Summer Vacation!

Summer vacation has finally arrived! Tomorrow night I will be headed to the infamous white sand beaches of Boracay!!! I have been looking forward to this trip for a long time, and am so grateful for the time off. Work has been hectic for all of us Seoulites (per usual - it is called work, right?) and a week relaxing at the beach is just what the doctor ordered. Even if it rains everyday we are there (it's the rainy season in all of Southeast Asia), I know that nothing can ruin this vacation! After we get back to Seoul, my parents come for a two week visit, and then before I know it, it will be September and we'll be heading off for our round the world adventure! But this week, I am not going to think about everything I need to do or get in order - I am just going to RELAX!

See you in a week!! :-)

The Lost Blog: Skiing, Seoraksan and Spring Break

Recently, a coworker was asking about visiting Seoraksan over Summer vacation. I wanted to tell her how much I enjoyed it - and so I thought I would show her my blog. I logged on and GASP! I actually never really wrote about the details of our Lunar New Year Trip!! Considering this was one of the most insane weekends of my LIFE... I couldn't believe I managed to forget to write about it. So here, 6 months later, is how the trip went:

We booked through Z Travel Bug instead of Adventure Korea, because they were both offering similar packages, and Z Travel Bug's was a bit cheaper. I preferred the trip through Adventure Korea because they had one more day of skiing, but others in our group liked that the Z Travel Bug trip was spending time in Seoraksan National Park, while the other was just heading to Sokcho (the province where Seoraksan is) and going to the beach (IN FEBRUARY?!) In hindsight it's sort of a toss-up whether we made the right decision... Let's make things clear: I am *not* recommending Z Travel Bug to anyone in Korea. Our bus was always late, and cold, and broke down... twice. The meals that were provided were inconvenient and unappetizing. And the overall trip was a few jello shots short of a disorganized Spring Break. But, we met a lot of crazy people, and made a ton of great memories. Having taken other Adventure Korea trips - I can vouch for them. They have their act together and deliver on what their trips offer. And as for those people who are opposed to tour group travelling, I say, give it a chance! Especially in a place like Korea where if you don't know the language well, you're pretty much stuck to Seoul. ANYWAY - back to my trip...

We spent the first 2 and a half days at High One ski resort in Gangwando. Our condo was at the base of the resort and was all around fabulous! Really fancy ski lodge rooms, a television that got plenty of English channels (including BBCnews and CNN!) and a nice view of the mountain. Of course there was one small detail that was fudged by our tour guide: by 4 people sleeping to a room ... he meant 10 people sleeping to a "two bedroom" condo. Only one of which had beds, there was one couch, one room with Korean sleeping mats, and the floor of the living room to sleep on other than that. Which, under most circumstances wouldn't be all bad. But unfortunately, some of our "roommates" were the type to stay up drinking ALL night - and some of us on the trip aimed as getting out to ski by 9 am when the lifts opened. That might have been the worst night's sleep I ever had in Korea. But all in all it wasn't too bad, and once our guide got to the resort to pass out our lift tickets by eleven the next morning, I was finally on the slopes, and happy! High One was definitely the smallest resort I've been to, and I have to say that I don't think I qualify as an expert skiier anywhere but Korea, but the runs weren't crowded at the top, and the snow was nice quality. Koreans ski much different than we do in America. Most of them don't start till late afternoon and then opt to night ski. The lifts are open all day and all night (most places at home take a break before night skiing, or only run one lift at night) and you buy your ticket for a set number of hours. Also, the lift ticket is actually a plastic card you keep in your pocket and swipe at the gates. Then -for the cherry on top- instead of snow on the ground at loading area of the lift, they have a conveyor belt! You don't push yourself up to the loading point.. you just stand, and wait for the chair to catch you. Also, they are very strict about lowering the safety bar, and snowboarders generally take off both bindings and just carry their board to the to of the run. STRANGE! It was nice skiing though. And it was a very clear day, so it was prety scenery on the way down. If I could only ski one day this season, it was a good one!

The next 2 and a half days, as I said, were spent in a city called Sokcho, shooting of fireworks at the beach and going to Seoraksan. Sokcho - while in South Korea (obviously), is actually above the 38th parallel ... so that's cool. Of course, Seoraksan definitely didn't disappoint. As you enter the park you are greeted by a sprawling valley surrounded by sheer mountain peeks. If you can endure the pungent smell of beondegi and the souvenir hawkers, you can walk just past the main base area and see the giant bronze statue of Buddha. There are two (maybe more?) Buddhist temples in the park. From what I learned, there was a monk who visited Seoraksan years and years ago on a personal retreat, and he found it so peaceful that he decided to stay. I can't say I blame him, the scenery was beautiful. I imagine it's stunning in the spring when all of the snow melts and the rivers, streams and waterfalls fill up again. We hiked to Ulsanbawi - one of the most famous peaks in Seoraksan. Unfortunately, Mullen and I aren't exactly skilled mountain climbers, and weren't up to climbing 800 stairs to the top. Especially when the stairs were covered in ice. We got within .8km to the top and called it quits, so that we could have time to play in the snow and meander down the trail, before heading back to our tour bus. It worked out great because the sun came out just as we got to the bottom, so we were able to take some really gorgeous pictures of the peaks, and of the bronze Buddha. Not to mention we had enough time to pose with the odd ice sculptures near the souvenir shops. That is, if we were willing to fight for a chance to take our picture! None of the Koreans wanted to wait in line ... everyone was just slipping and sliding theif way into each other's pictures! The only let down was that everyone was wet and cold after our hike - so we were all pretty miserable at dinner - where there was no heat. We could see our breath at the dinner table - no joke. And then on the bus the heat seemed to only be working in the back of the bus. So half of us froze while the other half baked... no good.

Skiing in Korea!

Conveyor Belt Lift Loading... So Bizarre.

View of the Casino and the Base from our Resort

So they had all of these strange glowing inflatable things... After we saw them all over Seoul for Buddha's birthday we realized that they were just Korean paper lanterns. Still, there were some strange ones. Here's a few of the best.

You're ET? NO WAY! I'm ET!

Andrea's messing with the giant Ajushi. What else is new?

1985 - Kudos to the year of the Ox!

First shot of the East Sea at Sokcho

A famous fresh fish market street in Sokcho - I didn't commit the name to memory, because I really don't eat fish ... This night I had a delicous dinner consisting of sesame lettuce leaves and rice... now I know how Andrea feels.

MMMmmm Breakfast! Soft tofu soup, rice, kimchi, and seaweed. Can't you imaging chowing down on this while watching Batman cartoons on Saturday morning?! I sure can...

Finding our inner outdoorsy-ness at the entrance to Seoraksan National Park.

Bronze Buddha and a Signal Bell at the Temple.

Andrea and I being impressed with Ulsanbawi.

I am meant to climb those stairs? An-i-yo.

Stop motion snowball fight. Much more fun than scaling a mountain!!

I have to say it was one of my favorite things we've done this year. The other people on the trip definitely had different priorities for their weekend off from work, but even if we were out of our element, Andrea and I had a nice time. And it's always nice to get out of Seoul for a weekend every now and again. Which I am about to do again! On Saturday night we head out to Boracay for the week, and I couldn't be more excited! There will be some rain, but hopefully only for part of the day. It's definitely time for a real vacation!!! I don't know if I will have internet access - but if I do, I will post some photos while I am gone. I will try to post some of my photos from Buddha's birthday back in May (I realized I forgot that one too! >_<) But either way -I won't forget to blog about this next trip!

The Good, The Bad, and the Weird

Last week Andrea found out that the CGV in Yongsan shows Korean movies with English subtitles! It would have been nice to have known this eleven months ago, but hey... better late than never! On Sunday we went to go see the latest Korean blockbuster, "The Good, the Bad, and the Weird." (called noomnoomnoom by Koreans) Dubbed The Kimchi Western by a Canadian film festival, it's the story of three bandits in 1930s Manchuria. They are all after a secret map supposed to lead to treasure from the Qing dynasty. It stars Jung Woo Sung, Lee Byung Hun, and Song Kan Ho, three of Korea's most popular actors. Song Kang Ho is to Korean cinema as Morgan Freeman or Samuel L. Jackson is to Hollywood -- he just seems to be in every single movie, ever! He he played the father in The Host, and Tae Goo, or the weird, in The Good The Bad The Weird. He was my favorite part of the film I think.

Overall, I liked the movie. It really is a Korean take on the old fashioned Spaghetti Western movie, albeit with slightly more cinematic credibility. The characters had clear, strong relationships with each other - aided by great performances given by the leads. Their play of each other was both comical and terrifying at times. The action scenes, while sometimes quite far fetched, were awesome and often gruesome. It couldn't be a good western without a few good old fashioned gun fights, could it? And of course a hijacked train robbery - which opens the film - in which all three bandits, Tae Goo, Do Won and Chang Yi are involved. The Japanese official that is carrying the treasure map (which the Japanese army is after so that they can continue to fund the war) is on the train. Tae Goo (the weird) successfully steals the map, but without realizing its value. Chang Yi (the bad) is after the map as a hired thief and assassin with the bloodiest reputation in Manchuria. And Do Won (the good) is after Chang Yi - because he's bad - and the map, because he's still an outlaw after all and needs money as much as the next exiled Korean. After Tae Goo's brother explains what the map is, all three embark on a goose chase to the "buried treasure."

A few other characters are thrown in to keep things complicated, and for sheer comic effect (the granny is the best one in the whole movie!), including a rogue camp of Manchurian warriors (or something - I couldn't tell...) and the Japanese army (who were continually foiled by one of the three leads, leaving them in the dust cursing -- it kind of reminded me of a sort of Indiana Jones/Nazis thing).

Not gonna lie, it wasn't the best movie ever. But I enjoyed it. And it was so great to finally see a Korean movie in theaters! I imagine if we'd known about it sooner, we might have learned a lot more Korean... eh, c'est la vie I suppose.

I'M FAMOUS!

Sort of. ... When Matt was here and we went to a Baseball game an American journalist approached us and asked a few questions about the game. We never did find out why he was actually in Seoul ... but he talked with us, gave his card and then went on his way. And I kind of forgot all about it. Well, while trying to escape hours of boredom and the vicious Korean humidity I was surfing the internet tonight and googled myself (Don't judge, you know you've done it). And after a few hits about some lawyer from Boston, and my facebook page, I saw something about Korean baseball... I clicked and found this:

(find the original article at: http://www.fallight.com/entry/Baseball-Korean-style-more-exciting-for-fans-than-players?category=0)


ATLANTA INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Baseball, Korean style, more exciting for fans than players
Rhythmic cheers, sing-alongs, jumping in the stands all part of the game

By KEN HERMAN
Cox News Service
Published on: 06/27/08

SEOUL, South Korea - The fans on the first-base side of the stadium are on their feet, singing and dancing and generally having more fun than one should have in public with strangers.

It sounds and feels like the bottom of the ninth, tie score, seventh game of the World Series.

But it's not. It's an early-season contest, not much at stake. And this is during a rain delay.

Welcome to baseball, Korean style.

"It's just pure craziness," said Matt Tennyson, a San Diego archeologist visiting his sister here and attending his first Korean Baseball Organization game.

It's the home-standing Doosan Bears and the visiting Lotte Giants on a Thursday night at Jamsil Baseball Stadium, and it's constant, controlled pandemonium.

The excitement greets fans outside the gate, where vendors hawking local delicacies compete with KFC's "Home Run Box" and Burger King's "Happy Together" promotion.

There's a short line leading to a friendly attendant at the ticket window who hands over a ticket. Ten thousand won (about $10) gets you a reserved seat, but there's nothing reserved about the fans in those seats.

Other than the team logo, the only English on the ticket is this year's Bears' team slogan: "2008 Jump! Hustle Doo!"

And doo they ever jump and hustle — the fans, that is.

A half-hour prior to first pitch, the Bears fans, whipped up by their male cheerleader, are well into the action, though there is none on the field.

Same deal in the third-base stands, where the Giants fans are also getting into it as their male cheerleader — sporting a team shirt, white gloves, white pants and white, lace-up knee-high boots and moves that bring to mind late Queen front man Freddy Mercury — exhorts them.

It continues into the game as it becomes clear that the fans are getting far more exercise than the players. In addition to rhythmic cheers, there are songs, including some recognizable tunes that span the spectrum, including "The Battle Hymn of the Republic," "La Cucaracha," "If You're Happy and You Know It," Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna Take It" and the rousing strains of "Mary Had a Little Lamb."

In addition to the lone make cheerleader per side, each team has four females who work from their seats and occasionally jump up on the stage with the male.

The difference between Korean cheerleaders and American cheerleaders? Korean cheerleaders actually lead cheers.

Many of the rhythmic cheers include the player names, a task made easier by the fact that every player on both teams (as well as just about everybody in South Korea) has a three-syllable name — save, of course, for the two Americans allowed per team.

Former major leaguer Karim Garcia, a first-year player here and the leading vote-getter in fan balloting for the Korean all-star game, is hailed by Giant fans with a song that repeats Gar-ci-a over and over again.

Also in the Giants' dugout is former major leaguer Jerry Royster, who, as the Giants' skipper, is the first American to manage a Korean team.

"I'm having a blast," Royster said. "I'm having an absolute blast."

Royster loves the enthusiasm and respect in the stands but is trying to get his team to play more aggressively, which is somewhat out of character in Korea.

"The approach that the players have here is quite different than what we are used to in the United States. It's not very aggressive baseball and they are very respectful of each other. That comes into play quite a bit on double plays. They don't break up double plays. And when guys get hit (by a pitch) there is somewhat of an 'I'm sorry' kind of attitude for hitting you," he said.

The Korean league, now with eight teams playing 126-game schedules from March through August, was formed in 1982, long after baseball was brought to the nation by U.S. missionaries in the early 20th century. In 1994, pitcher Chan Ho Park became the first Korean to play in the U.S. major leagues.

On the field, the play is solid and entertaining, but nowhere near as intriguing as what goes on in the stands.

It's four hours of wonderment for Tennyson, his sister Erica and her two American friends, who, like her, teach English here.

"I'm a big fan of the cheerleaders and the guy who actually leads cheers," Tennyson said. "That's a great job. We need that back home."

"They all know every song, every dance move," Erica Tennyson said as fans around her sang and danced.

Could this work back home?

"It would be amazing," said Andrea Mullen, a Greenville, S.C. native. "I would go to more games if this happened."

Asian baseball fans make hyped-up Yankee bleacher fans look like slackers, and ill-mannered slackers at that. There is no booing here. And there is polite applause — led by the cheerleaders even when a hometown player strikes out — for all efforts.

There is no screaming between the fans. When the Giants are up, so are their fans. When the Bears are up, so are their fans. They do not cheer simultaneously.

In addition to their lungs, most fans are equipped with home-made pompoms they fashion out of newspapers, a potentially positive sign for the future of a once-great industry now in decline.

Embedded in the unfettered joy of the cheering is solid commercialism. Doosan is a company — a mega-conglomerate involved in everything from heavy equipment to the KFC and Burger King items sold outside the stadium.

Ditto for Lotte, a Korean-Japanese conglomerate that sponsors the Busan-based Giants. In Korea, the teams are named for their sponsors, not the cities they represent.

Same thing in Japan, which helps explain the world's greatest name for a baseball team — the Nippon Ham Fighters. The Ham Fighters do not fight ham. Nor is it a team of rabbinical students battling the forbidden meat.

The team name is the Fighters, and Nippon Ham, a meat-packing company, is the sponsor.

The sponsorship deals — combined with the organized cheerleading — guarantee that the sponsor names are seen, sung, shouted and chanted for nine innings or more (though no more than 12, the maximum allowed in Korean baseball before a tie is declared).

It's the equivalent of a U.S. baseball team wearing uniforms with General Motors emblazoned across the chest or fans repeatedly chanting "Bed, Bath and Beyond."

On this night at Jamsil, the corporate names of Doosan and Lotte filled the air for four hours. The excitement continued until the final out as fans of the visiting Giants held up lighters, much as concert-goers do when they don't want the show to end.

But end it must, and the Bears — fueled by a six-run fifth inning — prevail by a 9-4 score that sends the fans out the gates and to the Korean form of tailgating, post-game food and drink on mats outside the stadium as the excitement continues.

Jump! Hustle doo!



Too bad he writes all about Matt! Oh well, I guess Andrea and I didn't say what he wanted to hear. ..,and for the record, I DEFINITELY prefer MLB to Korean baseball. It's fun to go here - but seriously - it's not *baseball* ... it's just not.

Shawshank Redemption. In a minute or so...

This is one of the best things I have ever seen! Haha. I posted it on my other blog, but I thought I would post it here too because I want EVERYONE to see it! (Note: made by Jib Jab, not me)

Shawshank in a Minute
Uploaded by JibJab

In other news, my parents are the most amazing people ever and have found a way for me to go to Club 33 at Tokyo Disney with Andrea on my birthday! They took my whole family to the one at Disneyland (the *Original* ^-^) for my 21st birthday and it was unbelievable. I never dreamed that I would get to go again, let alone in Tokyo! Just another one of many exciting surprises in life that I'm still getting accustomed to. What a ride... !

Lessons in Hangeul

So it's really no secret. I don't speak Korean. A lot of people, myself included, come to Korea with the assumption that simply living abroad for a year would result in learning the local language. If only cultural immersion were that easy. If there's one thing I have learned in my 10+ plus months spent here in Korea, it's that the expat life is not for the casual adventurer. Tackling the land of SK demands a confident, open-minded, patient person. And learning Korean is no different... plus, so many people in this country speak English that unless you are seriously committed to it, it's really difficult to learn. However, I have noticed that in our warped ways of communicating with each other (read as: scathing insults, fantastical references to all forms of universal pop culture and dry sarcasm) my friends and I have picked up many Hangeul (Korean for 'Korean') terms and mannerisms. We often like to chat about which ones have fixed themselves permanently into our vocabulary and which ones we'll lose after leaving in a few months. I thought I might make a list for you all, so you won't be confused by all of my awesome Korean-ness (right Mullen?) when I get back to America, or wherever the next place you encounter me is. I suppose you can consider this an urban dictionary of sorts for my mad Konglish skills.



1. The mini-head bow: When in doubt ... bow. Okay so this is really the only mannerism I have picked up - the rest of the list is words.... but really, this one is basically permanent. There's no hope for any ESL teacher in Korea. Whether you're bidding "annyong" to your local Family Mart clerk, thanking a cab driver, or apologizing for being bumped into on the subway (yes, you read that right) the mini-head bow is an enduring outward symbol of politeness. It doesn't take long for expats to learn the mini-head bow; simply hunch your shoulders and quickly (it's got to be quick, or else it gets awkward) bow your head -similar to a chicken, or pigeon- and try to hide your face. If you get a crick in your neck, you're on your way!

2. Wheygook/Migook/Youngook/____gook (way-gook/me-gook): n. (or sometimes an adj., hey, why not?!) a white foreigner, or more specifically, an American or Enlishman, or *insert nationality here* ... Completely non-p.c. to say anywhere but Korea, the ____-gooks have a good time. As in, I thought I saw you out in Kangnam last night! But, it was just another person of wheygook persuasion.

3. Ne (naaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay): interj. yes. As far as I know Korean is the only language where the word 'Yes' sound like 'no' ... it also covers 'You're welcome' and you have to elongate the e-sound for close to 18 minutes to really sound Korean. As in, Did you hear what Tina just said to Cindy? / Ne! It was nearly a Korean teacher catfight.

4. Aniyo (on-knee-o): interj. no. If your Konglish isn't up to par and the Korean you're talking to doesn't get it... holding your arms in a big X in front of you never fails. (Actually, I lied before! This is a mannerism I don't think I will EVER be able to break! lol) Anni works for no, too (No, not Darth Vadar's boyhood name). As in, Oooh. Preettty lady, come to my home/ ANIYO! ... also, Do you like my new Korean sunglasses? / Uhm, sorry, that one gets the big aniyo.

5. Kamsamnida (kgam-sahm-knee-da): .. ?.. thank you. It's an important one to learn. Koreans thank each other a lot. And since their politeness is reflected in their speech, about every other word you'll hear in public ends in some sort of "mnida" sound. It's imperative you learn to catch the thank yous, but if you can't hear the difference just watch for the mini-head bow you've already mastered, since they're usually paired together. Also, bonus points if you can say it with the same sing-song voice as a Korean and not sound like a cartoon character. As in, Hey I brought you a 6,000 won a watered down drink from Coffee Bean. / Ooooh. Kamsamnida. :)

6. Annyonghi Kaseyo (on-yong-khe-caw-say-o): interj. Goodbye. While there are five full syllables in an/nyong/ha/se/yo you'll be lucky if you catch 3... but if you listen for "a-ajksd;hfaehfakdsjf;adsh;fas-yo!" you should be just fine! As in, Annyonghi kaseyo, thanks for coming. No, seriously, please leave.

7. Annyonghi Kyeseyo (on-yong-khe-key-ay-say-o): interj. Goodbye. Ooooooh... tricky. This is the one you say if you're leaving. #3 is what you say if your being left.... As in, Annyonghi kyesayo, thanks for the ride.

8. Annyong Hasseyo (on-yong-hah-say-o): interj. Hello, Good Morning, Good Evening, etc etc. Yes it sounds almost exactly the same. But luckily just saying 'Annyong' covers them all! But only with friends - otherwise it's rude. (Wouldn't want to offend the ajjushi passed out drunk in your neighborhood park!) As in, are you kidding? You're still reading this? Go to the next one!!

9. Jusseyo (juice-say-o): n./v./adj./the million dollar word!!! err... billion won word? Either way - this one basically means 'please' ... but it can also mean "Bring me _____ please" or "Take me to ______ please" More or less, this is the Konglish-speaker's way to order food or get around in a cab. As in, Yogiyo! Mul juseyo! (Hey! Water please!) ... which sounds rude, but not in Korea!

10. Chingu (cheen-goo): n. friend. As in, Hey chingus! What's happening!?
Essential to most general weygook gatherings ... We'd all be lost in Korea without our chingu-chingus!

Fourth of July!

I am a big sucker for traditions, and consequently, a big fan of holidays. I love getting together with friends and celebrating - anything. And if it involves any sort of pomp and circumstance, all the better. I've had an irrational love for Fourth of July since a young age. I'm not sure why, but I can always remember getting really excited for it each year. I used to stand out on my parent's deck wearing a paper Uncle Sam hat and sing patriotic songs to people as they walked to beach. I don't know why, exactly, but I did!

Anyway... Needless to say spending the Fourth abroad was never something I imagined. It's strange not to be home, but I was determined to celebrate in style anyway. Luckily, a coworker of mine goes to Taekwondo with a sergeant from Alabama who was able to take us on the Army base on Friday! First of all, being on post was a strange experience anyway -- seriously, it felt like America, we might as well have been in Virginia somewhere. There were stop signs! And what's more, they were OBEYED! It was surreal. We found where there was music and food and enjoyed the night. There was an army band that played during the fireworks show, but we couldn't really hear them because there were squealing Korean children next to us drowning them out. (Oh well!) The fireworks show was literally right over our head! So fun. :) The whole night was really wonderful, and I am very grateful to have been on base for Independence day. It wasn't just like home, but we did get a taste of America on the Fourth, and even were given US dollars as change! So strang-ee.


Here's my video/slide show of the fireworks. You can sort of hear the music over the screaming Korean children. I mean, it's no A Capitol Fourth! hosted by Jimmy Smits, but hey... Enjoy!