Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Manner of Speaking]

Dear Forum Members,

There was an article in yesterday's Korea Herald about a new casino in Seoul, and I would like to prepare a discussion topic on gambling for my advanced conversation class. I was wondering if anybody could help me with the following questions:

1. In Canada, the examples of forms of gambling I can think of are harness racing, casinos, lotteries, video lottery terminals, and people getting together to play a friendly game of poker. In the US there is also horse racing and greyhound racing. Have I missed anything?

2. If a group of friends gets together for a friendly game of poker, using money, strictly speaking are you violating any laws?

3. Are casinos legal in Britain or Australia?

4. I THINK casinos are only legal for foreigners in Korea, but in recent years I've seen a lot of "video casinos" open up around town, that are essentially slot machine and VLT rooms. Are these legal? Do they come under the regulations governing video arcades (������) in Korea?

Thanks in advance,

MOS

[ddeubel]

Aren't you taking a gamble with this kind of topic??? I tend to stay away from any political, moralistic kind of topic when having a discussion. That is unless I am really close/tight with this group of students and know them well.............this could be the case for you.

Otherwise,it can lead to trouble. Things taken the wrong way, etc.....JUst a word of caution for maybe some new teachers out there who get excited about talking about euthanasia, abortion, communism/N.Korea, cloning, prostitution, religion etc....

Better to just talk about the household, fashion, travel/trips, pets, health, relationships, horoscopes, sports, etc etc etc.....For the same reason sitcoms are more popular than the history channel.....

DD

PS. As a gambler, I have had a few conversations with Koreans about this. They seem to take it as a VERY serious issue and don't view it with the same lenses we in the west do. (I guess for many valid reasons though I disagree. ) Many think of it as a crime and a big vice.....

[Manner of Speaking]

I don't think so...they're a pretty mature bunch, and we've discussed topics like sex education, love hotels, etc., without any problems. Part of my intention is to get them to work on their descriptive/description skills: what kinds of gambling take place in Korea, do you approve of casinos, etc.

[denverdeath]

1. I don't know if this falls under the 'lottery' side, but there's the sports betting, too(pick three winners for NHL, NFL, whatever). Also, just regular friendly bets(which sometimes end friendships when one of the individuals fails to pay up).

2. I'm not sure, but maybe illegal? (I think that's why bars don't like having people playing cards for money at the tables...maybe only done in a back room, if at all.)

3. Don't know.

4. I think there are some(or, at least one) in Kangwon where Koreans can legally go.

I've gambled with kids in class before...I use Pringles potato chips as the chips...they love it, and I don't think there's anything morally wrong with it. The only topics I never seem to bring up are political parties and religion, unless there's a story about some crazy cult somewhere that may be of interest.

[bobbyhanlon]

where are you working? if you're anywhere near kangnam, chances are most of the guys in your class will have gambled at some point. in apgujong there are a bunch of poker clubs where betting is technically illegal but everyone does it anyway. also there are quite a lot of underground gangster-run casinos in operation; most men with more money than they need could probably tell you about these. in fact a friend of mine got busted in one last week and now has to pay a fine! so.. i would suggest that people are a lot less innocent or hostile towards gambling than some might think.

[blackjack]

in answer to a couple of your questions

Yes casinos are legal in Australia (and New Zealand)
In England the laws are being changed/have been changed but are/ or were not legal. They got around this by having private gambling clubs, so what they do is charge you a door charge and you become member (personally i don't see how this is not a casino with a door charge but???).

In New Zealand and Australia private poker games are legal provided the house does not take a cut and everyone has an equal chance of winning (i am sure of this in New Zealand as i did not want to lose my gaming licence, but Australia not to sure about but i think it is the same). I know that in Italy they have card bars, where you go along and play cards for money with a group of friends and the bar just rents the table and sells drinks.

Types of gambling
-by video lottery terminals i assume you mean pokies/slots,
-there is also sports gambling and in england you can legally bet on almost anything, even if it is going to snow in london on christmas.
-internet casinos
-bingo
-accepting a hagwon contract[/list]

[ddeubel]

[joe_doufu]

I came to Korea with a bag of about 200 american pennies, and I've used them as "chips" for games of blackjack and poker with students. Teenage kids, I mean. One way to get them to speak English is to deliberately cheat or make mistakes... they'll speak up without even thinking about it.

Don't forget to talk about drinking games, "strip" games, and oh yes Bingo. The culture associated with bingo/beano (old folks socializing down at the Legion hall, I guess) is different from other kinds of gambling culture in the US.

You may include something in your lesson about the American Indian tribes in many states getting exclusive license to run casinos, and debate whether this is good/fair/right.

Online gambling is also a topic you might discuss. It poses the unique problem that the US and Korean governments regulate online casinos if they set up in Switzerland or Barbados or someplace.

[Manner of Speaking]