Category Culture
The Taste of Life
This is the script for my third Toastmasters’ speech. In Korea, there is no equivalent to Western idioms about flavor. If, for example, you call a Korean person “very sweet” in Korean, they will either think you misspoke or conclude you have some unresolved issues with cannibalism. I thought it would be interesting to use […]
인생의 맛
3번째 토스트마스터스 연설 각본입니다. 제생각에는 음식과 인생은 비슷합니다. 둘다 행복의 원천입니다. 음식의 종류는 많고 인생종류도 많습니다. 음식처럼, 인생에도 유효기간 이있습니다. 미국 사람들은 성공을 세이버리 맛이라고 말합니다. 우리 속담에서는 패배는 쓴 맛이고 실망은 신 맛이라고합니다. 튼튼한 사람들은 짜고 착한 사람들은 달콤합니다. 하지만 모든 사람은 인상이라는 맛을 맛볼 수 없습니다. (멈춤) 테디 루세벨트는 저의 […]
Wayfarer’s Challenge
This is an article I wrote for A Holistic Journey. South Korea was, and still is, a means of escape for me. On a practical level, it offered me a ticket out of my depressing neighborhood in Nevada (U.S.) with the meth lab across the street. On a slightly higher level, it released the […]
Chosen People
There are a few spots on earth that seem to suck, all the time, every year. Places known primarily for depressing, vaguely anonymous news stories about so an so rebel group blowing up buses, such and such government dropping cluster bombs on schools, everyone throwing rocks at each other and frothing at the mouth. I […]
The House Husband
I really recommend you watch this video, but if you don’t want to, I’ll summarize for your convenience. The location is France, the protagonist is a house husband who, in the course of his day, gets crudely hit upon by a hobo chick, sorta-raped by a gang of feral women and diminished by his sexist […]
CJ’s Nightmare, An Excerpt from The Potency.
CJ adjusted the fine, silk collar on his shirt and brushed aside a barely visible spec of fuzz on his slacks. He looked up to see Chul seated, smoking in front of an enormous wooden book case. He was sure they had not met before, but things were going well and so CJ smiled and […]
Why I Wrote My Novels
I have finished three novels and, although they share only the most tenuous connections in setting, character and plot, I do consider them a trilogy of sorts. All three are attempts to understand the disconnect between intentions and outcomes. All three are, in a very real sense, about my attempt to overcome the desire for […]
The Clothing Speech
한국어 원고를 보시려면 여기를 클릭하세요. (I am wearing an old sleeveless shirt, a worn out pair of athletic shorts and no shoes. My hair is disheveled and messy) Hello everyone and thank you for listening to my speech. Since we mostly know each other already, I decided to introduce my clothes rather than my person. […]
옷 연설
Click here for the English Version. (옷 – 낡은 나시, 운동 바지, 이상한 머리, 신발 없음) 여러분 안녕하세요. 저는 오늘 여러분에게 특별한 소개를 하고 싶습니다. 저의 마음대로 소개하는 것 보다는, 옷에 대하여 소개하고자 합니다. 지금, 저는 옷을 잘 입었다고 생각하지 않습니다. 첫째, 이런 티셔츠는 품위가 없습니다. 이런 바지도 별로 멋이 없고, 제 운동화는 매우 낡아 […]
Mohsin Hamid Replies to My Open Letter
The first in my series of open letters was addressed to Sinead O’Connor. It consisted of my thoughts regarding her and Miley Cyrus’ little “poison to feminism except we aren’t sure what feminism stands for” feud. I really doubted I would get a response from either participant and, considering the level of maturity in Ms. […]
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