Defending the Hermit Kingdom

"This kind of lifestyle is worth protecting"
-George Bush 2001

Is comfort the enemy of creativity?  I’m currently 3 months into my second "season" of planet Korea and I'm wondering how much longer I'll remain a part of this "Hermit Kingdom"?  As of now I can't think of a reason to leave. This ultimately worries me.  I often wonder if I’ve become too comfortable. A few other questions to come mind as well; When my time is "finsihee" here, will I miss the strange backwardness of Korea?  More importantly have I become a part of the strange backwardness of Korea?  To quote Neil Young “Am I too far gone?"  Why does this worry me?  Well one should never let one’s own moral compass go unchecked for long. The world changes too fast. The worst thing is to become stagnant.  

The national past time of Korea

On a  pragmatic level, it’s true that Korea is the best place for me; for the time being.  Yes, at times I’m out of my comfort zone, but more often than not I find myself thrown into very pleasant circumstances.  Aside from all the cultural differences, and borderline xenophobia, Korea does have its perks.  Its' an easygoing gig with a comfortable lifestyle (thanks to an overgenerous salary). Top it off with the fact that you have no other responsibilities, a free place to live, and way too much free time. Jackpot, right?

Well, from the outside looking in it may seem absurd.  For example, the tourist on the other hand would be severely disappointed, that is unless of course they love cabbage museums and a junior varsity version of Japan. The typical backpacker probably wouldn’t enjoy the fact that the current conventional wisdom here is dictated by K-pop and ignorant stereotypes. Why deal with that when you can go to Kao San Road or Boracay? Then of course  any visitor should always take in consideration the wild card of being attacked by an ajumma on the subway. 

Yes, the hermit kingdom isn't for everyone, but it never really claimed to be in the first place.  Korea is a strange little anomaly, because it chooses to be a strange little anomaly. It's not going to change for you or for me. In a way, you have to respect that about them.  If you want tourism go to Thailand, if you want beaches go to the Philippines (or stay in Thailand) if you want chaos go to China.

 Looking back I realized that part of the reason I’d chosen to stay was because almost no one else would. I don't love everything about Korea, and I  certainly don't hate it.  Here, I'm always entertained and at times fascinated.  In a sense it's just like watching The Twilight Zone. It's weird, it's cheesy, it's sometimes awesome, and just when you think you have it all figured out, they thrown in a twist that completely blows your mind. 

Right now I'm comfortable. So should I exchange comfort for creativity or is creativity as overrated as Kimchi?  Until I've had my fill, I'll be here, in The Twilight Zone, defending the Hermit Kingdom

맛있은: The many foods of Korea

 After discovering a story from the Korean Herald concerning the 7 gross foods of Korea ( as chosen by their foreign staff)  I read the article (which can be found here) and was surprised to find that I've tasted 5 of the 7 chosen dishes.  After feeling a nice sense of accomplishment and reminiscence of the actual experiences of eating these foods I decided to document the story's behind the dishes themselves; from my point of view. 

Once again many thanks  to the Korean Herald and their foreign staff for inspiring me to write/re-write this interesting take on the foods of Korea.

1st Silkworm larva (번데기)

This was one of the worst foods I've ever had. It's a big hit with the older crowd, and sold on the streets in many places in Seoul. My school obviously convinced me to try it. I think they had good intentions because they seem to love that stuff, but I almost threw up.

    2nd  Chicken feet (닭발) 

Rachel (my GLS friend from Cyprus & best 친구 here in Korea) and I accidentally had this one night in Seoul.  Back before my Korean reading ability was good, I convinced her to  randomly point to something on the menu and have sort of a "Korean roulette dinner".  What we pointed to unknowingly, was this....  Now, to be honest It wasn't bad, but that's because we thought it was fried squid/octopus tentacles, after about 5 minutes of us chomping on the unfamiliar texture, I realized that what I was chewing was cartilage and what we had ordered was chicken feet. After figuring this out I couldn't eat anymore. Looking back I can't believe it took us this long to figure it out. I  mean after all they are covered in an orange sauce and once you really pick one up, it look exactly like a chicken's foot.

    #3 Live octopus (산낙지)

Old Boy (2003):  A famous Korean movie

I thought about writing this  yesterday because I just had this dish again last night.  The staff at my school had a huge celebration last night, and for dinner one of the main courses was live octopus. (the other main dish was live shrimp).  I've only had this 3 other times in Korea and each time its been with a large group of people. It's a fairly expensive dish, and one that many people in Korea believe is a delicacy. True story: last night I almost died from eating this. You see, the hardest part about eating this is  that fact that they are always moving and wiggling around. Whether its crawling off the plate, or inside your mouth. Last night I ate a pretty big piece and tried to wash it down with some beer; However it suctioned part of itself to the roof of my mouth. This made for a very strange scene. I had half of it down my throat but the rest was stuck to the top of my mouth, add to the fact that my mouth was full of beer and I couldn't open it or beer would come spewing out. After panicking and gagging but not trying to draw to much attention to myself, I spit the beer into my cup, and had to quickly reach into my mouth and pull the thing off, then drag it out from down in my throat.( think of how a clown or magician pulls out  some string or cloth)  Pretty gross right?  Well,that's the story of how I almost died yesterday from eating a live octopus.

Here is a video of us eating  live octopus from last thanksgiving


(thanks to Mark & Andie for providing the video)

  # 4 Sundae (순대)

I was presented with this dish during the "ceremony" where I  decided to re-sign my contract for a 2nd year. This dish is also another big favorite with the older crowd. A co- worker told me that it was big honor to be presented with this from my principal. We had some drinks and ate this as a way of my school saying thank you for staying in Korea again. This wasn't too bad, but If they are going to try to get me to stay a third year, they are going to need to chose something else besides pig intestines.  

   # 5 Bosintang (보신탕)






 

Last but not least, Bosintang. (aka dog soup).  Now in all honestly I was curious about trying it. There was something about being in a 1st world country like Korea and eating something that is usually (these days) only found in 3rd world places that fascinated me. One of my drinking buddy's at my school is an older Korean man. He was a big fan of this stuff. One night over many drinks he promised to take me out to a place nearby that has this dish let me experience it. Well weeks went by and I forgot about his promise, until a random weekday when  he came into my classroom and reminded me. Contrary to my assumption,the restaurant was not a sketchy hole in a wall. In fact it was a very famous and nice  looking place that I always pass by on the way to work.  My friend told me how this place was one of the few places our area that had bosintang. The weird part is that it's not advertised on the menu, and there was a bit of hesitation from the waitress when me friend asked for it. (mostly because he was with a "waygook" aka foreigner aka me) After some more dialogue between the two, the lady put us in a separate room, away from the public eating space, and served it up to us.  I was sketched out of my mind about the whole process, and couldn't help think of my own dog Max. It was really sad, and strange. I've never been that emotionally involved about a meal in my entire life. On the bright side this dish cost around 50 US dollars  (for 2 people). I was happy about that because I feel like the high price may deter many of the other people away from this dish. Also I felt more comfortable eating it for such a high price.. as opposed to 3 dollar dog night in the back of some Korean alley.

I hope this provides you with a little more insight concerning the strange little planet know as Korea .

Made In China: 北京 Edition Vol. 3

The Temple of the Five Pagodas

The Lama Temple

The 3rd and final installment of my   北京  trip.  Covers the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, and  the Temples of Beijing.  Rather than ramble on about the history, facts, and other assorted tales contributed to these monuments, I'm just going to let the pictures speak for themselves. If  perhaps you'd like more information about these iconic symbols of China find them here.  Otherwise enjoy.

The Great Wall

One of the gates into the Forbidden City

The Temple of Heaven

Made In China: 北京 Edition Vol. 2

So what do you do when you land in Beijing by yourself in the middle of the night???  Well apparently whatever you want. A good friend of mine said " Its a strange thing to travel by one's self, there's a lot of time spent thinking, and a lot of forced interaction."  I however found it to be one of the most insightful experiences since the duration of my time in Asia.  I took a train from the airport to the city center where I planned to start my journey. Along the way I was helped by various Beijing'ers and others who just wanted to practice their English. This was a bit different from the "Gawk and Awe" approach that is usually reserved for the people of South Korea. Much like southern China I found that the people from the north can be just as warm and welcoming as those in Guangzhou.  At one point while wandering the city center, I  was approached by a guy who offered to help. (I guess I must of really looked lost). About 2 minutes of the usual  "where are you from" icebreaker stuff, I found myself in a really interesting debate about the NBA/ Lebron James situation and why even a stranger from China thinks it was unethical and  an over all a poor choice for LBJ.  Did I mention that their English is a bit better over here??  Also it should be noted that China has a huge  passion for the NBA. Their most famous "National Brew" has the NBA logo printed right on the bottle.  I suppose you can thank Yao Ming for that.

After an insightful conversation with this nice guy,  I offered to buy him a Tsingtao.  I then made my way to my Couch Surfer Adam's  place.  Adam had been my only contact in Beijing....and Adam was a complete stranger.  In an earlier post I explained the concept of Couch Surfing. If you missed that or simply don't want to go back  and look for it: Click Here. This being my second time surfing (and first time alone)  I was still a bit nervous.  But much like the Lebron hater I had randomly met on the street, Adam did a fantastic job welcoming me to Beijing.



So How much does a Polar Bear weigh you ask?  
Well, enough to break the ice, thanks to some of the local brew and
some intense conversations concerning the strange place that is Asia. Adam and I hit it off immediately.  I stayed at his place for the first two nights of my Beijing experience.  I dug it so much that later in the week I went back, but this time, according to Adam,  not as a CSer  but as a "mate".   Adam was the first person I've ever met from the Isle of Man.    A strange little place with the locals as backwards and awkward as my home town of Alliance, Ohio.  After a few stories and Tsingtao's  Adam introduced me to Beijing's nightlife. The  atmosphere that first night can only be remotely compared to  my first time on Khao San Road in Bangkok.  I woke up the next morning with a headache the size of China.  I looked in my wallet and realized that my first night of China's  clubs, confusion, and craziness, had only cost me nine dollars.  It was then when I realized this trip was going epic.

Next up part 3: The Great Wall

Made In China: 北京 Edition Vol. 1

It's been almost a month since I landed at Beijing Capital International Airport. I remember being on the plane as I left Seoul, thinking how unprepared I was for this trip.  I  had little money (even for Chinese standards), a few articles of  clean clothing,  no real plans with the (exception of  few tourist sites)  and most importantly had not booked a single hotel or hostel.  Then all of a sudden my plane touched down and I was in Beijing.  At that moment, and for the next 8 days, I planned to put my faith in the road, for it had rarely let me down before.

The ancient  Chinese philosopher  Lao Tzu said  "A good traveler has no fixed plans and no intent on arriving." NowLao Tzu might have been a central advocate for Taoism  in the  6th century B.C.  but I'd like to think that even he would have been impressed with my flexibility, receptiveness  and spontaneity. Add to the fact that my Chinese vocabulary bank consist of about 5 or 6 words / expressions. ("hello", "thank you", "beer", "I don't know" and "Happy New Year") and you have all the right elements for a truly  unpredictable trip.  

Tim and I in Guangzhou, China

As I mentioned in an earlier post, my first trip to China was amazing. It was a trip that will not be able to rival or compare to any of my other travel adventures. It was also a trip with a good friend of mine, Mr. Tim Mathews. Tim lives in Guangzhou, where I had my first taste of China.  On our trip we had our fair share of adventure & adversity.   Together we got though it pretty easily. We had fun experiencing all the weird awesomeness that China had to offer. Looking back I realize it probably wouldn't have been as fun or as memorable without him.

This  trip however, was different.  Beijing marked my first solo journey as a traveler. The idea of  being alone in China without a  hotel or  plan (and little money) , felt much more raw and primitive then the watered down alternative of having a travel buddy and hanging at the beach. Don't get me wrong I love traveling with friends, but there comes a time when you need experience things on your own. After all it was my good friend Tim who once told me "we're all in this together...by ourselves."

尼古拉斯 & The Year of the Tiger

In a few days I will journey back to the land of the red dragon, this time to explore it's northern capital Beijing.  My first trip to China couldn't have went any better. I celebrated Chinese New Years with an old friend, of whom I experienced  some of my first  and most memorable travel adventures with.

Flower Street in Guangzhou, China

I spent my first visit exploring the city of Guangzhou. Then  a short stop in Hong Kong followed by some beach action in Sanya, China on the Island of Hainan.  It was Guangzhou where I ate my first (and last) scorpion, tested the local brew, and saw the famous goat statue.   Guangzhou has a few different names (all of which I found to be coincidentally connected to my life)  The 2nd most common name is Canton.  This  obviously has to deal with the language in southern China  Cantonese. I found it interesting because I grew up 10 miles away from a city also by the name of Canton. The coincidences don't stop there.  The district that I currently live in Seoul is called "Yangcheong Gu". Guangzhou also goes by a similar name "Yangcheng" (meaning goat city).


This time around I set my sights on the sites. The majority of  reason for my return  to China is to explore the famous landmarks like the Great Wall, The Temple of Heaven, and the Forbidden City all in the northern capital of Beijing. 

While in China I traveled around  with  a good friend from my Cyprus  study abroad trip 06.

The Hong Kong Skyline 

Not wanting to have our best days  behind us we set out  for 10 days with no real plans or expectations in mind. It turned out to be an experience of  a lifetime.



Similar to my GSL experience in Cyprus my first trip to China is not something that I will ever be able to recreate.  You can read my 2006 Cyprus study abroad testimonial along with some of my other classmates here.   My second trip to China will also be my second couch surfing experience. Couch Surfing is a worldwide network for making connections between travelers and the local communities  they visit.  I will be staying with a fellow couch surfer from the United Kingdom.

Here is an interactive city map of Beijing; listing all the places of interest for tourists.
 

Sanya, China


If my second trip to China is anything like my first, it should be an another amazing adventure

Here is a tentative itinerary  for my week

• Great Wall
• Forbidden City 
• The Lama Temple 
• Tiananmen Square
• Try some Peking Duck
• Summer Palace 
• The Temple of Heaven 
• Have a great Couch Surfing Experience 

The Distance  

Seoul -  Beijing         577  miles

Beijing - Alliance      11355 miles                  

-   尼古拉斯  

(Nicholas in Chinese)

Stranger in a Strange Land: Welcome to Korea

I landed in Seoul on August 22nd. 11 months ago from this day. I instantly noticed the differences from Thailand. Seoul being much more developed seemed almost futuristic compared the the cities of Bangkok or Chiang Mai.  All newbies who were here to teach English had to spend 1 week in Suwon, South Korea for orientation. This is where I made some good friends including my orientation roommate Evan Thompson.  After a week of  orientation /quarantine we were shipped off  to go to our respective schools and districts.  Seoul has a population of 10 million people in the city limits; the metropolitan area holds about  25 million people. According to some sources Seoul is the 2nd largest metropolitan area in the world.  Therefor on August 28th  we all piled into 11 different buses and were sprinkled throughout the masses of Koreans

I arrived at my district and was met by Sue (one of my Korean co-teachers) and the Vice Principal. They drove me to my  apartment where I dropped off my bags.  We then headed to my school. After thinking I hit the jackpot with an apartment that exceeded my expectations  (much larger then what I expected for Asian standards) I arrived at my school. It was there that I realized that coming to Korea was the right choice.

I work at Yangmyung Elementary School.  You can check out the school's website here.  My classroom is brand new complete with an interactive electronic smart board, drama stage, mini library and a computer area designed to look like the inside of an airplane.  Here are some pictures.

Teaching the 6th graders with Hanna (my other co-teacher)

Everyone passes through immigration upon
entering the English room. 

I work for the S.M.O.E which stands for  the Seoul Metropolitan Office of Education.  They are apart of the Ministry of Education which is the educational branch affiliated with the Korean Government.  Check them out here. 

My classroom

I love my school, my co-workers and the students I teach....(most of the time).  I'm the only foreign teacher at my school. There are about 40 other people on staff (and they are all Korean). We have about 500 students at my school. Being the only native English teacher among 540ish Koreans is a challenge that makes each day an adventure.