The Ramblings of Loren Christopher

My friend from university has been in town this week (another visitor, I swear I had no idea so many people would come visit me in Seoul…had six so far).  Unfortunately we didn’t get much time to hang out since she only had a few days and was seeing a couple other people as well.

Today we went to ChangGyeong Palace.  Out of all the palaces in Seoul and Korea, this one is by far my favorite one.  I had only been during winter months when the trees were dead, so this was my first time seeing it in its new spring glory.  The reason this palace is so great is because there IS so much greenery everywhere you look.

Small pathways take you from one various chamber to another, you’re surrounded by trees and flowers the whole time….the lilacs were blooming and they smelled so nice.  I can imagine it would be beautiful in the fall too when all the leaves are changing colors.  The first time I visited ChangGyeongGung we did an English tour, which I would definitely recommend.  It IS interesting learning about how these people lived, and how many of the customs carried over into present-day Korea.

For example, when you look inside even the living quarters, you notice that there is no furniture.  Koreans never used chairs or beds, they sat on the floor, ate on the floor, slept on the floor.  This is why it’s customary to take your shoes off at the door in so many Asian countries (who wants to eat off the same place where you walk around on your shoes?  you wouldn’t want someone walking on your dinner table in their sneakers right?).

Also, they had ondol floor heating even back in the 14th Century, you notice that all the palace buildings are raised to provide room for heating equipment underneath.  This is something that still exists today in Korea and is quite common–floor heating.  I have it in my apartment and it’s so convenient.  My feet never get cold, and in the winter is works so well in heating my whole place.

So, on this bright sunny day, a stroll around the palace was just more than perfect.  I’ll admit, palaces are a bit like cathedrals in the sense that they get old after a while.  Once you’ve seen a few, you begin to feel like you’ve seen them all.  This one though, has such a pleasant layout with nature that I thoroughly enjoy it each time I visit.

We were nearing the end of our walk when we spotted a group of Koreans dressed up in traditional Korean clothing.  Then, we saw more groups of them all marching in the same direction…such ornate clothing and each group wore a different color, bright reds, green, blue.  The colors represent the rankings and positions (i.e. the noble court, scribes, warriors, etc).  We were blown away by how many of them there were, obviously they were getting ready to perform some sort of ceremony, so we followed them into the main palace court.

Sure enough, they perform the customary “receiving of the king and his son” (at least that’s what it seemed like they were doing).  Quite an odd feeling watching the king being carried in on the throne while they were playing traditional music.  I felt like I had stepped back in time quite a few hundred years until I glanced over to the right above the rooftop and noticed a modern apartment building.

We definitely lucked out to see this type of ceremony.  I’m not sure what was special about today and why they were doing it…but it was VERY cool to see.  They have a “changing of the guards” ceremony twice a day at Gyeongbok Palace and I always thought that was pretty cool, but this put that to shame.  And, can I just say again how glad I am that spring is finally here again!?

A special treat arrived in the mail for me last weekend, a right angle lens.  It can be also referred to as a “spy lens”, but that sounds creepy and slightly perverse, so I prefer the term “right angle lens”.  So, I bought one of these because I’ve always been interested in street photography, and capturing the candid shots of people I see as I travel.  Unfortunately for me, I don’t have the courage to just ask them if I can take their picture.  And I’ve tried sneaking pictures of interesting looking people, but it never quite turns out the way I want.

So, I was pleased when I heard about this lens attachment….and last weekend I went out around Jongro (central Seoul) to test it out.  Jongro is a pretty happening area, particularly on the weekends.  There’s Insadong street which has loads of touristy stuff and shops, at night there are neon lights everywhere you look, bars, game rooms, all kinds of street food, and people everywhere.

I went in the late afternoon….the weather was perfect and I visited Tagpol Park.  This place is FILLED with old Korean men.  They all come here and play a traditional game called “Go“.  I have no idea how to play it myself, but it is comparable to our chess or checkers…..in that there is a board and there are pieces and you take turns playing.  I’m sure it’s more complicated obviously.

The point, however, is that this park is flooded with old Korean men who bring their games and they just sit around playing.  Some men will crowd around and watch particular games (I guess if they know it’s a good game).  Also there were some REALLY old men talking who had crowds gathered around listening to them.  I wish I had gone with one of my K-friends so I could have gotten a translation.

I like old people, especially of other ethnicities.  Old Koreans in particular amaze me because I cannot imagine how much change they have seen in their lifetime.  Just 50 years ago the entire country was ripped apart and starving….they had nothing.  Now you walk down the street and people are in designer clothing, using the latest technology phones, there are multinational corporations everywhere you look.  It’s amazing to think about.

That’s one of the reasons this country fascinates me so much.  There is an interesting juxtaposition of ancient (and somewhat archaic) societal hierarchies, customs, and traditions mixed with the ultra-modern and image conscious people of today.  Last Saturday, as I was walking around creepily taking pictures of strangers….lol, I tried to capture an essence of the people and why it is that I like this place so much.  For more photos you can check out my flickr page.

A couple weekends ago I went with friends to the east coast of S. Korea, we visited a small little beach city called Samcheok.  Things were starting to warm up a bit and we were all severely in the mood for a weekend getaway trip!

The bus ride (very comfortable bus) was almost 4 hours….we left around 7am so got there in good time.  We were dropped off at a small bus station, and after a few of our feeble attempts at conversing in Korean, we found out which local transport bus would take us down along the coast.

It was so nice to see the ocean again.  I’ve always said that I need to live near the water…there’s just something about it.  I never fully realize how much I love it until I’ve been landlocked for a while and then get to see the wide open ocean again.  The bus stopped along a few coves and beaches, and we just got off at the one that we thought looked the most beautiful.

We searched around for a 민박

 (guesthouse) and found a lovely one right by the water so we checked in.  The owner was an older Korean man and was soo nice.  It was the start of the tourist season so we were the only people there, perhaps some of the first customers of the season, so he was waiting on us hand and foot to make sure we had everything we needed, hehe.

We immediately dropped off our bags and took a stroll along the beach.  Mind you, when I say it was “starting to warm up” in Korea, it was still a little chilly and the water was FREEZING so none of us went for a swim.  It was nice to walk in the sand again though, hear the waves, look out into the blue blue water.

We ventured further down the coast to a park (actually hitched a ride on a high school bus, which was hilarious).  Haeshindang Park is beautiful.  I’d been there before, but not with my big group of friends so I wanted to show them.  The water is beautiful and there’s a big rocky cove that is just stunning.  I felt like I was back on one of the Greek islands!

So, our first day was a relaxing one….we headed into town before sunset and ate at a lovely Italian restaurant called “Buona”, then had Baskin Robbins and walked around a bit.  We actually ran into a couple other foreigners who live in Samcheok so we were talking with them.  They said there are only about 30 foreigners in the entire city…seems like they all relatively know each other.  They verified that there’s not much to do there, but it is a scenic place to live.  The thought of living there for a year just did not appeal to 

me at all, haha.  I’d rather go there for a vacation any day.  Seoul has it’s crowds and long subway rides, etc, but at least you could never get bored here.

The next day we headed to Hwibangsa cave….our guesthouse owner was gracious enough to chauffeur us all the way over there for a nominal fee.  This cave is the largest limestone cave in all of Asia.  It was so big!!  It’s cool that they had bigger walkways and colored lights here and there to give it a more dramatic effect.  Definitely a must for anyone planning on visiting Samcheok.

The walk up to the cave was a little exhausting, and it was drizzly out.  But the fog and drizzle really set the mood as we were up in the mountains.

Coming back to Seoul, we felt like we got a lot out of the trip.  Sandy relaxing beaches, and then foggy mountains and a huge cave….not bad for just two days and one night.  Like I said, this was my second time visiting Samcheok, but I’ve enjoyed it so much both times that I’m not sure if it will be my last.

Moving into a nicer apartment, although tedious and stressful, has really made me enjoy my life in Korea even more.  When I lived in Prague I rented a room from an old flat, the location was incredible (just a block from the Vltava River), I lived with one of my best friends and an sweet older Czech woman who was full of life.  But the place was old and I put little to no effort into making it my own.

When I came to Korea, one of my priorities in getting settled in was to decorate my place and make it feel like “me”.  I did a decent job of that in my last apartment, but my new place really does feel like my home.  It’s important to invest in some decor I think, even for those people who come to Korea only for a year…..because your home should be your haven, right?

Ok anyway, the house-warming party was lots of fun.  I made Mexican food, tacos complete with guacamole, sour cream, cheese, pico de gallo and Mexican rice (thanks Molly for bringing that!).  It was sooo delicious I couldn’t believe it, haha.  So we just hung out and laughed, listened to music, etc. until evening came and then we went to the busy area Cheonho and had a couple beers.  It was perfect.

My building was made in 2003 I believe….so it’s fairly new.  I think I’ve said before that my location is a bit farther away from work, but there are so many more things to do and see here in Gangdong.  I’m anxious for it to warm up a bit so I can go exploring more.  All in all, I’m very pleased with the new place and will be staying here again if I decide to renew my contract after another year (wow, that’s a long ways down the rode though), one thing at a time.

If you’d prefer to watch a video tour of me showing the apartment, you can click here.  Be warned I had just woken up and am in my PJs, haha.  Also here are a few thumbnail pics below:

So my Valentine’s weekend was pretty eventful and fulfilling to say the least.  It all began early in the morning Saturday.  It was gray, not too cold.  I was meeting Molly at the fabric market in Dongdaemun because she had never been, and I also needed to get some fabric for my new place (which by the way is completely finished and I will post about next time).

I used to enjoy cruising down the aisles of Joann’s or Hancock Fabrics back in the states.  Inspiration was something you searched for in the textiles, and hopefully you found it on sale or in the new arrivals.  Shopping for fabric at this place is an entirely different experience though.

Little did I know, that in the 1970’s this building was the largest market in all of Asia.  You can believe it though when you’re walking around the place.  It has about 7 or 8 floors, each consisting of different textiles like bedding, traditional Korean prints for hanboks, two floors of just fabric, a level of only beads, buttons and ribbons.

The building is huge, small pathways with different fabric spilling over, vendors eating lunch, people who look like they’re in the fashion industry buying and collecting samples.  Creativity and inspiration is everywhere at this place.

I found my favorite booth (D-247 if I remember correctly) and ended up buying some pinstriped corduroy and a dark navy blue that go really well together.  You’ll see soon enough.

Molly and I were troopers though, we shopped around that building for a while but eventually surrendered to how hot we were getting (still wearing our winter jackets and all) and decided to call it done.  She threw a fondue and wine party at her apartment later that night, which was absolutely spectacular.

Once again I found myself encircled with people whom I love, laughing and having a great time.  Not a bad Valentine’s Day at all.  On a separate and random note, I was being ambitious Saturday morning and wanted to take 20 pictures throughout the day to feature in a blog entry.  I didn’t quite make it to 20, I’ll do that some other time.

I DID want to share this random tid-bit about the sidewalks and all pedestrian walkways in Korea:  they have raised lines which lead blind people all around….sometimes they’re circled or striped or rectangular depending on whether there are steps coming up, etc.  

So…you can feel the pattern under your feet and it will guide you, with instructions!  It’s a pretty cool system that I’d never seen anywhere else so I thought I’d share it.

Here we go, an entry just about what’s been going on in my life lately.  Sorry folks, no insider tips about Korea or its culture this time.

So I had my birthday party in Hongdae with a big group of friends, we all ended up having SOOO much fun.  It had been a while since I’d been out (or at least it felt like it), and everyone was in such a good mood I couldn’t have asked for a better party.  You can see a cool video of the evening if you click here.

It’s a nice feeling to look around you on an evening like your birthday, and be surrounded by people who love you and care about you….even if they are relatively new people in your life (all but one of them I’ve met over the past year).  So I had a warm and fuzzy feeling inside all night.  Unfortuntely it didn’t last the rest of the week.

I’m moving into a new apartment tomorrow.  The place I’m in now is ok, I have no complaints…..except one.  The air conditioner is temperature controlled throughout the entire building, and since it’s an office building….it shuts off after 6pm or so in the summer.  I am left sweltering, trying to crack open my small window and blast the fan on high in hopes that I won’t pass out.  I do not like the heat, and the summers here can get hot….Florida hot.

So, I complained to my boss and she said they would indeed move me into a newer and nicer apartment when I renewed my contract (they were willing to move me right then and there, but I declined and said I’d rather just wait it out).  I’m moving four subway stops closer to Seoul (which isn’t a lot), meaning I’ll now be a 10-15 minute ride to and from work, as opposed to the 1-minute walking distance I’ve enjoyed this past year.

The plus side is that my new apartment is evidently VERY new, has all the modern amenities, it’s bigger, and is located in a much more bustling area.  This is good.  I’m just anxious to see the place and get settled into it already.  (The picture here is of my new building, although it is actually surrounded by many other buildings….this is a promo shot I guess so they photoshopped them out.)  It has been stressful this week trying to deal with my boss and get things ready for the move.  I send an e-mail asking one question, and a day later I get a response totally unrelated to what I had asked.

Somehow I am not worried in the least….I chuck it up as a ‘weird Korean thing’ and just trust that everything will work out ok.  It always seems to.  Packing has been stressful though, and I’m still not even totally finished.  It’s really amazing how much stuff a person can acquire over the period of just a year!  I plan on being here for the long haul though so I wanted to get settled in nicely and have everything I need/want.  Indeed I do.

So, this weekend I’ll be nesting in my nice new place.  Since its my second year with the school, the real estate market isn’t doing well, and the school feels bad about the A/C issue, I’m hoping/thinking that they went in for an even nicer place than normal.  I have high hopes of a Penthouse Suite overlooking the river, but I should probably be aiming a bit lower, haha.

Anyway, all else is well.  I’ve been working out a lot lately and eating super healthy, visibly lost my belly fat and am putting on muscle.  Must keep it up!  Until next time….much love.

Oh, I also posted another video on teaching in Korea because I’ve gotten ridiculous amounts of emails and questions for more information.  If you want to see that video, it’s here.

It’s the Lunar New Year holiday this weekend, which means I have Monday and Tuesday off (gotta love 4-day weekends)!  Traditionally, Korean people spend this time with their family in the countryside or in their homes.  Things are closed in Seoul and the streets tend to lose their bussle.

Last year for this holiday (yes, it has in fact been a year now that I’ve lived here), being newly arrived, I took advantage of the fact that it wasn’t as crowded and went exploring around the city.  This time though, I wanted to get away.  Originally I thought some friends and I were going somewhere together….but the closer the holiday came, no one had made any plans, and the idea of getting away on my own for a while sounded more and more attractive.

So Sunday morning I left for Asan.  It’s close-by Seoul, just an hour or so south.  I didn’t want to go far because the whole country is traveling on the roads this weekend and I knew traffic would be bad.  Three snowy and scenic hours later, I had arrived in the small city. There’s nothing too special about Asan from what I can tell.  It’s not nestled in the mountains, there’s no real river running along side of it, it’s not village-y looking.

They have an old-looking cathedral that’s nice, an old folk village, and the main reason I went….about 10 minutes away is “Spavis“, one of the biggest spa resorts in Korea.  I checked into a motel near the bus terminal right away, dropped off my bags and headed out with my camera.  The receptionist lady called after me, “Adjosshi!  Adjosshi!”.  I just kept walking.  The word “adjosshi” in Korean is typically used in reference to an old man, of at least his 40’s.  Turns out she was in fact talking to ME!  Thanks to our miming techniques I figured out she was asking if I wouldn’t rather just get some sleep at the motel first.  I explained that I wasn’t tired and wanted to walk around….heck, it was noon anyway!

This city could be a dump for all I know, but in the fresh snow everything just looked so pretty.  There were, of course, the slushy parts….and since I didn’t bring any snow boots I couldn’t wander off too far.  But it was nice to venture through the small streets and take photos again, it had been a while and I was in a creative mood.

I had some sundubu-jigae (spicy tofu stew, one of my favs) and then took a taxi over to Spavis.  Wow, this place was pretty big, certainly bigger than any jim-jil-bang I had ever been to.  It has its own water park and community pools for men and women, as well as the separate saunas.  I headed straight for the sauna.  I can’t tell you how much I love the sauna aspect of Korea….and this place knew how to do it right.

There were so many different kinds of baths.  Salt baths, green tea, mountain berry, red wine, herbal mint, bamboo, rice wine, medicinal, etc.  They had a bunch indoors, and when I felt like I was about to pass out from all the heat, I stepped outside on the patio (in the snow) and then dipped into a couple of the outdoor baths surrounded by bamboo.

I dried off and treated myself to a full-body massage and then foot massage afterwards.  Then visited the Dr. Fish spa they had as well.  I can tell you, this is the kind of relaxing and refreshing thing that stays with you for a while.  I headed back to the city later in the evening and just relaxed in my motel room and read a book.

Sometimes it’s nice to get away by yourself and have some time alone.  I think the major thing was that I just wanted to get away!  But I am back in the big city feeling refreshed and rejuvenated, and ready for my Birthday weekend (next weekend) in which much fun will be had out on the town, my friends are going to make sure of it.

Originally, a few friends and I had planned on heading down to Icheon for a day of pottery-making on Saturday.  As the week drew to a close, and the more we researched it, we decided to post-pone it a bit and just have a fun weekend in Seoul instead.

Now, I don’t know if I’ve written about the woes of shopping as a taller man of Western size here in Korea, but there are woes my friends.  Korea is a fashion-forward place, the people are an image-obsessed society and you find cool trendy fashion around almost every corner, and cheap too.

My excitement quickly turned to disappointment after trying on jackets where the sleeves went down just above my wrists, shirts that cut off just below my belly button, pants that stopped around my ankles, etc.  It’s not THAT drastic….but being almost 6′3″ (189 cm), I notice it.  There’s no point in buying clothing even if it’s slightly too small, because I won’t feel comfortable in it.  Shoes are entirely the same story.

Soooo, long story short, I bought lots of stuff when I went back to the states for Christmas.  This weekend though, we went to Myeongdong to check out the new Forever 21 store.  It’s an American company and I’d heard great things about their men’s clothing, so I was hoping for Western sizes and Korean prices.

It was….awesome.  I picked up a few things, all of which fit perfectly and are stylish.  Will be going back on a weekday this week when the crowds are more manageable.

So we just walked around Myeongdong and Namdaemun a bit….enjoyed the crowds and shopping.  Then we were headed off to Hongdae to meet up with some other friends.  Hongdae is one my favorite places to go out in Seoul.  The nightlife is great and it’s located right next to a couple big Universities so there are a lot of trendy younger people there.

I’ve posted a little about this area before, but it just bears repeating that Hongdae is FUN.  So many different people, scenes, things to do, etc.  We went to a couple different bars, saw a couple bands play live music, ate some delicious (albeit VERY spicy) tteokbokki on the street, and at some point in the morning we called it a night.

When I lived in Prague for a year, I used to have recurring dreams in which I would simply walk into a Cracker Barrel restaurant, the waitress would come up and I would order anywhere from 10-15 different American breakfast food items.  I would always wake up from shock when they were brought to the table.  Never did I actually get to eat them in my dreams.  Well luckily, Seoul is a much more modern and globalized city than Prague….there’s no sense in dreaming about ecstasy when it lies just a subway ride away.

I had heard about the restaurant “Butterfinger Pancakes” before, but only first ate there a couple weeks ago when my friend Houston suggested it.  They only have two locations in Seoul, (Apgujeong and Gangnam) and the newest location is most convenient for me to get to….so I was excited.

Sidenote for those living in Seoul, you can find the Gangnam location if you leave Gangnam station exit 6, turn left after the first block (I believe it’s the corner with The Body Shop on it…..walk down a little ways and you’ll see it on the left.  If you pass the Bennigan’s then you’ve gone too far!)

Well, where do I begin really?  When you have a craving for home cooking of the sorts (American breakfast being one of my favorites) and you’re in a foreign country it can be hard to find the real deal….done right, for a moderate price.  There are quite a few places to get American breakfast in this city, but they’re either not that great, or ridiculously expensive.  Butterfinger Pancakes has everything that you could want and more.  A wide variety of pancakes like chocolate chip, banana, even mozzarella and cream cheese (sounds gross I know, but they are incredible)….there are waffles, omelets, hash browns, fresh oven-baked biscuits, bacon, eggs, even pigs in a blanket.

The reason I feel this place deserves a blog entry is because the quality was superb, among the best pancakes I’ve ever had….even compared to back in the states.  And the prices were reasonable too (10,000 won for a full breakfast combo).  Thank you Houston, for taking me here to see what all the fuss was about!  What could I possibly miss from the states now other than friends and family?

Disclaimer:  I do not enjoy reading Korea expat blogs that are mostly about “teaching life”, which class bothered you most this week, what your co-workers or daily activities are like.  This, to me, is boring to read.  So in no way do I intend for this blog to come across as one of those ‘today-this-happened-at-work’ blogs.  That being said, let me take this one entry to tell you a little about my work since I took some cute pictures of my kids recently.

I’ll be honest, up until about a year ago I was frightened by kids.  I didn’t know how to act around them, I was afraid they wouldn’t think I was funny.  Looking back now, I know I had nothing to be scared of….kids are great!  There is a kind of instant joy you get working with kids that I just don’t think you can find anywhere else, and there have been so many moments with my kids over the past year that have left me truly touched.

It’s funny, I can be in a bad mood or stressed out, and the kids will cheer me up with something silly or ridiculous that they say.  And sometimes they say the most RANDOM things.  Likewise there are a few terrors here and there that I have to keep under tight control, but I’ve gotten much better at that.  They know when they hear my sudden soft, demeaning tone of voice, to be quiet so they can hear exactly what I’m going to say to reprimand one of them.

I’ve made a couple kids cry over this past year.  I’m not entirely proud of that, but in a way I am, because those two kids have since become really close to me and are now among my favorites.  There’s no point in holding grudges….you have to show the kids you care about them and truly want them to do better.  It’s amazing how far the slightest bit of interest you show them can go.

I don’t mean to sound like I’m patting myself on the back here….there is still soooo much to learn.  That’s one reason I like teaching, it’s a constant growing and learning process.  And I am so so so thankful that I have an amazing hagwon (private school) to work for though.  They don’t take advantage of me or over-work me at all.  It’s rare to find such a sweet deal in Korea and I’m not sure, had I gotten a job at one of the many crappy hagwons, if I would be as stoked about teaching.

So, when I reflect on this past year of teaching, and I see kids who I know I’ve made an impact on and they will remember me for the rest of their lives, I feel so lucky to be doing what I’m doing.  Like I said, there are certainly tough times with some classes, and there will always be more ahead.  Figuring out how to make the best of the situation is a challenge that every teacher should be strive to achieve.  The pay-offs are worth it.