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[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

'Korean Karaoke Is Addictive'

For Jim Eagles, an adventurous spirit from New Zealand, South Korea turned out to be one of the most challenging places he’s ever visited. It’s because, he found, Karaoke is an integral part of Korean culture and, too bad, he is a bad singer.

“My singing is so bad that my children have been known to throw cold water over the top of the shower to stop my warbling,” he wrote in the New Zealand Herald on Saturday.

Eagles recently visited the Jeju island on a business trip. When his work was done, his Korean host invited him as well as some other foreigners, to a “Singing Room.”

Conscious of his ineptitude for singing, Eagles strongly yet peacefully resisted. But his host insisted. "You must try karaoke," she said. "It is part of our culture. It is what we do when we go out. If you want to understand Korea, you have to try this."

When other foreigners agreed to try, Eagles also reluctantly agreed to follow them, with the condition that he didn't have to sing.

As he expected, the singing occasion didn’t go well initially. People didn’t volunteer to sing first. “Initially no one was very keen to perform. During one of the long gaps, the Chinese-American, who had been here before, said, ‘Come on, if we were Korean everyone would want the mike, people would be fighting over it, liven up!,’” he wrote.

Gradually things did liven up. And he also got to sing. “I took the mike, stared at the screen and started, "In the town where I was born ..."

“It wasn't great but I didn't think it was too awful either. Then the karaoke machine gave my score: 97, the highest of the night so far. Cue applause. I was a star.”

His Korean host also complimented him: “You are a very sexy guy."

Soon afterwards Eagles found himself going for more songs “again and again.” For him, that was a very “encouraging” evening.

“The next morning I couldn't believe it happened. But the others confirm‎!!ed it had. So, if you're planning to go to Korea, be warned. They'll try to take you to karaoke. And it's dangerously addictive,” he said.

1. How many times do you go to the singing room  a month?

2. How is the scene like? can you describe the room?

3. What do you think it's advantage and disadvantage of the Korean singing room?

4. Do you also like singing?

   What is the favorite song you try to sing whenever you go there?

Koreans Drink More Coffee, Eat Less Rice

By Jane Han
Staff Reporter
Rice has long topped local food retailers' best-selling list, but not this year. The country's traditional staple lost its place for the first time in years, bumped by none other than instant coffee.
The three-in-one coffee mix, a steady selling sachet of coffee powder, creamer and sugar, has shot up in popularity this year to take the No. 1 spot in sales at Shinsegae E-mart, the nation's largest hypermarket chain.
The sweet brew climbed from last year's No. 3 sales position, indicating that the spike is in line with the theory that people seek solace in sweets during economic downturns.

According to E-mart's January to November sales data collected from the chain's 126 outlets nationwide, coffee mix posted the strongest sales figure among 2,874 products the retailer carries.
Instant noodles ranked second ― unchanged from last year's status.
Meanwhile, rice fell to third place.
"Weaker rice sales reflect the nation's falling rice consumption," said Park Jong-kwan of E-mart.
The government projects this year's rice consumption will total 4.3 million metric tons, leaving a surplus of 200,000 to 280,000 tons. The nation's per-capita annual rice consumption of 76 kilograms has shrunk by a quarter over the past 10 years due to people's changing diet patterns.

Koreans eating more Western-style foods is one reason why sales of rice are falling at E-mart and other hypermarkets. But online shopping may be another, retailers say.
"Rice sales have actually gone up moderately on Internet shopping sites," said an official of Auction, a leading online retailer, who explained that people want to skip the trouble of carrying heavy sacks of rice.
While rice moved down the sales ranking, LCD televisions smaller than 46 inches kept their No. 4 spot through the slump, according to E-mart. Kimchi fridges went up two notches to take fifth place, followed by tissues, milk and Amore Pacific cosmetics.
LCD televisions bigger than 46 inches shot up 36 spots, taking ninth place this year, while LG cosmetics climbed two spots to 10th.
Cosmetics and big televisions were new to the top 10 this year, but canned beer and baby milk fell from the best-seller list.
"Recent shopping patterns show that people spend money on items with lasting value, instead of those that are quickly consumable," said Park of E-mart, who added that the nation's worsening birthrate is increasingly affecting the sales of baby-related products.

jhan@koreatimes.co.kr

<Question>

1.What do you think about this article and people who drink more coffee, eat less rice?

2.Why do you go to your local coffee shop? Do you go to coffee shop with friends usually or alone? What do you expect from coffee shop?

3.How often do you drink coffee? Why do you drink Coffee?

        4.How much is rational coffee price ,and  do you think “brand coffee” deserves its high cost?

Floating Island

The lowest country in the world may have found an interesting solution to a rather alarming problem, according to Greenfudge organization.

The Maldives is an absolutely amazing place, consisting of 26 atolls (a ring of coral reef) and nearly 1,200 small islands. It's also severely affected by climate change. Some people say the islands are sinking. In fact, they only have approximately 6 feet of natural elevation above sea level. If something isn't done about climate change now, the entire chain could be completely underwater within a century.

In 2008, President Mohamed Nasheed considered purchasing land in a few different places, including Australia, India and Sri Lanka. This month, however, a new plan came into effect.

Last week, the Maldives government signed an agreement which will allow the development of several floating facilities for the Maldives, including a convention center and golf courses. Not only do they use methods that reduce impact on underwater life, but it also decreases the chance of any changes happening to coastal areas.

Architect Koen Olthuis will be designing the facilities. Right now, the structures are expected to be star-shaped islands that are split into different levels. The Maldives government also plans to have floating housing units developed by Dutch Docklands in the future, as well.

Questions

1. If you are a citizen of Maldives, do you agree with the interesting solution from the government or not? Tell me the specific reasons.

2. Do you realize our environmental changes clearly around you?

3. Which is the ideal vacation spot in your mind? Imagine that you are in there. What would you do first? ^-^

[sam_jklee]

JACK 형님 올리셨네요;; 제가 올릴차례인줄 알고 방금 올리려 했는데 담주엔 제가 올릴께요 ^^

[sam_jklee]

참석 여부 정확하지 않음ㅋ

[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

꼭 오삼~

[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

다음주 토픽 빨리 올려줘~ 예습하게.. ^^

[Jen*^^*]

토픽 재밌는데요^^ 참석/지각여부 정확하지 않음 ㅋㅋ

[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

꼭 오삼~ ㅎ

[dazzaro1]

Alice 참석할것 같음/지각여부 모르겠음....아파서요 ㅠ.ㅠ

[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

이런.. 많이 아프세요? 빨리 낫기를 ~~~ ^___^ 홧팅!

[손현규-Kyle]

;; 쓰는건가;; 지각은 확정이지만 참석합니다~

[siluetsapo]

참석해요(alvin)

[6월엔 UFO가온다]

저도 참석합니다.

[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

오늘 즐거운 스터디였습니다~~ 벌써 다음 주가 기대되네요... ^^

[sam_jklee]

지난주 안온사람 말해주세요ㅋ 벌금 걷을께요 난 벌써 3000원 ㅠㅠ

[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

굿~~~~ 토욜에 정산하자구~~

[Jack Bauer(카페지기)]

토픽 빨리 올려줘~ 예습하게!!!!!!!!!!!!!