Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Hatcher]

Brady Fotheringham, friend, adventurer, teacher, journalist.

By JEFF LEE 30 JUN 2011 COMMENTS(1) CIVIC LEE SPEAKING

Filed under: journalism, commentary, Asia, friends
I just received tragic news that Brady Fotheringham, teacher, journalist, world-traveller and good friend, died in Korea on Wednesday.

I know this is a blog space devoted to civic affairs issues, but I can't think of a better place to post the news of his untimely death. Brady was a student of mine when I was a sessional lecturer at Langara College. He is also the son of Allan Fotheringham, the legendary Canadian journalist.

For the last seven years Brady had taught English to young students in Seoul, and had used his time there to also try and satisfy an insatiable curiosity about Asia. He broke stereotypes and he did things most of us would find impossible.

A decade ago he published a book, On The Trail of Marco Polo, that chronicled his 1997 bicycle journey over the Silk Road from China westwards to New Delhi. It became one of my favourite travel chronicles and inspired me to want to do the same. The wars in Afghanistan and Iraq intervened, and that desire has remain unfulfilled.

Brady was both a journalist and a teacher, and he wrestled to do both. Eventually, he found he was a better teacher and there are legions of students in Korea who English language skills are the better for it.

We met up at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and he introduced me to his girlfriend, Ju-Yeon Chang. One night we wandered through a night market and joked about all the things that none of us would eat. I still have the pictures somewhere and will post one when I get a chance.

This morning Ju-Yeon called to say that Brady had apparently had an accident at his home and had died. His brother Kip is now enroute to Seoul.

I'll post a note later about plans for a memorial service.

But I will leave you with a quote from Shakespeare he loved that says so much about how he lived his life.


There is a tide in the affairs of men,
Which taken at the flood, leads onto fortune
Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound
in shallows and in miseries
On such a full sea are we now afloat
...And we must take the current when it serves,
or lose our ventures."

[jcan]

That's a shame, I'm sorry to hear about that. I wonder what happened?

[young_clinton]

A loss; foreign teaching and ESL needs people that are teachers, journalists, writers and adventurers all in one.

[Koreadays]

RIp,
very sad for all those that loved him and knew him...

what happened? how old was he? was he suffering from an illness???

[radcon]

What "impossible" things did he do?

[Captain Corea]

Sad to hear. Sounds like he lived an interesting life.

[DaHu]

I often read these things and wonder why no one ever says anything bad.

I was at a school in China where the DoS was living with a prostitute and had a heart attack and died. She refused to leave the school unless they gave her money for a train back to her hometown.

None of this was mentioned.

[rambler]

[Bruce W Sims]

Sounds as though he was my kind of person.

BTW: Was his book self-published? Is it possible to get a copy? I don't seem to find it through my usual INTERNET sources. Help?

Best Wishes,

Bruce

"The Golden Bell that rings but once. Peace upon his pillow."

[alistaircandlin]

R.I.P. Brady Fotheringham. Thoughts with family and friends.

[myenglishisno]

RIP. He made the world a better place in his time here.

[definitely maybe]

[DaHu]

[fermentation]

[sirius black]

If you're a teacher from any of the 7 countries (and even if you aren't) you know very well that its impolite to speak ill of the dead and its a cultural norm not to. So, either you know and don't like the practice (my guess) or you really don't know (unlikely).

A deceased person usually has greiving famrily and friends. Everyone has faults. A deceased person as well as your own faults are overlooked by the people who care about you and they love you in spite of your faults while you're alive. Offering the same courtesy in death is not too much to ask. I would question the humanity of someone who would want to add to someone's grief by speaking ill of the dead.