Part-Time Lecturers Get Raw Deal

45 –year-old Seo was one of 58,000 “hourly lecturers” or part-time employees responsible for 55% of all the lectures conducted in universities across South Korea. (Another source puts the total number of these part-time lecturers at 85,000.) As his status was simply a “miscellaneous daily worker”, he could only expect to be paid between 30,000 and 40,000 won per hour with no fringe benefits like insurance. His monthly income was no more than 1.4 million won.

Although he had worked for 10 years in the same university, he still couldn’t get a full-time position. He had worked his way up the academic ladder to get his doctorate only to find himself acting as a part-time lecturer and ghostwriter. Seo said: “I wrote about 25 papers with this professor, one doctoral dissertation for the professor’s student, one Korea Research Foundation paper, four master’s theses, and four Korea Research Foundation presentation papers….. For all of the roughly 54 papers we wrote together, I wrote the papers and this professor just put his name on them.”

He also revealed, “I was asked to pay 60 million won by a university in South Jeolla two years ago and 100 million won by a university in Gyeonggi two months ago if I wanted to become a full-time professor.” Over eight years, he applied for a professorship and was rejected 20 times. When the years of frustration turned into despair, he wrote a five-page suicide note  last Tuesday to his wife, who worked more than 10 hours a day at restaurant to help support their two children.

According to The Korea Times, Kim Dong-ay, 61, a former full-time lecturer at a Seoul university and an executive of a temporary educators' union said, ``More than 70,000 part-time lecturers nationwide are being exploited without official labor contracts. Most of them earn less then 10 million won ($10,000) a year.'' They teach 40 % of classes at universities. Since their status was downgraded 34 years ago under the Park Chung-hee regime, they have been unable to enjoy basic benefits such as pensions and medical insurance.'' Since 2000, at least SIX part-time lecturers have killed themselves, driven to despair by the injustices and corruption in the education system.

Although the Supreme Court ruled in April 2007 that part-time lecturers must be accorded the same status as full-time professors, there has been little change as no-one dares to report instances of discrimination as the threat of summary dismissals is a real concern. To make matters worse, the Irregular Worker Protection Law, enacted in July 2007 stipulated that a "part-time lecturer is not part of the list of jobs that should be switched to permanent positions after two years of employment because they are regarded as a special group."  Elsewhere it was reported that Education Ministry statistics showed that  more than 1,000 part-time lecturers at 112 universities nationwide were dismissed in the autumn of 2009,  seemingly as a result of the Irregular Worker Law that requires employers to move irregular workers into regular positions after two years.

What I've culled from articles on the Net and summarised above is nothing new to many though it's something that I've only become aware of more recently. Perhaps it also explains in part why Seoul National University, the top tertiary institution in the country was only ranked  51st in the world by the Times Higher Education -QS World Universities Rankings for 2007. I can only hope that the situation will improve sooner than later, for part-time lecturers in Korea, for their sakes as well as for the sake of the students and the whole country.

Sources:

http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2921114
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/05/117_66639.html
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_national/422981.html
http://english.donga.com/srv/service.php3?biid=2010052805728
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2921146
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2008/03/113_21620.html
http://www.amrc.org.hk/node/1256/print
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2008/03/15/korea-part-time-lecturers-and-suicide/
http://stip.or.kr/bbs/board.php?bo_table=Solidarity&wr_id=10
http://english.hani.co.kr/arti/english_edition/e_opinion/284754.html
http://www.academicleadership.org/emprical_research/606.shtml
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2010/05/113_65182.html

How To Break A Watermelon With A Shuttlecock

Still on badminton but totally trivial this time.  Here are two videos featuring the Korean pair who won an Olympic Gold medal for mixed doubles in the Beijing 2008 Summer Games. Lee Hyojung and Lee Yongdae appear here on an Infinity Challenge TV show ( 2008). Did anybody record the speed of Lee's impressive smash when he slammed the shuttlecock into the watermelon? Flying shuttlecocks have been known to exceed 200km/hr.


Watermelon Cracked by Shuttlecock - Watch more Funny Videos

Caption from China's People Daily: Lee Hyojung and Lee Yongdae of South Korea stand on podium during victory ceremony of mixed doubles gold medal match of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games badminton event in Beijing, China, Aug. 17, 2008. Lee Hyojung and Lee Yongdae of South Korea won the match over Widianto Nova and Liliyana of Indonesia and got the gold medal.

source:
http://www.break.com/index/watermelon-cracked-by-shuttlecock.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QGzXiHPn3vE
http://english.peopledaily.com.cn/90001/90779/94835/6478399.html

Lotus Lanterns

Buddha's birthday is celebrated in Korea this year on May 21st. The main image associated with this occasion would be lotus lanterns. Koreans have been lighting these since the Shilla Dynasty (B.C. 57-935 A.D.). What is surprising is that lotus lanterns don't seem to be so prominent in other Asian countries where there are Buddhist devotees even though the flower has long been a symbol of purity, the aspiration to rise above the dirt and dust of worldly cares or above "the mud of delusion" and enlightenment. One source claims that "The lotus lanterns are unique to Korean culture; they cannot be found in Chinese or Japanese Buddhism." What about in India?

According to Ven. Hye-Kyeong, "Athough the blossom remains clean,  it doesn't force its surroundings to get cleaner. Buddha also teaches that everything has a purpose -  even dirt. If there is no dirt, there is no need for lotus blossoms as well." Hmmm.

All I know is it's not easy work making these lanterns.  Each paper petal and leaf is stuck by hand onto a wire frame with sticky starch and usually each temple or hermitage is decked out with hundreds or even thousands of these each year. I'm guessing from one visit in spring that an army of ajumma volunteers prepare the 연등  or yeondeung or lotus lantern weeks before the celebrations begin. Question is: what happens to them afterwards? Are they relegated to some bonfire as a some symbolic gesture or are they recycled or used again the following year? Surely Buddha wouldn't object to the latter in these environmentally-critical  times?

      Love this photo of lanterns at Jogyesa. Credit: Korea Times photo by Shim Hyun-chul

sources:

http://www.buddhism.org/board/read.cgi?board=WhatsNew&y_number=4

http://www.buddhistchannel.tv/index.php?id=45,6287,0,0,1,0
http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2010/05/203_65815.html

Masan Ladies Make History

It's such a shame. I've checked a couple of Korean on-line newspapers ( in English) but none have featured the recent triumph of the Korean women's badminton team in the recent Uber Cup Championships held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Sports in Korea seems to be dominated by football, golf, baseball and ice-skating ( not necessarily in that order) and to my surprise, there's not even a mention of the achievements of the ladies who hail from Masan and how they've beaten the Chinese team in the badminton finals in this prestigious tournament in the world of badminton.

Let me quote the head coach, Kim Jong Soo to sum up this milestone: "This is a historic day for Korean badminton. We reached the finals five times before and we were beaten in all five by China. But today it was a different story, we were not the second fiddle.We've had enough of losing to the Chinese. The players were determined to break the jinx and we did it in Kuala Lumpur."

Just hope there'll be some welcoming committee for the ladies when they get back to Korea. It's a pity that badminton isn't such a glamorous sport as ice-skating but then again, who ever said that life was fair?


Here are the results:
Bae Seung Hee beat Wang Yihan 23-21, 21-11;
Lee Hyo Jung/Kim Min Jung beat Ma Jin/Wang Xiaoli 18-21, 21-12, 21-15;
Sung Ji Hyun lost to Wang Xin 14-21, 21-16, 7-21;
Lee Kyung Won/Ha Jung Eun beat Du Jing/Yu Yang 19-21, 21-14, 21-19.



sources:
http://badmintonlife.com/2010/thomas-and-uber-cup-2010-korea-stuns-china-to-win-uber-cup/
http://www.badzine.info/index.php/news/international/2508-fast-facts-about-the-2010-uber-cup.html
http://www.mysinchew.com/node/39072
http://sports.globaltimes.cn/moresports/2010-05/532085.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JXyA1mgbJLM&feature=related

Congratulations to The Winners of Blog Korea! Visit Korea!

Congratulations to the three winners of the Blog Korea! Visit Korea! competition. Strange though that the results are posted in the KNTO website and not on the metablog for VANK.
Click here for the winners. Drumroll, please.

BTW, am taking a two week break as I've some pressing deadlines to meet.
Source:
http://english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FU/FU_EN_15.jsp?cid=1011946

Have Squid, Will Gut

One of the stops made on a day tour I joined in Jeju was a seafood eatery of sorts. The dining area was tucked within some tents and I wasn't feeling too adventurous, having had a bad encounter with seafood the day before. So I was content to let the Korean tourists enjoy my share of the raw seafood while I watched the ajummas at work.

It was a great opportunity to have a free lesson in how to cut and clean squid. Spent at least a quarter of an hour watching them wield their knives so deftly. Too bad I don't ever cook squid in my own kitchen.

The following videos posted by others were taken in other parts of Korea but I think the technique is the same.



Thanks to ffej4321 for posting this on YouTube.



Thanks to lisaruck10 for this one!

sources:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xVCkXzHW364&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36L_2Gi-sdI&feature=related

Think Twice Before You Touch That Shellfish!

Wasn't going to write about this embarrassing episode when I did a tour of half the public toilets on Jeju the day after I had some seafood stew for dinner in a restaurant on the island.  But after coming across a recent headline from the JoongAng Daily entitled "Toxin In Shellfish Is Spreading" ( date: 30th April, 2010), I've changed my mind. Don't want your vacation in Korea to be spoilt as mine almost was.

My seafood stew didn't look as good as this though.

Those who love their haemultang ( seafood soup), be careful. According to the news report, the heavy rainfalls this spring have caused toxin levels to rise in some shellfish. Looks like the farmers aren't the only ones who are facing hard times this spring, no thanks to the unseasonable conditions. ( see previous posting).

Extracted from the JoongAng Daily:

Because of the spread of paralytic shellfish poisoning, or PSP, harvesting bans have been put on many coastal areas, starting with Jinhae Bay, in Jinhae, South Gyeongsang on March 29. In less than one month, PSP spread north, crossing over Busan and onto Ulsan in the eastern coast, and then to the western coast. Experts say that this year’s poison levels are the highest ever for some areas, due to excessive rain......When humans digest PSP, it can cause nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, a choking feeling and can even be fatal in extreme cases....the most common symptoms are “vomiting, which leads to difficulty breathing, and a muscle paralysis."

Fortunately for me, I  only suffered a mild case of food poisoning (must have eaten the wrong mussel or something as my travel companion had no problems and we shared the same dish) and didn't experience any of the symptoms described above. But I have sworn off seafood,  more or less, whenever I was on holiday.
I don't want to sound alarmist but just note in case your mouth starts swelling or a wave of nausea is sweeping over you after consuming any kind of shellfish.

It's been suggested that you:
1.  stick your finger down your throat to induce vomitting
2. drink lots of salt water
3. take Syrup of Ipecac ( if the finger-down-the-throat method doesn't get you retching quickly)
4. go straight to the hospital even though you've followed steps 1 to 3

sources:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919879
http://seagrant.uaf.edu/features/PSP/PSP.pdf
http://samedi.livejournal.com/326273.html

Cold Snap Bites Back

Are these disturbing signs of possible global warming?

A sorry sight and a farmer's nightmare - watermelons spoilt by the cold

Plastic sheets can't protect corn fields adequately

As temperatures plunge, food prices soar

sources:
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919880
http://joongangdaily.joins.com/article/view.asp?aid=2919810