Sad, Sad Korea!

Apparently Seoul is not only the unhappiest of 10 major world cities but Koreans manage to spend 14% of their day worrying about something while allotting just over .1% of their day to act of laughing! I wonder if there is a correlation!? To see what I'm talking about, check out the links below. Neither of the articles are very long and I've already given you the gist of both. . .if you decide not to read, don't worry, you're not missing a ton.

Anyways, here are the two articles that I used today for 'current events.'

Koreans Laugh 1.5 Minutes a Day

Seoul Ranks Last in Happiness Index

As I am expected to pick a 'controversial' story that the students will be able to discuss, I was hoping that the claims made by the aforementioned articles would allow for an interesting discussion. Unfortunately I our in class discourse fell short of my expectations. While I'm not entirely sure of what I was looking for, I certainly hoped for more than "because we go to academy," as a possible reason for Seoulites unhappiness. As for the observation that the three most unhappy cities are all in Asia, the only possible reason I was able to get out of the kids was again related to the amount of studying. While, granted, this is probably so, I would prefer to look at a correlation involving rice consumption rather than school attended!

Not much else to tell ya' except that I'm keeping my fingers crossed for the rumors of another 'study period' coming up soon! You remember that time, seven weeks ago to be exact, when all I had to do for work was show up, as the Korean teachers assumed the primary responsibility of preparing students for their big exams!? Well, it appears that finals are just around the corner and I'm sure not going to be the one helping the students study for them! I hope what I think is true as I have a lot of reading to do. . .thanks to my dad clearing out the 'for sale' shelf at the East Lansing Public Library! I have half the encyclopedia on liberal discourse, more than enough books on ethics and self motivation to inspire an AA meeting, along with a single work of fiction by Ayn Rand (which I, and probably you, are too young to know) that would kill a small dog if it landed on one!

So, from Seoul, Happy Monday, and don't forget to laugh!