In about three weeks, I'll be leaving South Korea. I've been living here as a teacher (and also a part-time volunteer journalist) for about five years. When I got here I had no idea SC even existed, but it managed to color three years of my life with unique experiences.
Things I'm Going to Miss:
~ Getting involved in the eSports scene. (Even though I've been retired for over a year.) ~ The food. ~ (Some of) the weather. ~ The clean, cheap and efficient public transport. ~ Easy access for buying Japanese items. ~ Comic World ;_; ~ The shopping experiences. (I'll miss the bookstores the most!) ~ My job.
Things I'm Happy to Say Goodbye to:
~ The coldest and hottest extremes of the year. ~ The drinking culture. (It's just not my thing.) ~ Those smelly llava things sold on the street food stalls. ~ The language barrier.
Anyway, this blog is just to say thank you to everyone who has given me the chance to have such amazing experiences in Korea. To Susie (who was there for me when I really needed a friend.) and all the other people I've met here along the way. Also to all the coaches, managers and team players who've allowed me to report for TL.net. Special thanks to FBH for being my first photo shoot victim. (I know they haven't got the best rep here, but I also want to thank Kespa for all their help, and for making sure I always had an escort home after those after-finals dinner parties.)
Thanks for putting up with my cruddy Korean, Boxer.
Finally, thanks for giving me a sense of purpose everyone who commented on my photos, videos, or just enjoyed my work. A huge thank you to everyone who joined in with the various projects for Backho, Jaedong, and Violet. I probably won't be posting much any more now I don't have anything to share, but I'll pop in from time to time.
Thank you again and bye for now :D
(TLDR; For SC2 only people - I used to be a Korean scene BW photographer/journalist who spent her weekends making progamers do crazy photo shoots. I'm leaving SK soon, and this is to say thanks.)
P.S. All my photos are free for TL.net users to use (for graphics/school projects etc.) As long as I'm credited as the photographer then it's alright not to ask for my permission in the future
Hi NeverGG. I am a long time fan of all the great content you have provided to the site during your stay in Korea. I remember thinking to myself in the past "It seems like there isn't a high quality picture of any progamers on TL that don't have a NeverGG watermark." Thank you also for your fan projects.
On February 09 2012 15:39 Smix wrote: Oh wow... what made you decide to leave now? What will you be doing now? It was a pleasure meeting you that one time <3 Best of luck in all you do.
Thanks, it was lovely to meet you too. I decided to go home because my Mum recently had surgery on her leg, and I want to make sure she has me helping her until it's completely healed. I'm not sure what I'll do once I get back, but I want to find a job asap. (I just have no idea what that job will be -_-; )
I loved your photoshoots (especially those silly Canata ones) and the Canata/Violet Fan Cafes. Thank you for all the content that you've produced. Good luck to your future endeavors!
On February 09 2012 15:39 Smix wrote: Oh wow... what made you decide to leave now? What will you be doing now? It was a pleasure meeting you that one time <3 Best of luck in all you do.
Thanks, it was lovely to meet you too. I decided to go home because my Mum recently had surgery on her leg, and I want to make sure she has me helping her until it's completely healed. I'm not sure what I'll do once I get back, but I want to find a job asap. (I just have no idea what that job will be -_-; )
Ah... best of luck, and hope your mother recovers quickly <3 TL will always be here <3
Thanks for all the great photos you posted here. Ill miss the old glory days of BW and youre truly a part of that. Thank you for giving us all a great time.
NeverGG, you never got enough credit where it was due for all the content and updates you provided. Thank you for all that you did while you were in S.Korea and I hope all goes well on the trip home and starting a new life back home.
I haven't followed BW much, but I've certainly seen your photos and contributions around. It's a shame your leaving, but it's for a good cause and I hope your mum gets better soon. Hope you find a job that's just as rewarding as your experiences in korea have been.
Those smelly llava things sold on the street food stalls.
LOL I know exactly what you're talking about! They smell like death! I'll never understanddddd hahahahah
The silk worm larvae? Yeah those things are freaking weird. My friend kept trying to get me to try them, but there was no way I could even stomach the thought.
Good luck! I'll never forget the awesome day we spent hanging out. I had the photo you took of Stork and me printed out, and it's on my desk now
Thank you for your years of work for the community nevergg. Not only did you do the photo shoots but you were able to give us life updates on the happenings of some of the gaming sets during major wtf issues (power outage comes to mind).
I hope that your mother recovers well and that you find what you are looking for back home.
I am somewhat new around here, but looking through all of your BW photographs and coverage for TL, and especially your picture of Boxer quoted above, inspired me to go out with a brand-new camera to Anaheim last year to take lots of photographs of my own. Since then, I've developed somewhat of a passion for photography; shooting photos of progamers has proven to be fundamentally more exciting than landscapes and such.
I've also become more active within the community and have since derived a lot of enjoyment out of doing so. In sum, I'd like to thank you both for your service to this community and also for the inspiration that your work gave me.
Good luck finding work back in blighty, it feels like forever ago when I first spoke to you on the TL ventrilo. Hope your mum makes a speedy recovery. Please let us know when everything goes well! Fighting! :D
Awww, you are such an awesome member of the community. I still remember all the photoshoots and the cards you did for the progamers. It sorta allowed TL to thank them for all the great games they put on display for our entertainment. It is never easy for foreigners to really get in touch with them and let them know just how appreciated they are. With you there, it was a reality for all us BW fans. Thank you for all the work you have done over the years!
Good luck with whatever future endevours await you!
Thanks for everything. I still go through your esports gallery every once in a while, love the pictures :D Good luck in the future and I hope your mother makes a speedy recovery.
Best of luck with your transition back home. I think you will find that there are some unexpected challenges living in England again. I'm glad to hear you will be back with your mother while you make the change.
Coming back to England won't be easy, one of my colleagues came recently back to France after living 5+ years in China, but the reverse cultural shock was too big and he couldn't bear living in France anymore, so he's coming back to China very soon !
One of the things that defined TL back in the day for me was your pictures. I thought it was cool that there was someone active in the community taking quality pictures of the players. Thank you.
Out of curiosity: You lived there for 5 years and you still feel a language barrier? Is it because you never really bothered with learning Korean or is the language really that hard?
Thanks for taking me to Comic World! Are you planning to go to any conventions here in the UK? I was poking around a bit online and it seems to be a very different style than Comic World/Comiket. A lot more events and stuff to participate in rather than just wandering around buying stuff.
best of luck in the future, I remember you and your pics from my bw spectator days. didn`t you also make a video were you show an esports stadium with all its rooms (for players, fans and press)?
On February 09 2012 15:35 NeverGG wrote: ~ The coldest and hottest extremes of the year.
Amen.
You wake up. It is morning. You are in a freezing cold bed with a blanket over your shivering body. What do you do? - remove blanket The blanket is frozen and stuck on the bed, preventing you from getting out. - move body Your body is frozen in place. You cannot escape. - ....
I only recently got into the Pro-BW scene and stumbled across a ton of your amazing photos. I hope everything works out and maybe we'll see more of your pictures in the future!
LOL the smelly llava things! 번데기! That juicy, steamy POP inside your mouth with every bite... awww yeah. Although, to be honest, I never liked them with alcohol - I prefer chicken (even with soju).
Thanks for all you've done for TL, I'm sure you'll continue to be with us when you move back right right right? Once an eSports fan, forever an eSports fan! Very special thanks to you for organizing Messages for Violet Project. Translating that is still my #1 contribution to eSports that I feel very proud of. You should feel proud of yourself for bring smiles to Violet's face every day in the past how-many-months-I've-lost-count. I would even dare say you saved Violet =)
On February 09 2012 15:39 Smix wrote: Oh wow... what made you decide to leave now? What will you be doing now? It was a pleasure meeting you that one time <3 Best of luck in all you do.
Thanks, it was lovely to meet you too. I decided to go home because my Mum recently had surgery on her leg, and I want to make sure she has me helping her until it's completely healed. I'm not sure what I'll do once I get back, but I want to find a job asap. (I just have no idea what that job will be -_-; )
Wow....I just did pretty much the exact same thing, cept I just took a semester off from college and moved back in with my mom. Hip surgery is a bitch to recover from all alone T.T
Hope you both do really well!!!!!
Also, you kick ass for being the one that goes to help.
Best of luck, NeverGG! I remember meeting you in the OGN studios when we gave Jaedong the poster with all of the fanmessages from TL on it (and the English book) along with tagging around while you took pictures of and edited the Jaedong and Lomo photoshoot. I had a great time!
Thx for your contribution! We arrived at TL around the same time so I've followed almost all of your work and it was always a pleasure browsing through your shoots.
I do believe this kind of deserves to be spotlighted. As a newbie to TL I haven't seen too much of your stuff, but it is easy to realize that you have been a big part of TL from way before newcomers like myself heard about it.
Good luck with the move, you were truly the revolutionist in making progamers accessible and humanizing them. It was really fun to hear your stories (in the good old times when you hung around on irc) when I viewed progamers as mythological human beings, it helped to make me appreciate them even more. :3
Good luck with the move. Always enjoyed your photo-shoots. Must have been one heck of a time to live here for 5 years (here's to hoping I manage to do that).
I don't always post, but when I do, I prefer to post pseudo-meaningful posts. You don't know me but I have been followed BW and have seen your content and I guess I didn't have a chance to thank you for all the hardwork and value that you've added.
So here is my long overdue appreciation of your work: 감사합니다 ^^
On February 09 2012 15:39 Smix wrote: Oh wow... what made you decide to leave now? What will you be doing now? It was a pleasure meeting you that one time <3 Best of luck in all you do.
Thanks, it was lovely to meet you too. I decided to go home because my Mum recently had surgery on her leg, and I want to make sure she has me helping her until it's completely healed. I'm not sure what I'll do once I get back, but I want to find a job asap. (I just have no idea what that job will be -_-; )
Ah... best of luck, and hope your mother recovers quickly <3 TL will always be here <3
Thanks ^_^ My Mum is so funny. She was wanting to hike around all over the countryside a few days after it was done. Luckily, common sense got the better of her.
On February 09 2012 16:06 Mobius_1 wrote: I'm pretty new here but every day in the BW threads your photos seem to pop up and they are all so very very handsome/epic.
Good luck NeverGG! Thank you for everything!
Also, is that the first photo of yourself on TL ever?
Almost the first I think. I usually censor my face out these days because I hate being in photos.
On February 09 2012 16:14 Torte de Lini wrote: Aw D: You're leaving? Any intention of going back or are you starting a new chapter in your life back home?
I really dislike flying, so I'm probably going to stay in the UK for a while now and try to establish a stable life back there. I'm getting old (27 now.) and I just want to settle into a quiet routine for now.
On February 09 2012 17:35 Manifesto7 wrote: Best of luck with your transition back home. I think you will find that there are some unexpected challenges living in England again. I'm glad to hear you will be back with your mother while you make the change.
Thanks, she's always been really supportive of me. Plus she's far better at managing her finances/staying healthy. I'm going to use the time I'll be spending living with her to listen to her advice, and learn more cooking skills. I can't wait to see her again :D
On February 09 2012 20:08 antilyon wrote: Good luck with your new plans. Is there a .rar or album of your photos anywhere? I just joined the scene on 2010 and missed most of your workT_T.
Unfortunately, they're not all saved in one place (plus a lot of the older stuff whose quality seems to have decreased by being uploaded :/ doesn't have a raw any more.) Sorry about that -_-;
On February 09 2012 21:22 NonFactor wrote: One of the things that defined TL back in the day for me was your pictures. I thought it was cool that there was someone active in the community taking quality pictures of the players. Thank you.
Out of curiosity: You lived there for 5 years and you still feel a language barrier? Is it because you never really bothered with learning Korean or is the language really that hard?
I pretty much gave up on learning Korean since I believed my first year would be my last for a while. I know enough to get by (unsurprisingly I'm pretty good at ordering food lol.) I do try to learn the odd bit if I know I'll need it, but now I'm leaving so soon there's not much point in hitting the books.
On February 09 2012 21:49 Sayle wrote: Thanks for taking me to Comic World! Are you planning to go to any conventions here in the UK? I was poking around a bit online and it seems to be a very different style than Comic World/Comiket. A lot more events and stuff to participate in rather than just wandering around buying stuff.
Thanks for coming with me It was so nice to go with company again. I'd like to attend some more conventions once I'm financially stable in the UK. I only went to one during university, and I'm still friends with some of the people I met there. It was kind of fun, but there was definitely far less stuff I'd even consider buying these days. I'm planning to get more involved in the dollfie scene again since it attracts people closer to my age (and I don't have to buy anything except transportation for it, due to already owning five dollfies/lots of clothing for them.)
On February 09 2012 22:37 zul wrote: best of luck in the future, I remember you and your pics from my bw spectator days. didn`t you also make a video were you show an esports stadium with all its rooms (for players, fans and press)?
Yes, I made several of those types of tour videos. They were really fun to do :D
On February 10 2012 00:22 Symmetry wrote: Neggie <3 Meeting you was an absolute pleasure. I didn't mention it at the time, but I love listening to people with british accents talk
You're an awesome girl and you're cuter than you'd ever give yourself credit for. I hope you do well in all your endeavours :D
Also, are you really leaving to get away from sir fanboy Michael? You can tell us ;D
I always love and be thankful for all the work you've done to eSport. Best of luck in whatever you do in the future. One other note, did you say goodbye to Kwanro .
On February 17 2012 21:37 DISHU wrote: i hope you dont mind me asking but if you lived in a country for 5 years there shoudnt be a language barrier right ?
TBH I doubt even with constant study and/or a natural affinity for language learning I could have become fluent in Korean in five years. I don't socialize with Korean people/non-english speakers/people in general enough to make it worth learning more than I need to. I can write/read hangul, order food, use public transport (well it is in english) and do most of the other things I need to without help (aka. visiting the pharmacy etc.) I never saw this as a super long term life change for myself, so learning Korean became a very low priority. If I need to do something special (visiting the doctor etc.) then I'll check out the correct sentences etc to explain what I need.
Other than that I'd rather not waste my leisure time learning a language I'm never going to use again ^^;
I thoroughly enjoyed all of your involvement and coverage of Korea, not to mention FPView of it all. I hope wherever you go is filled with as much excitement for the new and unseen as Korea was for you.
On February 17 2012 21:37 DISHU wrote: i hope you dont mind me asking but if you lived in a country for 5 years there shoudnt be a language barrier right ?
TBH I doubt even with constant study and/or a natural affinity for language learning I could have become fluent in Korean in five years. I don't socialize with Korean people/non-english speakers/people in general enough to make it worth learning more than I need to. I can write/read hangul, order food, use public transport (well it is in english) and do most of the other things I need to without help (aka. visiting the pharmacy etc.) I never saw this as a super long term life change for myself, so learning Korean became a very low priority. If I need to do something special (visiting the doctor etc.) then I'll check out the correct sentences etc to explain what I need.
Other than that I'd rather not waste my leisure time learning a language I'm never going to use again ^^;
Seems strange to live in a foreign country for that long and not really think it's important to learn the language or interact with locals. If you wanted to socialise with English speaker mostly would it not have been better to just stay in the UK? I say this without having a dig at you. I just find expatriates that seem to live in their own little bubbles in the major cities of East Asia a puzzling breed.
nevergg is saying gg to korea?! thanks for the work you did over the past years for broodwar, I especially enjoyed some of those behind the scenes videos you did during some osl finals, I believe it was for flash vs movie.
NeverGG Always enjoyed your photos, Best of luck to you.
On March 21 2012 11:13 kurosawa wrote: Seems strange to live in a foreign country for that long and not really think it's important to learn the language or interact with locals. If you wanted to socialise with English speaker mostly would it not have been better to just stay in the UK? I say this without having a dig at you....
Learning a language is super hard and your gonna at least have a year or two concentrating on just trying to learn it. And most people that are busy with their academics, work and etc. doesn't really have time to learn the language and even if you try to speak to locals what they usually do is giggle and laugh on your face and try to speak English..... Fact is some people are good with languages some are not its just the way of life...
EPT
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