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Sun, July 21, 2019 | 09:01

Life at a Korean law firm (part 11)

After a little over a year at the training center in Pyeongtaek, during which there was a high native English speaker teacher-trainer turnover, only three of the originals remained: Robert, Daniel and myself. We had each signed new contracts and started our third and final year in the EPIK program, imagining that we would see out the term there, when one day Robert and I were...

2018-03-25 11:31

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 10)

This week finds me overseas attending a legal industry conference in the Philippines for our law firm. I'm grateful to have a job that occasionally affords me opportunities to go overseas. However, when I look back and reflect, it occurs to me that for a man who has lived in Korea for 17 of the last 22 years, I have seen remarkably little of Asia (or the rest of the world, fo...

2018-03-18 10:32

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 9)

During my time at the teachers’ training institute in Pyeongtaek, a period of crisis began in Korea. The seeds for this crisis had been sown years, if not decades, earlier, and its effects were felt for quite some time.

2018-03-08 18:33

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 8)

I had some time to settle in to living at the institute before the training began in earnest. In those early days, I met two new colleagues to whom I am still close to today. To protect their identities I’ll call them Daniel and Robert.

2018-03-03 10:35

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 7)

In the early summer of 1997 the end of my planned year in Korea drew near, but I still had no idea if I was going to return to Australia or sign up for another twelve months.

2018-02-22 16:55

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 6)

Before coming to Korea, I knew Seollal or Lunar New Year only as “Chinese New Year.” Melbourne’s Chinatown each year hosts a festival with lion dancers, firecrackers and Taoist Gods of Prosperity, Wisdom and Longevity moving through the streets. The Chinese-Australian community is a large and old one and its festivities are relatively well known in the wider society; the much...

2018-02-15 15:51

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 5)

Since North Korea is somewhat in the spotlight lately, this is an appropriate blog post in which to outline how my interest in North Korea began.

2018-02-10 13:09

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 4)

Like a lot of people of my generation, I did not learn much Korean before coming here. But I did not come completely unprepared. Thanks to an assignment in an introductory linguistics course at university, I was already familiar with some of Korean’s basic phonology. I had also started to memorize the Hangeul alphabet from a guidebook I had bought.

2018-02-02 16:51

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 3)

South Korea in the mid-1990s was in the international news for violent demonstrations by students and unionists. Even before I left Australia, friends who had seen footage on television told me to watch out for these rallies and to take care.

2018-01-27 09:52

Life at a Korean law firm, or at least my journey to it (part 2)

I’d touched down at Kimpo Airport on a balmy Saturday evening. The following Monday, after some confused phone calls, a needless trip back to the airport, followed by an emotionally draining visit to Seoul Custom’s House to retrieve a suitcase I’d sent ahead, and an excruciatingly long but well air-conditioned drive southwards in a mini-van arranged just for me, I made it to ...

2018-01-19 16:06

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