Ack. I knew Dokdo would ruin something for me. I just didn’t think the conference I was supposed to attend in Fukuoka would be relocated to Seoul over the territorial dispute.
My first, over-the-top reaction was to resentfully sneer and mutter darkly about how self-isolation is the perfect solution to every dispute, but Lime ‘s take on it was that it’s simply pre-emptive damage control, for, as she put it, some small number of netizens are sure to raise a stink if they hear that a Korean Studies conference is held in Japan during the current relapse of “Dokdo crisis”-itis.
Which reminds me, I have only 22 days to get my paper done, and I still need to check out a few articles I’ve been planning to look at. (And maybe won’t be able to access unless I visit a different University’s library over in Seoul.) I should be drafting by now, but ah well, it’s only 2500 words, and I have been researching a lot up until now.
Huh. It’s going to be in Seoul now? Well, I think I just might show up, then (if my class schedule allows it). One of my seniors will also be presenting a paper there. In fact, this is the one I mentioned when we were talking about trot a while back. I don’t know if you remember. Anyway, if you both happen to be there on the same day, I could introduce you.
Charles,
Yeah, it was announced to participants by email a few days ago. They’re lucky it’s in September — some of those flying in for it might make it, while I think all bets would be off during the summer holidays.
Meeting your friend would be cool, though I must admit, with some embarrassment, that I didn’t get very far into the book. It was just toooooo hard for me. Lime got a kick out of it, though.
Heh. I wouldn’t worry too much about the embarrassment. Most likely she’ll be far too stressed about having to speak English to notice.
Unless your Korean has gotten good enough so that we won’t need English…
Charles,
Well, I did talk with a guy I hung out with at the PiFAN in, I’d say, 85-90% all Korean for a good 3 hours or so. (He spoke very little English, just scattered words here and there — no English sentences if I remember right.)
But the conversation tends to be pretty hampered by my poor Korean skillz. It’s a good bet that if she does English better than I do Korean. If not, I can stumble through.
I definitely think you should try the Korean then. If nothing else, it will give me the chance to see how far along you are.
Do you happen to know the exact schedule yet, by the way? I checked the website and they still don’t even have a list of papers being presented. Although I did notice that the sessions will be on Monday and Tuesday, which is relatively good news. With the exception of a single early (i.e., 9:00 am) class on Monday, I should be free.
Charles,
Oh, God, but it’s embarrassing [to hack my way through conversations] in front of a non-Korean who speaks better than me. In front of Koreans I don’t mind, but in front of you?
(I sound just like the students everyone complains about, I know.)
I think they’re still piecing the schedule back together — one imagines a number of people who will not be willing to pay the ticket change surcharges to fly to Seoul instead of Fukuoka. (One guy I know from Canada is paying — was it $700 extra? — to change the ticket.) Air Canada is fascist, mind you — no real competition — but it’s still a big change.
Happily, I’ll be able to take those days off because I’m participating in the Con. All I’ll need to do is set up make-up classes, or give a make-up assignment,