Sights in Seoul

During some of my time off I have toured some of the sights around Seoul. This post is kind of a photo tour for you around Seoul. Enjoy!

City Hall at Christmas time.


Korean graffiti on the subway. Look closely their taggers seem to be more friendly than that of their western counterparts.



Deoksu-gung Palace









"Gorgeous Gunsan"



Namsan Park


Korean War Memorial

Lunar New Year

One of the biggest holidays in Korea (as well as Asia) is Lunar New Years! I had the pleasure of experiencing this holiday through my morning Kindy classes, as well as a nice 2 days off this week. I took many pictures of the school activities which included a traditional Korean stick game, kids dressed in their traditional Hambok and a traditional bow to the principal of the school (for money of course).


Playing Yut a Korean stick game, kind of like dice.

The Last Few Weeks

So I haven't posted in a while and realize that I have some pictures of various things from Thanksgiving on. For the Holiday we decided to cook our favorite things from home. So by the grace of sheer will we decided to venture to every market in Seoul until we found the right ingredients. I chose to make Macaroni & Cheese which was easy to find the ingredients but difficult to shell out the serious cash required. It seemed that the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas was so short. I am sure it felt even shorter back home. So between the holidays I celebrated like any good foreigner should. I WENT OUT! Before I knew it Christmas time was here. I took the opportunity to show my students some of my favorite Christmas movies (A Christmas Story, Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph). All were totally appropriate however the kids found the leg lamp in a christmas story a bit shocking. After a weeks worth of showing some of America's greatest Christmas movies it was time for the annual Christmas pagent. The kids sang a melody of Feliz Navidad (my personal favorite) Frosty the Snowman and Rudolph.

After a wonderful performance, Santa (Derek Teacher) came to the school to hand out presents. The great thing about Korea is that there is no political correctness. Meaning these kids parents brought them some big presents regardsless of what the other kids were getting. Its kind of a day for the parents to buy their kids affections. Another great part is that we didn't have the kids fooled for a second they knew it was a teacher.




One of the most interesting parts of my neighboorhood is the large outdoor tent market. Although it reeks of fish, kimchee and other unmentionables it is truly an experience and I love walking through it to see and hear the strange sights and sounds. One of the most interesting things is the whole frozen dogs sold in this market. Yes, that's right dog is used in a soup that is most often consumed in the summer. It is said to give men "stamina" through the hot summer months. Although I would love to take a picture everytime I walk by the cases the vendors give me a stare that needs no interpretation. So in leiu of a photo, it looks like Santa's little helper from the Simpsons frozen with its tounge hanging out.


As I approach the end of my third month here I am just as happy and comfortable as I was when I first arrived. My plans for the upcoming month are to go skiing, explore more of Seoul and take it all in.

Fish Frenzy

So many of you may have heard of the eastern practice of Dr. Fish. Basically the gist is that you stick your feet in a pool full of fish and they eat away the dead skin. In the US the practice was just recently introduced however at a much higher cost than that of its originators. In Seoul you can have a fifteen minute session with hundreds of little fish for a mere 2,000 won or roughly $1.50 with the crap exchange rate. Here's a picture of my first encounter with the little feet exfoliates.

I cleaned up puke

So today I really surprised myself and for the first time in my life realized that I could be a father. After a lovely lunch of shrimp surprise and seaweed soup, the kids were in the play room. After about 15 minutes one of my students came in the teachers room and asked where my korean co teacher Elly was... after I said i didn't know he put his hands over his mouth and I knew it was all over. The two other American teachers in the room immediately shouted "he's gonna throw up" as they ran to the other end of the room I ran towards my student to "save the day" I guess, well all I really saved was the floor by putting a trash can under his mouth but to my dismay beacuse he was covering his mouth the puke went everywhere. Rather than worry about myself I looked around for a paper towel anything to clean up my student. As I was cleaning him up I heard one of the other teachers say "you are better with kids than I am" I was a bit impressed with myself I have to say. After cleaning my student up I asked him if he was ok and of course he was fine "I ate much teacher". All in all the disaster was somewhat taken care of and I was off to clean the puke off of my hands! Yay adulthood isn't it funny how one day you realize you are finally an adult (I think today was that day).

Progress Report

So its been a while since my last post and with no excuse. Well a lot has happened since then and here is the update via slide show.

I had family photos with my new Korean family, while I know my style has changed a bit I promise I haven't changed inside.


I also have abandoned McDonald's for my new Korean favorite Loteria. Double quarter pounder with cheese you say... no try a big bulgogi burger.


Visiting Joe's town of Boryeong (Daechon) was amazing George Michael even paid a visit to the bar that we were at.


Leaving Boryeong was a treat I had the thrill of spending 5 hours on a bus that should have only taken 2 hours. But don't feel bad since the windows were fogged up and I couldn't see anything outside I had myself an impromptu Korean lesson.


Once back in Seoul I had the pleasure of taking the kindergarten on a field trip to see Shinderella (Cinderella in Korean). The kids are my favorite part of my day (I know most of you wont believe it) they make you feel at home for some reason.

Week 2

So I have been here for a little over a week, so far so good! I have been out in Seoul a couple of times and the Koreans sure know how to party. This past weekend we ventured out to Itaewon, a western Friendly area where the bars and restaurants cater to both the GI's and westerners alike.

Here are some pictures of the Seoul nightlife.