That Time I Was A Reporter

Wow, it’s been awhile. Goodness, Theresa, where have you been?

Well, let me tell you. Nowhere that fun. Usually, when I haven’t written something in awhile, you can assume that it’s because I’ve been dancing on top of mountains while drinking makeoli and high-fiving celebrities (at least, that’s what I want you to think), but such has not been the case recently.

Mostly, I’ve been training for Chungdahm’s new program. It’s called 3.0, and, as the name implies, it relies entirely on the use of fancy new Samsung Note 8.0 tablets. They’re very pretty. As for the program, it’s pretty okay. I have to admit that I’m overwhelmingly biased toward physical books. There’s nothing like the feel and smell of a book in your hands. I also think it’s better for students to be able to write with a physical pencil and paper. Tablet learning is fancy and cool, but I worry that a few years from now, those students who learned with tablets won’t be able to pick up their old “books” and review whatever it was they learned.

That being said, I at least enjoy 3.0’s new classes. They’re waaaaay more interesting to the students than what we were teaching them before. Let’s do a poll here, online friends who probably aren’t reading this: If you were a 6^th grader in Korea, would you rather talk about ecotourism (old Chungdahm) or CCTV and it’s intrusive influence in our lives (3.0)? And for those of you who said neither, you suck and why are you reading this anyway? They also take full advantage of the fact that tablets are technology, so the lesson comes with lots of pictures, videos, and sound clips that are a lot more relatable and enjoyable to look at than some of the stuff from older lessons.

At the same time, though, it’s been a pretty tough last few weeks. I spent a lot more time at work than I would have liked (and, believe me, the cat wasn’t too happy about it either. I have the claw marks up and down my legs to prove it.). In addition, a lot of my good friends and coworkers decided it wasn’t worth their time and actually quit. I’ve had to gradually say goodbye to a number of truly great people.

But enough about 3.0! I passed with flying colors and won a good deal of money in the process. What I really want to talk about is the one cool thing I did do recently. It’s called World Knowledge Forum. Held every year at the criminally fancy Walker Hill Hotel in Seoul, The World Knowledge Forum is where a bunch of business and world leaders get together and talk about things related to business, politics, economics, and everything in between. The organizers of the event always need English-speaking reporters to write the press releases. Even though the forum is in Korea, almost all of the talks are in English. That’s where Chungdahm comes in. The organizers hire Chungdahm teachers to be reporters. I got to spend three days hyped up on caffeine and adrenalin, rushing from talk to talk and writing reports in between. I also got to stay in a five-star hotel for free. So that was also nice. Of course, almost everything was really interesting. I got to hear from Salman Kahn, the founder of non-profit Kahn Academy. The basic idea behind his academy is that you can learn anywhere at any time at your own pace. Students who are having trouble in math or science can log on to his site and study whatever they want. The goal is to master a skill, not just to study for a test and pass it. The lessons are also completely free.

There was also a talk on cyber security presented by Prof. Eugene Spafford (of Morris Worm fame) and Jeff Moss, the founder of DEFCON, the hacking conference. Their conclusion was that we are not safe. Thanks, guys. Another talk, by Edward Gleaser of Harvard, was all about his theory that cities are awesome and way better for the advancement of human civilization. He was so enthusiastic about his topic that it was hard to disagree. By far the strangest talk I attended was between a journalist, a philosopher, and an investment banker. They spent the entire time musing about the nature of existence and whether or not we have free will. It was like a freshman philosophy class, except the freshmen were all Korean businessmen who, by the end, probably felt like they should have signed up for the economics class instead. 

Check out our sweet media credentials. Boom.

But the best talk by far was about North Korea. The speakers were a US ambassador, a Chinese ambassador, a Korean ambassador, and also Meir Dagan, the former director of Mossad. Everything seemed pretty standard at first. There was lots of talk about how North Korea needs to give up their weapons program. But then we got to the audience questions, and the very first question set off a bomb. The audience member asked about China’s treatment of North Korean refugees. If you’re unfamiliar, each year, thousands of people flee North Korea and end up in China. Official Chinese policy is that if they get caught, they are sent right back to North Korea, where they face almost certain death. This is, of course, against UN standards and a clear violation of human rights. At first, the Chinese ambassador denied it. Then the US ambassador told him that if China wants to be taken seriously, they need to start respecting human rights. Then the Chinese ambassador complained that the Chinese government didn’t have the resources to take care of all those North Koreans, who were clearly there to take advantage of their wealthy state, so, really, it was their right to send them back. That’s when the Korean ambassador jumped in and told him he was full of shit. South Korea actually has a policy in place in which it will take every single North Korean refugee and not only care for them, but also provide them with free education, health care, and even find them a job. China’s problem would literally vanish overnight if, instead of arresting the refugees, they just put them on a plane to South Korea. Boom. The entire room exploded. And I just about died from joy. It was an awesome fight. I actually recorded the entire conversation. Let me know if you want it.