Punctuality

I have always been punctual. It is something I pride myself on. I would rather be 30 minutes early than 1 minute late for anything. A lack of punctuality on the part of someone is a sure way to raise my ire. Before I went to Korea I would always be at work around 15 minutes before my shift started. I was never one of those people who would show up at the last minute. It meant that I never had to rush.

I found myself showing up even earlier at my 1st job in Korea. It became my routine to be there when the doors opened at 6AM. Our first class was at 6:30. I would use this time to prep anything I needed, which rarely happened, drink coffee, and read the paper. It allowed me to actually relax before starting the day.

At my second and subsequent schools I would usually show up an hour before classes started. I would use my laptop to catch up on email, read some news from home, and anything else I needed/wanted while having coffee. If something was going on that the foreign teachers hadn't been told about, which happened WAY TOO OFTEN, I would sometimes find out about it then and not be caught completely by surprise.

When it comes to my punctuality, my time in Korea served me well. Now that I am home I find that I like to be at work 45 minutes to an hour before my shift starts. I can find out what has been going on, read the paper, drink my coffee, and catch up with co-workers. Sometimes I have even picked up an extra 30-60 minutes of work when they were short and would ask me if I could start right away.

Now if only more of my co-workers were punctual. Or even just on time.

Untimely replies and racist comments.

A comment that was left for me on Notes From the Dog Farm was pointed out to me the other day. Since time had passed I decided not to answer it. It did raise 2 interesting questions.

The 1st had me shaking my head a bit. The commenter asked why I stay in Korea if I dislike it so much. The only reply I can think of is a question. How can someone who claims to have read both my blogs not know that I left Korea almost a year and a half ago? If he meant why did I stay 10 years, that would reply a post of it's own.

The 2nd question raised was about some of the words I have used on my blog when talking about Koreans. Two were mentioned specifically; mook and ricetard.

It still surprises me a bit that people don't know the word mook. It has appeared in many TV shows and movies. Just about anything Mafia related has the word show up in it. You can't have watched The Sopranos without having heard it being used. It has even been used on the Simpsons. While it is an older term, more popular in the old pulp fiction novels and gangster movies, it isn't THAT rare to hear it used today.

Mook isn't just used to refer to Koreans. I use it to refer to idiots of any nationality. Once again, if someone read my blogs they should know that.

Of course you have 'tards like John who implied I was using it as a play on the word gook. Mind you that was him either being deliberately dense to imply racism on my part or too lazy to use a dictionary and just showing his own ignorance. But I digress.

Ricetard, well, yeah, regardless of how it was meant it was kind of racist. (Hmm, I went back and reread this post before posting it and even saying "kind of racist" seems like a cop out. It was racist.) Which is why I stopped using it.

It didn't seem racist to me at the time. Which is a reason not an excuse. It seemed like a funny play on words (especially after a Korean company released a confectionary called a Rice Tard), and Koreans aren't a race. Mind you that kind of reasoning is just a cop out. It is a way of trying to excuse something you either know or think could be bad behaviour. In this case my own behaviour. I can see how it can be construed as being a racist comment. So rather than using the term any more, or being stupid enough to actually try and defend the indefensible and continue using it, I stopped and just went with the generic fucktard and non-racist variants of it (Bustard, Youtard, etc.).

Year 1 - The Corner Store

There was a Green Mart (I believe a Green Mart, definitely a Something Mart) on the ground floor of the small apartment building I lived in during my 1st year in Korea. The owners were an older couple and great people, as were their kids. They ended up becoming grandparents twice in the same week. Their sons's wife and their daughter gave birth a few days apart. As of my last week in Korea they still kept a bottle of wine in case set aside in case some of the old gang came by. But I digress.

I was just watching No Reservation: Macau and Bourdain was talking about how government over regulation hurts the street food industry everywhere. While chowing down of course. :) It reminded me of when the government started cracking down on stores and shops putting tables on the sidewalk.

There was a huge sidewalk that linked the side street to the main street. Even with tables set out there was lots of room to move around. The corner store had tables out so people could sit, drink and eat. A restaurant on the other side of the walk put out some tables. It was a great place to gather before an outing or come back to and decompress after an outing.

Then one day after World Cup the tables were gone except for a few snug against the store. The cops and a government official had come by and told them they were not allowed to put tables out on the walk way. If they did they would be fined.

What brought this on? Pedestrians complaining because they couldn't walk through? Scooter's complaining because the side walk was too unsafe to drive on with so many people there? Nope. It was some other restaurants in the area who got their ass in the air because the store was cutting into their business. Their over lap crowd wouldn't wait around for a seat to open. If there was space by the store they would head there and settle in. Mind you some of the same restaurants didn't mind sending food OUT to the tables by the stores to serve their overlap crowd.

This "ruling" was disappointing. You would meet some interesting people out there. Plus you could sit outside instead of being jam packed into a restaurant or bar. Add to that the convenience of it being beside my apartment building. ;)

Year 1 - Rainy Season

The latest floods in South Korea and Stig's post about the 2002 flooding he experienced got me thinking about my 1st year in South Korea. It was my first experience with a "Rainy Season" other than spring.

My strongest memory is of when a typhoon hit. Cheongju is far enough inland that we didn't get a lot of the wind but holy humidity batman did we ever get the rain. While the flooding wasn't on the scale we have seen in the news now it was pretty soupy out.

A group of us went out to supper on a Saturday night and did something stupid. It wasn't raining when we left so no one brought umbrellas even though it was pretty dark out. After supper it started raining but we just beat feet to Road King. Then the heavens opened and what seemed like a deluge of biblical proportions started.

From the window seats we got to see a lot of lightning and rain. At times the rain was so heavy you couldn't see across the street. Part of the street, running downhill, looked like a small river. Ok, I am exaggerating, more like a stream. None of us were looking forward to the walk home. Luckily, home was only about a 5 minute walk away.

The rain had lessened but was still coming down pretty hard when we decided to head home. It wasn't a cold rain so we all said fuck it and decided to just enjoy a walk in the rain. It was actually kind of nice once you got over the initial soaking. A nice hot shower once I was home helped too.

I have always loved the sound of rain falling. It something I find kind of relaxing. Nights when it is raining I usually have the best sleep. As a kid I liked to walk in the rain, not always with rain gear on. That night reminded me of it. After that I would sometimes go for a walk in the rain, with or without an umbrella (not in the winter though). Or go to a park and sit under one of the pagodas with a book and just relax listening to the rain. There is a great spot in BalSon Park with a pagoda that over looks the bus terminal and part of the city. A great spot to sit and relax on a rainy or stormy day.

The Top Ten Ways To Amuse Yourself In Korea

Korean Adventurer (May 3, 2002 Chautauqua)

The Top 10 Ways to Amuse Yourself In Korea

This list was sent to me by my friend, Blondie. It provides some insights about what life in general is like over here.

10.) Play chicken with cars on the sidewalk. This is a fairly common occurrence. Koreans park just about anywhere they damn well please. Cars, motorcycles, and bikes take advantage of any opening anywhere, road or sidewalk, to beat the traffic. I remember walking home from the store the other night, and I heard an engine behind me. I was almost up to a space between two other parked vehicles, and I didn't bother moving aside, as I thought the space was too small for the following vehicle to pass through. I was startled to hear the motor continue close behind me. I looked, and was confronted with the smallest car I have ever seen. It gave new meaning to the word "compact".

9.)Order Steak and Potato with Fiddleheads at EVERY Korean restaurant. I'm not exactly sure what this means, as I've not had this particular delicacy. I think it makes reference to the fact that "fiddleheads" can make you sick if you're not careful. It's not really funny, as there was a story in the "Korean Herald" last week, saying that the food in six different fast food chains (KFC and McDonald's among them) had tested positive for staph infections in the foods. Bad news for westerners who do not like Korean food.

8.) While sitting in a public spot, pretend to catch a fly with chopsticks. Celebrate loudly. Koreans are intensely interested in everything we westerners do, and do not hesitate to stare when they so you. They also like to examine the contents of your shopping basket. It's nothing hostile, just innocent curiosity.

7.) When something is said by one Korean to another that is slightly amusing, laugh hysterically. Don't stop. Well, this is just plain mean. Hee hee hee.

6.) Stand outside a Korean electronics store where the TVs are playing. Pretend to understand every word. Again, just mean. The kids in my school get very excited when I display any knowledge of their language, and it is difficult to stop them from testing me, and turn the lesson back to learning English.

5.) Remind a Korean man that he is short. Do this repeatedly. Be prepared for an a** kicking. It's true that there are a lot of short people here, but they are also very thin. One of the first things that struck me when I returned home last year was how many obese people there were, myself included. Most Koreans like to get out and do some regular physical activity, for which they should be commended. Also, there are quite a few who are as tall, if not taller than some westerners.

4. Convince them that both of your parents are Korean (oh yes, it can be done). The trick to arguing with Koreans is to remain calm at all times. Once you lose your temper, you've lost the argument.

3.) Wear Japanese flags. The Koreans really are very touchy when it comes to anything Japanese. A person who makes a reference to the "Sea of Japan" will be provided with the correct title, the "East Sea". There has always been some tension in their relations. Last year it was some textbooks, approved for use in Japanese schools, that did not deal adequately with Japan's conquests and behaviour during it's Imperial phase. It only just got smoothed over when the Japanese premier paid a visit to the shrine for Japanese war dead. Some of those memorialized are considered war criminals over here, and the visit has cast a pall over the upcoming joint Japanese/Korean hosting of the World Cup.

2.) Go to the cinema. After the preview for a Korean film, pump your fists in the air and yell, "I CAN'T WAIT TO SEE THAT!". Actually, there have been some very good films made here recently. A few years back, a film called "JSA" won an Academy Award for best foreign film. It was a tense thriller about a South Korean soldier accused of murdering some North Korean counterparts. Another film, called "Friends", dealt with four rookie firemen that featured some thrilling firefighting scenes.

1.) Fix something. It always seems like there is something to be done when foreigners move into their (school-supplied) apartment. Usually, it's fairly simple to make it seem homey. My friends and I have managed to make our places comfy enough to be a close substitute for "home". We are convinced that we are the only ones to take the time and trouble. Some of the people we've had as room-mates have been less than...clean. Oh well, it takes all kinds, I guess.

Anyway, there is a lot more to tell about life in Korea. I hope I have not rambled on too long, and I hope you look forward to the next installment. Until then, anyong assayo (Peace be with you).
________________________________________

Ask Flint about the shopping basket thing, and then duck.
My description of the movie "Friends" is erroneous. It's actually about four Koreans who grew up in Busan. One became a cop and another became a criminal, with tragic results.
I remember helping Mick and Jane clean an apartment after another teacher had left. The filth was indescribable. I remember scrubbing layers of grime off of the tile in the bathroom and wondering how anyone could stand it.

Year Three - The Weekend That Was

I was going through old emails I had set aside for possible WTK posts when I came across this one from the Winter of 2003-2004. In March of 2004 Korea got hit by a wicked snow storm. It was the worst snowstorm in Cheongju for March since they started keeping records. Nova Scotia had been hit a month or so before by White Juan. One of the worst winter storms to ever hit. Some of the drifts were 2 metres high.

While I had mentioned this in a previous I had never found the email talking about it. Until tonight.

Here is the email.

****

Hi

What a weekend. We ended up with about 38 cm of snow. Luckily there was no real wind so there was no drifting. I will throw my pics into a web site soon so you can see them.

I guess I played good Samaritan too much Friday on the way to and from work. Helping out all of those stuck cars left me in pain Saturday. My left shoulder and neck were F'd. As was my right shoulder and side, but not nearly as badly. It didn't bother me when I went out Friday night.

It didn't take me long to get a cab. Hilda however was hosed by the weather. Her 40 min bus trip ended up taking just over FOUR HOURS!!!!! The road was bad, traffic was heavy, and once she was on it she couldn't get off.

It wasn't as bad here Friday night transportation wise but Saturday was horrendous. Plus I was in pain. I was meeting Hilda for supper in SacheongDong. It took me 30 minutes just to get a cab! The cab ride took over 30 minutes, I was late for dinner, and it cost double what it normally would have for the ride. I was in pain from my shoulder/neck so I didn't stay out late. I called it a night around 10:30.

That is when the joy of waiting with umpteen million others to get a cab was revealed to me. People were literally lined up down the street waiting to hail cabs. Cabs were stuffed full. If they weren't full they would stop and get extra fares going the same way. Here I was in pain, cold, feet wet, wondering whether I should rejoin Hilda and the others or just go home.

A Korean guy waiting beside me started talking to me. His speech was SO fast I couldn't understand anything at first. He repeated himself and finally I made out was odie-gah, where go. I said YongAmDong. He said Ah.

He had been getting partially filled cabs to stop so he could see if they were going his way. After talking at/to me he started asking for me too. He got me a cab within 5 minutes. If it weren't for him I would have been there a LONG time. I thanked him in Korean and English. His kindness didn't just help me get home quickly, it made me feel a lot better about life in general. It is strange how just one random act of kindness can perk you up. I hope I had that effect on the people whose cars I helped push.

Sunday was rest day. I was a laaaaaaaaaaaazy bum. Rented some videos, made some chicken soup, and just lazed around. It was nice.

Saw the doctor today. Instead of pain killer pills he gave me a painkiller patch to use. You put the patch on the sore area and leave it. It leeches PK's into your over time, about 12 hours. you know it is working because you feel warm and tingling where it is on. (No, it isn't good enough to make you warm and tingly all over. :) )

While the snow we got was no where close to what NS got, it was a huge amount for here. As I mentioned, it was the worst March storm in 100 years. Most people say it was the worst they have ever seen for any winter. There is still a lot on the ground, and the government is still clearing streets. Now when I talk to students about real snow they know what I mean. :)

Take care

Flint

*****

I am glad I ran across this email as I had almost forgotten about the guy who got me a taxi home that night. Sometimes when dealing with idiots like those at Korea Sentry, or just venting about shit that happened, I forget about the good people. I guess you could say that guy helped me out again.

It also had me thinking about how much I enjoyed Korean saunas. The day of the storm schools and hagwons CLOSED at noon. Some co-workers and I ended up going home and meeting at a sauna near our apartments. It felt so good after being wet and cold ... and sore from pushing cars. I miss saunas.

DMZ - 3rd Time

What is the old saying? Third time is the charm. Looking back it took 3 visits to actually see all the DMZ sights.

The third trip to the DMZ saw me go with 3 co-workers. We took the USO Tour. Since you had to be at the USO office for 6Am we went up to Seoul Friday night and had a good night sleep.

On the trip in and back you were constantly aware the kind of area you were heading into. The tank traps mentioned in a previous post were still around. Add to that the defences along the river banks and roadside that increased the closer you got to the DMZ.

The USO tour didn't stop at ImjinGak. It went straight to Camp Bonifas. There we changed buses. The new one was driven by a soldier and would take us around the JSA. We did had the JSA briefing, did a little tour of the camp then zipped off to the JSA. It hadn't changed since my last visit a year or so before so there isn't much to add about it.

After the JSA we went back to Camp Bonifas and had lunch. Then we changed back to our tour bus and went to the DoraSan Observation Deck. It was the one spot none of my other tours went to. The 1st tour I was on was supposed to stop there but for some reason they weren't allowed to that day.

This time it was open and we visited. The main only?) drawing point for the place is the observation area. From the deck you can see across the DMZ into North Korea. You can see "Propaganda Village" and off in the distance part of Gaesong. There were huge binoculars you could pay to use to look out over the area, or your own binoculars if you brought them. You were not allowed to take pictures from the where the binoculars were.

There was a yellow line about 20 feet or so back where you could take pictures from. Later we were told it was because they didn't want pictures of the defences on this side of the DMZ and the angle from there didn't allow you to see them. Makes pretty good sense in a war zone.

From there we went to the 3rd Tunnel of Aggression. For some reason DoraSan Train station was skipped but since I had seen it my first trip I didn't care too much. After the tunnel is was back to Seoul.

All in all it was a good tour. I highly recommend the USO tour of the DMZ if you are thinking of going. Good price and a good tour.

DMZ Tour - 2nd Time

I found an old email that I had sent out to friends after the first trip I took to Panmunjeom. It was my second time in the DMZ. The first time I only went to the 3rd Tunnel and the train station. I went back to the DMZ with friends a year later and it took the 3 trips for me to see all of the DMZ "sights". When I started putting this post together it inspired me to do one about my 1st and 3rd trips as well. which meant this got put on hold until I finished the 1st and posted it.

The email consisted of some personal observations/stories plus information I copied from pamphlets and a web site.

Date: 6-May-03 12:15 AM

Howdy

Ah, a long weekend.

The plan was to go to Seoul 1st thing Saturday morning, take a tour of Panmunjeom in the afternoon, spend the night, and go back to Cheongju Sunday night. You know what they say about the best laid plans of mice and men. Thanks to sleeping in late (everyone not just me) we didn't meet up until it was close to time to leave on the tour.

I had hoped that JW could come with me, but there are some strange rules. It seems that South Koreans are ONLY allowed to the area with special permission. It takes about a month or so to receive, IF the government says yes. We can register online or by phone and go on the next tour. It seems very strange to be allowed into a part of a country where Nationals are not allowed.

We arrived for the tour registration on time. I was told that my shirt was not proper for the tour because it had a round collar. Which wasn't on their website under a list of restrictions. Most people on the tour were wearing stuff that they weren't supposed to. From shorts, to T-Shirts with stuff written on it. There was a chance anyone in "prohibited" clothes would not be allowed into the Joint Security Area (JSA). It is up to the soldier who is assigned to the tour. So, we leave Seoul with me wondering if I will not be allowed into the main area I want to see.

The drive out was much like the one on my first DMZ tour. Lots of traffic leaving Seoul, little to no traffic once you were by the DMZ. Around the DMZ there are several structures across the road that they call tank traps. When an invasion happens these things are blown up and block the road, for a little while. Basically they are like small bridges you drive under. They are made of concrete and stone, and the insides are filled with explosives. Makes ya feel safe driving under them. I hadn't realized that there were several of these structures ringing Seoul. Glad I don't drive around Seoul too much. ;)

There was a lecture on the history of Korea and the DMZ on the drive through Seoul and out. It only touched on the DMZ and JSA as our briefing at Camp Bonifas would cover it in more detail. We had to stop at the entrance to the DMZ so our passports could be checked. That went smoothly, and we were on to Camp Bonifas. It would be our last stop before Panmunjeom, and the site of a briefing on the history of the area.

Panmunjeom was a small village 48 km northwest of Seoul and 10 km east of Kaesong, located in the middle of what is now the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ). It was the venue of the Korean War armistice talks between the U.N. Forces and the Communists that lasted from October 1951 until July 1953. The 155-mile long DMZ established in Panmunjeom in 1953 at the time of the signing of the Armistice extends from Gyodong, Ganghwado Island (in the West Sea) to Myongho-ri, Gosong (in the East Sea). After the signing of the Armistice Agreement that ended the open hostilities on July 27, 1953, Panmunjeom was designated the headquarters of the Military Armistice Commission (MAC). Four levels of meetings are conducted between the two Koreas, and it has since been the guardian of the longest truce in modern times.

There are several structures in Panmujeom. Freedom House, originally built in 1965, was rebuilt in 1998. Panmun-gak, the administrative headquarters of the North Korean Security Force within the Joint Security Area (JSA), was built in 1968. Other buildings for inter-Korean dialogue were established in the 1980. In addition to serving as the stage for the MAC, it also acts as a meeting area for the conciliation, interaction, and cooperation between the two Koreas, with the cooperation part beginning to assume more importance. Panmunjeom also provides the only road connecting the two countries.

Liaison offices for both Koreas were established in Panmunjeom with 23 hotlines for inter-Korean dialogue and also a hotline at the MAC linking both Koreas. Panmunjeom is unique in that it is under the joint management of the United Nations Command (UNC) and North Korea. However, since the 1976 axe murder incident (in which North Korean guards attacked a UNC work party and killed two American officers), the sentries have been separated and the Joint Security Area split in half.

Two villages, one on each side of the DMZ, were authorized in a subsequent agreement to the Armistice. No other inhabited areas are allowed within the DMZ. Taesong-dong ("Great Success Village"), located approximately one-half kilometer southwest of the JSA, is in the UNC portion of the DMZ. The residents of Taesong-dong are required to be either original inhabitants or direct descendants of the villagers who were residing there when the Armistice was signed in 1953. Among other perks, male villagers are exempt from military service. However, villagers must also abide by strict rules, including a nightly curfew.

Directly across from Taesong-dong is the North Korean village of Kichong-dong or "Peace Village." U.N. troops call it "Propaganda Village" because of the propaganda often blasted from loud speakers located near the village. Although North Koreans work the fields by day, they are all removed from the area before dark and only a small custodial staff actually lives in Kichong-dong.

Also located in the JSA is the "Bridge of No Return." In 1953, this bridge was used to return prisoners of war of both sides, who were allowed to make a free irreversible choice on whether to return to their place of origin. For the North Korean and Chinese prisoners of war held by the UNC, this meant choosing between living in the South or Nationalist China (Taiwan), or being repatriated to North Korea or the People's Republic of China. Thousands chose not to return to their communist homelands.

The area has also been the site of a few high publicity crossings. This includes the 1968 repatriation of the crew of the U.S.S. Pueblo (captured in international waters 11 months earlier by the North Korean Navy), several defections on both sides, and the homecoming (and immediate arrest) of several South Koreans who visited North Korea without prior permission from the South Korean government. Recently, Panmunjeom has attracted more interest as a stage for peaceful unification.

According to the briefing we got the last violent crossing occured in 1984. A Russian tourist to the Northern side decided to defect. The North Koreans pursued him into the UN Command area and a firefight ensued. 3 North Koreans and 1 South Korean were killed, and several on both sides wounded.

The creator of Hyundai Motors, and Hyundai Group had one of the highest profile peaceful initiatives. Chung Ju-Yung was actually born in North Korea, and defected when he was a teenager. Unfortunately he had to leave his parents behind and was never able to aid or contact them after that. He always believed in helping unite the two Koreas. He helped to pay to erect a new bridge to connect the old Route 1 between the Koreas. In June 1998, he became the first businessman to cross Panmunjeom to North Korea to deliver 1001 cows.

The tension was palpable in the air as we entered the JSA. It is hard to express in words, it was just different. If you believe in it, my friend JW explained it best. You can feel the intensity of energy focused between the two sides. I can testify that you certainly felt something in the air.

First we went to Freedom House. It was a tad gaudy considering the history of the area. The gilded chandeliers in the entry hall seemed very out of place. We were told not to stop walking from the bus into the building. Although we could take pictures, we were told not to stop and do it. Once inside we were given the same restrictions for our walk into the blue conference building. We were also told that if the North Koreans entered the building we were to ignore them. Do not make gestures, touch, or talk to them.

Then we hiked across the road and entered the conference hall. We could see the talks table with all its paraphenelia. Of course we were warned not to touch it either. Two South Korean soldiers entered form the rear door, and two others followed us in. We were told that we were allowed anywhere in the room, including the part that is technically in North Korea. So, on Saturday May 3rd 2003, I entered and exited North Korea, and have pictures to prove it. ;)

I have to comment on the guards here. Talk about discipline. They stand in what is called a modified Tae Kwon Do stance. It is supposed to allow them to react even quicker to an attack, and to give an even more aggressive looking stance. They hold this stance for hours at a time. They do not move, you can't even see them breathe. While we were allowed to have our pictures taken with them, we were cautioned not to move behind them as they were authorized to deal harshly with anyone who moved in behind them. They just don't take any chances. Outside two guards always expose themselves in this stance looking down either side of the conference hall, while two others maintain the stance in a partially exposed area, to make it harder to shoot them. They watch the Northern side.

This stance is, well, unnerving. They seem like statues, but you can feel that they are ready to strike. The whole time I stood beside one of the guards I was nervous. I just kept expecting him to move or do something. The stance is definitely intimidating.

No North Koreans entered. (The North Koreans we saw this time looked anorexic.)

From there we went up to the observation pagoda which gave an excellent view of the area. One of the most beautiful gardens I have ever seen is in the JSA. It was the area were the firefight took place in 1984. We also had a great view of the North Korean area.

We left there to go to Observation point three. From there we could look down to the Bridge of No Return, see Propaganda village, and a couple of North Korean observation posts. We also had a good view into North Korea. As the officer was giving his briefing to us outside the OP I heard some explosions to the south, and could see black smoke pluming up. Several others saw it. When he was done his briefing I asked him about them. He hadn't heard the sounds, but said it could be land mines being exploded where they are removing them.

We reboarded the bus and begain the drive back to Camp Bonifas. Supper, a buffet, was served in the commisary, and was pretty good. We were also able to buy souvenirs before heading back to Seoul. All in all it was a very interesting tour.

Take care

Flint

DMZ Tour - 1st Time

The first time I went to the DMZ I went on my own in 2002. I didn't go to the JSA. My tour took me to Imjin, Dora San station, and the 3rd Tunnel.

Imjin is the name of the river that separates part of the DMZ from South Korea. Imjingak is a place where the tour buses congregate before heading into the DMZ. There are some touristy sites there as well as tourist traps. There is also a park and an amusement park.

The "Bridge of Freedom" is located there. It is a railroad bridge that crosses the Imjin into the DMZ. The bridge was last used to repatriate POW's coming back from the north.

South Koreans who visit this area, they are allowed to come here but needed special permission to enter the DMZ, will post letters, notes, and placards on the fence that blocks the entrance to the bridge.

There is a an area with a special memorial altar and bell.

North Koreans who have fled to the South come here on special occasions, like Chuseok. Since they can't see their family they come here to honour them.


It was a strange to see the area. Part of it is very sombre, even depressing at times. Another part is a tourist trap area with an amusement park.

From here we boarded the bus and headed into the DMZ to see Dora San Station. It is a very modern, fully staffed train station that is meant to be the last stop before proceeding into North Korea by train. Or conversely, the 1st stop coming into South Korea from the North.

Once again it was a strange place to be. The station was fully staffed with a heavy military presence. But NO trains ever came here and no one knew if or when they ever would. The only patrons were tourists.

We didn't spend a lot of time at the station. Then we hopped on the bus and headed off to the 3rd Tunnel of Aggression.

The 3rd tunnel is just what the name implies, the 3rd tunnel that was discovered dug from North Korea into the South. These tunnels would be used to sneak troops into the south in the event of war.

It was an interesting place. Before going down into the tunnel proper we went through a museum about the DMZ and the Korean War. The museum ended with a short film about the families that have been split apart. It really tore at your heart. Especially the scenes about family members seeing each other for the first time since the war ... and the ones who showed up but there family from the North didn't.

Then we took a little train down into the tunnel and walked to where it is now blocked off. At one time you would be able to see into the North Korean portion of the tunnel. For safety reasons they ended up walling the entrance off.

Just before the area we get back on the buses and can buy souvenirs there is a statue that is meant to represent the desire to reunite the two Koreas. A lot of people get their pictures taken as if they were one of the figures pushing towards reunification. I had to wait a while to get a picture of just the statue.

After popping into the souvenir shop it was time to board the bus for the trip back to Seoul. All in all it was an interesting trip. I regretted not getting to the JSA and decided Iw ould come back again and see it.

Chuck

Writing about Chuck and the Porn Taxi (sounds much more interesting then Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) got me thinking about him. I often say that I have met a lot of people in South Korea but most of them just aren't memorable. Chuck is one of the memorable ones.

I met Chuck at a bar in YongAm-dong called Buck's. He was working at one of our competitors, Little America. (For those who don't know Little America is a chain of English Hagwons in South Korea. They don't always have American teachers and some acquire nick names like Little Australia. ) Chuck was rarely sober. :)

When you think of the "bad examples" of English teachers in Korea Chuck would have fit the bill. He was rarely sober and always on the lookout for a good time. However, he was a nice guy and a loyal friend. A lot of Chuck stories I can't/won't repeat here. But it was rarely dull with him around.

One time we were at Carrefore and Chuck bought one of those pump action plastic pistols that shoots little plastic beads. I had met Chuck around 10AM at a coffee shop, he was already in his cups drinking beer. By noon we decided to see a movie but had a couple of hours to kill for the next show. So we went shopping and he picked up the toy gun.

We ended up at the food court and of course being foreigners were the object of some staring and pointing. Chuck was starting to sober up and get a hangover and the mooks were starting to get to him. He had to go to the bathroom so I waited at our table.

He came back with an evil grin on his face. Some kid (8-9 years old) was in the bathroom and kept sticking his hand under the door to Chuck's stall. He warned the kid to fook off (imagine it with a Socttish brogue) but the kid persisted. So, he hauled out his gun and shot the kid in the hand. Opened the stall door and shot at him a few more times. The kid ran out of the bathroom screaming. Chuck calmly walked out and told me what happened.

On one hand I thought it was hilarious and maybe the little shit would think twice before annoying people in a stall. On the other hand it was just a kid plus if he cried to daddy we could end up confronted by a pissed off adjosshi. I figured we should get out of there before that happened.

Eventually, after another adventure, we ended up at our movie. It was "The Core". What a horrible movie. Think of "Armageddon" but in the Earth not in space. Chuck was almost sober now and hung over. That isn't a pretty sight and his tolerance for crap movies is pretty low. He started acting a bit mookish and complained loudly about the crappiness of the film. I managed to quiet him down with the promise of more booze after the movie. We never did finish watching it ... and we were happy for that. We did get some booze after the movie ... and were happy for that too.

Chuck ended up leaving South Korea on a midnight run. His school was having money trouble and was jerking him around. He went to Thailand, back to Scotland, and ended up in Vietnam. We kept in touch from time to time thanks to the internet.

Unfortunately, he died in 2009 after an accident in Vietnam. He was a good person to call friend but at times he could be mookish. Mind you, he would be the first one to admit it when you called him on it. Then he would buy you a drink. :)

CheonYeon Cider

I found myself with some stomach problems lately. (once again, nice to NOT have a "friend" around going on about how great their health is and mine (and others) sucks.) It made me think of CheonYeon Cider ... or Ciduh.

When I was first in South Korea a few Korean co-workers went on and on about the benefits of drinking CheonYeon if you had stomach problems. Well, one day I did so I decided to try and and lo and behold it helped! I was pleasantly surprised.

In the West CheonYeon would be called cream soda. As a kid I can remember mom giving us cream soda or ginger ale (just a little) when we had an upset stomach. In the late 80's, at least where I lived, it became hard to impossible to find cream soda. Sometimes you could find the fruit flavoured crap version but not basic cream soda.

Which brings me back to the beginning of this post. My stomach has been botehring me, kind of gassy, and I thought of CheonYeon when what do I see on the shelf at the grocery store ... no not CheonYeon, I WISH it was CheonYeon ... regular cream soda. Bloody expensive for a little 355ml bottle, almost $2.

I am drinking it as a write this post. Letting off the odd belch. Stomach starting to feel better.

CheonYeon Cider ... it does a body good. (And tastes better than the cream soda I just had.)

Good Bye South Korea

Howdy Folks

Well, I did it. I actually left Korea with no plans on returning. I won't say never again because it is impossible to say what the future holds.

Since this blog is about Korea and life there I started a new one called Flint's Follies which I will use to talk about life now that I am home, and anything else I want to talk about. I will still keep workin on What the kimchi??? with Stig. Lots of mook's of the weeks left to post. Plus lots of tales of the early years. Plus Stig will have to start posting more. ;)

I have no regrets about the 9 years I spent in South Korea, nor about returning home. It was a great experience with the usual ups and downs that life throws at us. It was hard to leave, especially saying good bye to my friends and students.

I will write more about leaving Korea later. With pictures.

Betwixt and between.

I find myself wanting to use a phrase I found my adult students overused in the past, mixed emotions. So I decided to go with betwixt and between. I find myself in the strange position of going home, potentially for good, on Monday but not being entirely happy about it.

When I first left home for Korea it was hard. I was leaving my family, friends, and life for the unknown. Now I find myself in a similar position. 9 years is a lot of time to invest in a place. I have actually lived in the same place in Korea for the last 9 years. I have worked for the same boss for the last 4 years plus. While there have been ups and downs the last 4 years it has been a great time. I find myself having to leave behind friends, work, people who have become a surrogate family to me, students and a life I enjoy to go home. It is strange how things have a way of turning around.

It gets even stranger. While I am looking forward to seeing my family I am not that excited about leaving. Probably because of a lot of the issues of the unknown I first faced coming to Korea in 2001.

Yesterday was my last day teaching. It was rough. I almost lost it a few times as did some of my students. Ok, I did lose it and so did some of them. I have just been lucky to have so many great kids. There isn't one I would say I didn't like.

It is like there is a void in me now. For the first time in about 14 years I find myself with no job and having to start looking again when I get home. It is kind of scary when you dwell on it. And I do like to dwell. :)

Oh well. Time to enjoy my last couple of days in Korea.

Is it Monday?

You ever have one of those days, and it isn't a Monday, when shit just happens?

Today has been one of those days. I woke up feeling like shit. Actually that is being kind. Shit warmed over. By noon I felt pukey but otherwise ok. So I went to work. (Yeah, yeah. I should have said fuck it at that point and called in sick. Like a Monday! Brain not working.)

Half way through the work day I started to feel ... cold. This actually scared some of my students. I am never cold. I wear short sleeves all year. Now I was turning the heat up and for my last 2 classes wearing my jacket. Now my co-workers are worried. Then the freezing becomes too hot. Then back and forth. God damn. I have a cold. :(

Work ends. A co-worker asks where all the info I put on the computer yesterday is. I say the file I was told to put it in. I entered it yesterday and saved it. We checked every file. Nothing. Then I check the date the file was last altered. Some fuckwit copied their version over it today instead of entering their information. Which meant my stuff was gone. At this point I said "Too bad. So sad. I will re-enter my stuff tomorrow. I am going home now.

That should have been the end of the drama and BS. But it wasn't. I had to pick up some water, juice, and stuff on the way home. I stopped at the local mart. Parked my scooter. Some fucktard in an SUV decided to back up, when he didn't need to, and knocked the scooter onto me. He SAW me pulling in and getting off the scooter. My left ankle ended up crunched under it. The fucker took off.

I picked up my scooter. Quickly grabbed some stuff and went home.

My ankle is puffed up. May have to see a doctor tomorrow.

I wish I wasn't sick. I could use a drink right now.

Year 1 - Lunar New Year

Happy New Year!

Yes, Happy New Year. It is the lead up to Sollal, the Lunar New Year, here. In Asia most countries don't really celebrate the "Western" New Year. Instead, Lunar New Year is the big celebration time. Which is why I have a 5 day vacation, which started yesterday. :)

This will be the year of the Horse, the Water Horse. I am a Fire Horse myself. If you are interested in learning more about the Chinese and Korean Astrological signs check out http://www.chineseastrology.com/wu/

Yesterday I spent most of the day out with one of my students. We went to Sangdangsansong, or Sangdang Fortress. It is an old fortress on top of a mountain. I had a great time there, and we went to one of the oldest restaurants in the area for lunch. Lunch consisted of a LOT of side dishes, plus a taek-tang and a bap-tang. Taek is chicken, bap is rice, and tang is soup. If you mixed the two soups together, and took out the ginger root, it would have looked exactly like mom's home made chicken soup with rice. It ALMOST tasted as good as mom's soup too. Then we went walking around a mall back in Chongju for a while. I picked up some dirt cheap VCD's. THey were selling off stock, and they only cost 3300 WON each! So I picked up Commando and Dusk Til Dawn. When I was getting out of the car to go home Cheong-Seob, my student, gave me a Sollal gift, a Whiskey gift set. It was very nice of him, I hadn't expected anything.

Sollal is to Koreans what Christmas and New Years are to us. It is a time for family to gather and celebrate the New Year. It is also a time to remember your ancestors, and honour them. You give close friends and family members, and those you respect a gift as well. Plus, when kids shpow respect to their elders on New Years day you are supposed to rewrad them with money. They show respect by bowing and saying a nice greeting to you. Elementary age kids get 1000 won, middle school 5000, and high school 10,000. It can be an expensive day if you have a large family. While it isn't excatly the same as Christmas, that is the closest Western holiday it equates to.

I will be spending a fairly quiet Sollal in Chongju. Unfortunately for 3 days not much will be open. Odds are I will spend part of it with friends. I also have a houseguest. While one of the teachers is in China I am watching his lovebird, Bibimbap. (Yes, he named his bird after a rice dish.) It has taken Bibimbap a while to get settled, he still isn't fully comfortable with the change, but he is starting to chirp to music again. Although not enough as to annoy the hell out of me. I think that if he knew it would annoy me he would be chirping a LOT more. ;)

Is Bush STILL on drugs? Some of his comments, before and after being appointed President by his brother Jeb, and then the Supreme Court, REALLY make you wonder if he is or not. Or at the least make you wonder if he has some sort of brain damage. I, and other teachers, actually use some of his quotes from major speeches, interviews, and policy announcements in class as examples of bad grammar, and how people should NOT create words just because they can't think of a real one. But I digress.

I hope you all have a Happy Lunar New Year!

Flint

******

Ah Bush thanks to your stupidity people could mock you AND educate others at the same time. :)

Year 1 - End of Winter Camp

Hi

I am exhausted, and have a cold, but it is vacation time. :)

Things have been hectic here the last month. A little too much stress at work at times. It should all go back to normal next week, hopefully.

Overall, the kids classes have been ok, but they REALLY push your limits. My best class has turned out to have been what was once my worst. My afternoon girls class was a REAL pain in the ass. They would NOT talk. They would barely do their work. Let me rephrase, they would not talk in English. Korean was fine. Over the past month they have changed around completely. Now they look to talk in English, or at least try.

I think part of what helped bring them around was that I defended them against another teacher the second week of classes. The daughter of one was in my class, and she left because of the lack of talking. He took it upon himself to go and give them a dressing down without even asking me about it. At that point I had made some small progress with them, not as much as I had hoped, but I saw a slim ray of hope. In comes Mr. Koh and he made it look like I ratted them out for not participating. By the time he was done, and I got there, they looked to almost be in tears. So, I gave him a bit of a dressing down in the hallway and let him know that he was not to talk to them again without going through me first. I had not asked for, or needed his help. I think they heard me. I know some of the other classes did. Then I apologized to them for what he did. After that they started opening up more, and have evolved into my best class. They trust me now, and know I won't bullshit them, and that I won't bother with the stupider exercises and things in the text book. They actually ASK to have free talks (any subject, I usually let them choose) in English. They make some of the adults I teach look like poor students.

I had planned on getting them pizza and pop for the last class, but the school got it for their class before mine. SO, I figured I would bring snack food and picked up several packs of pringles (crispy curry is THE best), some potato sticks, and chocolate chip cookies, along with coke. When I got to class, the window was papered over so I couldn't see in. They had put a chair against the door so I had to open it slowly. When I stuck my head in they set off noisemakers. These are things they use at New Years, they make a bang and shoot streamers. They had brought me a triple chocolate cake, and had candles on it. They also decorated the board with drawings, and a big We Love You Flint. We will miss you!. It really made me feel good. :)

The cake bears describing on its own. It was made with 3 layers, a chocolate batter, and two different types of chocolate filling. PLUS the creamy chocolate icing. It also had several chocolate (dark and white) candies in various shapes (including Maple Leafs) on top. All of this was then covered with large flakes of chocolate. I still can't believe they bought it. I almost got verklempt.

So, we talked all class. We ate cake. We ate chips. We drank pop. I even taught them some French. :) It was a great time.

I also got some pictures of the class, which I will try to get scanned when I finish the roll. One of the other teachers took pictures of them and I, plus I got other pics of the class, the cake, and even the board although it might not turn out.

Other than them, I would rather not have a kids class ever again. ;) Actually my little kids class is cute. Some of them almost make a person want to have kids. It was kind of funny yesterday. We were just playing games all class, as it was the last day, waiting for the pizza and pop to arrive. One of the guys accidently hit the littlest girl in the class, in the head while they were playing. He is a good foot taller than her. She kicked him awfully close to the groin and snapped off 3 quick punches. He ended up cowering in the corner. THEN, after wailing on him, she started to cry. It was hard not to laugh, but I managed not to. :)

My other older kids class doesn't bear much mention. They fluctuated between good and bad a lot. They made the mistake of being VERY bad Tuesday so instead of food for the last class I gave them a test on every unit. :)

I will be around Chonju most of my extra long weekend. I might go to Chonan Fri or Sat, but it would just be a day trip to a museum. Of course that is only if my cold starts going away. Then it is back to the grind Monday. Hopefully refreshed and rejuvenated.

Take care

Flint

*******

Cheongju Flint! Cheongju! This was the end of my 3rd month teaching. (Yes, I sent a LOT of emails the first 3 months.)

I still hear from some of the girls from time to time. One went to University to become an English teacher. Great kids and teaching them was a fantastic learning experience for me. I started to find the style of teaching that suited me best.

Year 1 - Seoul

Howdy

Seoul is quite a city.

This weekend I decided I had to get away from Chongju for a while. So, I finally ventured to Seoul. I was supposed to go in with a friend, which would make the first experience a little easier. Unfortunately, as with the best laid plans of mice and men, it went astray.

Patrick had to go in earlier than he had planned. So, he went ahead and I said I would meet up with him. Luckily, it is VERY easy to get to Seoul. There are 2 types of buses to take. Economy and Excellent. Economy only costs 3000 WON, while express costs a whopping 7500 WON. ;) Needless to say I took the Excellent bus.

It was quite excellent. If our buses were this comfortable and fast in getting to a destination people would use them more often. The seats are pretty much the size and shape of 1st class seats on a plane. You have ample leg room. The only thing missing was a stewardess and snack cart. Of course there are enough food stalls at the bus station that you have no excuse for not having something to snack on, or drink. They play music, and have a large screen tv at the front. On the night runs they tend to show western movies, with Korean subtitles. It was a very comfortable and quick trip.

When I got to Seoul the first thing that struck me was the sheer size of the city and volume of people. The large apartment buildings all look pretty much the same. Like everyone uses Mr. Kim's Apartment Design 613 when building.

Seoul is one of the 5 largest cities in the world, with a population of around 11 million people. That is something you never forget when travelling within the city. ESPECIALLY on the subway! It is a good thing I am not claustraphobic or agoraphobic or I would have been screwed. As it was, I was roasting and praying to be back up in the "fresh" polluted air.

Taxis cost more than in Chongju, much more if you get stuck in Rush Hour traffic, but they are still infinitely cheaper than in Canada or the US. So, after riding the subways a bit we cabbed everywhere that was too far to walk to. But I am getting ahead of myself.

I spent some time in the underground arcades while I waited for Patrick and his girlfriend, Chon Soon, to show up. You can get around most business districts underground, and there are usually several sub levels, all connected with subway stops. This is really handy on rainy days. I browsed through an a book store that had an English section, and bought a couple of books. A novel (by John Grisham) and a Korean Cookbook. I was going to buy some of magazines until I saw the prices. Maxim and Stuff cost around 15,000 Won EACH! Needless to say, I quickly walked away from the magazine section.

I don't know what you find more of underground, retail shops or food shops. They are both all over the place. Since I hadn't eated yet that day (it was around 3PM Saturday) we all went out for supper once we met up. The restaurant was a Japanese style one, although I never knew pork cutlets (what Patrick had) in curry were a Japanese thing. (Actually the restaurant would be classed as a fusion restaurant, one which serves some traditional dishes and others that are a mix of cultures.) Chon Soon and I had the Udong soup, a type of seafood and vegetable (more of the latter) soup, made with udong noodles. It was delicious.

From there we started our subway sojourn. We ended up at the Korean Exhibition Plaza. There are a LOT of shops there, and an aquaruium which I will probably see on my next visit, it is a tad expensive to get in and wasn't calculated into my budget. One of the stores is a HUGE bookstore with a LOT of English books. Nothing that struck my fancy though. After spending a while there we went for a walk and got a cab to the hotel I picked.

Unfortunately, no one I talked to about hotels told me to book them in advance. Unless it is a holiday or there is a convention we just don't think of all hotels being full on a regular weekend. In Seoul they are. Without a reservation, no hotel. Luckily there are things called Yeogwhans. They are more like the old Motels, or rattier. There are some that are as good as a regular hotel, and some that are pretty disgusting. A one star hotel will run you around 40,000+ a night, which is where I wanted to stay. Yeogwhans run anywhere from 15,000 to 40,000 a night. We found one nearby that cost 35,000 and was pretty good. I FINALLY had a bath tub, and a bath! I even brought my eucalyptus oil with me. :) Next time I will reserve a room at the Kaya hotel though. For 40,000 a night you get a regular hotel room, with bath, plus the hotel has a sauna and restaurant. Mind you, where we stayed was good enough.

After freshening up, and after being in the hot crowded subway you NEED to freshen up, it was around 6:30 and we decided to go for supper. We went into Itaewon, a place beside the U.S. Army base, and where most Westerners go. There are lots of restaurants, bars, shops, and hookers. So many hookers that they have a hill where most hang out waiting for G.I.'s named after them. There are a lot of shops there, especially one selling illegal knock offs of brand names products. As quickly as their goods are confiscated they have more. I didn't really like Itaewon. My initial reaction would be to say there are too many Westerners. That wouldn't be the complete reason, there are too many weird and scarey Westerners there. It is where the dregs of all socieities seem to gravitate, Western, Korean, whatever. There are some nice places, but most you don't feel comfortable or safe in. You definitely do NOT take your kids there after dark.

For example, Patrick was talking about some of the skankier whores while we were walking to the restaurant. (He had our cab drop us of a few blocks from it for some stupid reason.) There is a spot on the other side of hooker hill where they all exhibit their "wares" and have little rooms to take you too. I don't know if I would talk about it in such a knowledgeable fashion with my girlfriend there, but he did. ;) We were on the wrong side of the street, and waiting to cross. I asked Patrick which way we were going. From behind this gravely voice (female) said: Across the street stupid. Both Patrick and I were about to turn around and say: Who the fuck asked you bitch? when we saw her. We both bit our tongue, she looked like one of the skanks he was talking about. A woman aged beyond her years, who looked like she would knife you if you looked too long and didn't pay. In a surprising fit of self-preservation we both actually kept our comment to ourselves.

We went to a great restaurant named the Thai Orchid. It serves, you will never guess, Thai food. It was fantastic. We all ordered an individual dish. (It sort of reminded me of going out for Chinese food in Dartmouth and people each picking a dish, like Ginger Beef, braised bean curd, yadda yadda yadda.) I picked a chicken and potato done in yellow curry; Chon soon ordered a beef dish; while Patrick got a chicken and cashew dish; plus we started with a mix of appetizers (some satay's, spring rolls, and shrimp). It comes with a huge dish of rice, and we got some wine to go with it. The service was very good too. We always had someone filling our water glasses, and they even have a wine steward who makes sure your glasses are full. Mind you next time I will NOT let Patrick do the wine testing. Drinking it like a shot isn't considered tasting. ;)

We were done dinner by 9:00, and it was time to sample the nightlife. Patrick had a hankering for some Guiness on tap, so we headed for the Seoul Pub. It was loud, and packed with mainly westerners. Yes, there were several there which we classified as scary. It was too noisy and too hot. We had a Guiness and then went looking for a better place. The next one we went into was a place called Queens. It wasn't a gay bar, but it was a hooker bar.

You are expected to buy drinks for the girls, and later for a fee they will do something for you. (Yes, sex is extremely easy to get here if you want to pay for it. Everything from home delivery (pussy on the hoof?) to whore houses, to bar girls. Prostitution is not illegal in Korea. It can be harder to get the legitimate way, but it isn't impossible. ;) ) We left there in search of more liquid pastures.

I am going to digress for a moment. There are a LOT of Christers to be found in Itaewon. For that matter, in Korea. On the highway outside Chongju you will find the large Jesus Saves signs you see in places in the U.S. In Itaewon, at night, they go looking for souls to save on the street corners. We passed a large group of Baptists with megaphones and a sound system singing psalms in Korean. Mind you they were singing psalms in Korean to passing Westerners, the majority of which don't speak ANY Korean. No one said they were smart. Just religious. I guess the Simpson's were right. In North America we get the Hari Krishna's recruiting and handing out pamphlets at some placews in Asia they have the Christians doing it.

Our next stop was going to be a popular place called Gecko's. On the way there we saw Pancho's, a Mexican place and decided to pop in. It was a good idea, because we spent the rest of the night there. The crowd was great, the music good, they had pool tables, darts, western style bathrooms, and GREAT margarita's by the pitcher. :) Overall a good night.

Today I was going to do all the tourist stuff. Hit the War Museum, Insadong, which is a LARGE outdoor art area. Any type of art or nick nack you want can be found there. I was up early, and decided to soak in the tub and watch some TV, since I have neither. At 9 I decided to wake Patrick up and called him to let him know I was going to the museum. He isn't much of a museum person. He asked me to wait 30 min and he would come. 40 min later I called and he had gone back to sleep. I told him to call me when he is up, I would be at the museum.

The War Museum is HUGE. It contains artificats and exhibits going back to before the Three Kingdom era of Korea. They even have replica's of some of the ships they used to defeat the Japanese centuries ago., the turtle ships. Most exhibits are in English and Korean. Except those where the Koreans lost. They are only in Korean. You can also get a device that gives you english aduio of what is in the exhibit. There is a HUGE area devoted to the Korean war.

Most westerners don't realize how close the North came to winning the war. The South was driven FAR south initially, to a small area around the port of Pusan. It wasn't until the amphibious landing at Inchon that the tide started to turn. Most westerners also don't realize just how close they came to winning. Pyongyang was captured and the North Korean Army all but defeated when the Chinese entered the fray.

Outside there are two displays that were interesting. One is a mix of statues and actual planes and tanks used during the war. While you can't go into them you can climb a walkway and look into them. The other display is more solemn. It is a roll of every soldier killed during the Korean war, whether they are Korean or from another U.N. nation. 17 countries, including Canada answered the call to help. Troops from Ethiopa and Columbia, as well as others fought and died to help South Korea.

Unfortunately, by the time I reached the outside exhibits, and Patrick joined me, it was raining heavily. This meant Insadong was out. :(

Since it was around 1PM we decided to get some lunch. Chon Soon was meeting us at a theater around 3 so we could see a movie. We ended up going to a food court and getting some western food. I had Popeye's chicken. Love those buttermilk biscuits. While we waited for her to show we had coffee, browsed the bookstore (Oh, this is all in one of those underground areas, near the bus terminal.), and played video games. We decided to see The One with Jet Li at 4. It wasn't bad, the fight scenes were good.

At 6 I wasn't hungry, but it was time to think about heading back to Chongju. So I left Patrick and Chon Soon so they could spend some time together and got the Excellent bus back home. Which is where I am now.

It was a good weekend. I wish it hadn't rained, but I will be going back to Seoul soon. I could never live there, too many people, but visiting is ok. Next time I will book a room at the hotel in advance, and spend less time in Itaewon. There are several other museums I want to see, as well as some old palaces. If I can find a scanner I will send copies of the pics out when I get them developed.

Take care

Flint

******

You can probably notice a bit of an anti-Westerner/foreigner tinge to my comments. Some of it is because I was drinking the kool-aid then, some of it was and is justified.

Year 1 - First Intensive Session

Howdy

It's been a while, eh?

As some of you know, this is a VERY busy time at the school. It is Winter Break for students. In Korea that doesn't mean vacation time for kids. It means more school. So, we now have kids day classes.

Basically I start at 6:30AM (first class) and don't finish until 9PM. Monday to Friday. Kids classes on top of our other classes. There is about a 2 hour break in there. Of course that doesn't count preparation time. So, by the end of the day all we (the teachers) want to do is sleep.

That is about all that has been going on since New Years. Work, sleep, work, sleep, repeat ad nauseum. It lasts for a month, and the over time pay is going to be sweet, but it wears you down.

I have also started to see some of the bullshit happen that I heard of from other schools. Luckily, it is just minor stuff, and could just be because the staff is as tired as the teachers. I know that some of the English teachers are pretty pissed off with it all. Hopefully it is all just stress, and blows over.

I was trying to go to Osaka for my 4 day break at the end of the month with some other teachers. Unfortunately it costs a little more than I have to spare. So I will spend a few days playing the tourist in Seoul. I am REALLY looking forward to it, especially to having a hotel room with a bath tub. :)

Hopefully I will have more to write when I get my life back in 2 weeks.

Take care

Flint

********

This was my first introduction to intensive classes. God damn it was intensive. I taught 200 hours in 20 days. That was teaching time. Not preparation time. It was ... well ... intense.

I don't seem to have mentioned the bad stuff in my emails. At least not yet that I have seen.

What bad stuff? Well, finding out what classes you were teaching and seeing the book for the first time 1 minute before the classes started. Then finding out the screwed up the rooms we were teaching in.

The classes were a joke. The kids CONVERSATION level was based on their GRAMMAR level! What the kimchi?!?!?! This caused a lot of problems for the conversation classes.

It set my expectations for future intensive sessions quite low. So low that future ones never seemed as bad or chaotic as this one.

Oh yeah, I still miss bath tubs.

Year 1 - Seasons Greetings

Season's Greetings, again!

When I last left off it was the day before the night before Christmas.

Christmas Eve caught me at my best and worst. I had supper with Don and Mary, the owners of the hagwon as well as the 2 South African teachers. We went to a meat and side dish place and hade Galbi. Galbi is beef on the bone. Actually a strip of beef attached to the bone, which you grill up in front of everyone with garlic, onion, Korean sweet potato, and mushrooms. Plus you have a plethora of side dishes. Several types of kimchi, duenjoen chigae, oysters, miniature clams, large peppers to dip in a bean paste, sweet potato noodles, daikon radish, things like that. It was a pretty good time. Even with a bit of a suck up fest I had to put up with from one of the other teachers.

The night took a downturn after dinner. Hilda and the gang who went to Cheju Island called. After talking with them I started getting depressed. All my friends in Korea were either on Cheju Island or off snowboarding. All my family and other friends are in Canada and the US, far away. Yeah, I got a case of the "poor me's". So, I promptly smacked myself one and decided to go out. It turned out that a teacher (Patrick) from another Hagwon and his brother Gordon were still in town. He had hurt his ankle so the snowboarding trip ended up being one night. I ended up joining them at a nearby bar.

Along comes Flint, with his Santa Hat on, and the festivities began. There was a table with 7 Korean women at it. They kept looking over at us. So, mainly due to Patrick, we ended up joining them, and picking up all 7 of them for most of the night. :) What can I say, it was amusing to see other guys try to come over, and the girls send them away to stay with us.

It turns out all 7 of them had been in Canada. They had each spent time, some a year, in British Columbia. Several even sported Canadian flag decals on their phones. They also all spoke English fairly well. We ended up at a nurae-bang (karaoke room) with 4 of them. I got home after 5AM Christmas morning. It was a great night. Odds are we will be getting together with them tomorrow night, New Years Eve. ;)

Mind you it is pretty much impossible to have a social life right now. Actually for the next month. It is winter break here, so all the parents send their kids to private schools. My January hours will be 11 hours a day teaching. 6:30-11:00Am and back from 2:30-9:00PM. Weekends are free, and we have a four day break at the end of the month. Which we will definitely need. I am thinking of spending some time in Seoul.

New Years Eve should be fun. Mind you, it will also be a little sad. It will be our farewell, again, send off for a teacher, Dave. He will be leaving January 2nd for Prague to take a course, and teach. He is a pretty cool guy, one of the better teachers, and people here. We will miss him.

Tonight we took him to the same place I went to Christmas Eve for a send off dinner. Damn it was good. :) Here is a price comparison for you. For 7 of us to eat it cost a whopping 43,000 won. Lets say $43 CDN. It cost 4 people $120 CDN to have a similar, but smaller, dinner at a Korean restaurant in Halifax. Quite the difference.

I hope everyone has a great New Year!

Take care

Flint

*****

I will have to devote a post to the other 2 teachers at the school. I don't really mention them because they were assholes. (Done.)

Heh ... the 7 girls was ALL Patrick's work. Not mainly due to ... all due to. One of the most outgoing people I have ever known and just a great person over-all.

Year 1 - Dogs, Health, and Rude Foreigners

Hi

The week felt longer than 4 days for some reason, but now it is the weekend. In my last class a food topic came up. I am not sure if it came up just to see my reaction or not. Actually, I think it came up honestly. I had just talked about Ruger and Sheba, and how much I love them. So, a student mentioned that he loved dog for another reason. He eats dog meat. My view on it is c'est la vie. Some Koreans eat dog meat. Usually it is eaten around 3 festival periods in the summer. Men will eat dog penis mainly for its rumoured boost to a mans virility, much like bull testicles are eaten out west (prairie oysters). (Ruger would want to keep the lipstick in the tube here. ;)) While I can't see me going out and eating dog meat, if someone enjoys it so what. It is no different than people in Newfoundland eating seal, flipper pie. Or people in the US and Canada eating bull balls. Or any other animal that gets eaten. It doesn't make a person evil, although the thought may be repugnant to some. The topic got a lively discussion in class, with all the students participating. It was interesting.

Before my 1st evening class I had some pung eo bung. It is a pastry in the shape of a goldfish. Very light pastry. Inside is red beans. It was ok. Mary, my boss, also gave all the teachers a bag of Tangerines, probably 20-30 in a bag. I love Tangerines. Normally in Dartmouth we only see them, at an affordable price, around Christmas time. Even then they are pricy. Here they are very cheap. They grow them in Korea.

I also found out 2 reasons why we had the pastry and the tangerines. Mary is looking out for our health. Red beans are supposed to help build up your resistance to cold, and the oranges have vitamin C. Cold season just started a couple of weeks ago. This is Mary's way of helping us with some prevention. It helps the school to have healthy teachers too, but it isn't for just that reason. I like Mary, and her husband Don, and just about everyone who works at the school. She trys to take care of all of us. It is nice to see.

Friday night, after my last class, I went out for a gathering with some of my students. The Soju was flowing freely, and they tried keeping up with me. 9-10 bottles of Soju later 2 of my students had pretty much passed out, and the rest were on the verge. Except for one who showed up later, and didn't drink any alcohol. For supper we had a souk (soup) with rice. It was very spicy and had a mix of veggies, meat (pork/ham) and hard boiled egg slices. Plus kimchi, quail eggs, dipping veggies, and a nice dish called Du Bu Kimchi. It is tofu (dubu) done with sesame seeds and kimchi. It comes piping hot and you wrap the du bu with kimchi and eat. Very tasy. The student who didn't drink much made sure everyone had a way home, and made sure I got to my door ok. I could have been sober and he still would have done it, my "state" wasn't why. I was their guest, and they take care of their guests. The food was great, the drink was great, the company was great.

I didn't go out to dinner tonight with the other teachers due to some miscommunication. Which is kind of good because I know my mouth would have gotten the better of me with another teacher. They went to Il Mare, an Italian restautant. The owner-chef studied in Italy. Very good food. But I digress.

The waitress mixed up one of the orders. So the four people there didn't get their main course at the same time. Then they went to order coffe after the meal. Hilda and John did the ordering. John can speak Korean fairly well, and Hilda got him to explain ordering multiples. There are 2 types of numbering systems in Korean. The primary one for 1,2,3,4,5 and another when ordering food or items. It can be confusing. So, after John's lesson for Hilda, and having ordered 4 coffees one of the teachers (South African) showed just how intolerant some foreigners can be. She always assumes the Koreans speak no English and will talk down to them. She said: That is 4 coffees now dear. 1,2,3,4. F-O-U-R. Four. The girl was VERY embarassed and a little humiliated because she speaks pretty decent English. I would have let the teacher know exactly what I thought of her comments. Hilda and the others bit their tongues. This teacher has a penchant for pulling crap like this, the only time she did it in front of me I put her in her place. I hate it when people act like that.

Tomorrow Mary is taking us to see a traditional Korean dance. I will write more about that in my next email. I will be picking up a disposable camera to take with me. If anyone is interested when I use up all the film and IF I can get the pics scanned I will make them available. Maybe put them on a website rather than email them. (I got this idea from my niece who does that. I always enjoy looking at her picture site.)

Thats all for now.

******

In retrospect the guy who told me he loved eating dog after I talked about mine was just being a dick.

Also in retrospect our boss wasn't worried about our health per se. She was worried about having the foreign body in the classroom. If she was really worried about our health she would have actually provided the health insurance she was supposed to. At the time I didn't

know about that though.

Holy shit I was really giving people the benefit of the doubt back then.