"Man Booked for Trying to Talk to Foreigners"

While I was looking around the Korea Times publication's website, I saw several other interesting stories like one titled, "Man Booked for Trying to Talk to Foreigners." After merely reading the title, I could see the entire scene in my mind: Soju bottles everywhere at some late night restaurant; an old drunk adjushi; foreigners eating conspicuously at a nearby table; apologetic waitstaff physically trying to prevent any bother; incredulous voices rising ; eyes widening at the foreigner table; and finally, the arrival of two gray-uniformed police officers, eyes rolling, to restore order in spite of the egos involved.

My version may be off in some of the specifics, but the article I read did nothing to disconfirm the basic narrative I'd concocted.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2009/02/117_39161.html

He was just trying to, "learn English from the foreigners." Poor guy; everyone in Korea can sympathize with that noble aim, it's just that he seems to have chosen the wrong time, venue, and (most likely) sobriety-level to pursue it!

Namdaemun a Year Later

Reading this article at Korea Times.co.kr, I learned that it has indeed been nearly a year since that arsonist burned down Namdaemun Gate, and more about the progress of the restoration efforts.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/art/2009/02/148_39164.html

Check it out if you'd like to hear the postscript on my entry from last year about the desecration of Korea's #1 National Treasure!