The Hwacheon Sancheono Ice Festival is a big deal in Gangwon province, and probably all of Korea. I read that the festival got more than 1 million visitors, including 100,000 foreigners, with more than a week left of the festival. Koreans love their festivals, and this one did not disappoint. The festival takes place in … Continue reading
Why is everyone in such a rush while driving and so lackadaisical while walking? When walking down the road, Koreans tend to take their time and simply stroll at a (in my opinion) painfully slow pace. In short, they move like molasses. But put them in a car, and suddenly they are in the Indy … Continue reading
Things in Korea tend to be done by the book. Sometimes things done at school don’t make sense to me, but it comes down to how it appears. One such example is with the banners. There are banners for everything. Festivals and big events get banners, as do seemingly small things. I once was shocked … Continue reading
Christmas in Korea is quite different from Christmas in the United States and many other parts of the world. I was first alerted to this fact, of course, by my students. “Are you excited for Christmas next week?” I innocently asked a class the week before Christmas. “Oh, solo Christmas!” students yelled. In my next … Continue reading
Matt and I were excited to be invited to the wedding of one of his co-workers, the lovely librarian at this school. We had heard differing accounts about weddings and so we were interested to see for ourselves what a Korean wedding was like. There were a few differences between weddings in the U.S. Photos: … Continue reading
The sign outside the boys’ bathroom on the fourth floor says “tolet.” I don’t know what’s funnier: that it’s on the English floor or that it took me about three months to notice it. … The way the bathroom was designed allows anyone walking by to see the students standing and using the urinals. The … Continue reading
Hiking in Korea is great. There are so many spectacular areas to explore in our own backyard and throughout the country. Alli and I have done quite a few amazing hikes and last week we got to go to one of the most famous places, Mount Seorak. When we got there we saw one thing … Continue reading
You may have heard of the Korean Wave. This is the term given for the popularity of Korean culture that is sweeping across the world. I have my own Korean wave, something I like to call the “bow-bob-nod-wave.” Koreans bow to one another when saying hello, and often when leaving as well. Doesn’t sound too … Continue reading
Matt and I visited my co-teacher’s house Friday, where we got to meet her five-week-old baby for the first time. Little Yeon-ho is adorable, and my co-teacher enjoyed talking to me about differences in giving birth in Korea and America. In Korea, women often pay to stay in a postpartum care facility for two weeks … Continue reading
Matt and I don’t cook very often in Korea. For one, it seems to cost just as much to buy the food to cook at home as it does to go to restaurants. Two, the restaurant food is delicious and includes lots of veggies so we don’t feel that it is unhealthy to eat out. … Continue reading
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