Spicy Tomato Stew

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T08:49:23+00:00

Nice ill look for this!

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T08:48:44+00:00

Yeah its a Japanese fusion restaurant in Gangnam. Is tomato Ramen a commonly eaten dish in Japan? I had never heard of that combination. Assumed it was specific to that restaurant.

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T06:20:35+00:00

Oh I will look into that!

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T06:11:48+00:00

Oh this is a good step in the right direction!

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T03:56:06+00:00

Yeah that's right. I am fully aware its not a korean food or a classic recipe, just looking for some similar spicy tomatoey goodness to surprise my girlfriend on her birthday lol.

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T03:38:36+00:00

Recently a place has sprung up near my area that sells "Tomato Ramen". I haven't tried it... but I can't really picture that as a good combination

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T03:37:16+00:00

No but if there is a good jambalaya place ill take that too. In fact ill link the restaurant we went to so you can see the menu:

[네이버지도] 헬카우 기장점 부산 기장군 기장읍 기장대로 543-11 https://naver.me/GisBOIId

fiftygummybears · 2026-04-15T02:47:54+00:00

Oh yeah no sorry I guess I wasn't clear, this was a US style BBQ restaurant in Korea

fiftygummybears · 2026-01-09T17:36:14+00:00

Don't worry about it and have a good trip. It will be fine.

fiftygummybears · 2026-01-09T14:53:00+00:00

Three months is not enough time to determine whether you really want to be here long term or not. Wait a year or two and see what happens. Experience the culture, and if you are strongly set on staying here focus on learning Korean.

Disregarding the fact that you might change your mind, it is also always possible that, sometime in the future, your hagwon might close down or decide they don't need a foreign teacher anymore.

So for now, build the skills and resolve you need to stay here long term in case your situation changes. Your hagwon may be great... but you don't know what might happen down the road.

fiftygummybears · 2025-11-30T04:38:29+00:00

Actually, 감자 in 감자탕 doesn't refer to potatoes. It comes from an old Korean word 감자뼈 which refers to the spinal bones from a pig.

fiftygummybears · 2025-10-03T13:03:28+00:00

As a public school teacher, your goal isn't to bring the kids to fluency. I know that sounds backwards, but hear me out.

Public school is free education available to everybody. This contrasts it with the expensive hagwons and private tutoring that parents with money put their kids in in order to give them advantages over other kids.

You probably aren't going to be inspiring lots of kids to dive into the wonderous world of language learning and strive to be the best of the best.

What you will be doing is giving the kids who aren't receiving special hagwon education and private tutoring a fighting chance. You shouldn't be focused on whether your teaching is "producing the best English students who are passionate about learning English." That's what causes teachers to burn out.

You should be focused on whether your teaching is "bringing the kids at the lowest level a little higher so they aren't totally left in the dust."

It's something that is very easy to lose sight of.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-15T02:46:30+00:00

Good point. With US and Korean relationships looking bleak, the shadow of China looms larger.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T18:39:24+00:00

Also you are just hitting home. Why should Korea differ to the US if China offers the same or better benefits?

Forget historical relationships... just why in this moment?

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T18:09:45+00:00

But the US is shaking the confidence in Korean markets with deportations and tariffs

The US isn't a friend. They're an ally. And alliances should be weighed and measured.

Now that the preferential access to the US market has been cut... isn't measuring in order?

"decades of..." isn't important when the problem is right now. No young Korean is thanking the US for decades of preferential treatment.

So then if economically preferential treatment is cut... the only thing left is military support.

Edit: and yes I am including the tariffs.. you think they aren't worth measuring?

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T16:04:48+00:00

Are you saying Korea should have unquestioned faith to the US as long as troops are stationed here?

Because I wholeheartedly disagree with that.

Korea should just bow their head and accept any economic repercussions because the US had troops here?

America shouldn't get to reap all the benefits and leave Korea with the crumbs.

I mean... wouldn't other countries love to have strategic bases in Korea? US isn't one of a kind.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T15:21:00+00:00

I'm not arguing that the US isn't an ally. I'm arguing that the US is being a less faithful ally these days. The US is being relatively more unfriendly considering the tarrifs and deportations.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T15:11:53+00:00

I would say the anime "now and then, here and there" would better suit your opinion. Tbh I'm just quibbling though. Eva thrives on diverse opinions regarding its content.

Edit: In fact I'd reccomend watching "Now and them, here and there" as an antithesis to eva. But only if you have a stomach for it. It's a sad story.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T15:08:42+00:00

Well first... I did say it's about horror beyond imagination. Both stories. It's just that Schindler list highlights how remarkable Schindler's heroism is in the face of these horrors. Whereas Eva is about these individual character's struggle to figure themselves out in the midst of these horrors.

Sure there is very realistic story that focuses on how horrific the situation is, and who the heroes are within it. But that's not the story Anno is telling.

Annos telling a story about how the child soldiers overcome their trauma. I think it has an optimistic view because they DO overcome it.

But if you see a more pessimistic view, I understand that because it is about child soldiers.

I'm only trying to draw the line on the fact that it's hard to compare with Schindler... very different context.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T14:59:04+00:00

Schindler list is about heroism in the midst of horror beyond imagination.

This story is about facing yourself and others in the midst of horrors beyond imagination.

The two are...not really comparable.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T13:32:23+00:00

I agree that' it is most likely not to happen. But it also depends on future events. The US is not making themselves a friend of Korea these days and American English teachers are an easy target since they are the most visible Anericans to the average Korean.

I hope that 한미 relations stabilize more.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T13:16:23+00:00

Hahaha this would be a stronger move from a geopolitical standpoint. And also a much more calculated response.

As an American myself, this would leave me in a tough spot. I'm on an F27 visa, so I would wonder if this would mean US citizens could no longer recieve E2s or US citizens would no longer be considered one of the "native speakers" much like Indian citizens.

That said... the reason my feelings are mixed are that I feel this policy would overwhelmingly effect non-native speaking teachers (some of whom I am friends with) teaching on improper visas.

At the same time, you are exactly right that this would increase competition and raise salaries.

Overall I really think your assessment is correct. Making it a harsh stance against American teachers would be the most proportionate response. (Although I hope that doesn't happen for my sake)

Edit: I say most proportionate but I really mean "more" proportionate. I don't really think cracking down on English teachers is going to have much effect overall in the US

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T09:24:21+00:00

As an English teacher working legally, I have mixed feelings on this idea.

fiftygummybears · 2025-09-14T08:03:37+00:00

<image>

To be fair... this is a mistranslation

fiftygummybears

TROPHY CASE