Dear Readers,I have been busy preparing for our programs in Pyongyang and will be there until the end of next week. I will have intermittent internet access during this period. Will try to get back to blogging at the end of September.

The following is a write up on my Korean language program as part of the requirements of the Fellowship I am on which is generously provided by the Light Foundation at Yale University.

Overall Impression: I find the focus on speaking and listening at Sogang to be really helpful and my language abilities improved a lot this semester. I still have a long way to go especially in improving the accuracy of my Korean (terrible) and in picking up the vocabulary I need for my work (i.e. obscure words used in North Korea) but the program has been a lot of help.

Pedagogy: I have never taken upper level classes at other programs, hence its hard to compare Sogang’s approach to those of other programs. However, talking with some people who attend other programs at Yonsei, it appears the main difference is that at Yonsei, most classes involve repeating lines used by the teacher, while at Sogang, most of the time is spent using grammar patterns while talking to your classmates. I personally find the Sogang approach much more lively and interesting - however, this depends on whether you get a good teacher or more importantly, chatty classmates. I would not underestimate the motivation factor when attending classes five days a week for 4 hours a day.

Vocabulary: My biggest gripe about Sogang University is that at least up to level 3 and to some extent level 4 are focused very much on learning words that one can use in everyday life. These are very useful in helping one get around but less so for my purpose (academic work). Then again, I have very niche interests and the learning of words should not stop at the door of Sogang’s Arrupe Building.

Outside of the Classroom: While not technically part of Sogang’s program, I was involved heavily with work on Choson Exchange outside of the classroom. It is easy to fall into a routine with homework and classes at Sogang especially since they take up so much time. But there is a lot to be said about being involved in life outside of the classroom - especially since those experiences keep reminding me how bad my Korean is. You also get to see a very different aspect of Korean life.

Through my work, I keep meeting 50+ year old people (e.g. Partners at Banks and Accounting Firms, Academics…etc.) whose Korean I can only understand 10% of (I console myself with 하나를 보면 열을 안다고 하잖아). These people also remind me that I do a sloppy job of separating my formal and informal speech since most of these meetings use very formal forms of speech. I point out to my teachers that I will fix the problem after moving to Pyongyang since the North Koreans just might shoot me if I use the wrong 조사 (particles) when referring to Kim Il Sung or Kim Jong Il.

Blogging: Not sure if this will be a problem for others but I realized that 99 percent of the interesting things I have encountered in Korea comes through my work. Unfortunately, most of it is confidential, which made blogging difficult for me. Aside from language study and working on Choson Exchange, the most exciting activity is sleeping, which I don’t do enough of.

As the American, the Korean and I wandered around Aleppo, two Syrians who happen to be driving around suddenly stopped and asked us where we were from. They asked if we could speak Chinese and I answered “yes.” The younger of the two was an interpreter for his Boss who only spoke Arabic. It turns out that they need to negotiate with their business partners in China but no one could speak Chinese. We agreed to follow them back to their office to help them.

They have been ordering supplies from a manufacturer in China for years. I asked what equipment they were ordering, and as the younger person explained, his boss told him that it was not important. I had fanciful visions of stumbling upon some clandestine nuclear imports, but the truth is probably the banal version of textile manufacturing.

They have been having major delays with the current shipment and have been unable to ascertain the reasons for it. Later, as I helped them work through their issues, I realized that two years of using English to communicate has led to layers of misunderstanding and mistrust piling up which neither side was resolving or even bringing up. The issues were complicated and often circular. The Syrians complained that their Chinese counterparts always delayed their orders. In return, the Chinese said they were unable to fulfill orders early because the Syrians were always late in their payments (and they added, often much later than international norms in the business). In return, the Syrians said they paid late because they got their goods late.

The Syrians were also insistent that the Chinese shipped the goods through Taiwan (which was what they had in an original contract). They can get a higher price by claiming that the equipment was “imported” from Taiwan. It turned out later that part of the reason was that they were afraid of the Chinese undercutting their middlemen role by selling directly to customers. By shipping the goods through Taiwan, they had a differentiating factor. The Chinese on the other hand mentioned that doing so caused delays and additional costs, as their old contact who helped “facilitate” the movement of goods through Taiwanese ports had apparently quit the business.

There was much haggling over who should bear the cost of this - the Syrians were very aggressive and the Chinese pretty much accommodated their demands. I was caught in the middle trying to bring both sides to an agreement. After 1.5 hours, we came to an agreement. I counselled the Syrians to clarify some outstanding issues and work with the Chinese to agree on shipment route, payment schedule and cost-sharing on transit, which I thought would be major issues in their future business relationships.

I spent two days hopping from town to town in the Cappadocia region. It was nice to get out of the main touristy town as it is far too convenient. It even has a lone Family Mart to serve Japanese/Korean tourists. One stop was Yelmati Sehir. The city has a 7 story underground city that was first home to Hitties hiding for safety and later for Christians. This reminded me of how Christianity really had its roots in the Middle East, instead of the Western character we attribute to it today.

I made it to Uchisar next and climbed a Byzantine rock castle 1500m above the ground. My readers, who are definitely smarter than me, will realize that it was a stupid idea to do so in sandals. There is something beautiful in standing on top of an ancient castle overlooking the desert and hearing the call to prayer pouring forth from minarets and echoing across the plains.

I compounded my mistake by walking down a valley and back to the next town to catch the bus taking me to the border at Syria. I would learn there whether it was a stupid mistake trying to get my visa at the border there rather than at a Syrian embassy. On the bus to the border, there was an amusing advertisement for a Turkish brand using only Korean actors. The reach of Korean pop culture is amazing. I also met a 60 year old former hippie who in the 70s took a bus from Amsterdam to India. When I asked how it was, he said he was too high to remember much of it.

Apologies for the lack of updates as I have been busy preparing to leave Yale. This summer promises to be an amazingly busy period and I am afraid that I will only be intermittently posting during the next month.

1. Early May - St Gallen Symposium in Switzerland (Trying to meet Egyptian investors in North Korea to pitch for their support on our education project)

2. Mid-May - Travel in Turkey and Syria (A major to-do item after reading books on Syria’s political organization)

3. Late May - World Bank Annual Bank Conference on Development Economics in Sweden (Chance to tap Bank’s expertise in our content strategy and meet the Swedes working on technical assistance to North Korea)

4. Mid July - Australia National University’s East Asia Forum (Chance to meet Australians working on technical assistance to North Korea)

(Chicago, USA) Glad to be on my feet again

It is hard to concentrate on writing papers for classes when a wonderful summer is just round the corner. In May, I will go to Switzerland for another conference. After my conference, I will finally make my first trip to the Middle East. I will fly to Turkey and make my way across to Syria. I hope I am successful in crossing the border, as I do not have a visa and do not have time to apply for one. I am hoping to get one at the border.

My fascination with Syria is recent. In a political science class on fieldwork methodology, we read a book on the cult of the former President Asad, an authoritarian leader who came to power in a period of coups and counter-coups. He is also the country’s premier “pharmacist” and his son now rules as the country’s president. There are too many similarities with other places I am interested in for me to give up this opportunity to make a visit.

After Syria, I will return to Yale University for graduation before moving to Korea. I have another conference to attend in Taiwan, but given that it is in the middle of my language training program, I am not too keen on making the trip. However, I dearly miss Taiwan and my friends there.

(Chicago, USA)

I must look terribly unintimidating. On my last day in Chicago, I rented a bike to ride along the Michigan Lake. On the way back, I decided to check out the inner-city area around Hyde Park. I had wanted to see the Public Housing Projects on this trip but these were torn down years ago.

The Project was blocks of high rise apartment where poor and often African American communities were corralled into when the Illinois Institute of Technology and the city wanted to scoop up land for redevelopment ages ago (according to an exhibit at the Architecture Institute).

(Chicago, USA)

My bike ride brought me through a rather run down community. I noticed that the entire neighborhood was African American. A kid coming out of his high school suddenly appeared in front of me. He said, “Can I steal your bike?” I just smiled and shook my head. He started chasing me and I pedaled furiously to get away.

I steered myself back to the park around the Lake. A 7 year old toddler there also ran up to me and said “Can I steal your bike?” Her parents laughed. I almost bolted. The experience was surreal.

(Chicago, USA)

I stayed at a mentor’s house in the suburbs of Chicago. The town is called Wilmette and it takes about an hour on the commuter rail to reach. One of the nights I was heading back, an Indian plunked himself down on the seat next to mine. He turns to me and says “Hi!” with a big grin on his face, and lifts his hand to shake mine. I shook his hand, but I could not help but feel a mild sense of irritation. Who was this stranger to shake me out of my Ipod-induced reverie?

(Evanston, USA)

He introduced himself as Sathish, an immigrant from Cayana in Suriname. Suriname is a country in South America that was previously a British colony, hence the Indian community. He has been living in the US for 25 years and now works at a hospital washing dishes. He had just finished a late night shift and was eagerly waiting to see his wife back at their home in the suburbs.

Sathish worries about the lack of time he has for his family. His wife recently took on a job. Given the differences in the shifts they work, Sathish feels that they might not see each other much now. He longs for the day he can retire and return to Cayana. His wife was introduced to him by relatives back home.

He started asking me about what I do. I told him I was a researcher in New Haven. “Where is that?” I told him it was a small town two hours from New York. “How many hours do you work?” Long hours but at least there is flexibility. He said, “You are a hardworking man. You will make a good husband.”

And then he got off. I was left wondering what had just happened. Here was an immigrant who probably feels terribly lonely in this foreign place, even after 25 years living here. He simply wanted someone to talk to. I now feel guilty about the brief flash of irritation I had when I first met him.

(Yale, USA)

One reason why I picked Yale for graduate school, aside from the generous University Fellowship I received, was because of the allure of the Richard C. Light Fellowship. The Light Fellowship covers tuition, accommodation and transportation to East Asia for studies in any East Asian Languages up to a year.

I applied for the Light Fellowship and was waitlisted. It was a really depressing few months as I really wanted to be in Korea working on my language skills in order to further the work of Choson Exchange. In my self-pity, I was kicking myself for choosing Yale over Harvard especially since Harvard’s East Asian Studies Department has a real Korean studies department.

(Yale, USA)

Now that I have Light funding for a summer + a year, those thoughts have been banished. My love for Yale is renewed! Yes, I know I am a whore for selling my love…but life as an academic/NGO-type is tough! It’s a nice departing gift from Yale and I hope to make the best out of the opportunity. Thank you Yale, hugs and kisses!

Apologies for the lack of updates. My past few weeks have been consumed by meetings to get the next phase of a project I have been working on for the past 2-3 years off the ground. I encourage you to take a look at www.chosonexchange.org. This is the culmination of something that started so many years back when I first visited Korea. I am excited. One of my interest has always been introducing management studies that can benefit development. This project builds off on that interest, and converges with many of my other interests.

About Choson Exchange:

We are a non-profit think tank pioneering academic and education cooperation between universities in North Korea and foreign universities in all parts of the world. We encourage interaction through sharing educational resources and arranging university visits, and provide training in the business, legal and economic fields to promising young North Koreans (under the age of 40). We also support projects in other academic fields.