Articles tagged with: Inn Dae Won
Korea 013 – Munhwa Language School
Two hours later solely due to my own efforts, I found myself in John Valentine’s office, out of breath and suffering from shin splints. I had subsequently gotten lost in underground Seoul so badly that I began to think of myself as the human gopher, constantly popping up from a tunnel to get my bearings and going down again. All the while I was pummeled …
Korea 011 – Seoul and the Inn Sung Do
THE INN SUNG DO
The Ajimah at the Inn Dae Won was glad to see me back and put me back in my old room. The Inn Dae Won hadn’t improved in my absence, but at least it was familiar. In fact, it felt almost homey, and I began to find my place in the rhythm of the strange life there. There were always people lounging …
Korea 008 – Going South
GOING SOUTH
My second morning, after another wet and frustrating encounter with the shower from which I emerged rather dirtier than when I had entered, I packed my belongings and then slipped my arms through the heavy shoulder straps of my backpack. I was leaving on a trip to see the other cities of Korea. Walking with my pack on in that small room proved difficult, …
Korea 007 – The Bathhouse
THE BATHHOUSE
When I woke up the next morning, my room was still pitch black and I was chilled to the core. I was disoriented at first but slowly realized where I was. I lay there a while listening to the sounds outside my room, the sounds of Korea and of the Inn Dae Won waking up.
I climbed to my knees and then to my feet, …
Korea 004 – Salarymen at the Hof
After our meal of bi-bim-bap, Robert and I began to walk back to the Inn Dae Won. At the first corner we encountered more salarymen. Five of them, obviously very drunk, were coming towards us and taking up the entire width of the alley. They had their arms about each other and were weaving down the alley shouting and laughing. Their identical rather ill-fitting dark …
Korea 002 – Arrival
ARRIVAL
When I saw Seoul from the air, my heart sank. It sprawled snow covered for miles in all directions, a crush of aggressively square buildings without a tree in sight to break up the monotony. From the crowded airport bus, I could see nothing at all except the occasional light in the darkness. The outside of the windows were sheeted in ice from the storm, …