Really? I thought it was just South Korea (where I live now). I'm still mad that I had to buy an iPhone here when I had a perfectly good unlocked one that I brought with me.

I respect your knowledge of Korea based on your travels there and your wife, but Korea changes pretty fast. Having lived here for the past two years I can say that the "quiet and respectful" thing is going out the window. They act like that around guests of the country but around each other and around people that they are comfortable with this doesn't really exist. This is a good thing since it shows comfort.

You're partially correct about acting like a buffoon, however, if you are initially respectful and establish a certain level of respect then afterwards you can start being a bit more rowdy.

If by strong work ethic you mean working longer hours but getting less done, then yes. Koreans are AT work insane hours sometimes but are not working nearly as hard as hard-working North Americans. It's the appearance of work that is important, rather than actually being productive.

Have YOU seen a Korean child? Teaching in a Korean elementary school for the past couple of years, I have seen many. And they are not at all the way you describe them. In some cases they get even more wild than North American kids (though this depends on their parenting as well).

Korean kids can be just as rambunctious as any other kid in the world. It all comes down to how their parents and their teachers discipline them. This image that North Americans have of Asian kids (which I had before I came here) is totally false and ridiculous.

Any time one of these videos starts playing I immediately cancel it and don't bother. Any site that has unskippable commercials is not worth it for me.

This captcha ad tech is something I simply wouldn't tolerate and would simply not visit any site that used it.

The thing is that this is such an easy thing to identify as a scam. I noticed on my news feed about this, clicked the link and was redirected to a "click here to enable this button" page that was pure text, no Facebook log or anything. So obviously a scam of some sort that I cant believe anyone would fall for this sort of thing.

As a Canadian living in Korea, where I pay $25/mo for 100Mbps/100Mbps, this sort of news gives me further incentive to stay in Korea.

The same South Korea that took over two years to get the iPhone. And the same SK that still blocks any non-Korean approved unlocked phone from being used on their networks without paying a $300 "inspection" fee? And the same SK where the majority of domestic websites require Internet Explorer 6 (yes, 6) to function correctly?

For those of you who don't know, South Korea is not a technological paradise. We have fast broadband but that's about it.

I currently live in South Korea. Every theatre I have been to allows for three of your four points (minus no ads, of course).

I usually buy tickets online. You can reserve your seats both online and in person at the theatre.

I figured that theatres back in Canada and the States would have implemented this stuff by now.

"You're unique, just like everybody else."

I can confirm this as well. Koreans have had DMB (digital multimedia broadcasting) for years now and every Korean GPS device has this built in (a long with many cell phones and other devices). I see more people driving with it on than off.

I hear there are laws against it, but police enforcement of driving rules is extremely lax here. Speed limits are generally completely ignored as are safe following distances. I've gotten used to blowing by cops on my motorcycle with nary an indication that they care. The only time you will get in trouble for anything is if you are in an accident. Thus, you can speed, drive recklessly and watch television all you want. Just don't hit anything.

I'm located in Ulsan, South Korea on a one-year teaching gig. It's the fourth largest city here but internet options still amaze me. I'm currently paying $30/month for 70/20 mbit unthrottled/uncapped service. I wanted the 100/100 (same price but different company) but it wasn't available to me since I'm not Korean (don't ask). I can downgrade to the 20/20 mbit service and pay $20/month.

When I go back to Canada in September I can look forward to paying $60/month for 10/1 mbit service with a 95 GB cap. Great. Not.

But it's not actually bricked. It might appear to be bricked, but it wouldn't be wise to make the judgment that it's bricked without at least doing some basic diagnostics such as putting the machine into target disk mode or testing an external display.

Bricking a piece of hardware is relatively difficult for a piece of software to do, even with firmware, because replacing the firmware is usually possible.

Speaking as a bit of a language Nazi (and geek), bricking is one of those terms that should be reserved for extreme cases where the hardware actually IS bricked. Using it for situations where the hardware is recoverable dilutes the meaning and makes it much more difficult to convey when hardware is legitimately bricked.

What airport do you go to? I'd like to pass through there.