Another favorite lunch place…

Actually this is the first banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) place I’ve ever been to (I think it was in 2000). The price is a little bit higher than Dackao ($2.50 vs $2.00 all tax inclusive), but the portion is bigger, so for my wife, one would be quite enough (and she likes the taste here better).

This place is much smaller than the other and the selections are smaller. But it’s relatively cheap still. I usually get a shredded pork sandwich ($2.50) and a spring role ($3.00) and that would be more than enough for lunch.

Continuing the lunch place reviews…

This is my favorite “Banh Mi” or Vietnamese sandwich place. If you are not familiar with Vietnamese sandwiches (I am sure a lot of people are familiar with “Pho” or Vietnamese noodle soups), you should. They are usually (always?) made with a baguette (usually about 10″ long), various julienned vegetables and various kinds of meats (“shredded pork”, “barbecued pork”, “chicken”, etc.).

Not only the crunchy baguette and the excellent taste, but the key selling point (for me) is that it’s really cheap! Usually a Vietnamese sandwich will cost you $1.50 – $1.75 (and not more than $2). Well, there are other “fancier” places (such as Lee’s Sandwich) which seem to charge way more.

I usually order two sandwich and I always get “shredded pork”. I also like “Chinese hot dog”, but I think shredded pork is the best. They also have many other small items. So, sometimes, I get one sandwich and spring rolls (3 for $2 or $2.50, I can’t remember). I guess you can consider it as a Vietnamese snack place.

Anyway, one of my Vietnamese co-workers have introduced me to this place many years ago and I don’t think I have found a better place yet (not that I was looking that hard). Recently, my wife was introduced to here, and she also likes it a lot.

This newspaper article (in Korean) talks about a Korean language instruction booklet that has been circulating on the Internet. This Korean language book was made about two years ago by a Vietnamese company who exports labor outside Vietnam. Almost all the Vietnamese workers in Korea are supposedly carrying this instruction book.

Some other phrases found in the book:

“We must get a written promise from him.”
“We can’t forgive such behaviors.”
“How can a man like you hit a woman like me?”
“I will go work for another company if you hit me again.”

I don’t know what to say. I mean, I’ve heard that there are human rights violations going on in Korea (and I must say similar things happen in the U.S., Japan and wherever there are workers who are under compromised positions, usually in a illegal status), but the fact that some actually have instructions on how to say such things in Korean, goes to show that how frustrating and serious the situation is.

Is it inevitable that one human will take advantage of another whenever possible? What makes us regard another human being and think they are not the same as I (or we)?

I wonder how big the human rights organizations are in Korea (or whether one exists). We, Koreans have been, for so long, regarded themselves as victims that maybe, it’s hard to imagine that we have gained such a powerful position these days after so much hard-work over the past several decades. I guess we need to grow up.