I don't do that, our housekeeper does...

I just get a kick out of some of the comments that I get from my students. I was teaching my 8 year old class today, and we ran into a word that none of the students knew. The word was " Chores ". Here is how the conversation went:

Me: Boys and Girls... Read #5... John had to complete his chores, before he can play with his friends.
Students: " Teacher! Teacher! What are chores? "
Me: Chores are something that your parents make you do around the house on a regular basis such as cleaning your room, taking out the trash... then I got interrupted by couple of the students...
Students: " NO! Teacher! My ajumma (housekeeper) does that!"

Not only do these kids have their own drivers, they have their own housekeepers. Geez! They make me sick!

All that aside, they are good kids. They listen to me very well and are eager to learn.

Morning commute...

I can't stand the morning commute to work in the morning! The packed bus and the packed subway are starting to get on my nerves. I have to be at work by 9am, so I usually leave my house around 7:45am. It only takes about 30 minutes to get to work, but sometimes I have to wait for the next bus or the subway since they get so packed to the point that I can't even get in. I need to get a motorcycle or something!

Actually, for those that didn't know, I have been working at this English institute for about 3 weeks now. I didn't mention it before because I wasn't sure if I wanted to work there or not. The institute is located in Apgujeong which is the wealthy part of Seoul. This town is considered to be the Beverly Hills of Korea, since the whole street is filled with stores such as: Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Prada, and other top name brand stores. Also, you will find high end car dealerships such as Rolls Royce, Mercedes, and BMW dealerships. Also, most of the cars that you will see in this town are Mercedes, BMW's, Audi's, or other foreign cars. But, if you go to where I live, then you will see Hyundai's, Daewoo's, and other Korean made cars. It's night and day when you compare the two towns. Even the way people look and dress are totally different too. I will admit that my eyes wander a lot on my way to work. In California, it's normal to see women in clothes that show a lot of skin, but it's rare to see them in Korea.

I teach kids from Kindergarten to Grammar school. These kids are so adorable, but some are just spoiled. I have some students that have their own drivers! I mean Drivers as in Chauffeurs! What does that tell you? Anyways, the youngest I teach are 5 years old and the oldest are 9 years old. I have a morning class, of 8 students, that I teach that are all 6 years old. Some of these kids are very smart and eager to learn but some are just a handful. Most of all, they are all adorable and polite. I did lose one of my favorite 5 year old girls though. She ended up going to America and she will be staying there for about a year. Every morning, all of them greet me by saying, " Good Morning Ken Teacher", then they bow. Also, couple of the girls always grabs my hand and walks me to the classroom. Too bad, I don't have anybody my age the grabs my hand and walks me home everyday. Oh well!

Kimbap

" Kimbap is a popular snack or lunch dish in Korea. It is made from rice and laver (dried seaweed), and contains many other ingredients. Popular ones include bulgogi, spinach, pickled daikon radish, and eggs. These and the rice are rolled in laver and sliced."

I think I just found my favorite food in Korea. I know some of you might think that I am weird, but I could care less. I like fine dining, but there are certain type of foods that brings back memories from my childhood when I lived in Korea. I remember going on picnics or trips with my family and eating homemade kimbap that were nicely packed in the stackable dishes (sort of like the tuppeware) that my mom made the night before.

It's not only good, its also very convenient too. In Korea, there are kimbap stores everywhere. Down one of the streets by my house, there are 5 kimbap stores out of the 8 stores, just in one block. They even have about 15 different kimbaps that I can choose from too. In California, I only ate kimbap about 2 times a month, since they were not very widely available. Being a bachelor and not having too much time to cook, I ate what was convenient, which were not always the healthiest choices. Kimbap, in the other hand, is pretty healthy. It has everything that I need from the 5 food groups. Now, I eat kimbap about everyday.

OK, OK... I need to explore other foods, but it beats eating McDonalds everyday!

Korea loses...

What a disappointment! Korea lost their match against the Swiss, which eliminated them from advancing to the next round. We'll have to wait 4 years for a another chance.

I stayed up again to catch the 4 am game, but this time I saw it at a bar. I started my day meeting up with Jennifer at about 5pm in Kangnam. We ended up seeing a Korean movie (forgot the title), which was ok. The movie finished up about 9:15pm, but I had plans to meet up with Sarah, and a few others at 10pm to find a bar to watch the game, so I called it a night with Jennifer. On my way to Ilsan, Sarah called to change the meeting spot to Sinchon, so I had to back track a little bit to transfer subways. Unfortunately, Sinchon is on the way to the City Hall, so the subway was packed. City Hall is where everyone goes to watch the game. They even had live concerts and other events to entertain the crowd until game time.

Finally, I managed to get to Sinchon in one piece. I felt like I was packed like a sardine in the sardine can, since there were so many people. I was in the subway for about 30 minutes, and I don't think I moved an inch from the spot that I was standing. It was kind of funny because when the subway shifted one way, we all shifted in that direction leaning on each other or supporting each other from falling over, then when it shifted the other way, we leaned the other way in unison. Talk about working together!

Sinchon was packed too, but I don't think it was bad as City Hall. This place was roaming with people dressed up to support their country. Red shirts, face paint, and devils ears that lights up were common, but some people wore the Korean flag as a cape or a dress. Everybody were screaming, "DE HAN MIN GUK" - "DE HAN MIN GUK"! How could you not get into the sport when you are surrounded by all these people. I am not even a soccer fan and I got hooked!

I met up with Sarah and Min by the subway, then we went looking around to find a bar that had a TV. It was about 11pm, but most of the places were already packed. Luckily, we found a nice bar with a huge TV. We still had to meet up with a few others, so we just ordered some drinks and food. I ordered a beer, but Sarah ordered the strawberry cocktail soju, which was actually not bad. After downing some drinks and shots, we met up with the rest of the group, which I forgot their names. I know it was Sarah, Min, Iris, a Korean girl, and some guy from New York. We were all Korean Americans, except for Min and the Korean girl.

Then, we ordered a pitcher of the peach cocktail soju and some more beer. By this time, we were getting a little buzzed, so our conversation was getting a little loud. Keep in mind that we were all speaking English, so everybody were staring at us too. They probably thought that we were showing off our English or something. Anyways, we were having a good time, but Sarah had this genius idea to go to a Norebang (Karaoke bar) and leave the bar that we were at. It was about 2 am and I had a feeling that, if we leave then we will not find a another place to watch the game. But, we all left and went to the Norebang. After singing a few songs, we left about 3:30am to find a another bar to watch the game, but they were all full. We were running around to every bar, but we could not find one. After about 30 minutes of running around, we finally found a bar to watch the game. The game was not that exciting, so couple of the girls fell asleep, but got woken up by people screaming when Korea got close to scoring. They jumped up from sleeping thinking that Korea scored, but it was just a tease. After the game, everybody were pretty quiet and a lot of their heads were down. There were so much enthusiasm the night before, but the loss put a sour taste in their mouths.

Once again, in the subway, I felt like a packed sardine on my way back home. When I got off the subway, I didn’t want to deal with the crowd again, so I took a taxi, instead of the bus. It was a long fun night.

Miami WINS!

Miami Heat just beat the Dallas Mavericks to take the NBA Championship title. I am so excited! My team, Miami, won their first ever Championship game. Miami lost their 1st two games in the best out of 7 series, but came back to win their last 4 games to take the title. Miami is only the 3rd team, in history, to come back from behind to take the title. Dwayne Wade was just phenomenal! He deserved the MVP award by a huge margin. Shaq Oneal lived up to the promise that he made when he came to Miami, which was a Championship. He's a man of his word. The whole team came together to win it. Congrats to ONeal, Wade, and to the rest of the supporting cast.

GO MIAMI!!!

Happy Father's Day

Happy Father's Day! I wish I can say those words to him, but I can not do so. I know he is up above looking over me and protecting me. Dad, thanks again for the gift of life. I will live it to the fullest. I miss you a lot. Love always.

Korea vs. France

What a game! I stayed up all night to catch the 4am soccer game. Korea was the underdog and had France being the favorite by a huge margin. France is ranked 8th (I think) in the FIFA rankings and Korea is ranked somewhere in the 30's. The prediction was France beating Korea 5-0, but that wasn't the case. France scored early in the game, but Korea came back towards the end of the game to tie it. The game ended with a score of 1-1.

Also, USA had a tie game as well, so they have a chance to advance to the next round. Another game that was a surprise was Ghana vs. Czech Republic. Ghana made history with their first win at the FIFA World Cup finals as they beat the Czech Republic 2-0.

I am not even a soccer fan, but I am hooked. I don't know what got into me. Anyways, it's 6:20am and I am off to bed. Good night!

North Korea missile test

I was reading the news today and saw that North Korea is possibly preparing a long range missile test. According to the news, this missile is capable of reaching the United States. Someone needs to take out Kim Jong ll! I know that it is easier said than done, but he needs to go. He's just like Saddam Hussein, as far as I am concerned.

I found some pictures online that was taken by a Russian web designer that had the opportunity to visit North Korea. These pictures are amazing! If you didn't know, North Korea is controlled in every way by the goverment. They have no freedom what so ever. Enjoy the pictures.

This is one of the main streets in Pyongyang, and the sad thing is that it's like this all the time.











Here's a picture of another street. Notice the old cars and buses.













North Korea is prepared in case of another war. See the big block boulders and pillars on the left and right side of the streets? These are dropped onto the street to block all traffic.











The DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). The right side (dirt side) is the North Korean side, and the left side (gravel side) is the South Korean side. This picture shows two North Korean soldiers on guard. There are South Korean soldiers on guard on the other side too.







These are two buildings that were built in the middle of the two sides. Notice the street on the top is so much nicer than the bottom one. The top is the south side and the bottom is the north side.








Beaches of North Korea. There are ELECTRIC barbed wire fences along the coast to prevent anybody from swimming across to the other side.









This is a North Korean tour guide aboard a US spy ship, "Pueblo", that was captured by the North Koreans. This ship is their biggest tourist attraction.









This is a US fighter jet that was shot down during the Korean War.











This is a picture of a hotel that was forced to stop it's construction in 1991.

















Top portion of the abandoned building.


















Everywhere you go, there are pictures of Kim Jong Il, and Kim Il sung hung on the walls. I read that you have to have two pictures hung in every home.

Rain, rain, and more rain

For the next 4 days it is suppose to rain. It rained all day today nonstop. I guess this is the sign of the summer season coming up. I was talking to my cousin the other day and he said that this is the rain season. Then, the heat wave comes in. Heat wave! I thought it's been hot, but the real heat is coming soon. I don't know how I am going to deal with it, but I have to suck it up. Humidity... I can't wait! It's going to be a fun summer. If I don't post for awhile, then I might have melted.

World Cup Fever

For those that didn't know, it is the World Cup season, which is one of the biggest events here in Korea. It is time for all the Koreans to wear the color red to support their soccer team. When I was younger, I played soccer for 3 years because my mom enrolled me in it. I wanted to play American football, but my mom said that it was too dangerous, so she put me in soccer instead. I did have fun, but I never got into the sport. Eventually, I was able to convince my mom to play American football, which I played all through high school. I promised my mom that I will not get hurt, but that wasn't the case. To name a few I ended up breaking 4 fingers, sprained my knee, sprained my ankle, chipped a bone on my cheek bone, had an concussion, but the worst was breaking a bone in my wrist that I had to get surgery on. The bone never healed right, so it ended up dieing, so I had to get a bone graft to repair it. I had to wear a cast for 10 months, which really sucked, but I had to deal with it.

In America, soccer is not a sport that a lot of people follow, but when it's time for Super Bowl, then everybody watches it, which was my case. Every year, I always looked forward to watching the Super bowl. Here in Korea, soccer is one of the biggest sports event that is supported next to baseball. World Cup comes every 4 years, so the wait is finally over.

During the 2002 World Cup, Korea was NOT one of the teams to be on top, but they ended up winning one game after another, so everybody were surprised. I remember my mom calling me 3 in the morning waking me up to ask me, if I was watching the soccer game. Keep in mind that my mom does not watch TV that much, especially sports, but she got hooked on it. The next day she would call me to tell me what the score was and tell me how good the game was. I thought she was crazy, but she wasn't the only one that did that. Korea ended up getting 4th place that year, so it's revenge time this year.

Everywhere you go and everywhere you turn, people were selling red shirts, bandanas, face paint, and a lot of other things to support their team. Last Tuesday was the first game for Korea. They played Togo, and they were the favorite against Korea, since they were the newcomers to the World Cup and nobody knew their playing style. That day was when the red attire came out. If you weren't wearing red, then they would look at you funny. Everybody and I mean everybody were wearing something red. The game started at 10pm, so by about 5pm everybody were on their way to City Hall to watch the game. At the City Hall, they have a huge TV mounted on the top of the building, so they sit on the ground to watch the game. They close off the streets, and they bring in the riot police to control the crowd. Thousands and Thousands of people go their to watch the game. Even the buses and subways were extended until 2am from their normal time of midnight to take them back home.

I've never seen so many people dressed in red before in my life. Talk about support! Some people had their whole face painted in red with the Korean flag painted on their cheeks. Most of them had red shirts and hats, but some of them wore the Korean flag as a cape. Then there were some girls that cut the sides of their shirts horizontally for the sexy look. It was an amazing site.

I went to this bar to meet some friends to watch the game, but all the tables were already taken, so I decided to just come home and watch it with the people in my apartment building. What a game! By halftime the score was Togo 1 and Korea 0. About 15 minutes into the 2nd half we were losing hope and we were all pretty quiet. I went to the bathroom, then all of a sudden I heard this huge scream, which scared the crap out of me (not literally). The scream was so LOUD! I rushed back into the room and saw that Korea had just scored. Now it was a tie game, so we got our hopes back, but time was running out quickly. Then, Korea scored again! I couldn't believe it, Korea is winning, then the game was over, Korea WON!

There were about 10 people in the room, which the men were smiling ear to ear and the women were crying. Wow, I never thought that I would get excited over a soccer game, but I couldn't help it. I don’t remember getting this excited watching the Super bowl. I guess I found a new sport to watch. I can't wait until the next game even though it will be at 4 in the morning. I guess I have to wake up early.

Here are some pictures that I found from another blog. His blog is called Seouliva and he was actually at the city hall.


One of the fans from the 2002 World Cup. Is she taken? If so, does she have a sister? LOL

Rest In Peace...

When I decided make my journey to Korea back in January, I did some research on line to find out what it would be like to live here. I found a lot of websites that described Korea and how great everything is here, but that isn't reality. All those websites were written to bring in tourists, but then I ran into a blog written by an Westerner named Shawn Korea Life Blog

Shawn's blog was written from his personal experiences he had experienced in the 3 years he had lived in Korea. I was drawn to his blog because he had no shame about his life in Korea and he shared it with the world. He even published a book titled, "Korean Life Blog". Reading his blog and knowing his day to day life, I felt that I personally knew him. I planned on meeting him when I got to Korea to buy him a beer to thank him for giving me a better idea of Korea, but he decided to move to China to start his new adventure, so his blog was not updated anymore.

After he moved to China, he started a new blog to share his life in China, which I followed time to time, but his blog was leaning more towards his relationship issues with his girlfriend, so I stopped following it.

Couple of weeks ago Shawn took his life by jumping off of the roof of his apartment building in China. I don't know the whole story, and I don't want to speculate. Here's a link that describes his final days written by his friend Jake Shawns Final Story. I also read that his father committed suicide recently as well, which I am sure it affected him a lot.

I can't imagine what went through Shawn's mind when he found out that his father took his own life. Losing a loved one is very devastating. Shawn's death made me think about a death that I had to deal with recently. On January 24, 2006, I lost my father due to a heart attack. On January 31, 2006, which was my birthday, we put him to rest. It was a very sad event for me, since I had a lot of guilt. I did not have the best relationship with him before he passed, so I did not have a chance to tell him that I loved him. I have to deal with this for the rest of my life. I know he is up above looking over us and I know that he is in good hands living his new life with God. Take my advice and tell your loved ones that you love them, before it's too late. If you have a bad relationship with someone, then be the bigger person and make the effort to patch up the relationship. You will be thankful later.

I wrote an eulogy that was very personal to me. Originally, I wasn't going to share this with anybody, but I read this during the funeral and now I am showing it to the world… enjoy!

Message to my Beloved Dad

Dad,

I am sorry for not being there for you on your last days. I wish I held you in my arms before you passed away, just like you held me on your arms when I was born. If I only had one wish, then my wish would be to have one more day with you. One day will not be enough time to tell you how much I love you, but it will be a chance to see your smile one more time. It has been really hard to hold back my tears, but seeing your smile helps me wipe away the tears. Your smile will never fade away, but it will only get brighter. You are my light, my strength, and my savior. I will always keep a part of you with me, wherever I go. I will miss laughing with you, crying with you, but most of all, I will miss the comfort of being held by you. Thank You for the great memories. I will cherish them forever. I will never stop loving you. We will meet again, but until then, I will miss you. Take care and see you soon.

Your son,

January 31, 2006

Lounging around...

I haven't done much all week, but just lounged around. I've been searching the internet for a job, but I haven't found anything promising. I did meet up with one of the directors from a English insitute for a possible teaching position, but I will see what happens. Thanks to my cousin Judy, I did pick up a private tutor though, but I am not charging them that much, since they are family.

With an exception of a 45 minute run I did the other day, I haven't worked out since I've been in Korea. I was planning on joining a gym, but it is way expensive here, so I decided not to do it, until I find a job. I am going crazy not being able to lift weights, but I will do other exercises in the meantime. The funny thing is, I am still losing weight! Back home, I ate what was convenient, which consisted of fast foods, or whatever that was quick to make, since I did not have time to make anything. In Korea, the foods are more natural, and they are healthier. Believe it or not, I haven't had a hamburger and fries for 3 weeks, but had rice everyday so far. I am not sick of it yet, so I will eat it, until my body craves for something else. Plus, all the walking I do helps out too.

Being a tourist again....

Last saturday, I decided to be a tourist again and went to 3 different tourist attractions in one day. This time I dragged Sarah along and we went to the Korean National Folk museum, Seodaemun Prison, and Insadong. They were all relatively close to each other, so we didn't have to travel too much.

Korean National Folk Museum is located off of the Gyeongbokgung station on subway line 3. This museum was built inside the grounds of the Gyeongbokgung Palace. This royal palace was the residence to all the high ranked officials and the founders of the Joseon Dynasty in 1395. The museum exhibits the clothing, food, housing, rituals, and the basic lifestyles from that period. This museum is a must see, since you will see the history of Korea and it's developing years. I was a little dissappointed because they were going through a remodel, so one of the levels were closed. I will have to go back to see the rest. It only costs 3000 won ($3.00) to get in, and you also can get in to the Gyeongbokgung palace with it too.



Then we took a 1o minute taxi ride to the Seodaemun Prison Museum. The ticket price is only 1500 Won ($1.50). This prison was built during the Japanese occupation by the Korean people. Other prisons were built all over Korea to imprision those that liberated against the Japanese. This prison consists of prison cells, execution building, torture chamber, and a watchtower. Many Korean patriots were killed at this prison. There were 33 leaders who initiated the Independence Movement in 1919 that are honored there. They had different torture weapons on display that were used to interrogate the prisoners, but they did not allow any picuters to be taken, so I can not share them with you. It was an amazing experience to see the prison and it makes me think about the freedom that I have. So many people made sacrifices, so we can have the freedom that we have today. It makes you wonder what the world would be like without it.


Execution Building

Our next stop was Insadong. Insadong is a street full of traditional and modern buildings, antique shops, galleries, traditional restaurants, and tea shops. You can buy a lot of items that represents the past. I've never seen so many people in one street before. It was PACKED!!! They had random people performing different things to make some money. There was this one kid collecting 10,000 won to hit him, but he won't hit you back. I guess this is a good way to let your frustrations out on a real person. It was tempting, but I was afraid that I might hurt him, so I decided not to do it. It was fun watching though. We also went to the movies and saw Poisedon, which was ok.

My home town, Jeon Ju

Last week (Monday), I went down to Jeon Ju, which is about 3 hours south from Seoul by bus to visit my cousins. Jeon Ju is my home town. I stayed at my uncle's house while I was down there for the week. I didn't do anything too exciting...

The next day, my uncle and I went down to the immigration office to register my F-4 Visa. I turned in my passport with the residency application and I will be getting my alien card in a few days.

Later on that night, I met up with my cousin Seh Gi at his new boba/sandwich store that he opened up about a month ago. Then, we met up with his girlfriend, and one of his friends at a bar and had some nice cold beers. I don't know why, but the beer was so good that night. I drank 2 mugs, while others were still on their first one. Korea is corrupting me and turning me into an alcoholic. The next night I met up with Seh Gi, his girlfriend, and her younger sister and went to this famous Makali bar. This place was packed, but luckily we got there as soon as someone was leaving. Makali is a traditional rice wine that is popular with the old folks, since that was the only alcoholic beverage back in the day. It's yellow in color, and it kind of looks like milk, but it definitely does not taste like milk. This place has been all over the news, since you get a lot of free food with any drink order. I am not talking about basic side dishes either, you get a whole bowl of chicken cooked in broth, Kimchi Stew, pork, and vegetables. The best part is that you only pay 10,000 won ($10). All 4 of us did not even finish all the food, but we drank all the makali. We didn't want to waste the alcohol. This place was too loud, since it was so crowded, so we went across the street to a sushi bar and had some more drinks. This time we had some soju, which didn't taste too good after having makali.

The next day, I spent time with my cousins Me, Sun, and Jin, which are triplets. Sun and Jin are identical, but Me does not look anything like them. They were all born 5 minutes apart. They told me that their mom or my aunt went through the whole pregnancy thinking she was having twins, but during the birth the doctor realized that Me was hidden behind Sun and Jin. I thought that was pretty funny, since I can't imagine what my aunt and uncle were thinking when they realized that they had triplets. Anyways, we ended up going to downtown Jeon Ju, which is the area that has a movie theater, restaurants, etc. We did some shopping, ate dinner, then came back.

Jeon Ju has changed a lot from what it used to be. I visited the area that I grew up at and it's all been changed. The house that my family and I lived at has been torn down and replaced with a restaurant. The elementary school that I went to has been torn down, but I heard that's been a while. This school was known to be haunted too. I also went to the area that my mom grew up at and that's all been torn down too. My grandmother stayed at that house, until she passed away about 6 years, but was torn down after it was sold.

Visiting Jeon Ju always brings back memories, since I still remember bits and pieces from my childhood. I remember when Helen used to run outside the house naked and I have to chase her down and bring her back home. I don't know why she always did that. She was such a nudist back then! Also, I will never forget the time when Michelle decided to keep the eyeball from the fish that we had for dinner. She fell asleep with the eyeball in her hand, and it didn't smell too good in the morning.

Everland... The happiest place in Seoul...

Sunday, May 28…

I got up at 7am today to meet up with Sarah, Iris, and Min to go to Everland. Everland is the biggest amusement park in Korea, but I wasn't too impressed by it. It's an awesome place to take your kids, or if you want to take some nice pictures. It has a huge rose garden for the picture fanatics.

We decided to meet at Everland, since we all live in opposite ends of Seoul. I took a subway to Kangnam bus station to take the bus that goes directly to Everland, but I waited at the wrong bus stop, so I missed 2 buses. After asking for directions, I ended up at the right bus stop, so I waited again, but then I didn't realize that there was a line to get on the bus. For that reason, I missed the bus again. I finally got on the bus, which took about 1 hour to get there. We were supposed to meet at 10, but I didn't get there until 11:30.

One thing I did like was the mini zoo that they had there. This was the most memorable part of my day, since I was able to see some tigers. If you didn't know, tigers are my favorite animal. They had some cubs too.

There weren't that many rides for adults there. There were only 2 roller coasters, which were pretty weak, and couple of other rides that I could of rode at a local fair or something. We ended up checking out the whole park, then left about 7:30 to head back to Kangnam to get some dinner. By the time I got home it was about 11pm and I was beat