Korean Job Discussion Forums

[xCustomx]

I was talking to one of the adult students I teach this morning about the temples in Gyungju. He was explaining that people aren't allowed to take pictures of the Buddhas because the flashes from the cameras cause the air to become humid and since the air becomes more humid, the moisture condenses on the top of the ceiling and drips onto the statues/sculptures, thus eroding them. WTH!? I asked him why then, even with the open air temples that have buddhas inside are you still not allowed to take pictures, even when standing far away and using a zoom. He gave the same explanation and that the air that becomes more humid from the flash of the camera might move into the temple. I was trying to hold back from laughing too much

[PaperTiger]

What's so rediculous about that? Museums with expensive environmental systems have the same policy, no flash for most kinds of artwork...especially really old ones.

[Gwangjuboy]

Not as bad as my co-workers who don't want to give me a lift to work because they were worried there would be an accident and I would get injured.

[seoulsucker]

How about my high school supervisor explaining that the reason kids aren't allowed/encouraged to take university entrance exams more than once is because, "Korea is a poor country and the tests are expensive to make."

[xCustomx]

[Paddycakes]

Sounds like more typical Korean logic to me...

How does a flash add water vapor (humidity) to the air?

The most a flash could do it perhaps heat up the air by .001 degree for a fraction of a second, but that would cause the air to expand, and warm air can hold more water vapor than cooler air so if anything this risk of condensation is lower.

If anything museums frown on flash photography because it disturbs other vistors and makes the place look like Disney land. Really, really old scripts can also be damaged by bright light. I didn't major in history for nothing you know...

[bellum99]

Mostly the museums sell books and postcards of the exhibits. They don't allow flash photography so that only they can sell the high quality photographs. If you can't use the flash then the photgraph looks like crap. They don't want people to make money on the exhibits and they want to sell more to the tourists.

[laogaiguk]

[khyber]

[xCustomx]

Some of you are missing the point. I know why photographs are not allowed in some places. I was laughing at my student's reasoning, which makes no sense at all.

[Yu_Bum_suk]

Aren't Koreans every the masters of absurd excuses to explain things that are just plain stupid? Some of the stuff my school district has come up with has been pretty priceless. Do they really think we're so stupid as to believe it and not realise straight off that the reason for ______________ is that they're being moronic, xenophobic asses?

[ysl]

i took some pictures in that temple, except my last shot, some stupid automatic function turned the flash back on

they wont beat you up or anything...they are monks

[eamo]

So the humid Korean Summer must just about melt away poor old Buddha!

[Hyeon Een]

[ajgeddes]