Life in Korea:

Christmas Spirit in Seoul

I took this photo while strolling along Kangnam Avenue. (Kangnam is the posh business district in Seoul, like the Makati Business Center in Manila).

Our head office is located here, about 100 meters from this Meritz Building. This district glitters at night but instead of the cheery spirit, it invokes a nostalgic somberness.

Enough of the winter gloom...hehehe.

I wish all those who are close to my heart a blessed Christmas and a joyous New Year. May 2008 bring us peace, love and bountiful blessings.

My family will be celebrating New Year in China's famed 'Hawaii' called Hainan. We want to have a restful yuletide holiday this year.

A day's work....

This is what's keeping me preoccupied these days...

The final term is coming to a close and so a teacher's typical day at school is, in a nutshell, "AAAAhhhhhhhrrrrgggg!"

The paperwork can be overwhelming but I still love the job. To me, teaching is a vocation not simply a means to an end.

I am a feminist --not a hardline extremist, but a believer that women deserve more than what the patriarchal society accords her.  So I work for a school that reflects one of my ideals-- women emancipation.

That is the very reason I love working there. I get the chance to repay a debt by paying it forward. A debt of gratitude to the women who came before me, to the women who shared their wisdom.

             

Social Network

This is YUHAK TIMES--Kangnam Center (our head office). This is where I and my husband, Company President, hold office. It's usually quiet and calm in the morning . It gets busy around mid afternoon till evening. We often finish around 9 pm.

Our 'mangne' staff, Tae-Rim, took this snapshot of the office before he flew off to Melbourne. We won't be seeing him until Jan. 2008. He is such a jolly person that practically everyone in the company missess him, even the staff from our other branches--Shinchon, Jongro and Busan.

Even though, I occasionally run into people who disappoint me, I am still thankful that the Lord placed good folks on earth. And I am happy that some of them are with us at Yuhak Times. As I always say, THE KIND OF PEOPLE YOU HAVE IN YOUR TEAM, DEFINES THE QUALITY OF SERVICE YOU DELIVER TO THE WORLD!

It is also true with social ties. Developing social circle is human nature, motivated by our need to belong. These social circles are held together by a particular social culture that brought the individual members to the group.Therefore, THE KIND OF COMPANY YOU KEEP REFLECTS YOUR TRUE COLORS. It is wise to be very selective with your social network. Understand too why you simply cannot belong to a particular group.

As Emily Dickinson eloquently puts it :

"the soul selects its own society and shuts the door; to her divine majority presents no more."