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October 2014November 2014 Korea’s media malaise Settle down there Eating alone with friends September 2014 Tracing an unknown past Silversmithing in Bali Vegan eats, vegan drinks, vegan love Evolution, devolution, revolution See you in Sejong Korean punk struggles forward Cover photo by Dylan goldby Cover design by park Seong-eun O u R P A S T T H R E E I S S u E S After taking years to find his niche in Korean comedy TV, Sam Hammington has reached a degree of fame that few who know him would ever consider imaginable. For better or worse, however, the embrace from the local media is accompanied with the expectation that his on-screen persona is equally accessible to the fans he en- counters in his daily life. This month, Groove talks to the “all-round” performer about living up to the hype of being one of the most visible foreigners on Korean TV. C o V e r Read the story on page 34. The off switch ThE INbOx & COvER t h e I n B o x I’m Korean and want to warn you about an unsophisticated and emotionally abnormal doctor I recently visited (www.healthgreen. co.kr) near Yeonsinnae subway station for a gastrointestinal en- doscopy. I have heard many negative things about him, but I still decided to go because it was near my home. After my check-up I paid my bill. The nurse explained the fees to me, but I didn’t fully understand her because I left Korea when I was 2 years old and only returned a few years ago. So, once I left the clinic, I asked a family member to call the clinic and inquire again. She was told that the Propofol used for the endoscopy was double the price of other clinics, and that an extra blood test I had done also cost more. When I called the doctor a week later to find out the results of my blood test, he used the opportunity to exact petty revenge on me because of my earlier call. I had specifically told the nurse that I was calling to get the results of the blood test and asked if they could be mailed to me, so the doctor knew exactly why I was calling. But he deviously pretended I was calling about the endoscopy results and used a hostile and sarcastic tone and demanded to know why I was asking him again. He told me that even his high school patients understood what he told them, so why was I, as an adult, so incapable of understanding things on my own without the help of a relative. He then told me he’d mail me my results and hung up — exactly what I had re- quested from the nurse before she put him on the phone. Later in the day, I called him to tell him I was disappointed at his lack of dignity. He taunted me and asked me whether I wanted an apology and told me that I was making an issue out of nothing, continuing to use his sarcastic tone. His behavior is not that of a dignified and educated healer but that of an uncouth businessman who has emotional and psy- chological problems, so please be careful. I have lived in Europe and the United States, where his strange actions would be con- sidered barbaric, uneducated and psychologically twisted. This social imbalance is a result of Korea’s obsession with financial success, which its culture cannot keep up with. It’s also a result of poor parenting. There are so many low-class businessmen in Korea with doctor’s licenses who are out to make money and do not understand the concept of good manners and normal behavior. Caveat emptor! Tay Park To submit a letter, email opinion@groovekorea.com Get involved Like what you see? Want to be a part of it? Groove Korea always welcomes submissions by ambitious, talented journalists and artists across the peninsula. We are made by the community, for the community. Groove is Korea’s expat magazine. If you are a writer, photographer or illustrator and want to get involved, email submissions@groovekorea.com.