Comments Posted By Kevin Kim
Displaying 4,171 To 4,200 Of 4,392 Comments
I suspect that, if the Missus speaks English well enough, you’re likely in the clear, given the purpose the law is supposed to serve (i.e., prevent language barriers from eroding marriages).
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/April/2014 @ 9:28 pm
What becomes of the broken-hearted?
The low-fat part is probably bollocks, anyway. Good luck!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/April/2014 @ 6:39 pm
I’m in no position to sermonize about your dietary choices. As the man said: “Don’t just eat that burger—eat the hell out of it!”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/April/2014 @ 7:52 pm
Congrats on the one-year anniversary… but doesn’t this mean that the founder of the Singles League isn’t himself single?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 08/April/2014 @ 8:24 pm
Congratulations and good luck.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/April/2014 @ 4:40 pm
Hey kid, how’d you like a nice Hertz donut?
Well, well. Curiouser and curiouser.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 06/April/2014 @ 4:41 pm
And I noticed I forgot the first “HER” in “return to HER office.” Heh.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/April/2014 @ 10:47 pm
I’m sorry to hear about the massive pain. You’re right: pain is very subjective. I suppose a truly scientific study could only be run by Nazis; it would involve torturing many people in exactly the same ways while measuring the extremity of their respective reactions as a (somewhat unreliable) guide to subjective experience. Yeah… not sure that’s gonna happen.
Anyway, the Cass Treatment seems to have worked, at least for now. All hail Cass!
Editor’s note: despite your valiant “s/he” attempts to hide the sex of Dr. Sohn (does Dr. Sohn really require such privacy?), you may have given the game away. You wrote:
“S/He suggested I return to her office the following afternoon and SHE would remove my crown to try and relieve “pressure”. By this point I was ready to tell HER to just yank the damn thing out altogether and be done with it.”
Girl power!
There’s also Sperwer’s dentist, Dr. Lee (another woman!), who speaks fluent English and a little French, and who is an excellent dentist. I can put you in touch with Sperwer (whose real name I can’t divulge in public comments—I’ve got my own privacy issues to contend with) if you’re interested. Dr. Lee’s practice is in Banpo, i.e., the French section, so have yourself some decent French food while you’re down that way.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/April/2014 @ 4:34 pm
Quite a day! Pyeongchang-dong is where my friend Sperwer lives. I’m pretty sure I know almost exactly which neighborhood you’re talking about. I’ve done a Bukhan-san walk from right around Sperwer’s neighborhood, which makes me wonder whether you and the Missus were on the same path that I’d walked some years ago.
Sperwer and I had our own Bukhan-san adventure: we hiked up almost to the top, followed the crest a while, then went back down a different trail, taking a cab to Hwagyae-sa so we could meditate and listen to Hyeongak-sunim’s dharma talk. I was surprised that, after several hours of hard hiking, I didn’t fall asleep during meditation. In fact, I felt rather energized that day. Weird.
Anyway, it sounds as if you had an interesting time. You might have to go back in a couple days—with a camera this time!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/April/2014 @ 12:54 am
“Actually, I’ve worn worse.”
Pictures, please.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 27/March/2014 @ 5:51 pm
Another day, another mountain…
Regarding that final pic: did you create your own “탑” as well?
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 26/March/2014 @ 12:35 am
Without a doubt. Enjoy your nature-bath.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/March/2014 @ 9:43 pm
I should note, too, that while phytoncides do exist, it’s not clear that there are any good, solid scientific studies saying that walking vigorously in the woods actually produces any health benefits that go above and beyond the benefits of simple exercise. Are the trees exuding enough phytoncides to make a measurable difference in people’s health? Since these benefits seem related to long-term effects like aging, sickness, and maybe even life expectancy, a research project would have to be of pretty massive (and long-lasting) scale. So I’d submit that any current claims about health benefits related to phytoncides are wishful thinking at best and pseudoscience at worst.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/March/2014 @ 10:42 pm
Regarding that “phytoncide” sign…
You can read about phytoncides here.
Basically, they’re chemicals, emitted by certain plants (hence “phyto”), that have anti-aging, anti-rotting effects. In other words, they preserve and/or restore health and vigor, or at the very least, they stave off decay.
NB: phytoncides shouldn’t be confused with phytocides. The latter are plant-killing chemicals, like weed killer.The large green title text at the upper-right corner of the sign says, “Gae-un Mountain Circle Trail; This is a Sallim-yok (산림욕) Area.” So what the heck is “sallim-yok”? It’s from three Chinese characters:
산 (san, 山): mountain
림 (lim/rim, 林): woods, forest
욕 (yok, 浴): bath, bathing, cleansingPhonetic rule: when a final “N” meets an initial “L/R,” the result is a double-L. So:
N + L/R = LL
san + rim = sallim
Sallim-yok: a “mountain-forest cleansing” of sorts.
The right-hand column of the sign is presented as a sort of Q&A format. The questions are encircled in these little blobby, cartoonish-looking bubbles, and the answers are in paragraph form below them.
First question: “What is Sallim-yok?”
The answer explains what I mentioned above, about phytoncides and their healing properties. Breathe deeply the forest air, feel the forest at work on your skin, blah, blah.Second question: “Sallim-yok [is] like this…”
This isn’t a question, per se, but an opening that leads to an explanation of how to get the most benefits out of a mountain-forest cleansing. Best time of year: summer to fall. Best time of day: 10AM to 2PM. The second bullet point in this section says that the most benefits come not from just sitting around in the forest but from working up a sweat. How Korean. No time for just sitting and appreciating nature! Gotta DO something!Third question: “Efficacy of Sallim-yok”
Again, not really a question. This is more an explanation of some of the benefits of being cleansed by Mother Nature and her phytoncides. First, it combats stress and insomnia. Second, it helps out with both diet and dementia (!). Lastly, it makes your skin healthier (combats dermatitis).So—mystery solved! And no children were needlessly violated by trees. (Of course, the children who needed to be violated were, indeed, violated.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/March/2014 @ 5:42 pm
Well… blender luck next time.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 20/March/2014 @ 11:04 am
Not the start I was hoping for
Well, think of it this way: there can be no ceiling without a floor. You’ve found your floor, so now shoot for the ceiling. Good luck.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/March/2014 @ 2:25 pm
Glad to see you’re settling back in.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/March/2014 @ 11:50 pm
Congrats on surviving the flight, and welcome back to Korea! I hope your butt-bone is decompressing nicely.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/March/2014 @ 3:50 am
Safe travels, happy trails, and an advance “Welcome back!”
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 13/March/2014 @ 12:09 am
The badlands beckon.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 05/March/2014 @ 8:55 pm
Good question. But I think the potential for catastrophic war outweighs anything that alligators or Cuban gangs or hillbillies might do.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/March/2014 @ 2:34 pm
Well, congrats on the green card and on getting this far along in the process. Have a safe journey back to the world’s most dangerous peninsula.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 01/March/2014 @ 11:00 am
OK.
You have indeed mentioned splitting your time between countries; I just somehow failed to make the proper connection. Sorry about that. I envy that lifestyle, though: having homes in more than one country is something I can only aspire to. In my dreams, I’d split my life three ways: a home in the States, a home in Switzerland (or maybe France), and a home in Korea. Good way to maintain skills in three languages, as well as to bask in three different cultural perspectives.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 22/February/2014 @ 2:24 am
Congratulations! But I’m not sure I understand why there’s all this urgency about the green card if you’re both just planning to return to Korea. Is the Missus eventually going to become an American citizen? If so, doesn’t she have to be a more or less continuous resident of the States to qualify for citizenship? Color me dazed and confused. I await your kind clarification, and apologize if you already explained this elsewhere on the blog. (Feel free to offer a link, and I’ll reread the material, properly chastened.)
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 21/February/2014 @ 11:40 pm
I’m sorry that you’re having to go through all this nonsense.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 19/February/2014 @ 2:06 pm
When things get that icy, that’s when I find myself wishing for shoes with sharp little golf cleats on them. Stay safe!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 14/February/2014 @ 12:40 am
Congratulations!
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/February/2014 @ 3:49 pm
Where have you been all my life?
I’d never heard of him until I read your post, so… perhaps I’m the last person. Thanks for the links.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 02/February/2014 @ 8:58 am
Yes… I’m partial to the “landing strip,” myself….
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 18/January/2014 @ 1:07 am
«« Back To Stats PageSounds about right. I do that to love letters, too.
» Posted By Kevin Kim On 16/January/2014 @ 2:08 am