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Posts from the ‘Korea’ Category

Jul 13

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Flashback Friday: Teaching Cute Korean Students

“Teacher, we watch movie?”

“No, today we are learning about poetry.”

“Teacher, today we change seats?”

“No, we aren’t changing seats until next semester.”

Imagine that you’ve had these two conversations about 15 times a day for the past months. You’d probably be close to throwing an enraged fit. Throw in a little hormonal angst, a language barrier, and just general horrible behavior and you have my life every Monday to Friday from 8:30-4:30. Now, my job isn’t that bad, but my students test my last nerve. And compared to the intelligent cuties I taught last year, it can be hard to deal. Sometimes I miss teaching the cute little Korean students who worshipped everything I said and did. Read more

Jul 11

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Seoul Sights: Hongdae Free Market

One of my favorite areas of Seoul is Hongdae, the neighborhood around Korea’s number one art school, Hongik University. The streets surrounding the college are brimming with cute clothing shops, funky cafes, always open bars, and restaurants of all varieties. Dart down any of the alleys and you’ll be sure to find a new piece of street art. The students of Hongik University have taken the area and turned it into a hip artists enclave in the middle of a traditional, conservative city. Read more

Jul 10

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R16 Korea B-Boy Competition

Have you ever agreed to do something that sounded less than appealing? Said yes to something you thought you would probably hate? Gone along with it just because everyone else was?

That’s what I did this weekend.

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Jun 26

Where a Cass belongs. On the ground.
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Beers of Korea

Ask pretty much any expat about beer in Korea and you’ll probably get a similar response. It sucks. Lauren of Lateral Movements wrote a great post about this subject a couple months ago, lamenting on the lack of choices for beer drinkers in Korea. I agree with her completely. There’s nothing that is absolutely wonderful about the Korean beer scene, but there are some decent options available. And some hope for the future.

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Jun 20

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A Day on Jebudo

This weekend I discovered the perfect summer day trip from Seoul. Jebudo, a small island about an hour and a half away from Seoul by car, boasts a small beach, countless clam restaurants, and some impressive scenery. Though there probably isn’t enough to do to warrant a weekend trip, Jebudo offers the perfect break from the stickiness of the city on a hot day.

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Jun 13

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Korea: Great Travel Destination? Or Not?

Technology. This is probably the major association people have with South Korea. Home to Samsung, LG, and the supposed fastest internet in the world, Korea has firmly cemented itself as a global technological leader. But there’s something else that Korea would like to be known to the world as.

A damn good place to travel. Read more

Jun 11

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Expat Souvenirs: My Koreanisms

It’s inevitable that when you live somewhere long enough you’ll begin to pick up some local habits, whether intentional or not. I like to think of these as expat souvenirs. Little things you bring back with you.  Expat souvenirs could be the way people line up, hand over a credit card, or walk down the street. Maybe if you’re lucky you start drinking wine with lunch. Or if you’re not, you go back home looking like a rude weirdo without a firm grasp in the English language.

I, unfortunately, seem to fall into this latter camp. Here are some of the expat souvenirs I’ll be bringing with me when my two year stint on this peninsula is finished.  Read more

Jun 7

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Korea Queer Culture Festival

This past Saturday was Seoul’s version of Pride, the Korea Queer Culture Festival. June has been declared LGBT Pride Month in the United States by both Presidents Clinton and Obama, and cities across the globe stage parades and events to celebrate the gay community and raise awareness of important causes. While its nothing compared to some of the larger Pride events in the United States, the Queer Culture Festival in Seoul grows in size every year and is impressive for such a normally closeted country. Read more

May 31

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Yonggungsa: Busan’s Oceanfront Temple

Contrary to what you may believe from my last post, my weekend in Busan did not consist entirely of beer and beaches. I also paid a visit to one of Busan’s most famous temples, Haedong Yonggungsa. While most of Korea’s Buddhist temples are built in the mountains, Haedong Yonggungsa is situated on the rocky shoreline outside of Busan’s city center. Yonggungsa was originally built in 1376 by Naong, an influential Buddhist teacher. Unfortunately, like so many things, Yonggungsa was destroyed during the Japanese occupation and eventually rebuilt in the mid-twentieth century. Read more

May 30

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A Weekend in Busan

There’s something about Busan. Something that causes you to arrive in the city and forego any sort of responsible living you had planned. Visit the fish market you’ve been trying to get to for a year? Nah. Hike up a small mountain for panoramic views of the skyline and sea? Nope. Drink ten beers on the beach and gorge yourself on fried food and burgers? Oh, definitely!

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