Korea Herald 20090415

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COMMUNITY

WEDNESDAY APRIL 15, 2009

Expat Living is a section dedicated to the daily living of expatriates. It is printed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. To share stories about your life abroad, send stories or story ideas to Matthew Lamers at [email protected] Submissions may be edited for length or clarity.

Find a community with Meetup.com Rob Ouwehand Communities

PHOTO CHALLENGE — Gwanaksan Night Light — The view from Gwanaksan, behind Seoul National University, is not as well known as the views from Namsam or Xu Xiaoqing Bukhansan, but is just as impressive on a beautiful evening.

In focus: manual mode The Photo Challenge is sponsored by Hyosung Camera (English: 010-7203-9599) and Babo Shirts (www.baboshirts. com). Winners of the weekly competition receive a 50,000 won store credit at Hyosung Camera and a Babo Shirt. To take part in the competition, simply upload your photo at www.flickr.com/groups/seoulp hotoclub — Ed. By Aaron Raisey

In the previous three weeks, we have looked at why we need to stop being automatic and twist that dial on the top of your DSLR a bit more. We looked at what the aperture is and how we can use it creatively, what shutter speed can mean to our photography and this week we’re going to turn it a little further and click into manual mode. Most casual photographers find manual mode a little scary as there is no safety net for your image, but like most things, if we understand it a bit more, it becomes less daunting. Q: What is manual mode? A: In aperture priority and shutter priority modes, you and the camera share control of the exposure. You work as a team — you make your choice of aperture size or shutter speed, and

the camera works to compensate. In manual mode, you have total control over both. The camera lets go of the controls and says “It’s all yours, pal,” and to someone quite new to photography, it can feel a bit like flying blind. Thankfully though, at least the camera can still do the focusing for you. Q: I thought manual cameras disappeared about 50odd years ago. What gives? A: True. The need to set everything on the camera by hand started to become obsolete and unnecessary back then. And indeed, these days the vast majority of serious photographers — both amateurs and pros — prefer to shoot in aperture priority mode. But having independent control over your aperture size and shutter speed does still have some uses, particularly in some special circumstances. Q: Like when? A: One situation that you can very easily try yourself is shooting at night. Grab yourself a tripod and head for the hills (or a high window). Set yourself up looking over some nice lights. Click into

To apply for a free ad, send your ad text to: [email protected]

Announcements HE OLD PATH Program hosted by the Most Sensible Christian Preacher in our Time is now in South Korea. To listen for free Bible Expositions of Brother Eli Soriano, please call 010-31442561, 010-3004-0817

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NTV Korea introduces its new websites featuring 24/7 Bible Expositions of the Most Sensible Religious Preacher in our Times. www.imeem.com/untvkorea , www.esoriano.wordpress.com

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pportunity to spread hope and change lives. HOPE, a non-profit organization led and managed by foreign English teachers is looking for volunteers. Native English speakers wanted for weekly volunteer opportunities working with underprivileged children. Koreans with English speaking abilities needed for volunteer support. Please visit www.alwayshope.or.kr.

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H Toastmasters is a fun, supportive environment to learn public speaking and leadership skills. We meet 8 pm every Tuesday in Hyehwa. Guests always welcome. Find a map of our meeting location

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PHOTO CHALLENGE RUNNER UP — A man hangs wishes on Rika Yunarti lanterns in Jogyesa, near Insadong, Seoul.

Community Bulletin Board

and contact information at: khtoastmasters.com nyone who have the problems of spinal balance and related joints & muscle pain Free Chiropractic consultation and Normal Posture eudcation Member of KCA , Near at Kangnam sub App Call 0109170-3544

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00% Free Language Exchange Community, hanlingo.com, invites you to meet our great members learning your language. If you are learning a new language esp. Korean, please check us out at http://www.hanlingo.com

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o you enjoy popping dance!? Come join Culcom b-boys! You are not charged anything but offered a chance to make friends and a gathering place! Feel free to join us! Free beer will be served. 019-301-7512 [email protected]

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herlock Holmes Club will meet every second Tuesday day at Itaewon, 7.30pm. (Venue to be announced) A story from the canon, a short talk on Holmesiana, a Holmes quiz, and a Holmes movie: seriousfun. Email Morrison at [email protected], or

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manual mode and because we want everything in our picture to be nice, clean and sharp, select a small aperture (big number) and the lowest ISO value. Now concentrate on your shutter, taking the same picture at different shutter speeds. You will see points of light at faster shutter speeds become beautiful stars with lovely long rays as you slow the shutter down. We are varying our speeds quite a lot, but because we are in manual mode, our aperture isn’t changing as it would in shutter priority. It’s staying small to keep the picture nice and sharp at all distances. Ever wondered how they do those night shots with rivers of light painted on the roads but not a car to be seen? It’s done in exactly the same way. It’s very simple, fun and it’s an excellent way to learn more about your camera while producing some impressive results. Once you get your head around it, shooting in manual mode can be a very creative and rewarding adventure. Good weather is on the way, so I recommend spending a few nights out there with a tripod sometime. Next week we will look at a couple of other daunting, but very important features of your DSLR — the histogram and exposure compensation. ([email protected])

Wishing for community is all well and good, but actually getting out and connecting is the hard part. Especially for expats who live outside of the usual foreigner hideouts (Itaewon, Haebangchon, etc.), and work five or six days a week, it gets hard meeting anyone other than coworkers or other foreigners in the neighborhood. Unfortunately, the expats nearby don’t always share the same interests. Meanwhile, those elusive kindred spirits are often scattered all over the map: a lonely expat in Jamsil might need to search from Ilsan to Bundang, from Nowon to Gimpo, to find others interested in rock climbing, and if the interest is a little more obscure, say, guerilla theater enthusiasts or Gundam toy collectors, the search might stretch all the way from Gangwon right to Jeolla. When an expat only has one or two days off a week, and must maximize that free time, what is to be done? One way to bring groups together via the internet is by forming a Facebook group; however, for every Facebook group that actually has a lively (spam-free) discussion board and regularly planned meetings, there seem to be five that have gone defunct because, though the idea might be great, though interests may be shared, they never meet. There is another website — www.meetup.com — dedicated to bringing hobby and interest groups together. The site will host an interest group, create a space to chat and most importantly, to plan meetings and get-togethers. Mass e-mails get sent out, new members are free to join, the site helps the organizer plan events, and those who at-

phone 010-6376-3965.

Personals am a Spanish woman fluent in Korean language and also in English, offer my service as an interpreter for Spanish speaking people in Korea. I also do Spanish & English languages tutorial. Call 010-3040-6101

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’m a 24 year old Korean American male. Looking for a female language exchange partner to help me improve my Korean or a friend that can show me around Seoul. Text me at 010-7218-2422

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want to share my life, culture for friendship with native English speakers. I’m 33 yeas old guy who live in Chuncheon. Gender, age doesn’t matter. Please contact me Email: [email protected] mobile 010-9556-1324

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’m Korean male living in Seongnam and 34 years old. I’d like to make foreign friends speaking English fluently who want to exchange culture and language. Gender or age doesn’t matter. Please contact me. 011 9619 7409.

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7 years old Black African guy living in Seoul and

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am looking for English conversation parter. If anyone want, I can offer one room in my APT (FREE), hwagokdong located. My company is KBS in yeouido. [email protected]. 010-32133771

3-year-old Korean male is looking for native English speakers for friendship and culture exchange. E-male: sjleewotis.co.kr

ant to learn free Korean with a high educated, cute and friendly university student? I live in Shin-Chon and looking for native English speakers for friendship. We can have beer while we study! Feel free to Email me or text me 01194212548, [email protected]

Deagu English only looking female Korean or foreigner for culture exchange. E-mail: [email protected] want to offer free English conversation and tutor during my free time. My purpose is to help and for friendship. You may contact me at my email ad; [email protected] or call me at 010-8525-8294.

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i, I’m 21 year old Chinese American fluent in English. This is my first time in Seoul. Looking for female Korean language exchange partner or friend to show me around Seoul. I’m an exchange student at Yonsei University. Text 01080507149

Korean woman is looking for a native Japanese speaking friend for language and culture exchange. If interested, please email to [email protected]

nternational badminton club looking for new foreign members. Competitive (top class level) players preferred, we play on Sat, Sunday near Chamsil lotte world 2-6 P.M. If interested send me email for more information [email protected]

Korean handsome guy looking for Filipina who live in Seoul. I stayed in CEBU in the Philippines. Please connect me. [email protected] 010-3253-3936

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o you want to learn Korean language and culture? I’m Korean male, living in Seoul, retired from school teacher and can help you. Gender or age doesn’t matter. Please e-mail me at; [email protected]

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Sports

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’m an English professor who loves playing rackets sports and is looking for a partner. Whether it is squash, badminton or tennis, if you like to play then let me know and let’s have a game. I live in Seoul. Age, gender or nationality does not matter. Look forward to hearing from you. 011 9990 4291

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e are looking for an experienced bilingual writer who can write English passages for high school reading books. Contact: [email protected] (Kumsung Publishing Company at Mapo-gu, Seoul)

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ung-fu club is looking for new foreign members in Seoul. If you are interested, please call at 019-826-1980

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rirang Taekwondo Club is looking for new members interested in Taekwondo and cultural exchange. Class is every Sat & Sun at 2 pm ~ 5:30 pm at Samgakji sta. near Itaewon. All nationalities are welcome. E-mail to [email protected] / 010 3078 1433

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Wanted apanese Female looking for a room for 3-6 months in Seoul, Line 2 or 7 from April 1.

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More of Rob Ouwehand’s writings can be found on his personal blog, at roboseyo.blogspot. com, and at the community blog he co-founded, koreasparkle.com — Ed.

All ads must be under 40 words in English and commercial ads are not acceptable.

Prefer flat share in furnished spacious apartment. Willing to pay up to KWR 7,000,000 per month. based on condition. Shoot email to [email protected] ’m looking for a foreigner teacher who can teach English. It’s a part time job. Once in a week. Gwan ak gu,Sin-won dong. Please E-mail me. [email protected]

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yundai Sonata New EF 2002 Model, 90,000 kms, black color, leather seats in mint condition. Great offer $5,000. Contact 01041624188 or [email protected]

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e’re looking for a bilingual writer who has a lot of experience of editing or paraphrasing passages for Korean students. Work three times a week, 3 hours each time. [email protected] 0119933-4130

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Korean classes ree Korean teacher available, 27 male in Seoul. 6 years experience teaching Korean in English from basic to advanced. Purpose: Make good friends. Cell: 010-20292677 E-mail: jetasd @hot mail.com

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tend can contact each other through the site, and even review events. If a group in your area for your interest does not exist, you can request to be notified when somebody forms one. Meetup.com is free for users. However, to run a group costs a monthly fee. The nominal fee turns out to be a good thing, because it’s easy to get lazy and let a group go defunct when you don’t have to pay for it. However, not many will pay a monthly fee to run a group and then do nothing with it. It’s true that not all Facebook groups are washouts, and I’d love to hear from the ones that do plan regular meetings. However, for a site with a very strong “let’s meet in real life” drive, Meetup.com gets the edge over Facebook. Meetup.com has meetup indexes for about 50 different cities in Korea, meaning that unlike Facebook, where searching “Korean food club” might get you search results from New York, Sacramento and Munich — as well as Seoul and Busan — Meetup.com narrows the search geographically. If no groups in your area exist yet, it’s not expensive to start one, and it works: I have been a member of a few Meetup.com groups and there are 29 in the Seoul area. As always, if you know of, or are part of, a group or community that helps expats in Korea get connected with others, send an e-mail to Rob at [email protected] with the word “community” in the subject line, and tell me why I should feature your group.

e invite you for FREE Korean, hindi, Indian Music Instrument classes from 4pm every Sunday at Haebongchondong. For directions and details on Sunday program visit www.krishnakorea.com or call 010-2448-6441.

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e invite you to Language Exchange Club (LEC), the multilingual exchange club. You can make many friends, learn various cultures & languages, enjoy outdoor activities as well as learn Korean language. Please come to Starbucks in Myung-dong at 5 p.m. on Sundays. E-mail to Song : [email protected]

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ookmyung Korean education volunteers. 4 levels for beginner to high intermediate, once a week for 2 hours on every Saturday from 15:00 to 17:00, at social education building in Sookmyung Women’s Univ. 02-710-9623

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REE Korean classes in the Olympic Park area (line 5). Saturday 10:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m. Sunday 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. for beginners and intermediate. Please e-mail at [email protected] or call 010-2751-3498 to Daniel Park

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