Geoje-do

So after leaving Jinju in the evening we caught a bus to Geoje Island. The Islands are connected by bridges and driving through them offered beautiful scenery. We took a taxi from the bus terminal to the Geoje Island Hotel in Okpo. Though the room was a bit expensive (110,000 won) it was a really nice place to stay. We had a queen size room with a balcony overlooking the harbor. Plus, the room had a bathtub with a jacuzzi!

Since we were tired from the day, the night in Geoje consisted of only going out for dinner. Of course, it was Korean bbq.

Sunday morning we woke up and went to the roof-top restaurant for breakfast. The only thing missing from this great hotel, was breakfast being included in the bill! We paid 10,000won each for an "American Breakfast" plate. It was pretty good, and the view was nice!

We checked out of the hotel and decided to take a ferry around the Islands for 16,000 won. The ferry took us first around Haegeumgang, also knows as the Sea Diamond. This rock island is part of Hallyeo Marine National Park. This is definitely a must see if you go to Geojedo!

After going around Haegeumgang the ferry stopped at Oedo Botania. This island garden was cultivated by a Korean couple, and is the first Island in Korea to be owned and developed by an individual. Walking the path around the island you see a lot of sculptures and it seems a blend of an art gallery and a garden. Though a bit cheesy at times, the island was nice and I'm glad we went there.

We got on the ferry again and returned to Jangseungpo terminal. After a failed attempt at finding Tanguy oysters for lunch, we settled for a meat restaurant for dwegi galbi. Unfortunately, after lunch we didnt have time to do much else on the island. We went to the information desk at the ferry terminal and tried to ask what we could do in just a few hours, but to everything we asked the lady just said "impossible". So, instead we took an early ferry to Busan to catch a bus back to Gyeongju. Though we maybe didn't see as much as we would have liked to, it was another great weekend!

Jinju

So the second weekend of November marked the second weekend away with Tanguy. After a week of research we finally decided to spend Saturday in Jinju then go to Geoje-do that night and leave sunday.

So Saturday morning I woke up and met Tanguy to get the 8:50 bus from Gyeongju to Jinju. We were told by Tanguy's korean colleague that it would take 2 hrs and 20 minutes, but it was almost 3 hours. We finally arrived in Jinju and walked to Jinju fortress - only a 5 minute walk from the bus terminal!

Jinju fortress is famous for 2 things. First, holding off an army of 20,000 Japanese soldiers with only 3,800 Korean soldiers during the Japanese invasion of Korea in the 1590s. Second, for Nongae a female Korean entertainer. During the invasion she seduced a Japanese general and took him to a cliff over the Nam river, embraced him then jumped into the river, killing them both. There is now a shrine in the fortress complex dedicated to her heroic action.

Next in the complex we came across a statue of Kim Si-min, a Korean general during the Joseon Dynasty and is famous for defending Jinju castle from Japanese invadors. The statue also reminds me a bit of Uncle Sam.

I also really enjoyed seeing Hoguksa Temple. Though I'm sure those who don't particularly enjoy seeing temples would think this looks like every other Buddhist temple in Korea (and smaller), I enjoyed it. This temple was the base for the monk army during the Japanese invasion

After making our way to the other side of the fortress grounds Tanguy and I took the riverside path back to the entrance. It is such a beautiful place, wonderful scenery and the fall colors were gorgeous!

Pictures from Jinju can be found on my picasa account:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aeihrig/Jinju#

Here are some sites I found interesing. I'm mostly putting them on here so I can remember them.
http://yisunsin.prkorea.com/imjin.htm - about the Japanese invasion of Korea
http://www.wordiq.com/definition/Korean_Buddhism - Korean Buddhism

Seoul

So November started a month of travel in Korea with Tanguy. My new French friend will leave Korea at the end of the month, so we have decided to spend our weekends travelling to parts of Korea he hasn't had the chance to see yet.

First on his list was Seoul. We took the KTX from the new Singyeongju station in Seoul. We were running a bit late on time so we took a taxi from Yong Gang Dong to the station and it cost about 18,000 won and took 20 minutes. It now takes about 48,000 won and only 2 hours to get to Seoul! Such a relief to the 4 hour bus ride or 3 hour trains!

We arrived at Seoul Station and checked into the New Korea Hotel. It was a decently priced hotel for a decent room. It was clean and had a bathtub!

After checking into the hotel we started our adventure in Seoul by wandering around Namdaemun market, conveniently located about a 2 minute walk from the hotel. It was a decent market with stands full of clothes, shoes, bags, coats, etc. We grabbed lunch at a nice fried rice restaurant.

After Namdaemun we took the subway and went to the Gyeongbokgun Palace. Unfortunately, we arrived just as it was closing and could only observe from the outside. We took a few pictures in the front of the palace and went on our way.

Outside Gyeongbok Palace there is a median in the road that has a statue of Admiral Yi Sun Shin. Behind the statue there is a stairway that leads down into a small museum dedicated to the life of "King Sejong the Great and Admiral Yi Sun Shin."

We spent some time walking around the statues and decided to make our way to Insadong. For those who don't know, Insadong is a market for traditional Korean souvenirs. We wandered around the shops, bought a few things, and returned to the subway.

Our last stop for the night was Seoul Tower. We took the subway to Myeongdong station and walked up the hill to the Tower lift entrance. We stopped for dinner at a Korean restaruant and ate bulgogi. Though it was more expensive than the same dish in Gyeongju, it was pretty good!

After eating dinner we took our place in line for the lift. There is an option for hiking up to the tower, but seeing as it was dark and we were both pretty tired, we decided the lift was better, plus a better view! Though the line was long, it moved faster than I expected. The lift offered a great view of the city and got us to the tower in just a few minutes. In the observatory of the tower we were able to see out to the whole city, though the view wasn't very clear because of the weather. The best view was from below the tower.

Below the tower is a gazebo area for visitors to sit. There were also rows of trees with messages of love tied to the branches. After spending some time outside the tower, we took the lift back down the mountain and returned to the hotel.

Sunday morning I was feeling a bit sick. Tanguy went by himself to a palace and returned to the hotel near noon. After checking out of the hotel we went to Changdeok Palace. The palace was built in the 1400s, but like every other structure in korea was burnt down during the Japanese invasion and has been rebuilt. It is probably my favorite place to visit in Seoul (I had been there one time before). Behind the palace there is also a 78-acre "secret garden". We were not able to see the garden because you have to enter with a tour and the last tour was at 2:00. Be aware of required tour times if you visit this site. I had seen the garden before, and highly recommend it!

After visiting the palace we met with on of Tanguy's french friends for dinner and took the KTX back to Gyeongju.

More pictures from the weekend can be found here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/aeihrig/Seoul112010#

Gyeongju Awesomness

So, it's been a pretty busy month for me here! Been spending almost every day finally working on Grad School applications...the process sucks! In the end I should be applying to U of Pittsburgh, Johns Hopkins, American U, U of Maryland, and a few Unis in the UK through http://www.studyacrossthepond.com/. Hopefully I get into one of them!! I mostly applied to Religious Studies programs, but also to Classics for JHU and U of Maryland.

While that has taken up most of my time, i've still had plenty of time to enjoy my life here. I may not exactly be happy with my job these days, but i'm content with my life here. ^_^

First, there is hiking behind my apartment. I went and explored the mountain and the temples in the area. I've never been surrounded by so many great hiking opportunities. I love just being able to wander through nature and see what I find. So here is what I found...

There is still another temple on that mountain I need to go explore. I've been pretty lazy this past week, but maybe this weekend...we'll see.

I got a kitten! Charlie was found on the roof of a building in Busan by my friend Jennifer. She was unable to keep him so I adopted him. He's so cute and so playful!

Last week I went to Anapji with my French friend Tanguy. We had thought there was going to be a musical performance, but there was no such thing. It was still an enjoyable place to be anyway - a great walk around a peaceful place with a good friend.

That's about it for now. This weekend Nina and I are going up to Seoul for some shopping and dinner. It'll be nice to get away and get my mind off things. I've been way too homesick!

Fun in Pohang, Gyeongju, Daegu!

Ok, so I left off in Jeju.
Unfortunately, I had to return from my beautiful resort vacation and get back to "real" life.
When I returned I stayed with my old co-workers Liz and Ryan for a week. I started my new job the day I returned, and I must say it is a great gig! I now work at English World which is in DongCheon-Dong (동천동), Gyeongju. My new hours are 2-8 with 12, 25-minute classes. The day goes by so quickly! The kids are good, it was easy to get the hang of the new system and new classes while I was shadowing the teacher I would be replacing. Though I must admit, discipline is a bit lax and the kids English levels are not as good as the kids at Wonderland. Overall though, it's a good position, my boss Cate is really nice and I will like being here over the next year. I will also be working with one other foreign teacher, my friend Harry!

After a week of shadowing Matt's classes and living with Liz and Ryan, my apartment was finally ready! Definitely a downgrade from my 2-bedroom western style apartment with a stove and bathtub, but it's still a nice place. Now, I have a studio apartment with a Korean style kitchen and bathroom. Korean kitchens don't have ovens, simply 2 gas burners to cook with. Also, the bathrooms don't have tubs. There is a shower head in the wall above the sink, luckily mine is not directly above the sink, but a bit to the right so I have an actual shower area, but no tub or curtain or anything. Korean bathrooms have a drain under sink for the water from the shower, and they keep a pair of bathroom slippers by the door so you don't have to get your feet wet when entering the bathroom after someone has showered. I must say, I think I like having a studio apartment better. After all, it is just me here so it's nice to have everything in the same room!

Enough about the new place and onto my adventures. First was Pohang. A few weekends ago I got invited by one of my friends to go to Pohang. I took the train up there in the early afternoon and met up with this guy, Matt (cool story actually, we met on the plane ride from Tokyo to Busan when I was returning to Korea from my trip home) and one of his friends. We had originally planned on going to the beach in Busan, but weren't able to get a train there until 3:30 so we decided to go to Bukbu beach in Pohang instead. While it was a nice looking beach and we were able to find a nice spot in the sand under an umbrella, the water was not nice. Like I've said before, I'm not a big fan of swimming in the ocean, but I decided to go out there with Matt anyway. After walking through about 2 feet of seaweed we got to an area of water and soon realized that there were jellyfish just about everywhere. We turned around and got out of the water, just reaffirming my desire to NOT swim in the ocean. After walking around for a bit we found a place to sit under an umbrella and were immediately entertained by an argument between a Korean guy and some workers. These workers were digging up a life guard stand right where this Korean guy was sitting. Apparently they made him move and he didn't want to, so he just threw a fit. At one point he even ran into the hole they had dug up and the police had to go and get him out of there. Oh, the amusing things you see in Korea.

It was hot, so eventually we left, walked around and went to watch Inception in the nice air conditioned movie theater. ^_^ Not much else happened, we got dinner and eventually ended up finding a place to stay. Got breakfast in the morning then I went back to Gyeongju.

After an uneventful workweek in Gyeongju, I spent the typical friday night at Grazie. It was fun, as always. Matt decided to spend his free weekend visiting me instead of staying in Pohang. So he came here Saturday afternoon, we walked around town, I introduced him to bingsu. Bingsu is a popular snack in Korea during the summer, it is crushed ice with sweetened azuki beans, fruit, and chocolate. That night we met up with all my friends for Dak Galbi and drinks at London Hof. We probably had the best game of "13" I have ever played!.
Sunday we wandered around Hwangseong park. In Hwangseong park there is a hill with a statue of General Kim Yushin who led the unification of Korea in the 7th Century during the Silla dynasty. From the top of the hill where the statue is there is also a gorgeous view of the city. After Hwangseong park we moved onto Tumuli park which is a park of Royal Tombs from, of course, the Silla Dynasty. It was my 4th time there, but it's a beautiful park and I always enjoy it. I also introduced Matt to the DVD bang, then we got dinner and called it a night. He left monday morning, but it was such a great weekend! I really enjoyed having him around. Now, he is back in the states. Also, like an idiot, I didn't take any pictures that weekend. I regret that...

 On a more controversial note, on Thursday night I met up with a group of my friends to eat 개고기...dog meat! Koreans breed a certain type of dog for consumption called the Nureongi.This type of dog has long been bread as livestock as is unique to Korea. From what I have heard, dog has usually been consumed during war and times of hardship when meat is too expensive...but oddly enough, to go to a dog restaurant it cost us 30,000 won (about 30 bucks) for a plate of meat.

They serve the meat with a few side dishes, similar to samgyeopsal. We also ordered a soup. Honestly, I must say I didn't really think either was that good. The meat was really tender, but too fatty and chewy for me to really enjoy, and I didn't like the spices in the soup. So, one for the books, I have eaten dog meat, but definitely a one time thing!

This past weekend of course started out with Friday night at Grazie. We have recently gained a lot of new EPIK teachers so it was great fun to hang out with new people! We eventually moved the party to Metro, which is a really cool new bar in the area. After that there was a plan to go to Boss night club, but on the way to get a taxi...well I'm not really sure what was going on. We were walking down the street and there were tons of people standing around, 2 guys were fighting, and there were broken soju bottles on the ground. One guy walked away with his girlfriend, his face was all cut up and bloody and the girls shirt was covered in blood. They seemed ok. We quickly walked past and decided not to go to Boss. As I was saying bye to the friend I was walking with and getting my taxi, a guy ran past being chased by 3 police officers. Way too much going on for a friday night!

Saturday was also eventful, but in a much better way! I met up with Joanne, Kayley, and Amsbry to go to Daegu. We had Indian food for lunch, did some shopping, met up with other people, then went to the Holy Grill (a Canadian-owned western restaurant) for Dan's "surprise" birthday dinner! The food, cake, and company was good. After that, we grabbed some drinks in a bag and moved onto the themed Funk Party at a bar called JEEEP. The party was awesome! People dressed up in '70s style clothing and danced all night to Funk music. It was an amazing time and I met tons of awesome new people!

Well that was certainly a very eventful few weeks! Coming up we have a concert with some of Korea's biggest pop singers! Hope you all are doing well, I miss everybody at home so much! I have a feeling that this year being away will be much harder than the last...

On a side note, I've updated my pictures on Picasa. 
http://picasaweb.google.com/aeihrig

Jeju and etc...

Wow! Wasn't I supposed to better at updating this thing? haha sorry guys. Here's an update on the goings on of the past few weeks...

Sunday, August 8th
So...Amsbry, Blake, and I decided to go check out Gampo Beach. We met up and took the #150 bus out to the beach. The drive was beautiful! I had been out this way once before when I went to the Hundred Year Old Tea House. The road winds through the mountains and along a lake, then through a small village before reaching the beach. Once we got to the beach we got some ramen for dinner at a korean style beach stand, sat at a plastic table, and ate our ramen dinner looking out at the Ocean. Gotta love the simple things in life ^_^

This beach is known for the Tomb of King Munmu. I would have liked to have been able to go out and explore around the rocks, especially since it really didn't look that impressive - just a group of rocks near the beach. The tomb is just a set of rocks near the beach. This site has actually never been excavated, but this is said to be where he was either buried or his ashes were scattered. It's said that he chose this spot so that his spirit could become a dragon and ward off Japanese Pirates.

Anyway, we sat on the beach and Blake went out for a swim in the freezing cold water. He was slowly walking into the water when this random Korean guy came up behind him and just started splashing him. Amsbry and I couldn't help but laugh, haha. After that, Blake just immersed himself in the water and swam while Amsbry and I laid on the beach.

This week was my last week as a Wonderland Teacher. It was bittersweet - I was sad to leave these kids I have come to love, but really excited to start this next year at the new school.  The new teacher, Gina, arrived on Wednesday night and shadowed me for 2 days. She will be great with the kids. Friday was my last day. I was fine until we gathered in the lobby and the kids sang a song in Korean. I have no idea what the song was, but the melody was enough to finally break me down and I cried. All the kids lined up to give me hugs.

My classes were so sweet. The Apples and Oranges (classes have fruit names) all said they love me and gave me big hugs.I lost it again when I helped the Apples pack up to go home and said my last goodbye. The rest of the day was fine, I'm much less attached to my older afternoon classes than my kindergarten students. I got some ice-cream cake for the teachers and my last 2 classes and before I knew it I was officially done! I cleaned out my desk and moved out of my apartment. I will now be staying with Liz and Ryan in their spare bedroom until I can move into my new apartment, I believe on the 26th.

This past year has been so great, and didn't really fly by like I expected it too. I've had a chance to do so many things and I think teaching has been - and will continue to be - a great experience. Thanks to everyone who has been a part of my life and of this past year. ^_^

Monday, August 30th.
Unfortunately I never did get around to writing a specific entry about my trip to Jeju Island. So I will do that now ^_^
Jeju is a little Korean Island just to the south of the mainland. Think of it as Korea's answer to Hawaii. Though I've never been to Hawaii, I was very happy with Jeju! I flew in on Saturday morning and left the following Wednesday morning. I made the perfect decision of staying at the Hyatt Regency.

The Hyatt is located on the southern part of the island in a resort area known as Jungmun Beach. I gotta say, the hotel was absolutely perfect. The first night I got there I had been put in a Korean style room, but I was able to switch to a Western Style room for the rest of my stay. The Korean style room isn't bad, it's just that there is no bed, but a pad on the floor. It's not very comfortable if you are use to a bed. My whole stay I got to enjoy a room with a balcony overlooking the beach. Here are some shots of the view from my room...

Even though the room was incredibly comfortable and I spent A LOT of time sitting by the pool, I did manage to not be a total bum and to go explore the area a bit.
I'll start off with Jungmun Beach. From the Hyatt there is a set of stairs that leads down to the beach.

The beach was pretty typical, nice sand, cool water, and a great view. As some of you know, I'm not much of a beach person, so I didn't actually go out into the water. (The reason for this being that there is just too much stuff in the water to swim with, I don't enjoy run ins with seaweed, jellyfish, fish in general, trash, and other objects that I have come into contact with while swimming...)

I also did some exploring of the Hyatt territory. The most intriguing thing I saw was that there is a side walk around the edge of the cliff the Hyatt sits on and leads up to a hiking path. The path was closed due to danger of falling rocks, but I was able to see this...

I really wanted to go through that path and discover what was on that cliff in the distance (which I imagine the path would have led to). Regretfully I never did make too much of an effort to find another way over there. It would have satisfied this burning curiosity I have.

I also managed to get out and see 3 waterfalls close to the resort area: Cheonjeon Falls, Jeongbang Falls, and the third of which I don't know the name.

Cheonjeon Falls is actually a series of 3 waterfalls Cheonjeyeon Valley. The water pours from the ceiling of the cave, through the waterfalls, and finally into the sea. It's know as "The Pond of God"

Over the valley is the Seonimgyo Bridge, or Seven Nymphs Bridge. According to legend, Nymphs would come down from heaven and bathe in the waterfall's pond.

When making my way to see Jeongbang falls, I found another waterfall. Though I had made a mental note of the name, I have since forgotten it. I walked down near the Paradise Hotel, through some traditional Korean houses, over a bridge, and this is what I found.

I wanted a picture in front of it, but when I handed my camera to a Korean guy and asked him to take a picture, he cut my head out of the pic haha. Oh well...

And last, but not least, was Jeongbang Falls. This was a typical tourist spot. There were tons of souvenir stands and you had to buy a ticket to see the waterfall.

On my way back from exploring the waterfalls I walked around the beach again as well as the resort area. My favorite thing I stumbled upon (not including the waterfalls) was every little girl's dream.

I didn't go inside the Teddy Bear Museum, but I'm sure if I were 5 years old I wouldn't be able to resist!
That is pretty much the extent of my not too interesting vacation in Jeju. I'm definitely thinking about going back next year once my current contract is over, before going home. I would get too see all the things I was too lazy to do the first time...

And now, I must stop. Hopefully later this week I will be here again to fill you in on my trip to Pohang last weekend and the wonderful guest I had this past weekend.

Boryeong Mudfest!!

보령축제!


Exactly as the name implies...a Festival of Mud!!
First, a bit of information. Korea's annual mudfest is held in Boryeong (보령), a city on the west coast of Korea near Deajeon. The mud in the area is supposed to have special properties that are really great for the skin due to the minerals and fragments of shells. From what I can gather the mud is special because of higher Germanium, Mineral and Bentonite contents that absorb and remove oil and make the skin and hair softer and cleaner.
This mud is dug up once a year and moved to Daecheon Beach for locals and foreigners all over the country to play in. The festival includes: mud painting, mud wrestling, mud slides, mud obstacle courses, mud massages, mud mosh pit, a mud jail, and much more!

Now about my personal experience with mudfest. It was awesome! ^_^ While most people go with a package tour that includes transportation and accommodation, my friends and I decided to do it on our own. We rented a van for 300,000 Won. We all paid 50,000 for the van, and among 10 of us that was able to cover the cost of the van and gas. The journey wasn't too bad. We left just after midnight on friday, and after getting lost for a bit, arrived at the beach around 6am. We all took a nap in the van then started looking for a place to stay. The first few places we checked were booked, but it didn't take us long to find the Bon Gaya Hotel, in which we got a room for 250,000 won for all 8 of us (2 stayed elsewhere with friends). Not a bad deal. It was a nice hotel, a bedroom with separate living room/kitchen area and a nice big bathroom. They had plenty of blankets and pillows so sleeping on the floor wasn't too bad. After checking in we went to the beach for the start of the festival at 10 am.

Unfortunately, the weather wasn't ideal. It was windy and rainy and a bit cold, but that didn't stop us. We walked along the beach for about 5 minutes and found the main mudfest area. Luckily, not many people were out for the start of the events in the dreary weather. That meant no lines ^_^ The set up was a bunch of blow up jumpers, slides, obstacle courses, wrestling pools, etc covered in mud. We went down a mudslide, which I think was my favorite (and I have to admit, the thing I was most looking forward to!). The mud jail was a small room with plastic, bendable bars. You stand inside and the workers spray you with a hose of mud or throw mud at you. Be sure to cover your eyes! The mud wrestling pit was also a good time. A bunch of people in a shallow pool of mud throwing each other around and just having a fun time! Also got to spend some time on the beach, there was a stage set up with live music, and a color mud body/face painting area.

But of course, all is fun and games until someone gets hurt. James, Felisa, Harry, and I raced each other in a mud obstacle course. Harry, in the lead, slipped and fell and injured his ankle. The three of us behind him, we stopped, helped him up, and within seconds his ankle was swollen to a size a bit larger than a baseball. The first aid workers called an ambulance and he and James went to the hospital. Felisa and I ran back to the hotel to get Harry's wallet and our stuff then got a taxi out to the hospital. It was quite a ways away. The first aid person had said it was just right down the road, but it was about a 20 minute taxi ride! Once we finally got there, the doctor had taken x-rays and said it probably wasn't broken, put a cast on it, gave him some meds, and told him to go to the hospital when we got back to Gyeongju. While it's nice to know that Boryeong covers accidents that happen at mudfest, the service provided isn't the best. The ambulance took us back to the hotel, we got Harry set up and went back out on our own. There were fireworks and live concerts by famous Korean bands (Super Junior, and I don't remember who else). Later we just went back to the hotel room, watched Taken, and eventually all fell asleep.

Sunday morning we attempted to find the Mud Flats where more mud events were taking place. We asked the information booth and they told us to walk down the road for 10 mintues. But that just led us to the place we already were. We had no luck getting any information on where to find the other events, something to leave for next year I guess. We spent the morning and early afternoon around the beach and mud wrestling. Luckily, Sunday was a bright and sunny day, perfect for just hanging around the beach. Around 2 we packed up, checked out, and started our drive back to Gyeongju, we arrived close to 7.

Though the trip has it's ups and downs (that is bound to happen with 8 friends on a weekend roadtrip), it was a great time with great friends!

Here is the official website of Boryeong Mudfest  http://www.mudfestival.or.kr/english/festival/festival1.php