Korean Clubs/Koreanske klubber

[Norwegian further down]


Some things are very different in Korea and Norway, one thing is competitiveness. I noticed this when I wanted to join a club at Yonsei, my uni. In Norway clubs are basically open to everyone, except in instances where you need a skill, for example singing, but not always even then.

Not so in Korea. I wanted to join a fitness club and was not prepared for what was to come. First you had to announce your interest, then you were invited to an interview. A group interview. Basically all we had to do was introduce ourselves and say why we wanted to join. And that was it. They said they would contact us the next day, but they didn't contact me. When I asked, I was told I was not on the list. =(

Not only having to be selected is different, but the method of interviewing seems different (it being difficult to assess from only one experience, I can't verify that this is how interviews are usually coducted). Interviews in Norway are often active communication, while here we were supposed to present ourselves in a small speech. Not knowing this, I only introduced myself very shortly, and thus didn't manage to make a good impression.

I might try again if it is possible next semester. Seeing as I am familiar with the procedure, I might be more successful. =D

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Noen ting er veldig forskjellig i Korea og Norge. For eksempel konkurranse instinkt.
Jeg merket det veldig da jeg ville bli medlem i en klubb på Yonsei, universitet mitt. I Norge er klubber for det meste åpne for alle som vil, bortsett fra ting det krever et visst talent, for eksempel synging, men ikke alltid da engang.

Slik er det ikke i Korea. Jeg hadde lyst til å bli medlem i en fitnessklub, men var ikke forberedt på hvordan det ville foregå. Først måtte du vise interesse, så var det et intervju. Et gruppeintervju. Vi måtte egentlig bare introdusere oss og si hvorfor vi ville bli medlem. Og dett var dett. De sa de ville gi oss svar neste dag, men jeg hørte ingenting. Da jeg spurte, fikk jeg vite at jeg ikke var blant de utvalgte.

Det er ikke bare det å måtte bli valgt som er anderledes, men også hvordan intervjuet blir utført virker anderledes (siden jeg bare har én erfaring, kan jeg ikke med sikkerhet si at dette er den vanlige måten). Norske intervjuer er vanligvis basert på aktiv kommunikasjon, mens her skulle vi bare introdusere oss selv i en liten tale. Siden jeg ikke visste om dette, sa jeg veldig lite om meg selv og fikk ikke gitt et godt førsteinntrykk.

Det kan hende jeg prøver meg igjen hvis mulig neste semester. Siden jeg kjenner prosedyren, vil jeg sannsynligvis ha en bedre sjanse i så måte.

My Home

I live with a Korean friend in a small house in Seoul. It's not a big house by any means, but it's a hose. And it's a good feeling to have one, even if I'm sharing and just renting it. I like it despite both the floors and the walls being uneven. ^ ^


Where our house is. It's a backstreet and it's the first on the left. ^^


The door through which you step when you enter our house.


The door you see leads in to the bathroom.


To the left when you come into the house, is my room.


It's very small, but I like it all the same.

If you look straight from the entrance you will see...


a bookcase and ...


our kitchen table / my computer desk. XD


If you go further in, you will see the kitchen on the right. Gas cookers heat up FAST. Just saying.


To the left is Jinha's bedroom,


which also has our closet. ^^

I didn't take photos of the entrance/small hall... it's basically just a small rectangle that's for taking off your shoes.

Buyeo 3

While in Buyeo, we also went to this artificial lake with many different kinds of lotus.

Buyeo (부여) 2

I also went to a museum that had a lot of artefacts from the Baekje period. I want to share some of the pictures I took.


Potty for men


Potty for women


Roof tiles



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Tile



A Padoga for storing of sacred items.


A replica of an incense burner, a cultural treasure. My picture of the original was too blurry.

Buyeo 1 (부여)

As mentioned, I was in Buyeo for a week, and while there I took did a cultural tour. ^ ^ Buyeo was the capital of Baekje, a proto-Korean country 18BC to 660AC.

At the fall of Baekje, a thousand (?) court ladies are said to have jumped to their death off a cliff to avoid being captured by the invaders.



This was built as a memorial for the women who killed themselves.



Imagine jumping down here. ^^

The Korean Countryside

I spent about a week in the Korean countryside at my friend's parents house. It was in a small village called Boyeo of about 80,000 inhabitants. In Norway we call that a city, but I guess it tells you that there are few people in Norway.

Jeg var på landet i Korea for å besøke foreldrene til veninnen min. Det var et ganske lite sted kalt Boyo, med cirka 80.000 innbyggere. I Norge kaller vi det en by.



A picture of my friens's parent's house.



Their cute bastard. =)