Back in Korea

I made it back to Korea after a hectic day of traveling. I flew into Incheon, took a taxi to Seoul, took the high speed rail all the way to the southern coast at Busan, then took a taxi to where I'm staying. Don't do what I did--- I should've just flew into Busan via Japan. But I got here and it was actually kind of exciting. Heck of a way to return to the country.

This week is training and orientation in Busan. Most people here haven't been to Korea before. To give you an idea of this, I was placed in the "Advanced" Korean language class they have here. I practice but I'm not what you would call advanced.

World Cup: Korea v. Greece 6/12/10

This was the night of Korea's first World Cup game against Greece.

Gatbawi

These are pictures from Gatbawi, a mountaintop Buddhist shrine northeast of Daegu. It is a very popular worship destination for Buddhists, with a statue at the top and room for about 200 people to pray on floor mats, which we saw at the top. It was a tough hike, but worth the good views.

At the bottom

You will see a lot of stacked rocks on mountain paths; most of the time it's just two or three. This one here takes the cake.

Buddhist cats: they were very content. (owned, presumably, by the monks living at the temple on the mountain)

Looking down at a temple

Camouflaged cat

Just missed the sunset!

Beggars while we were eating. We didn't give them anything.

Seoraksan and Jeju Island

More Pictures:

Below are pictures from Seoraksan, in northeast S. Korea. This is a national park, and it is very beautiful, but not as well known as other tourist spots. Still, it is popular and definitely worth a visit.

Above: Looking east out to sea

Sokcho from a distance.

Video: taking the cable car up Seoraksan:



Pictures from Jeju Island:

These guys are all over the place.

They call Jeju Korea's Hawaii, and these pictures give you an idea why. My dad agreed, especially when looking up at the volcano (he and my mom honeymooned in Hawaii).

Pictures, Part 2

More pictures. See part 1 below.

At the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ), specifically, the Joint Security Area in the village of Panmunjeom. The border goes though the center of the blue buildings.

Both sides give many tours of the JSA. Looking into N. Korea.

NK guardpost.



In the Military Armistice Commission building, you can go north of the line, the concrete slab seen here, as I have when I took this picture.

This table literally straddles the line, with the north on the right and the south on the left.

Don't mess with these guys.

Pictures, Part 1

Pictures from my travels around Korea. They will be split up into several posts for readability.

Changdeokgung, the second most famous palace in Seoul

These three pictures are of the one-time forbidden garden in Changdeokgung, where only dignitaries, domestic and foreign, could go.

Update

Just a quick update,

I know I haven't posted in a while (sorry). Basically, we started a new semester this past week. I'm working 27 hours, a nice load. We said goodbye to 3 of our longest-serving teachers as well. They were the foundation of our school and we will miss them. I am really good friends with one of them (his name's Andrew Pike) and it will be hard to see him go. But, we have a good crop of teachers and we will be fine. I'm starting to teach more upper level classes, which I've been interested in doing and increases my versatility.

I'm deciding whether to stay in Korea for longer than 1 year. I think this semester will greatly influence that decision. But, I'm only halfway through (or already halfway through, if you see it that way!) so there is a lot of time left to decide. I'm sure it will come into focus when the time comes.

Also, my family is coming this week! I'm very excited to see them in person again. We will be traveling around Korea, and pictures will be forthcoming.