Coming To A (Korean) Tree Near You

Korean Adventure (November 15, 2002 Chautauqua)

A recent article in the Korea Herald (which used the above title) by Andrew Petty listed the major areas in the country where people could go to see the "most spectacular collections of autumn foliage."


There is Mt. Naejang in South Jeolla Province, Mt. Jiri and Mt. Gaya in South Gyeongsang Province, and Mt. Seorak in Gangwon Province. All feature rugged mountain scenery, splendid views of the trees, and a variety of Buddhist temples to compliment the serenity of a day in the wild.


Well, these areas are a bit removed from Daegu, so I had to settle for either Beisulsan (to the south) or Palgongsan (to the north).


I had been to Beisulsan last October, with a large group of friends. We caught a "coach bus" for a two-and-a-half hour trip that still wasn't over when we debarked. It seems the driver had let us off at the bottom of the hill, and it would be another three hour walk before we arrived at our condo.


There is nothing so resourceful as a group of foreigners to find alternate transportation. A truck driver at a nearby construction site was more than happy to carry us up the hill.


There was a short ten minute walk to our condo, which passed by a hillside temple surrounded by trees clothed in brilliant orange and red. The view down the valley was very nice. Trips like this exhaust your vocabulary. There is only so many ways to say it was all spectacular.


That night was spent consuming many beers, so that we would be in the proper frame of mind the next day. A long night of singing and drinking games is a fine way to appreciate the hike up to the top of the mountain.


There was a wide flat space just below the summit where a great congregation of trippers were enjoying picnic lunches and the view all the way around.

There was a pagoda on the lip of a precipice, and there were a couple of para-gliders to complete the picture.

Flint is enjoying this picture, I bet.

This year, I was all on my own. Saturday, November 2, was a brilliant day. The sun was shining, but the wind had picked up, and made the cold just a little more bitter.


I took a "coach bus" all the way from my place to Palgongsan. There is a small tourist village at the base, with a variety of restaurants, hotels, and souvenir stands.


Not being as physical as last year, I took the cable car to the top of the mountain. The trees were more colourful the closer I got to the summit. There is a much smaller space to move around, and there is a trail that leads back down.


I took this trail, but it is not for everyone. It is very rugged, with a lot of jagged rocks and tricky spots to negotiate. There are even ropes strung up to assist the more vertically challenged. Going up would definitely be a major challenge. Going down is no problem, as there is a variety of long stretches where you can do little else.


About an hour down from the summit is the temple of Dongwasa, which has the largest stone Buddha in the world. And it is enormous. It was erected in the hopes of the eventual reconciliation of North and South Korea (something a little more distant now that the North is going nuclear).


The temple itself is the center of a loose collection of temples, and there were many people using the various facilities to pay their respects. There is a large area at the base of the Buddha where you can light a candle. The floor of highly polished marble is a no-shoes area, and many supplicants brought their own rugs to pray in comfort.


Korea's "fall" is a very brief time between the steamy heat of summer and the bitter cold of winter. I was very happy to have taken advantage, and gotten a little taste of a world some only see in a postcard.

----------------------------------------
I have some photos of us strung out along the road, hitchiking, with our pant legs up to show our legs. Doesn't work too well on the guys. Another photo shows us all piled into the back of a Bongo, sitting on top of our bags. The guy was a good driver, and not one of us fell out on the way up.
I went to Dongwasa a few times. There's another temple/Buddha in the area at Gatbawi, which I never did manage to get to.

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.

Gossip

Well, there's always gossip, isn't there? The passing along of information about people you may or not know is at the same time good (who can't resist?) and bad (if you're talking behind their back). It's a pretty big business when you consider TV shows like "TMZ" and "Entertainment Tonight."
So let me tell you what I heard...

The "Chinook" troop carrier

During my first year in Korea, my co-worker Blondie became involved with an American soldier I'll call Mr. Bill (Oh noooooo....). Blondie, as you can imagine, was very popular. I remember once when our gang went to the nightclub at the Ariana Hotel in Daegu. She got invited to a table full of Hennesy reps and was given all the free samples she could drink.
Daegu had at least three U.S. bases, so there were many opportunities to run into and party with the G.I.'s. There was a club close to Suseong (where we all lived) called "Morrison's" (after Jim Morrison). The cover was 15,000 won, and for that you got all the beer or soju you could drink. I stuck mostly to beer, but there was a variety of flavoured soju available, as well.

The versatile, and venerable, "Huey."

I remember one night trying to drink 15,000 worth of alcohol. I made it, but just barely. And I didn't keep it for very long.
You may think 15,000 may not have been very much, but at the time you could get a jug of draft for about 6,000 or 6,500. Beer was (and still is) really cheap there.
In downtown Daegu, there were lots and lots of drinking establishments. There was the Rock 'n Roll Bar (sadly out of business), Old Blue (which featured two rooms: one devoted to jazz and the other devoted to rock - again, sadly out of business), the El Toro (which had a big patio and an even bigger St. Bernard wandering around), the Berkeley (which also had a patio and a trickling fountain), and the Gypsy Rock.
The Gypsy Rock's original location was a basement room just down from the El Toro. It was the favourite of a lot of G.I.'s. The walls were bare cement covered with graffiti, and the furniture was crude wooden tables and stools. When the place was arockin', you couldn't move. I imagined it was what the Cavern would have been like when The Beatles were playing there.

The "Loach," a light reconnaissance 'copter.

The Gypsy moved after a year or two to newer premises. The dance floor was in the basement, and the upper two levels were open in the middle so you could look down and see the dancers crammed together. The new premises were larger, but you still couldn't move when the music was playing.
So somewhere along the line, Blondie met and fell for Mr. Bill, who was a helicopter pilot. They look very happy in the few pictures I have of them.
Because she knew a soldier, he could sign us into the base and shop for certain items at the PX. He got us a turkey for Thanksgiving and a barbecue to cook it with.
We also got to go to the base for the open house and see a lot of cool military hardware (pictured here).

The Apache, Mr. Bill's 'copter.

But they didn't stay happy for very long.
Their intention was to get married until Blondie found out Mr. Bill was already married. His wife was living in the States while he served his tour of duty in Korea.
Blondie was heartbroken, but she still pined after him. She did two years in Korea, and then went to Mexico. I eventually lost contact with her. She just lost interest in replying to my e-mails, I guess.

As part of the show, Mr. Bill took off straight up into the air, spinning around, and taking off like a bat out of hell.

I later heard that Mr. Bill may or may not have been killed in a helicopter crash. I also later heard that he may not have been married at all. The crash and the marriage stories may have been invented just to give him an "exit strategy" in case any woman got too close.
This was just one story about some of the people I met while I was in Korea. I know many more. Ah, gossip.

Year 1 - Playing tourist at Home

Another one from the old email bag. While it was still in my 1st year it was a month before I started my second job.

It always felt kind of strange coming home and ending up doing touristy things. That is what happens when everyone is working weekdays and you have nothing else to do.

******

Howdy

What can I say, I have been remiss in writing. I have been keeping pretty busy since I returned to Canada. Family get togethers, out with friends, parties, and even playing tourist. It has all kept me away from my computer.

The strangest thing about being back in Canada is that I feel more like a tourist now. I am only back for a few weeks, so there is no finality to my return. Also, I was playing tourist. While my uncle and aunt were visiting I did all the tourist stuff. I hit museums, some I hadn't been to in many years. I also did a tour of Halifax on the harbour hopper, an amphibious truck frm the Vietnam era.

We were going to go whale watching but due to high seas they didn't sail. So, we went on the harbour hopper. It takes you on a tour of Halifax by road, and then sea. Overall, it was pretty interesting, and a lot of fun. The tour guide made it fun too. She knew her history, trivia, and even some jokes.

One thing I have noticed since I got back is that we eat a LOT of meat here. I think I have eaten more meat in the last 2 weeks than I did in the last 2 months. Even counting all the lunches and going away parties. I also find I kind of miss Korean food. The Korean restaurant in Halifax closed so I couldn't go there to eat.

I have enjoyed my visit, but I am kind of looking forward to going back to Korea.

Take care

Flint

*****

Stig Goes To Korea II

I had my watches repaired the other day. I have two watches. One is a "Batman" watch I got for my birthday in 1989, about the time the 1st Tim Burton movie came out. The other watch is a 'Wonderland" watch I got from my employer 6 months after I started working there. I was amused to read Wonderland's slogan, "Everyone Smiles In Wonderland" on the back.
Amused in a kind of sad way, because the smiles in Wonderland are as false as the promises they give when they're trying to recruit you.
It's been quite a while since I posted the first part of this story, and the watch reminded me I'd better get back to it. I left off being denied by the ticket agent in Vancouver. She wouldn't let me go the rest of the way because I didn't have a work visa (the E-2). I had let this slip because what the fuck did I know about going to work in Korea? I was as naive and dumb as a person could be. Wonderland couldn't believe their luck.
It took about a week before I was on my way again. I was lucky enough to be able to stay at my sister's while making the necessary arrangements. The ticket agent had said that unless I had an "onward ticket," I wouldn't be allowed to go to Korea. Which means they wanted to know that you had the means to get the fuck out if they didn't like you.
So I arranged with my sister's travel agent to have a ticket to Japan, dated a week or so later, making sure that I could turn it in for the refund after I got to Korea.
I never saw that money again. More about that later.
The flight over was about the same as any other long boring trip where you're trapped in the vehicle until the end. It was an Air Canada flight, and the passengers were mostly Korean. I don't remember much about my first impressions of them. I was in the absolute back of the plane, with no-one else in my row, so I did get to stretch out and rest.
One of the food choices was bibimbap, the first time I'd ever had it. Not bad, for airline food. I remember the ajumma across the aisle from me gave me a look when I put all of the red pepper paste in. Maybe she was going to warn me that it was "spicy." She must've been amazed I didn't start screaming in pain after the first bite. I've always liked bibimbap. It's one of my favourite Korean foods.
When we landed in Seoul, it was dark. We were at Gimpo Airport, as the new terminal at Incheon was not open yet. (Gimpo at that time had International and Domestic terminals next to each other.) A cab driver offered to help me out, which I thought was nice, at first. I'll admit I was very nervous, and very unsure of myself in that situation. I've since learned to handle international travel with some aplomb, but at that time it was all very new and strange. The cabbie used his cell phone to get in touch with my contact, who was going to take me from one terminal to the other and put me on a plane to Daegu. My contact advised me to wait, and he would be along soon enough.
After I got off the phone and returned it to the cabbie, he offered to drive me over to the domestic terminal himself, for $20. This was my first introduction to the dreaded Korean cabbie. Beware, my children! They'll cheat you faster than you can say "What the kimchi?!"
Well, I extracted myself from his clutches, and was soon on my way to Daegu. It's only a short hop, about an hour or so. It was much later in the evening (this was a Saturday night), when I met my director, Mr. Kim, and his aide, James. Wherever I've gone in Korea, the second in command at any hagwon has invariably been named "James."
Anyway, they packed my bags into the car, and we drove off to my new apartment. The main thing I remember from that drive was seeing building after building, all with large, orange, neon crosses on top. One after another. I was thinking, "What have I gotten myself into?"

Year 1 - Winding down

Howdy

It has been a while, hasn't it?

When we aren't being baked by the intense heat of summer in Korea it seems like nature is trying to drown us. Although rainy season ended a week or so ago Korea is being deluged with rain of almost biblical proportions. There has been a LOT of flooding.

The rain started Tuesday and has been coming down in torrents since. It is supposed to continue like this until Friday. Here is an article on the weather, and the flooding. http://koreaherald.co.kr/SITE/data/html_dir/2002/08/07/200208070055.asp and http://www.hankooki.com/times/200208/t2002080617472440110.htm

Work has been very busy, with 10-12 hour days. It is "summer camp" for kids. The school itself isn't doing too well, and even summer class enrollment is down. However, there were a lot of hours to be had.

Rather than trying to find out what is really wrong, and why things are going downhill, our director has decided it is the fault of the foreign teachers. Things have been very tense off and on, usually on, for the last few months. Her attempts at making things better always seem to backfire because she doesn't really have a clue how to fix things. Part of this is because she spent too much time away from the school, and is out of touch. Now that she is back, she is making things worse.

Our school has a bad reputation. Unfortunately for the director, it isn't because of the foreign teachers. It is because of her religon. She is a Mormon, and the other Christian churches here HATE the Mormons. Hell, most non-Mormons hate them here because they tend to proselityze all the time, and are always trying to convert people. Think Jehovah's Witness, and Mormon door-to-door activities in North America and you will get the picture. Our school has a reputation of being a Mormon/Religious school.

Now this could have just been bad mouthing by people from other churches. That type of bad name is easy to dispell. Unfortunately for Mary people get to see religon when they enter the school. Mormon missionaries pop in a lot and spend hours in the lobby chatting with the receptionists, using our computers, and surprise surprise talking religon. It is nothing to come in during the morning or early afternoon and to hear the receptionists singing hymns. One of the Korean teachers was using the bible in class as a teaching tool for grammar of all things. Rightly or wrongly, the school has the reputation, and it isn't going to go away by blaming the foreign teachers. Of course, it is easier to blame someone else than to look at what might really be wrong.

There are other problems too. Some caused by foreign teachers, others by the Director. Some of the teachers aren't that good. There are the South African's, well only one now. Her pronounciation isn't the greatest, nor is her grasp of English. Probably because Afrikaans is her mother tongue not English. She treats the highest level students as if they were begineers, and is alsways leaving the classes for sundry stupid reasons. Students don't like taking classes with her. One of the other teachers has problems as well, some of them similar, treating students in a condescending way. The rest of us don't seem to have any of these problems. These are things the Director can and should blame on us, and deal with.

There are problems with the desk staff. At times there is a war between some of them and the English and Korean teachers. The office manager is in way over her head but doesn't want to admit it. She screws up a lot, but covers it up well, and the Director trusts her blindly. Church buddies don't lie to each other, or so they say. They can't keep good people working at the desk because of the Office Manager.

So even though I talk a lot about how much I love it here, all is not skittles and beer. Luckily, I tend to just ignore the bullshit, do my job, and have fun. When I need to I wade in and out. There are a lot of good things about being here so I try not wasting my time focusing on the negative all the time.

One of our Directors wacky ideas to improve things here was our great move on August 3rd. She decided, without any consultation, that we all needed to move into a new building. Hilda and I were in 1 building, on different floors. The other 3 shared a building, and a floor. Hilda and I had NO problems with our neighbors. They were usually at each others throats, and doing things (like REALLY loud music) just to annoy each other. Yeah, moving us all into one building will REALLY make us one big happy family. Add to that the fact that the day she picked to force us to move was during the busiest time of the year, summer camp, when we are pushing 10-12 hour days, and the saturday we move on is a fricking working day. Move in the AM work in the afternoon. Instead of living 1-2 minutes away from work we are now a 15 minute hike, which in the heat of summer feels more like 30 minutes. We get to work soaked in sweat. As you can imagine we did bond a bit over the move, but not in the way she would have liked.

That said, the new apartments are sweet! My apartment is larger than my old one, and is set up in a nice way. My little kitchen-foyer is separated from my main room. I have a small storage balcony. The room is also pretty soundproof, so neighbors aren't that annoying. Hilda and I share one floor, along with 2 rooms of Koreans. The rest are on the floor below us, still being pissy with each other. It is also brand new. All in all a nice place.

The weekend before my birthday was party time. We partied every night, Friday to Monday. :) Saturday some friends came in from Seoul, and we met with some other friends and had a great time at a bar called Albatross. More about Albatross later. Monday night was just a small party with my best friends here; Eun Young, Hilda, and BumSuk. Eun Young left her car home so she could drink with us. We started out with dinner and soju at Jae Yu Boen. From there we went to Albatross for the rest of the night. They had bought a blueberry cake for me, it was lush. We drank, sang, and partied until about 1:30 AM. (Had to be up at 5:30 for work. ;)) Hilda brought her digital camera, and BumSuk had fun playing with it, dunno if I want to post the candid pics he took though. ;) It was a fantastic night.

Which brings me back to The Albatross. It is almost like a little slice of the maritimes in Korea! The bar is patterned after being inside an old sailing ship. Hardwood everywhere. An old wooden ships steering wheel is hanging from the ceiling. You are greeted at the door by a life size statue of a pirate with a hooked hand. They play pretty good music, and not at the deafening level of most western bars here. Then again most western style bard look the same here. The Albatross has atmosphere.

The owner/bartender is pretty cool and lets you select music to play. There is a pretty good selection of music from the 70's to now. One of the bartenders tends to get too mellow at times, and that can drag the mood down, but that rarely happens. BumSuk burned it for me. They play it for us. In fact, a few times we have walked in the bar and they were already playing it! It was so cool to walk in and hear Great Big Sea playing, or Stan Roger's singing Barret's Privateers! It is almost like being at Maxwell's, or Jamieson's. The Albatross has a Maritime atmosphere. :)

Life has its ups and downs, just like it does everywhere. Luckily, there are more ups than downs. As Great Big Sea sings it:

"And I say way hey hey, its just an ordinary day and its all your state of mind! At the end of the day you just got to say its all right."


Take Care,
Flint

Year 1 - Dog Day Afternoon

Howdy

Not much new to talk about. I am moving August 3rd. For some reason our director is making us all move to new apartments further away. Ours is not to reason why. Typically, she asked us if we wanted to leave our apartments. We are spread out between 3 buildings. None of us wanted to. Next she wanted us to look at a building and see if we would like it. We still didn't want to move. Next she tells us we are moving. To a building a 20 minute walk away. During the hottest days of summer.

Yesterday was the middle of the "dog days of summer" as we call it in the west. In Korea it is the second of 3 days to eat dog. The first day was 2 weeks ago, 2nd yesterday, the third is at the end of the hottest days of summer in 2-3 weeks. So, I ate some dog.

The dish is called Boshintang. Basically, dog soup. I went with 3 other westerners and 2 Koreans. Hilda, Dave, and John had planned on doing this for 2 weeks. BumSuk and a friend of his chose the place and were taking them there. My plans with Eun Young got cancelled due to her hangover so I figured what the hell.

It was disappointing. I had expected it to taste as good as other dishes I had. However, it was kind of bland, and a little fatty. Some of the fatty meat was skin. As spicy dishes go it was medium, and had WAY to much green onion in it. Dog meat tastes kind of like goat and is a bit gamey. It was very tender though. We also got some boiled dog that gets dipped in a spicy sauce. The boshingtang could have been spicier. While it wasn't the worst tasting dish I have ever had, it isn't something I would go out of my way to get. It was average and the taste doesn't warrant it.

While the food was disappointing the experience wasn't. When I get the pictures from BumSuk I will show you some of them. I was the first to dig into my meal. Hilda and Dave just kind of watched at first before trying it. Dave was pretty queasy. Once they had some, and the faces were finished, they were able to joke about it. Before that they didn't want to hear ANY jokes. We had a few bottles of soju with the meal.

The Koreans at the restaurant treated us like Celebrities at first. All the staff was greeting us, and they all said goodbye. They don't get many westerners there, and wanted to show their appreciation at us at least trying boshingtang before condemning it, or them, like a lot of people do. They made us feel comfortable. We were told that Older Koreans, and some of the younger generation, believe that eating dog boosts your stamina. I also ran into some new friends, friends of Eun Young, that I met the night before. Like I said, the experience was better than the meal.

I wonder if the dogs will look at me differently when I go back to Canada in 3 months. :)


Take care,
Flint

*****

The reason for the move was the director had an argument with one of the apartment owners and didn't want to be giving him money anymore. It was a damn inconvenience.

Eating dog ... I lost a supposed friend back home because I ate dog. I guess they weren't actually a friend just an acquaintance.

Year 1 - World Cup 2002 memories

I was fortunate enough to be in Korea while the World Cup was here. I have watched every World Cup as far back as I can remember. I never thought I would be able to watch a game in person. As the email I posted showed I wasn't disappointed.

I know when most foreigners talk about World Cup 2002 and Korea they aren't favourable towards Korea. Me? Well, I had a great time. I enjoyed watching Korea play and the festivities around it. I REALLY enjoyed the festivities. :)

My co-workers and I watched every game from Korea vs Portugal on at the same samkyubsal restaurant. They had a projection screen. The place was PACKED. It was just fun. We met some nice people and shared a lot of soju with strangers.

Yes, there were some lousy calls but they weren't all in favour of Korea. (I wanted Korea to go as far as possible because it meant the partying would continue.) The Italians particularly irked me. The BS with Ahn JangHwan. The whining because Totti, who was notorious for diving, getting red carded for ... diving. They were acting as immaturely as Koreans often do when something goes against them.

Fondest memories?

The live game in Ulsan of course.

The chick who snogged me after Korea beat Spain. Everyone was celebrating. Strangers shaking hands and some hugging. This cute chick hugs me and starts kissing me. And it wasn't a little peck on the cheek. It startled me at first. We exchanged phone numbers and made plans for a date. (Of course it turned out she just wanted to practice her Englishee. She wanted her boyfriend to join too, he was the guy who shook my hand and thanked me for cheering for Korea after I finished kissing her. Strangee.)

A guy sporting wood riding on the roof of a truck. Cars were all over the place after the games. Lots of Korean flags flying out windows. One pick-up truck was meandering down the street with a guy getting his groove on. Matt noticed the guy either had a hard on or stuffed his pants. Matt noticed stuff like that.

The family that ran the mart in my apartment building. They were such nice people. Still are. I go there from time to time. The mother was always slipping us vitamin drinks in the morning. Or some bacchus for energy. After a hard night of partying that was always welcome. For the Korea-Spain game we painted our faces up. The grand kids were at the store so we did them too. Soon we had strangers asking to be painted.

The partying. It was just pure good fun. I can't recall any mooks ruining things. There were mooks, you can't avoid them here, but they were low key.

Ok, one incident with mooks does come to mind. You knew one would. As I said we went to most games at the same place. We pre-booked our table. If you didn't you wouldn't get one. We invited some friends to come as well. BumSuk brings a gaggle of Koreans. His sister, her fiance, some friends. All in all about 5-6 extra people. Friends of theirs come and go. They ALL left without leaving ANY money to pay. Hilda and I ended up with a bill of around 150,000 won. All of the bastards ate and drank ... and buggered off.

We told BumSuk that he could come next time but not to invite anyone else. The ricetard brings his sister and fiance again. Friends pop in again and they all manage to bugger off leaving a whole 20,000 won with BumSuk to pay for their share. Needless to say BumSuk was not invited anymore. (Ok, I didn't invite him anymore but Hilda stupidly still did. I made sure to keep a separate bill for myself.)

All in all I had a great time.

Year 1 - Denmark vs Uruguay

Howdy

What a weekend, take 2. The expanded version after some sleep. :)

Saturday night was FANTASTIC. There were some bumps in the road getting to the World Cup Game in Ulsan, but nothing that could detract from the experience.

Friday night I watched the France-Senegal game with friends outside White Market. It was a good time, and a good game. No one expected Senegal to upset France like that.

I got an early start to Ulsan Saturday. Well, early for a weekend, late considering what time I have to be up and about on weekdays. I left Chongju on the 10:00 A.M. bus. Overall the trip took about 4.5 hours, putting me in Ulsan at around 2:30. The trip was pretty good. Korean buses are a lot more comfortable than Canadian, and more efficient. We made one pit stop at a place called Chilgok, and to drop off passengers in Kyeoungju. Other than that it was straight through to Ulsan.

The countryside along the way was spectacular. I am still not used to the sight of so many mountains. We only passed through part of Kyeongju, but what a town. Everywhere you look is history. Kyeongju was the capital of the Silla kingdom for almost 1000 years, until 982 A.D. when the kingdom was conquered and the capital moved to the north. Its origins go back to around 57 B.C., around the time Julius Caesar was conquering Gaul. It survived a sacking by the Mongols in the 13th century, and Japanese in the 16th. Most of its artifacts survived the Japanese occupation of the early 20th century. Even considering what the Japanese stole, a wealth of historical treasures remain. I will definitely be going back there for a visit.

Ulsan has been a major harbour in Korea for over 1000 years. A legend from the Silla Kingdom said a man, believed to have been an Arab, arrived in Ulsan in 879 for trade and then settled to live among the people. Since the 60's the government has invested heavily in building up the infrastructure and industry base of Ulsan, turning it from a town into a modern city. Today Ulsan is one of the largest industrial cities in Korea. Most oil imports flow through the port. It has the biggest shipyard in the world, the area is also a home of many multinational petrochemical corporations as well as a center for the Korean shipbuilding industry. With a population of over 1,000,000 it is almost twice the size of Chongju.

The first thing I noticed when I got off the bus was the heat. It gets hot in Chongju, but I expected more of a breeze off the ocean here. There wasn't much of one. A wave of heat washed over me, and stayed with me the whole day. Patrick and his girlfriend were late getting to the bus station in Seoul and missed the bus. They didn't leave until noon, and their bus wasn't slated to arrive until after 5PM.

I went in search of a Yeogwan. After an hour of walking around in the heat I ended up back at the first Hotel I went to. Yeogwans are usually aorund 20-30,000 Won a night. For the World Cup they decided to jack their prices up to Hotel level. I couldn't find one that was below 50,000 Won a night. So I got us rooms at a hotel instead. The first thing I did upon entering my room was shower. I was a little ripe after walking around in the heat. ;)

Patrick and Chun Soon were SUPPOSED to have arrived at 3 PM. They missed the 10 AM bus, and the 11 AM. They never got out of Seoul until 12 Noon, and it takes around 5 hours to go from Seoul to Ulsan. So, I decided to head to the bus station before 5 and meet them. % PM rolls around, and no bus. 5:10, 5:20, FINALLY at 5:30 the bus rolled in. The game started at 6:00 and it was 30 minutes form the bus station to the stadium. Luckily, we found a cabbie that knew shortcuts and didn't know what a speedlimit was. ;)

We missed the opening kickoff but only by a couple of minutes. You could hear the roar of the crowd outside the stadium when the game started. The main thing slowing us down, other than the distance from the road to the entrance gate, was security. Security was tight, but fairly efficient.

Our seats were fabulous. We were in the lower bowl, near the entrance, to the left of the net! We started off behind Uruguay, and finished behind Denmark when they switched ends. The only thing better would be to have been down with the players. The teams were evenly matched, and both sides made some great plays. We were cheering for Denmark, which made it even sweeter when they won.

We did have to laugh at some of the calls, or rather non-calls, one ref-linesman made. It is kind of funny that no matter what the sport some moron always manages to get a job as a ref. This guy gave new meaning to incompetent. Several plays happened in front of him that should have resulted in some form of penalty. Once, a Uruguayan player hammered a Dane in the face several times with his elbow while trying to get the ball right in front of the ref. He got the ball, and took off with it. When the Dane stared at the ref and asked why he didn't call it the guy just made a face and motioned for him to go away. (We had a great view of this happening.) And this twit of a ref gets to go to the World Cup and officiate? Reminds me of Andy Van Hellemond in the NHL.

During the half time we wandered around, looking at over priced souvenirs. I called mom and said hi, and told her where we were sitting. Then I called one of my sisters to say hi. The 2nd half started just after I got through so I had to rush off. When I sat down I realized that we were no longer behind the Uruguayan net, they changed sides at half time. So I called home and let mom know we were behind the Danish net now. Just as I hung up Uruguay scored. We got to see 2 of the 3 goals scored up close. Great game!

The Koreans organized people to cheer for both sides. It was a nice sight, or rather sound. The roar of the crowd was awesome! Fans were well behaved in the stadium. A yank cut in front of me while I was waiting to get drinks. He ended up turning around just as I was about to tap him on the shoulder. He asked if he cut in front, apologized and bought me a beer. :)

After the game we took a walk around, trying to find our way out. We did see one fight start, but it ended pretty quickly. One guy in Uruguayan colours, and another in Danish started going at it. Interestingly enough both had English accents. They saw some Korean police heading their way carrying these big ass night sticks, about 5' long, and decided to stop, and bug out. :))

Leaving the stadium took some doing. However, things were well organized, with free buses to take people all over town. However, the line ups were HUGE. We ended up looking for a cab, which was not easy. We ended up on the street with some Brits and others who were looking for a cab. The Brits had to get to their hotel and to the airport or miss their flight. Patrick's girlfriend played interpreter for them, and talked to the police. The police went WAY above and beyond to help out. They got the airport police to come in a van, pick up the Brit's, take them to their hotel, and then to the airport. We also got a lift to the hotel with them.

From there we decided it was time to have supper, and some soju. We decided to go for something traditional, sum kyub sal Plus soju of course. Unfortunately, for some bizarre reason, we could not find ANY restaurant in the downtown area that served what is a very basic Korean food. It was astounding! Lots of fish places, night clubs, and western style places. After an hour we gave up and went back to the area around our hotel. I had seen some places while walking around that afternoon.

We ended up at a traditional Soju bar. Then we settled down for supper and to watch the Germany - Saudi Arabia rout. I can't bring myself to call that massacre a game. We had a good time watching the game and drinking with the people at the bar. By the time the game was over, the day had taken its toll, as had the soju and beer, and it was time to sleep.

Sunday was another hot day. I spent some time looking around, nothing much to see in that part of Ulsan. There is a HUGE ferris wheel on top of the Lotte Department store, but we never went on it. I hopped on the 1 PM bus and was home in time to go out and watch the England - Sweden game. It was a great weekend.

Take care,

Flint

********

This was my 1st ever live World Cup game. Hell my first live soccer game. It was great. I am glad I was here to see it.

I didn't have a TV or the World Cup coverage would have probably pissed me off with the focus pretty much being Korea and nothing else from the complaints I heard from friends.

Year 1 - Gongju

Howdy

I ended up going to Gongju yesterday instead of today. It was a fantastic trip. Min Jeong and I left around 9:45 AM and I got back just in time to make my 5:00 PM class. I had 2 minutes to spare. :)

The first place we went to was the tomb of King Muryeong who reigned ove the Baekje Kingdom from 501-523 AD. He was one of the last kings to rule from Gongju.

During the Japanese occupation of Korea most of the tombs in the area were looted of all their artifacts. As I mentioned previously, the vast majority of artifacts stolen by the Japanese are still in Japan today, and they do not intend to ever return them. Luckily for Korea the Japanese didn't find this tomb. No one did until 1971.

Workers were repairing damage done to tombs looted by the Japanese when archaeologists discovered King Muryeong's tomb. In it were the King and Queen, as well as a vast array of artifacts from the Baekje era. It is considered one of Korea's gtreatest archaeological finds. Hundreds of artifacts were recovered and many are on display at the National Museum in Gongju. The collection is actually the main focus of the museum.

The Gongju Historical site office is the first place you see. There is a brief explanation of the area, and a film, in both English and Korean. When you come back there is a beautiful gift shop, with some things you can only buy there. Mainly modern examles of Baekje crafts. There is some very nice stuff there.

It is a short walk up to the tomb area, actually a mound which several tombs are under. Before you get there you can see a replica of the tomb with some artifacts. The tomb itself was closed when we got there. They are working on it still.

The head of the area greeted us on our way in, and let us in for free after finding out I am Canadian. :) She also gave me a book on the area for free. It is in Korean and English, and usually has to be paid for. On the way out we stopped and talked with her for a while, and picked up some nic-nacs from the gift shop. I want to go back when I have more cash on hand.

From there we went to the Gongju National Museum. The museum opened in 1972, around artifacts found in King Muryeong's tomb. Part of it was built to resemble the inside of the tomb. Some of the artifacts you can see are the gold crowns of the King and Queen, gold, jade, and silver ornaments, pottery, statues, and weapons. One of the most interesting and amusing things I saw was the shoes of the King and Queen. They were made from metal and gilded. There were spikes on the bottom and toe area. They looked very uncomfortable, but would probably hurt like hell if you kicked someone.

There was also an exhibit to commemorate the last 10 years of excavations at Geumgang river. There were a lot of different artifacts from various eras there. From the stone, bronze, and iron age, as well as other eras in history. Also, there was an exhibit of paintings and photographs showing the changing face of Gongju, and historical sites, over the past 100 years.

Outside the museum is a garden area with various statues. There are many buddha statues, some without heads. Also guardian animal statues, pagodas, and huge water basins. They are all set out with English and Korean signs. All in all a very interesting museum, well laid out and presented.

After the museum we decided to head to the Buddhist Temple of Donghaksa. We had lunch before going to the temple at a place that serves Jung Shik. It was fabulous. For 7000 won each you get about 21 different dishes plus tea. (I treated.) There were about 5-6 different types of kimchi. Lots of veggies. A couple of fish dishes, 1 beef, and deonjeon chigae (bean curd stew). We were well fortified before tackling the walk to the temple.

It was a 2.5 km uphill hike from the parking lot to the temple. It is at the eastern end of the Gyerongsan (Gyerong Mountain) National Park. Gyerongsan literally means Rooster Dragon Mountain. Locals thought the mountain resembled a dragon with a roosters head. There are a couple of Temples around the park. Gapsa is one of the oldest Buddhist temples in Korea, and dates back to the unified Silla period, 8-10 AD. We will go there next time.

Donghaksa is a fairly large temple complex. There are quarters for monks as well as nuns. Plus the requisite worship areas. There is also a small shrine for followers of Shamanism. Buddhism didn't attack other religons when it came to Korea, it embraced them. Although not in the way Christian missionaries did, which was to co-opt and then destroy them. They set aside places for believers in Shamanism to worship in peace within the temple area.

The area around the temple is beautiful. The walk alone was worth the preice of admission to the park. You follow a winding lane which itself follows a stream that comes down from the mountains. All around are mountains. I want to go back in the fall, it will be even more beautiful when the leaves are changing colour. A very tranquil area.

You will find many cairns on the way up to the temple. As previously mentioned, people add to them and make a wish. Min Jeong and I both added to cairns.

We were both pretty tired after a long day, but we both had to get back to Cheongju to work. Traffic tried to mess us up, but luckily I made it back with enough time to run home, change and run to school. It was a great way to spend a day.

I should have pictures developed next week, along with those from Saturday's World Cup trip to Ulsan.

Take care,

Flint

*******

I miss hanging out with Min Jeong. She was a lot of fun. We had similar interests. Unfortunately she got married 5 years ago so no more male friends were allowed.

On a funny/strange note. Last night Stig and I were having a post-dinner cigar and drink on the benches when who do I see. Min Jeong. It was ... interesting to see her again. Her husband "lets" her out twice a week to walk. Those were her words not mine, and her English is still very good. So she was on her walk.

Do I expect to hear from her again, even though she "now" has my phone number? No. We exchanged pleasantries. I gave her my phone number which hasn't changed in 5 years. She didn't give me hers. She resumed her walk. Life goes on.

Year 1 - Lies and Bad Days

Howdy

Last time I wrote I said "May looks to be an interesting month. Hopefully only in a good way." I think I tempted fate by saying that.

So far it has been interesting, but like the time of a full moon, May brings out the strange students. For some reason they seem to be gravitating to my free talking class. My regular sudents usually put them in their place if they get disruptive. But, there is one student who is an emotional basket case, and a bit of a stalker. Unfortunately, they other teachers never warned me about her stalker characteristics.

Stalker might be a bit harsh, but some of the definition does describe her. She will focus in on one English teacher and basically try to insinuate herself into your life. She wants to go everywhere you go, do everything you do, spend all possible free time with you. I had thought I had run into her by chance Friday morning, but it turned out she followed me from school.

Friday was one of those days when nothing ever seems to go right. The things that do go right later turn out not to have really been good. It started with a Free Talking class that I felt was only so-so. I had to go downtown to get a book from an English bookstore. That is when I ran into Angela, or as we affectionately call her Stalker Girl. She said she wasn't busy and offered me a drive, she knew were the bookstore was. I said sure. She did know where the store was. While I was getting the book she got a call that she had to go in to work so we couldn't go for coffee. On the way back to Sacheong-dong we were talking about work and she almost started crying. (It turns out that when she was in another teachers Free Talking class she DID start crying anytime they were talking about life. Really creeped out the other students.) Very weird drive back.

So, it was only 10:30 and I wanted brunch. I figured I would have something I hadn't had in ages. Popeye's chicken. They open at 10. Not this day of course. It took then 15 minutes to decide to tell me that they wouldn't be opening until 11:30 that day. Fine, I didn't really NEED chicken. So, I went home and cooked brunch and got ready to watch Star Wars Episode 2. A friend and student had borrowed it from a friend. It took 2 CD's to hold the movie. I was really looking forward to watching it. Of course, for some reason, the disc's were not compatible with my CD-rom!!!

Argh!!!! After trying different codecs, and some cursing I gave up on watching the movie. I would download some hockey and watch the 1st Toronto-Carolina playoff game. But, of, course, something went wrong and the FTP would not work.

The bad luck didn't end there. I went to school to teach my kids class. I was told that they have no one to teach my Saturday classes in 2 weeks. I am SUPPOSED to have it off to go to a World Cup soccer game. They told me 2 weeks ago I could have the day off, NOW they tell me this. There is NO way in hell I won't be going, I already have my ticket. Great start to the evening.

It didn't improve. The air conditioner in the room wasn't working! It was hot and humid, and I was in a small room with 12 kids. It got very sticky and very stinky very fast. Not fun. My next class was better, fun. But my last class, no one showed up! So I figured cool, I am off early, I will call a friend I have a dinner "appointment" with, and go early.

My friend, Cheong Seob, was busy and couldn't get there early. Fine, it just meant killing less than an hour until he got there. I went home for a bit, to change clothes and relax. When I got back, no Cheong Seob. While waiting I talked with another teacher, Matt, and one of his students. That is when I found out who Stalker Girl was. 8:15, still no Cheong Seob. I hadn't eaten since 11:00 Am and was pretty hungry. SO I called him. He said he couldn't get away until 9. I said do you REALLY mean that, or at 9 will you have another lame excuse. That is when he said he wouldn't be coming, he was too drunk. I COULD have eaten at 7PM if he had just told me the truth, that he wasn't coming. So, I was pretty pissed off. It was too late to go to eat Sum Kyub Sal now since I was supposed to be meeting some other students at 8:50 at the school to go to a Noribung. One student less now.

9 PM rolls around and only 1 student showed up to go. Another, Seo Jong begged off, because she said she had to go home, she was going to Seoul Saturday. I was hungry, and in a pissy mood, so I asked Yun Jong if she would rather go eat supper instead of going to a noribung. She said sure. Then we ran into Seo Jong and another student. Surprise surprise, she has time to go for supper. Rather than just say she didn't want to go to a noribung that night, she decided to lie. That didn't help my mood, but fine.

We went to a place called Acapulco. It serves Mexican food!!!! I was jonesing for some good Mexican food. We sit down, it is about 9:30. The waitress takes our order, then comes back and says they close at 10PM and aren't taking orders. The luck continues!

We head off to another place. This time a bar-restaurant. They serve steak. I decide that steak would be nice. The waitress takes our orders, comes back and tells us that they stop serving that menu at 9PM. NOw they only serve anjou, beer food! So, my supper consisted of french fries. I was not a happy camper. Going home, it started raining. I had no umbrella.

The night ended for me at 11PM. I went home early, and went to bed hoping Saturday would be better. Friday? It was more like a fricking Monday! :)

Saturday was much better. My kids classeswere great. I treated a friend-student (BumSuk) to Galbi for supper. Plus copious mounts of Soju and beer. We went back to his place to have beer and watch Star Wars Ep. 2. Then went to the market by my apartment and sat, talked, and had a lot of beer. I walked him home, or he probably wouldn't have made it.

Today I am going to a Buddhist temple. It is Buddha's birthday today so I am going to watch the festival of lanterns. It should be a great time, except Stalker Girl is supposed to be going. DungChim is probably going to come too though, so it shouldn't be that bad.

I hope your Friday was better than mine. :)

Take care,

Flint

*********

The lieing really pisses me off. If you don't want to do something just say it. Catching people in lies makes me question anything they say. The amount of lieing people do for stupid reasons is insane.

Catching so many people lieing to me that day started to open my eyes a bit more.

Year 1 - Oops I forgot to mention .....

Oops I almost forgot to mention another observation or two.

Women here usually dress to the 9's for daily life. They put on makeup even if all they are doing is putting out the trash. So, when you go down the street there is a lot of eye candy to distract you, which is one reason why I never noticed what a lot of men carry.

Korean men carry purses. Not all, maybe not even most, but a lot of Korean men use them. I noticed it when out walking around Saturday morning. Purses with straps and without, little handbags, whatever you want to call them, it isn't uncommon to see men with them. As one of my friends calls his, his bitch bag. :)

Take care

Flint

********

I still have to chuckle when I see Korean men in suits carrying those little handbags with a tiny wrist strap.

Year 1 - Museums and Friends

Howdy

It has been so long since I last wrote that I almost forgot what I wrote about.

The Thursday after I posted I went to the Early Print Museum with a friend, Yun Jong. It is a very interesting places, but I found out after snapping a picture that you are not supposed to take pictures inside. Dunno why, it is just museum policy. The world's first moveable type printing press was actually invented in Korea a couple of hundred years before Guttenberg's press. The type they used was very tiny and intricate. I imagine the monks went blind carving them by hand. A nice museum to visit.

Yun Jong said she had a place she wanted to take me for lunch, a surprise place. It was about 20 minutes outside of town. When she said the name in Korean I said Angel and the Woodcutter, right? Heh, I was right. We had a nice drive along the Museoncheon River, then out of the city. Lunch was great Muk Bap and Hamul Pajeon. Muk is a sort of jelly like thing made from chestnuts. Very tasy, especially with other stuff. Basically it is the same as BibimBap but with Muk. Hamul pajeon is sort of a seafood pizza. We had a great meal, then spent a while walking around the place. Unlike last time I had my camera with me, because of going to the museum. So, we took finished up a roll of film. Since most people were studying for midterms it was a pretty quiet weekend.

Last weekend was another story. It was very busy. Friday night I treated one of my students to dinner. Then we met up with Yun Jong and another student. (Her name eludes me.) We went to a naribang and did karaoke for a couple of hours. Yun Jong is a pretty good singer. We had a great times. :)

Saturday night I went out with another student, and a friend of his. DungChim has been a student of mine for about 3 months, and his English is pretty good. His friend, Ju Young, is about 5' and looks like she is 16, when she is actually 30. She is married, which was a little strange because most married Korean men do NOT let their wives have male friends. And yes I mean LET. DungChim and her husband, and her, have been friends for a long time though so it is different. We went and saw Spiderman. Good movie.

After the movie we met some other friends of his. Two bars and many hours later it was around 3:30Am and time to go home. I didn't get in until around 4AM. It was a great night though.

I had planned on going to Cheonan, but didn't get up until noon. So, I did some cleaning and cooking, then took in a movie. We Were Soldiers is a pretty good movie.

Sunday was another Holiday too. Children's Day, which is when parents celebrate having their kids. The kids get presents and treated. Of course it fell on a Sunday, which ticked off a lot of kids because it meant no day off of school.

Today I had lunch with two of the women who work as receptionists at the front desk. Sun Young and Eun Jin. They treated me. We had Italian food. VERY good Italian food. :)

Next weekend I am going out of town with some friends. Yun Jong, Choon Seob, and maybe a couple of others, to a place called Everland. Picture disney world in Korea. It should be a great time.

June 1st I will be in a city called Ulsan to watch a World Cup game!!! My boss gave me the saturday off and a buddy in Seoul picked us up a couple of tickets. We will be seeing Uruguay versus Denmark. Uruguay is where the 1st ever World Cup of FOotball was held, and Uruguay won it. Denmark beat Germany for the Euro Cup in 1997 (I think 97). Stat wise both teams are fairly equal so it should be a good game. I will definitely be bringing my camera with me! I never thought I would ever get a chance to see a World Cup game, now I am going to one. :)

May looks to be an interesting month. Hopefully only in a good way. ;)

Take care,

Flint

********

Never did get to Everland and I am not upset about that. ;)

DungChim's "friend". Well, she was really his "partner". Which means she was cheating on her husband with him. Something that seems to be fairly common here. As I have been told on several occaissions by Korean women. They marry for financial security not love. Then find passion elsewhere.

And DungChim wasn't friends with her husband.

Year 1 - Yellow Dust Plus

Howdy

Yellow Dust. It kind of sounds like some quasi-racist name given to something in the west. Like Chinaman Mountain, or the Washington Redskins. However, it isn't. It is the name given to a phenomenon that hits parts of asia every spring. Unfortunately it is now springtime and the dust is rolling in. The problem begins in parts of China, around the Gobi desert. The winds there get very fierce and blow dust and sand around. It gets so windy that it carries the dust across China and into other countries, such as Korea. The dust is very hard on the young, old, and those with breathing problems. Much like the smog problem in many western cities. As with smog alerts, schools sometimes close because of Yellow Dust.

Today we are being hit by it again. It is hard to describe. Right now I am sitting in my apartment with the window shut. Outside it looks hazy because of the dust in the air. In doors I can smell the dust, taste it even. There is no escaping from it. It is cloying in the air, and gets into everything. Schools will probably close for kids today, and our attendance will be lower, because of the dust. People on the street either wear a surgical mask to try not to breath any dust in, or try not to go out. According to the media today is suppoed to be one of the worst incidents of Yellow Dust ever. I believe it, it has never been this bad before.

Other than that, things are going well. While we didn't have a long weekend because of Saturday classes, we did have a holiday weekend.

Friday I went into Seoul for the day. I did some shopping, there is a nice deli to get cheeses at. Also, I found a bookstore that sells used English books. They have quite a selection so I bought enough books to keep me going for a week, seven. It was an adventure getting from the bus station to the deli. Luckily I had clipped their ad out of the paper and had the phone number. My driver called them for directions. We ended up at the wrong end of a very long street, around embassies. A passerby helped give us proper directions. When I was leaving the store I had planned on walking to the bookstore but wasn't sure of the direction. When I showed the ad to the clerk he said it would be too far a walk so he got me a taxi.

I met a friend and his coworkers for lunch at a place called Panchoes. It was mentioned in a previous update. The food was good, the tequila better. :) We hung around for a while then met some friends from my work (Hilda and Matt) for supper at the Thai restaurant I had been to before. That left time for some more shopping before coming home. I bought a nice tie that looks like the Canadian flag. The shopkeeper was a bit perplexed when I started laughing at him though. He asked if I didn't want the US FLag tie to go with it. I laughed for a while. :) THen it was a lengthy subway trip, a bus ride, and back to Chongju.

Sunday, yesterday, I went out with a student. We went to DaeCheong Dam to see the cherry blossoms, and the dam. It was very nice. I hope the pictures turn out. Then we went out for lunch, Taek Bek Suk, a type of chicken and rice soup. We had some fresh strawberrys for dessert and went back into Chongju.

Last night I decided to go to the movies and saw Blade 2. It was as good as the first one. Since I liked the first one a lot that means I thought it was very good. ;) On my way home I ran into a friend (Dong Ae). We went out for a couple of cocktails. Then we walked around drinking coffee and talking for a while. It was a good time.

School is going to be busy this month. Next week one of the teachers goes home for 10 days. I will be picking up 3 of his classes. It will give some nice overtime. :) Friday is his birthday, so taht should be a good time too.

We scouted out some nice bars this weekend. Thursday night we went to our Soju Bar. Unfortunately, it has changed hands. It sucks now. :( I doubt any of us will go back there. From there we went to a new place called "Avec" above the movie theater. Actually the same floor as 1 of their theaters. NICE place! You don't get glasses, you get pewter glasses. They don't bring you a pitcher of beer, it is like a huge goblet with a cover, and a spigot to pour your beer. Sort of like having a lidded keg at you table keeping things cold. Very nice. Good music. Good staff. We will be back there.

We found a couple of other nice places Saturday night. One we had been to before, so we didn't really find it saturday, is called the O Bar. They have a balcony, and the counters are fish tanks. Very cool. Good service. They play jazz and old rock, with a little pop mixed in. Another bar we did find that night is called Cube. EVERYTHING is a cube in there. Seats, tables, menu, balcony, everything. Very cool motif, good side dishes, service, and booze. Another place we will be returning to.

Overall it was a good week. Hopefully this week will be the same or better. Dunno with that dust though. It is pretty bad right now. I can taste it with my window shut. Hope you had a good week.

Take care,

Flint

*******

My first encounter with Yellow Dust but not the worst.

I actually don't like going to Seoul. Too many people for my taste. Luckily there are places like NiceDeli.com to get deli stuff from. :)

Year 1 - Happy Easter 2002

It is Easter Sunday here now.

It has been a while hasn't it? A lot has been going on lately.

On top of the usual hectic pace of teaching I have had my dentist visits. Monday will be my last visit for this tooth. The dentist and I have had many talks, he is a nice guy, and a good dentist. His staff is nice too, but they don't speak a lick of English. He likes to improve his English, and we ended up having a discussion on semantics.

He said that dental work in Korea is cheap. I replied that some of it may be cheap, but I prefer to say affordable. Cheap has a double mean. It costs less, and the quality is less. He does good work, not shoddy work. So I would say he is affordable, not cheap. We had a chuckle over that. :) Many things in Korea are affordable without being cheap.

Thursday I went out of town with some students. We went to a place called Munue (pronounced Moonie). First we went to a spot overlooking the valley. There is a cave there that legend has was the home of a dragon. So, we stopped, went into the cave, and looked around. I didn't see any dragons. There was also a cairn there where you can place rocks and make a wish. One of my students and her husband want another child, so she wished for a boy. I put a rock on it and made a wish for my mom's health. We had a nice walk around the area. Then we went into Munue for lunch. We had Ori Tang, duck soup. It was very good. Not gamey at all. It was a nice way to spend an afternoon.

Dating in Korea is interesting. Some of the means are similar to North America. Meet someone, ask them out. Even where you meet people can be similar, work, church, bars. THere are a few other ways that are fairly common here which aren't as common in Canada or the US. Blind dating is VERY common here. Sometimes it is group blind dates, sometimes single. using the internet for dating is very common too. They meet in chat rooms, or through services, set up an "appointment" and see how it goes from there.

I mentioned in at least one previous letter about how same gender relations are here. It is common to see girls, women, walking down the street hand in hand, arm in arm. When out at a bar, restaurant, or other places it is not unusual for them to be clingy with each other, playing with hair, holding onto each other. Although that mainly happens at bars. Men also exhibit this behaviour, but not as often as women. (Mind you according to Koreans there is NO homo-sexuality in Korea, it is a Western problem only. But that is another kettle of fish.) This is something that most Westerners never get used to, I still haven't.

Last night I went out to dinner. After dinner we went to a nurae bang (karaoke room) and spent several hours. It was a good time. Karaoke rooms are very popular in Korea. Their selection of music is actually pretty good. There is a wide selection of Korean and English songs. There is even the odd Japanese song thrown in. One of the girls last night was a really good singer. Karaoke is something I would never have done in Canada unless very drunk. Even then it is debatable. ;)

Take care,

Flint

*****

And my singing is still horrible. :)

One thing that still strikes me as strange is that for all the Christians in Korea Easter isn't that important a holiday.

Year 1 - Plastic Surgery

Howdy

Lets talk about Plastic Surgery.

Lately I have been bringing my computer to my Free Talking and Interchange classes on Mondays. We watch a sitcom, like Friends, and then discuss issues that arise out of it. WHether it is love, friendship, infidelity, humour, or even plastic surgery.

Friday we had a great discussion on plastic surgery. I learned quite a few things that I didn't know, and my students said the same thing.

In Korea plastic surgery is very common. Usually it is eyelid surgery to give a double eyelid, which westerners tend to be born with. Some Koreans have them naturally most don't. So, many of them will get surgery to have it as they feel it makes them more attractive. The same goes for the nose. In the West most people who get a nose job do it to have their nose made smaller, more aquilline. It is the opposite here. Koreans, Asians, want their noses a little larger. It was an interesting topic.

We also discussed other aspects of plastic surgery. Like a man and woman in the U.K. who had plastic surgery done to make them look like Ken and Barbie. Collagen injections in the lips to make them plumper. Bocholism injections in the face to take away wrinkles. Tattooed make-up.

The lengths some people will go to "look beautiful" is staggering. In China right now the big fad is leg extensions. Women think they will attract a good man if they are taller so they have special surgery. Basically, your lower leg is broken. Then a special brace is attached, and over a month, or two, or three, you basically keep the leg broken. You twist and turning it periodically as it is healing to lengthen it. I think the average length added on is 6-9 cm. It is very painful, you have to stay in bed while it is being done, and it is very expensive. It is also very popular. In my mind it is also very insane! :)

It actually goes against one of our discussion topics on ideal mates. A worldwide study showed that men are attracted to short women, and women to tall men. Every class I have done this discussion in has pretty much agreed with that. You get the odd person (like me, and a few students) who says height isn't that great an issue. The majority say they would NEVER date a man who is shorter, or a woman who is taller. If that is true worldwide, it means those women going through leg extension surgery are going through all of that for nothing. It makes the mind wobble. It also made for a great discussion.

From discussions of what we look for in a mate, here is the majority opinion. Women tend to look for an older man, who can provide for them. Men tend to look for younger, attractive women. The women want someone who can support a family. The men want someone who can provide them with a progeny. It is interesting to listen to some of the reasons people had, but in the end that is what it all boiled down to.

Take care,

Flint

********

Plastic Surgery is still a great topic with adults and advanced students. Especially since parents are giving it as graduation presents from middle school and high school.

Year 1 - Poster Boys

Hi

Yes, ANOTHER update, and this one won't seem like a rant, or a history lesson. I hope. ;)

This weeks is the start of another month, and new classes. Some of the classes are going to be LARGE, as University just restarted for another semester. Right now I am doing 9 hour days 3 days a week, 7 hour days the rest. That will change soon, as some clases, those with low attendance, are dropped. I am now teaching the high level "free talking" classes, as well as the other level classes. It is fun.

Some of my old students have moved up to the higher levels. Others have stayed where they were. Plus I have a lot of new students. I also have 2 permanent kids classes, all beginners, 3 times a week. They are basically learning, well, the basics. The alphabet, etc. It is going to be challenging to keep them interested, and it should be fun.

Yesterday I went out looking at antiques with another teacher. He is VERY creative and bought some old screen so he could redo them to look like traditional Korean screens, and attach 3 of them together to make a large folding screen. Knowing Matt's talent it will look very nice. I saw some interesting pottery. One piece was from the Josun era and is pretty expensive. I also same a nice, old, and very rare book case I would love to have. However, hearing the word rare I decided not to even ask the price. ;)

Today, well, I had to go to the local police station. I had my picture taken along with Matt and a Police officer. Matt and I will be on posters in the area with the police, showing them helping foreigners. Advertising and PR stuff for the upcoming World Cup. I am hoping to get some tickets to see a game or two. If I get a copy of the pic, or can get a poster scanned I MIGHT email or post it. ;)

Take care

Flint

********

Never did get a copy of the poster. :(

Year 1 - Korea vs Japan

Hi

I realized that I was remiss in my last update. For some reason I forgot to tell you exactly what the holiday was on friday.

On March 1st Koreans celebrate Samil-jeol (Independence Movement Day). The Korea Independence Movement was born on March 1, 1919. Thirty-three Korean patriots gathered in Pagoda Park, in Seoul to protest the Japanese occupation of Korea. They read the charter of the movement. The protestors were beaten and put in jail. This sparked a nationwide uprising against the Japanese, and thus the Independence Movement was born.

The independence movement spread to other cities and towns in Korea. During the followoing year more than 1,500 demonstrations, attended by about 2 million people, were held throughout the country. Although the demonstrations were peaceful, the Japanese police and military reacted with harshly. Nearly 23,000 Koreans were killed or wounded. Of approximately 47,000 who were arrested, around 5,000 were sent to prison. Today March 1 is celebrated in both North and South Korea as a national holiday in honor of the demonstrators' patriotism.

There is a HUGE museum in Cheonan called Independence Hall. It is the largest museum in Korea, consisting of seven buildings, and presents Korea's history from ancient time to today. The Japanese feature prominently in the museum in light of their colonial occupation of Korea, and earlier attacks on Korea. According to one of my students the site of Chonan was chosen because it is close to the hometown of a 16 year old girl who was one of the first to rise up and complain about the Japanese occupation. She was brutalized and murdered for speaking up. In honour of her the Independence Hall was built in Chonan.

One of my friends here, a teacher from Scotland who works at another Hogwon, called it the "We Hate Japan" museum. He couldn't understand why the Koreans HATE the Japanese so much. Many westerners wonder why the Koreans dislike the Japanese so much. If you look at historical facts, it is easy to see. The Japanese shipped off tens of thousands of Korean men into forced labour for Japanese industry. Women didn't fare any better, as the Japanese forced them to become "comfort women" for Japanese troops. To this day there has been no real apology by the Japanese, and no compensation. Even Korean artwork and relics that were stolen by the Japanese remain in Japan. If a person wanted to do a proper study of Korean history they would have to go to Japan because that is where most of the old books (most of those that were not destroyed by the Japanese occupation forces) and artifacts are today. They were never returned.

The Japanese tried to systemically destroy the Korean culture. They did this through various means, such as outlawing the language and anything to do with the Korean culture. They destroyed hundreds of thousands of books on Korean history, culture, and geography. They closed schools and denied an education to most Koreans, unless it was a Japanese education. Anyone who dissented was jailed or killed. Tens of thousands were sent off into slavery. If that happened to your country would you EVER forgive those who did it? Especially if there was no apology, restoration of what was stolen, or even an attempt at compensation? I wouldn't.

Add to that the recent attempts by Japan to rewrite history and you not only have old wounds that are still bleeding, but some new ones. The Japanese have decided to rewrite history. They downplay or ignore most of the atrocities they committed. Take the "Rape of Nanking" in China as an example. According to the new Japanese history textbooks for their school it wasn't that serious. They ignore the fact that the Japanese pretty much executed every man, woman, and child in the city. The women being killed after being raped. Little things like that just keep the anger alive in Korea, and the rest of Asia. Japan has angered most Asian countries, including China, the Phillipines, and Vietnam. Attempting to rewrite history just pisses me off in general.

Hmmm, this turned into another rant didn't it? :)

Take care

Flint

******

This was from the start of my 5th month in South Korea.

I almost didn't post this because my defense of Korea seemed so ... rabid. However, it is what I said and thought at the time. Although some of the information it was based on was faulty a lot of my reasoning stands. (I was still drinking kool-aid. Cherry flavour.)

When I look at the issue of Japan and the rest of Asia, not JUST Korea, I can understand the anger. A couple of years ago Japanese film makers, endorsed by members of the government, released a movie saying the Rape of Nanking never happened. The Japanese do have a tendency to rewrite history and that is something I don't like. At least when the revision is so blatantly wrong.

Look at the Chinese reactions to the Japanese in recent years. Riots in the streets. Japanese cars being trashed. And knowing how strict the Chinese government is about controlling things the fact it was allowed to happen tells you a lot about what the government was thinking.

I also understand the anger from another viewpoint. Insert the words Nazi and German instead of Japan. IF a German Chancellor EVER went to a memorial honouring the SS in ANY way there would be HELL to pay. That is basically what Koizumi was doing. That puts the lie, in my view, to any apology the Japanese may have made.

My father fought in WW2. I know what he would think if he saw anyone let alone the leader of Germany basically honouring the Nazis or if someone said the Holocaust never happened. Dad got to see one of the death camps and those who survived. The images of horror were burned into his mind. He would be angry and disgusted. I can understand the anger of Korea and other Asian countries when Koizumi or any Japanese leader visits the Yakasuni shrine. Or when they try to rewrite history.

Yes, the rabid hatred needs to end. It just isn't healthy. But Japan needs to remember that it's actions can make people wonder if they have really changed. If they were really contrite. While people can forgive they should never forget.

Year 1 - Daeborum

Howdy

Here is a little tidbit of information I thought I would share with you.

Tomorrow will be the first full moon of theNew Year, Korean-Chinese New Year, and there is a tradition around it called Daeborum. (Or as some Westerner's refer to it "Crunchy Day".) Basically, as soon as you wake up, you eat as many nuts, different ones too, as you have years. If possible, you open them with your teeth. You wish for good health while eating them. Then you are supposed to drink a shot of alcohol and wish to hear good news throughout the year. That night you watch the full moon, and pray for your wishes to come true. That is the tradition as related by one of my students. For more on it check out the website below.

http://www.clickasia.co.kr/about/h0115.htm

*****

This was from Feb 2002.

Take Care

Flint