Brother One Cell

My internet has been out for the past few days, and I've seriously been going through withdrawl. Yes, I am an internet addict. Anyway, the internet repairman just left (the power supply to my external cable modem had gone kaput and had to be replaced), and I am back online. I am currently listening to an episode of the Diane Rehm Show from a few days ago:

At age 23, Cullen Thomas was arrested in Seoul and sentenced to three-and-one-half years in prison for smuggling hashish into the country. He provides a view of South Korean society few Americans will ever see and describes how his experience transformed him. Listen to it here.

Granted, Thomas was a complete idiot; how stupid can you be to smuggle narcotics into South Korea? But, it's interesting to hear his description of the English-teaching culture here in South Korea back in the mid-1990s. Certainly, things have changed here quite a bit since then, but in many ways it's very, very much the same. Anyway, give it a listen. It's quite fascinating... especially his description of life inside the prison.

Anyhow, Thomas has written a book entitled Brother One Cell: An American Coming of Age in South Korea's Prisons.