Catching up with the all-Russia movement

December 10, Saturday.
Predetermined time: 14:00 local time.
Place: Major squares in Russian cities.
Event: non-violent protest against falsification of the results at the latest parliamentary polls.
Participants: Russian citizens. Thousands and thousands.

In solidarity with the mass protests in Russia, Russian citizens abroad decided to join the political action and go out to the streets of the countries they currently reside in. Not all, not everywhere, not in the same identical fashion with uniform slogans and demands, but in the same common outburst, with the same feeling of being deprived of the essentials of modern democracy - the right for free elections, the right to cast a vote for the party one decided to be worthy voting for.

In Korea procedures of legally permitting the protest actions require time and specific way of registering the organiser, or the person responsible for the event. Not being able to get the permit for the mass protest on time,  a group of activists decided  to proceed anyway. Of course, individual protests are less spectacular, catchy, or anything, but they are still protests. 

Now about how it all went:

1. At 2pm we gathered at the Seoul Press Centre building to write the slogans and to decide the route we should take.

2. We went on the streets and ran into the squads of policemen, dozens of police buses and a few water cannons.

3. Down to Cheonggyecheon and then to Insadong, we went strolling with banners in our hands saying 'Free Elections to Russia!'

4. People on the streets were quite sympathetic, asking about the event, supporting, sharing their opinion with us.

5. We even gained attention from the local press.

6. By the end of the action we gathered in one of the dumpling places in Insadong area to chat, reflex, and upload the photos so to share them with other protestants.

Thank you everyone who joined, and those who wanted to, who supported ouк modest action here, far away from the main political scene. 

Response to the picture of Koreans

What do Koreans think about Russians? (based on non-official poll among people I know and several-years' exposure to the country and its people)

Russia is big and cold. Very cold! This is the reason all people drink vodka. Russian women are tall and beautiful. Russian men are just big, as well as Russia itself. The territory from Vladivostok up to the very Ural mountains is called Siberia (even if it is not.) There is also Moscow which is a capital city of the country. Everyone* dreams about crossing Siberia and going to Moscow, and if to open the rail way through North Korea, there will be nothing to dream about any more.

There is crude oil in Russia. Too much of it. However, not more than natural gas.

There is also one representative of the nation notable for a his 'career trajectory' - Fyodor Emeljanenko (who is he anyway?) He, as well as many others, was born during the Soviet period. But times have changed. Russia became stronger when Mr. Putin became a president. What? Putint isn't a president any more? Well, it doesn't really matter! Still Russian army is the strongest, and one should be really careful not to fool around with this autocratic giant. 

__________________________________________
* inexcusably rough generalisation

ST [ereot] ART

Of course Mesopotamia might have been the cradle of civilization, but modern world revolves around American culture, represented by Coca-Cola, McDonalds, and ignorant people who know nothing about the rest of the world; French are eating frogs, and Jamaicans are the most relaxed people on the planet; Indians work hard on tea plantations so that Englishmen could indulge with their 5 o’clock cup of orange pekoe with milk; Brazilians party every day, while Chinese work up a sweat at the rice fields; Egyptians have a big attraction towards geometrical figures, and Germans are all victims of Freudian psychological analysis; Russians drink, Greeks dance, Koreans produce computers, and Bulgarians flood the world with local yoghurt.

Does the picture look familiar? Is it the world you know and live in? Oversimplification of world’s cultures helps us to grasp the essentials of other countries and form our particular attitude towards people living abroad. However the same oversimplification can be the source of misunderstandings, wrong expectations, and even offence in situations when other people pretend to know you by resting their knowledge upon stereotypes.

StereotART is an on-line based project designed for the young generation. Its main objective is to overcome generalizing and stereotyping among nations through works of art and works of creativity performed by the participants. Let the study of another culture be fun and entertaining!

What is the project “StereotART” about?

The project StereotART brings together two teams from two different countries of the North-East Asia region. Through creative activities participants engage into engrossing learning process, communicate to each other, share ideas and world vision, and build firm ties of respect, friendship and understanding among all team members.

WHEN: January 8 2012 – March 4 2012 (8 weeks in total).

WHERE: Anywhere you like! At any place with the Internet connection.

WHO: College students with creative view of the modern world and the will to change the current state of international affairs through direct action and digital diplomatic activities. All those who have the sense of art are highly welcomed! Knowledge of English language is preferable for making the exchange effective, but not mandatory.

HOW to get involved:

this information is classified till December 5. Since then all the requirements will be disclosed!

Stereo-typo: do Koreans still have dogs on the peninsula? O.o

EunYeong laughed a lot when saw the property prepared to make the photo.

> Is it really for the image of a typical Korean?  

>> No, it is a picture of a Korean, how it is imagined by Russian youth. It is not a true image,just a stereotype.

What do Russians still think of Korea?

• Koreans are wearing eyeglasses and want to look cute on all photos. [and instead of saying 'cute' Russians use 'kawaii']
• Koreans are eating rice, noodles, and dog meat [do the dogs exist on the peninsula?- asked my friend]
• Koreans produce nice technical stuff. And Samsung computers are pretty good ones! However I prefer HP [comment by another friend of mine]
• One young man started to philosophise: I love Korean cars. and when I think tat the cars are good, this type of thinking automatically transfers to the country itself, I like the country as well. I really want to get one of the Hyundai, KIA, or Subaru cars... [NO COMMENTS]
• "When I think of Korea first that I imagine is a triangular hat" [the one that Chinese and Vietnamese farmers were wearing centuries ago???]

There is nothing wrong with not knowing much about others. But should you agree that when you personally face the ignorance towards your fatherland, a very unpleasant feeling of frustration strikes you, provoking outrage. Don’t blame those being in the dark about your country. Better change the situation by first asking about their origin, provoking their reactive interest in yours. Learn from each other, crash stereotypes, spread the true word. 

Two words play

It is usually a natural thing, when one confuses the words while speaking the second language. However, people tend to remember those blunders if they were made by a Ph.D. holder with decades of teaching practice. Especially when such a statement was so awkward that became a running gag of the school.

Settings:
Sunny afternoon. Graduate school in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by beautiful mountains. Rector's office.
Cast:
Rector
Two his students, both pretty much attractive girls

Scene 1:
Two-people class that was originally supposed to cover the issues of Internet governing, developed into discussion of the professor's favourable philosophical treatises. Professor is sitting in front of the students and prophesying on Weber's ideas (or anyone else's, the detail that is not that relevant.) The class proceeds as usual.

Scene 2:
Looking in deep charming eyes of one of the students, and while talking on topics completely detached from material world, the professors thinks that he says "organism."

Scene 3. Final one:
The student numbed by the only fact that the professor looking straight into her face said "orgasm." Awkward silence...

Perseverance

Another day in the mountain resort (a commonly used name for the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, KyungHee University, which main advantage is the location - closer to the border with North Korea, nice brisk air, cloudless sky, and bright stars at night.)
November came, no snow at all. So unusual for someone who got used to wade through 1 meter high snow-covered streets to get to the final destination (university, local volunteer organisation, coffee-shop, the door of your own house blocked by a snowbank).
Sitting in a class room, where professor plays Korean old rock during the break time. Isn't it just odd?
Boring class, people are all facebooking, sleeping, faking interest to the topic. Persevering...