Today marks exactly four weeks (28 days) since I first arrived in Seoul.

The fieldwork is going as well as can be expected considering (1) the socio-cultural dimension of securing meetings (with socially and organisationally well-placed individuals) in a country such as Korea, (2) that I have no prior contacts in Seoul, and (3) the unquantifiable (!!) effort that I have invested into this venture. In the four weeks that I have been in Seoul, I have had four meetings and I have three more confirmed over the next couple of weeks. With any luck, I may get one or two more. Given what many others have told me about the difficulties of securing meetings in Korea, I guess I am doing about as well as can be expected.

Posted on October 29th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: Fieldwork | 1 Comment »

It took me a while but I finally realised that the Seoul retail scene is dominated by “high street” style shops rather than shopping centres and that while there are a few (proper) departmental stores around (e.g. Lotte, Shinsegae and Hyundai) most indoor shopping venues are not shopping centres as we know it elsewhere. Instead they are either small-ish buildings housing small independent retailers (e.g. Migliore) or small-ish buildings housing a variety of chain stores laid-out in such a way as to look like it was a departmental store. You might say that the level of retailing is not very sophisticated around here, or that they are just “different”!

Posted on October 27th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: Fieldwork | 1 Comment »

Sometimes, life delivers you little nuggets of pleasure and you have to savour it for all it’s worth… This excerpt of a chat I had tonight is precious:

Annoying American: hope you’re enjoying your time in seoul
me: it’s been ok.
me: i’ll be glad when it’s over
Annoying American: you’re eager to get back to australia?
me: uh huh
Annoying American: i understand - when i was in america i couldn’t wait to return to korea
me: hahhaahha
me: horses for courses eh?
Annoying American: wow where did you here that
me: err.. the english language?
Annoying American: it’s “a horse of course’ from an old tv show
me: huh?
Annoying American: the phrase is “a horse of course” and it’s from a song from an old tv shw called Mr. Ed
me: no it’s not
Annoying American: ok i stand corrected
me: horses for courses is an english saying. see this
me: probably not used in the US
Annoying American: i’m a native english speeaker and have a ph.d in comparative literature
Annoying American: so i’m sure this anonymous website knows it better be sure to use this phrase often
me: you’ll find it in the OED I’m sure
Annoying American: have a good time in seoul and safe trip back to australia horses of courses
me: from the OED: c. Other phrases and proverbs. horses for courses: a theory that each racehorse is suited to a particular race-course, and will do better on that course than on any other;
Annoying American: safe trip back. goodnight

Posted on October 20th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: blah blah | 4 Comments »

I had bibimbap for dinner tonight and and I actually liked it! Admittedly it wasn’t a traditional version of the dish but rather a contemporary twist that wasn’t served with the usual gunky red sauce, but hey, it’s a minor detail for a big victory! I ordered a bibimbap with beef (bulgogi) and mushroom - it was quite yummy. The rice was laced with sesame seeds (as are almost all dishes in Korea) and it was served with a nice variety of vegetables. Instead of a gunky red sauce, it came with a light soya sauce. The cost? 9,000 won.

Posted on October 18th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: Fieldwork | 2 Comments »

It’s been 14 days since I first arrived in Seoul. What am I still doing here? Is this fieldwork ever going to end…?!?

I’m trying very hard to not think of the fact that I have not only four and a half weeks to go in Seoul but also four weeks in Kuala Lumpur following that.

I’m completely speechless.

Posted on October 15th, 2007 by jl
Filed under: Fieldwork | 1 Comment »