Hey,
Just over a year ago, I was returning back to Korea to start my 2nd year. I can't believe how fast the last year has gone, I really can't. It has been a great year overall, perhaps not as full-on (mainly in terms of alcohol consumption...a good thing I think!) but I feel I have experienced a lot and seen a bit more of Korea and Asia too. I think I will try and pick a top 5 of my last year in Korea....in no particular order!
1. Meeting and starting a relationship with my girlfriend Lisa. It was just under a year ago that I first met her, and we have been going out now for around 10 months. We've had our up's (trips to Chungju, Taiwan and more recently, Jeju) and our down's but I love her and am looking forward to whatever we end up doing together next.
2. Neil and Kyongmi's wedding in July was a great occasion, the ceremony was very touching and well thought out, and at a great venue too. It was good to meet Neil's parents again, and see such a big gathering of their friends and family to celebrate the occasion.
3. Stewart came and visited at the end of June which was absolutely brilliant. We managed to fit a lot in, including a superb trip to Jeju where we hired scooters and toured round the island. We also went to Seoul, the DMZ, a rafting/bungee jumping trip and he visited my schools too which was great. I am so happy he made it over.
4. Greg and I's trips to Japan (in January) and Beijing (in May) were both amazing. In Japan we took in Kyoto, met up with Gordie, and then headed up to Tokyo on the bullet train. Expensive, but very good. Beijing was all about shopping and sights. We got tailor-made suits, climbed the Great Wall, visited the Olympic venues and ate Peking Duck and deep-fried scorpions!
5. Meeting Tom Cruise in January was surreal but superb. It was a bit crazy, but we got to speak to him and I shook hands with the main star of two of my favourite films of all time (Top Gun and Mission:Impossible). I have my signed Top Gun DVD on the wall in front of me as I write this blog.
It is highly unlikely that this time next year I will still be in Korea, but by the time I leave (probably in May/June next year) I will have lived here for over two and a half years. I am starting to worry a little bit about returning to the UK, I think I may well experience a bit of reverse culture shock. I know I will find some things very frustrating (Internet speeds, prices and weather) but by the time I leave I know I will have 'had my fill' of Korean life and I am already looking forward to spending a summer on Iona. Anyway....that is all some distance away, so in the meantime I will focus on what I've been up to since the last blog.
Since Greg and Neil's (temporary) departure I have quietened down a bit socially. I've been out a few times to Bupyeong, Bus Terminal and in Yeonsu-Dong, but haven't been out in Seoul since August, a fact which has been kind on my wallet and my liver. I don't miss the sweaty nightspots in Hongdae/Itaweon at all, to be honest I would be quite happy if I didn't cross the threshold of any of the them for the remainder of my time out here.
Despite this decrease in heading out, there have still been a few things worthy of a blog mention. At the end of August Lisa and I headed out to Eulwangi beach on the Airport island to join a few other folk for a beach BBQ to celebrate Steph's birthday. Conor and Steph's boss had brought a proper BBQ, two massive ice boxes loaded with beer and plenty of other things so we were well set-up. We had a nice afternoon/evening drinking, eating and playing a bit of football. We even ventured into the water but not too far, apparently a Great White Shark had been spotted off the beach earlier in the season so everyone was a bit shifty!
In the middle of September Lisa and I headed over to New Songdo to visit the Incheon Global Festival. The festival has been running since the start of August and will finish in a couple of weeks, and is really an opportunity for Incheon, and New Songdo in particular, to promote itself as an attractive place to visit and invest in. We took the newly-opened subway extension to Central Park station and headed to the entrance. Currently, Korea is in the grip of Swine Flu panic, and so on our arrival at the entrance we were ushered to a special entrance reserved for foreigners where our temperatures were checked. I found this to be bordering on racism. There were hundreds of Koreans passing through the main gates, any one of whom could have contracted the disease abroad or from someone else in Korea, but because we were foreigners (even though I have not been out the country since May) we were automatically suspected of being more of a risk.
Anyway, once we had passed through the 'checkpoint', we headed to explore some of the many exhibits and activities on offer. There was a giant tent with teddy bears acting out scenes from many different places in the world, a robot hall with robot animals and a few hands on machines, a 3-D movie about a giant fire-fighting robot that committed suicide to save a little girl (slightly strange), a cool fountain show and a global food area (the Turkish kebabs and Indian food were both OK). Here is a link to the Facebook album ( the photos from the festival are on page 2).
Overall, I thought the Festival was value for money, but nothing special. For example, the world food court at the Korea Boat Show in June was much better than the one at this festival, and the Incheon event is far bigger than the boat show was. Still, it was a nice day out.
Last weekend was Chuseok, one of the two big holidays in Korea (the other being Lunar, or Chinese New Year), and I had the Friday off, so Lisa and I flew down to Jeju for a wee long weekend break. We had booked our flights ages ago but left the 1st night hotel room until the last-minute and didn't book car hire or our 2nd nights hotel, so we were a bit worried we might not get either. In the end, we got a beauty of a motor! It turned out all the compact cars were sold out, so we had to go a level up and pay about 40,000 Won extra, but it was worth it. We got a brand new red Kia Forte Coupe, so we had a great fun cruising around in that all weekend. Lisa did most of the driving, as she got her International License when she was back in Canada, but I also had a wee shot too (highly illegal, but luckily I didn't crash). Here is the link to our photos and a shot of our car.
Here's a video of us attempting the 'Mysterious Road'. You can't really see it from the video but due to sight-lines, if you put the car in neutral it seems as though it is rolling uphill. A good laugh.
Lisa and I visited a few of the places Stewart and I had been to, such as the maze, Seongsan Illchubong and Seogwipo, but we also went to a few different places too such as Cheonjiyeon falls, a speedboat ride around Seongsan Illchubong and Jeju Love Land (very bizarre). It was a great trip, and confirmed Jeju as one of my favourite places in Korea. I doubt I will be back down there before I go, but you never know.......
Now that Chuseok is over, it seems like an age until the next holiday, which is at Christmas. I think it seems even further away because I know I am going home for Christmas this year, something I am so excited about. It will be so nice to be back in Scotland for the festive season.
Before that, there are a couple of things going on. This coming weekend it is Canadian Thanksgiving day, so Lisa and I are going to a get-together in Seoul where there will hopefully be some roast chicken and other Thanksgiving treats. Then the following weekend it is Lisa's birthday so I have one or two things planned for that. At the end of October Baker's school is planning a Halloween party so I will need to think of an outfit for that (I was a cowboy last year). November is currently looking pretty quiet but I'm sure something will show up. If not, I'll keep saving my money and working away.
I will try and give an update early in November, before then would just be unrealistic! Until then,
Love Neil
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