KOREA Week XXXXV

A sampling of random events over the past month or so..

On February 9 there was a 3.0 magnitude earthquake felt throughout Korea. It's epicenter was about 20 kilometers from my home, and I was delighted to experience my first earthquake. Actually, it felt like a large truck passed by the building or some type of vibration from construction. My enthusiasm was short lived, however, when friends in Chicago reported a 4.1 magnitude earthquake the very next day.

Recently, I went bowling for the first time in Korea and yours truly bowled a surprising 173 in the first game. Not bad for almost a year away from the game. Bowling in Korea is surprisingly comparable to bowling back in the states, aside from the velcro bowling shoes which not only fit a little to snug but also come out of a vending machine, bowling balls which read "Made in China", and a surprisingly lack of alcohol service. Even more surprising, the staff do not appreciate it when the patrons attempt to sneak in bottles of beer.

Lately I have been enjoying some Elmore Leonard novels I purchased from a foreign teacher friend who recently departed for Thailand. Elmore Leonard is one of the best and five paperback novels for 20,000 Won is a great value.

One late night two drunken Korean men commented to Gemma that I looked a lot like Bruce Willis. As funny as this may seem, I have heard both this and Kiefer Sutherland countless times in Korea. What was even more funny, after the drunken men stumbled off Gemma proceeded to tell me how much she hates it when people say that. When I asked why, she told me because I don't look anything like Bruce Willis. Fair enough. Then who do I look like? I don't know, she says, maybe Robin Williams. Thanks for that, but I think I prefer Bruce Willis.

Two weeks ago, on a relatively warm (35 Fahrenheit) afternoon, Gemma and I walked the entire length of Cheonggye Stream. (Click here for a brief video on Cheonggye Stream courtesy of The NY Times) It's total length is 11.5 kilometers as it winds its way through central Seoul. Ever since my first visit to the stream back in June, I have been fascinated with it and have wanted to complete the walk. And with only two months remaining in Korea, I choose this Valentine's Day to drag my surprisingly enthusiastic Korean girlfriend to join me for the trip.

See the photos.

Cheonggye Stream begins near Gwanghamun, the center of many government offices and famous scenes of public protest. The area has a rich history beginning in the Joseon Dynasty around 1400 AD through its modern day use, following its comprehensive restoration project in 2004. What I like best about the stream, aside from its history and it significance to the Korean people, is how a 11.5 kilometer long green space can exist in the middle of one of the largest, busiest, and most densely packed cities in the world. At the end of the stream is the Han River and Seoul Forest, the second largest park in the city. Both are truly great; a recommendation for any Seoul visitor, best in summer, but can be enjoyable any time of year.

Olympic news:

The 2010 Winter Olympics have come and gone. What a fantastic two weeks it was! It was especially exciting to follow the games while abroad. I most assuredly cheered for the U.S. athletes, including the Men's Hockey team, though I was secretly pleased with the success of the Korean athletes who finished in seventh place overall with a total of 14 medals.

The Korean speed skaters enjoyed a tremendous success, and the Korean hatred toward Apolo Anton Ohno, was hard to ignore. It seems their hostility following the unfortunate incident at the 2002 Olympic games is not forgotten. I must admit, however, that many Koreans did not seem too interested in the games other than the profound success of the Korean speed skaters and, of course, Yuna Kim.

A couple words about Yuna Kim. First of all, at only 20 years of age, she is Korea's darling sweetheart and Korea's highest paid athlete. It is reported she made nearly $10 million last year in endorsements, and it is easy to believe this when you see her photo pasted throughout the country, advertising everything from milk to air conditioners. Really, she is that popular. I also heard she was the second highest paid athlete at the Winter games, second only to Shaun White.

Best of all, she is a Sanbon native and graduate of Suri High School. In fact, many of my students live in the same apartment complex as her family or have children who graduated with her. Of course, she no longer lives in Sanbon, and has called Toronto home for the past four years. Nonetheless, she remains a national hero, and one week following her gold medal, Yuna Fever is in full effect.

Ethan's brief ranting:

KB Bank, the nation's largest bank, shut down all their banking services last week while they updated their computer systems. I was told they sent a text message to their Korean customers informing them of their intentions. Unfortunately, they failed to notify their English speaking customers of this interruption, thus leaving many foreigners stranded without use of their bank card or access to ATM services. James, my American co-teacher, told me he was without cash and had no means of purchasing anything on the day this occurred. I, fortunately, was carrying enough cash when my card was declined at a restaurant that day. I also have a second account at a different bank I was able to use that day.

Since this incident originally occurred, there have been many opportunities to discuss the implications of this. Consensus is myself and many others find it inexcusable that the bank would experience such an oversight. With over one million foreigners living in Korea, that's a substantial enough number to warrant comprehensive banking services to all customers, regardless of nationality or language. Especially when you consider the fact that most bank employees speak English and are more than capable of providing adequate warning to their English speaking customers when their banking services will be interrupted.

Sorry to sound so negative, but this incident makes me think about just how dependent we foreigners are on so many different levels while living abroad. This, and, we probably take too many things for granted. Monthly paychecks and basic banking services are two that come to mind. Without access to cash, we are powerless and cannot do much of anything. Without Korean friends or a helpful school manager, it becomes even more difficult to survive.

So lesson learned; keep adequate cash on hand at all times, don't lose your passport or other important documents, and always keep a wealth of Korean friends on standby. You never know when you will need their assistance.

And keep on keeping on...

KOREA Week VIII Review

Mon, June 22, 2009 at 11:51pm

Friday night I returned to the wonderful Indian restaurant with Monica for late night dinner after classes. We shared two curry dishes, one beef and one lamb, and a spiced chicken dish. All fantastic. She is 31 years old Korean, a teacher by trade, and has studied English in San Diego and London. Korean age is approximately two years older than "American age" because Koreans count age starting with conception and every child is born at age one. So, I am actually 33 years old in Korean. Bummer.

After saying goodbye to Monica, I returned to my apartment and contemplated meeting friends at either Jacks Bar or the Pirate Bar. Instead, I opted for something I have been wanting for weeks; a late night massage from a 24hr parlor located in my building. To clarify: this was the Thai "sports massage" and was non-sexual. The famous Korean massage, sexual in nature, is about 150,000 Won, or so I have been told. Instead, and for only 70,000 Won, I was treated to almost two hours of a fully clothed Korean woman twisting my body into a pretzel and beating me with her fists. Strange as it may seem, it was enjoyable. After the massage was finished at around 4am, I laid on the massage bed in a semi-lucid state and fell asleep for an hour. This must be acceptable because the Korean women did not wake me and smiled approvingly when I got up to leave. Worth every Won.

Saturday it rained hard throughout the day. Plans to visit Seoul with U-Jin and her boyfriend were cancelled, so I used this opportunity to sleep more (8 hours Friday night + 2hr nap Saturday), do laundry, and clean my apartment. I also spent some time with my landlord, Mr. Ahn, who used to live in L.A. and speaks very good English. He informed me the school has hired a new Japanese teacher, and she will soon occupy the studio apartment next to me. This proved to be the perfect opportunity to exchange my hospital bed for a more traditional bed from the storage room, so I no longer have the geriatric features of my previous bed. Not to disappoint any fans of the hospital bed, but I now sleep a little lower to the ground and I have a firmer mattress. Sorry Japanese girl, but I was here first. Enjoy YOUR new bed!

This may surprise many people, but Saturday is actually the first time I have done laundry since arriving in Korea. When preparing to depart, I recognized I did not want to be overburdened with laundry, so I packed enough underwear and socks to last me two months. Seriously, my plan worked well and I was down to my last two clean pair. Unfortunately, there is no dryer on the premises so my apartment looked like a proverbial chinese laundry Saturday afternoon and Sunday with underwear and socks laying throughout, in addition to numerous t-shirts, shorts, etc. I was later told there are clotheslines on the rooftop of the building for drying purposes, which obviously, are used only in sunny weather. My mistake.

Saturday night I was treated to chicken dinner with student Lyn and her friend Nina. Lyn's parents own and operate a restaurant in Sanbon and, in addition to chicken, the three of consumed mass quantities of beer and soju. In all seriousness, these girls can drink and it was a struggle to keep up with them. I felt like an on old man trying to compete. We actually drank what is called so-mak, a popular Korean drink with shots of soju added to our mugs of beer (mak-ju).

Unfortunately, so-mak provides severe hangovers, as I learned Sunday. After popping many Advil and taking a long hot shower, I telephoned Tiann and the two of us ventured into Seoul for lunch. I've been hungry for mexican food and there's a restaurant named Tomatillo Mexican Grille I read about and have been wanting to try. Their menu is very similar to Qdoba and we indulged ourselves with burritos, tacos, and quesadillas. Check it out: www.tomatillo.co.kr After lunch we traveled to Cheonggye Stream and we later walked maybe 10km to Itaewon, the American neighborhood of Seoul for steak dinner at the Rocky Mountain Tavern followed by ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery. All good. Best part of the day, however, was me vomiting in the train station on the way to Seoul. Good work Ethan. Apparently the train ride was a little too bumpy for my dehydrated and sensitive 33 year old Korean stomach..

KOREA Week VII Review

Sun, June 14, 2009 at 9:17pm

The weekend was good. Friday night I met John at the Pirate Bar for a few rounds of darts. Nothing too late, for I had Saturday morning class and wanted a good night's rest. Saturday class was uneventful. Three students showed, including two of my new students from weekday classes. We discussed popular Korean vacation spots (one of my favorite topics), learned some new expressions, and read an article on Seonyudo, a garden isle in the Han River.

After class, I met friend and favorite student B.H. for a pre-arranged trip to Seoul. His daughter, U-Jin, another student of mine, and her boyfriend also joined for the day. This was actually, the first time B.H. and his daughter's boyfriend have met, so it was an important day for them. I believe, my role may have been to help ease any tension or nervousness, or provide some comic relief to the day. Either way, it was good.

We traveled to Beomgye, neighboring town located two subway stops away, for lunch. Lunch was Tofu Jjigae (spicy soup), with sides of char-grilled pork and hamburger meat, and steamed rice with black beans served in individual stone pots. The soup was good, and the hamburger meat tasted fantastic. U-Jin told me they mix a rice cake into the hamburger meat to add flavor and help with the consistency. Seems different from what we are accustomed to in the States, but it worked well. Outside the restaurant there was a crowd gathered watching a pack of B-boys, Korean breakdancers, which was great fun to watch. It's a big thing in Korea, but unfortunately I have yet to see this in Sanbon.

After lunch we continued on the subway toward downtown Seoul and Namsam Mountain. Namsan is referred to as the Heart of Seoul, for it's a large mountain (260 meters) and park located in central Seoul. At the top of the mountain is Seoul Tower (236 meters) with an observation deck and tremendous views of the city. Seoul is an amazingly large city and continues on as far as the eye can see. One of the best features of the tower are the Men's room urinals, which look directly out toward the West. Nothing like a great view as you relieve yourself.. We rode a cable car to reach the top of the mountain and an elevator to the top of the tower. It was a little hazy this day, but still made for good viewing.

After Namsan we traveled by taxi to Cheonggye Stream, another popular Seoul attraction. I read that the stream was restored in 2003 to it's current condition and is a total of 6 kilometers in length. It runs East-West through the center of the city and reminded me very much of Cherry Creek in Denver. There are paved walkways on either side of the stream and fantastic laser light shows at night. It's really cool. Sadly, there were many police in riot gear gathered in the large area above the stream. Apparently, there were political demonstrations earlier in the day; more fallout from the death of former President Roh. There was also a photo exhibition of the Korean War with a small memorial to the fallen Koreans and U.S. servicemen during this conflict. It was sobering to see the photographs, and strangely, made me feel proud to be an American surrounded by so many Koreans. Despite the heavy U.S. presence in South Korea over the past 50+ years, I understand South Koreans are very grateful for U.S. assistance. Obviously, the outcome of their civil war would not be the same without U.S. and U.N. involvement. Interestingly though, B.H. told me the younger generations in South Korea do not share the same resentment toward the North as the older generations. I guess this is to be expected, but it was interesting to hear his views nonetheless.

We had squid dinner in a neighborhood apparently famous for squid dinners? Squid dinner consisted of cooked squid served in a fiery red pepper sauce (most hot), squid pizza with potato, shellfish soup in a clear broth with onions, and steamed rice. It wasn't as bad as it may sound, except for the red pepper sauce, which was among the hottest dishes I have tried in Korea. I am not exaggerating when I say we were all crying at the table from the heat of this dish. Seriously, it was kinda funny to see three Koreans and their American friend all sharing a good cry together over squid dinner.

The subway ride home to Sanbon was just over an hour from our location in central Seoul. We were all very tired from the day, and it was good to arrive home around 10:30pm. For the first time in weeks, I went to bed around 11pm Saturday night and slept hard until 10am Sunday. I also Skype'd with Ben and Danielle and had a three hour nap Sunday afternoon. It was wonderful! Later in the day, I watched a pirated copy of Gran Torino, shopped for groceries at E-Mart, and prepared for this week's classes.

So, in other words, it was a relaxing weekend just like I had intended. Most enjoyable. Korean style..