Lawsuits in Korea

By any measure, the U.S. is a litigious country.  Car wrecks, slip and falls, product liability - all of this and much more keeps our courtrooms busy and our insurance industry profitable - not to mention the byproduct of employment for hundreds of thousands of attorneys.

Korea is very different.  Interwoven brick and occasional cobblestone walkways are almost always uneven and a bit of a hazard to the unwary.  Still, they are part of the charm and beauty of Korea.  I'm told that liability lawsuits are almost unheard of if someone slips and falls.  It is part of normal life and not a big deal.  The boys and I were invited to a birthday party the other day for one of their friends here in the faculty housing.  We started the evening out with trampolines, followed up by a trip to McDonald's for bacon burgers and incredibly delicious homemade bacon cupcakes (our boys are already insisting that mom get the recipe), and ending up with a trip to the batting cages with an adjoining driving range for young golfers.  Refreshingly, there were no warning and disclaimer messages posted everywhere.  No need for helmets at the batting cages (really they are a protection from misdirected pitches by real human beings, not machines).  All of it was perfectly sensible and enormously fun for the boys.  I doubt that any of the businesses had a bit of liability insurance and they probably really didn't need any in this country where common sense seems to prevail when dealing with most common hazards in life.  I'm told when conflict arises, most disputes are settled informally relying on common bonds of family, community or business to settle differences without resorting to the courts.

It is very difficult to become a lawyer in Korea where admission to law school is very restrictive and, reportedly, less than 1% of the takers pass the Korean bar exam.  Surprisingly, hiring an attorney in Korea is not necessarily an expensive endeavor.  Susan had to have a translated document certified by a Korean notary public.  The notary needed to have an attorney review some aspect of the document.  The attorney's review was included in the really modest price charged by the notary. I'm sure that is not always true in Korea, but I cannot image such inexpensive service if the document had to be reviewed by an American attorney.  My suspicion is that most attorneys in Korea work for either the government or large companies that engage in international business (probably countering the hoards of U.S. attorneys employed by other nations).  All of this makes me yearn for the era of the "handshake" deal where integrity was the primary underpinning of business affairs.

All this reminds me of an incident over the Chusok holiday about a month ago.  We rented a 12 passenger van to see as much of Korea as we could during the 5 day break..  The car performed beautifully and we were very happy with it.  After the rental company picked up the car at the university, an employee drove back to see us.  It seems the car had some fairly serious damage to a tire and rim from having hit some object.  It would take $390 to make the needed repairs.  This was a surprise to us, because I didn't remember hitting anything that would have caused the damage.  Still, I did remember hitting a flexible plastic pole when  I needed to make a sudden lane change to stay on the proper roadway due to a lane spit in the highway.  Perhaps there was a metal device holding the plastic pole to the roadway that might have caused the damage.  In any event, the damage was there and the employee was quite certain it must have happened during the rental period.  We decided to trust the rental company that had a long a good relationship providing vehicles to the university.  They knew we were part of the university and we paid for the damage.  It's the Korean way with their common bond of using relationships to resolve disputes in this fascinating country.

Ken Chinn

Thanksgiving

I've been told it costs about $100 to purchase a turkey in Korea.  I've yet to see one in a grocery store.  If we are able to find one, we could probably air ship it to to the states overnight and bring the total cost in under $250.  That does seem a little steep since the cost in the states is probably around 12-13 dollars.  Still, if you would like a Korean turkey, let us know and we'll try and work something out.

I don't know why turkeys and Thanksgiving aren't a big deal here.  Perhaps the Pilgrims didn't make a stop here on their way to America.  The closest holiday is what they call Chusok which is kind of similar to our holiday.  The families members all travel back to their childhood family homes as the businesses, schools and government offices all close.  Traffic on the roads is almost at gridlock.  In that respect, it does remind me of our Thanksgiving holiday.

The ex patriot professors and their families are getting together for a Thanksgiving meal on Friday (which is Thursday - and Thanksgiving day - in the states due to the international date line).  We will have a traditional Thanksgiving meal with turkey, mashed potatoes, creamed corn, stuffing etc.  It should be a lot of fun and a nice reminder of home.  For the rest of Korea, it will just be another day.  We are thankful Mark and Elysabeth will be able to travel down to join us and perhaps bring a friend or two as well.  The most important part of the tradition is that we will be able to be together as a family and remember all the things we have to be thankful for.  This year, the list is pretty long.  Thanks especially to the many family and friends who read this blog and are such an encouragement to us during our adventure in Korea.  May you have a wonderful Thanksgiving as well.  God bless you all.

The Chinn family

Fall is Magnificent

The fall colors are in glorious bloom as Korea starts to brace itself for the coming winter.  Everywhere you see bursts of bright yellow, orange and red on campus.  Even the grass had a surprise in store.  Unlike Southern California, the grass grows long in Korea.  Pale green when we arrived in summer, it recently turned yellow with the colder air.  Now it is turning a shade of orange, painting a lovely foreground for the trees and bushes as they prepare to shed their leaves to the advancing cold.  This morning the hills were shrouded with fog and a slight mist was falling from the gray skies.  It all has a very magical look and feel.

Our apartment has south facing balcony like area that is completely enclosed with screens and glass.  Susan's sister Mary planted seeds in small tubs during her visit in September and October.  The seedlings have now grown into thriving tomato and pepper plants along with a crop of cilantro.  Susan has been busy transplanting her garden into larger pots and containers with the hope they will survive the winter in this greenhouse like area. Look for future crop reports as the winter sets in.

Heating our apartment during the winter can be quite expensive with the cost of electricity in Korea.  The house is heated by electrical pipes under the floor that emanate heat up into the room through the floorboards.  To keep costs down, residents often further insulate the windows with heavy plastic sheeting and even blankets.  We have turned off the heat to portions of the apartment and will wear warmer clothes.  In a happy break for Ken and the kids, Susan has decided to take up baking with our gas stove in order to provide both fresh bread and heat for the apartment.  After some initial disappointing results, she has now acquired a knack for baking.  I have high hopes of encouraging this talent with the goal of producing a talented pastry chef.  It is a delight to come home to the smell of fresh bread, cinnamon rolls and perhaps (someday) even a home made pie in time for Thanksgiving or Christmas.  Despite the increased cold outside, the warmth from the south facing windows and oven has keep us comfortable without the need to use the electrical heating so far.

We are continuing to love our simple life in Korea.  The kids are busy with their new friends building forts, working on crafts and exploring the woods.  The kids often bring me a home cooked freshly grilled sandwich for lunch at my office, just minutes away from our home.  Evenings are whiled away reading books (each of the children has read over 30 since our arrival), movies, special performances and lectures on campus, a board game, or reruns of Leave It To Beaver on the DVD.  Amazingly, although we have a t.v., it is rarely used.  The channel offerings are mostly Korean language with CNN and BBC newscasts as English alternatives.  The t.v. was almost always on at home, but it has faded away with nary a complaint.  Speaking of complaints, I've yet to hear the words "I'm bored" from the kids or any inkling of homesickness for Southern California.  As I'm writing these words, Susan is off on a visit to town via the shuttle to meet a new friend from South Africa for coffee and the kids are busy playing with their friends around the complex.  Dad is enjoying this quiet time to pen a few thoughts on the family blog.  Life is really good and we are very thankful.

Ken Chinn

Integrity and Christian Education

Education in extremely important in Korean society.  Parents will sacrifice enormously to ensure that their children have the best educational opportunities.  In many homes much of the traditional Korean carefree childhood is sacrificed in the endeavor to be admitted to the best schools.  Children start at very early ages to attend Hagwon private schools designed to supplement the education supplied in both private and public schools.  At the Hagwon the students will study English and other academic subjects at very early ages.  Finishing their normal school hours, many students study well into the night at the Hagwon schools.  As you might imagine, the pressure is enormous on students in Korea to excel and obtain admission to the best university possible.

I mention all this to explain that cheating is a serious problem in the Korean educational system.  For years I've heard that cheating is epidemic in the U.S. educational system.  That this problem existed in Korea surprised me since honesty is such a virtue over here.  Theft is only a minor problem in Korea, and usually found only in the largest cities.  A lost wallet or cell phone is usually returned to its owner with nothing missing at all.   My strong suspicion is that cheating is a product of the enormous pressure and competition in the educational system.

At Handong Global University, there is an honor code that is taken seriously by students and professors.  One of the major components of the honor code is unsupervised exams.  There are no professors or proctors in the classroom when students take exams.  It is not unheard of for a class to even have a take home exam.  Such an idea is virtually unheard of, even in Christian education, in the U.S.  I've read a bit about this practice at Handong Global University and spoken with other professors about it.   I wish I could report that there are no instances of cheating at Handong.  I can, however, report that cheating is uncommon.  The student government conducted a study in 2000 of the entire student body on compliance with the honor code.  They learned that 60% of the students reported that they had observed the honor code with a clear conscience before God.  20% of the students reported they had been tempted from time to time, but had not erred.  16% reported that they had failed several times, but had repented and were determined not to do it again.  4% reported that thy had violated the honor code before and would continue to do so in the future.

In my conversations with other professors I've learned that there are serious repercussions for violating the honor code - usually a failing grade in the course.  Now here is the really interesting benefit of the code.  I am told that HGU graduates are highly sought after by employers.  Their graduates tend to be more successful in the job market than those of the most prestigious universities in Korea.  The employers report that they are attracted to HGU graduates because they know they are students that didn't cheat in obtaining their degrees and would really know the skills they obtained through their education.  Students deeply appreciate the trust they receive under the honor code.  The honor code calls on all the students to uphold the code.  It is based on trust and respect.  If a student witnesses a violation of the honor code, they have a responsibility to go privately to the offending student, with respect, and encourage them to self report their violation to the professor.  If the offending student does not respond within 2-3 days, the other student must approach the professor and explain the circumstances.  This is undoubtedly difficult, but it is part of the culture of the school.

As a professor with an extensive background in the criminal justice system, I can't help but think that HGU is onto something important.  Integrity is a virtue that seems to have diminished greatly in my lifetime.  I like the idea that Christian education can reintroduce integrity to the classroom.  It seems to be working at Handong Global University.  I hope it spreads.

Ken Chinn

Frugal Living

Living in Korea has helped me to seriously reconsider our spending habits as a family.  Every year in the US, we had to scramble to make ends meet on our family budget.  Actually, "budget" is too strong a word.  In reality, it was not unusual for more money to go out than came in during the month.  Our kids were in a private Christian school.  We had two cars.  I liked to eat my favorite foods in healthy portions.  We justified eating out for fast food because of our busy schedule.  I felt entitled to purchase an occasional antiquarian book, justifying it as a reward for hard work.  You pretty much get the picture without having to detail other indulgences that routinely ran up the family expenses.  Unfortunately, we reflected an attitude towards spending that is all too common in the states. (My apologies to the many we know who are the exception to the rule.)

 

Korea has given me a different perspective on spending.  I recognized this change this morning at the faculty chapel service.  We had the former president of a prestigious university in Seoul speak to the faculty.  He spoke about the things that really matter in life.  One of his illustrations described his pleasure in driving a small and inexpensive car.  This made him happy because it freed up funds he could use to travel to encourage (and support) missionaries in Africa and other far off places.  Many may have the impression that Korea reflects the American lifestyle of extravagant living.  Although there are segments of Korean society that create this impression (like the Gangnam district of Seoul parodied in the Gangnam Style video), it is not the culture in this country.  Instead, most people, including the wealthy, tend to be quite frugal and see that way of living as a virtue.

 

Susan is quite committed to adopting this same frugal life style for our family.  She is starting to make a believer out of me.  We are now home schooling our kids.  This alone saves us close to $2,000 a month on school and school related expenses.  Food is expensive in Korea.  If we were to eat the same foods we liked in the U.S., our food bill would go up considerably.  Instead, we shop much more carefully.  Our meal portions are smaller and contain less meat and more vegetables than ever before.  We do not eat out very often, and when we do, we tend to visit the restaurants on campus where a meal costs about 3-5 dollars per person.  We are spending less on food than we've ever spent before.  We do not have a car.  Between the cost of the car, gas and insurance, this is quite an additional saving.  The downside is that the lack of a car is also quite an inconvenience.  Trips to town usually take about 3-4 hours for most errands as we take the free shuttle from the university and then walk or take a cab (about $2.00) to reach our destination.  Shopping trips are a challenge for a family our size.  We are loaded down with bags on our return trip.  We will likely eventually purchase a car, but it is worthy to note the financial benefits to our current budget.  I must admit, it feels pretty good.  It's even had a positive impact on my health due to the improved diet and need to walk almost everywhere we go.   I think I've probably lost some weight, though we're now too frugal to purchase a scale to find out!

 

We currently are able to set aside savings every month.  Because of these savings we hope to be able to take our family to Cambodia and perhaps Thailand and Laos over the Christmas holidays without our usual practice of pulling out a credit card.  This would be a wonderful opportunity for our family to see and experience foreign missions.  I'm hoping this change in our spending habits is something that will last as we become more Korean in our outlook on money.  Wouldn't this be a good souvenir to bring back with us to the States?

 

Ken Chinn

"Camping Korean Style" pictures

 

HIC Youth Camp.  We took a few pictures of the beautiful Fall colors while the cars were being loaded with camp gear.  Our apartment is the second row from top, far right.

When are we going to leave?

Homigot, "The Village on the Tiger's Tail" (reference picture below). We all just call it "The Hand".

New Millenium Memorial Hall

 

Sun god, Yeonrang and his lover, Se o nyeo.

Lighthouse museum

A quick lunch under a cover before heading to the camp ground.

Setting up our tents while the wind blooowwwwwsss!

Our kitchen area

Nice job David!

I wish we had pictures of the beautiful weather on Day 2.  The sun was out, the sky was blue, the ocean sparkled and the kids had a blast!

Camping Korean Style

Saturday morning we took off with the church youth group for a one night camping trip.  I had some reservations about the idea.  There was a 90% chance of rain on Saturday and we had no camping equipment.  A church family had spare camping gear and the church had some extra supplies and rented extra tents.  Our kids wouldn't take "no" for an answer, so their overindulgent parents said "yes".  In a light rain, we loaded up the cars and set out with more than a little reluctance on my part.  I suspect rescheduling would have been difficult with the closely approaching winter.  It is starting to get cold in Korea.

The camping destination was about an hour away near a spot on the coast that locals call "The Hand".  The actual name of the area is Homigot, meaning "Village on the Tiger's Tail".  We stopped first at The Hand which is part of a Millennial Park.  The Hand is comprised of two sculptures of giant hands seemingly reaching towards each other.  One is positioned in the ocean and the other is on land. I'm not sure of the symbolism of the hands, but suspect is has something to do with that yin and yang idea that we see reflected in the Korean flag.  The rain was now falling steadily as we ate our lunches, posed at The Hands for pictures and visited a very nice lighthouse museum located next to a lovely still functioning lighthouse.  Although the lighthouse museum was full of interesting displays of huge lanterns and other accoutrements of historical lighthouses, my favorite part was a small darkened auditorium.  Across the floor there were projected images of fish swimming around.  It didn't take long before Robert started to chase the images across the floor.  It turned out there was some sort of sensor that made the fish swim away from him.  When he was successful in catching one, it disappeared.  If he stopped chasing them, the fish would swim again towards the center of the floor.  Soon Robert was splayed out on the floor leaping and swatting at fish to the entertainment of our group and the Koreans touring the museum.  Men were shouting out and encouraging him on.  Other kids from our group wandered in (including Mary) and were soon busy chasing the fish.  I don't know how they engineered the motion detector to coordinate the response by the fish to Robert's efforts to catch them, but it was really fun to watch.  When Robert noticed the attention he was drawing, he got shy and stopped for awhile, but the lure was too great and he ended up chasing fish again.

It was now time to find our camping spaces.  We loaded up in the cars again and set out to find the camp grounds.  The rain had lightened up and I was hopeful it would clear up.  We found the camp grounds and were surprised to see that the camp sites we had rented had a surface comprised of crushed granite and rocks!  I'm talking small pieces about 1-2 inches in size with jagged edges - not exactly the sort of surface one wants to sleep on.  It looked more like a parking lot with a small tree next to each space that was neatly laid out with ropes and poles.  We checked with the managers of the site and learned there were no cancellations the day of the reservation.  So, we started unloading our gear.  The sky still looked ominous as we unloaded our gear and started setting up the tents.  Then the winds started.  I would describe them as gale force winds, but that is probably an exaggeration.  It is accurate to say that things were blowing over as we tried to set up camp.  We rigged up some tarps over the site from the ropes that were strung overhead to delineate each camping space.  We figured we would need them as a shelter for cooking and eating dinner.  We were not a group of experienced campers and tying knots was not our strength either.  And of course the rain was starting to come down again.  Thankfully the camp manager showed up and provided enormous help in pulling things together.  A couple of men from the other camps chipped in helping to drive stakes and secure the rain and wind covers for the tents.  Soon the camp was relatively ship shape and it was dinnertime.

The best part of dinner was that it would consist of meat.  Meat for dinner in Korea usually means pork belly.  It looks like bacon, but has none of the curing of the American product.  It tastes like thin and fatty pork chops. I think its delicious and Koreans see it as an affordable delicacy in an economy where beef is very expensive.  One of the church families made a stop at Costco and brought along a supply of chicken and beef.  So, we ended up having pork belly, beef and chicken.  This was going to be a feast!  We set up a camp grill and I grilled beef and chicken in a now steady rain with the wind still blowing while the youth leaders grilled the pork belly.  The ever helpful camp manager showed up again with an electric lantern to give us light.    In Korea they like to put aluminum foil down over the cooking grill.  I think it has something to do with a belief that the blackening from an open grill is not healthy.  They are probably right, but grill marks and smoke from a BBQ adds to the flavor.  The pork belly was over aluminum foil and the beef/chicken were cooked by me in the American fashion.  By now the rain was being blown sideways by the wind in a successful effort to elude our tarp over the dinner area.  I was getting pretty wet, but happy sampling the fruits of our efforts over the cooking stoves.

After a delicious dinner we gathered around the campfire for hot chocolate, smores and a couple of praise hymns.  It was time to turn in and experience sleeping on our rock surface.  One of the families had a spare air mattress that protected the old man from the ground surface.  Susan and the kids reported that the rock surface managed to elude all their efforts to sufficiently insulate them from the sharper rocks.  The kids managed to sleep pretty well, but Susan had a harder time.  On the air mattress I shamelessly slept like a rock blissfully unaware of their greater difficulties.

The next morning the sky was blue with no sign of clouds.  The wind, however continue to blow and seemed, if anything, a little stronger.  We pulled down the overhead tarp concerned that the winds might break it apart.  We enjoyed a delicious breakfast of chocolate chip pancakes, scrambled eggs (I cracked the eggs which explains the small pieces of shell that found their way into the eggs - on the Food Network they call that the "crunch" factor), fruit and juice.  The kids enjoyed a game of Capture the Flag with the youth leaders.  Check out time at the camp ground was 1:00 p.m., so we had a devotional time together in which we read Nehemiah Chapter 8 and observed some similarities between the Feast of Booths and our camping experience.  We then broke down the camp and loaded up the cars.  I was ready to head home, but the kids were still energized despite all the running around during Capture the Flag.  So, we instead headed down to the shore line for some fishing and kite flying.  After an hour or two of fun (no fish caught), it was time to finally head home.  The camping trip was a success and the experience will be more fondly remembered because of overcoming the adverse conditions.

General observations about camping in Korea:  Like the US, campers are helpful and friendly.  I doubt any other campsites in the US or Korea would have a more helpful manager than the one who came to our aid.  Restrooms are very modern and clean and included hot showers and an area with several sinks to clean your cooking utensils.  Our campsite, despite the less than desirable rock surface, was about 100 yards from the ocean.  Our rented tents were rather flimsy, especially for the windy and rainy conditions.  The Korean campers had much sturdier tents, some of which were pretty elaborate and almost looked like small cabins.  One was probably 15 feet high.  I have no idea how they managed to put it up.  Unlike the US, there is no reason to be concerned about possible theft.  Most US campers are equally considerate, but unfortunately that doesn't seem to universally true.  I don't think the use of rock for a camping surface is usual in Korea.  It's one positive feature is that it promotes good drainage and the likelihood of your campsite flooding is pretty remote.  In the spring I'm hoping we get to give it another  try, especially if the old man can secure an air mattress again.

Last night the kids said a sad goodbye to Susan's sister Mary after a wonderful visit over the past month.  She has been so much fun to explore Korea with and incredibly helpful around the house.  We will truly miss her, but are encouraged by her desire to return in the spring for another visit (she says to see Korea in the spring, but we know it is really to see us.)

Ken Chinn