Kang-San Eh 강산에 / At Rivers and Mountains

After telling my dongsaeng earlier this week about how I enjoyed Broken Valentine's "The sea in my worn drawer", he suggested I look into Kang-San Eh. (Literally translated 강산에 means River-Mountain-At.) And indeed, I enjoyed Kang-San Eh's sound. It has that groovy rocky, jazzy, bluesy, funky feel that puts you in a good mood. I still need to listen to more of his music, but here is a small selection of songs I like so far. The one thing you quickly learn about Kang-San Eh is the wonderful diversity in his music.

Classes for Next Semester

(Image Source: University of Texas at Austin)

I've received the list of classes I will be teaching next semester:

• Presentation & Public Speaking
• Listening & Conversation (Intermediate)
• English Composition (Essay Writing)
• Practical English Writing
• 19th & 20th Century American Poetry

Of these classes, I have not taught Practical English Writing before. I'm planning to structure the syllabus around different types of writing, such as different types of letters (invitations, business letters, promotional letters, etc.); informal writing such as emails and blog entries; contextual writing, like film reviews, restaurant reviews, travel journals; and also attempt some creative writing, possibly focussing on simple poetry or very short short-stories.

19th & 20th Century American Poetry got cancelled last year. I will try and sell the class better this year and will not freak out the students with talks of many essays, thinking for themselves, heated group discussions, and all the other things I told them last year. Instead, I will surprise them with these after the date for dropping classes has passed.

I also enjoy the Presentation class a lot. I've taught it enough times for it not to require tremendous preparation and since the students have to give presentations frequently, it doesn't involve to much (paper) grading, which is a blessing considering that I'll have two writing classes.

I look forward to next semester. Now, I just need to get through the final exams next week and the heaps of grading that awaits me in the weeks to come.

A lil' K-pop fo' ya

Curious about how Korean pop music sounds these days? The following is typical of the genre at present: "Break Down" by Kim Hyun Joong, featuring Double K.



True, these K-pop guys can dance, but personally I prefer Korea's (alternative) rock scene better. Here's Broken Valentine with "내 낡은 서랍속의 바다" ("The sea in my worn drawer"). The song was originally performed by Panic.