As 2009 quickly comes to a close, I figure it's about time that I offer some sort of closure to my Korean adventure. . .so here goes!
For over four months now, visitors to this small part of the world wide blogosphere have been greeted by the same entry about the Korean War Museum. Sure, it was cool, but not nearly interesting enough to headline such an important collection of writing. So why was it there you might ask? Or, what happened to the lengthy screeds that you came to expect at least a couple times every week? Well, listen up. . .
After finishing out our contractual obligations at DYB, Nate and I were quickly bumped from our work sponsored apartments in Dootavilla to make room for the two new teachers who were, at the time, sharing a small place in Daechi, presumably one of our original flophouses. . .hopefully not Nate's tiny little attic room! Our final day of work was on Tuesday and I believe we were asked to vacate our places the following day, which, we managed to push back another day or so. . .phew! Even with all the packing and shipping I had been doing, I was still far from ready to really move out, namely because Mr. Lee had originally promised us a week or so to clear out. I should have known better than to rely on that though. . . oh well!
Finally got everything in to an almost manageable load and cleared out of A-412 for the final time. DYB was kind enough to give us cash for a ride to wherever we wanted which, turned out to be Steve's new place in Cheongho. If he hadn't shown up well. . .I'm not entirely sure where we would have gone but it would not have been pretty! So, on a rainy afternoon in late August, Nate and I filled up a minivan (a normal taxi wouldn't do) with our remaining possessions and headed to the other side of the Han.
Luckily, Steve was still at work as we clamored into his place, two apartments worth of stuff in tow. With a few hours before he was set to return, we had plenty of time to reorganize and shuffle stuff around to make enough floorspace for, well, Nate to sleep on at least (I posted up on the beat up couch that was a bit too short). Not surprisingly, Steve was a bit shocked upon coming home to find us fully moved in. However, we manged to ease the transition a bit by sprucing up his new place with a wide array of 'presents' that both Nate and I had spent the year accumulating in our respective places.
Spent the better part of a week at Steve's, living off the couch, while trying to tie up loose ends before taking off for Thailand early in the morning on September 1st. I went to various post offices throughout Seoul at least a dozen times in sending out the half dozen boxes that, thankfully, all arrived here in East Lansing unharmed! I was able to 'cash out' my pension account at the Nowon-Gu branch of the National Pension Service. After filling out a handful of forms, I was informed that some amount of money would eventually be transferred to my US bank account, though not for a number of months. A bit scary to leave that in limbo while taking off but, true to form, it did end up coming through sometime in mid-October! Woo hoo!
Cashed out the majority of my Korean Won at about 1,250 for $1 USD. Not the 1,600 that it had spiked to during this past spring but also far from the 900 that it had been only a few months before we arrived. Sent the majority straight to my bank at home then withdrew the rest in USD as it's hard to find a currency that travels as well as greenbacks do (though I hear the Euro is the new rage abroad, I still don't believe it. . .). Unfortunately, my final withdrawl was made at an ATM the morning of my departure and I was only aloud to take out denominations of 10,000 won. In turn, there remain 7,000 some KRW in my Shinhan bank account. Who knows if it's earning interest or not but I plan on returning some day and collecting!
Steve's place was a bit, um, cramped with three of us big boys in it but I couldn't be more thankful that he allowed us to stay. Paying for a hotel would not have been conducive to saving for traveling and I really didn't have anyone else that I could have crashed with at the time. . .or, anytime before that really, but, that's a different story!
The night before I was to leave, Joseph came over for a goodbye dinner then small farewell party, if you will, at Steve's place while I finished up packing in the state of a totally anal nervous wreck! Hey, it's not easy going from one foreign country to life on the road for four months with no pit stop at home in between.
Sometime, well after midnight, we decided to venture out of Steve's cubby hole and into the night air. Stepping out in to the hall, we were surprised to come face to face with a pair of Korean policemen standing in front of an open door across the way. Glancing in we noticed a man sprawled out across a blood stained couch with bloody footprints all throughout the apartment. No idea what transpired but Joseph did not appreciate our fascination with the scene. Apparently, the Cheongho area is infamous for gang related activity, as quaint as it might seem. No worries though, Steve's an upstanding individual and promised us that he would refrain from engaging in any Korean gang-related activity. I swear!
Caught about an hour of restless sleep, never really dozing off fully as I fretted missing the 5:00am airport bus. Popped up at quarter to, threw on my Deuter 55+10, kicked Nate and Steve awake to say bye then darted out the door. Swung by a GS one last time to stock up on water and sunscreen then headed for the bus stop, not more than 400m from Steve's place. Slept the whole way to Incheon where I boarded my flight to Bangkok without problem. . .ahh, the joys of not flying on American based carriers!
Landed in Bangkok about six hours later, collected my luggage than re-checked in for a domestic flight down to Surat Thani. Got in to this small southern port city sometime in the evening and caught a bus to the pier where I had planned on taking a night ferry out to Koh Pha Ngan to search for my friends from Tulane, Mike and Kristin, who were reportedly in the area. Mike had just finished up working at a summer camp in Germany and decided that it would be nicer for the camp to fly him to Thailand rather than back Stateside in celebration of finishing up his engineering degree that spring. Kristin was just finishing a year long 'working holiday' (oxymoron anyone?) in Australia and had decided that some SEAsian travels sounded like a good way to finish off the calendar year. What a remarkable, semi-coordinated, coincidence!
I made it, some what surprisingly, out to KPN without hassle and, even more shocking, managed to find the bungalow that these two, neither of whom I had seen in well over a year, were staying in. What a fun surprise that was at about 5:30 in the morning!
From there, well. . . that's a totally different story for another time, but here's the run down, which, I meant to post long before leaving but, never did get around to. Sorry!
Sticking to our somewhat discussed agenda, we managed to bang out the majority of Indochina in just under four months. Starting in southern Thailand, we moved northwards, primarily by train. Our stops in Thailand were minimal, spending a few days in Bangkok, a few in Chiang Mai, then a few more than expected in a little town in northwest Thailand called Pai. From Pai we moved on to the border town of Chiang Kong, set along the banks of the Mekong River in the heart of the infamous Golden Triangle.
We eventually crossed this storied river in to Laos where we would spend the next 33 days. Whoa! Went trekking in Luang Nam Tha before moving on to the ancient capital of Luang Pra Bang where we were fortunate enough to catch two festivals in only a weeks time. Dealing with a pretty heady stint of food poisoning, Mike moved on to Vang Vieng while Kristin and I took a short pit stop in the relatively remote town of Phonsavan to visit the enigmatic Plain of Jars. We eventually caught up with Mike in Vang Vieng for a day of tubing followed by a week spent working on an organic farm. Continued south to the national capital of Vientiane where we were graced simultaneously with the presence of Kristin's big sis, Dr. Andi G, and a serious case of bed bugs!
Pushed onwards down the trail less traveled to the small town of Thakek where Mike and I set off on motorbikes to conquer the acclaimed 'Loop.' Rode for three days with an young Italian man, Alessandro, through some of the most beautiful and diverse scenery that we would encounter during our travels. Continued on to Don Det, a small island in the heart of the Mekong where this mighty river spreads to 14 km wide, split apart by some 4000 Islands, as the area is known. Re-connected with Kristin here and were joined by another fellow Tulanian, and Kristin's Australian roommate, Lindsay.
Fought our way across the the border in to Cambodia but not before being taken for a half dozen or so 'bribes' on the way. The fines we were each subjected to varied but I did manage to unload a decent amount of the Thai Bhat that I had held on to for fear of running out of Kip in Laos. Sped through northern Cambodia on a bus headed straight to Phnom Penh where we again timed our arrival with the local boat racing festival. Spent a few days posted up at Lakeside (thanks Kaine!) before moving on to Siem Reap to conquer the ancient temples of Angkor by bicycle. Took the boat from there to Battambang and obtained the trips worst sunburn in the process. From BTB is was back to Phnom Penh for a few more days of kicking it before Lindsay jumped ship to meet up with yet another former Tulanian, Maggie, in Vietnam.
Mike, Kristin and I followed only a day later, catching a direct bus from PP to Saigon, or as it's now known, Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). Here, in HCMC, I was reacquainted with Nate for the first time since leaving Steve's apartment in early September. He had made his way down China then south through Vietnam before posting up in HCMC, waiting for the delivery of a passport to replace the one that disappeared along with his backpack off the back of an 'Easy Rider' in central Vietnam. Bummer for him but fun to have the chance to meet up!
Moved on to the beaches of Mui Ne where we put in some serious wave time before returning to HCMC for one last shot at the water park which Nate and I 'discovered.' Kristin then took off in order to surprise her parents for Thanksgiving while Mike and I set our sights on Hanoi in the north of Vietnam. Swung through the mountain town of Dalat before banging out Nha Trang, Hoi Han, Hue, and Dong Ha at the pace of about one 'n a half cities per day. Whoa, now that's what I call traveling!
Continued heading north through Ninh Binh and Haiphong where we caught a local ferry out to Catba Island set in the picturesque Halong Bay. Spent a good few days on island cruising through the bay in the comfort of a 'junk' boat. Also got a chance to put Mike's rock climbing equipment to work testing out the limestone karsts of Halong. Moved back to the mainland, again via Haiphong with our final destination being Hanoi. Decided against going to the highly recommended town of Sapa in the far north, only because neither of us were prepared to deal with near freezing temperatures having spent the better part of the fall and early winter in super sub tropical climates! In turn, we ended up spending a week in Hanoi at a wonderful new guest house that offered free internet, breakfast and, as a kicker, beer. The whole experience was made even sweeter when our total tab was cut in half at check out. Can't argue with great service at bargain basement prices!
Finally, on December 10th, Mike took an early morning flight out to meet up with his family in London (with a short stop over in Hong Kong) while I headed to the airport later that same day for the quick jaunt down to HCMC via the budget carrier, JetStar. For $60 I flew the length of an entire country (Vietnam is much much longer than I had imagined) with better service than I remember ever receiving on a domestic carrier here in the States. Even in the back of the plane I had more than enough leg room to stretch out fully and enough space on both sides of me so that my neighbors body wasn't spilling over onto my lap. . .which might also have to do with Americans as a whole but again, that's another story for another day.
Spent the night in the Saigon airport after venturing out to find a bowl of pho, noodle soup. Used up the very last of my Vietnamese Dong before retiring to a bench for a few hours of shut eye, while hugging my bags tight to my chest. Awoke at 3:30am as the Delta employees began blowing up, and subsequently popping, a number of balloons for some unapparent, but definitely not necessary, celebration.
Breezed through check in and security on the way to my 6:00am flight out to Tokyo. Had little time to spare in Narita as I went directly from one plane to another, this time bound for Detroit. By the time I got to the gate, it really hit me that I was leaving Asia. Not only did I start to understand the things that were being said around me but in only a matter of a short flight I went from the biggest and tallest person around to one of the most seemingly diminutive people headed Stateside. This was a big, big transition.
Didn't get much sleep in on the way back to Detroit but did get to bang out the last of my used books collected along the way. Touched down in DTW and was back up in the air less than an hour later on the way to Lansing. 21 minutes of flight time and I was on the ground at LAN where mom and dad were waiting to pick me up!
And that brings me to here, the basement of 812 Applegate where I am now faced with the impending turn of a decade. At least I won't have to deal with it alone as I am set to head out for Denver in only a few days time to reunite with a handful of the coolest people I know, this side of the Pacific!
I apologize for not keeping up with my travels along the way but it was evident to me quite early on in traveling that 'Adam's Going to Asia' should have been qualified with a subtitle along the lines of "but you're only going to get to hear about Korea on the blog!" Any whooo. . .I'll work on writing more about my SEAsian adventures and will eventually have pictures somewhere online though probably not here as I have already exhausted my Picasa storage through uploading the pictures that you can find throughout these pages.
I do promise to still offer a Korea Konclusions post once I've had a bit more time to digest the whole experience and can find a way to put it in to (not so many) words. Yes, I realize that four months without blogging has left me as long winded as ever but what did you expect? That I'd come home and immediately adopt a laconic voice?! Silly you for thinking such things!
Happy Huntings and Safe Travels during this 'holiday season.'
I'll check in with everyone sometime shortly in to the New Year as I would like to continue writing but clearly, it will no longer be from Asia. So, look for a change of venue in 2010 but, until then, enjoy the info contained within and thanks for stopping by!
Monday, December 28, 2009
Friday, August 14, 2009
War Memorial of Korea
With a day off work for Korea's Independence Day (August 15th) what better way to spend it than at the War Memorial of Korea!
The War Memorial of Korea
I would have taken off for Pyeongchang with Nate and some of the Korean Teachers this weekend however I have a 5 vs. 5 soccer tournament tomorrow that I didn't want to pass up as I only have another couple of weekends left to play. So, with no work on Friday I decided to wrap up my Seoul tourism adventures at one of the last remaining spots I had yet to see.
The War Memorial Museum is aptly located adjacent to the the US Yongsan Military Base and across the street from the National Defense Headquarters (or National Security, or Homeland Defense, or something like that). From Samgakji Station, it's only a quarter mile to the museum grounds but on the short walk I must have passed dozens of uniformed officers from different services, both Korean and American. Kinda makes the whole thing seem, well, relevant.
Flowered barricade outside the Defense Building
The Statue of Brothers
Big guns, Big people, Big buildings!
The reflecting pool looked like a nice place to take a dip and cool off as temperatures were pushing the mid 30's. I'm pretty sure the little girl in the picture was thinking the same thing that I was, but neither of us were brave enough to take the plunge. . .despite my encouraging her!
Just jump in already!
The Korean War Monument
The War Memorial Peace Plaza
The Defense Headquarters (or whatever) from the War Memorial
The Monuments of Killed in Action
A news clipping from the North Korean propaganda section that reads...
The Teardrop made of retired dog tags representing UN soldiers lost
A kids day event beneath the indoor airplane and parachute exhibit. . .odd
Well, now you know about as much as I do about Korea's wartime history! I know, I know, I'm a terrible pupil, an ever worse tourist and even worse Seoulite but come on, it was my day off and it's beautiful outside! I had wandering to do and a big plate of Pad Thai in Itaewon was calling my name. Plus, Nate and the Korean Teachers are off somewhere rafting, swimming and hopefully not getting eaten by great white sharks that have been washing up on Korea's beaches lately!
Off to bed early tonight as I have to be across the city (70 minute subway ride) by 10am tomorrow for the tourney. I believe we're guaranteed a three game minimum so even if we get rocked (our bracket is referred to as 'Hell Division' and I don't think it's because of us) I'll still get a good couple of hours in under the hot hot sun! More soccer on Sunday then back to work for my final full week of 'teaching.'
Thanks for staying tuned and sorry about falling off but it's crunch time over here and, come on, there's gotta be better stuff to read out there anyways!
Goodbye from the War Memorial!
The War Memorial of KoreaI would have taken off for Pyeongchang with Nate and some of the Korean Teachers this weekend however I have a 5 vs. 5 soccer tournament tomorrow that I didn't want to pass up as I only have another couple of weekends left to play. So, with no work on Friday I decided to wrap up my Seoul tourism adventures at one of the last remaining spots I had yet to see.
The War Memorial Museum is aptly located adjacent to the the US Yongsan Military Base and across the street from the National Defense Headquarters (or National Security, or Homeland Defense, or something like that). From Samgakji Station, it's only a quarter mile to the museum grounds but on the short walk I must have passed dozens of uniformed officers from different services, both Korean and American. Kinda makes the whole thing seem, well, relevant.
Flowered barricade outside the Defense BuildingEven though I have seen the museum before, from the comfort of a passing bus, the enormity of the structure blew me away as I entered the grounds. The massive building appears even more impending as it is set far back from the street, allowing for an enormous courtyard. Turns out, this courtyard, if you can call it that, was by far my favorite part of the whole experience.
Now that's a museum!
Now that's a museum!The outdoor exhibition area is filled not simply with green space but rather with a mass of old war equipment. Sprinkled, or more accurately, packed about the grounds are war artifacts ranging from wheeled howitzers to tanks and even a couple dozen planes. The weaponry goes on and on for what seems like an eternity with each machine larger and most impressive than the next. For anyone interested in war relics, well this would be pretty darn close to heaven!
Guns and Rockets and Missiles, Oh My!
Oooo tank tank tank tank tank!
War Memorial from under the wing of a B52 bomber
Inside a C-46 "Commando" Transport plane
Gunnin' for it!
By land, air or sea
Guns and Rockets and Missiles, Oh My!
Oooo tank tank tank tank tank!
War Memorial from under the wing of a B52 bomber
Inside a C-46 "Commando" Transport plane
Gunnin' for it!
By land, air or seaUpon entering the museum grounds, it would be impossible not to notice the looming statue of two Korean soldiers stop a domed structure. This Statue of Brothers is apparently representative of the Korean war as we see a larger South Korean soldier embracing his younger North Korean brother....hmmm.
The Statue of Brothers
Big guns, Big people, Big buildings!The reflecting pool looked like a nice place to take a dip and cool off as temperatures were pushing the mid 30's. I'm pretty sure the little girl in the picture was thinking the same thing that I was, but neither of us were brave enough to take the plunge. . .despite my encouraging her!
Just jump in already!Centered in front of the museum entrance, about 200 yards closer to the street is the Korean War Monument. The symbolism is up to you do derive but the bronze statues of soldiers that surround it is actually rather moving.
The Korean War MonumentAfter the long hike up to the museum itself I took a rest to enjoy the scenery and the shade!
The War Memorial Peace Plaza
The Defense Headquarters (or whatever) from the War MemorialInside the long hallways that extend from either end of the museums wings are tall black plaques in which the names of Korean soldiers lost in battle are engraved.
The Monuments of Killed in ActionOnce I finally made it inside I was happy to pay the nominal admission fee of only 3,000 though I can't say I would have paid anymore as I simply was not in the mood to be inside all day. To be honest, this three story structure is more than impressive and everything is incredibly well displayed in a number of languages. Sure, English is overlooked on some of the displays but any non-Korean speaker could easily whittle away an entire day if they cared to read all the available information. Me, well, I took the fly by tour!
The first few exhibition halls are dedicated to the Korean War only. Later rooms follow Korea's involvement in other worldly military conflicts and downstairs one can even study the entire history of warfare on the Korean peninsula! After about an hour of Korean War stuff the rest was simply too much to handle for me. I'm all for learning and reading about history but I'd prefer to do it in book format from the comfort of a nice chair in underneath the sun. The museum's skylights are great and all but really, who wants to spend their day off in a giant institutional building? Not me!
I managed to 'see' all of the displays but that's about it as I charged forth with a mission to make it outside before the sun started tipping too far down towards the downtown skyline. A few things in the museum did manage to grab my attention and hold me for an extra second which are displayed below. One that is not in the Combat Experience Room which I would recommend skipping unless you have a passion for uncomfortably loud noises and flashing lights in confined space. Not my thing, unless it's under the guise of live music.
The first few exhibition halls are dedicated to the Korean War only. Later rooms follow Korea's involvement in other worldly military conflicts and downstairs one can even study the entire history of warfare on the Korean peninsula! After about an hour of Korean War stuff the rest was simply too much to handle for me. I'm all for learning and reading about history but I'd prefer to do it in book format from the comfort of a nice chair in underneath the sun. The museum's skylights are great and all but really, who wants to spend their day off in a giant institutional building? Not me!
I managed to 'see' all of the displays but that's about it as I charged forth with a mission to make it outside before the sun started tipping too far down towards the downtown skyline. A few things in the museum did manage to grab my attention and hold me for an extra second which are displayed below. One that is not in the Combat Experience Room which I would recommend skipping unless you have a passion for uncomfortably loud noises and flashing lights in confined space. Not my thing, unless it's under the guise of live music.
A news clipping from the North Korean propaganda section that reads...
She's Happy. . .
because her husband is a POW--and no longer risking his life in the front lines. SHE KNOWS that he will go back to join her as soon as the armistice is singed. What About You? You may be killed or maimed any minute. That's why your mother, your wife or your sweetheart don't know a moment's peace from worry about you. Why don't you ease their minds. Why don't you make sure that you too will go home.
THINK IT OVER! RIGHT NOW!
The Koreans and Chinese are lenient to their prisoners. They guarantee you life, security and freedom from maltreatment.
I'm not quite sure what's going on here but are they asking American soldiers to turn themselves over as prisoners?
THINK IT OVER! RIGHT NOW!
The Koreans and Chinese are lenient to their prisoners. They guarantee you life, security and freedom from maltreatment.
I'm not quite sure what's going on here but are they asking American soldiers to turn themselves over as prisoners?
The Teardrop made of retired dog tags representing UN soldiers lost
A kids day event beneath the indoor airplane and parachute exhibit. . .oddWell, now you know about as much as I do about Korea's wartime history! I know, I know, I'm a terrible pupil, an ever worse tourist and even worse Seoulite but come on, it was my day off and it's beautiful outside! I had wandering to do and a big plate of Pad Thai in Itaewon was calling my name. Plus, Nate and the Korean Teachers are off somewhere rafting, swimming and hopefully not getting eaten by great white sharks that have been washing up on Korea's beaches lately!
Off to bed early tonight as I have to be across the city (70 minute subway ride) by 10am tomorrow for the tourney. I believe we're guaranteed a three game minimum so even if we get rocked (our bracket is referred to as 'Hell Division' and I don't think it's because of us) I'll still get a good couple of hours in under the hot hot sun! More soccer on Sunday then back to work for my final full week of 'teaching.'
Thanks for staying tuned and sorry about falling off but it's crunch time over here and, come on, there's gotta be better stuff to read out there anyways!
Goodbye from the War Memorial!Thursday, August 13, 2009
Passing the teaching stick
Just last week I got an e-mail from my original recruiter, Scot, at Adventure Teaching, asking if I would take the time to talk about my job with a potential DYB new hire. While I've been putting off any sort of summary/wrap-up/lessons learned until I'm outta here and truly have time to reflect, I thought this would be a great opportunity to sort of step back and objectively examine the position I've managed to hold on to for a year now! To be honest I never thought I'd be offering insight to others about Korea as I myself still feel clueless, but here I am doing just that!
So, as long as I took the time to write the e-mail I figured I'd share it with you as well, ya know, just in case you're considering taking up a position at DYB's Juinggye Branch!
Below you'll find a modest evaluation and summary of, well, what exactly I've been up to since last fall. . .
____________^^___________
Hi Scot and James,
I'd be happy to answer any specific questions that James might have and if it'd be possible, it might be easier to simply give me a call (010) 8450-2258. If you're not in Korea yet James, it's real easy and cheap to make the call via Skype.
If that's not going to be possible, let me give you a little bit of background on the position that your consider as it seems to be the one that I'll be vacating in the next few weeks.
My experience at DYB as a company was fantastic. I was always paid in full and on time which, from what I've heard, is not always the case anywhere else. The staff was extremely helpful in helping me get settled in, getting my Alien Resident Card (ARC), setting up a bank account and making monthly payments into my Pension account and Health Care plan.
I was able to take my 10 allotted vacation days whenever I chose and they in fact offered unforeseen flexibility in allowing me to chose the dates. For example, changing my flight last and vacation days last minute when I realized I didnt' have the necessary paperwork to get into China. Oops!
That said, the downtime at DYB is, well, limited! Other than the 10 paid vacation days, there are only three other days off in the entire year. One for Chuseok and two for Lunar New Years. So, expect to be working and kept busy. If you're looking for a job when you can become a modern backpacking jetsetter and take off for an exotic destination every few months, this job will likely not allow that!
Okay, the job itself. I very much enjoyed working at the Junggye campus of DYB where I put in a full year. This in and of itself says something of the job as many people, even within the company, were continually moved around due to somebody's unhappiness. The staff and teachers at Junggye are easy to work with and the atmosphere is much more inviting then some other branches and hagwons. Then again, it pays befriend those in charge and I put in effort doing so right at the beginning, per the advice of the previous teachers.
Anna (A-Young), the head teacher at Junggye is wonderful to work with and will always try to be helpful though it often is difficult to see at first. My first day on the job I was handed a book and told to go 'teach.' 11 months later, nothing really has ever been clarified for me. I have never been given a list of expectations or goals and as far as I know, I'm not accountable for, well, anything really.
This has it's benefits and disadvantages obviously. For me, it was often frustrating walking from class to class to teach a room full of students whom I was totally disconnected from. As a Native Teachers, you will meet with the kids only once or twice a week which means that you're often left out of the loop as to what they're really learning with the majority of their time. This can make it hard to integrate the material that you are presenting but can also be good because it gives you the freedom to do your own thing for an hour or two.
As a previous Foreign Teacher put it, it's a real 'cushy' job. You don't have any real lesson planning and the most important thing is simply that you show up on time and look presentable. Do these things and you'll cruise through fine.
DYB also offers an 'evalution' and potential raise after the first month, followed by a six month evaluation and subsequent raise. This is definitely a bonus and really starts to add up. As a first year teacher without privates, I didn't meet a single teacher who made more than I did without working multiple jobs! Not a bad deal!
I really am still unfamiliar with the whole job opportunity scene in Korea as I was picked up by DYB first and spent the entirety of my one year in Korea there. Would I go back to DYB if I were to do it again?
As a first year teacher? Definitely, the ease of the job and amount of the money you take home at the end of the day makes it totally worth it.
Knowing what I know now? Maybe not, simply because I can stand the lack of accountability and simply not knowing what is expected from me. I'm a very goal oriented person and it was really hard for me to work at a job where I felt like I didn't accomplish anything at the end of the day other than bringing home the bacon.
Horror stories from DYB? Not one! Hilarious ones? Plenty! Mr. Lee, whom you will likely interview with or have already spoken to is without a doubt one of the most absurd characters I have ever met in my life. He takes it upon himself to keep up Foreign Teacher morale throughout the company and always manages to do so in surprisingly interesting ways! You won't get bored of the DYB Family (as it's called) as long as you keep a positive attitude!
Good Luck and I'll likely see you soon in Junggye!
Please feel free to e-mail or call me with any questions or concerns you might have!
Hope this helps!
-Adam
So, as long as I took the time to write the e-mail I figured I'd share it with you as well, ya know, just in case you're considering taking up a position at DYB's Juinggye Branch!
Below you'll find a modest evaluation and summary of, well, what exactly I've been up to since last fall. . .
____________^^___________
Hi Scot and James,
I'd be happy to answer any specific questions that James might have and if it'd be possible, it might be easier to simply give me a call (010) 8450-2258. If you're not in Korea yet James, it's real easy and cheap to make the call via Skype.
If that's not going to be possible, let me give you a little bit of background on the position that your consider as it seems to be the one that I'll be vacating in the next few weeks.
My experience at DYB as a company was fantastic. I was always paid in full and on time which, from what I've heard, is not always the case anywhere else. The staff was extremely helpful in helping me get settled in, getting my Alien Resident Card (ARC), setting up a bank account and making monthly payments into my Pension account and Health Care plan.
I was able to take my 10 allotted vacation days whenever I chose and they in fact offered unforeseen flexibility in allowing me to chose the dates. For example, changing my flight last and vacation days last minute when I realized I didnt' have the necessary paperwork to get into China. Oops!
That said, the downtime at DYB is, well, limited! Other than the 10 paid vacation days, there are only three other days off in the entire year. One for Chuseok and two for Lunar New Years. So, expect to be working and kept busy. If you're looking for a job when you can become a modern backpacking jetsetter and take off for an exotic destination every few months, this job will likely not allow that!
Okay, the job itself. I very much enjoyed working at the Junggye campus of DYB where I put in a full year. This in and of itself says something of the job as many people, even within the company, were continually moved around due to somebody's unhappiness. The staff and teachers at Junggye are easy to work with and the atmosphere is much more inviting then some other branches and hagwons. Then again, it pays befriend those in charge and I put in effort doing so right at the beginning, per the advice of the previous teachers.
Anna (A-Young), the head teacher at Junggye is wonderful to work with and will always try to be helpful though it often is difficult to see at first. My first day on the job I was handed a book and told to go 'teach.' 11 months later, nothing really has ever been clarified for me. I have never been given a list of expectations or goals and as far as I know, I'm not accountable for, well, anything really.
This has it's benefits and disadvantages obviously. For me, it was often frustrating walking from class to class to teach a room full of students whom I was totally disconnected from. As a Native Teachers, you will meet with the kids only once or twice a week which means that you're often left out of the loop as to what they're really learning with the majority of their time. This can make it hard to integrate the material that you are presenting but can also be good because it gives you the freedom to do your own thing for an hour or two.
As a previous Foreign Teacher put it, it's a real 'cushy' job. You don't have any real lesson planning and the most important thing is simply that you show up on time and look presentable. Do these things and you'll cruise through fine.
DYB also offers an 'evalution' and potential raise after the first month, followed by a six month evaluation and subsequent raise. This is definitely a bonus and really starts to add up. As a first year teacher without privates, I didn't meet a single teacher who made more than I did without working multiple jobs! Not a bad deal!
I really am still unfamiliar with the whole job opportunity scene in Korea as I was picked up by DYB first and spent the entirety of my one year in Korea there. Would I go back to DYB if I were to do it again?
As a first year teacher? Definitely, the ease of the job and amount of the money you take home at the end of the day makes it totally worth it.
Knowing what I know now? Maybe not, simply because I can stand the lack of accountability and simply not knowing what is expected from me. I'm a very goal oriented person and it was really hard for me to work at a job where I felt like I didn't accomplish anything at the end of the day other than bringing home the bacon.
Horror stories from DYB? Not one! Hilarious ones? Plenty! Mr. Lee, whom you will likely interview with or have already spoken to is without a doubt one of the most absurd characters I have ever met in my life. He takes it upon himself to keep up Foreign Teacher morale throughout the company and always manages to do so in surprisingly interesting ways! You won't get bored of the DYB Family (as it's called) as long as you keep a positive attitude!
Good Luck and I'll likely see you soon in Junggye!
Please feel free to e-mail or call me with any questions or concerns you might have!
Hope this helps!
-Adam
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Every Now and Then
Isn't it nice when things just seem to work out? Sure, other things are often simultaneously going wrong but the power of feeling good certainly does work as a trump card, every now and then at least!
What's the sudden optimism about? Oh nothing in particular. . .I just picked up a tie that I dropped off for dry cleaning after I thought I had ruined it in the rain a few weeks ago. The exciting part is not the tie itself but that it was given back to me in great condition, free of charge. Not sure exactly why I received this 'service,' as it's referred to here in Korea, there's a chance that the thing will fall apart next time I wear it due some industrial chemical that the little old ajumma used but, even so, it was a nice addition to the day! Especially after I went back in Friday to pick it up and was frustrated that the dry cleaners had closed for lunch. Good thing I caught her in a good mood today!
Kinda like my watch that's been sitting around broken for a couple of weeks. I finally took a lunch break opportunity to drop it off at a clock store just down the street. Here the man told, or more so indicated, for me to wait while he quickly whipped out a set of the most miniature tools I have ever seen. Popping in a monocle, he immediately set to work snapping off the back of the face that for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to open. Less than five minutes later he had taken the thing apart, blew everything off, put it back together, dropped in a new batter and had it set to the correct time! I was amazed at how quickly and efficiently he was able to solve something that had been bugging me for weeks as I assumed (not sure why) that I would have to find and install my own battery. On top of that, it was a mere 4,000 won for the whole deal! What a steal!
As for going right, how about the pension office?! For the past year, or (eight months months actually) I've been paying 4.5% of my paycheck to Korea's National Pension Service. With a 4.5% match from my employer, I've managed to rack up a decent sized pension here in the Hermit Kingdom. Another dark cloud that's been hanging over my pre-departure head is that of how and when will I ever collect on this. Turns out, all I needed to do was print a copy of my e-ticket out of Korea (more on that later but September 1st from Seoul to Surat Thani, Thailand in case you're interested), bring my passport and information regarding my home bank account. I filled out a brief form with information regarding a money transfer to my NuUnion account at home then bam, was sent on my way with the promise that sometime between October and November a lump sum of money, hopefully in dollars, not won, will show up in my account. Not a bad deal, though who knows it it'll actually work!?
I visited a doctor the other day and at a bargain 3,500 per consultation, well who wouldn't! Here I picked up a big ole' batch of Larium as anti-malarial protection and got recommendations for vaccinations that might prove to be, well, helpful in my SEAsia journeys. Luckily it seems I'm pretty up to date on vaccines and now need only to find the Seoul University International Clinic to get a rabies shot, just in case I decide to play with monkeys or make friends (enemies) with an unruly beach dog!
Even with a well dry cleaned tie, working watch and vaccinated immune system, I still have plenty left to do before taking off here!
I did pick up a backpack the other day but have yet to be satisfied with my decision. I went back and forth between two bags, first buying one then returning it for another I found online only a day or so later. While the second bag is exactly what I thought I was looking for, I now question whether or not the qualities I originally had in mind are those that will serve me best. Either way, I figure anything will work and the only problem I can imagine running into is running out of space in which case, it'll just be great incentive to continue to travel light! Sure, I'll have to sacrifice the normal level of hyper-organization that I travel with but who really needs to be able grab a pen in the dark anyways? It's not like you're gonna be writing with it!
I was all prepared to head to the Express Bus Terminal this past Saturday afternoon and drop of my electric guitar with Dan Shirley who had agreed to buy it for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, I got a message at the last minute saying that his girlfriend disapproved of the purchase and thus he wouldn't be able to follow through. All I have to say is, weak. Reminds me a bit of my Dad telling me a story about asking a guy at Elderly Instruments in Lansing, MI why he would have 30 guitars, to which the man responded, "Because I'm only allowed to have one wife." I spent hours cleaning her up getting ready to sell and now I'll just have to do it again, that is, if I find another buyer! While I love my '72 Classic Series Telecaster Thinline, I simply can't deal with the agony of shipping her and worrying about it for months as I travel. I'd much rather take cash in hand and then try to find the same model once I get back stateside. So, if you know anyone looking for a guitar in Korea, send 'em my way, I might even give you a cut!
My room is still cluttered with plenty of clothes that I brought over with me initially and have never worn which I now have to decided whether or not they're worth sending back home (to continue not wearing) or just leave 'em behind at a Salvation Army (or something of the sort). Along with the dozen or so books that I'm not quite ready to part with, I'll have at least a good couple of boxes packed and in transit by the time I leave!
Sold back the majority of books that I don't have a need for at a shop called What the Book in Itaewon last weekend. Here I was able to pick up three 'new' pieces that took me forever to find. I was able to put my hands one of the few John Irving pieces that I haven't yet read while also picking up my first un-assigned copies of both Mark Twain (Life on the Mississippi) and John Steinbeck (Cannery Row). I have already cruised through Steinbeck's in a matter of days and found it so enticing that I'll certainly keep an eye out for more of his as I travel through the well worn used book stores of South East Asia.
While I would love to keep my Korean driver's license as a souvenir, it doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to. When I originally picked it up, I did so in exchange for my MI one which has since been held hostage by the Korean DMV, or, I think is it Driver's License Agency? Anyways, in order to get my State ID back, which I fell will be a useful secondary form of identification while traveling, I'll need to sacrifice my Korean one. While I can respect this policy, for it likely keeps foreigners from selling them to one another, I would much rather prefer to simply have mine invalidated somehow so I can still hang on to it. . .I'll see what I can do.
Other than that, I'm pretty much set to go. I still have to look in to travel insurance which I'm certainly going to purchase but do not know yet from where. I have to get over to Lotte Mart too at some point to print out a handful of passport sized pictures to apply for visas along the way. Thailand doesn't require advanced purchase of one so I think I'll work the majority of them out once in Bangkok. I'll give the run down on where I'm going and with who at a later date as departure draws nearer. . .
So, for now, I'm just buckling in, trying to fight my way through another nine-class Monday! Only this one and one more to go before the ultimate freedom of unemployment!
Pictures from last weekend's adventure to Yeouido and the 63 Building still to come, as soon as I can steal Nate's camera from him!
Don't worry about sending any more mail as it might not make it to me in time. Thanks for anything you did ever send though, it was certainly greatly appreciated!
More from the Korean front soon. Isn't it nice when you get an update, every now and then?!
What's the sudden optimism about? Oh nothing in particular. . .I just picked up a tie that I dropped off for dry cleaning after I thought I had ruined it in the rain a few weeks ago. The exciting part is not the tie itself but that it was given back to me in great condition, free of charge. Not sure exactly why I received this 'service,' as it's referred to here in Korea, there's a chance that the thing will fall apart next time I wear it due some industrial chemical that the little old ajumma used but, even so, it was a nice addition to the day! Especially after I went back in Friday to pick it up and was frustrated that the dry cleaners had closed for lunch. Good thing I caught her in a good mood today!
Kinda like my watch that's been sitting around broken for a couple of weeks. I finally took a lunch break opportunity to drop it off at a clock store just down the street. Here the man told, or more so indicated, for me to wait while he quickly whipped out a set of the most miniature tools I have ever seen. Popping in a monocle, he immediately set to work snapping off the back of the face that for the life of me I couldn't figure out how to open. Less than five minutes later he had taken the thing apart, blew everything off, put it back together, dropped in a new batter and had it set to the correct time! I was amazed at how quickly and efficiently he was able to solve something that had been bugging me for weeks as I assumed (not sure why) that I would have to find and install my own battery. On top of that, it was a mere 4,000 won for the whole deal! What a steal!
As for going right, how about the pension office?! For the past year, or (eight months months actually) I've been paying 4.5% of my paycheck to Korea's National Pension Service. With a 4.5% match from my employer, I've managed to rack up a decent sized pension here in the Hermit Kingdom. Another dark cloud that's been hanging over my pre-departure head is that of how and when will I ever collect on this. Turns out, all I needed to do was print a copy of my e-ticket out of Korea (more on that later but September 1st from Seoul to Surat Thani, Thailand in case you're interested), bring my passport and information regarding my home bank account. I filled out a brief form with information regarding a money transfer to my NuUnion account at home then bam, was sent on my way with the promise that sometime between October and November a lump sum of money, hopefully in dollars, not won, will show up in my account. Not a bad deal, though who knows it it'll actually work!?
I visited a doctor the other day and at a bargain 3,500 per consultation, well who wouldn't! Here I picked up a big ole' batch of Larium as anti-malarial protection and got recommendations for vaccinations that might prove to be, well, helpful in my SEAsia journeys. Luckily it seems I'm pretty up to date on vaccines and now need only to find the Seoul University International Clinic to get a rabies shot, just in case I decide to play with monkeys or make friends (enemies) with an unruly beach dog!
Even with a well dry cleaned tie, working watch and vaccinated immune system, I still have plenty left to do before taking off here!
I did pick up a backpack the other day but have yet to be satisfied with my decision. I went back and forth between two bags, first buying one then returning it for another I found online only a day or so later. While the second bag is exactly what I thought I was looking for, I now question whether or not the qualities I originally had in mind are those that will serve me best. Either way, I figure anything will work and the only problem I can imagine running into is running out of space in which case, it'll just be great incentive to continue to travel light! Sure, I'll have to sacrifice the normal level of hyper-organization that I travel with but who really needs to be able grab a pen in the dark anyways? It's not like you're gonna be writing with it!
I was all prepared to head to the Express Bus Terminal this past Saturday afternoon and drop of my electric guitar with Dan Shirley who had agreed to buy it for a reasonable price. Unfortunately, I got a message at the last minute saying that his girlfriend disapproved of the purchase and thus he wouldn't be able to follow through. All I have to say is, weak. Reminds me a bit of my Dad telling me a story about asking a guy at Elderly Instruments in Lansing, MI why he would have 30 guitars, to which the man responded, "Because I'm only allowed to have one wife." I spent hours cleaning her up getting ready to sell and now I'll just have to do it again, that is, if I find another buyer! While I love my '72 Classic Series Telecaster Thinline, I simply can't deal with the agony of shipping her and worrying about it for months as I travel. I'd much rather take cash in hand and then try to find the same model once I get back stateside. So, if you know anyone looking for a guitar in Korea, send 'em my way, I might even give you a cut!
My room is still cluttered with plenty of clothes that I brought over with me initially and have never worn which I now have to decided whether or not they're worth sending back home (to continue not wearing) or just leave 'em behind at a Salvation Army (or something of the sort). Along with the dozen or so books that I'm not quite ready to part with, I'll have at least a good couple of boxes packed and in transit by the time I leave!
Sold back the majority of books that I don't have a need for at a shop called What the Book in Itaewon last weekend. Here I was able to pick up three 'new' pieces that took me forever to find. I was able to put my hands one of the few John Irving pieces that I haven't yet read while also picking up my first un-assigned copies of both Mark Twain (Life on the Mississippi) and John Steinbeck (Cannery Row). I have already cruised through Steinbeck's in a matter of days and found it so enticing that I'll certainly keep an eye out for more of his as I travel through the well worn used book stores of South East Asia.
While I would love to keep my Korean driver's license as a souvenir, it doesn't seem like I'm going to be able to. When I originally picked it up, I did so in exchange for my MI one which has since been held hostage by the Korean DMV, or, I think is it Driver's License Agency? Anyways, in order to get my State ID back, which I fell will be a useful secondary form of identification while traveling, I'll need to sacrifice my Korean one. While I can respect this policy, for it likely keeps foreigners from selling them to one another, I would much rather prefer to simply have mine invalidated somehow so I can still hang on to it. . .I'll see what I can do.
Other than that, I'm pretty much set to go. I still have to look in to travel insurance which I'm certainly going to purchase but do not know yet from where. I have to get over to Lotte Mart too at some point to print out a handful of passport sized pictures to apply for visas along the way. Thailand doesn't require advanced purchase of one so I think I'll work the majority of them out once in Bangkok. I'll give the run down on where I'm going and with who at a later date as departure draws nearer. . .
So, for now, I'm just buckling in, trying to fight my way through another nine-class Monday! Only this one and one more to go before the ultimate freedom of unemployment!
Pictures from last weekend's adventure to Yeouido and the 63 Building still to come, as soon as I can steal Nate's camera from him!
Don't worry about sending any more mail as it might not make it to me in time. Thanks for anything you did ever send though, it was certainly greatly appreciated!
More from the Korean front soon. Isn't it nice when you get an update, every now and then?!
Friday, July 17, 2009
12th Annual Boryeong Mud Festival
So maybe it wasn't quite necessary to wake up at 6:15am, but, at least we didn't miss our bus!
Welcome to Mud Fest 2009!
An early wake up call was in order for this extraordinary event as our transportation arrangements were completely out of our hands. Months ago, Nate and I signed up for a group trip down to Mud Fest, coordinated by a friend, Christine, who was also kind, and organized, enough to arrange our winter break ski trip. With the success and ease of which we pulled off a weekend ski trip, having to do no more than simply fork over cash and show up, we figured latching on to a group would also prove to be a good idea heading down to Boryeong for the 12th annual Mud Festival.
In early spring I coughed up 65,000 KRW for two way transportation and one night in a room, then promptly forgot all about the event. It wasn't until just a week before the actual event that I got a reminder, via Facebook, that I had been booked to head down for the Fest's first weekend.
Originally I had requested that Nate and I be put on a bus leaving from Seoul as there were numerous pick up spots. The 'group' that we signed up with however was predominately from Suwon, a large city about an hour south of Seoul central. In the end, this meant that we were unable to hop on any other bus and instead had to hightail it down to Suwon, a two hour trek from Nowon, early Saturday morning in order to catch the 10:10am bus. After a barrage of back and forth messages with Christine, I finally got enough information that allowed us to feel (somewhat) comfortable with taking off in the week hours of the morning and hoping that we'd be able to find our group of 20 or so Fest-goers by the strict, 10:00am departure time.
An early morning gimbap snack at GS got me ready to go and Nate and I hoped on the 1142 bus towards Sanggye Station by 6:45am. By seven we were on Line 4 headed south where we would remain for the next 70 or so minutes. Transferring to Line 1 at Geunjeong, it was only another 20 minutes before arriving at Suwon Station. Somehow this journey took about 20 minutes less than my last jaunt to Suwon during which I simply hopped off the train, sold a guitar, then climbed right back on to make the two hour return trip home.
Our 'just to be safe' planning had worked as we came up out of Suwon Station just after 9:00am with plenty of time to spare. Breakfast consisted of snacking between GS25, Smoothie King and a McCafe. Finally, around 9:30am, we went off in search of the Angel in Us Coffee Shop that was designated as the final meeting point. We poked our heads in and sure enough recognized a handful of people whom we had accompanied on our ski trip but didn't quite know well enough to sit down and invade their early morning coffee talk. So, we simply hung around outside getting warmed by the rising sun and waiting for the full Suwon Crew to arrive before marching down the street towards the small police station, our designated pick up area.
Much to our surprise, Nate and I actually recognized, and remembered a handful of those whom we had met only once before full adorned in ski wear. Christine eventually showed up and I again thanked her profusely for not only planning such an ordeal but allowing us to tag along, as that seemed to be our position within this group of primarily public school teachers who work, and play, together throughout the Suwon area.
Everyone squeezed into the big coach and there were just enough seats left over for the three South African women we met outside the station who had missed their earlier bus down to Boryeong. On the bus we met a few of our roommates, six to a room, and I tried, in vain, to get a bit of rest. The rest stop after about two hours seemed unnecessary as we were only about a half 'n hour outside of our destination. Even so, it was nice to get out and stretch in the morning air.
The best part however was watching one of the girls from our group try to do an unsuccessful pull-up on a high bar while an elderly Korean (not so)gentleman laughed hysterically at her weakness. We thus encouraged him to show her how its done and after stamping out his cigarette, he too proved to be unable to pull his little round body up with just his arms. Ha.
Arriving in Boryeong our bus made a number of wide looping circles throughout the area, apparently looking for our hotel that was inaccessible by road, at least to a giant bus. We eventually clamored out and followed Christine who met up with a Rudy character who was actually the mass-organizer for this event of which we composed only a small fraction. While waiting to be directed to hotels, we were approached by a rather jocular man who immediately called us out on being Mud Fest Rookies as we dressed as though we were going to the beach, not to a giant mud pit. He pointed out that his tight pair of boxers printed with the Korean 10,000 won bill, or man-won, was only appropriate as King Sejong would offer him all day protection, just where he needed it.
We were finally pointed towards a hotel and did eventually drop our stuff off in a room after kicking out the couple who had sneakily stepped in front of us in line and signed out the key to our designated room. Apparently, Rudy's enormous planning efforts did not go without issues as at least 16 people were left homeless due to double booking or other shady practices by local hotels. Thankfully, we we didn't have to deal with anything but a cramped, over loaded room. The six of us, which eventually to swelled to eight or so, were meant to share a room that could not have been much bigger than 10'x10'. Sure, it had its own bathroom but did the water come out with more than a trickle? Obviously not!
We quickly changed into swimsuits, loaded our pockets with won, left everything else wrapped up and tucked away, then headed out to the beach. And so began Mud Fest. Overwhelmed by the opportunity to get muddy, Nate and I simply didn't know where to begin! We certainly weren't waiting in line for the Mud Tunnel, Mud Super Slide, Mud Fountain, or Mud Bath. So, the best option seemed to be just push on through the crown collecting mud residue as we were squashed in between mud soaked revelers. We paused at the Color Mud Zone to get a bit of face 'paint,' and then continued on to the beach.
Oh the beach. I have seen pictures of crowded beaches in Asia but was my first time actually seeing one in person. From end to end the sand was literally packed with human beings. Those in the water were limited to only a small blockaded swimming area so the majority of beach goers simply wandered around on the sands. We figured it wasn't quite time for a swim yet so, walking past the Mud Beach Self Massage and Mud Couple Slide, we headed back up towards Mud Main Street where we ran into others from our group.
After a while of standing around hesitantly, people began making the bold move towards the Mud Jail, meant for those who had yet to apply mud to themselves. Here, fest goers waited around in a 'jailed' room waiting until someone gave the word and guards, positioned around the jail, would unleash a fury of flying mud at the prisoners. This was certainly a great way to get muddy and an even better way to get your contact knocked out by flying mud. Luckily, with quick, yet dirty, hands and some innovative cleaning methods, I was able to rescue the contact and get it back in, though not with out a good amount of yelping in pain. It wouldn't be another 15 minutes or so until someone pointed me in the direction of the eye wash station. . .of course!
And if you think is muddy...
(Picture courtesy of Jo Kotyuk's Facebook)
This mudding went on for the next few hours as we progressed from station to station, covering ourselves, and others in mud. Every now and then a run would be made for the beach to rinse off and start over again. The water was surprisingly warm as it was a cold, grey day outside though I suspect that the comfortable temperature was not due to anything that Al Gore knows how to combat. Oh well, we needed to rinse off somewhere!
At around 6pm, organizers began shutting down the mud. How exactly you 'turn off' the mud on a muddy throng of tens of thousands is beyond me but, eventually, most of the mud was packed up and the streets were cleared. . .of giant inflatable tubs at least. The mud slide too was eventually taken down but not after being bumrushed by a number of eager fest goers who decided that they should be the last ones to ride for the day.
We held out until the last trickle of people made their way towards the beach or back to hotels to clean off. Figuring that a rinse in the ocean would help us later in the shower, we did just that. Even so, none of us could have predicted how drastically a hotel full of muddy revelers could deplete the running water supply. While we did eventually get 'clean,' it was at the cost of turning the bathroom into a complete and utter mud-zone.
Still picking mud from our ears and hair, we dressed and headed out to prepare for the evening's festivities. Namely, a fireworks show. The rain that had persisted throughout the day now began to irk fest goers who had gone through considerable lengths to get 'clean' and 'dry.' So it was no surprise that the corner Lotteria (McDonald's equivalent) turned into a sort of meeting place, social area, bar, and night club. As the first round of explosions lit up the sky, we took off towards the beach but couldn't quite make it through the already densely gathered crowd.
Standing in the open air it was all to obvious that a storm would break out and that it did! As the fireworks exploded over head and music boomed out of the enormous sound system, we ducked under other people's umbrellas and eventually just succumbed to once again being soaking wet. The rain of course stirred up all the mud still lying in the street and while most people were clean from the waist up, the other end of the spectrum didn't make it out so safe.
From the fireworks we were treated to a 'concert' by Korea's all female pop group, Girls Generation followed by a giant techno/dance party. Here we enjoyed jumping and screaming to hilarious remixes of K-pop and old American favorites while praying that the brave crowd surfers would make it back to land on their feet, rather than heads as people didn't seem to keen about keeping them up in the air!
Following the dance party we picked up a number of yo-yo's from the various carnival games lining Main Street. With yo-yo's in hand we wandered the streets aimlessly looking for something, anything to do. At this point we were also searching desperately for Steve whom both Nate and I had found then lost track of in the later afternoon.
After yet hours more of cavorting, people eventually began to filter back to the rooms where the activities were far from over. When sharing a room with a half dozen people, it's not always easy to get to bed at a reasonable hour and this occasion was no different. While we did finally make it down, the thin blankets we were given, not at all like the thick, cushioned yeo's we were promised, did little to protect our tired bodies from the hard floor.
Sunday morning, those that rose early enough were treated to a torrential monsoon that pelted the town of Boryeong, preventing the majority of the Mud Fest inflatables to reach their full potential and forcing life guards to make a human chain along the beach, preventing anyone from daring to enter the menacing surf.
When we eventually roused, we followed others to a much welcomed breakfast buffet at a near by hotel where I ate my fill of eggs, toast, breakfast meat, coffee, OJ, cereal and corn topped pizza. Well, I tried a bite of the pizza at least!
We waited out the storm in the hotel lobby before our 4:00pm meeting time rolled around and we charged through the wind and the rain to the waiting buses. As we clamored on to the Suwon bus, hardly looking forward to a three hour return bus trip followed by a two hour subway ride, I over heard people talking about an Itaewon bus with ample space on it. After only a minute of hesitation, Nate and I dove out of the Suwon bus and onto the Itaewon one, headed towards Seoul. No clue who or how these buses were paid for but we're assuming that they were all apart of our larger, Rudy organized, group as no one questioned our presence on the new ride.
With enough space to stretch out over two seats, I immediately conked out and slept the better portion of the way back to Itaewon where Nate, Stacey (a tag-a-long), and I grabbed dinner at the Wolfhound before making the short subway journey back to Nowon. While my ranch chicken sandwich was delicious, nothing felt better than hoping into a hot shower and watching the remaining mud coming pouring off me.
A few days and a lot of bleach later I got my bathing suit back to a respectable state. As for my shoes, or Sanuks rather, they were easily cleaned up by one shower and a load of wash. Luckily, I was smart enough not to bring any other clothing out to the Fest as it would likely have not made it back or not done so in any sort of wearable condition!
Overall I had a fantastic time at what I must say is without a doubt the most fun event I have participated in thus far in Korea. Heck, I couldn't imagine anything in Korea being as much fun as the atmosphere in Boryeong was simply, well, not Korean. Sure, it probably has a lot to do with the fact that the majority of fest-goers are foreigners, but the overall freedom, fun and festival atmosphere prevailed here unlike I've seen elsewhere in the Hermit Kingdom.
If you're in Korea and you haven't been to Mud Fest, well, you'd be foolish not to go. If you're not in Korea and have considered coming, this is perhaps the only thing that I would really, sincerely say is worth visiting the country for. That is of course, until Jazz Fest incorporates a mud section. Even so, just being muddy at a music festival doesn't come close in comparison to an event where the purpose is really nothing but to, well, get muddy!
Thank you to the people of Boryeong and the festival organizers who for 12 years now have graciously hosted this festival. Without their enduring patience for putting up with a raucous crowd of foreigners, nothing like this would be possible, and with out Mud Fest, who knows what foreigners might get up to during the hot summer months!
Now that the sun has set on the Fest, it's time to start thinking about my departure. . . more on that soon! Thanks for visiting, don't expect too much in the next few weeks as I mentally prepare for the end while tackling the all-day challenge that is Summer Intensive!
Welcome to Mud Fest 2009!(I wish I could say I was brave enough to take my camera but fortunately, I was not! While I at first worried that I might lose the visual experience, soon into Mud Fest we learned that the entire ordeal would be very well documented as hoards of Korean photographers lined the streets and hung out of windows snapping pictures without stopping throughout the day and night. If you're interested in what it really looks like to have tens of thousands of people covered in mud, just search the web. If you want to be bored with an bare-bones account of a one day flyby of the fest, well, then read on. This pic was stolen from another Mud Fest 2009 gallery, thanks!)
An early wake up call was in order for this extraordinary event as our transportation arrangements were completely out of our hands. Months ago, Nate and I signed up for a group trip down to Mud Fest, coordinated by a friend, Christine, who was also kind, and organized, enough to arrange our winter break ski trip. With the success and ease of which we pulled off a weekend ski trip, having to do no more than simply fork over cash and show up, we figured latching on to a group would also prove to be a good idea heading down to Boryeong for the 12th annual Mud Festival.
In early spring I coughed up 65,000 KRW for two way transportation and one night in a room, then promptly forgot all about the event. It wasn't until just a week before the actual event that I got a reminder, via Facebook, that I had been booked to head down for the Fest's first weekend.
Originally I had requested that Nate and I be put on a bus leaving from Seoul as there were numerous pick up spots. The 'group' that we signed up with however was predominately from Suwon, a large city about an hour south of Seoul central. In the end, this meant that we were unable to hop on any other bus and instead had to hightail it down to Suwon, a two hour trek from Nowon, early Saturday morning in order to catch the 10:10am bus. After a barrage of back and forth messages with Christine, I finally got enough information that allowed us to feel (somewhat) comfortable with taking off in the week hours of the morning and hoping that we'd be able to find our group of 20 or so Fest-goers by the strict, 10:00am departure time.
An early morning gimbap snack at GS got me ready to go and Nate and I hoped on the 1142 bus towards Sanggye Station by 6:45am. By seven we were on Line 4 headed south where we would remain for the next 70 or so minutes. Transferring to Line 1 at Geunjeong, it was only another 20 minutes before arriving at Suwon Station. Somehow this journey took about 20 minutes less than my last jaunt to Suwon during which I simply hopped off the train, sold a guitar, then climbed right back on to make the two hour return trip home.
Our 'just to be safe' planning had worked as we came up out of Suwon Station just after 9:00am with plenty of time to spare. Breakfast consisted of snacking between GS25, Smoothie King and a McCafe. Finally, around 9:30am, we went off in search of the Angel in Us Coffee Shop that was designated as the final meeting point. We poked our heads in and sure enough recognized a handful of people whom we had accompanied on our ski trip but didn't quite know well enough to sit down and invade their early morning coffee talk. So, we simply hung around outside getting warmed by the rising sun and waiting for the full Suwon Crew to arrive before marching down the street towards the small police station, our designated pick up area.
Much to our surprise, Nate and I actually recognized, and remembered a handful of those whom we had met only once before full adorned in ski wear. Christine eventually showed up and I again thanked her profusely for not only planning such an ordeal but allowing us to tag along, as that seemed to be our position within this group of primarily public school teachers who work, and play, together throughout the Suwon area.
Everyone squeezed into the big coach and there were just enough seats left over for the three South African women we met outside the station who had missed their earlier bus down to Boryeong. On the bus we met a few of our roommates, six to a room, and I tried, in vain, to get a bit of rest. The rest stop after about two hours seemed unnecessary as we were only about a half 'n hour outside of our destination. Even so, it was nice to get out and stretch in the morning air.
The best part however was watching one of the girls from our group try to do an unsuccessful pull-up on a high bar while an elderly Korean (not so)gentleman laughed hysterically at her weakness. We thus encouraged him to show her how its done and after stamping out his cigarette, he too proved to be unable to pull his little round body up with just his arms. Ha.
Arriving in Boryeong our bus made a number of wide looping circles throughout the area, apparently looking for our hotel that was inaccessible by road, at least to a giant bus. We eventually clamored out and followed Christine who met up with a Rudy character who was actually the mass-organizer for this event of which we composed only a small fraction. While waiting to be directed to hotels, we were approached by a rather jocular man who immediately called us out on being Mud Fest Rookies as we dressed as though we were going to the beach, not to a giant mud pit. He pointed out that his tight pair of boxers printed with the Korean 10,000 won bill, or man-won, was only appropriate as King Sejong would offer him all day protection, just where he needed it.
We were finally pointed towards a hotel and did eventually drop our stuff off in a room after kicking out the couple who had sneakily stepped in front of us in line and signed out the key to our designated room. Apparently, Rudy's enormous planning efforts did not go without issues as at least 16 people were left homeless due to double booking or other shady practices by local hotels. Thankfully, we we didn't have to deal with anything but a cramped, over loaded room. The six of us, which eventually to swelled to eight or so, were meant to share a room that could not have been much bigger than 10'x10'. Sure, it had its own bathroom but did the water come out with more than a trickle? Obviously not!
We quickly changed into swimsuits, loaded our pockets with won, left everything else wrapped up and tucked away, then headed out to the beach. And so began Mud Fest. Overwhelmed by the opportunity to get muddy, Nate and I simply didn't know where to begin! We certainly weren't waiting in line for the Mud Tunnel, Mud Super Slide, Mud Fountain, or Mud Bath. So, the best option seemed to be just push on through the crown collecting mud residue as we were squashed in between mud soaked revelers. We paused at the Color Mud Zone to get a bit of face 'paint,' and then continued on to the beach.
Oh the beach. I have seen pictures of crowded beaches in Asia but was my first time actually seeing one in person. From end to end the sand was literally packed with human beings. Those in the water were limited to only a small blockaded swimming area so the majority of beach goers simply wandered around on the sands. We figured it wasn't quite time for a swim yet so, walking past the Mud Beach Self Massage and Mud Couple Slide, we headed back up towards Mud Main Street where we ran into others from our group.
After a while of standing around hesitantly, people began making the bold move towards the Mud Jail, meant for those who had yet to apply mud to themselves. Here, fest goers waited around in a 'jailed' room waiting until someone gave the word and guards, positioned around the jail, would unleash a fury of flying mud at the prisoners. This was certainly a great way to get muddy and an even better way to get your contact knocked out by flying mud. Luckily, with quick, yet dirty, hands and some innovative cleaning methods, I was able to rescue the contact and get it back in, though not with out a good amount of yelping in pain. It wouldn't be another 15 minutes or so until someone pointed me in the direction of the eye wash station. . .of course!
And if you think is muddy...(Picture courtesy of Jo Kotyuk's Facebook)
At around 6pm, organizers began shutting down the mud. How exactly you 'turn off' the mud on a muddy throng of tens of thousands is beyond me but, eventually, most of the mud was packed up and the streets were cleared. . .of giant inflatable tubs at least. The mud slide too was eventually taken down but not after being bumrushed by a number of eager fest goers who decided that they should be the last ones to ride for the day.
We held out until the last trickle of people made their way towards the beach or back to hotels to clean off. Figuring that a rinse in the ocean would help us later in the shower, we did just that. Even so, none of us could have predicted how drastically a hotel full of muddy revelers could deplete the running water supply. While we did eventually get 'clean,' it was at the cost of turning the bathroom into a complete and utter mud-zone.
Still picking mud from our ears and hair, we dressed and headed out to prepare for the evening's festivities. Namely, a fireworks show. The rain that had persisted throughout the day now began to irk fest goers who had gone through considerable lengths to get 'clean' and 'dry.' So it was no surprise that the corner Lotteria (McDonald's equivalent) turned into a sort of meeting place, social area, bar, and night club. As the first round of explosions lit up the sky, we took off towards the beach but couldn't quite make it through the already densely gathered crowd.
Standing in the open air it was all to obvious that a storm would break out and that it did! As the fireworks exploded over head and music boomed out of the enormous sound system, we ducked under other people's umbrellas and eventually just succumbed to once again being soaking wet. The rain of course stirred up all the mud still lying in the street and while most people were clean from the waist up, the other end of the spectrum didn't make it out so safe.
From the fireworks we were treated to a 'concert' by Korea's all female pop group, Girls Generation followed by a giant techno/dance party. Here we enjoyed jumping and screaming to hilarious remixes of K-pop and old American favorites while praying that the brave crowd surfers would make it back to land on their feet, rather than heads as people didn't seem to keen about keeping them up in the air!
Following the dance party we picked up a number of yo-yo's from the various carnival games lining Main Street. With yo-yo's in hand we wandered the streets aimlessly looking for something, anything to do. At this point we were also searching desperately for Steve whom both Nate and I had found then lost track of in the later afternoon.
After yet hours more of cavorting, people eventually began to filter back to the rooms where the activities were far from over. When sharing a room with a half dozen people, it's not always easy to get to bed at a reasonable hour and this occasion was no different. While we did finally make it down, the thin blankets we were given, not at all like the thick, cushioned yeo's we were promised, did little to protect our tired bodies from the hard floor.
Sunday morning, those that rose early enough were treated to a torrential monsoon that pelted the town of Boryeong, preventing the majority of the Mud Fest inflatables to reach their full potential and forcing life guards to make a human chain along the beach, preventing anyone from daring to enter the menacing surf.
When we eventually roused, we followed others to a much welcomed breakfast buffet at a near by hotel where I ate my fill of eggs, toast, breakfast meat, coffee, OJ, cereal and corn topped pizza. Well, I tried a bite of the pizza at least!
We waited out the storm in the hotel lobby before our 4:00pm meeting time rolled around and we charged through the wind and the rain to the waiting buses. As we clamored on to the Suwon bus, hardly looking forward to a three hour return bus trip followed by a two hour subway ride, I over heard people talking about an Itaewon bus with ample space on it. After only a minute of hesitation, Nate and I dove out of the Suwon bus and onto the Itaewon one, headed towards Seoul. No clue who or how these buses were paid for but we're assuming that they were all apart of our larger, Rudy organized, group as no one questioned our presence on the new ride.
With enough space to stretch out over two seats, I immediately conked out and slept the better portion of the way back to Itaewon where Nate, Stacey (a tag-a-long), and I grabbed dinner at the Wolfhound before making the short subway journey back to Nowon. While my ranch chicken sandwich was delicious, nothing felt better than hoping into a hot shower and watching the remaining mud coming pouring off me.
A few days and a lot of bleach later I got my bathing suit back to a respectable state. As for my shoes, or Sanuks rather, they were easily cleaned up by one shower and a load of wash. Luckily, I was smart enough not to bring any other clothing out to the Fest as it would likely have not made it back or not done so in any sort of wearable condition!
Overall I had a fantastic time at what I must say is without a doubt the most fun event I have participated in thus far in Korea. Heck, I couldn't imagine anything in Korea being as much fun as the atmosphere in Boryeong was simply, well, not Korean. Sure, it probably has a lot to do with the fact that the majority of fest-goers are foreigners, but the overall freedom, fun and festival atmosphere prevailed here unlike I've seen elsewhere in the Hermit Kingdom.
If you're in Korea and you haven't been to Mud Fest, well, you'd be foolish not to go. If you're not in Korea and have considered coming, this is perhaps the only thing that I would really, sincerely say is worth visiting the country for. That is of course, until Jazz Fest incorporates a mud section. Even so, just being muddy at a music festival doesn't come close in comparison to an event where the purpose is really nothing but to, well, get muddy!
Thank you to the people of Boryeong and the festival organizers who for 12 years now have graciously hosted this festival. Without their enduring patience for putting up with a raucous crowd of foreigners, nothing like this would be possible, and with out Mud Fest, who knows what foreigners might get up to during the hot summer months!
Now that the sun has set on the Fest, it's time to start thinking about my departure. . . more on that soon! Thanks for visiting, don't expect too much in the next few weeks as I mentally prepare for the end while tackling the all-day challenge that is Summer Intensive!
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Happy 4th!
A belated Happy Fourth of July from here in South Korea!
Friday evening Nate and I crashed at Steve's in order to get a good jump on on our Saturday, not entirely sure what we had in mind. Waking up and heading out for breakfast, I suggested we take everything we'd need for the day as it's a rarity for us to venture out and then return without first going through some overextended adventure. Which, as you might have guessed, is exactly what we did!
From Steve's place in Cheonho, we first stopped off at Paris Baguette to fill our bellies and then topped off with liquid fuel at a rather impressive coffee shop just a few blocks from his 'home.' Leaving our second 'meal' of the day, the sounds of video games lured us in to an arcade just across the street where we spent a good half hour and all the change in our pockets. Then, it was back to the road.
With no particular destination we simply wandered left and right, picking one alley over another for no real reason. Eventually we found a road sign pointing us towards and English Village. This sounded like as good of a destination as any and we took off towards it. It was a let down to find that our destination was no more than a giant brick school, but a beautiful one at that. We did however notice in the distance one of the numerous bridges spanning the Han River, which meant we couldn't be too far from its shores. Thus, we had our next destination in mind!
We had talked earlier that week about spending the Fourth in Itaewon as if anywhere were to host festivities it would certainly be this foreigner haven set aside a US Military base. So, as we walked, I jokingly suggested simply pegging the 'Twon as our final destination and humping it all the way there. . . I'm still not sure why suggestions like this, and climbing two mountains, are ever given serious consideration!
After an hour or so we made it to the Han where we were all rather impressed at it's size. While it does a great job of cutting the city in half, it does little to support the metropolis that it runs through. As you can tell from the design of the bridge below, the river hosts almost no traffic other than a few water taxis, dinner cruises and brave windsurfers. Having spent the past four years along the banks of the Mighty Miss, it's quite surprising to see a total absence of giant barges cruising up and down at all times. Though, someone once explained to me that the Han's delta dumps out way too close to North Korea for comfort and there fore this impressive waterway is totally unused as a shipping route. What a shame!
From Steve's place in Cheonho, we first stopped off at Paris Baguette to fill our bellies and then topped off with liquid fuel at a rather impressive coffee shop just a few blocks from his 'home.' Leaving our second 'meal' of the day, the sounds of video games lured us in to an arcade just across the street where we spent a good half hour and all the change in our pockets. Then, it was back to the road.
With no particular destination we simply wandered left and right, picking one alley over another for no real reason. Eventually we found a road sign pointing us towards and English Village. This sounded like as good of a destination as any and we took off towards it. It was a let down to find that our destination was no more than a giant brick school, but a beautiful one at that. We did however notice in the distance one of the numerous bridges spanning the Han River, which meant we couldn't be too far from its shores. Thus, we had our next destination in mind!
We had talked earlier that week about spending the Fourth in Itaewon as if anywhere were to host festivities it would certainly be this foreigner haven set aside a US Military base. So, as we walked, I jokingly suggested simply pegging the 'Twon as our final destination and humping it all the way there. . . I'm still not sure why suggestions like this, and climbing two mountains, are ever given serious consideration!
After an hour or so we made it to the Han where we were all rather impressed at it's size. While it does a great job of cutting the city in half, it does little to support the metropolis that it runs through. As you can tell from the design of the bridge below, the river hosts almost no traffic other than a few water taxis, dinner cruises and brave windsurfers. Having spent the past four years along the banks of the Mighty Miss, it's quite surprising to see a total absence of giant barges cruising up and down at all times. Though, someone once explained to me that the Han's delta dumps out way too close to North Korea for comfort and there fore this impressive waterway is totally unused as a shipping route. What a shame!
Troubled WaterFollowing the river, we first headed south and then eventually turned east where we got our first glimpse of the city center and Namsan Tower high up above. Again, with no real destination in mind, we simply continued wandering enjoying the sights, sounds and, ew, smells of the Han. Walking along the river trail we had to make sure to stay single file as we shared the path with a number of pretty serious bikers. There wasn't a whole lot of room for two bikes to pass safely with us on the side and to be honest, I don't trust the majority of Korea's weekend warriors to handle much of anything that requires great control. By the end of the day we had witnessed two pretty serious crashes. The first was a female hiker who got flattened by a gas powered remote control car and the second was by a biker, who looked like he could've taken on Lance, simply lose control and flip over on flat ground. Sticking close to the guard rail was the least we could do!
Line 7 Across the HanOn and on we wandered, stopping only once or twice at riverside convenience store installations. We did at one point look into taking a ferry from Jamsil to the island of Yeoido but decided the 13,000 krw one way ticket wasn't worth passing up our beautiful walk. So we pushed onwards. This time we were at least smart enough to load up on water whenever we had the chance! It also helped that we stuck to (relatively) flat ground!
A fellow walkerWhile the Han's landscape was rather unchanging, the man made structures that spanned it are quite impressive, especially from the other side. I can't imagine the load that these bridges bear each day but they seem to be doing the job! I once heard that a dozen or so years ago there was only one bridge crossing the Han while today there are dozens, all of which are used. Go ahead and look up exact statistics if you're really interested but otherwise, just think about what that means in terms of this city's amazing rate of growth and expansion! Seoul makes LA or Atlanta look like quaint college towns in comparison.
Man Made MarvelsAs the sun began to fall on the other side of our face, we noticed Namsan tower growing closer and closer. Though we had once discussed heading up towards the street and hoping on a bus, we now seemed to close to give up our once impossible goal of hiking all the way to Itaewon. After a final prolonged stop at a 7/11 on wheels, we got up and made the final push upwards towards a bridge that we hoped would allow us to cross the Han on foot.
Namsan tower at duskA few flights of stairs later and we were on top of a busy bridge that hosted an eight lane highway. At first glace, it appeared as though we would have to hop on a bus to get across. We then noticed a small pedestrian pathway along the edge that required us first to hop across a lane of oncoming traffic. Don't worry, there was a zebra crossing but I'm sure the majority of cars flying up the on ramp aren't looking for or expecting pedestrians. Whether it was good luck or bold actions, we all made it in once piece! Our closest call however came as I was lining up the picture below and a giant cement truck went barreling past us. The small outlook that we were standing on shook so violently as to elicit a yelp of terror from the three of us. Nate's is caught on film below!
Preparing to be shaken off the bridge!Once safely on the north side of the river, a short, but uphill hike landed us right at the edge of Itaewon! It didn't take us long to decide on dinner at Nashville, an American style pub with rooftop seating. We were lucky enough to grab one of the last tables open on the roof and immediately placed an order for three chili cheese burgers and a basket of fries! Hey, it's the Fourth of July right!
An American Feast!We plowed through our burgers and hung out just long enough to talk to some soldiers and hear the fireworks blasting over the Yongsan base. I say hear because even though we had roof top seats, the fireworks, which Nate accurately predicted, were lined up directly across from a giant rooftop ventilation system that we could only just barely see through. So excuse the lack of pictures but I'm guess you saw a better show than we did!
All-AmericanFrom Nashville we headed to the next best place we could, Woodstock, known (to us at least) as a soldier's hangout. We were disappointed that Beef and Penetrators, an all servicemen band, wasn't playing but we had fun listening to the terrible house music and making some of our own. Heck, we even had a chance to bang around ourselves as we rang in the fifth of July. . .
Rocking out at Woodstock!No, we didn't make it up any mountains and unlike a few people we saw, we didn't go for a dip in the Han. Even so, we made it a good 15 km at least on foot from the city's eastern edge to it's vibrant heart. Just another Saturday in the life of some wandering FT's! Next weekend it looks like it's off to Mud Fest but, then again, who really knows. . . Thanks for stopping by!
Sunday, June 28, 2009
A Real Twofer!
This weekend Nate and I decided that Steve was long over due for his first hike in Korea, having yet to experience the colorful eccentricity of Seoul's weekend warriors. We also decided, with some prodding from Steve, that the best way to prepare for our Saturday hike would be to load up on some nice lean protein. Thus, Friday night, accompanied by Debbie, a friend of ours who is well known to Junggye foreign teachers as the 'the Bagel Lady,' we headed out to the local Japanese restaurant to settle into a sumptuous meal of all you can eat tuna sashimi. . .
Dinnertime!
We were greeted upon arrival by the friendly proprietor and the always amicable chef who quickly recognized Nate and I from the few previous times we have visited. As ordering is always somewhat of a problem for us, it sure was nice to have Debbie along as she can rattle off both Korean and Japanese with ease. A definite bonus when dining at a Japanese restaurant in Korea.
As always, dinner was delicious. The meal begins with a small bowl of miso soup accompanied by a warm tuna chowder that reminds me of a creamy Campbell's soup. The table begins to grow cluttered as a plate of kimchi, unfamiliar when white in color, is brought to the table along with a giant steamed radish that resembled a roasted sweet potato more than anything. As an added bonus, for we haven't ever had this dish before, the chef graciously offered us a steaming bowl of tuna heads. Not wanting to turn anything down I tried to dig in and find something edible but my efforts were simply in vain. I wasn't able to scrounge any meat out of this fishy dish but I was able to identify a jawbone at least.
Just when we started to grow anxious, out came the long awaited main course. A beautiful panoply of fresh, raw, tuna. Always wanting to please, the chef, or perhaps surgeon is a more appropriate word, offered us each a piece of fish that stood out from the others due to its thick and incredibly dark, almost black, meat. He identified this as the cheek of the tuna and insisted that we start our meal off on the right foot by consuming this delicacy first. Mmmm mmmm!
While we were munching our way through the sashimi plate, more food continued to arrive at our already over crowded table. A plate of a creamed corn was placed between Nate and I while Debbie and Steve were graced with a circular chunk of smoked tuna tail. While the corn dish was somewhat familiar, the tuna tail is a rather unique yet utterly delectable treat!
Just when we had thought that we couldn't handle any more food either on our table or in our stomachs, Dr. Chef decided to regale us with a plate of salmon and whitefish sushi. We easily made room for this new arrival by ditching the soup cups and red radish that no one seemed to be picking at. This latest dish was accompanied by a heaping mound of freshly ground wasabi as our conversation had only just before turned to the lackluster green lump that was first served with the sashimi. Now we had the real stuff to deal with and boy, did it do the trick!
The man of the hour!
As we began closing in on the last few pieces of fish, I noticed MacChefinstein retreat behind the counter where his hands appeared to be moving at a feverish rate. Even so, his austere deportment would never hint at him doing any sort of frantic work. Again, leaning back in contentment was the only signal he needed to barrage us with more epicurean goodies. This time around we were treated to the cream of the crop as the newest arrivals literally shone above all the others. This final plate of prime tuna cuts (as recognized by its tenderness and darker color) was centered around a florid arrangement of our favorite fish and decorated with none other than gold flakes. A truly sybaritic display! Despite having long passed the point of satisfaction, I eagerly dove in to this unique treat, not of course before snapping a few pictures to share with the likes of you, dear reader!
Le Golden Tuna!
While I presumed that this wonderful display would certainly be our last course, I had obviously forgotten about the exotic bowl of tuna entrails served as desert. Without alerting Steve to the identity of these peculiar looking nibblets, he bravely dug in. I too gave the intestines a shot, although this time I steered clear of the little sacs that pop saltwater into your mouth when you bit down on them. This is the second time we have tried to identify them and still have not been able to. Steve, good for him, was actually able to manage to get one down the hatch. A feat that neither Mr. Kochanski nor I were able to accomplish. Hilarity ensued however when were then informed that they are not meant to be consumed but rather just popped and then spit back out. Oops, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. . .right!?
To top off our bowl of entrails were each given a shot of a clear yet extremely viscous liquid. While Debbie refused hers, I tried to do the same but to no avail. Eventually, Nate, Steve and I tipped back, and managed to keep down this 'juice' from the inside of a tuna's eyeball. Mmmm, you haven't lived till you've drank eye juice!
The rest of the fish. . .
At that point we decided it best to clear out before were were bombarded with any more parts of the fish that we weren't quite ready to deal with. We packed up and split the meal, going Dutch, to the surprise, and relief of our Korean accompaniment, Debbie. This is because if we were dining traditionally, as the oldest, and the only Korean of the bunch, she would essentially be bound by social prescription to picking up the tab. Good things we're all nice guys!
After dinner it was off to Culture Street to try and unwind and walk off a bit of our overstuffing. Even so, by the time we arrived, most everything was winding down and thus we headed back home. Not before having to deal with a gang of rowdy foreigners whom we seem prone to run into whenever swinging through Nowon. We managed to make it in to bed just before the sun rose (over the high rises at least), still planning on setting out early in to the mountains. Luckily, having woken up early all week, I was still able to roll out of bed before noon at which point we began dressing for the day's adventures on the mountain. Oh, and what an adventure it would turn out to be!
It can't be bedtime yet!
Dinnertime!We were greeted upon arrival by the friendly proprietor and the always amicable chef who quickly recognized Nate and I from the few previous times we have visited. As ordering is always somewhat of a problem for us, it sure was nice to have Debbie along as she can rattle off both Korean and Japanese with ease. A definite bonus when dining at a Japanese restaurant in Korea.
As always, dinner was delicious. The meal begins with a small bowl of miso soup accompanied by a warm tuna chowder that reminds me of a creamy Campbell's soup. The table begins to grow cluttered as a plate of kimchi, unfamiliar when white in color, is brought to the table along with a giant steamed radish that resembled a roasted sweet potato more than anything. As an added bonus, for we haven't ever had this dish before, the chef graciously offered us a steaming bowl of tuna heads. Not wanting to turn anything down I tried to dig in and find something edible but my efforts were simply in vain. I wasn't able to scrounge any meat out of this fishy dish but I was able to identify a jawbone at least.
Just when we started to grow anxious, out came the long awaited main course. A beautiful panoply of fresh, raw, tuna. Always wanting to please, the chef, or perhaps surgeon is a more appropriate word, offered us each a piece of fish that stood out from the others due to its thick and incredibly dark, almost black, meat. He identified this as the cheek of the tuna and insisted that we start our meal off on the right foot by consuming this delicacy first. Mmmm mmmm!
While we were munching our way through the sashimi plate, more food continued to arrive at our already over crowded table. A plate of a creamed corn was placed between Nate and I while Debbie and Steve were graced with a circular chunk of smoked tuna tail. While the corn dish was somewhat familiar, the tuna tail is a rather unique yet utterly delectable treat!
Just when we had thought that we couldn't handle any more food either on our table or in our stomachs, Dr. Chef decided to regale us with a plate of salmon and whitefish sushi. We easily made room for this new arrival by ditching the soup cups and red radish that no one seemed to be picking at. This latest dish was accompanied by a heaping mound of freshly ground wasabi as our conversation had only just before turned to the lackluster green lump that was first served with the sashimi. Now we had the real stuff to deal with and boy, did it do the trick!
The man of the hour!As we began closing in on the last few pieces of fish, I noticed MacChefinstein retreat behind the counter where his hands appeared to be moving at a feverish rate. Even so, his austere deportment would never hint at him doing any sort of frantic work. Again, leaning back in contentment was the only signal he needed to barrage us with more epicurean goodies. This time around we were treated to the cream of the crop as the newest arrivals literally shone above all the others. This final plate of prime tuna cuts (as recognized by its tenderness and darker color) was centered around a florid arrangement of our favorite fish and decorated with none other than gold flakes. A truly sybaritic display! Despite having long passed the point of satisfaction, I eagerly dove in to this unique treat, not of course before snapping a few pictures to share with the likes of you, dear reader!
Le Golden Tuna!While I presumed that this wonderful display would certainly be our last course, I had obviously forgotten about the exotic bowl of tuna entrails served as desert. Without alerting Steve to the identity of these peculiar looking nibblets, he bravely dug in. I too gave the intestines a shot, although this time I steered clear of the little sacs that pop saltwater into your mouth when you bit down on them. This is the second time we have tried to identify them and still have not been able to. Steve, good for him, was actually able to manage to get one down the hatch. A feat that neither Mr. Kochanski nor I were able to accomplish. Hilarity ensued however when were then informed that they are not meant to be consumed but rather just popped and then spit back out. Oops, what doesn't kill you only makes you stronger. . .right!?
To top off our bowl of entrails were each given a shot of a clear yet extremely viscous liquid. While Debbie refused hers, I tried to do the same but to no avail. Eventually, Nate, Steve and I tipped back, and managed to keep down this 'juice' from the inside of a tuna's eyeball. Mmmm, you haven't lived till you've drank eye juice!
The rest of the fish. . .At that point we decided it best to clear out before were were bombarded with any more parts of the fish that we weren't quite ready to deal with. We packed up and split the meal, going Dutch, to the surprise, and relief of our Korean accompaniment, Debbie. This is because if we were dining traditionally, as the oldest, and the only Korean of the bunch, she would essentially be bound by social prescription to picking up the tab. Good things we're all nice guys!
After dinner it was off to Culture Street to try and unwind and walk off a bit of our overstuffing. Even so, by the time we arrived, most everything was winding down and thus we headed back home. Not before having to deal with a gang of rowdy foreigners whom we seem prone to run into whenever swinging through Nowon. We managed to make it in to bed just before the sun rose (over the high rises at least), still planning on setting out early in to the mountains. Luckily, having woken up early all week, I was still able to roll out of bed before noon at which point we began dressing for the day's adventures on the mountain. Oh, and what an adventure it would turn out to be!
It can't be bedtime yet!Although I earlier sent Steve a message suggesting he bring adequate climbing footwear up to Junggye, he somehow overlooked this presage and turned up with only a pair of black dress shoes. Whether on purpose or not, I refused to let this slight setback get in the way of our day on the hill and was quick to lend him my tennies that we were able to get snug enough with a thick pair of SmartWool hikers. I found it slightly humorous that between the two of us, both donning my shoes, Steve got the much better fit as I still haven't found a way to shrink my size 11 hikers down to the 10 they should be! Oops, as I've sworn, no more ordering shoes online!
We met Nate downstairs and headed off towards the base of Bulamsan where we began to discuss strategy. My initial plan had been to conquer Suraksan, a local peak that is adjacent to Bulamsan that neither Nate nor I had yet ventured up. From our eighth story perch atop DYB, Mt. Surak appeared to be no more than a short jaunt from the base of Bulam and thus totally accessible by foot. We decided to head up the foot of Bulam at our primary point of entry and then make a sort of traverse over to Surak where we would eventually top out at the peak, 637m above.
Ready to Go!
Only a short way into our hike, we paused to take a look at a posted map of the twin peaks. It was then that we realized we had quite a ways to go before even reaching Surak proper as the simple traverse we had imagined actually required us getting up almost to the top of Bulam before following the only horizontal path northwest towards our desired peak. It was here where we began contemplating our different options. Sure, the trek looked manageable but it would certainly be a round about route and far from an easy, direct shot.
Our only other options however were returning to street level and either walking a mile or so through Junggyedong to Sanggyedong or simply catching a cab. The later sounded appealing though as I pointed out, we had no clue where we wanted to go other than 'Suraksan' which seemed like somewhat of a ridiculous request to make to a taxi driver, especially as we could see the mountain from where we stood, not to mention being underdressed and undersupplied for the occasion. The later observation here would later come back to bite us in our weary butts!
Deciding that we didn't want to risk the embarrassment of returning to the street, we figured we had set out early enough where a long trek would be totally manageable before sundown. As we would soon learn, timing was far from our biggest problem. Though none of us took the time to thoroughly map out our route, we had a good enough idea of what we had to do and that was go up, way up, then hang a left. While making our way up a nice paved path (where was this the last time we were forced to try scrambling up an unmanageable face?), Nate began to entertain the idea of simply climbing Bulamsan again. I negated this suggestion pointing to the fact that we've done it a decent number of times (three for me, four for Nate, one for Lars!) and that I had been planning on getting Surak out of the way all week.
As soon as I had shot the idea down, Nate quickly defended himself by clarifying that he didn't mean we should climb only Bulam but rather summit there first and then follow the high ridgeline we saw on the map all the way over to Surak. The idea of climbing two mountains in one afternoon sounded both enticing and absurd but it gained momentum with me when Nate officially designated the feat as our first 'twofer.' While I'm sure he'd love to claim responsibility for penning such catchy nomenclature, this honor is unfortunately reserved for the renowned American mountaineer, Ed Viesturs, whose book Nate had recently finished and even more recently lent to me (thanks!). Even so, with the auspicious use of a 'cool' mountaineering term, how could either Steve or I turn down the idea. We soon agreed, Steve grunting in acknowledgement of us making a decision more than recognizing the plan, and continued upward, saving our traverse for once we had already topped out on Bulam.
Mountain Flora
Setting out at noon on what was likely the hottest day of summer yet didn't do much for our comfort factor on the mountain. Though the better part of the lower path is shaded by tree growth, this also blocks any and all breeze from the trail which left us hiking through a virtual sauna. The humidity, which was easily around 90%, didn't help either! Only a few hundred meters in to the climb we had all thoroughly soaked through our shirts and I could feel the sweat from my back pooling at the bottom of my cute little bright orange DYB backpack. It certainly didn't help that both Nate and Steve were stuck in cotton t-shirts, widely regarded in both camping and traveling circles as 'death fabric' for its ability to absorb then retain water, adding weight and tempting hypothermia. Nate at least had the excuse of losing his only water wicking t-shirt on the DYB 'camping trip' while Steve was stuck in his undershirt from the night before. Sure, in retrospect I could have lent him a lightweight soccer jersey but you just don't think about that type of stuff at ten in the morning now do ya?!
My Ridiculously Good Looking Climbing Gear!
Taking yet a different route up the mountain (we've yet to ever go the same way twice), we were relieved to eventually come to a long set of wooden stairs. Though neither Nate nor I had ever climbed them, we both immediately recognized it as a sort of shortcut (despite what Viesturs says) to the top. As we predicted, only a few minutes later we shot out just under the giant boulders that mark the beginning of the final push up Bulamsan. This staired route had circumvented the first mini peak that we normally have to climb up and over in order to get to Bulamsan proper. In doing so, we had managed to save a heap of time and climbing but also missed the first rest area meaning we were still without water an hour in to our climb. As dehydrated as the three of us already were, we managed to push forward enthusiastically, knowing that just at the foot of the boulders there would be another small tent to grab a drink. Luckily, we were correct.
We stopped to have a drink in the shade and as we each downed a bottle or more of water I saw the misgiving in Steve's eyes slowly fade away. While we had promised him that there was in fact water on the mountain, neither of us had revealed that it was only available just under the summit. Oops, our fault!
Hauling Himself
Turning to tackle the final few hundred meters, we were reminded of the massive makeover that had been taking place last time we were on the mountain when Laura visited. Back in early May, we were surprised to see the skeleton of a stairway leading up towards the summit of our local peak. By late June, this skeleton had materialized into a full blown cakewalk right up to the last five meters of mountain. Not willing to give in to this newfangled climbing assistant, Nate led us up and over our usual route which involved clambering under the stairway where others easily cruised on ahead. Though the squeeze was tight, all three of us managed to get up to the top without having to use the unsightly stairway. (We wrote off the one we used earlier on in our climb as it was a new route for us and seemingly the only way up from that point.)
Bulamsan? No Problem!
Summit Team 1
It only took a quick glance to the north for my doubts to reemerge about pulling off a 'twofer.' Though due more to haze than distance, the top of Suraksan, a half mile or so away, loomed impending, daring us to go through with our somewhat reckless plan. We stayed on Bulam only long enough to snap a couple of pictures before my cotton soaked partners began to get a bit chilly. . .silly boys! In order to celebrate our first victory, we headed off the north side of the mountain towards Checkpoint Charlie where we refueled a bit on anchovies and garlic shoots while introducing Steve to the mountain tradition of a good ole' makgeolli stop.
After catching our breath and wetting our lips, we headed out a new path towards the back of our usual stop. Leaving Bulam at 508m, our hope was to find a direct line to Surak along a ridge that stayed high enough for us to avoid having to completely reclimb the mountain to Surak's peak, only a 130m above where we set off from. It didn't take long for us to realize that we were headed downhill and there was nothing we could do about it.
Scrambling Down
Even so, the trail running along the ridgeline offered some spectacular views, or at least, would have if the air wasn't so filled with whatever the heck it's filled with. (I've heard Koreans refer to this as 'cloudy' which would be about as silly as calling a smoky bar room 'foggy.') It was time to put on the sunnies as the trees has been almost entirely cleared along this long narrow path. Coming up through a lush green forest, it was strange to see this dry barren landscape that seemed to have been intentionally made as Steve pointed out a number of the trees looked as if they had been sawed down. There was no development apparent and even less of a reason that one would consider such an absurd idea. This left the three of us pondering who would have possibly undertaken such a destructive, and seemingly futile task.
Just Foolin'
Down we went and before long, both Bulam and Surak has disappeared from our sights as we were once again surrounded by dense forest. Not long after retreating under the trees, we began to hear the noise of a busy road below us. This is never a good sign when one is hoping to stay high on a mountain trail!
We shot out of the forest at a bridge that overlooked the entrance to a Korean military base. Well, that helps explain the numerous bunkers we ran into along the way. While Nate and I have both had our fill of playing around in these, it was Steve's turn to jump in and pretend to shoot at invaders with a broken stick. If only we had such fortifications to play with in Whitehills Woods!
While crossing the deteriorating bridge above a narrow two lane highway, Nate noted a sign pointing southwards that read 'Seoul.' Off to our right another marker welcomed drivers to Gyeongi Province. True to the markings on the map, we were officially straddling the line between Seoul and, well, not-Seoul.
On the other side of the bridge, we were greeted by a high fence covered in barbed wire and pocketed with dozens of painted stones. These stones, as we know from a visit to the DMZ, are used as signifiers, alerting patrols to tampering or potential weak spots in the barriers. Also attached to this long, seemingly never ending fence, were a number of small black pop cans that were wired to the inside of the fence. Despite studying these as we walked, I couldn't figure out what purpose they served. Take a look at the picture, any ideas?!
Fenced In
The path wound on forever, and we made pretty good time as the grade was nothing too intense. While this was comforting at the time, it continued to resonate with me that whatever vertical we didn't climb now, we'd only have to tackle later when we were certain to be much more exhausted then we already were. Bunkers, trenches and guardposts continued dot our path as the border to the military base seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Eventually we passed through an open door in a barbed wire fence, Nate going first to check for enemy fire, after which the fortifications ceased.
By this point we had long since drained the last of our water from Bulam and were again hankering for a drink. Our rests became more numerous as Nate would lunge ahead only to stop and catch a breath while I tried to maintain a relatively even pace and keep Steve in sights as he struggled upwards, cursing us for leading him on such a grueling initiatory expedition sans supplies.
Bulam in the background. . .
Our second climb of the day seemed endless yet I vowed to keep an indefatigable mindset, despite my body telling me otherwise. When he could catch his breath, Steve would scathe us for promising water en route when clearly there was none. This seemed odd to both Nate and I as the refueling stations are somewhat numerous on Bulamsan. Even so, we chalked it up to the backdoor route we were taking and continued to promise that there would be respite ahead.
Every few hundred yards a turn off invited us to stop and enjoy a beautiful view looking south out over Nowongu and Bulamsan. However, after pausing at the first of these reststops, none of us again showed interest in sightseeing as we were focused on much more tangible goals, like water.
Looking out towards Bulamsan
I have no idea how long it took for us to get anywhere but it wasn't quick and when we got wherever we were going, we were still far from where we wanted to be. Along the way we passed over the top of two misleading peaks that hinted at being the end of our journey. Lucky for us, these weren't our final destination as neither offered anything to drink.
Eventually, we began to pass people on the path going the opposite way. This was a much needed sign of relief as we had been climbing for hours without seeing, well, anybody for the most part. Only a few couples perched on rocks who seemed to be enjoying the snacks that they intelligently toted with themselves up the mountain.
In passing one of these groups I grew excited, pointing out to Nate that one of the hikers was munching on an empty popsicle stick. Willing to bet that they hadn't climbed the mountain carrying this little piece of wood, it seemed to presage an impending ice cream vendor. Indeed, only a few minutes later we passed another troupe, this time carrying full popsicles that still were covered in frost. I leaped into the air and let out a great 'Asa!' bolting forward to the cheery vendor who stood alongside a wooded path with nothing other than a giant backpack-box or popsicles and a couple empty bottles of makgeolli.
Although it wasn't water, a melon popsicle goes a long way when you're almost entirely dehydrated and hiking on an empty stomach. Oh yeah, we might've forgotten to eat anything before taking off in the morning but, at the time, still weighed down with tuna, it didn't seem to be a big deal. Bad decision number two.
A Rocky Road
Devouring our popsicles we hastened our pace knowing that the summit must be near. We eventually did catch sight of two looming peaks though Nate ominously commented that he hoped it wasn't the second one we were aiming for. A little ways onward we were again excited to find a large group of people scattered about amongst a number of makgeolli bottles. Usually this indicates a rest area with water but unfortunately, as we soon found out, they offered only this sweet rice wine. Nevertheless, liquid is liquid when you've stop sweating in 90 degree heat because you've literally fun out of fluid! So, we quickly pounded down a bottle between the three of us, not even bothering to dig into the mandatory side dishes. A nearby climber apparently noted our lack of snacking and came over to offer some fresh fruit he had cut up in his bag. Mmmm, this was a welcome treat that, although delicious, did little to satisfy my cravings.
We didn't linger long at this stop either and pushed upwards through ever more rocky terrain. At one point, we made a short traverse around a flat sloping rock upon which we could see a waving flag. To us, this flag symbolized the eminent summit yet, once round the corner, we found a sign pointing us yet further along the trail. Just as Nate has guessed, we were headed for the second peak.
Putting in a long, long first day!
Finally we came to the base of a few enormous rock slabs on which happy parties were making a haphazard descent, obviously excited to be heading down from the top. Scrambling up this final face I was elated to find a snack stand in the most unlikely of places, at the very summit of Mt. Surak. I ordered up a pair of waters for Nate and I just as he came in to view. We held off on getting Steve one so as not to let it warm up before he arrived, which yes, he did eventually do only a minute or so behind. After putting down two waters and two Pocari Sweats he admitted that not turning around, as he had earlier proposed to do, was the better decision. Although it might have seemed selfish to push him onwards, both Nate and I realized that the closest water, which is what we all dearly needed, was definitely upwards, and not down into some random gully.
At 637m on Suraksan Summit! Number two for the day!
After rehydrating as best as our tightened stomachs would allow, we all agreed that it was well past time to get the heck outta the woods and on to solid ground. With no real idea where we were or how to get out we did what any desperately tired hikers would do, headed down! We eventually came to a sign pointing towards Nowon-Gol, which, to us, sounded good enough. No clue how long it took us to get down but it was a mere fraction of the time we spent covering the same distance on pitched, or even flat ground as we literally bounded down the mountain, Nate at the lead.
Exhausted
Only a few wrong turns later we found ourselves at the bottom of Nowon Gully (which must be what Gol means in Korean, only a guess here). At this small rest area we were able to fill our empty bottles with 'fresh' spring water pouring from a mountainside tap. No clue as to the true hazard of drinking this stuff but a good number of the locals do and usually that's a pretty safe bet. None of us are sick, yet!
We shot out of the mountain and celebrated our safe arrival on solid ground by parking our butts in the nearest chairs we could find, just outside a local store which was obviously converted to a hikers hangout on the weekends. It didn't take long before we were approached by the drunk old men at the neighboring table who insisted on buying us makgeolli and then snacks, seeing that we didn't have any dried fish on our table. A total faux pax in the world of Korean drinking.
Nate was attacked by this larger than life moth which our friendly neighbor informed us is an 'intoxicating' species. Whether he meant poisonous or exhilarating, we'll likely never know!
Walking through Nowon Gol I was excited to see a number of mountaineering stores, just the place I've been looking to stop in on to research backpacks for my imminent journey throughout SEAsia. I'll let you know how the search goes!
As the sun began heading for the horizon we decided it was well past time to get on back to Doota, change out of our disgusting clothes and head out to a big ole' BBQ dinner. Which, is exactly what we did!
Tan, or dirt. . .take a guess
While they might not be the biggest mountains in Korea, or even Seoul for that matter, we did manage to pull of Nate's audacious suggestion of summiting two peaks in one day. Sure, it's a far cry from 'climbing the world's 14 highest peaks,' but when's the last time you pulled off a real twofer!
Alone at the top. . .
We met Nate downstairs and headed off towards the base of Bulamsan where we began to discuss strategy. My initial plan had been to conquer Suraksan, a local peak that is adjacent to Bulamsan that neither Nate nor I had yet ventured up. From our eighth story perch atop DYB, Mt. Surak appeared to be no more than a short jaunt from the base of Bulam and thus totally accessible by foot. We decided to head up the foot of Bulam at our primary point of entry and then make a sort of traverse over to Surak where we would eventually top out at the peak, 637m above.
Ready to Go!Only a short way into our hike, we paused to take a look at a posted map of the twin peaks. It was then that we realized we had quite a ways to go before even reaching Surak proper as the simple traverse we had imagined actually required us getting up almost to the top of Bulam before following the only horizontal path northwest towards our desired peak. It was here where we began contemplating our different options. Sure, the trek looked manageable but it would certainly be a round about route and far from an easy, direct shot.
Our only other options however were returning to street level and either walking a mile or so through Junggyedong to Sanggyedong or simply catching a cab. The later sounded appealing though as I pointed out, we had no clue where we wanted to go other than 'Suraksan' which seemed like somewhat of a ridiculous request to make to a taxi driver, especially as we could see the mountain from where we stood, not to mention being underdressed and undersupplied for the occasion. The later observation here would later come back to bite us in our weary butts!
Deciding that we didn't want to risk the embarrassment of returning to the street, we figured we had set out early enough where a long trek would be totally manageable before sundown. As we would soon learn, timing was far from our biggest problem. Though none of us took the time to thoroughly map out our route, we had a good enough idea of what we had to do and that was go up, way up, then hang a left. While making our way up a nice paved path (where was this the last time we were forced to try scrambling up an unmanageable face?), Nate began to entertain the idea of simply climbing Bulamsan again. I negated this suggestion pointing to the fact that we've done it a decent number of times (three for me, four for Nate, one for Lars!) and that I had been planning on getting Surak out of the way all week.
As soon as I had shot the idea down, Nate quickly defended himself by clarifying that he didn't mean we should climb only Bulam but rather summit there first and then follow the high ridgeline we saw on the map all the way over to Surak. The idea of climbing two mountains in one afternoon sounded both enticing and absurd but it gained momentum with me when Nate officially designated the feat as our first 'twofer.' While I'm sure he'd love to claim responsibility for penning such catchy nomenclature, this honor is unfortunately reserved for the renowned American mountaineer, Ed Viesturs, whose book Nate had recently finished and even more recently lent to me (thanks!). Even so, with the auspicious use of a 'cool' mountaineering term, how could either Steve or I turn down the idea. We soon agreed, Steve grunting in acknowledgement of us making a decision more than recognizing the plan, and continued upward, saving our traverse for once we had already topped out on Bulam.
Mountain FloraSetting out at noon on what was likely the hottest day of summer yet didn't do much for our comfort factor on the mountain. Though the better part of the lower path is shaded by tree growth, this also blocks any and all breeze from the trail which left us hiking through a virtual sauna. The humidity, which was easily around 90%, didn't help either! Only a few hundred meters in to the climb we had all thoroughly soaked through our shirts and I could feel the sweat from my back pooling at the bottom of my cute little bright orange DYB backpack. It certainly didn't help that both Nate and Steve were stuck in cotton t-shirts, widely regarded in both camping and traveling circles as 'death fabric' for its ability to absorb then retain water, adding weight and tempting hypothermia. Nate at least had the excuse of losing his only water wicking t-shirt on the DYB 'camping trip' while Steve was stuck in his undershirt from the night before. Sure, in retrospect I could have lent him a lightweight soccer jersey but you just don't think about that type of stuff at ten in the morning now do ya?!
My Ridiculously Good Looking Climbing Gear!(My bandanna is from Tsukiji Fish Market, Tokyo, Japan, courtesy of Nathan Kochanski)
Taking yet a different route up the mountain (we've yet to ever go the same way twice), we were relieved to eventually come to a long set of wooden stairs. Though neither Nate nor I had ever climbed them, we both immediately recognized it as a sort of shortcut (despite what Viesturs says) to the top. As we predicted, only a few minutes later we shot out just under the giant boulders that mark the beginning of the final push up Bulamsan. This staired route had circumvented the first mini peak that we normally have to climb up and over in order to get to Bulamsan proper. In doing so, we had managed to save a heap of time and climbing but also missed the first rest area meaning we were still without water an hour in to our climb. As dehydrated as the three of us already were, we managed to push forward enthusiastically, knowing that just at the foot of the boulders there would be another small tent to grab a drink. Luckily, we were correct.
We stopped to have a drink in the shade and as we each downed a bottle or more of water I saw the misgiving in Steve's eyes slowly fade away. While we had promised him that there was in fact water on the mountain, neither of us had revealed that it was only available just under the summit. Oops, our fault!
Hauling HimselfTurning to tackle the final few hundred meters, we were reminded of the massive makeover that had been taking place last time we were on the mountain when Laura visited. Back in early May, we were surprised to see the skeleton of a stairway leading up towards the summit of our local peak. By late June, this skeleton had materialized into a full blown cakewalk right up to the last five meters of mountain. Not willing to give in to this newfangled climbing assistant, Nate led us up and over our usual route which involved clambering under the stairway where others easily cruised on ahead. Though the squeeze was tight, all three of us managed to get up to the top without having to use the unsightly stairway. (We wrote off the one we used earlier on in our climb as it was a new route for us and seemingly the only way up from that point.)
Bulamsan? No Problem!
Summit Team 1It only took a quick glance to the north for my doubts to reemerge about pulling off a 'twofer.' Though due more to haze than distance, the top of Suraksan, a half mile or so away, loomed impending, daring us to go through with our somewhat reckless plan. We stayed on Bulam only long enough to snap a couple of pictures before my cotton soaked partners began to get a bit chilly. . .silly boys! In order to celebrate our first victory, we headed off the north side of the mountain towards Checkpoint Charlie where we refueled a bit on anchovies and garlic shoots while introducing Steve to the mountain tradition of a good ole' makgeolli stop.
After catching our breath and wetting our lips, we headed out a new path towards the back of our usual stop. Leaving Bulam at 508m, our hope was to find a direct line to Surak along a ridge that stayed high enough for us to avoid having to completely reclimb the mountain to Surak's peak, only a 130m above where we set off from. It didn't take long for us to realize that we were headed downhill and there was nothing we could do about it.
Scrambling DownEven so, the trail running along the ridgeline offered some spectacular views, or at least, would have if the air wasn't so filled with whatever the heck it's filled with. (I've heard Koreans refer to this as 'cloudy' which would be about as silly as calling a smoky bar room 'foggy.') It was time to put on the sunnies as the trees has been almost entirely cleared along this long narrow path. Coming up through a lush green forest, it was strange to see this dry barren landscape that seemed to have been intentionally made as Steve pointed out a number of the trees looked as if they had been sawed down. There was no development apparent and even less of a reason that one would consider such an absurd idea. This left the three of us pondering who would have possibly undertaken such a destructive, and seemingly futile task.
Just Foolin'Down we went and before long, both Bulam and Surak has disappeared from our sights as we were once again surrounded by dense forest. Not long after retreating under the trees, we began to hear the noise of a busy road below us. This is never a good sign when one is hoping to stay high on a mountain trail!
We shot out of the forest at a bridge that overlooked the entrance to a Korean military base. Well, that helps explain the numerous bunkers we ran into along the way. While Nate and I have both had our fill of playing around in these, it was Steve's turn to jump in and pretend to shoot at invaders with a broken stick. If only we had such fortifications to play with in Whitehills Woods!
While crossing the deteriorating bridge above a narrow two lane highway, Nate noted a sign pointing southwards that read 'Seoul.' Off to our right another marker welcomed drivers to Gyeongi Province. True to the markings on the map, we were officially straddling the line between Seoul and, well, not-Seoul.
On the other side of the bridge, we were greeted by a high fence covered in barbed wire and pocketed with dozens of painted stones. These stones, as we know from a visit to the DMZ, are used as signifiers, alerting patrols to tampering or potential weak spots in the barriers. Also attached to this long, seemingly never ending fence, were a number of small black pop cans that were wired to the inside of the fence. Despite studying these as we walked, I couldn't figure out what purpose they served. Take a look at the picture, any ideas?!
Fenced InThe path wound on forever, and we made pretty good time as the grade was nothing too intense. While this was comforting at the time, it continued to resonate with me that whatever vertical we didn't climb now, we'd only have to tackle later when we were certain to be much more exhausted then we already were. Bunkers, trenches and guardposts continued dot our path as the border to the military base seemed to stretch on for an eternity. Eventually we passed through an open door in a barbed wire fence, Nate going first to check for enemy fire, after which the fortifications ceased.
By this point we had long since drained the last of our water from Bulam and were again hankering for a drink. Our rests became more numerous as Nate would lunge ahead only to stop and catch a breath while I tried to maintain a relatively even pace and keep Steve in sights as he struggled upwards, cursing us for leading him on such a grueling initiatory expedition sans supplies.
Bulam in the background. . .Our second climb of the day seemed endless yet I vowed to keep an indefatigable mindset, despite my body telling me otherwise. When he could catch his breath, Steve would scathe us for promising water en route when clearly there was none. This seemed odd to both Nate and I as the refueling stations are somewhat numerous on Bulamsan. Even so, we chalked it up to the backdoor route we were taking and continued to promise that there would be respite ahead.
Every few hundred yards a turn off invited us to stop and enjoy a beautiful view looking south out over Nowongu and Bulamsan. However, after pausing at the first of these reststops, none of us again showed interest in sightseeing as we were focused on much more tangible goals, like water.
Looking out towards BulamsanI have no idea how long it took for us to get anywhere but it wasn't quick and when we got wherever we were going, we were still far from where we wanted to be. Along the way we passed over the top of two misleading peaks that hinted at being the end of our journey. Lucky for us, these weren't our final destination as neither offered anything to drink.
Eventually, we began to pass people on the path going the opposite way. This was a much needed sign of relief as we had been climbing for hours without seeing, well, anybody for the most part. Only a few couples perched on rocks who seemed to be enjoying the snacks that they intelligently toted with themselves up the mountain.
In passing one of these groups I grew excited, pointing out to Nate that one of the hikers was munching on an empty popsicle stick. Willing to bet that they hadn't climbed the mountain carrying this little piece of wood, it seemed to presage an impending ice cream vendor. Indeed, only a few minutes later we passed another troupe, this time carrying full popsicles that still were covered in frost. I leaped into the air and let out a great 'Asa!' bolting forward to the cheery vendor who stood alongside a wooded path with nothing other than a giant backpack-box or popsicles and a couple empty bottles of makgeolli.
Although it wasn't water, a melon popsicle goes a long way when you're almost entirely dehydrated and hiking on an empty stomach. Oh yeah, we might've forgotten to eat anything before taking off in the morning but, at the time, still weighed down with tuna, it didn't seem to be a big deal. Bad decision number two.
A Rocky RoadDevouring our popsicles we hastened our pace knowing that the summit must be near. We eventually did catch sight of two looming peaks though Nate ominously commented that he hoped it wasn't the second one we were aiming for. A little ways onward we were again excited to find a large group of people scattered about amongst a number of makgeolli bottles. Usually this indicates a rest area with water but unfortunately, as we soon found out, they offered only this sweet rice wine. Nevertheless, liquid is liquid when you've stop sweating in 90 degree heat because you've literally fun out of fluid! So, we quickly pounded down a bottle between the three of us, not even bothering to dig into the mandatory side dishes. A nearby climber apparently noted our lack of snacking and came over to offer some fresh fruit he had cut up in his bag. Mmmm, this was a welcome treat that, although delicious, did little to satisfy my cravings.
We didn't linger long at this stop either and pushed upwards through ever more rocky terrain. At one point, we made a short traverse around a flat sloping rock upon which we could see a waving flag. To us, this flag symbolized the eminent summit yet, once round the corner, we found a sign pointing us yet further along the trail. Just as Nate has guessed, we were headed for the second peak.
Putting in a long, long first day!Finally we came to the base of a few enormous rock slabs on which happy parties were making a haphazard descent, obviously excited to be heading down from the top. Scrambling up this final face I was elated to find a snack stand in the most unlikely of places, at the very summit of Mt. Surak. I ordered up a pair of waters for Nate and I just as he came in to view. We held off on getting Steve one so as not to let it warm up before he arrived, which yes, he did eventually do only a minute or so behind. After putting down two waters and two Pocari Sweats he admitted that not turning around, as he had earlier proposed to do, was the better decision. Although it might have seemed selfish to push him onwards, both Nate and I realized that the closest water, which is what we all dearly needed, was definitely upwards, and not down into some random gully.
At 637m on Suraksan Summit! Number two for the day!After rehydrating as best as our tightened stomachs would allow, we all agreed that it was well past time to get the heck outta the woods and on to solid ground. With no real idea where we were or how to get out we did what any desperately tired hikers would do, headed down! We eventually came to a sign pointing towards Nowon-Gol, which, to us, sounded good enough. No clue how long it took us to get down but it was a mere fraction of the time we spent covering the same distance on pitched, or even flat ground as we literally bounded down the mountain, Nate at the lead.
ExhaustedOnly a few wrong turns later we found ourselves at the bottom of Nowon Gully (which must be what Gol means in Korean, only a guess here). At this small rest area we were able to fill our empty bottles with 'fresh' spring water pouring from a mountainside tap. No clue as to the true hazard of drinking this stuff but a good number of the locals do and usually that's a pretty safe bet. None of us are sick, yet!
We shot out of the mountain and celebrated our safe arrival on solid ground by parking our butts in the nearest chairs we could find, just outside a local store which was obviously converted to a hikers hangout on the weekends. It didn't take long before we were approached by the drunk old men at the neighboring table who insisted on buying us makgeolli and then snacks, seeing that we didn't have any dried fish on our table. A total faux pax in the world of Korean drinking.
Nate was attacked by this larger than life moth which our friendly neighbor informed us is an 'intoxicating' species. Whether he meant poisonous or exhilarating, we'll likely never know!Walking through Nowon Gol I was excited to see a number of mountaineering stores, just the place I've been looking to stop in on to research backpacks for my imminent journey throughout SEAsia. I'll let you know how the search goes!
As the sun began heading for the horizon we decided it was well past time to get on back to Doota, change out of our disgusting clothes and head out to a big ole' BBQ dinner. Which, is exactly what we did!
Tan, or dirt. . .take a guessWhile they might not be the biggest mountains in Korea, or even Seoul for that matter, we did manage to pull of Nate's audacious suggestion of summiting two peaks in one day. Sure, it's a far cry from 'climbing the world's 14 highest peaks,' but when's the last time you pulled off a real twofer!
Alone at the top. . .
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