Christmas in South Korea

Merry Christmas!
It is our first Christmas in Korea.  It was our first Christmas being teachers and working the Friday before and the Monday after Christmas.  It was our first Christmas where the commercialization of Christmas that happens before Thanksgiving in the Western world barely made a scratch in the world over here.

This is a long one with lots of pictures so settle in.  :-)  



The best news (to us) is that we had a White Christmas, of sorts.  It snowed the day before Christmas Eve and stuck to the ground and was beautiful.  Joseph and I were awake about 1:30am when it began coming down pretty heavily and we decided we had to go walk in it.  We met up with a few friends while we were out walking and taking pictures and stayed out until about 5:30am talking and watching movies It was a great time.

This is parked outside our apartment building everyday.
Miss you Billie Jo!

Our street

Main street by us

Pretty, right? 

Josh, Colin, Joseph and Jeff
Found them while taking pics

Nice-uh!

Snow Kitty  :-) 
He loved  it...

Where is the litter?

Um...chin- cha? 

One of the very few Christmas trees we saw.

Speaks for itself, right? 
Good times!

Part of the river is frozen

The lovely couple

The next day Joseph and I got up and decided we needed to go for a walk.  We took the bus to an area of town we hadn't really explored yet and all along the way is snow covering the ground.  Small piles glittering on the ground.  I made my first snow angel next to Joseph's.  Ate a delicious tuna lunch and met up with our friend Lee Ann.  A few snow piles caught me as Joseph pushed me into a snow drift (as I have never done that before and Joseph didn't want me to miss out) with all of us laughing.  It was awesome and we loved it.  We ended up walking along the river and taking pictures of the ice floating along the surface then going back to our apartment and watching a few Christmas movies and eating delicious Korean BBQ.

My hubby taught me how to make the perfect snowball: ouch!!

We're off to see the wizard!

My [first] Korean snow angel

That was our Christmas Eve day.

The next day we opened our Christmas presents.  There isn't much Christmas here so it was exciting just to see the Christmas wrapping paper!!  Went for a walk to find some food and Joseph took us to this Chinese place to have jah~jahng. It is noodles in a meaty thick sauce and is so delicious. The cool part about this place is they have a noodle man who hand makes these noodles.  That in itself isn't so exciting; it is how he makes them that is the exciting part.  A huge piece of dough that he whips over his head, slams down on the counter and before you know it the dough is 5 feet long and in strands.

Our delicious noodles: Jah-Jahng

Magic!

Next, we walked to a new bus terminal which also sounds way boring but it is the bus terminal that rivals the International Mall in Tampa, Florida. Six floors connected by a over the road walkway to another 5 or 6 story building with book stores a movie theater, high end fashion clothes and accessories, a pet store, E-Mart (think Costco) and the actual bus station on the first floors (both buildings) along with cafes, pharmacies and food eats all on the first floor. The place was packed to the rafters because it was the grand opening.

After that, we met up with Lee Ann, ate Korean BBQ and went back to our place and watched 2 Christmas movies.  A phone call later and we were meeting up with a small group at the pub around the corner from us for a Happy Christmas toast.

Best BBQ cook ever

Korean food is delightful! 

We really miss our family and friends in Florida, Tennessee and Maryland, Chicago, Georgia, California and New York.  We love and miss you so much and wish we could be there to celebrate with you.

*Hugs and love to all of you!*

Merry Christmas!!

Love, Joseph and Elizabeth

Christmas in Reading Town

This year our school and our sister school got together for a dinner to celebrate Christmas and to celebrate each other.  It was lovely.  We went to the Yuseong Spa area to a more Western type restaurant.  We were seated in a great room with just 12 of us.  We were served Maine lobster, flank steak, baked oysters and clams and a salad.  We were also able to go to the mini salad bar down the hall from our room to enjoy the smoked salmon, cherry tomatoes and lettuce with oranges.

Reading Town Teachers  :-)

Joseph and I were told that this had never happened before and we were really glad it did.  There are also 2 foreign teachers at the other campus (Mike and Adam) and they are great guys.  We had a great night with our school(s) and hope we are able to get together again. 


The day before the Christmas weekend our school had a snack party for the students.  It was so much fun!  Students were able to bring a snack and drink and watch a movie after the normal class lessons.  The children enjoyed it very much and so did the teachers! 

This is the Monday after Christmas Katie and Justin!  :-D

the kids took this one

A great parent sent us 2 of these for Christmas, mach-see-guy-yo! 
[means delicious for your English speakers!]

Some of our students

Use the snow feature Elizabeth Teacher!

P.S. eaten with chopsticks

Merry Christmas!!! 

Soju: Traditional Korean Drink

A life in Korea isn't complete without this 13th Century traditional beverage.  

 Soju is very popular at Korean dinner tables all over Korea.  Soju is usually consumed in group gatherings while eating, unmixed and portioned into individual shot glasses. It is against traditional custom in Korea to fill one's own glass. Instead, it must be filled by someone else at the table.  Upon leaving and entering a restaurant you will see multiple bottles of Soju on each table and you will see happy Koreans drinking shots of the clear, vodka like liquid.  Soju [소주] literally means "burned liquor."  It is made from rice but it can also be made from sweet potatoes, tapioca, potatoes, wheat and barley.  It is usually drunk by itself as a shot but can also be mixed with beer [somaek] or any kind of juice such as grape juice or orange juice.

Etiquette for drinking Soju is not complicated but there are the basic guidelines to follow in a formal setting:

*  In Korean culture, using two hands to offer and accept items is considered an act of respect. If your glass is going to be filled by a superior, one should hold the glass with both hands. Similarly, when pouring soju for an elder, one holds the bottle with both hands.

*  To pour a drink, hold the bottle in the right hand with the left hand touching the right forearm or elbow; this peculiar arm position originated from the practice of holding back the sleeve of the hanbok so that it wouldn't touch the table or the food.

*  Similarly, when receiving a drink, rest the glass in the left palm and hold it with the right hand, perhaps bowing the head slightly to show additional respect. You can also hold the glass using the same hand positions as when pouring.

*  Koreans often say "one shot", a challenge to everyone in the group to down their glass in one gulp.
A glass should not be refilled unless completely empty and should be promptly refilled once empty; it is considered rude to not fill someone else's glass when empty.  It is not obligatory to finish the drink immediately, but it is impolite to place the glass on the table without at least pretending to drink from it.

*  After finishing the entire glass, it should be returned and refilled. It is not necessary to return it immediately, but holding it for a long time is considered rude, as it deprives the giver of his glass.

Do the same rules apply to foreigners, tourists and/or expats?  If you are at a work function with your Korean co-workers, yes.  If you are at a work function or social function you must drink at least one shot if you are given it by a coworker.  If you are strictly a non drinker, it is okay.  Just tell the person you don't drink due to health or religious reasons.  Any other reason and you will be told that there is no reason not to and your glass will be filled anyway and you must drink a little if you are poured a glass--speaking from experience.  What if you are at a social function with your Korean coworkers or friends, a more relaxed version of these rules apply.  If you are with your friends (even a few Korean friends) the rules are relaxed a bit but it is still polite to observe some if not all, of the etiquette above.  

Cheers!!  건배 !!  [gun-bae!] 

**Note: If you choose to drink Soju, drink responsibly.  It sneaks up on you.

The South Korean Flag

What images and colors are on the South Korean flag?  What do they mean?

South Korea's flag pictures a red and blue Yin-Yang symbol, red (yang) on top, blue (yin) on the bottom, in the center of a white field. Four groups of three long and short black bars (called kwae) surround the central circle. This ratio of the height to the width of the flag is 2:3. South Korea's flag was adopted on January 25, 1950; the flag is called Taegukki (which means, "Great Extremes").
The white in this philosophical flag represents peace and purity. Symbolically, the Yin-Yang symbol represents opposites; it is the belief that all things in the universe have two, opposite aspects that cannot exist without the other. The kwae trigrams are from the I Ching; the broken bars symbolize yin (dark and cold) and the unbroken bars symbolize yang (bright and hot). The four Kwae represent: heaven (three unbroken bars), the Earth (three broken bars), water (one unbroken line between two broken bars), and fire (one broken bar between two unbroken bars). The Kwai trigrams are placed in such a way that they balance one another, heaven is placed opposite Earth, and fire is placed opposite water.

What about before 1950?  What did the flag look like then and why did it change?
Below is a picture timeline of the Korean flag and how it has changed based on the sources I was able to find online [http://flagspot.net/flags/kr_hist.html].

Pre 1905

This is the old flag of Korea before it was occupied by Japan in 1905. Korea ceased to exist until 1947.  The 'old Korean flag' differs in several respects from the present South Korean flag:

1. The 4 I-ching signs are arranged differently
2. They are colored blue in stead of black.
3. The Yin-Yang - sign is much more intricate. 

Flag of the Japanese Resident General of Korea
1905-1910

This flag represents the occupation of Korea by Japan forces.  It was used while Korea was a protectorate of Japan and discontinued in use in 1910 when Japanese Governor General of Korea (Chosen-Sotoku) was established.

The Korean flag was first hoisted August 22, 1882 when the first ambassadors were sent to Japan, and adopted officially January 27, 1883. Korea was occupied by Japan in 1905 and annexed on August 22, 1910. After the liberation the country was divided along the 38th degree of latitude. The Republic of Korea was established in the southern (American) zone on 15 August 1948, which readopted the flag in the same year when the colours and shape were established by law. On January 25, 1950 the flag was adopted officially when the kwae were revised slightly. In 1984 the lay-out was again slightly changed.


Below is a collection of previous versions of the flag. Note the eight trigrams instead of the modern four. It is interesting to see the change in number of trigrams, color, and yin-yang alignment. The flag on the bottom right is supposedly what was flown during the filming of M*A*S*H.

Many flags of Korea

The Korean Army

To be more exact, the South Korean army.  Before North Korea's dictator died, a few of our students and I had a conversation about the Korean Army.  Joseph and I did a lot of research before coming here on this specificially because if we had a baby while living in Korea we wondered about the child being required to join the army when it was old enough even if it was a US citizen and/or had dual citizenship.  All of the research pointed to the child's nationality versus simply being born in Korea. 

Now that we are living in Korea we wanted to do more research about the army.  Joseph and I began asking our students about the army and how it works.  Some students didn't know and some just didn't want to talk about it.  Other students did give us some information but the real information came from a discussion 2 weeks ago between myself, 3 students (2 boys and 1 girl) and our school's director (vice principal [man]).


It is easier to do this in a list rather than paragraph form:

2009 Armed Forces Day

 * only men are mandated to join the Korean army -- women may join but they have to specifically sign up and be accepted into the army

* there is a Korean law that says men must join the Korean army and serve a mandatory stay of 2 years until the age of 20 (or 22)

* men are not paid much while in the Korean army during the first 2 years: approximately $200 USD per month.  Women, are paid almost 10 times this amount for volunteering to be in the army.  That was the only reasons for the pay difference we discovered

* there is a high rate of death in the Korean army due to training: live ammunition is apparently the only type used

* men have been known to hurt their knees or their teeth to be excused from joining. This is no longer accepted as an excuse

* if an army recruit dies during their 2 years their families are not compensated because it is seen as a duty to their country

* if an army recruit decides to remain in the army after their 2 years they are paid more of a normal salary (approximately $2500 USD per month) and if they die during combat or training their families are more likely to receive compensation only from a combat death

* suicide is high during the first two years because a lot of Korean men do not want to serve in the army

S.K. combat exercise

* if there is a combat situation any man age 40 or under is required by law to report at the closest army base.  This is true for any South Korean living overseas as well whether visiting, going to school, working, living, etc.  For example, a South Korean man could be age 35 living in California working as a bank CEO at Bank of America.  South Korea goes into a 'situation' with whoever and that man, by Korean law, has to return to South Korea despite living and working in America.  If he does not return to South Korea he is in violation of the Korean law and will have severe consequences.  We were not able to discover what these consequences were to be, but from the looks on their faces it was scary.

S.K. winter exercise

Interesting information isn't it?  The opinions of the three students during this discussion was that they did not wish to join the army because they did not want to die.  When asked about the duty to their country they stated that while they love South Korea they do not want to join because of the first 2 years of training.  When speaking to our director who served his 2 years more than a decade ago said that he did not like being in the army and that he had a few friends die because of being shot while training and he had other people in his section that hung themselves because they did not want to be there.  He did say he was glad he was over the age of 40 because now he can breathe a little easier no longer being required to fight. 

Apparently a lot of the information we found before moving to Korea about serving in the Korean army was misleading.  The most we found before we moved here was persons were required to serve 2 years.  There was no distinction about age, sex or location. 
Does this have any bearing on if we have a child while living in South Korea?  No.  Simply put, we are both American and our child would be American if we have our way about it.

South Korean Flag

Sick in Korea

Good News!  Being sick in South Korea means you still have to go to work.  What are sick days?  Never heard of 'em.
 
Joseph and I have been going back and forth with being sick for about a week now.  Nothing serious, a cold/light flu.  Back home we might have taken a day off or two at the beginning to just rest and sleep it off and hopefully wake up the next day rested and feeling a bit revived.  Welcome to Korea...the land where this doesn't happen.


Korean's do not take days off for being sick.  If a Korean gets sick (or expat alike) they go to the hospital/doctor office (interchangable in most Korean cities).  What is a doctors office like in Korea?  It is the same as back home except much less crowded and there is not much of a wait time.  If you are waiting it is because the computer is running slow and they need to put in your ARC number.  While you are waiting it is customary to take your blood pressure and perhaps weigh in [in front of everyone].  All of this done in the waiting room.  Next you see the doctor in his or her office.  You sit in a chair and the doctor is at their desk in front of a computer.  You tell them your symptoms and they type them in and decide what you have.  Something I felt was really strange was how the doctor checked your mouth:  he had two stainless steel cylenders with stainless steel tongue depressers in them.  One holding used and one holding new ones.  Interesting.  Next, temperature and breathing are checked and then I was asked if I wanted a shot or pills (pills please as my director was in the room as well translating and I somehow didn't think he'd be asked to leave the room) and then a spray of stuff up each nostril that made me want to chuck him out of the window. 
After this a few steps out of his office to a UV machine that I was told to put on my nose to get rid of the germs.  Um...doesn't that defeat the purpose when I am holding that within an inch of my nose and it hasn't been cleaned?  Maybe that is just my OCD kicking in but I would think it would be sanatized after each use? 
I digress...left the doctors office and went downstairs to the pharmacy for my pills.  5 pills each day for 3 days, 3x a day for less than $2.50.  Name brands as well.  Not too shabby.  Days total expense? Approximately $10. 
We really, really miss our sick days from back home but this isn't too bad because as the doctors and our teachers at school continue to tell us: Korean's don't like to take off work so everything needs to be done faster and better as far as doctors and being sick is concerned.  We were also told that it is so rare for Korean's to take a day of for being sick that if they (or foreigners) take a day off the president/principal will come to your apartment and see if you are okay and acutally take you to the hospital/doctor's office.

Still miss those sick days though.

Land of Vanity

Korea is the land of beauty and vanity.  Women walking around with an eye patch covering one eye is the norm.  Women and men alike carrying the latest designer or faux designer purse or satchel.  Most of the commercials on Korea TV are of beauty or fashion products.


Joseph and I have been told and also witnessed this for ourselves that a lot of women really want "Western eyes."  They do not want the eyes they were born with, hence the eye patches.  It is a common present for high school students and recent college graduates to have this simple eye correction surgery.  In addition, contact lenses making women's eyes resemble the dewy fawn look are increasingly popular from news anchors to your local gimbap shop patrons. 

Have Joseph and I joined this movement of beauty and vanity?  We have not, but we are considering several options when the time is right.

Why not wait until we are back home?  Well this is something South Korea does very well.  They have it down to an exact science from start time to heal time (on any procedure).  Everything is done faster and arguably better.  Did I mention most of these procedures from hair removal to surgeries are done at a mere fraction  of the U.S. prices?  For example, a procedure to remove all of the hair from your legs (male or female) is on average, about $200-$300 USD from start to finish.  In the United States this procedure would have varying costs from male to female as well as be on average, $400 USD per person per area. 

South Korea is not a third world country.  Any procedure from dental work, acupuncture, surgery and/or hair removal are all taking place in top notch facilities with well trained doctors and staff doing their best.  A chemical peel is done so quickly and effectively that the patients are back at work the next day.  As one doctor put it, "Koreans work hard [6 and even 7 days each week] and play even harder.  Anything done has to be done better and faster so they aren't out of work."   English speaking facilities is a definite challenge, but you shop around to find the place that works for you. 

Works for us!

Goals for Korea

No, we didn't just pick up and move out of the country and happen to fall in South Korea.  It was a carefully planned and thought out idea that grew into something both of us said, "why not?" instead of, "why?"


Our reasons for moving to South Korea vary but we decided to make some goals for while we are here:

1. Travel around Korea--both North and South.  Yes, there are a few tours taking brave persons North of the border.  We are brave.
One such tour takes you to a city in North Korea called Kaesong City.  It is a day trip and you have to be very careeful about the pictures you take.  At the return crossing back into South Korea the officers check the pictures you have taken on your camera and if you have pictures you should not it could be a troublesome situation.

2. Travel to Japan.  This can be a day trip amazingly enough.  Or at least a weekend trip. We are able to take a ferry from Pusan to 3 local areas in Japan.  We are saving money for this as it can get expensive.  The Lunar New Year is looking like a distinct possiblility for this trip.  We have also learned that expacts jump onto this ferry if they need to leave the country for a few hours for their Visa's to be extended or other similar reasons.

3. Visit China.  Specifically Shangahi (The Orient Express, of course).  It is also possible to take a ferry to China as well althrough it is more ideal as a long weekend adventure.  We are looking forward to going to see many aspects of China from eating scorpions (a friend said they taste like chicken, but crunchy) to walking on the Great Wall to sitting in the Orient Express. 

4. Travel to as many places in the Orient and in Asia as we are able.

We have such a great opportunity living here.  We want to make sure we do as much as we can and see as many places and experience as many cultures as we can.

We love to travel and being here allows us to do just that.  There are other goals we have as well, but they are better off not being published on such a public forum.

Facts about Jrock

Facts About Elizabeth
[Joseph is next]

1. I love my husband
2. I'm in love with him, too.
3. Yes, there's a difference
4. I don't like being wrong
5. But I will be the first person to admit it when I am
6. I don't think being wrong is bad, I just don't like it
7. I love my family.
8.I am a happy person: I see the glass half full


9. I like feeling pretty
10. I love being married
11. I didn't think I would

12. I want to be a stay at home mom/wife
13. I'm smart
14. And intelligent
15. Yes, there's a difference
16. I love teaching
17. I am a great teacher
18. It really bothers me I didn't get my National Board's Certification but there wasn't any point because it wasn't going to be acknowledged by Florida anymore.  Thanks, Rick Scott.
19. I missed my National Board Certification by 5 points. 
20. That makes me mad
21. I love goals
22. I need a new goal
23. I am a list person. If it isn't written on a list I have no idea what I'm doing
24. Research says successful women use lists.
25. I am a successful woman
26. I am not hard to figure out
27. I am passionate
28. Sometimes that isn't a good thing
29. If I am upset with you or don't like you, I will tell you.
30. If I tell you I am not upset, I'm not upset.
31. My dad is a genius
32. So is my mom
33. I love my grandmommy--she's 91 and fabulous
34. Don't make fun of me saying 'grandmommy;' so would you if she was as awesome as mine.
35. Most influential male role model is my dad
36. My parents taught me what not to do. The rest is a piece of cake.
37. Life isn't hard for me to figure out.
38. It's the details that screw me up
39. That, and the unanswered questions
40. I have to ask questions; specifically, "why" and "show me the research"
41. I am a good person
42. I will give you anything I can
43. I will help you with anything you need
44. Until you screw me over
45. I'm not sure if I'm forgiving
46. It depends on the situation
47. I don't use the word 'hate' --I think it is too powerful
48. I prefer the word 'dislike'
49. I don't hate anyone
50. I greatly enjoy my life and the people in my life
51. School and learning are fun for me
52. I have no secrets
53. Unless you don't really know me
54. I will answer [truthfully] anything you ask me
55. Make sure you ask the right question
56. No, I don't think that is evasive
57. Or lying
58. I can't be summed up in a list.
59. I'm worth more than that.
60. There is much more to me than what is on this list (I couldn't end on an odd number)