18 COMMUNITY
Expat Living is a section dedicated to the daily
living of expatriates.
It is printed on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday.
To share stories about your life abroad, send stories
or story ideas to Matthew Lamers at
mattlamers@heraldm.com
Submissions may be edited for length or clarity.
Poker for a good
cause? You bet
By Matthew Lamers
This Wednesday will present
a unique opportunity to play
poker and help the community
at the same time.
On Sept. 5 the 7 Luck Hilton
casino will hold a charity poker
night with all proceeds going to
Chechon Children’s Home in
Jecheon, Chungcheonbuk-do.
Tae Kim, head pit boss in
charge of the poker room and
former Torontonian, helped or-
ganize the charity night, but
credited the idea to Travis Beck,
who introduced him to Chechon
Children’s Home.
Kim said the casino is dedi-
cated to giving back to the com-
munity through volunteer work
and donations. He described a
culture of charity among suc-
cessful poker players.
“It’s common amongst fa-
mous poker players who win
tournaments to give a certain
percentage to the charity they
support. Barry Greenstien has
given millions to charity (and)
is known as the Robin Hood of
Poker.”
He said he expects up to 60
people to participate and is hop-
ing to hand the orphanage a
check for 5 million won.
Kim said the tournament is
open to all players, serious or
just for fun. Referring to begin-
ners, Kim said the 7 Luck
Tournament For Kids would be
a good place to meet people.
But he said the tournament
will also see a lot of experienced
players. And for them, it’s a
chance to help out the commu-
nity (presumably after winning
so much money).
But if you’re a pretty serious
poker player, he said, “poker has
been good to a lot of us ... and
this is one way we can give back
to the community.”
Jane White, the founder of
Chechon Children’s Home
echoed his sentiment.
“Although we do get govern-
ment money, anything extra
goes toward programs that will
make the quality of life better
for the kids,” said the
Wisconsin native, who has been
living in Korea for over four
decades.
She said they run a lot of pro-
grams for the kids, and they cost
quite a bit of money. “We do a lot
of programs for our older kids
because they are going to have
to go out and live in society. We
have a lot of seminars to bring
people in and we always need to
pay for programs.”
Most of their funding comes
from the government, but some
comes from missionary funds
and Korean sponsors.
The orphanage is currently
home to 92 kids, ranging in age
from a 1-year-old and up.
There is a paid staff of 30, in-
cluding caregivers and admin-
istrators.
White came to Korea in 1962,
almost a decade after the
Korean War came to a halt in
1953.
She first worked in an or-
phanage her friends had set up
in 1959, but it was for older chil-
dren and she said she wanted to
work with the youngest kind of
clientele.
“I came to work in that, but it
was for big boys and I’ve always
loved babies and wanted to
work with babies. I heard of a
need for an orphanage in
Jecheon,” she explained.
She moved to Jecheon and
lived with friends for a few
months until she started the
Chechon Children’s Home.
“My first child was in
February 1963.
“I think we’re on 1,225 now.
Most have been small babies,
then we worked with an adop-
tion agency and adopted chil-
dren to the United States, but
then that was stopped by the
Korean government.”
To say White has a unique
perspective on Korean society
would be an understatement. As
one of the longest living foreign-
born residents in the country,
she has lived through the same
dictatorships and witnessed the
same economic development
that most Koreans have.
The 47-year Korean resident
explained that when she first
arrived, there wasn’t much in
the way of social work, so she
and her evangelical colleagues
“just did the best we could.”
“And now there is a lot of help
— and even Koreans are adopt-
ing children now. There aren’t as
many orphans, single mothers
having babies and not as many
abandoned as there used to be.”
The 7 Luck Tournament For
Kids starts at 1 p.m. on Sept. 5.
The cost is 100,000 won, plus a
20,000 won buy-in.
See www.cchkorea.org for
more information on Chechon
Children’s Home and go to
www.7luckpoker.com for infor-
mation on the 7 Luck
Tournament For Kids. — Ed.
(mattlamers@heraldm.com)
Shiba Raj Pokharel, a Nepali, enjoys a Saturday stroll through Deokjin Park, Jeonju, North Jeolla Province. Raj graduated with a master’s degree in financial management
from Chonbuk National University and is preparing to do his Ph.D. at the same university.
Nepali chases ‘Korean dream’
By Rob McGovern
JEONJU, North Jeolla Province —
Shiba Raj Pokharel is a bit of an ethnic
rarity in a city not exactly known for its
diverse range of expats (or their cuisines).
It doesn’t seem to bother him.
Raj, as he prefers to call himself, said
there are around 30 Nepalis in Jeonju, all
studying at the same university as him.
All can speak English and some can speak
the local language, which helps, consider-
ing some of their lectures are given solely
in Korean. Raj modestly admits that he
can speak Korean quite well, but then he
has been self studying for three years.
Jeonju’s lack of diversity tends to
make Raj stand out from the crowd,
maybe a little exotic even. There are
hundreds of “garden variety” expatriates
here, masses of Canadians and
Americans, Kiwis and Australians, Irish,
British (of which we have a Welsh person
and even a few Scousers!).
Raj, a Nepali, has called Korea and
Jeonju his home for the last three years.
Film or digital? All
about convenience
The Photo Challenge is sponsored by
Hyosung Camera (English: 010-7203-
9599) and Babo Shirts (www.ba-
boshirts.com). Winners of the weekly
competition receive a 50,000 won store
credit at Hyosung Camera and a Babo
Shirt. To take part in the competition,
simply upload your photo at
www.flickr.com/groups/seoulphoto-
club — Ed.
By Aaron Raisey
Last week we examined the econom-
ics of film vs. digital cameras and came
to the conclusion that in the long term,
there might be very little between the
two. This week the question of conve-
nience between film and digital comes
into focus. With two very important ex-
ceptions, there is very little difference
between actually using comparable dig-
ital and film cameras, and there are
also a couple of important peripheral
considerations.
Before we examine the differences,
how are they similar? On either camera
the photographer must make a few
choices before taking the shot. For ex-
ample, what mode shall they shoot in
(aperture priority, manual, full auto,
etc.), or do they need to apply any expo-
sure compensation? These decisions are
common to both types of camera: make
decisions, compose and shoot. Not much
difference in convenience here.
Digital though, does have a couple
important advantages around the time
of capture. The most obvious is the feed-
back we get from being able to view the
image immediately, and the subsequent
choice whether to keep it or delete it
and shoot again. This feature is cer-
tainly convenient and useful, particu-
larly for those new to SLR photography.
Perhaps more significant is the ability
to select different ISO values on the
TUESDAY SEPTEMBER 1, 2009
Rob McGovern
He graduated with a master’s degree in fi- does make me feel a bit sad, but I don’t “When I am about 45 years old I will
nancial management from Chonbuk let it bother me too much.” think about returning to Nepal to retire.”
National University last February and is Until four months ago Raj was alone in Nepal is a progressive state: It’s one of
currently having a well-earned rest before Korea. His four brothers, three sisters, par- the few countries in Asia to have abol-
embarking on his Ph.D., which will keep ents and extended family, were all more ished the death penalty, and in
him in Jeonju for another three years. than 2,000 kilometers away in Nepal. November 2008 the nation’s Supreme
The home of the Himalayas, Mount But in May one of his brothers came to Court ordered full rights for LGBT indi-
Everest and Lord Buddha (in Raj’s live in Jeonju with his wife to study at viduals, including the right to marry. But
words), Nepal is a landlocked country the same university as Raj. in a country where no government has
with a population of around 30 million. His brother and their group of friends survived for more than two years, the po-
Raj has found that the Himalayas, and often get together to eat and socialize, and litical scene could hardly be described as
in particular, Mt. Everest have in a small both Korean and Nepalese festivals or stable. The country came out of a decade-
way helped him settle in Korea. Just holidays are cause for a feast of native long civil war in 2006, where an estimat-
about every expat in Korea has had their food. Although Raj does admit it is hard to ed 13,000 people died, leading to an in-
nationality wrongly assumed once or cook genuine Nepalese food here because terim parliament passing a bill making
twice, and Raj is no exception. of a lack of authentic ingredients, the food Nepal a federal republic. The king left
He has been referred to as “Indo” once is adequate enough to placate any desire the royal palace for the last time in 2007,
or twice, but when Raj points out that his to eat a real, home-cooked meal. ending 239 years of royal rule.
country is home to Mount Everest, the Three years down the line, Dr. Raj is hopeful that one day Nepal will
penny drops and people instantly know Pokharel will be looking for a job that be a peaceful place, but at the moment
where he is from. Since mountain climb- could well take him away from Korea admits that it would be difficult to live
ing enjoys great popularity here, Nepalis and surely away from Jeonju. “It de- there.
get away with a bit of hand clapping. pends on where the jobs are,” he said For now Raj is happy studying and liv-
Raj is very laid back, but admits that when asked about his plans. Like many ing in Korea, eating kimchi jjigae and sam-
he has good days as well as bad. “The as- expats, Raj dreams of one day returning gyeopsal with his friends and studying.
suming nature of Koreans sometimes to his homeland to live out his days. (robguv@gmail.com)
DSLR. (Very briefly, the ISO value is
the “speed” of the film or digital sensor
— the higher the number, the more sen-
sitive to light the film or sensor is.
Higher ISO values allow better perfor-
mance in low-light situations.)
With a film camera, you commit to a
fixed ISO value when you purchase a
roll of film, and once loaded into the
camera there is no way to change it
short of loading another roll of film with
a different ISO. This gives the DSLR a
tremendous advantage when it comes
to adapting to a very broad range of
lighting conditions. From bright sun-
light to the dim interior of a coffee shop
on a Friday evening, the DSLR can take
it all in stride.
The peripheral issues I mentioned in-
clude having to be prepared with extra
rolls of film — the capacity of memory
cards precludes having to worry about
that issue with digital — and post-pro-
cessing.
With film we have to find the time
and convenience to drop off undevel-
oped film and pick up those hopefully
great images we’ve been dying to see.
Shooting digital means we have likely
already vetted our images at the time of
capture and now we are ready to share
and enjoy them when we get home. But
beware of getting sucked into spending
hours in front of the computer making
your images “better.”
For me, I think the digital camera
has the edge. I like my DSLR’s ability to
easily adapt to different lighting condi-
tions and I appreciate the convenience
and the flexibility this gives my photog-
raphy.
Next week, we’ll look a bit closer at
images from film and compare them
with those captured digitally. In the
meantime, head over to the Seoul Photo
Club on Flickr. PHOTO CHALLENGE — weekly winner — A shopkeeper in Samcheong-Dong,
(raisey@hanmail.net) Seoul reaches for the top shelf in her cluttered stationery store. Tom Hicken