Articles tagged with: Korea
Korea 029 – The Foreigner Party
THE FOREIGNER PARTY
One of the highlights of English teaching life in Seoul is the foreigner party. There are many types and all are worth attending. Some are hosted by long-term ex-pats with real jobs with real companies, real houses, real incomes and real lives. For the English teacher, it is a treat to go to these. The spacious rooms, actual furniture, fully functioning bathrooms, and …
Korea 023 – The Guys and Itaewon
THE GUYS AND ITAEWON
Each night when I returned to the Inn Sung Do, my pace quickened as I approached the door. There was sure to be another teacher there, fresh off a stressful day and we’d head off to a place with lots of people and loud music to unwind. I was very lucky in the people who ended up calling the Inn Sung Do …
Korea 022 – Student Nicknames
In spite of their bizarre ways, my inability to adapt and the resulting trauma, I became very fond of my students and Korea. It was like being faced with a child so obstinate and so aggravating that you just had to laugh. And through laughter liking grows.
Sometimes my students even surprised me with a flash of imagination, but predictably it was always in a very …
Korea 021 – My Battle Cry
On the rare occasion when he had something to say to all the foreign teachers, Director Lee communicated with us through Barry, a New Zealander in his early forties. Barry had spent many years teaching English in Japan and spoke good Japanese. He had been employed at FLS long enough to rate his own desk beside Director Lee’s. He was the “Person to Person” specialist …
Korea 020 – Mr. Lee the Director
The front door was usually locked with heavy iron bars that early in the morning. I went in through the back doors and walked up the stairs. There was an elevator, but I could never be sure the power was turned on. It was a very old building with a permanent odor from the restaurant on the main floor. There was always an Ajimah pushing …
Korea 016 – The Subway War
I enjoyed going to Kyongbokkung. It was one of the larger stops and had been designed to double as an art gallery. There were often interesting displays of painting, photography or sculpture gracing the walls. In the mornings, however, I had little time to linger and joined the legions of commuters shuffling down into the tunnels of the subway system. A quick three stops brought …
Korea 015 – My Morning Routine
The days at the Munwha drifted surreally by, the change from one to the next barely noticed in my exhausted state. Getting ready at 5:30 in the morning in cold darkness was always a struggle. The night before, I could have made everything ready, but the call of a cold beer and conversation after my last class at the local hof was always stronger. The …
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 …