Why I'm Continuing to Be a Pretentious D-bag Blogger

Hey friends, family members, and NSA agents!

Thanks for coming to check out my new blog about living, working, exploring, and existing in a constant state of social awkwardness in Korea. I really hope that you enjoy what I have to say over the course of the next year. I will do my best to strike just the right balance of thoughtfulness and lightheartedness to keep all of you coming back.

For the sake of tradition, I'm going to open this blog the same way that I opened my previous one, by explaining why I'm continuing to be a pretentious, d-bag blogger. When I started my blog about life in Costa Rica, I really planned on just doing it for my two years in Costa Rica and stopping. However, I discovered that I actually really enjoy writing and sharing it with others. As a person who sometimes finds it difficult to express certain things in person, a blog is a great medium for me to get my thoughts, observations, and emotions out. Plus, the people demanded a second blog and you got to give the people what they want! Except for when the people want stupid things, like dubstep. Then you should tell the people to go shave their neck beard and take off their beanie, it's the middle of September for crying out loud!

A quick note on the name and format of the blog. The name comes from the baseball expression, "a cup of coffee player," used to describe someone who was only in the major leagues long enough to have a cup of coffee before getting sent back down. And "keopi," for the two of you who didn't figure it out, is the Korean word/pronunciation for coffee. Only being in Korea for one year, I feel that I'm only going to be able to "have a cup of coffee" and just skim the surface of the culture but I'm going to do my best to delve as deeply into it as I can. I also feel that the name appropriately hints at Americanization in Korea, which I foresee as an important theme of this blog. As far as the format, I'm going to be taking personal experiences and using them as jumping off points to talk about something larger, be it Korean culture, Americanization (see, it's already back again), education, the meaning of life, or, as the TV show VICE eloquently puts it, "the absurdity of the modern condition."

Alright, orientation is over! Something that I've always done to set work ethic expectations in my classes is actually teach something following orientation. And as I teach, so I blog. So are you ready for the first story?! Deep breath, let's do it.

Confucianism at a Crosswalk

On my second day in my new hometown of Gumi (goo-me), I decided to go for a walk and explore as much of the city as I could. On my way back to the love-motel that the school put me up in for a week, I came to a crosswalk that had the "don't walk" red guy lit up. So I stopped along with the five others on my side of the street and six or seven on the other side of the street. After about 30 seconds of standing there, I realize that not a single car has passed. "Why are we all still standing here?" A full-minute passes and not a single car has passed nor is there a car within sight. Still we stand there. It's a tiny road too, literally 15 feet to the other side. I used to long jump that in high school. I want to just go so badly. But I can't. They'll all see me. They'll think that waegooks (Korean version of 'gringo') don't respect their laws. I'll bring shame to my culture. So I wait. The green guy finally lights up converting the socially-constructed canyon back into a crosswalk. I cross like a good citizen. No shame for me today.

For those of you not aware, Korean culture, like the rest of East Asia, is deeply rooted in Confucianism, which defines a very strict code of ethics about how a person is to behave as to maximize the collective good, even if it is at the sacrifice of the individual. I think that this experience at the crosswalk strongly highlights the difference between Korean and American culture. I guarantee that this scene would never have taken place in the US. Because Koreans are taught from a very young age to have respect for law, order, and personal sacrifice, they couldn't bring themselves to do something which might possibly harm the collective good, regardless of how much easier it would have made things for themselves personally.

Is this a good way for a society to be? I think it's too soon for me to render such a judgment. I will say, however, that it's no coincidence that Asia has the lowest crime rates and highest ranked education systems in the world and is emerging as the global economic center. So next time you think about jaywalking, I want you to think about the ramifications that act will have on your family, your culture, and your country's global competitiveness. And then go ahead and do it anyways. I mean, come on, it's pretty silly not to.




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*This foundation in no way helps orphans, kittens, pandas, or rainbows. All proceeds will be used to buy Austin good beer from the American grocery store.