hundreds of individual watch towers that are equidistantly placed and manned by South Korean military. Not to mention their are several fences that are layered on the beaches to ensure any trespasser would have to face a formidable gauntlet. I just had vivid images of my trips to Jaurez, Mexico and witnessing the maquiladoras coming to mind. I didn't feel cold, mad or upset. I was just blank and I simply wanted to know "Why?"

Hello to all my readers out there. I wanted to drop in briefly for a quick post. Today my students gave me a small token of their appreciation. They came in and said "Teacher Joey. You know that you are the greatest thing that has ever happened to us?" - No not really! Not because they wouldn't say it but is was mainly due to the fact that my students only know the following three phrases by heart:

1) "May I play please?"
2) "May I use the bathroom?"
3) "May I have some water?"


All of these equivocate to, "Joey can we just leave the class please?!" I should know because I was one of those kids ;)

Even though my awesomeness often goes unnoticed I was delightfully surprised when they bought me a gift for Teachers Day. I was given an awesome batch of Honey Castella Cakes that were gift wrapped.


To be honest, I was really touched by the whole thing. I guess I don't identify myself as an educator completely yet, but I am starting to understand a lot of my shortcomings as I work with the students. Since I've been here time has surely flown by, but its events like this that forces you to push PAUSE on the soundtrack we call Life.

Joe - OUT!!

Now I'm not actually in Busan, unfortunately, but I did have a chance last weekend to taste what the food would be like if I ever decided to go. Considering that Busan is a beautiful port city in Southeastern Korea and Galbi refers to traditional Korean dishes which usually require grilling, I thought "How could this get any better?!"

To begin, I had the opportunity to go to lunch with my good friend Sarah. This was cool because since she has taught longer than I have, is part Korean and speaks Korean I used this as a chance to ask a lot of questions about types of food and etiquette. She should be given a medal, because normally my inquisitiveness is bad enough for even Mary Poppins to tell me to "take a teaspoon of sugar, and shut the Hell up!"



Since this restaurant was located in Itaewon I was comfortable navigating my way around. After attempting to find a good spot for lunch Sarah and I came across 3 potentials after walking down a busy alley. Each of us were feeling pretty indecisive at the time so we chose this particular restaurant by playing a very sophisticated game of Rock, Paper, Scissors (which I lost).

Once inside I ordered a bowl of Mixed Noodles while Sarah ordered the Bulgogi. Bulgogi is typically made of thin slices of sirloin or cuts of beef. The meat is usually pre-marinated marinated in soy sauce, sesame seed oil, garlic and sugar before it is grilled. What you have in the end is this tender meat mixed with vegetables and served with.....




....you guessed it, Side dishes! Coming to understanding that all restaurants in South Korea offer you side dishes I still get excited when I see them come out with a tray of bowls for you. They really do spoil you with food and side dishes out here. In this picture we have some spinach, lettuce, coleslaw, kimchi, garlic, bean dip, sliced radish and bean sprouts.



And this is Sarah showing me how it's done.



This was my main dish Mixed Noodles! They weren't spicy at all, but the noodles tasted kinda funky. They were very thin and chewy, not my favorite. After about 4 bites I returned to the side dishes and the Bulgogi.



Regrettably my fixation with the city of Busan was not enough to deter the veraciousness of my taste buds. I will have to rate this restaurant as FAIR. Although the food was cheap and the helpings were plentiful, it doesn't really matter if you can't enjoy the food. But hey if your don't believe me go check it out for yourselves.

Its Itaewon, located near the Hard Rock Cafe. Its to the left of the this building...



... and down this alley short alley way.



Thanks for reading, take care of yourselves and until the next blog....

Joe - OUT!!

A couple of weeks ago I had the opportunity of doing two really neat things. The first was meeting some really cool people that are friends of my coworker. And the second was that I had the chance to experience the Korean rendition of American foods.

Both of these were novel to me because since this was my first month here in South Korea I jumped at the chance to meet new English speaking Foreigners. Plus making new friends is the equivalent of finding a 50 dollar bill in your couch (kinda gives you that warm and fuzzy feeling on the inside). Plus I was curious to see how this American style breakfast tasted and if it would bring back any memories of home.

I first made sure to hike up Bulgosan mountain prior to meeting up with everyone, so that way I would have an healthy appetite. Once I finally arrived in Itaewon it was still relatively early in the day. After we all met up at a local Starbucks (yeah, go figure) we headed to the All American Diner for a midday breakfast.

I know, I know what you're thinking. Joey just shut the hell up and tell us what you ate. Now I had this delightful little dish:



Two words....Simply Amazing!! I'm serious, I've been to Canada so I know what a good pancake tastes like. Even the sausages were up to par. Plump, juicy, and not burnt. My only complaint was that there could have been a wheat toast option then it would have been perfect.

Now the best thing about this place is that it doesn't just serve breakfast. It also prepares sandwiches, burgers and the like. All of which, I am sure, are as delicious as their breakfast menu. On that note I rated this place as EXCELLENT because of it's diverse array of foods that they serve at any meal time. A case and point; this monstrous dessert was only $5 USD. Unfortunately I didn't pick one up. If I weren't making so much headway with this new diet I would have definitely picked up two....what? One for now and one for later Baby! ;)



Now these great folks were cool enough to waste some of their day hanging out with me. It was really good to chat it up with these kats (From left to right: Sarah, Clint, Alec, Leana and yours truly).




Another good weekend for the books. As far as I'm concerned everybody wins. I get to eat great food and meet new people while you get the inside scoop. Before you run off and pick up some food yourself (because I know that you're hungry now) don't forget to leave a comment. Take care of yourselves and until the next blog....

Joe - OUT!!

So all my hard work has finally paid off. Just in time too! My poor refrigerator was over here making threats. It was crying about something like "Child Protective Services" I don't know?




Enough about my refrigerators emotional outbursts; I once ate Ramen for an entire week and I didn't cry about it! (It's called College). But seriously, I was getting anxious about when I would be getting paid. Although everything is quite cheap in Korea I would like to open a bank account, set up a direct deposit, and get a cell phone as quickly as possible with the money that I had been working for. Besides the world needs me mobile!



Above is a what you could expect from your employer for your first paycheck. Since I am still waiting for my Alien Registration Card I will have to wait a little longer until I can set up a direct deposit with my employer. This green note is 10,000 Won which is the equivalent to about the U.S. 10 dollar bill. I put the iPod nano in the picture for scale.

In all honesty I don't plan to go out clubbin' or blow it on frivolous things. Instead I plan to save up and pay down these college loans. I previously tried to pay off my debts by offering my Loan Lender a Hi-5 and a hug for each dollar that I owe but they still only take "legal tender" pssh!

This is my very 1st published/posted video. I actually have 4 in the works but they need a lot of editing so keep your eyes peeled for them. Now before you play it, just remember that I haven't lost my mind. This was a request that my friends Luc and Darnell who gave me the concept and then I decided, meh- "why not?" Prepare to laugh~

Payday!! from Joey Johnson on Vimeo.