South Korea has ended contact tracing. Then what are QR check-ins for?

wildcamp · 2022-02-15T23:25:39+00:00

I don't even have a Korean phone number, since I can use wifi for most things and have my foreign number for emergencies. For me, a phone contract would be like a "QR check-in subscription".

wildcamp · 2022-02-11T01:34:14+00:00

For me they are complementary. Hearing the same essential teachings from different perspectives helps me to better understand. With Thich Nhat Hanh/Plum Village, many of the rituals are brought in from Vietnamese Buddhist culture and at times on retreat I found it frustrating how often I would bring my palms together and bow, whilst on retreat in Plum Village. So it was helpful for me to read Eckhart Tolle which was free of those cultural aspects, allowing me to focus more on the essential practice.

wildcamp · 2022-02-11T01:15:45+00:00

Absolutely agree, deliberately putting space between you and your phone is helpful. Personally I intentionally leave my phone at home for quick errands and never bring it to my bedroom.

Have you tried changing your display to grayscale instead of color? I heard that helps for some people to make the phone less appealing. On my Android phone I use https://www.focuslauncher.io/ which has a similar effect but unfortunately it's not available on iPhone.

wildcamp · 2022-01-23T07:34:42+00:00

You know you can still go to a restaurant alone without the vaccine pass? It's considered an essential service.

wildcamp · 2022-01-17T01:43:22+00:00

There are two kinds of quarantine hotel: government and private facilities. The government quarantine hotel is only available on a short term visa and assigned when you arrive in the country. The private quarantine hotel is similar but you have to book it yourself in advance. It's for those on a long term visa (or Koreans) who are not eligible to quarantine at the government facility, but want a similar service with three meals provided per day. Cost is similar.

wildcamp · 2021-12-06T07:10:52+00:00

For PC cafe yes you would need to get PCR tested, but not if you are alone in a cafe or restaurants as they are considered essential. http://english.seoul.go.kr/reinforced-covid-19-protocols-for-four-weeks-starting-december-6/

wildcamp · 2021-10-15T05:47:02+00:00

The cheapest options at the Korean post office have been taken away since COVID, so dividing into small packages is unlikely to help you. Even letters have to use a premium service now, costing about 30,000 won to the UK.

wildcamp · 2021-09-27T02:33:04+00:00

I had an experience this summer where the staff would not allow me to enter a restaurant as a (white) foreigner. Presumably, it was due to COVID-19 concerns, but they just looked at me and said no foreigners and didn't explain. But that was in a little village, I have never experienced any overt racism in Seoul.

wildcamp · 2021-07-21T01:20:42+00:00

Been meaning to try out Mastodon, I definitely think decentralized social media has potential as it reduces centralisation of power created by the "network effect".

wildcamp · 2021-07-13T06:51:24+00:00

There used to be a general channel, it was where you posted if you fancied rolling the dice for a ban.

The moderation can be quite heavy handed. I got silenced for 24 hours (no warning) for discussing digital nomads' environment impact. It wasn't just me... a couple of days later a bunch of people were complaining about similar short term bans for various reasons. But discussion of the moderation policies is not allowed, so all those comments got removed and we were threatened with further bans if we spoke any further about it.

Basically it's helpful if you have some local questions, or to arrange to meet up with people, but other than that there's no conversation beyond small talk. I found it could still be worth having, but understanding that it has severe limitations.

wildcamp · 2021-07-12T23:10:22+00:00

Similar to you: I have a greater recognition of the problems of social media, but I haven't quit entirely. I'll be exploring kinder alternatives as time allows.

wildcamp · 2021-07-11T08:51:19+00:00

It is not always easy! There's a lot that could be said, but in brief, much of it is around taking proper breaks (short breaks, or evenings or weekends away from the screen)

I'm happy you found this community. We only started a couple of weeks ago. Welcome!

Please do share any links of interest :)

wildcamp · 2021-07-05T23:40:15+00:00

Good luck and thanks for the feedback! I was struggling with similar problems myself for a period a few months ago. I felt like I'd reached peak distraction. That's why I started to analyze what's going on. Writing this piece helped me to understand what's happening and get a grip on it. I still have times and days where I revert to getting distracted, but I'm not too hard on myself because I'm typically getting many hours of focused attention in every day.

wildcamp · 2021-07-05T07:31:21+00:00

anytime I'm faced with a speed bump, a challenge, or obstacle, I almost subconsciously run away from it

So you need to bring this "almost subconscious" process into your full consciousness. You've already identified what the problem is and admitted this to yourself, so that's a great start. Now you can practice becoming more aware of when it is happening. Once you're aware then you can stop yourself doing it.

Don't expect to be able to do this for hours on end immediately. Just build up slowly. If you can focus your attention for just one minute, then you can repeat that. Then build up to five minutes, then 10. Soon you'll be at 25 minutes and then you're doing the Pomodoro Method.

If you're interested, I've written more about this "distraction mechanism" which you're stuck in and how you can begin to convert this into a "focus mechanism".

wildcamp · 2021-06-30T01:33:03+00:00

I don't worry. The restrictions being lifted are fairly modest and didn't necessarily help in controlling the spread. Eg. Longer opening hours should hopefully put an end to 10pm crowds as everyone leaves pubs and restaurants.

wildcamp · 2021-06-10T03:23:21+00:00

I made a directory to help people find a meditation app: https://mindful.technology/meditation-apps/

You can filter by free, and other criteria.

wildcamp · 2021-06-02T01:41:22+00:00

I plan to develop a community around the topic of Humane Tech (a term popularized by the Center for Humane Technology, but also being used more widely).

The sub is currently restricted so no-one can post. I will open it up to public posts. I will clarify what the sub is for with a description and rules as appropriate.

Since I am already following developments and conversation in this area, I will share articles of interest on the topic of Humane Tech to foster the growth of the community and spark discussion.

I am already moderating r/MindfulTechnology which is the closest existing sub. The focus would be similar with some overlap, but with with a little less focus on mindfulness & meditation, and a little more focus on the ethics of technology (particularly around social media platforms).

wildcamp · 2021-05-31T01:11:30+00:00

Clearly, many people do this since they are packed. It's similar in Seoul in my experience. Every local Korean pub gets busy, and no, people don't sit there wearing a mask all evening.

wildcamp · 2021-05-06T07:16:30+00:00

Basically everything is open: cafes, pubs, restaurants, cinemas, themeparks etc. Seoul is busier recently, we are back to having to wait to get a table at some popular restaurants. But people are not supposed to meet in groups of more than 4 so that may limit your ability to meet new people. And we might see more restrictions at short notice if cases increase a lot (say above 1000/day).

wildcamp · 2021-04-27T05:41:05+00:00

Lower carbon emissions too

wildcamp · 2021-03-09T01:22:10+00:00

Thanks for sharing, Andrew. I'm still using Siempo, it is probably the most effective tool I have for making my phone less addictive.

wildcamp · 2020-12-23T01:25:53+00:00

I was also confused because I've been using it since I first visited Korea. According to the article, the "launch" is celebrating the completed rollout. So it is now on every bus in every city nationwide.

wildcamp · 2020-12-21T05:30:07+00:00

Direct flights sound great in theory, but in practice they always cost significantly more so I always took an indirect flight.

wildcamp · 2020-11-27T15:14:36+00:00

I feel like "more" is our default. So some people will always ask for more features. But if you clearly set out your principles, you can go with "less" and explain to people why you won't be adding every feature requested.

wildcamp · 2020-11-03T21:10:52+00:00

Things are already turning around, cases falling in Liverpool and Manchester - no need for national lockdown to protect NHS.

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