Articles by mgedwards

Old friends and an "Emigration Fair"

Old friends seem to be coming out of the woodwork here in Seoul!  Yesterday evening I was just about to leave work when a colleague I knew from Washington, D.C. walked down the hall.  I did a double-take; I couldn’t believe my eyes.  I didn’t know he was coming to Seoul from Taiwan.  He works in Taiwan and is now in Seoul to fulfill his reserve duty for the U.S. Army.  We went out to dinner last night.  He chose Tex-Mex because he can’t find any in Taipei.  It was great catching up with him and hearing all about life in Taipei.  Taipei may very well be our next destination, so we listened carefully to his stories about life there.  My colleague will be here for three weeks, and we’ll hopefully get together a few times before he returns to Taipei.

Today I went back to COEX Mall to manage a booth at "Emigration Fair 2005."  While it sounds a bit like Ellis Island redux and conjures images of poor emigrants fleeing bad economic conditions, in reality the fair is geared to Korean students and business people who want to study or invest overseas.  I answered students’ questions regarding applying to study in the U.S.  While at the booth an old acquaintance from the U.S. walked up to me and asked, "What are you doing here?"  I was surprised to see a familiar face in the crowd.  We had studied together at the University of Washington two years ago and since lost touch.  He had no idea that I was in Korea.  A Korean, he couldn’t believe that he met someone he knew from the U.S.  He told me that our mutual friend Bart was managing another booth nearby.  I had contacted Bart before I left the states and let him know I was coming to Korea, but I hadn’t yet had a chance to follow up with him.  I couldn’t believe that in a country of 44 million, in a city of 10 million, here my friend was just a few feet away from me.  I went over to his booth and gave him a hearty hug.  It was great to catch up with an old friend.  At the end of the day, we grabbed a Starbucks coffee and chatted about life after school.  We decided to meet again in a few weeks for dinner with other University of Washington alumni.  The world is truly a small place.  Have you ever unexpectedly run into someone you knew from your past in a very unexpected place?  It might have been even more unexpected if we had met in another country, but meeting at COEX today was strange enough.

I took my first ride on the Seoul subway today.  I don’t know how I’d managed to avoid it for over a month, but I did.  Seoul’s system is rather industrial; functional yet uncomfortable and generally unattractive.  I prefer Washington, D.C.’s subway system.  I’ve ridden on many subways around the world.  London has the best overall system, Tokyo has the most comprehensive system, and Moscow’s features by far the most beautiful subway.  Seoul’s subway reminds me of New York’s–aged, gritty, and well used by the masses.  I’m glad that I know hangeul, the Korean writing system, so I could easily find my destination and transfer stations on a subway map.  It’s tricky to navigate Seoul’s subway if you don’t know how to read hangeul or speak some Korean.  The trains feature Korean and English announcements, but the English ones are muffled by the noise of the crowds.  One train I rode was fairly crowded.  I was fascinated by the aggressiveness of the elderly in Seoul.  The elderly hold high social positions in Korea, and their special subway seating is sacred.  They don’t hesitate to jostle passengers to get to their seats, pass between train cars to find an open seat, or stare down younger adults or children who don’t yield their seat to them.  Koreans do not appear to be overly polite on the subway, which iis quite common on most Asian subways.  The Seoul subway is definitely not family-friendly.  I don’t think my family will be riding it very often.  It’s worth taking taxis or driving to avoid having to navigate the cavernous Seoul subway system.

It’s over for my Washington Huskies in the NCAA Tournament.  On Thursday night the Louisville Cardinals creamed the Huskies 93-79 in their Sweet Sixteen matchup.  As expected, the Huskies will head home and have to watch the Final Four and Championship on TV in Seattle.  Louisville looked really tough in their matchup with Georgia Tech last week, and it didn’t look good for the Huskies going into Thursday’s matchup.  However, Louisville will have a tough time beating Illinois or North Carolina, but they definitely look like great and will probably be in the Final Four.

From the things that make you go…Hmm Department:  Kyrgyzstan recently descended into political chaos, and in an unrelated event, Krygyz passports are no longer accepted by the United States Government.  It’s an interesting example of life imitating art.  In the movie "The Terminal," Tom Hanks portrayed a man stranded for years at New York JFK airport because he could not enter the U.S. and could not return to his homeland because his country descended into political chaos while he was in transit.  I wonder whether Kyrgyzstanis will suffer the same fate.  It depends on the status of Bishkek International Airport and whether Kyrgyzstanis can return home.  They won’t be able to enter the U.S. anytime soon, I’m afraid.

A Rave for Thomas the Tank Engine

The last time I wrote about my son’s toys, I talked about his infatuation with Fisher Price’s "Little People."  As is common with children, he has since turned his attention to other toys.  He is now a "Thomas the Tank Engine" fanatic.  I had never heard of "Thomas" before we borrowed a "Thomas" book late last year, and now "Thomas" is draining my wallet.  My little boy loves any and all vehicles, especially cars and trains.  Since he discovered "Thomas" he has grown more and more interested in trains and train sets.  I recently discovered that my son isn’t the only "Thomas" fan.  It seems that many children–both boys and girls–fall in love with "Thomas" and the fictional world of Sodor around two years of age.  Many outgrow it by the age three or four.  We now have a bunch of "Little People" toys and videos that are now collecting dust, and we have to keep investing in "Thomas" toys to satisfy our son’s insatiable appetite for anything "Thomas."  Here in Korea, "Thomas" toys are twice as expensive as they are in the United States.  A battery-powered engine, for example, costs around $30 in a Korean store.  Unfortunately, we can’t shop in the U.S., and many online vendors either won’t ship internationally, or they charge a very high shipping charge.

The world of "Thomas the Tank Engine" is fascinating.  Set on the fictional island of "Sodor," a place reminiscent of merry ol’ England, the "Thomas" stories details the adventures and misadventures of trains and vehicles that inhabit the island.  The trains are managed by Sir Topham Hatt, a portly, bossy gent who either compliments his engines for being "really useful" or scolds them for misbehaving.  (Personally, I think Hatt is an annoying Theory X-type boss.  Hey Hatt, how about sending your engines on a Hawaii vacation for a change or get in there and pull some of those loads yourself?)  "Thomas" is the "really useful" little blue engine most popular with children.  My son’s favorite engines are "Gordon" and "Henry," the bigger engines.  He also loves "Cranky," the cargo crane.  "Thomas" has a huge following among children and parents, although it is relatively unknown among people without children.  There are many online stores that sell everything Thomas, and the toys are also available in toy stores.  The toys are not distributed by a major toy company such as Fisher-Price, so they are not mass marketed or overly commercialized.  Their popularity seems to rest on buzz marketing (word-of-mouth) between parents and children.  I was surprised to learn that the "Thomas" phenomenon turns 50 years old this year.  The first story was written in Britain by the Reverend W. Awdry to entertain his ill son.  The phenomenon did not reach the states until Britt Alcott Ltd. introduced it to the U.S. market about 10 years ago.  "Thomas" has since spread to many countries, including Korea.  It sits next to "Yu-Gi-Oh" and "World Peacekeepers" in some Korean toy stories. 

Why did "Thomas" become so popular with children?  Why do celebrities such as George Carlin and Ringo Starr lend their voices to Thomas videos?  The story is old and somewhat dated.  Some of the language used is stilted (e.g. "You’re a really useful engine"), and until "Emily" and "Lady" came along all the engines were male.  I think "Thomas" captivates children nowadays like "American Flyer" trains did in the past.  My dad often reminisces about how much he enjoyed American Flyer trains when he was younger.  Trains fell out of favor in the 1970s and 1980s, replaced by new-fangled electric race tracks.  "Thomas" however brought trains and train sets back into vogue.  Children love things that move, especially planes, trains and automobiles.  The "Thomas" stories add personalities to the trains.  Each train has a different personality children enjoy.  The stories also tell interesting stories and offer morals that teach children how to be "useful."  The toys are also well-built (and expensive).  Some "Thomas" toys are made of wood, a material increasingly rare in toys.  That appeals to those of us who are nostalgic.  Lincoln Logs, Tinker Toys, and "Thomas" toys are just about the only wooden toys you can find anymore.  They’re so much better than plastic toys.  If you have young children and haven’t heard of "Thomas the Tank Engine," give them a try.  Just be prepared to spend a lot on "Thomas" toys!