Irresponsible driver…
Written by admin on May 28, 2008 – 11:06 am -I was just surfing YouTube trying to find videos of Pinoys living in Seoul when I chanced upon this video of a Pinoy wannabe streetracer recklessly driving on the westbound 88 (Olympic Expressway). Fortunately the driver did not get into any accident. I just feel that we should be a little bit more responsible when we are overseas as our actions affect how we are seen as a nation by our host country.
If an accident did happen then I’m sure the local newspapers would probably read ‘Filipino driver driving recklessly injures family on the Olympic Expressway’, that would probably result in future Filipino expats having a more difficult time in obtaining a drivers license in South Korea. The vehicle may not have been traveling fast but weaving in and out of the lanes is still a reckless thing to do if you ask me.
Filipino’s have some pretty good traits such as being hard workers, generous and loyal, lets try not to add more some of the bad stereotypes we already have.
Tags: Olympic Expressway, Reckless Driver
Posted in Philippines, Seoul | No Comments »
Odusan 오두산 Unification Observatory
Written by admin on May 26, 2008 – 1:47 am -I’ve been getting information about places to visit in South Korea from the numerous bloggers . This time I’m going to give something back to the community and write about our visit to the Odusan Unification Observatory.
Built in 1999 this facility was to commemorate the efforts in unifying North and South Korea. To this date the Korean War has not yet ended and is the only divided country in the world even after the end of the Cold War.
Getting there from Seoul is fairly easy, just get on the westbound Gangbyeon expressway and you won’t miss the signs as you get closer After parking the car at the Paju City public parking lot the kids and I took a free shuttle bus to get to the observatory. There is an admission fee of W 2,500 for adults and W 1,700 for kids. Upon entering there are various exhibit halls and an A/V presentation in english describes the propaganda village to the north and it’s surrounding geography. Binoculars are available in two outdoor viewing decks that afford an excellent view of the area. Restaurants, souvenir shops and snack kiosks are available.
I’ve always been fascinated about North Korea and have watched almost every documentary that’s been shown on the Discovery and NatGeo, and can’t believe that just across that river bank are people who are hungry, oppressed, and have been brainwashed into thinking that their ‘Dear Leader’ is looking after their best interests.
The top half of the photo is the North Korean propaganda village, Kim Il-sung Historiacal Monument Hall, Primary School, People’s Cultural Assembly Hall and the Anti-South Media Propaganda Base while the bottom part shows the riverbank on the South Korean side. Take note of the heavily barbed fence which is guarded 24/7.
The expressway which runs alongside the riverbank is heavily fenced with barbed wire with watch towers every 1000 meters.
For more info click here.
More photos here.
Tags: DMZ, Odusan, Paju, Unification Observatory, 오두산
Posted in Seoul, South Korea, Tourist Destinations, Travel | 4 Comments »
Magazines too expensive???
Written by admin on May 19, 2008 – 12:54 pm -If you’re like me, one of the items in my checklist when I move to a new country is to scope out the local bookstores. In South Korea, english magazines are difficult to find and very expensive if you do find them, almost twice the cover price at best. I know there are sources for free magazines but this is beyond the scope of my blog entry.
An alternative exists, a good one too especially if you move a lot since you download the magazines and store them on your computer or laptop. They’re called digital magazines from Zinio. A proprietary reader is available free for download from Zinio’s website for both Mac OS and Windows. Exactly the same right down to those irritating subscriptiion cards that fall out as you read them.
I discovered Zinio 6 years ago when I got sick of paying the exhorbitant prices of my favorite magazines in Seoul. The choice of magazine titles have expanded over the years and its safe to say that after all these years they’ll be staying for good. Some magazines are available for free so that you can test and see for yourself if Zinio is for you.
I’m sure that other people especially those living in western countries can find a lot of reasons why this product would not appeal to them but for those of us who live in places where foreign magazines are not readily available then this solution is a godsend. For me, the price was one of the major reasons that sealed the deal. For example a single issue of Popular Mechanics is about USD 5.99, in Seoul is cost about W10,000, a whole year’s digital subscription from Zinio is USD 7.99 and single issues are USD 1.99.
Check them out at Zinio.com
Tags: Bargains, Magazines, Zinio
Posted in Seoul, Shopping | No Comments »
Buddha’s Birthday
Written by admin on May 12, 2008 – 9:43 pm -석가탄신일 (Seokga tansinil) or ‘the day of Buddha’s birthday’ was celebrated today and was a non-working public holiday. My family and I were at Bonguensa Temple last night taking photos of the very beautiful lanterns that were in display. More photos here.
I woke my sons up early today and we spent the better part of the morning playing soccer at Hangang Park. I couldn’t help but think why the our government can’t provide these kinds of facilities to its citizens.
Posted in Seoul | 2 Comments »
San Mig in Seoul
Written by admin on May 9, 2008 – 1:16 pm -Not really a beer drinker but there’s something about seeing a brown bottle of San Miguel beer in a foreign supermarket that makes you think about home. It makes me think about how much potential for global marketing our other products have. We’ve got a lot of unique brands such as Selecta Ice Cream and Sarsi which is way better than any sarsaparilla I’ve tasted when I was working in New Zealand or Australia. But at 2600 Won (USD 2.60) ouch!!!
Tags: Beer, San Miguel
Posted in Seoul, Shopping | No Comments »