Here are some commercials that 'made me giggle' as I sit in bed for the third day with some strange and unknown intestinal bacteria. Oy. Someday Korea you and I will be friends.
Won Cashing:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flA6bD_OzJA
Cooky Phone Commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KdIwfFcZZ-E
Lollipop Phone Commercial:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne0iLznyw4M
Sexy Utility Vehicle (Feat. "If You Seek Amy" by Britney Spears)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yzle3pri6BE
Until next time.
Thursday, May 27, 2010
Sunday, May 16, 2010
This weekend was the Lotus Lantern Festival in Insa Dong, Seoul. It was awesome. I learned so much, including that a Korean text called the Jikji, is the oldest printed text from a metaloid printing block. It's was made one hundred years prior to Gutenberg's Bible. I was so shocked. After having acquired a Bachelor of Arts in English, I assumed I had been told the histroy (or what we knew thus far) of printing. Oh, how wrong I was.
The Jikji "contains excerpts from teachings of the most revered Buddhist monks (Korean) throughout generations" (paraphrased, Wikipedia "Jikji"). Alongside this stunning text is the Tripitaka Koreana, considered to be the most comprehensive Buddhist canon. Containing over 52 million characters, every one carved by hand in a back breaking process that is awe inspiring. The characters are not Korean which are (comparably simple) but are rather Chinese. The woodblocks are maintained in a single facility in a temple in the mountains in South Gyeonsang province (which I will be making a trip to see!). As if the sheer amount of characters wasn't impressive enough, or that it's hand carved, or that it's still preserved, let's just talk about the fact that has NO KNOWN ERRORS! Or that it was produced during a war. OR that before going to work, the people working on it would bow one to three times for each character. (You guys do the math....3x52million).
I'll be posting an article I found about Korean printing soon, I just needed to share this awesome story (I mean awesome by its dictionary definition not its colloquial one). I feel slightly jipped having not learning about it it my linguistics classes.
The Jikji "contains excerpts from teachings of the most revered Buddhist monks (Korean) throughout generations" (paraphrased, Wikipedia "Jikji"). Alongside this stunning text is the Tripitaka Koreana, considered to be the most comprehensive Buddhist canon. Containing over 52 million characters, every one carved by hand in a back breaking process that is awe inspiring. The characters are not Korean which are (comparably simple) but are rather Chinese. The woodblocks are maintained in a single facility in a temple in the mountains in South Gyeonsang province (which I will be making a trip to see!). As if the sheer amount of characters wasn't impressive enough, or that it's hand carved, or that it's still preserved, let's just talk about the fact that has NO KNOWN ERRORS! Or that it was produced during a war. OR that before going to work, the people working on it would bow one to three times for each character. (You guys do the math....3x52million).
I'll be posting an article I found about Korean printing soon, I just needed to share this awesome story (I mean awesome by its dictionary definition not its colloquial one). I feel slightly jipped having not learning about it it my linguistics classes.
Sunday, May 9, 2010
So it's been a while...but I'm keeping up my once a month posts...so here goes.
Seoul Land: Pretty great, but not really for adrenaline junkies. Though in the same park (Seoul Grand Park) there is a Zoo, Seoul Land and Contemporary Art Museum. Definitely worth the trip.
Hongdae: We've been spending our weekends in Hongdae (Hongik University) and it's been pretty great with the exception of one person who (always) turns the night downhill. Zebekiah has been in a trans/prog/psychedelic/industrial/math/rock phase. Not really my cup of tea, but live music is always interesting.
World DJ Festival: Totally awesome. We made floor pillows, got airbrushed tattoos and alcohol. We heard some really awesome Korean rock bands, which is a breath of fresh air when compared to the blaring K-Pop we are normally surrounded with.
1. Wiretap in My Ears: (내귀에 도청장차) - Korean rock/glam rock band. Totally kick ass.
2. Gukkasten (국카스텐): We didn't actually see them perform but could hear they're awesome guitar metal licks from across the festival.
I think that's it for now...there are students running around my classroom....oy.
Seoul Land: Pretty great, but not really for adrenaline junkies. Though in the same park (Seoul Grand Park) there is a Zoo, Seoul Land and Contemporary Art Museum. Definitely worth the trip.
Hongdae: We've been spending our weekends in Hongdae (Hongik University) and it's been pretty great with the exception of one person who (always) turns the night downhill. Zebekiah has been in a trans/prog/psychedelic/industrial/math/rock phase. Not really my cup of tea, but live music is always interesting.
World DJ Festival: Totally awesome. We made floor pillows, got airbrushed tattoos and alcohol. We heard some really awesome Korean rock bands, which is a breath of fresh air when compared to the blaring K-Pop we are normally surrounded with.
1. Wiretap in My Ears: (내귀에 도청장차) - Korean rock/glam rock band. Totally kick ass.
2. Gukkasten (국카스텐): We didn't actually see them perform but could hear they're awesome guitar metal licks from across the festival.
I think that's it for now...there are students running around my classroom....oy.
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