first post past the post...

Greetings.

Um, introductions are in order.
This is a blog about a Canadian teaching English in a city outside Seoul, South Korea.
South Korea is a country of approximately fifty million people, undergoing a drastic transformation after decades of occupation and division.
Yours truly is a native Canadian with a history and context all his own, which will be revealed along the way. These things tend to be invisible until they are exposed to challenge, which is what travelling and integration into an outside culture is all about.

I plan to update at least every three days or so.

A little about me: I identify as both leftist and libertarian. Make of that what you will. I like punk rock. I am white/East European/agnostic/mongrel. I am descended from solid working-class roots, but my immediate family can no longer be considered working class.

I believe these are 'interesting times' to be experiences, in that there is a lot of change in the air.

The rest will be revealed in due time.

Why teach English? Well, I am aware that the supremacy of the English language is a hegemonic construct, created by a certain economic order in the world today. But I also think that English is a language that is heterogenous, and multi-faceted enough to keep things interesting. For example, George Orwell, in 1984, was speaking from a certain cultural context when he talked about 'Newspeak'... English is unique in that the multitude of influences and vagueness create room to expose ironies and contradictions inherent in any system of thought. When Donald Rumsfeld talks about 'collatoral damage' brought about by the 'growth of democracy', these euphemisms are made possible by the malleability of the English language. At the same time, this malleability creates great potential to 'hijack' language and lay bare the contradictions of a nationalist agenda.

Does that make sense? No? Then let me summarize: English is open to interpretation. This is both its weakness, and its potential. The strength is in this choice: it challenges us to think critically about what is being said. We can either choose to be enlightened, or to accept Orwellian euphemisms. No progress is possible without that choice.

So you see, this blog is not merely about me, or my immediate experiences.

I have a couple more objectives while in Korea:

1. I want to visit friends and part of the world.
2. I want to observe how Korean activists and labor unions conduct themselves. Especially after seeing this. Don't get sore; it is my firm conviction that history and political change is directed by those people who are willing and able to stand up for their own interests. I don't see anyone, left-wing or right-wing, who protest when people stand up to military coups. It's important that we understand and be willing to mobilize the power of mass movements.
3. I want to find some righteous Korean punk rock and hardcore music to share with audiences in North America. More on this later!!