Parallax: the life of media interns abroad http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/ To find stories by our students or alumni, use a category or author name search. en Copyright 2018 Wed, 05 Sep 2018 18:50:26 +1000 http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/ http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/ Some Culinary Action and the Best Farewell I’m sitting at Gwangjang market with fellow interns Kristi and Sharon, feeling a little bit of everything. I feel I must surrender myself to what’s happening around me to maintain some sanity. This sounds dramatic, but only because Kristi has just ordered a plate of squirming octopus and I don’t think I am psychically prepared for what’s to come.

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Kristi [right] smugly regards me as I contemplate my life choices. Photo: Arca

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/09/some_culinary_action_and_the_b_1.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/09/some_culinary_action_and_the_b_1.html Wed, 05 Sep 2018 18:50:26 +1000 A bit of Tourism The Seoul summer days have been blurring into one another, an endless cavalcade of heat exhaustion, errant cicadas flying into my face and a frustrating inability to keep much food down because I’m sweating so profusely it seems my other bodily functions have ceased operation.

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Woke up to this on my phone and stopped breathing, thought it was North Korean missiles; turns out it was just an extreme heat warning. Photo: Arca

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/09/a_bit_of_tourism.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/09/a_bit_of_tourism.html Korea Wed, 05 Sep 2018 16:08:32 +1000 A bit of Gay Pride Seoul Pride was, in a word, bonkers.

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It's 38 degrees celsius and a much higher level of modesty than Sydney pride events.
Here's the start of the march. Photo: Arca

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/a_bit_of_gay_pride.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/a_bit_of_gay_pride.html Korea Wed, 29 Aug 2018 02:40:27 +1000 A bit of Hongdae I often enjoyed long walks through Hongdae. I'd given up on the idea of map apps on my battered iPhone and spent many nights aimlessly wandering around, taking in the sights and smells.

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Hongdae at night. Photo: Arca

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/a_bit_of_hongdae.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/a_bit_of_hongdae.html Korea Wed, 29 Aug 2018 02:17:30 +1000 A bit of TBS Korean radio station TBS is a maze of corridors and security glass. Were it not for my natural inclination to get lost everywhere I go, I'd have thought somebody kept moving the office walls around to spite me. On our first day, we received information about our program assignment. Kristi settled comfortably into a role on the variety/culture show, Koreascape.

They had a harder time figuring out what to do with me, so eventually it was decided I would flit from program to program, like a choosy bee.

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Here I am [right], looking sweaty next to the morning show host. [Arca]

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/a_bit_of_tbs.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/a_bit_of_tbs.html Korea Wed, 15 Aug 2018 20:45:23 +1000 "Dance like no one's watching..." "...and do the show like no one’s listening,” or so said Kurt, Koreascape’s host, albeit facetiously.

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A smart cookie (on the streets of Insadong). Photo: Kristi Cheng

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/dance_like_no_ones_watching.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/dance_like_no_ones_watching.html Korea Tue, 14 Aug 2018 00:42:06 +1000 Epilogue – What is Seoul? My internship with The Korea Herald is over.
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Gwanghwamun Gate. Photo: Aaron Yip

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/epilogue_what_is_seoul.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/08/epilogue_what_is_seoul.html Korea Wed, 08 Aug 2018 01:09:38 +1000 Deadline fighter It’s a mad dash to the finishing line in my last week at The Korea Herald.

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Last week wearing my staff tag. It's going to feel weird without it. (Aaron Yip)

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/deadline_fighter.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/deadline_fighter.html Korea Mon, 30 Jul 2018 00:53:21 +1000 A journalist prepares Doing interviews is the bread and butter of journalism. It is the duty of a journalist to talk to people and share their stories. But it’s a whole other experience to run to all corners of Seoul in record-breaking heat.

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This is the hottest summer on record, which goes back to 1907 when official recording first began (Yonhap)

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/a_journalist_prepares.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/a_journalist_prepares.html Korea Sun, 29 Jul 2018 15:13:35 +1000 Life in plastic, it's (not) fantastic Coming into this internship, I only expected to be involved in production – finding stories, contacting talent, and editing audio into a package. Being on the program itself? It was going to be a bonus, if I did really well.

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My last day, with Sharon in studio. Photo: Linda Jeon

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/life_in_plastic_its_not_fantas.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/life_in_plastic_its_not_fantas.html Korea Thu, 26 Jul 2018 03:40:08 +1000 Busy Bees Gosh, I get so stressed at the store when they ask me more than ‘do you need a plastic bag?’

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Fuzzy thoughts. Photo: Kurt Achin

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/busy_bees.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/busy_bees.html Korea Mon, 23 Jul 2018 02:39:49 +1000 East West Point What makes the fellowship so rewarding is not only the skills I'm gaining but also the people I'm meeting.

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An illustration on a key difference between workplaces in the West and the East (Yang Liu)

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/east_west_point.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/east_west_point.html Korea Wed, 18 Jul 2018 14:08:04 +1000 Kristi and Sharon's Excellent Adventure On Friday this week, I embarked on my first field assignment with Sharon, an intern from New York University – what an adventure!!

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Me at the hanbok (Korean traditional dress) rental place. Photo: Jamie Lee

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/kristi_and_sharons_excellent_a.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/kristi_and_sharons_excellent_a.html Korea Sat, 14 Jul 2018 15:16:35 +1000 A new portrait Monday marked the official start of my month-long fellowship with The Korea Herald. But before I dive into exposing top-level secrets and helping to bring down powerful, corrupt figures (just a bit of bantering here to help with de-stressing before the first day), I must first navigate my way through the maze that is the Seoul Metro.

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The network map of Seoul Metro (Aaron Yip)

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/a_new_portrait.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/a_new_portrait.html Korea Wed, 11 Jul 2018 12:36:28 +1000 A load of Busan The first day at work was what work-life balance dreams are made of. It was - and will probably remain - the shortest work day of my life.

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The glass "wave" is built behind the Japanese city hall building as a form of fighting back using architectural symbolism

]]> http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/a_load_of_busan.html http://blogs.usyd.edu.au/parallax/2018/07/a_load_of_busan.html Korea Sat, 07 Jul 2018 01:05:06 +1000