photo a day #154 - the train is arriving on platform two
8/01/2009
book mania
22/11/2008
thanks to my boss at kepco, i’ve started reading again. for the past year i haven’t really picked up many books. while on the subway, or out and about, i’d just listen to music or watch a movie downloaded on my pmp player.
however, a week ago, my boss loaned me a book called “who won the oil wars?”. obviously, it’s a book about oil cartels and their influences on modern history. the book has been good reading and i’ve been carrying it around with me to read on the subway or during spare minutes.
this wasn’t the first book i’d been loaned recently. i had just finished reading “the art of travel” which was given to me by a student.
so, i’ve got myself back into reading … last week i got my hands on a play by maxim gorky, and some commedia dell ‘arte. i bought those from another teacher. in bandi and lunis bookstore on tuesday i got the metamorphosis by franz kafka and the communist manifesto by marx and engels. today i had to rush to itaewon and meet a guy who’s taking over my photo club. while in itaewon i traded a bunch of books and picked up travel book, a book about krishna consciousness and a national geographic travel destinations magazine.
whilst significantly reducing my book collection, i also managed to pick up a few things i wanted to read … which will keep me entertained over the next 14 weeks.
photo a day #70 - begging on the subway
6/10/2008
i don’t often post these kinds of photos. i like korea and i prefer to focus on the colourful side of this country’s culture. but last night i was angry and wanted to illustrate that there are many sides to korean culture. one of the most shocking things to me, for a developed country, is the number of poor and beggars. all countries have poverty, but in korea much of the poverty is due to the fact that the government provides little support for the poor or disabled. so they beg on the subway.
the irony is that when i ask my korean friends, many believe that these people aren’t truly blind. in fact, my friends believe that many ‘disabled’ korean beggars aren’t disabled at all. they’re pan handlers who make money from begging. i’ve even heard theories that this is organised by mobsters who get a percentage of the take. regardless of the theories, there’s a lot of begging on the subway. i see it daily. whether they’re really disabled or not is irrelevant. what is relevant is that korea (as a nation) focuses heavily on economics and on providing for the gifted and talented. the poor are constantly overlooked.
