One thing you hear and read in the papers a lot in Korea is about national development and the rising position of the country due to globalization. It is something my students speak of as well as professors, an awareness that this is a dynamic nation and that continued growth and prosperity require commitment and focus. Also, a part of is a strong nationalism that is expressed often but does not seem to me to be exclusionist in the way of European nationalism. The energy and focus is very much on the new rise to prosperity and importance of Korea. It has indeed been a rather stunning rise from poor, third world divided nation to technologically advanced major economy (if still divided). So it is interesting to read this kind of essay in the newspaper looking approvingly at the dynamic small countries in Europe that have unexpectedly and rapidly used technology and brains to become prosperous, such as Ireland or Estonia ("cool countries" according to Der Speigel). An article by a Seoul National University prof in today's JoongAng Daily concludes "This shows that a small country can become a strong one in the age of globalization when it is equipped with knowledge, creativity and openness."
Sushi lovers do well here. It is reason enough to come here in fact, you can save enough on each sushi meal to pay for the airfare. Since I can happily eat sushi each meal this is a good thing. At home, we limit ourselves to sushi once a month so we can eat our fill of it and still afford to still pay the mortgage. I haven't had sushi for breakfast yet since that requires the operationally complex move of leaving the apartment early, but I have had flying fish roe for breakfast, since you can buy that in the market and take it home. My Midwestern core finds eating flying fish roe for breakfast both exotic and delicious. Sushi is, happily, everywhere. There are regular and/or fancy sit down places, sushi buffets, and, my favorite, the restaurants where you sit in front of a conveyor belt and grab sushi pieces as they come by. You simply pay by the number and color of the plate. I have eaten at that sort of place in Hawaii, but the overall quality here is a qualitative leap for...
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