Vote Earth!

The Copenhagen Conference is coming nearer...and the politicians are backing out.

That kinda sucks, but WWF and others are still trying to make something happen.

Please clisk here and then 'VOTE EARTH' to do your bit.
We should all do our bit. It might well be too late already but let's try!

It's winter!

And how do I know that for sure?

Well, of ocurse because it's bloody freezing cold, but also: the leaves have all fallen off the trees, the ajumams are hidden behind big coats and face masks, the heaters have been turned on in the staffroom at school and I am drinking hot water. Yup, never thought I'd do that, but one can only take in so much hot tea and coffee in one day to warm up, and then one can still drink water.

Also...there were reports of a little snowfall on Sunday - in Sangju!

And, well, it's mid-November, so the timing is right.

And, MSN weather online confirms that the temperature has not risen above 5 degrees since Saturday and that it is below zero in the mornings and all night.

So it's wrap up time: out with the big heavy coat, the thermal underwear, hats and gloves. I forgot my beanie this morning for the ride to school and it felt like the icy wind was blowing right through my brain: in one ear and out the other!

But teh good news is that the ski season will open soon soon, and...we're off to Japan to watch the Sumo wrestling this weekend: so exciting!

So enjoy the hot sun your side while I soak up the cosy vibes over here. At least the dragon of a principal has left my school and we'll probably be allowed to turn on the heating in the classrooms relatively soon!

best of Sangju in autumn

autumn feet.

my trusty...bike. Which was recently repaired by a very drunk bicycle shop owner. Soju might just have some magical powers!

The accommodating/obliging Ajummas! They are wearing those vests as part of their 'community service' uniform. They were being gathered to start working on teh city's flower beds etc.

persimmons, persimmons and more persimmons!

The in-between seasons are the best in Korea: Spring is beautiful because of all the blossoms, things coming alive and greening up, and of course the weather warming up gently.

Similarly, autumn is an aesthetically pleasing time of the year: gorgeous golden, red, yellow, brown leaves are everywhere. I really like that about teh decidious forest in Korea!

In Sangju, the orange-coloured persimmons are hanging everywhere: hanging on tress waiting to be harvested, hanging in sheds to dry. Sitting in a box in the corner of our house....waiting to be eaten! Persimmons anyone?? (Dot? I know they're a special treat for you!)

I think the appeal of these seasons also lies in the mild weather. Mid-winter in Korea is very cold, miserable, grey and ugly. Mid-sumemr is excruciatinlgy humid and dripping, in ever sense of the word, and it is difficult to find respite from the oppresive heat.

So spring and autumn win hands down!

I have enjoyed autumn this year more than last year: I think this time last year I was so absorbed in the shock of arriving in Korea and being thrust into my new job headlong that I had little capacity to really appreciate what was going on around me. This year though, having slipped into an almost compfortable pace at school, I have time to take my camera along on the way to school, and today I took some lovey pics of autumn in Sangju.

I even found some mild-mannered Ajummas (it must be the autumn vibes...) willing to pose in a pic for me! :)

Seoul 'Soul of Asia' Photos and News

At Gyeongbokgung Palace with Julian's co-teacher, Joe.

We've been to Seoul more than usual in the last month. Jules and I went up for Clint, a South African friend of ours' birthday a few weeks ago. Then, last weekend, we were in Seoul on a trip organised by EPIK, our employer here in Korea.

I must say I am impressed that they organise these kind of trips for us: it's a great opportunity for us to meet and network with other teachers and of course to learn more about Korea. And of for them to get us to write 3-page essays which they can presumably flash around as and where they need evidence of us having a good time and learning about Korean culture etc ! :) But we had fun!



There was quite a bit of overlap in the places we visited - unsurprising as they are amongst the top tourist attarctions in Seoul.

Gyeonbokgung Palace: this is one of the big, restored palaces in Seoul. It was originally built in 1394, in the Joseon Dynasty (the most recent of Korea's Dynasties), but has of course suffered at the hands of the imperial Japanese colonists and been rebuilt and refurbished numerous times. The palace has large grounds with various compounds and living and entertaining quarters scattered about, one of the most impressive being the King's entertaining house, which is bult in a pond. I enjoyed the palace and taking pics of the pretty traditional Korean buildings and structures. It's a huge place and it would take much more than a few hours to understand and appreciate its importance. We also saw a changing of the guards ceremony on our way through which was interesting as the 'guards' (they're fake, just for show) were dressed in traditional dress which was nice to see. There was also a traditioinal performing arts festival going on which was interesting to see.




N'Seoul Tower is a large tower on Namsan Mountain in Seoul. It provides great views over the city...which would be enjoyable weren't it so crowded and full of tourists taking pics of themselves with the view in the background. Funny how we all feel compelled to do that kind of thing - I'm also guilty. Almost feel like "I might just have regrets if I don't take that 'iconic' picture now, so let me take it just in case!"And of course all the couples writing love messsages on little tiles to display on the wall. There was even a man propsing to his girlfriend!




Gwanghwamun Plaza is a 'revitalised' part of the city which means it has recently been refurbished and touristied and commercialised. The city has recently erected two statues of Korea's most famous historic figures: King Sejong the Great (who supposedly single-handedly invented Hangeul, the Korean alphabet in around 1490) and Admiral Lee- Sunshin (who supposedly almost single-handedly won every single battle he ever fought, against Japan of course, and invented Korea's famous 'turtle' warships). These are surrounded by pretty, bright flower beds and musical fountains and once again hordes of people taking pictures! Gwanghwamun is the island in the middle of one of the busiest streets in downtwon Seoul. It is also conveniently near 'The Body Shop' and 'Kyobo Books' two big-city shopping highlights for me!


Insandong Market is a street in downtown Seoul which prides itself in being a part of the 'arty' district in Seoul. There are some traditional Korean arts and crafts on sale, but infirtunately, even here the kitch and commercialised tourism and souvenirs is making a mark. It does have a great atmosphere though and some lovely quaint cafes etc. Even Starbucks (that great all-American coffee shop) has been forced to write the name of tehir shop in Hangeul - Korean script to maintain the traditional feel of the place. We tracked down an Indian Cafe where we were more than happy to partake in a hubbly (=hookah in American English).


We also went on a DMZ Tour with the EPIK trip. This is something Jules and I have been interested in doing for a while: the DMZ is the Demilitarized Zone between North and South Korea, and one can take oragnised tours of some of the significant buildings, monuments etc. in that area. It is a strange place: we had chatted to friends of ours about going on a tour, but they had said they were not interested as they were convinced it was all just voyeurism (the non-sexual variant).

Well, I wanted to see for myself, and I did. They were right: it is voyeuristic, and commercialsed and actually, bizarre. When one thinks about the suffering that happened in the Korean War, which the DMZ is a result of, and when one thinks of the suffering going on just a few kilometres north of the DMZ, in North Korea, then the rampant tourism commercialism and kitch-on-sale happening on the South Korean side of the DMZ is quite simply tasteless.

It's a pity, but my tour of the DMZ left me disturbed and confused: do South Korean people really want reunification with the poor North or is it just for the 'image' that they say so? Jules also wrote about our experience on the DMZ tour, probably a bit more eloquently than I have, so have a look here.

On familiarity & becoming part of a community

One of the things I have missed most being in a foreign country far from home has been a feeling of familiarity and a sense of belonging. Today for the first time I had bit of a wake-up call that made me realise again that I had indeed been missing this, but also that slowly but surely Sangju is becoming familiar and I am starting to feel that, in some way, I do belong.

This feeling came to me at dinner tonight. There's a restaurant nearby which Jules and I have come to frequent. It's called 'Loving You' (with Korean pronounciation of course 'leobin yoo') and serves a dish called 'dalk galbi'. Dalk galbi translates as 'chicken ribs' but that would of course be ridiculous: It's prepared in a simlar way to pork ribs in Korea and hence the name, but chicken meat is used instead. It's one of those 'cook on your tabletop' dishes, kind of like a strifry with cabbage, chilli and other veg etc added. One wraps the food in lettuce leaves and voila! Yummy! Anyway, dalk galbi has become one of our favourite dishes in Korea, and Loving You prepares it particularly well. The staff are also friendly and it's less than 10 minutes walk from home.

So anyway, back to the story. This evening the waiter asked us what we wanted and he corrrectly pre-empted that we would want the standard dalk galbi but with cheese and sweet potato added, which is what we usually order. And then as we were about to order our drinks he said 'one beer and one cider (=sprite)'. Wow, I was so impressed and it warmed my heart.

He obviously knows us well by now but remembering our usual drinks orders as well as our dalk galbi additions just made me feel like we were truly 'regulars' - a lovely familiar feeling, one, like I said, that I have misssed. But having been in Sangju over a year now, I think these kind of experiences might just become more frequent and I welcome them. It's nice to start feeling part of a community - particularly when one is so obviously foreign and when communicating with all other memebrs of the community is near impossible!

Another way in which I hope we'll become more part of the community, and contributing to it, is that we are on the process of making an arrangement with the Sangju Public Library that we donate our 'old' English books and that they start a section of English books. At the moment they do have some English books, but these are mostly aimed at students, and I think a place for foriegners to borrown novels etc. would be a great addition to Sangju. I've spent more than enough money on ordering English books online and from Kyobo Bookstore in Seoul and Daegu, and won't be able to drag the lot home. So having a place to leave them where future English-speaking residents of Sangju can benefit from them sounds like a good idea!