KOREA Week XIX

Monday, September 7, 2009 at 3:05pm

September in Korea. New classes have begun and football season (as viewed from Korea) has arrived!

Many students have disappeared from my life as of September 1. While I miss them already, I am only slightly concerned about the decreasing enrollment at my hagwon. It seems that many former students have returned to their respective schools or university, and I am uncertain of the whereabouts of the others. This is disappointing for many reasons, mostly because I prefer teaching classes in excess of 3-4 students. The current average of 2-3 students per class is far below that of previous months and usually makes classes less exciting. This, and I can honestly say, hopefully without sounding too harsh, that I have a difficult time with the students in one particular class. So far, it is like pulling teeth to get them to talk.

Exciting happenings this week:

Saturday afternoon I traveled with Marcus, Tiann, and Alvin to Seoul for the South Korea vs. Australia soccer match. The Red Devils are the official team for the Republic of Korea National Football Association (KFA) and are widely known for their loyal following of supporters. Seoul World Cup Stadium is a magnificent facility located in Western Seoul that seats some 66,000 fans, and was, obviously, a key feature during the 2002 FIFA World Cup. The boys and I arrived close to 5pm and purchased tickets for 10,000 Won each, prior to the 8pm kick-off. Since this was my first professional soccer game, in addition to my first sporting event in Korea, it was most impressive.

The Red Devils got off to a quick 1-0 lead over the Aussies, amid chants of "Dae-han Minguk" which literally means "Republic of Korea". This popular chant was heard throughout the 90 minute game followed by clap-clap-clap--clap-clap. It was also common to hear the men behind us commenting loudly "cho-a" (good), "nice-a", "oh shit-a", and "yes-yes!" All of which, remained with our group throughout the evening and well into the early morning hours as we continued to celebrate the Devils' 3-1 win over Australia. My young friend, So-Young, also joined us for the game and afterwards when we traveled to the Hongdae neighborhood of Seoul, a popular area for foreigners and late night party-goers. Here we visited several exciting bars with good music and cheap drinks, including a wonderful mexican restaurant serving late-night burritos.

The celebration continued until around 4am, when the boys and I finally taxied home to Sanbon. Cost of the 40 minute taxi ride should normally be around 40,000 Won, though we successfully negotiated a 32,000 Won fare, thus making it only 8,000 Won each. The downside to the reduced fare was the speed-centric driver who preferred to transport us at warp speed (150 km/h or 90+ mph) on the barren expressway. Normally this would be okay with me, except he did not appear to be in perfect control of the vehicle and the rear shocks of the aged Hyundai sedan were more than a little worn. So Tiann, perhaps the most fluent of us in Korean, politely asked him to slow down, which he did without incident. Following my description of this to Monday morning's classes, I have since learned these late night taxi's from Seoul to outlying communities are called "bullet taxi's" for the very reason that drivers prefer to deliver their precious cargo and return to Seoul as quickly as possible.

Quick observation; Koreans love to use their horns. Whether it be on a bus, scooter, or late night taxi ride from Seoul, a sounding horn is almost as common as kimchi in Korea. It's especially annoying when listened to from my seventh floor apartment. As an example of this irritation, my Facebook posting from September 1 read as follows, "Dear impatient sirs in the alley below my apartment. Please stop honking your horns. The truck blocking the street is not moving so there's no point to continue honking. Find another way to go around." Another fine example, when browsing the used car section of Korean craigslist, I read the following description for a 1989 Hyundai Sonata, "Great working condition. Only problem, the horn is disconnected - I just yell out the window." Both of which demonstrate the frustration which is felt by many, including myself, at others inconsiderate driving displays, and even more so at their ways of sounding their frustrations.

Late Sunday afternoon, and following almost 10 delightful hours of sleep, Alvin and I traveled to COEX Mall and Itaewon for food and shopping. COEX is a large underground shopping mall and convention center complete with aquarium and Kimchi Museum. I have also read mixed reports claiming it is the largest underground shopping mall in Asia. Either way, Alvin was searching for computer accessories and I wanted to get out of my apartment for the day. This proved to be a great decision for me, as I found and purchased a guitar for only 45,000 Won, including a case, at an antique store in Itaewon. It's a Korean made guitar, a Tanara 6 string in fair condition, and was only slightly out of tune. Regardless, it was cheaper than almost any other guitar I have seen in Korea, new or used, and I will soon begin to enjoy.

Since Western food seems to be a rare treat in my life, I utilize almost every opportunity I have to dine at Western restaurants whenever in Seoul. As a result, Sunday's dinner was Kraze Burger, a Korean burger chain that is possibly the best cheeseburger I have eaten in Korea. (www.kraze.co.kr) Yes, it's that good, and is probably better than the "big as your head" cheeseburger I enjoyed in Busan just two weeks ago. I strongly recommend this to anyone visiting Seoul or living in the area who is hungry for a glutinous display of American style dining. Cost of the burger was 9,000 Won. Chili cheese fries are an extra 6,500 Won, depending on the condition of your hunger. Later that night, we also visited the Rocky Mountain Tavern in Itaewon, a popular expat hangout, for a snack and cold Moosehead beer prior to the hour-long subway ride home.

Seoul is an enormous city, filled with pollution and congestion, but it offers many different types of food and it can be fun, in moderation. While I very much enjoy my afternoon and weekend trips to Seoul, I also prefer the quiet comforts of sleepy and pollution-free Sanbon.

Seoul Fun Facts:

1. It's the fifth largest city in the world with over 11 million residents and another 10-15 million suburban residents classified by it's metropolitan area. Almost half the country's population resides in the metropolitan Seoul area, some 22+ million people.
2. Seoul has been the capital of the Korean peninsula since 1394 and through the Korean War, when it was virtually destroyed and the capital was temporarily relocated to the southern city of Busan.
3. Seoul is the financial capital of Korea, which is also the fourth-largest Asian economy, following that of Japan, China, and India. South Korea is currently ranked as the 15th largest global economy.
4. The 1988 Summer Olympics brought international attention to Seoul and helped shape its current position as a leading Asian city.
5. Seoul was one of ten Korean cities to host the 2002 FIFA World Cup including the impressive World Cup Stadium, located in West Seoul.
6. It's known as one of the safest places to travel due to its relatively low crime rate.
7. Seoul is home to over 100 museums.
8. Home to the world's largest indoor amusement park, LotteWorld.
9. Two international airports service Seoul: Incheon International Airport, opened in 2001, and Gimpo International Airport. Incheon International Airport was recently voted the World's Best Airport according to SkyTrax.
10. One of the world's most technologically advanced infrastructures and often called the "Tech capital of the world." It is also advertised as being the most wired city in the world (internet) and boasts the world's fastest internet connection speed.
11. The city is bordered by eight mountains and is split into a Northern and Southern half by the Han River.
12. There are four ancient palaces located in Seoul.
13. Traffic is highly congested in Seoul, and therefore, it is usually best to travel by subway, bus, or taxi. There are a total of twelve subway lines connecting all of metropolitan Seoul as well as an intricate bus and train system linking the many cities throughout Korea.

Peace out.