Last Updated on June 14, 2010 by Christine Kaaloa

a great satirical photo by Mens et Manis, found on metaphorphallic.files.wordpress

Move over George Bush, Korea gives Lee Myung Bak the diss with a new nickname
If you’re an EFL teacher in Korea, you know who  2PM and 2AM are (both are favorite K-Pop boy bands that have the kids here swooning), but have you heard of 2MB? Last week, I noticed my elementary students using no other, than their president, Lee Myung Bak in their name calling.  “Teacher, teacher- Lee Myung Bak! Lee Myung Bak!” they’d say, referencing their embarassed and clearly insulted friend. This is similar to the way they call each other animals names (animals they feel their friends look like) “Teacher,… she is pig! Pig!” “Teacher,… he is dog! Dog!“, you get the point… (they’re often frightfully accurate to the point it makes me embarrassed for the person they’re teasing).

But anyways, it’s no secret that the SK President has pushed tensions on the NK/SK issue and his recent actions of denying NK a live feed of their team in the FIFA World Cup has been the big buzz. I asked my co-teacher if this is why the kids are using LMB‘s name in slanderous reference. She explained “It’s not only that, but there are many other things he’s been doing to upset countrymen”. To South Koreans, LMB’s ex-CEO and high-powered business actions in the government have been very anti- Robin Hood and as a result, in recent election poles, his popularity showed a drastic decline. In fact, one of his nicknames amongst Korean people is “2MB” ( “Lee” is translated in Korean as “two” and “MB” stands for “Myung Bak”).  2MB in this giga/kilobyte age is seen as “low memory“. Step aside, George Bush – you may have some competition afterall.

photo from londonkoreanlinks.net

FIFA World Cup 2010 airings in Korea
For all of you wondering, the World Cup games did air in South Korea and many city locations were set up with jumbotron screens for public viewings, as well as bars, etc… I had many friends who went to celebrate the South Korean Red Devil craze as well as, South Africans who celebrated the opening game.  How close did I get to seeing the World Cup and the SK Red Devils play?…

I went traveling instead!
(In sad attempt to salvage myself from being a complete poop, I will say I played NCAA volleyball championships in college.
As far as competitive sports, even world games, I’m a bit burnt out.)

My Solo Friendly Samsung ST500 digital camera update
A few months back, I blogged how my new dual-view Samsung ST500 digital camera was the schizz. Well, Gray of SoloFriendly.com recently bought a schizz too and was kind enough to mention my blog as one of the inspirations for her decision to make her solo photo journey easier. Woo hoo & thanks Gray! (you can read her review of the camera here). Ironically, now that I have a dual-view screen to take my picture, passing strangers actually offer to take my picture for me! (Where were you people when I was struggling with my DSLR?) Anyways, I can only coo about the camera, although there’s been one problematic thing-  I’m embarrassed to say, it’s seduced me away from my DSLR and made my photography skills a bit lazy. Why? It’s made documentation easy, fun and it does everything I need it to at the spur of the moment; plus, I don’t have to carry heavy lenses!

On a side note, I assumed I would see this camera everywhere in Korea but alas, I’ve only seen it once! I suppose it has to contend with the all-in-one video phones and DSLR’s that many Koreans are modeling. Koreans are pretty pro-DSLR and you’ll see them always  snapping off pictures of themselves, to the point where they don’t need a dual view to take their own picture.  I think it’s safe to say that here, even babies  know their most photogenic angles!

Another crud, errr..cold…yet again.
Month #4 and you’d think my body has absorbed and adapted to the special strain of Korean Crud germ by now. No.  This special romance with throat colds in Korea feels ongoing and my cough attacks are not light. Out of the blue, it’s violent, hysterical, lengthy and  powerful enough to bring streaming tears to my eyes.  If you saw me, you’d think I were going into seizure.  It’s uncomfortable and in a germo-phobe country like Korea, the last thing I want is being wedged between passengers on the subway or bus when I go into one of these coughing fits.  The Korean medicine I was recently prescribed was stronger than my last, but it didn’t cure. The soreness in my throat went away, but not the cough and last week, I had to fight going into re-lapse. Fingers crossed that I eventually get the hang of this