18 WEDNESDAY

MARCH 12, 2008 COMMUNITY

Feminism: Still a long way to go

I recently brought up the sub-
ject of this article with a friend of
mine. I told her that March 8th,
being International Women’s
Day, had got me thinking.
Thinking about the concept of
feminism, where it started,
where it is now, about the women
of the world, how different we all
are, and how much being a
Expat living is a page dedicated woman shapes your identity, in
what ways, to what extents.
to the issues that affect foreigners'
We mused over the definable
daily lives. It is your page,
moments that allow us to revel
where you can share stories about in our respective femininity, and
your life in Korea. Send story those that cause us to mourn
ideas to Matthew Lamers and even resent it. Such mo-
at mattlamers@heraldm.com ments are different for us all,
every woman defining certain
instances as moments of great
importance — the so-called
“rites of passage” we as women
Stephanie Morris
on Women’s Issues
and how we identify with our
own femininity differs. And,
within those differences them-
selves are the immeasurable
multiplicity of our respective
families, beliefs, backgrounds,
ethnicities and cultures.
What is right for one woman
of a certain ethos may not be for
another. How hard it is to some-
times understand and even re-
spect that.
The struggle to come to terms
with the choices that some
women make, but the eventual
realization that the whole con-
cept of feminism was, in the be-
career to be a stay-at-home-
mother; the woman who chooses
to nurture her job, as opposed to
an infant, and elects to not have
any children of her own; the
woman who choose to have that
abortion; the woman who choos-
es not to; the woman who choos-
es to make awareness of the
state of women throughout the
world as her passion and priori-
ty, and those who choose to
make the lives of the women
within her own life, hers.
As we let these thoughts sink
in, we finished our vanilla lattes
and dashed off to an afternoon
matinee of the movie “27
Dresses.”
My friend commented that
she hoped the movie would not
run past 4 p.m.; she had a hair
itself, to the idea of a feminist
being a bra-burning man-hater.
I can categorically say that I am
neither of these.
I am a woman who was lucky
enough to grow up in a family
with a cultural background that
has (for the most part) support-
ed the decisions I have made,
whether those included going to
university or becoming a bur-
lesque dancer. Would first-wave
feminists support both of those
decisions equally?
I look at the women of Korea
and wonder about the decisions
and choices they make, their
defining moments of femininity,
and if they feel supported by
their own families and culture.
I look at women who have
brought awareness to the new
I look at the women who choose
to stay with men who beat them,
for the sake of their children.
I look at the women of
Afghanistan wearing burqas,
who are forbidden to laugh out
loud in public.
And I look at the women who
scoff at the idea of feminism,
and proclaim how the “battle”
has been won.
You will forgive me if I re-
spectfully disagree. The same
way I would disagree with those
who would call me a hypocrite
for touting myself a feminist,
while donning a corset and high
heels and shaking my (ahem)
assets for all their worth.
Have we come a long way,
baby? Absolutely. But there is
still a way to go.

Dunk that 10% go through in our lifetimes.

What makes us women?
What defines us as so? It goes
without saying, I would hope,
ginning, at least, about afford-
ing women the right to make
those choices, regardless of who
approved of them or not: the
appointment to get to.
Perspectives on feminism, as
with so many other issues, have
often been quite negative. From
ways in which violence against
women is being carried out,
such as ethnic cleansing as a
tactic of war, rape camps, and
Stephanie can be reached
through her blog at stephaniein-

for better living that what defines us as women woman who chooses to forgo a the opposition to the movement genital mutilation. suwon.blogspot.com — Ed.

PHOTO CHALLENGE — LOVE — Taken at

the Seoul Grand Park Zoo in February. Many
couples were out for a romantic stroll in the
Daniel Costello on Finance park. As spring approaches, people are
making the most of the good weather. Love
Mae West said, “Saving love doesn’t bring any interest.” is in the air. Eric Gillet (flickr.com/photos/sudoksa)
Saving money, however, does.
The largest risk associated with saving money — is not
saving any money. There are a lot of unwise things people do
with their savings. Imagine foolishly stocking idle bills away
under your mattress? Your cleaner might find them there, or
you might even forget how much was there in the first place!
As you continually double check your mattress-stuffed sav-
ings plan (MSSP), or the ever-popular freezer-filled savings
plan (FFSP), you are losing interest that would have other-
wise added to your savings. Some people stuff hundreds of
dollars into the back of their freezer, or even thousands or
more. But, why?
A plethora of banks exists in Korea, each providing savings
accounts with guaranteed interest rates on certain minimum
fixed amounts over periods ranging from months to years. All
have higher rates of interest than your freezer.
These ensure you leave it there. I have heard one of the
best guaranteed rates may be found at Nonghyup Bank,
where some people might like to count their fingers upon
exit. Even a low rate of interest on your savings anywhere is
better than none at all, particularly if you are seeking the
lowest risk investment you might make.
A savings account would be a first step in that direction.
Your biggest challenge is coming up with the spare change to
fill that savings account, especially if your sole purpose in life
is now focused on paying off debts.
David Chilton, author of “The Wealthy Barber: The
Common Sense Guide to Successful Financial Planning,”
gives advice on the topic of savings plans. Start by diverting
as little as 10 percent of your monthly income into a savings
account. While this might seem like a lot to divert from your
daily living costs, if engaged in with regular frequency you
may see a tangible benefit and sizeable savings at the end of
as little as twelve months.
Chilton reassures readers that a habitual over-spender
will not actually miss that 10 percent of monthly income if it
is transferred automatically after payday.
Most people save as little as 2-3 percent of their income an-
nually in developed nations, and it is easy to see why that fig-
ure is so small with the number of credit cards most people
carry these days. A recent PBS Frontline special on credit
card debt revealed that the average American carries eight
credit cards — swallowing up a great deal of potential sav-
ings.
In focus: Mastering manual
If you have more than one or two credit cards — that’s too By David Smeaton mode allows you to get a shot lack of skill or understanding meter, and adjust your settings camera’s light meter) some ap-
many credit cards. that is not possible in other with regards to photography, on the fly. Once you’ve had more proximate settings you can use.
Keep your favorite one or two and cut the rest up. What are the benefits of shoot- modes. For example, shooting particularly exposure, shutter practice, you can start working Finally, have the courage to
Mae West also said: “You only live once, but if you do it ing in manual? How can I learn sunsets, long exposures and speed and aperture. The second with faster moving subjects. switch to manual. If you perse-
right, once is enough.” to use manual mode well? — portraits often require specific problem is that setting a photo- Always remember that you vere and practice, you will no-
So divert 10 percent at least once a month for your intro- Jacinta, Seoul settings or long shutter speeds. graph in manual requires more need to keep your shutter tice how much faster you can
duction to savings on a tight spending budget. You’ll never The camera only creates set- time. Often photographers have speeds high if your subject is become at setting your camera
miss it if you never had it and that little pot of gold will soon Manual mode is definitely the tings based on the amount of limited time to get the shot, if moving. Even a turn of the head to create the perfect photo. It
occupy at least part of your expanding financial planning most difficult mode to use when available light, not on the com- you set the photo too slowly, or movement of the arm can be- also makes you a lot more con-
mind. shooting with a DSLR camera. position. It cannot understand a you’ll miss your opportunity. come blurry if your shutter scious of photographic ele-
Along with understanding RAW, sunset, a cascading river, a mod- Therefore, the best way to speed is too slow. ments, rather than just playing
and learning how to make the el in a studio. learn manual is to make sure In this situation, try and ad- “point and shoot” with a fancy
To contact Daniel, visit his website at http://crosscultural- most of using a flash, manual Full manual allows you to you understand f-stop, shutter just the aperture instead. If the camera.
reviews.blogspot.com — Ed. shooting is one of the most valu- control every aspect of the shot: speed and ISO. light is low, then increase your Happy shooting.
able skills in photography. f-stop, shutter speed and ISO. Once you get your head ISO to make the camera more
A recent study showed that These three elements combined around these concepts, and do sensitive to light.
most photographers shoot in will determine your exposure. some trial and error shooting to Another handy hint for mak- Send David a message at
Aperture Priority Mode. The Your knowledge of the scene and learn how to use them well, ing the transition to full manual davidsmeaton@gmail.com or
1-year deposit second most popular mode was situations will determine your practice using manual mode in is a keen awareness of your en- visit his website at www.david-
interest rates full Manual. While aperture pri- composition. situations where you have more vironment. Particularly, always smeaton.com. If you want to be a
ority mode is good, there are nu- I think there are two aspects time to get the shot. notice the amount of light part of the weekly Photo
Daegu Bank 5.6% merous situations when it’s not which become the biggest hin- Shoot at home or ask a friend around you. Being aware of the Challenge, join the “Seoul Photo
Jeju Bank 5.45% ideal. drance to shooting in manual. to pose for you. Look through lighting situation helps you Club” group at flickr (flickr.com-
Shinhan 5.4% Sometimes, using manual The most common problem is your viewfinder, watch the light judge (without even using the /groups/seoulphotoclub). — Ed.
Suhyup 5.4%
Woori Bank 5.29%
Kookmin 5.25%
Nonghyup 5.25% Letter to the editor
Kwang Ju 5.1%

Why teenagers turn into ‘study fiends’

A more livable community
Expat Living will start a series on making your city
more livable. Whether it’s Seoul, Busan, Daegu, or any
other city in Korea, what suggestions do you have to
make your city more livable? Some submissions we’ve al-
ready received include a 24-hour subway, city-wide bicy-
cle paths and more green space. Share your ideas via e-
mail: mattlamers@heraldm.com — Ed.
When people think of foreign lan-
guage high schools, they think “nerds,”
or “studying machines,” or “kids who’ll
easily get into SKY (Seoul, Korea, and
Yonsei) Universities.”
However, this is an illusion. Students
in our school are normal teenagers.
We’re concerned about our appearance,
the clothes we wear, and the other sex.
At meals, you can see students outside
playing badminton, soccer, basketball,
and taking walks.
Still, there are a few times each year
when these normal teens transform
into unrecognizable “study fiends.”
We call this stage “going dead.”
During this period, everyone’s studying
and stressed out. Nosebleeds are com-
mon. Some secretly go cry in the toilet,
and there’s a friend of mine who puts
his feet (sometimes his head) in a buck-
et of freezing water in order to stay
awake.
Getting a text message at 3 a.m. re-
garding some question is quite normal,
but consider the fact that we wake up at
6 a.m. Some may ask, is all this neces-
sary? Aren’t we overdoing it? Why
spend the best years of our lives being
so tied to studying?
But yes, to us, this is absolutely nec-
essary.
Studying is our No. 1 priority right
now. We chose this path when we were
in ninth grade, with one object in mind;
SKY universities.
We chose this path knowing that the
former grading system would be re-
placed with nine percentile levels, and
that school grades would become more
important.
So of course we have to work harder;
this new system has made it more diffi-
cult for us to get into those universities.
However, having accepted the new sys-
tem doesn’t mean that we are happy
with it.
As the college entrance is only six
months away and I’m going on to my se-
nior year, the college entrance system is
a constant topic of conversation for us.
First, about the nine percentiles. We
agree with what everyone else is say-
ing; “It’s like measuring in meters what
was previously measured in millime-
ters.”
You see, what if we get unlucky?
What if we score just one point less
than the score for the top 4 percent?
That would makes us level 2, which
would mean SKY universities are out of
the question.
Students in my year were witnesses
to what happened to our seniors; they
were the victims — not many got full
level 1 marks — and we don’t want it to
happen to us.
Our second complaint is not about
taking so much of our high school
grades into account, but about doing
that — plus treating all schools as if
they were the same.
It’s obvious that the competence of
each school differs. However, this year,
colleges had to treat school grades as if
all the students were from the same
school.
We are angry, because we know that
students who rank even level 4 or 5 in
our school would be among the top 10 if
they were to transfer to an average
school.
Luckily for us, the tide seems to be
turning. We have pinned our hopes on
President Lee Myung-bak, who has
promised to give universities more au-
tonomy.
Universities are smart enough to
know how to pick the best students.
— Hyewon, 17, Myungduk Foreign
Language High School, Seoul