Muninn

Ever since a college roommate introduced me to the world of coffee addiction I have spent a good amount of my college and graduate student life studying in coffee shops. I have spent hundreds of dollars on beverages such as coffee over the years but only a small percentage of this has been to feed the addiction. Instead, I have always thought of it as a kind of tax, or perhaps a rental fee for the space I occupy in a coffee shop to talk with friends and most of all to study.

Why not study at home? I do study at home as well, but there are a number of reasons why many of us spend hundreds of hours a year studying outside of our homes. Sometimes I have only a few hours between engagements and like to use the time for a reading session in a comfortable place. Sometimes I like the mix of background noises provided by the average coffee shop. Sometimes I want to get away from the potential distractions of the internet and the risk of napping on my bed or a couch. Sometimes I like being around other people. Sometimes my desk is a complete mess and I want a clean surface to work on without having to clean up my room. Why not study in a library? I very often too, especially when they allow me to bring in coffee or other beverage and especially when they are 24 hour libraries with coffee shops open until 3am. Sometimes though, there are no seats available in a nearby library. Sometimes they are closed. Sometimes I am not near a library.

Coffee shops, of course come in all different kinds. Sometimes they have rocky little round tables that are useless for putting anything on. Sometimes they have horrible light for studying. Sometimes their music is really annoying. Sometimes their coffee is way too expensive to become a frequent haunt. Sometimes they are too popular and can’t be guaranteed to have seating available just when I want them. Sometimes they close long before I am ready to go.

Sayaka and I once discussed what we thought would be the absolute ideal student coffee shop and how we might make it a profitable business. Here are some of the things we thought it should have: 1) largish stable tables with room for a computer and a book 2) bright but not obnoxiously bright lights suitable for reading 3) decent chairs not designed to make you leave quickly 4) strong wireless signal provided under three possible systems a: whenever you make a purchase of some minimum amount you get 1.5 hours of wireless or b: you get an unlimited usage of the wireless for a reasonable (that is to say, not the ridiculous prices they charge now) subscription rate c: have “free wireless happy” hours during those hours the cafe is not crowded to attract customers 5) sell healthy snacks/sandwiches 6) nap couches/seats such as those provided in various Japanese 24 manga lounges 7) printing and photocopy services 8) some computers for quick “shots” of internet for those who did not bring laptops 9) group study rooms

Japan and Korea seem to have the kinds of places that provide some but not all of these services. What the above looks like is something like a mutant combination of the Japanese/Korean coffee shop/manga cafe/PC lounge/karaoke rooms

The place which comes the closest I have ever seen to this kind of ideal coffee shop is right here in Seoul, Korea located near Exit 4 of Shinchon station:

Meeple – http://meeple.co.kr/

Meeple is a coffee shop and cafe but provides most of the things I listed above: 1) It is nicely lit 2) Offers array of drinks and foods with decent prices compared to nearby coffee shops (2800 coffee, compared to over 3000 for Starbucks, their delicious teas are more) 3) Has completely free and strong wireless connection with no stupid subscriptions 4) Two computers for free use 5) Printer/photocopy machine 6) Coffee shop lounge area 7) a kind of TV lounge with wide-screen TV 8) Plugs in the floor near all tables in the coffee shop and most interestingly: 9) Over a dozen study rooms which can be occupied free with a drink or food purchase. These study rooms contain 2, 6, or a dozen chairs, whiteboard, plugs, table, and a phone for room service (much like a karaoke room has).

I don’t know if they can survive the ruthless competition in the neighborhood. There are at least half a dozen coffee shop chain stores (including Starbucks and Caribu Coffee) located on the same block and they are located in the B2 basement instead of on the street-front but I think the concept is great and could well attract students from the nearby Yonsei, Sogang, Hongik, and Ehwa universities.

Some pictures:

I’m sure it is hard to make language textbooks. On top of introducing grammatical patterns, vocabulary, and maintaining a certain level of appropriate difficulty, the writers need to try to make the contents of the readings interesting and hopefully educational. This is something I can appreciate in my last summer of formal language study, here at Yonsei’s Korean Language Institute. This week, one of our lessons is on the topic of superstition 미신(迷信).

Superstition is a word rich with history, something also true of its uses in Korea, China, and Japan. A quick search on the word in Chinese and Korean historical databases corresponding to different periods will give you an idea of its common uses. The Confucians have used it to attack Buddhists and Daoists. Enlightenment intellectuals have used it to attack Confucianism, Buddhism, Shamanism, and other religious practices. Japanese colonial period scholars have used it to categorize a whole range of Korean cultural practices. Leftists and Communists all over East Asia have used the term (K: mishin, C: mixin, J: meishin) as a derogatory reference to all religious practices. If you visit China’s great wall (at least as of 2000, when I was there last) you are greeted by a sign warning you not to litter, start fires, or “preach feudalistic and superstitious beliefs.” Enlightenment voices and leftist ideologues are not the only ones who use the word, however. Christians also frequently use the term to condescendingly refer to non-Christian religious rituals, practices, and folk customs – while exempting their own religious beliefs.

The essays for reading in a language textbook need to be short and concise so they must necessary engage in a degree of generalization. They should also state an opinion in order to help spark discussion in class and motivate students to use the new vocabulary they are taught. Usually the opinion is less than controversial. For example, so far this summer we have been told that perhaps women shouldn’t be such slaves to fashion, and that perhaps we ought not to lead rushed and busy lives.

Sometimes, though, these textbook essays reveal certain interesting biases that were probably not designed to be questioned in the discussion that follows a class reading of the essay. The lesson on superstition is an example of this. Take the following passage (followed by my attempt at a translation):

…종교를 가지고 있는 사람들은 신앙으로 불안한 마음을 이겨 나가고 종교가 없는 사람들은 자연히 미신에 관심을 가기게 된다. 그래서 사람들은 자기 자신의 미래에 대한 어떤 중요한 결정을 해야 할때, 자신의 생각이나 판단만으로는 불안하기 때문에 남의 말이나 미신을 믿게 된다…아직도 미신에 귀를 기울이는 사람들이 있다.

“…those with religion overcome the apprehensions in their heart by turning to faith while those without religion naturally become interested in superstition. Thus, since people feel anxiety when they face an important decision concerning their future on the basis of their own thoughts and judgement alone, they come to believe in the words of other people and in superstition…There are still people who give an ear to superstition.”

A few things I find revealing in this passage: 1) The implied judgement about people “without religion.” 2) The interesting distinction between something called “religion” and something called “superstition” 3) The interesting distinction between something called “religion” and something called “believing the words of other people.”

This passage is, on the surface, neutral about what kind of “religion” can help us overcome our anxieties. To this extent it is a little less direct than the kind of more overtly Christian elements I have found in several other Korean textbooks which I have discussed in an old blog posting from 2003 here. However, I should note that many of the “superstitions” that get discussed throughout the lesson and in class are clearly derived from Buddhist, Shamanistic, and other religious practices in Korea. Those who believe in such “superstitions” may object to the use of the insulting term. I only ask that, if you want to use the term, let us be a little more even-handed.

In class, when asked to describe a few superstitions from “my country” I described the widespread superstitious belief that praying to a powerful spirit named “God” will bring you good fortune and that doing bad deeds will result in one’s own spirit going to a horrible place after death. My teacher is experienced enough to know that valuable class time can best be preserved by ignoring smart asses like me, and moved quickly on to the next student.