Acupuncture, Chiropractic, and deep tissue, need I say more?

In Busan there is a wonderful man, named Dr. You. He is trained as an oriental medical doctor as well as a chiropractor. If you ever are having issues and want to try eastern medicine this is your guy.

He has gotten one of this medical degrees from Australia, so his knowledge of English is superb. He is also on the stronger side of things, so adjusting Western bodies is easier than say some shorter (smaller) Korean Doctors.

Going to his clinic is easy, granted you can call and the receptionists speak Korea, however, they do not take appointments, at least on Saturdays. There is steady business but the most I have had to wait is about 30 minutes. There is a TV in the waiting room, where random Korean shows play, and the room has a nice smell and a comfy couch, so if you bring a book, for the wait, you will be perfectly fine.

I was really hesitant at first because I have never tried acupuncture before. I knew I wanted to in Korea, but 1 was afraid of the doctor not speaking too much English, and 2 not really knowing what was going on.

When I first got there, he asked why I was in, I told him that I would like an adjustment and I was interested in acupuncture. I have been to a chiropractor for adjustments before, and by golly I adore them. There is nothing better than feeling that place in your back pop that you are not able to get to loosen.

Dr. You has a very unique way of adjustment. Unlike my doctor back home who is more focused on the position of the bones, and constant visits, Dr. You takes time to work out muscles as he is adjusting. So, there is an element of deep tissue with it. This is not for the hot stone massage enthusiast. Even with no prevalent ailments, he still managed to work out knots in my back I had been rubbing at for weeks.

After, he set me up with a 10 minute session of Acupuncture. I was nervous about this part because it was my first time. Each time a needle went in I could feel a small pinch, nothing to what I was expecting. I only felt about 1 of every 4 that went in too.

I laid on my stomach and waited. 10 min went by fast. I was given 10 minutes of “electrotherapy” which I have had before, and it does not hurt. It feels like there is just some slight buzzing but nothing is painful. Finished with 10 minute heat pack and I was out in about 45 minutes.

Now, cost. For people without health insurance, for the deep tissue, chiropractor, acupuncture, electrotherapy, and heat pack, it will set you back 50,000 KRW. Coming from the states, I do say, it was fairly inexpensive. Now, I did have health insurance, which take that number and cut it in half. Yes, that’s right, all of that for 25,000KRW.

I have to say that  I will for sure be coming back.

Directions:

From Suyeoung  go out exit 10. Walk straight about 200 m and on the corner there will be the clinic on third floor of that building.

http://www.byhand.co.kr/

Whenever I see a decent shot and there is a statement under the title saying “Comments and critiques are greatly appreciated” I read it as “I know this shot is good, so just verify it for me and I will be happy” The reason is that  nobody really wants a full blown harsh critique that would make Simon Cowell run crying home like a sissy girl, no matter how “constructive” it is. I don’t put too much stock in comments or critiques from random people online anymore. They are nice to get and I love  hearing about people that like my photos but that is about it. In my numerous years of putting my stuff out there on the internet I have gotten very  few “good” critiques of my photos and by that I mean ones that were actually useful.

What Makes a Good Critique?

The biggest thing is that a critique is not about how good or bad the photo is but rather what would improve the photo. Suggesting a different crop or editing style is a good start. Perhaps pointing out a particular spot or issue with the photo is a good thing. However, most of the photos that I see these days are really good. People are sharing their best work and it is great! So does that mean people should look harder at the photos and rip them apart the way a National Geographic editor would? Hell no! If it is a good photo and you like it, tell them. If you don’t just scroll past.

The reason this is good is because it actually points out a problem and tells me basically where to start fixing it.

This one was not useful in any way. It basically only tells me that they don’t like the shot and wanted to try and make me feel bad. The effect? nothing as I was quite happy with the image and went on about my business of fixing the bamboo shot with chromatic abrasions.

Don’t Critiques Make You a Better Photographer?

Not really, unless there is something technically wrong with the photo like the suggestions above. The rest of the time it just serves as a way for people troll other photographers and get off on a technicality. “It was just a bit of constructive criticism” is what they well say after a particularly useless and sarcastic remark. Having some random person on the internet tell you how much they hate your style or that your photo is a cliche or a piece of crap, serves no purpose what-so-ever.

What makes you a better photographer is realizing your own mistakes on your own time or learning from a mentor who will guide you through your photographic expression. Let’s face it, only you really know what you are trying to achieve with your shots. If other people like what you do, then that is good. If you are really looking to improve your photography instead of fishing for compliments, just examine your own/old work. If there is something that you want to further express in that shot, do a re-shoot, go back the same location or re-edit the original files.

Having some anonymous douche tell you that your photo is crap is not going to make you rethink the shot. All that a negative comment is going to do is feel bad or want to go through the other guy’s portfolio and comment on his photos telling him that they his shots are crap too. Congratulations you are back in the 6th grade again.

What Do You Do When You See a Struggling Photographer That Really Needs Help?

Well, it is up to you but you could reach out to them and mentor them. You could send them a note just stating that you like what they do but show them where they could improve. Otherwise, let them be because somewhere out there someone might like it. Also be wary of those who are just fishing for comments as even a solid piece of constructive criticism could set them off.

A few weeks ago on a facebook photography group  there was a member that started posted some cellphone shots of random things. They said that they just wanted to “improve” their photography. When myself and a few members tried to help by suggesting that they find a main subject and rest the phone on something to get a sharper shot, it was met with comments ripping apart other members photos specifically those that tried to help. No matter how the other members and myself tried to point out how they could “improve” that member still fired back with insults and even went so far as to make an internet meme from one of the member’s photos with the caption “faux -tography” or something like that. Later that member was banned from the group. The biggest thing was in the end the guy commented that he “didn’t care what people said about his photos” or something to that effect and then complained in another group that guys with big cameras were hating on him. This was all because he didn’t get the “right” critiques or comments that he was fishing for.

So what did I learn from that? Some people just don’t like having their shots critiqued even though they ask for it. The main thing here is that there is a time and a place for everything. Most people when they post photos just want a pat on the back to say “hey, you did a good job” which justifies their $3000 purchase. There is nothing wrong with that.

People also  like different styles of photography too and we as photographers must understand that. Some people like street photography  (I am not one of them) and look for simple shots from vintage cameras preferably in black and white. Some people hate HDR and thus my entire portfolio and that is fine. The kicker is that by telling me that my photo sucks and that a “2 year old with a box of crayons could do better”  is not going to make me sit back and wonder if I over saturated that last shot or not.

So Why Do People Post So Many Photos Then…Smart Ass?

There are many reasons but lets put it out there as it is a social thing. People want to show their friends and people in their circles online what great shots they have. It is an impressive thing to have so many people checking out your work. That is the essence of it. I want people to see my work and it makes me happy when a lot of people like it. For me, I want to show some of the unique places and things that I see. I want to show the world what I saw in my mind at that moment in time. I think that is why other share their images both good and bad. However, this post mostly focuses on those fishing for comments and trolls dishing out the “critiques”. So again, people don’t share their photos to have them ripped apart unless they post to a specific group that focuses on pointing out the bad.

However, unless I am having some issues with motivation or technical issues then I am not really too concerned if someone thinks that my photos are terrible (if they are not paying me to take them LOL). I take most of my photos with only the scene in mind, not whether it is going to be good or not. There is a world of information out there that will help you become a better photographer and some random dude on the internet is not worth the metal energy it takes to read their comment.

So again, If you want to be a better photographer study the craft and network with others. Do not create your  photographic world around harvesting comments or thinking “critiques” from random people on the net are worth something. If you want to gain more techniques check out some ebooks and talk to the good people on Google+. Otherwise, just do you own thing and make the best of it. In the words of Henry Rollins in his epic song Shine “If I listened to everything they said to me, I wouldn’t be here. If I took the time to bleed from all the tiny little arrows shot my way, I wouldn’t be here. The ones who don’t do anything are always the ones who try and put you down.”

You’ll have to excuse this break from regular broadcasting as I’d like to plug an event I’m involved in organising.

For any of you in Seoul, or indeed South Korea over the next few weeks and you’re in need of a good knees up, the Irish Association of Korea will be having their annual Céilí on Sunday, September 8 in Sindorim.

Seoul Céilí: Irish Music and Dance Festival September 8, 2013.

The location is the same as is used for previous events, including the 2011 and 2012 Céilí, and of course the two previous St Patrick’s Day festivals. The event is free to enter, and everyone is invited to get up and try some of the dances out, which are very easy going with not so difficult steps. If you’re thinking Riverdance, think again. While there will be some displays of the high kicking and fast tempo dancing which the Broadway best-seller have popularised, céilí dancing is a much more laid back and social occasion.

As well as dancing there’ll be live Irish music, and some face painting and balloons. While it has been a very hot and humid summer, the temperature will have drop to a more reasonable heat in September, and we may even been lucky enough to have a light breeze (but no promises).

The Céilí will take place in the D-Cube Plaza, which is at Sindorim Station on the blue (line 1) and green (line 2) subway lines. Just come out exit 1 and you won’t miss us!

Here are few of my own photos from last years event in the same spot (although for some reason none of the actual dancing!)

Hope to see you all there!

Example of a word of “Kanji-ism” in print from the July 19, 1984 edition of the Maeil Gyeongje

Linguistic Purism is a sensitive and controversial topic in Korea. This is especially true with words with purported and actual Japanese origins. Japan ruled and colonized Korea for 45 years from 1910 to 1945. Many Koreans are understandably and justifiably resentful of that period in history. One expression of that resentment has been the attempt to excise Japanese words of the Korean vocabulary. Some of these attempts, however, have beenquestionable (see also this article). Others have been more legitimate.

There are a number of Sino-Korean words that originate from Japanese. This post will only cover those words that contain meanings particular to Japanese Kanji (日本式 漢字語, 일본식 한자어). For a lack of a better or succinct English term, this blogger will call such meanings “Kanji-isms.” Words such as Ipgeum (入金, 입금), meaning “to make a deposit” (literally “to enter money”), while probably from Japanese, are not included because they make sense without importing a meaning particular to Kanji — and there does not seem to be any other way to make meaningful distinctions. Kanji-isms can be broken down into three categories: (1) prefixes (接頭辭, 접두사); (2) postfixes (接尾語, 접미사); and (3) sinicized native-Japanese words (漢字化, 한자화). This list is based on ones found from Korean sources.

Prefixes

Prefixes appear before the stem of a word. Prefix Kanji-isms include Ga (假, 가) meaning “temporary” or “provisional”; gong (空, 공) for “empty” or “null”; and saeng (生, 생) for “live.” Examples include the following. The stem of the word itself may or may not have originated from Japanese. The word with the prefix Kanji-ism is on the left followed by the word with the prefix replaced and its English meaning. Some of the Kanji-ism words are still in use in Korean today.

• Ga-jeopsu (假接受, 가접수) → Imshi jeopsu ( 臨時接受, 임시접수) (“Temporary receipt [of something]“)
• Ga-cheobun (假處分,가처분) → Imshi Cheobun (臨時處分, 임시처분) (“Temporary disposition”)
• Gong-supyo (空手票, 공수표) → Budo Supyo (不渡手票, 부도수표) (“Bounced check”)
• Saeng-bangsong (生放送, 생방송) → Hyeonjang Bangsong (現場放送, 현장방송) (“Live broadcast”)

Postfixes

Postfixes appear after the stem of the word. Postfix Kanji-isms include: Seon (先, 선), Weon (元, 원), Gu (口, 구), all of which are used to refer to places; Gye (屆, 계), which refers to reports; and Go (高, 고), which refers to amount. Again, the stem of the word itself may or may not have originated from Japanese. Examples include the following. As with the examples above, the word with the postfix Kanji-ism is on the left followed by the word with the postfix replaced and its English meaning. Few of the Kanji-ism words are still in use in Korean today.

• Georae-seon (去來先, 거래선) → Georaecheo (去來處, 거래처) (“Client” or “customer”)
• Jejo-weon(製造元, 제조원) → Jejo Hoesa (製造會社, 제조회사) (“Manufacturer”)
• Maepyo-gu (賣票口, 매표구) → Maepyoso (賣票所, 매표소) (“Ticket booth”)
• Gyeolseok-gye (缺席屆, 결석계) →  Gyeolseok Shin’goseo (缺席申告書, 결석신고서) (“Absence notice”)
• Suhwak-go (收穫高, 수확고) → Suhwakryang (收穫量, 수확량) (“Crop yield”)

Sinicized Native Japanese Words

A Japanese Kanji character can be read in two different ways: onyomi (音読み), the readings based on Chinese pronunciation; and kunyomi (訓読み), the native Japanese readings. For instance, for the character 無(무) meaning “to not have,” the onyomi readings are bu (ぶ) and mu (む), and the kunyomi reading is nai (ない). Thus, merely because a Japanese word is written in Kanji, that does not make the word a Sino-Japanese word: it could still be a native Japanese word. When these words were imported into Korean, they were “sinicized” (漢字化, 한자화) and spelled using Korean Hanja pronunciations. Examples include the following. Some of these words might vaguely make sense without taking into consideration of Kanji-isms. Many sinicized native Japanese words are used in Korean today.

• Waribiku (割り引く) → Hal’in (割引, 할인) (Literally “to cut and pull”, means “to discount”)
• Kumitateru (組み立てる) → Jorip (組立, 조립) (Literally “to weave and create”, means  ”to assemble”)
• Toritsukau (取り扱う) → Chwigeup (取扱, 취급) (Literally “to take and handle,” means “to handle [something]“)
• Kozutsumi (小包) → Sopo (小包, 소포) (Literally “small wrap,” means “package”)
• Funatsukiba (船着場) → Seonchakjang (船着場, 선착장) (Literally “Ship-attaching yard,” means “Wharf”)

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Copyright Notice This work by Kuiwon is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 3.0 Unported License.

 

We spent last Saturday up to our elbows in rice, water, and nuruk, all in the name of makgeolli brewing education.  The good people at Susubori Academy and expat Brewers Becca Baldwin & Dan Lenaghan walked us through the ins and outs of fermentation, and our Mamas & Papas relished every minute.

We enjoyed detailed instruction, a blind tasting, and then got down to the business of making individual brews.  After all that hard work, we were treated to some premium makgeolli and anjou next door at Muldwinda.  All in all it was an excellent way to spend a Saturday, and we can’t wait to hear just how well our Mamas & Papas brews turn out!

For full photo coverage, check out our gallery 

 

 

 

 

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The beautiful Beomeosa Temple in Busan.

Hello Again Everyone!!

In an all new segment on the website, and since a few of you have been asking for it, I thought I would now include the popular Temple Stay program.

Introduction to the Temple:

Beomeosa Temple (Fish Sutra Temple), in Busan, is beautifully situated on the slopes of Mt. Geumjeongsan (Golden Well Mountain). Beomeosa Temple dates back to 678 A.D., when it was founded by the famous monk, Uisang-daesa. Beomeosa Temple is filled with beautiful halls, and the gates that lead up to the temple grounds are certainly no different. The highlights to this temple are the Cheonwangmun Gate, the Iljumun Gate, and the Daeungjeon Hall (the main hall).

As for the Temple Stay program itself, it focuses on the practice of Buddhism. The way that this is practiced is through chanting, bowing, a tea ceremony and meditation. In addition to these features, hiking and bead making are also highlighted in the Beomeosa Temple Stay program.

For more information on Beomeosa Temple.

(courtesy of the Beomeosa Temple Stay website)

Directions:

You can get to Beomeosa Temple in one of two ways. In both scenarios you first have to take the Busan subway, line one, to Beomeosa station and take exit #1. Here, you can either walk a thirty minute hike up a winding road to Beomeosa Temple, or you can walk a block uphill to the bus stop where you can take bus #90 to the Beomeosa Temple entrance.

From the temple entrance gate, and to get to the Temple Stay building at Beomeosa Temple, it’ll take you ten to fifteen minutes. The name of the building for the temple stay is called the Hyu Hyu Jeongsa (휴휴 정사). You’ll make your way towards the temple buildings and gates. Just before the first gate, you’ll see a small path to your left. There will also be a sign with a red arrow pointing you towards where you should go. Follow to the left and follow the signs that read “Temple Stay.”

View Larger Map

General Schedule:

Day 1:
13:00~13:30 : Registration & Orientation
13:30~15:00 : Temple Manners/Opening Ceremony
15:20~16:20 : Self-Introduction
16:30~17:30 : Learn Traditional Buddhist Meal
17:30~18:20 : Dinner
18:30~19:00 : Evening Service
19:00~20:30 : Make 108 Prayer Beads
20:30~21:00 : Ready for Sleep
21:00~ : Sleep

Day 2:
03:00~03:30 : Wake up & Wash
03:30~04:00 : Dawn Service
04:00~04:30 : 108 Bows
04:30~06:00 : Seon Mediation
06:00~07:30 : Breakfast
07:30~09:00 : Tour of a Local Hermitage
09:00~10:00 : Dharma Talk
10:00~10:40 : Community Work & Survey
10:40~ : Closing Ceremony

(courtesy of the Beomeosa Temple Stay website)

Beomeosa Temple Information:

Address : 546, Cheongnyong-dong Geumjeong-gu Busan
Tel : +82-51-508-5726 / Fax : +82-51-508-3229
Homepage : http://www.beomeosa.co.kr/templestay/eng/sub7.php
E-mail : beomeosa@templestay.com

Fees:

Adults: 50,000 won; Teens: 45,000 won; Under 13: 40,000 won

Link:

To make a reservation for the Beomeosa Temple Stay, follow this link.

The gates that guide your way to the main hall.

 The stunning view from Wonhyoam Hermitage in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do.

Hello Again Everyone!!

I’ve been to my fair share of Wonhyoam Hermitages throughout the Korean peninsula. But the one that this Story of… will focus on is the Wonhyoam Hermitage on Mt. Cheonseongsan in Yangsan, Gyeongsangnam-do.

I had visited nearly all that Yangsan had to offer in terms of hermitages and temples, all but for the hard to reach Wonhyoam Hermitage. I had been told that you had to trek through a military base to get to the hermitage that lies 900 metres up on Mt. Cheonseongsan.

So pushing my luck one Sunday morning in 2011, I made my way towards Wonhyoam Hermitage. With a few wrong turns, I finally found the dirt road that led up to the hermitage. Fortunately, my information was wrong, because Wonhyoam Hermitage isn’t on the other side of a military base; instead, the dirt road that leads up to the hermitage skirts the military outpost. And there’s one turn, if you head in the wrong direction, that is out of bounds because it’s protected by landmines. Glad I turned left instead of right at that bend in the road.

 The not-so-camera-shy junior monk and I just outside the main hall at the hermitage in 2011.

When I finally did arrive at the hermitage, I was pleasantly surprised by a hermitage filled with beautiful shrine halls and a gorgeous view of the town of Yangsan down below. But the true highlight to this hermitage was when the junior monk saw me walking around and took an interest in me. He waved me over for a quick coffee. With his broken English and my broken Korean, we were able to have a nice 30 minute discussion about Korea and Korean Buddhism. Just before I left, he got a volunteer at the hermitage to take a picture of us just outside the entrance to the hermitage’s main hall. With a warm good-bye, he invited me to come back the next time with my wife. With a smile, I promised that I would.

A year later, I finally lived up to the promise that I gave the junior monk at Wonhyoam Hermitage. With my wife, and in the spring of 2012, we made the long ascent up to the hermitage. I was a little surprised that the monk remembered me a year later; but then again, Wonhyoam Hermitage probably doesn’t have all that many expats visiting the hermitage. This time, with my wife as a translator, we discussed Korean Buddhism even further in depth. He explained to me the patient mind it took to become a Korean Buddhist monk. It was really informative. I was also able to ask him questions about Korean shamanism.

 And a return visit picture of the two of us from 2012.

Once more, before we left, he got pictures of us all together. This time, however, he was the photographer. He got my wife and I to pose in front of the main hall and the bell pavilion. He also got a picture of him and I together. It was a really unique experience to have. He even showed me a picture of his previous day’s climb to the ledge where Wonhyo-daesa purportedly prayed upon when he was at the hermitage some 1300 years earlier.

It’s these encounters that I really cherish when visiting Korean temples. So many people get caught up in the daily trappings of life that they forget to stop and enjoy the experiences that life can sometimes provide. Also, some may overlook them during their time in Korea. To me, these kinds of encounters are what typify the Korean experience for me.

Shows this weekend:

8/29

Outlier and a Nirvana Cover Band @ Vinyl Underground, No cover, 9pm

Facebook Event

8/31

KSU Live Music Festival – Multiple bands at two venues in KSU: Realize and Vinyl Underground, Tickets 15,000 at the door with a free drink

Facebook Event

8/31-9/1

Sunset Live Music Festival, Songjeong Beach, Tickets 22-33,000, 2-10pm Saturday and Sunday 

Facebook Event

RT @aclipse: My take on Korea Summer Intensives, woohoo! http://t.co/Zw1jBBaQW3

Introduction – Who is Professor Isao Ishii?

Professor Isao Ishii  (石井 勲, 이시이 이사오) is a pioneer in Chinese character education in Japan. He proposed that children be taught Chinese characters before Hiragana or Katakana, based on a number of empirical findings. Professor Ishii observed that during the early stages of brain development humans can recognize first images before they can recognize phonetic symbols (i.e., alphabets). He further noted that the development of the right side of the brain, which is the side used to recognize Chinese characters, stops at an earlier age than the development of the left side of the brain, which is the side used to recognized phonetic symbols. From these observations, Professor Ishii theorized that recognizing Chinese characters is easier for children than recognizing Hiragana or Katakana. 

In 1960, he tested his theories by teaching first graders 200 characters that are normally taught between 1st and 3rd grade in just one semester. The Professor found that the children could indeed learn those 200 characters — and found that they thought the characters were easier to read than Hiragana and Katakana. He then started writing Chinese character books designed for Japanese preschoolers. 

EBS Episode on Professor Ishii’s Chinese Character Education Method

With the recent rekindled interest in Hanja (Chinese character) education in Korea, the public Education Broadcaster System (EBS, 韓國教育放送公社, 한국교육방송공사) not too long ago ran an episode about a private Japanese preschool that uses Professor Ishii’s Chinese Character Education Method (石井漢字敎育法, 이시 한자교육법) in a documentary series called the Education Scenes of the World (世界의 敎育現場, 세계의 교육현장). The remainder of this blog post will summarize the highlights of this episode.

Part 1

Part 1 introduces one Japanese preschool that uses Professor Ishii’s method. It starts with a 5 year old child reciting Chinese characters put up on the board by his teacher. He states that he had been learning Chinese characters since the age of 2 and did not find them difficult. The narrator remarks, “The notion that Chinese characters are too difficult for children is perhaps an opinion imposed by adults.”

At this school, there is even a class for children of the age of 1. (Most Japanese children learn Chinese characters starting in elementary school). When names are called out for attendance, the teacher displays a flash card with the child’s name in Chinese characters and calls out the name. Around the classroom, cards with Chinese characters indicating what the name of each object is are attached to those respective objects. What is interesting is that Chinese character exercises only takes 10 minutes of their day. In one exercise, the teacher shows a card with a Chinese character word, states its pronunciation, and then quickly hides it. The teacher states that this was found to be the most effective method, because children are more likely to focus.

During story time, a teacher shows a picture book with mixed script. Children at this school by the age 5 are able to read books typically meant for Japanese middle school students. This method makes use of the fact that children recognize images faster. According to a representative from the Japanese Language Education Research Association, when children were shown the Chinese characters 九 (きゅう, Kyou, “Nine”), 鳥 (ちょう, Chyou, “Bird”), and 鳩 (きゅう, Kyou, “Dove”), and the Kana く (Ku) and asked, “Which character did you recognize first?”, the children responded that they recognized 鳩 first, then 鳥, then 九, and finally く.

Part 2

Part 2 first shows children going through a number of exercises. In the first exercise, the teacher puts a number of cards with Chinese characters on the board and then removes one card when the children are face down. When the teacher calls the children to raise their heads up, the children call out which character is missing.  In the second exercise, a teacher quickly flashes a card with a Japanese proverb. The children are only able to see it for a blink, but they are able to recognize them. In a third exercise, the teacher shows only a part of it. Again, children are able to deduce what the rest of the proverb is.

The narrator addresses worries concerning whether these children are being taught Chinese characters at too early of age and that they are too difficult for children. Using images of brain scans, a Japanese professor explains that the parts of the brain (i.e., the prefrontal lobe and the angular gyrus) that are most associated with Chinese character recognition are the most active from the age of five to ten. Based on these facts, he concludes that it is suitable for children of that age to learn Chinese characters.

Part 3

In Part 3, 2 year old children were tested to see whether they actually memorized Chinese characters faster. They are shown four words (Rabbit, Fox, Swallow, and Rat) that they did not know in Chinese characters, Hiragana, and English. After they were shown the words for ten minutes, the children did other activities for an hour. This was repeated four times. When they were finally tested, the test showed that children correctly memorized Chinese characters at a higher rate, at a ratio of 16:5:5 for Chinese characters, Hiragana, and English respectively. The same professor as earlier in the show explains that reading Chinese characters activates patterns in the brain different from Hiragana and English. He also states that since alphabets represent sound, there is no difference between the two as to which parts of the brain are activated.

There was also another experiment to test how fast Japanese people read Chinese characters, Hiragana, and English. This was done to figure out what character set should be put on road signs, when Japan started building the Meishin Expressway (名神高速道路, 명신고속도로) in the late 1950s. The experiment data showed that Japanese people on average recognized Chinese characters in 0.06 seconds, Hiragana in 0.7 seconds, and English in 1.5 seconds. As a result, Chinese characters in large font were put on all road signs in Japan.

Part 4

Part 4 primarily shows more grown up children who were taught Professor Ishii’s method from a young age. They state that Chinese characters are not difficult. Furthermore, they have no difficulty reading Chinese Classics. Even in elementary school, they are able to recite Confucius, which is normally read during high school.

The narrator’s last comment is whether the widespread notion that Chinese characters are too difficult for children is keeping Korean children from using their full talent and intellect.

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