Blue House

We had a field trip to Cheongwadae, or “The Blue House” today, the Korean equivalent of The White House.  What you see here is only a small part of the sprawling presidential compound, along with an information bureau, various offices, and a reception hall.  The architecture definitely echoes what you’d see nearby in Gyeongbok Palace, lending a pleasant symmetry to the entire area.  This was one of the few spots from which cameras were allowed (North Korean infiltrators almost killed the president here back in 1968, and security remains very tight).

Really?

After blow-out losses to Brazil and Italy, I’m as shocked as anyone that the US soccer team could actually manage to beat the best team in the world, Spain.

Delicate Issues

I’ve got an afternoon student (Korean age ten, Western age nine) who I’m almost certain has a learning disability.  I’m not a doctor, but after teaching high school in America for two years and having dozens of meetings with parents and counselors for students who were going to be screened, a lot of the warning signs are there.  I told my supervisor and her assistant about my suspicions a while back, and I politely suggested that if this kid was in an American school he would have been screened by now.

I guess their response was just about what I expected — pretty much nothing.  My supervisor came to class one day and sat directly behind the student in question.  She physically restrained him from getting out of his seat, and gently pushed his head towards the front of the classroom when I asked for the students’ attention (something he doesn’t do normally or, in my opinion, isn’t capable of doing due to processing issues).

Peaceable Kingdom

Oh field trips to the zoo at Seoul Grand Park, how I love you so.

Cynicism

As Andrew Sullivan notes, only the warped and discredited minds of neocons could look at the recent events in Iran and think it’s a bad thing in the long run (i.e., agitation for more freedom and less theocracy).

Revolution?

I’m trying to get a handle on what’s going on in Iran in the wake of a disputed re-election: Mefi thread, Andrew Sullivan.  The former has some great links to various sources within Iran itself.

As many have noticed, traditional American news sources have had nothing to say about what could turn out to be very big news.  Old media is dying off because of nasty, uninformed bloggers?  Nope.  It’s dying (pretty much dead, actually) because they have chosen to make themselves irrelevant to the world at large.  But it’s no surprise that the BBC is doing a good job.

Here’s a slide-show from the unwashed bloggers at TPM.

Karma Loss

It’s not very sporting to take pleasure in another’s downfall, but c’mon — Ryan Leaf busted for drugs and burglary? That’s LOL-worthy.

Asa!

South Korea clinched a World Cup birth last night with a win over lowly U.A.E.

Since nobody asked me, the attack looks strong and the defense needs work.  Two meaningless (for the Red Devils) home games remain where some fine-tuning can occur.

I also caught highlights from North Korea’s scoreless draw with Iran.  Will the DPRK make the World Cup for the first time since 1966?  Looks like it.  And while they won’t go too far, they could definitely surprise some people with their offensive abilities.  With only a few exceptions, the North Korean players practice without the benefit of any sort of international-level competition.  How they’ve put together a squad that’s probably going to South Africa next year is beyond me.

High Society

Residence of the British Ambassador, Seoul.

Today was the Royal Asiatic Society’s annual garden party at the British Embassy here in muggy Seoul.  The party rotates between the British and American embassies, and a good time was had by all.

We had music from the Han-eol Traditional Performing Arts Company.  It was nice to see some fairly young kids involved in the performance.  The drumming was fantastic.

“How Do I Look?”

David Carradine dead at 73.