One of my biggest pet-peeves about South Korea blogs is when the blogger’s contract ends and she/he disappears.

You occasionally check the blog from time to time to see if anything is new, but the same old pictures of random people drinking Cass and eating fried chicken in the snow keep popping up.

Then you check your window (given that you’re in the Northern hemisphere) to make sure that the leaves are still green and the thermostat is still above freezing.

So, this is our final post and it doesn’t even come from South, Korea. We’ve landed in Ann Arbor, Michigan where there are still a lot of Koreans, but considerably less cabbage.

My gut reaction is that it’s nice to be back, but the Mid-West to me is still like going to another country. Norms are a little different, but I can understand what people are saying...for the most part.

The pace of life here is a lot slower than in Seoul, and that will be something that it takes time to get used to. There’s at least one Noraebang in Ann Arbor, otherwise Karaoke is open bar style.

It’s one thing to enjoy you and your friends’ singing—it’s quite another to listen to a love struck couple bellow Nikki French’s “Turn Around” into the entire sports bar.

Thanks for reading,

James & Sarah

Sokcho

The weather was stormy for our first day in Sokcho, South Korea. Spring marks the beginning of the yellow dust season. The yellow dust is a mixture of pollution and sand blown down from China. The sand is a kind of natural pollution. It's eroded from lands that were once forest. Rapid industrialization and an appetite for disposable chopsticks in Asian have contributed to deforestation.

What's all this have to do with Sokcho, a relatively lazy beach community on S. Korea's east coast? We needed an escape from Seoul. After a year living in the Jamsil/Gangnam neighborhood, one of Seoul's most congested areas, we needed a retreat to the "country-side"(a loaded-term used to describe pretty much anywhere outside of Seoul, being dubbed country is a borderline insult) for some fresh air.Usually when you go to the beach, you want the weather to be sunny and warm, but nasty weather in S. Korea is auspicious. It means you can have some personal space. You won't get the beach to yourself, but you'll get enough room to spread out.

Sunrise on our second day was spectacular, but even at 4:30 am, people combed the beach.

5 minutes later

Neighborhoods near the beach remind me of other beach communities but with a Korean flare--fancy car, dodgy looking area.

REST STOP Korean rest-stops are happening and filled with all sorts of characters.

East Seoul Bus Terminal The East Seoul Bus terminal is a colorful, busy place.

Seoul's Palace

The Off-season

Travel is the reason why we expatriated to South Korea. This small nation is like a gateway to the rest of Asia. You can fly to most places for around half it would cost to fly from the States.

Any college grad can sign a year-long contract that pays his or her way to Korea and for accomdations for the year. Usually, you're gaurenteed a couple of weeks vacation, some national holidays off, and an attractive completion bonus.

Suddenly, it doesn't matter that you know next to nothing about the Korean workplace or culture. The guidebook says you can learn to read Hangul, the Korean alphebet, in a split. Your bags are packed, and your slick new visa is taking up an entire page of your passport.

What you don't know is that you can't usually pick your vacation days. Koreans work long hours without complaining or being paided and so will you (at least the not being paided part), and your day will most likely be split into two shifts spanning all eternity.
When you finally get a break long enough to see some sights, everyone else in S. Korea (sometimes all of Asia) has off, too. Airfares almost double and hotels charge around an extra ten percent per night. You want to travel in the off-season, but you can't...

Unless you're willing to wake-up at 4:30 a.m., depart from Gimpo International airport at 6 a.m., check into a hotel at a quater till eight. Take a taxi to the nearest bus terminal, find your favorite activity (in our case--hiking), start your day at nine, and go non-stop until you depart at seven Monday morning--just in time for eleven o'clock class.

That's exactly how we toured Jeju island this weekend. The main attraction was an 18 kilometer slug up Hallasan, which brings me back to the beginning--Korean Culture and the Korean workplace.

Korean-style hiking can explain a lot about Korean culture. It is goal oriented, it's fast-paced, and it's crowded. You can throw that old adage, "It's the journey not the destination," off the mountain. It doesn't apply, here. What matters is that you can get to the top of the mountain, eat a full course meal, and back in a day.

They're not the Himalayas, but Korean mountains are nothing to scoff at. As any Korean will tell you, they were afterall what kept Korea from being constantly trampled on by its more empire oriented neighbors.

Despite the fact that most trails are steep, narrow, and stoney stairways straight up, they are as crowded as a subway station. It's not the gentle sweep of the breeze that just brushed against your arm. It's a sixty year-old lady in sweaty gore-tex that just nudged you out of her way.

Summit View

No trekking allowed past these posts.

Park rangers at the top of the mountain direct the human traffic.

Lava Tubes

These tubes show some of the geologic processes happening beneath Jeju's surface and the dormant volcano, Hallasan. The ceiling shows hardened lava stalagmites.

These errie lights illuminate the tunnel.

The cooled lava still has a molten form.

COEX Mall Aquarium

When you're already a little wet, you might as well just dive in. It's the third rainy Saturday in a row, so we decided to ditch our plans for the mountains for something farther below sea-level.

The admission for adults is steep (pun intended) at 15,000 wan per person, but the exhibits are interesting and full of atmosphere.

When we looked back at this picture, we were struck by how times have changed. It seems that the modern world presents a false sense of security...like the thin layer of glass that separates this child from the shark.

Jelly fish

This Lionfish reminded me of Adjoshies

More Photographs of Seoul

Strings of kites in Hangang Park.

One of the many bridges that stretches across the Han River.

On the hill, you can see Seoul Tower.

To me, the boats seem to mirror the patterns of the apartments.

Jamsil Station, Seokchon Lake

Now that we're wrapping up our time here in Seoul, I thought it was high time that I go out and take some photographs of the area around our school. With views like this, teaching indoors all day has been difficult.

At any time of the day, you can find Ajemas (directly translated as married woman, but means so much more) capering around the lake. Some cloister themselves in jumpsuits, uv-visors, and surgical masks; others sport lycra; and more than a few brave stilettos while making their circuits around the lake.

Ajoshies (married men) play card games and drink soju under the pavilion during the day, but you see fewer in the evenings.

Around the lake, the night belongs to couples. Gazing out over the lake is a favorite past-time for young lovers. I remember watching Korean soap operas in the WOW (a love motel/staging ground for new foreigner teachers furnished by our academy, ECC).

Despite my total lack of comprehension of Hangul, something--let's call it acumen--told me that the reoccurring scenes of lover’s quarrels over-looking some body of water (ranging from a beautified retention pond to the Pacific) hold some cultural significance.

Just go out to the lake after work hours. You'll see that soap-operas are important cultural indicators!

Gangnam Gu

Seoul is a city to see at night. Stack after stack of lights vies for your attention. Restaurants and bars hold late hours all days of the week!

This is a city to take in measure. It's easy to feel overwhelmed by everything at first--and then, after a few months, bludgeoned by its repetitiveness.

Gangnam is a neighborhood where you can find a slew of international cuisine not listed in the Lonely Planet.

Dos Tacos is popular with English teachers.
Gang-nam Station, exit 6 walk 5-7 minutes. It's on the left, just past Bella.

Have you ever wondered how they change signs?

Advertising climbs along the sides of towers, and some times large cranes are needed to swap out billboards.

We're Headed to Thailand

Sarah and I are off to Thailand. Vacation at last. Look for some new pictures here.

The BK Hosts End of the Year Field Trip

The rain didn't dampen the spirits of the thirty ECC students whom feasted on burgers and fries for their end of the year field trip.

But it didn't help mine. I was packed into a miniature bus with a gang-load of raving kids, ravenous for some greasy Western Food.

The children were herded into the plush vinyl seats and served half a regular burger and fries each. I was shocked by the way they just accepted the small portions.
If you gave any American child half a burger and no cheap plastic toy, she/he would probably pitch a fit.

But what was even more surprising was that they were full after the first half.

Oddly enough, I was the only one not enjoying a "delicious" burger.
It just didn't seem right.

A Room of One's Own

In some area's of Seoul, building codes allow for apartments to stand for only twenty years. Then the developers must buy out people who own an apartment for the current value of the land.

Sounds like a good deal for the owners.

Except there is a extensive waiting lottery list that you have to get on before you can buy, and then priority is given to families. Another reason to get shacked-up early.

Given the condition of our apartment, I think that it's just about time for the wrecking ball.

We live only blocks away from these apartments going up near Olympic Park. It's only when you see places like these that you can really feel the uneven distribution of wealth.

A Dog in Man's Clothes

Dogs are no longer just for the eatin'. The small dog has redefined its role in Korean society. They're now the object of lavish affection. This dog is sporting its casual wear for a jaunt in the park. But it's likely to have an outfit for every occasion.

Now, big dogs are reserved for the dinner table. It's really messing up the pecking order--allowing small yappers even more license to growl and bark at everything.

I know what you all might be thinking. Before I arrived in Korea, I made some pretty staunch claims that I'd eat dog at the first opportunity. I know that many will be saddened to hear that I rescind those outrageous. It's more than the fact that dog meat isn't kosher.

Fido finds its way to your plate in a grisly manner. He's hanged by the neck and then beaten to death, or in modern times, electrocuted. No coup de grâce, here. Keeping the dog alive as long as possible allows more adrenalin to percolate into the meat. Dog meat by nature is tough and stringy. The more body blows he takes--the more tender to chew.

Fast Love is Big Business

Cell phones aren't the only thing you can pay for as you go in Korea. When we first landed in Seoul, Seokchon ECC put us up in a love motel called, the Wow.

We were wondering why the alacritous desk staff was so tickled to see us coming and going. At first, I thought it was because we were foreigners. By day 5, our relationship with them matured, and we realized that maybe we were on a short list of repeat customers.

Some things that should've keyed us in earlier:
1) Free condoms being dispensed at the desk.
2) A DVD rack filled strangely enough with porno.
3) A tucked-away parking area
4) The entrance is draped with low hanging tassels
5) We never actually saw any other guests.

In their line of work, a 5 day stay must seem like a marathon.

Luckily for us, there is no shortage of English speaking missionaries who, "discouraged and disheartened with the world," are ready and willing to share their plaintive and depressing dogma with us.

When they see us coming, it's a two for one special: They get to spread the gospel and brush up on their English at the same time.

After we moved into our apartment, we spent a good amount of time trying to wash off the "WOW sleaze," and just when we conceeded that it would never come off, a friend told us that love motels don't carry the same stigma here in Korea.

Children typically stay on with their parents until they get married or acquire enough key money to make an outrageous deposit on their own place. And despite our cultural differences, bringing some one home to your parents' house to shag just isn't cool.

So love motels are OK. So are DVD rooms. That's why we still haven't been to one of those.

Some say extra-marital affairs are also a common occurrence here. It's not only "summer lovin" going down. Unsurprisingly, love motels are conveniently located in the ally ways behind big office complexes.

Are the motels mainly just for randy and repressed twenty-somethings, or is something else afoot here?

That's Life

Day slips seamlessly to night in Seoul—home to a culture of people determined to get ahead.

Many workers put in long hours at the office. Despite well known labor laws, 10 hour workdays and 6 day work weeks are the norm for office workers.

Deceptively cheap services, such as health care, transportation, and restaurants, understate the expense of living in the city.

The apartments in the back ground cost millions of US dollars to own and require exorbitant deposits just to rent. The highest I’ve heard is $200,000, which doesn’t even require that the place be furnished.

And then, there’s still the matter of rent.

At night, the streets buzz with people blowing off steam. Thickly accented English resonates from the dozens of Noraebangs or karaoke rooms that line the streets.

Numerous restaurants are open until the small hours of the morning. The most popular serve up fresh sea food that you can net right out of the aquarium in the store front or spicy fried chicken.

But not even nightfall guarantees a reprieve from work. Many young office workers are enjoined in long nights of drinking soju (a rice based spirit like vodka). You don’t have to go, but you don’t have to get promoted either...