Biscuit Factory

Democratic National Convention

yoojinc — Fri, 29 Aug 2008 09:11:07 -0400

I am studying English with this. Transcript and video sync.

민주당 전당 대회 오바마 후보 수락 연설 전문. 동영상이랑 스크립트가 같이 떠서 영어공부하기 좋네요.

http://elections.nytimes.com/2008/president/conventions/videos/20080828_OBAMA_SPEECH.html

Heritage, Tradition and Convention

yoojinc — Fri, 15 Aug 2008 00:06:05 -0400

I was chatting with a friend about cultural "heritage" from a FOB point of view and wanted to talk more about it.

I said I think cultural "heritage" is over emphasized in the US. Or misunderstood. As a person raised in urbanized Korea in the 80-90s, it seems like what people think as "Korean" is not quite what I experienced anymore. I don't eat Korean food for breakfast, and I am not the only one in my age who prefers western food in early morning. There are countless more examples, things "we don't do anymore".

It seems like generation gap issue like this is pretty common, even when you're raised in the home country, yet it is considered assimilation or lost of heritage for immigrants. And is it necessarily a bad thing?

This actually reminds me of my experience as a college freshman in Seoul. My hometown Daegu used to be famous for apples. Everyone, seriosly everyone I met in Seoul who was not from the area had to mention Dague apple. No, no one in my family owns an apple orchard. In fact, apples aren't produced in the city of Dague that much anymore. Are we losing our color? Maybe.

I often hear phrases like "the way people lived for thousands of years before ...". Is there really such a thing? After all, spicy red Kimchi is a south American fusion food, only appeared after red chili pepper was introduced to East Asia by the Portuguese. There were influences like this throughout the human history.

It is probably easy for a person like me to say I reject this and that of my culture for a certain reason, than someone who may feel guilty about self-denying. But is it really self-denying?

Personally, I can read for pleasure in two languages. It wasn't easy to get here, even after being exposed to two languages as a child. I am not saying this to brag off but want to testify that, although there is a joy in being (nearly) bilingual, I am not sure it is worth the effort to everyone and I don't think anyone should be forced to it. I think people make comments about being or not being able to "speak the language" too easy. I can tell you that it is very hard to "speak a language" other than the one you received your official education in.

And the Korean language I speak and write is quite different from what I grandparents spoke. We were taught to "protect" our language in school in Korea, but is it even possible?

One uncomfortable thing for me is the often romantisized way in which heritage is talked about. Some people say they are jealous of more recent immigrants who have a certain heritage. I guess what they are referring to is food or traditional clothing, or something soft, fluffy, "world show case" kind of stuff. Not something putting (often unfair) restrictions on their lives.

Picture is Pye-baek, part of Korean wedding, still practiced these days. Technically, it is not a part of the wedding, which used to be at the bride's place, but when the bride is officially introduced to the groom's family when she moves some time after the wedding.

This is when the bride becomes part the groom's family. She offers dates and chestnuts to the parents-in-law and they throw them back to the bride, which she has to catch with the cloth as in the picture. Meaning of it is to bear a son (or sons) and serve the ancestors (we don't have to clarify whose ancestors we're talking about here). She also has to bow to groom's entire family.

These days, it happens right after the "western" part of the wedding and bride's parents get to receive the bow. But only parents. Not everyone like for the man's family. It is still an important part of the wedding, privately held only for the family (and a few close friends of the bride) in a separate room, and still an intimidating part for the bride (as I hear from a very recent wedding I attended).

I know a Korean-American woman who did this at her wedding at the reception. I wonder if she knew that she was basically being told to bear a son and serve the ancestors for her husband's family. In one hand, I am almost jealous, that it is an "option" for her, that she doesn't have to worry too much about what it means (well, maybe that's not what her Korean parents-in-law were thinking). One the other hand, I want to say something, that it's not just "dressing up in a pretty costume", it has a meaning, that some people don't necessarily accept, or moreover, some people fought hard to overcome.

Interesting follow-up story on the Daegu apple is that Daegu apple is actually Missouri apple. Daegu only became famous for apples when an American missionary decided to plant some apples from his hometown in late 1800s.

Culture is fluid. What seems pretty old can be a fairly recent thing in reality. But it can also have more meaning than it looks from outside.

Interesting articles

yoojinc — Mon, 23 Jun 2008 22:49:40 -0400

Some interesting stats about Asian-American stereotype.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/10/education/10asians.html

"Korea Legal Aid Center for Family Relations" was mentioned in this article. My mom works there.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/19/world/asia/19adultery.html

Gay marriage in korean american community.
http://www.koreamjournal.com/Magazine/index.php/kj/2008/may/feature_story/the_right_to_say_i_do/(page)/1

Eat smart!
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/620/3?etoc
http://www.nature.com/nrn/journal/v9/n7/abs/nrn2421.html;jsessionid=F5E7B633AE3D3F8CA6FFB9DFECB5B8D4

Korean National Pension Service and American Social Security

yoojinc — Tue, 27 May 2008 22:33:30 -0400

만 27세가 되고 나서부터 국민 연금 관리 공단에서 고지서가 날아오는 모양이라 작년에 납부 유예 신청을 했는데, 유예 신청도 일년에 한번씩 계속해야 한다고 해서 오늘 다시 유예 신청을 했습니다. 인터넷으로 하려고 했는데 기껏 은행에 가서 재발급해 온 공인인증서 비번을 또 까먹어서 연금공단에 국제 전화를 해야 했습니다.

Since I turned 27, Korean National Pension Service has been sending me bills. I waived it last year, but apparently I have to tell them that I do not have income in S. Korea every year. Unlike the US system, I can opt to pay it, too.

That was tonight's project, to waive NPS payment for another year. Again, I struggled with internet for half an hour, gave up and called NPS on the phone. Just saying I am studying aboard was enough.

납부 유예 신청하는 김에 궁금한 사항 몇가지를 정리해 봤습니다.

While I was on nps.or.kr, I looked up a few more questions.

반환 일시금
Lump-sum refund

반환일시금은 다음과 같은 경우에 지급됩니다.
① 가입기간 10년 미만인 자가 60세가 된 경우(단, 특례노령연금수급권자는 해당되지 않음)
② 가입자 또는 가입자이었던 자가 사망하였으나 유족연금에 해당되지 않는 경우
(가입자 또는 가입기간이 10년 이상인 가입자이었던 자가 사망한 때는 사망 당시 보험료를 2/3이상 납부하지
않거나 1년 미만 가입자의 경우 가입중에 발생한 질병 또는 부상이 아니어서 유족연금이 지급되지 않는 경우에 한함)
③ 국적을 상실하거나 국외로 이주한 경우

This is an interesting thing. You can get a lump sum refund when you phase out from the system for immigration, loss of nationality, or do not qualify to receive monthly payments.

Foreign workers

외국인가입자의 반환일시금 지급은 다음과 같은 경우에만 가능합니다.
① 그 외국인의 본국법에서 대한민국 국민에게 대한민국 반환일시금제도에 상응하는 급여를 지급하는 경우
② 대한민국과 외국인의 본국간에 반환일시금 지급에 관한 사회보장협정이 체결된 경우
③ 최소가입기간 충족여부와 상관없이 E-8(연수취업), E-9(비전문취업), H-2(방문취업)에 해당하는 체류자격으로 국민연금에 가입한 외국인이 본국에 귀환하는 경우(이미 본국으로 귀환한 외국인도 포함)

< 반환일시금 지급대상국 >

(2007.6.1 기준)

국적에 상관없이 지급되는 외국인의 체류자격	사회 보장협정에 의한 대상국 (5개국)	상응성 인정에 의한 대상국 (29개국)
국적에 상관없이 지급되는 외국인의 체류자격	사회 보장협정에 의한 대상국 (5개국)	최소 가입기간 6개월 이상 (1개국)	최소 가입기간 1년이상 (9개국)	최소 가입기간 2년이상 (1개국)	최소가입기간 관계없이 인정 (18개국)
E-8(연수취업), E-9(비전문취업), H-2(방문취업)	독일, 미국, 캐나다, 헝가리, 프랑스	벨리즈	그레나다, 나이지리아, 바베이도스, 세인트빈센트그라나딘, 짐바브웨, 카메룬, 콩고, 태국, 토고	베네수엘라	가나, 말레이시아, 버뮤다, 스리랑카, 스위스, 엘살바도르, 인도네시아, 카자흐스탄, 케냐, 트리니다드토바고, 홍콩, 터키, 요르단, 수단, 인도, 콜롬비아, 바누아투, 필리핀

대체로 1-2년 정도 가입하면 귀국할때 반환 일시금을 받을 수 있는 것 같군요. 그렇다면 제가 미국에서 Social Security를 내다가 한국으로 귀국하게 되면 그동안 납부한 Social Security는 어떻게 되는 걸까요?

Foreign workers from above mentioned countries can receive lump sum refund when they move back if they were working in Korea for minimum of 1-2 years. Then what happens if I pay American Social Security and move back to S. Korea?

미국 사회보장제도에는 반환 일시금은 존재하지 않습니다. 하지만 놀랍게도 한국-미국 사회 보장 협정이라는 것이 존재하는군요. 양국에서 다 연금수령자격 미달일 경우 이 협정으로 구제받는 방법도 있는 모양입니다. 전문은 아래에 여기 있습니다. 이제까지 저는 미국에서 사회보장세를 내다가 10년 안에 귀국할 경우 사회보장세는 구경도 못 해보는 줄만 알았습니다.

http://www.socialsecurity.gov/international/Agreement_Pamphlets/korea.html (in English)
http://www.ssa.gov/international/Agreement_Texts/hangul.html (in Korean)
http://www.dynamic-korea.com/photo/OASDI_1.pdf (in Korean)

US Social Security doesn't give back lump-sum refund. However, surprisingly, there are treaties for reciprocal social security arrangement between some countries and the US, and S. Korea is one of it. I assumed I won't see my Social Security payment if I have a job in the US for less than 10 years and move back. This is pretty complicated, but it says

"Normally, people who are not U.S. citizens may receive U.S. Social Security benefits while outside the U.S. only if they meet certain requirements. Under the agreement, however, you may receive benefits as long as you reside in Korea regardless of your nationality."

좋은 일이네요. 졸업 후 미국서 몇년 더 있다 귀국하게 되더라도 사회보장세를 홀라당 까먹지는 않겠어요. 반대로 한국서 국민연금 납부 몇년 하시다 온 분들한테도 좋은 일이겠구요.

Good. So I may not lose Social Security payments even though I work in the US for a few years and move back to Korea. Or it's a good thing for people who have worked in Korea and moved the the US.

Immigration: A Special Road to Permanent Residency in the US

yoojinc — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:48:45 -0400

Special immigration options exist for highly qualified scientists. I thought this track was almost impossible, but seems like there more people aiming for it than I expected. I figured it's something worth looking into.

Science Magazine ran some articles on it a few years ago.

Overview.
Click here

These three articles cover more on each category.
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1190/extraordinary_aliens
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1470/premium_imports
http://sciencecareers.sciencemag.org/career_development/previous_issues/articles/1400/flag_waivers

The current USCIS (formerly INS) page has slightly different categorization. Seems like EB-1 and EB-2 include what sceince magazine refers to.

Click here

A non-Korean Korean Consul?!

yoojinc — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 12:55:13 -0400

http://www.hani.co.kr/arti/politics/politics_general/282254.html

영사 [領事]:
접수국에서 파견국의 경제적 이익과 자국민의 이익을 보호하기 위하여 접수국에 파견되어 있는 공무원.

Consul:
The official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the people of the country to whom he or she is accredited and the country of which he or she is a representative.

도대체 이명박씨는 영사의 업무가 뭔지를 알기는 아는 걸까요? 전 미주한인회 총연합회 수석부회장 이웅길씨는 요즘 미국 비자 받기 얼마나 어려운지 모르시는지? 임명 안 됐다니 다행이라고 생각해야 하는 걸까요.

http://www.donga.com/fbin/output?rss=1&n=200801150447

김대중씨도 그렇고, 영어를 얼마나 잘 하는 지 못 하는 지는 모르겠지만, 국가 원수가 되가지고 그렇게 외국어로 떠들어야 하나요?

Third Culture Kids

yoojinc — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 17:34:16 -0400

I learned a new lingo today from this blogpost, "third culture kids". I can't believe I never heard this term till today.

http://kimchimamas.typepad.com/kimchi_mamas/2007/03/whats_in_a_pass.html

According to wikipedia, Third Culture Kids "refers to someone who [as a child] has spent a significant period of time in one or more culture(s) other than his or her own, thus integrating elements of those cultures and their own birth culture, into a third culture". - http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/2065.pdf

It's funny how I am so self-conscious to check if this includes a person like me, who moved back to the "passport country" as a young child. It was hugh baggage of my life, yet I feel too shy to give myself such a title. Is my English good enough for that? Aren't I Korean enough?

I thought I figured out long time ago that I am who I want to be. But even as an adult, it's painful to realize who I am does not match what others, the authorities, tell me. I am 28 years old. I spent 10 years of my life in the US, 18 years in S. Korea. I read New Yorker and 한겨레21. When I travel, for the dreadful question of "where are you from?", I answer "I am from Boston".

Immigration: Change in OPT rule and H-1B

yoojinc — Wed, 9 Apr 2008 10:05:32 -0400

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced an interim rule change in F-1 optional practical training (OPT). There are two main changes.

1. Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) majors, with job offer from companies meeting the criterion, can stay in the US and work for 29 months, 17 months more than the previous 12 month limit.

2. Students may not accrue an aggregate of more than 90 days of unemployment during any post-completion OPT carried out under the initial post-completion OPT authorization. Previously, students could stay in the US for 12 months of OPT as long as they could prove that they are seeking jobs in the US.

Details:
http://www.bu.edu/isso/news/2008/OPT29MonthRule.html
http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/OPT_FAQ_4apr08.pdf
http://www.dhs.gov/xnews/releases/pr_1207334008610.shtm
http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/press_opt_ifr.pdf

News articles:
http://www.dailyprincetonian.com/2008/04/09/20802/
http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9912959-7.html
http://www.infoworld.com/article/08/04/08/DHS-to-provide-backdoor-increase-to-H-1B-visas_1.html

This seems to be a response to the current H-1B situation. The additional quota for 20,000 work visas for immigrants with a US advanced degree has also been filled for H-1B visas for Oct. 2008.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/04/09/us/09brfs-QUOTALIMITFO_BRF.htm
http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2008/04/08/us-shuts-window-for-h1b-applications/
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0838276620080408?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

Under the interim OPT rule, F-1 student can get two chances to apply for H-1B. This change will remove some pressure from students who are graduating this year and companies that won't get H-1B approvals for their new employees. But a change in H-1B process, or even in Green Card process will be more desirable.

Updates

yoojinc — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 19:12:50 -0400

I had my first committee meeting after my prospectus defense in last November. More changes in the aims, but it's helpful to have committee meetings often. Since then, I had a chance to take it easy for while. Maybe I shouldn't be, but oh well. :)

2/28
BSO: Schubert and Bolcom
It was great to hear Thomas Quasthoff once again. Bolcom's world premiere was .. "different". We thought it was a touture, actually. What a contrast.

2/29
2001: Space odyssey
I finally finished this movie after a year.

3/4
Jhumpa Lahiri read "Hell-Heaven" from her new book coming out on Apr 1.
http://www.newyorker.com/archive/2004/05/24/040524fi_fiction
I heard her reading this short story. It was the fisrt time I've been to an author's book reading.

3/9
Native Speaker by Chang-rae Lee
I finished reading Native Speaker but re-reading it now. I started a more detailed post about the book but haven't finished. It's a well written book, enjoyed it, but hard to say I "like" it. There were some disturbing parts, many I could deeply relate to, as well. "False speaker of language".

3/13
BSO: Schumann and Shostakovich
We had a great seat in the center of 1st bacony. One of the best seats I've got at BSO with college card. Schumann was great and I also enjoyed the Shostakovich very much this time.

3/23
Lust, Caution
Had a few people over at my place to watch it. All of us heard so much comments about the "NC-17" content, but it wasn't as bad(?) as we thought. The movie was very.. pretty and romantic.. more of an imaginary version of Shanhai in 1940's. Most of you know that I am a huge period movie fan so I enjoyed it.

3/27
BSO: Bartok and Schubert
My seat was at the very back of the orchestra level, but the sound wasn't as bad as I expected. Bartok was beautiful, especially the 2nd movement. Schubert was okay, but I was distracted with other things.

New York Philharmonic performs in N. Korea

yoojinc — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:36:03 -0500

A YouTube video of New York Philharmonic performing Arirang in N. Korea.
앵콜로 연주한 아리랑 연주 장면이랍니다.

This is the most famous version of Arirang(아리랑), but there are other variations from different areas.

The much-talked long-take scene of Jindo Arirang from Seopyonje(1993). 서편제(1993)의 롱테이크 신으로도 유명한 진도 아리랑 장면. 생각이 나서 찾아봤습니다.

재작년에 한국에 갔을때 서편제 DVD를 사왔습니다. 그때 저 장면을 보고나서부터 궁금해진 건데 왜 "진도" 아리랑에서 진도에서 먼 "문경새재" 이야기를 하는 걸까요? 극중 인물들이 떠돌아 다니다 보니 지어낸 걸까요? 진도 아리랑 가사를 검색해봐도 문경새재가 나오고, 문경새재 부분은 즉흥적으로 지어낸 가사가 아닌것 같거든요. 궁금하네요.