Manito

I think of Graham Swift on reading his books. Each protagonist, who is absolutely his fragment, separately tells me his/her gnawing in author’s own voice with different tones. Sometimes it seems comfortable to understand them, their inside, i.e. pieces of the writer’s mind. It seems easy now and then. But understandable I hold that, it might be an illusion or a fantasy. Perhaps I am not able to pierce him faithfully, but only deceived by my childlike perception. Childish or childlike, I appreciate him of making me so. In fact, arriving at my age, it is not easy to be truly innocent. It’s almost impossible, I know. Nevertheless, a certain naïve feeling—I cannot articulate it— comes over me and so I can dream remote dreams already forgotten. Something has been pulling out from my unconscious oblivion. Something from the rooted amnesia, whatever it was, is, and will be, I am possessed by it in the shadow of the dream. Absolutely snatched myself away! Even though dangerous, I seriously don’t want to take my mind back.

As for Graham, I love all of his writings. He deeply delves into the inside of human being, especially of a man. I can feel he doesn't lie. I cannot but love this English man. He is “[Englischer]menschliches, Allzu[Englischer]menschliches!” :) I often regard him as real. Of course he is alive and a real man, but not in my world here. I say real, with which mean that he’s my man in my real life. You think it’s ridiculous or I’m out of my mind. Yes, I’m out for him. I want to be out of my mind and step into his if I can share my time with him, whose bottom of inside I am eager to deeply dig into. I’m afraid I would scratch him with my dull spade, but even so I’ll go on. Someday I’d meet him, I want to, even though there can be no coming-and-going free-talking because of my poor English skill. It’d be no matter if I utter nothing. The words inside can overwhelm the words outside. He’ll able to know it definitely as I can.


Brit…

At the death-bed of democracy in South Korea

Since yesterday the police/University staff line has barricaded all gates of our university with policemen/staffs and police/school buses to block the memorial concert for our late-ex-President Roh. It is about to be held at our university tomorrow, Roh's 49th day of memorial. But it seems not to be possible. They tried to blockade the performance absolutely and initially, so to speak “원천봉쇄”. Jesus!

I’m very ashamed of our university-president’s decision, which doesn’t permit the memorial concert in the campus with irrational reasons. The president Kim In-se of PNU, whose attitude resembles that of 2MB’s gangster government, is definitely obsequious toward that government. The 2MB ‘band’ always reacts obstinately violent and persistently stupid toward people of different opinions from them. They regard themselves as omnipotent. They don’t know what the communication is, who the lords of the country are, how to manage the state, and even what the democracy is.

President Kim’s reaction to the students’ movement is just like that of 2MB government. I already knew that he had no philosophical mind, but I didn’t imagine his brainless cowardice as low as this level. Desperate condition for students not to express their passion freely! It reminds me of the period of 3rd-5th Republic. It seems to be the ghostlike revival of the grey campus of our generation and seniors, who had fought and shed blood for the liberal democracy of our country. I cannot but lament all day long for the death of democracy watching the campus. I'm so upset and furious with our reality.

God save our country and people! Damn the devilish ‘low capitalist’ government!


Brit…

Note)
2MB refers to the President 'Lee Myung-bak' of South Korea. Because his family name 'Lee' is homonymous with number 2 in Korean. And 2MB also refers to two mega-bites, a computer terminology. Many Koreans use the term to satirise the President’s stupidity, which means his brain—i.e. cerebral capacity is just as much as 2 mega-bites only. I think it is more than deserves, it is absolutely down under even at maximum.


PS)
It seems to hold out a little hope of the concert. Later news from the Student Council reported the equipment for the music performance was carried into the campus after the hostile opposition between students/citizens and the police/U.staff. (Added on 9 july at 23:05)

PS.2)
In the end, they carried it through. The concert was finally held last night in spite of all odds and a great success yet though the police line guarded the main gate of the university. Long live the Democracy! Long Live Passion! Long Live Justice! (Added on 11 July at 11:48)

New accounts on the Internet

Recently I created new accounts on three Internet sites. They are Twitter, Facebook, and here Blogger.com. I decided to manage these homepages in English. Twitter and Facebook, which I joined due to the British Museum, may function as the gate for the world. I am globalizing myself. :)

It would be fantastic someday I come across my old pen-pals such as Jill, Bernd, Terri, Joseph and others. Jill is a British, Bernd a German, Terri an American, Joseph a Chinese of Hong Kong and the others South-African and Japanese. I daren’t expect anything about reunion, but especially with Jill, I really want to meet her, I miss her. Her full name is Gillian Barry, but she didn’t like it and wanted me to call her Jill. And she called me Keuty. She and I had been close friends for almost ten years. Her family once lived in Singapore, and then lived in West Midlands. Her brother, whose name is Stuart, who was already over 6 feet 2 inches tall, but still growing that time, Jill said.

This blog ‘In Time’ is my English homepage as you see. I manage it with trivia in life and light thoughts. Consequently everything I write may be my thoughts under the circumstances. I’ve already operated two Korean blogs on Naver and Egloos since 2003. Both are like the mirror image of each other with almost same contents. If you read one, don't need to visit the other. They are full of deeper thoughts as my own, suitable to my nick ‘SaengGakJaengEe(i.e. the Thoughtful)’, which nick a friend of mine chose for me. But this ‘In Time’ is totally different from the existing two blogs. This is literally for trivia because my English skill is not so good that I cannot handle deeper feelings or thoughts in English.


Brit…

Popped-Corn/Corn-Peong

Ate up a huge pack of [korean] popped-corn—not popcorn— by myself. The Korean popped corn is called 뻥튀기(Peongtwigi), which is popped without butter or oil. In short, it is absolutely oil-free except intrinsic corn oil in itself. I had eaten too much corn-peong unconsciously with reading all day long, and finally the pack revealed its bottom. Wondering what amount did I eat? Well, the size of the pack is equivalent to a 10-litered bucket (or more?). What a greed! Full of corns and lack of digestibility, my stomach is now in battle. Besides, the dried food like peong requires much water, and I’ll have to drink more water, I think. Wonder if I can fall into sleep easily, though now I am bloody sleepy. Tomorrow morning I may be swollen, especially face, hands and feet.:(

Brit...

A Seminar about the “Localization”

Attended the “Localization” seminar—i.e. a special lecture— presented by Mr. Jaehoon Noh. He is the president of TRADOS, which is a matchless [Computer/Internet] Localization Industry in Korea. The lecture, which was managed by the BK enterprise of our department, was mainly about the commercial translation. The TRADOS is said to be the unique company in the field. I am not interested in the commercial translation because it is too mechanical, but its technology seems fantastic. Along with the internet, various computer technologies including communication skills among languages have been rapidly developed, spread and popularized. Their progressive speed makes me—one of the Analogue Generation— dizzy. I have used computers over 10 years, yet I don’t escape from the level as computer illiterate.

I think that the excessive automation threatens the innocent humanism. Perhaps it is some naïve attitude, but I’m afraid that people may be driven to become automata. “Gain one, lose the other.” That’s life. Both the fortune and the misfortune are like the other side of a coin. Convenient emails take away people’s patience, you know. So does a mobile phone! We are all becoming the slaves of convenience and comfortableness. Am I oversensitive?

I didn’t join the dinner after the seminar. Not in the mood to! Not because of the seminar, but due to a certain kind of psychic reason, though I cannot explain with words. In fact, it’s not ‘can’t’, but ‘don’t want to’. The problem is on me.:( Anyway I feel sorry to Professor Lee, because the dinner was also a farewell party for him. He’ll have a sabbatical year and leave for the USA next week. He has been good to me.


Brit…

Alea iacta est.

I handed in a paper about Byron to a literary society. The dead line is 10 July, but I cannot stick it on any more because the more I look, the messier it reveals to me. My head is almost exploding. And I have many other things to do. I must read over 28 volumes of books this summer, 13 volumes of which are written in English. English always makes me hard variously, let alone speaking/listening.

The paper had been previously submitted last winter. I was absolutely smashed then. One of three judging panel harshly criticised the paper, saying that my argument was too inconsistent to be published. Besides, my paper—also the abstract in English— was considerably long, and so s/he said that there’s no need to be such long. Unlike the rest, his/her every criticism was so severe to me as if got a personal feeling of antipathy for me that I could not avoid being hurt by his/her expressions. Has personal feeling for me? Of course it can't be! :)

In fact I presented three papers to three separate literary societies in the first half of this year, two of which except the retreated have been published this spring. Frankly speaking, the panel was merciless to me, but I deserved to be. The retreated paper was not good also in my own judgement. My impatience drove me to hurry in making results. I had to elaborate my point of argument more precisely, but I didn’t do that. Furthermore Byron—i.e. poetry— is not my major!! Mine is British [modern] fiction, especially Joseph Conrad and Graham Swift. :)

After the spring semester I revised the handed-back paper in my own way with consulting the panel’s advice. I don’t know I did my best revising it, but at least I tried to. I asked Paul to examine the [English] abstract if it made sense in English. He said that it was well written and was an interesting read even though he didn't know anything about Byron. ‘Byron’ is not his forte, too. Anyway I thank God for having Paul as my friend.

I had thought over and over that I would re-present it to the same society, and I decided to do so. Just now I clicked on my email to them with the paper-file attached. The dice is cast. There's nothing more I can do. The only thing I can do with the paper is to wait for their reply during the summer.

Brit…

Exhausted forenoon

Today I dropped in the PNU General Hospital twice. My doctor is now abroad for an international medical conference. The delegate doctor made some errors on my regular prescription by miscalculating dates. On finding out the mistakes, I had to change direction on the way home in the tube. I spent whole forenoon on the road and on the hospital lobby. It didn’t cause my anger, but I’m exhausted myself repeatedly coming and going. Moreover, on the tube an unrestrained doggy irritated me, which someone took in the train. What a senseless person to take an animal on the public transportation and unleash it! Besides me, many people were annoyed by it. What is worse, I have an allergy for a certain kind of hairs. The allergy becomes worse in some cases, especially when I’m not in good condition. I was almost breathless.

Brit...

Anyway just opened...

But I don't know how to start. It seems to be a natural need for studying on the international web-managing. I'm busy these days, however. In fact I have no time to play with internet. I must be busy further on, at least over 2 years. And what on earth have I made this for? Ridiculous! Wish this will be not a hot potato to me!

Brit...