A very Seoul weekend--again

Spent this weekend in Seoul to with Kristen--basically doing all the things I didn't do last weekend. We had a great time wondering around Insadong, the artsy fartsy, touristy trinkety area of Seoul. There are a lot of amazing things to buy there--everything from tourist kitsch to real antiques. I was basically in heaven, but held off and didn't really buy anything substantial.

After having an excellent time just chilling, we went to Kristen's friend's show, which was a UNICEF benefit. We supported him and then went out to Hongdae and did the Hongdae party thing. Hongdae is one of the most famous places in Seoul to party. I wasn't aware, partying in Daejeon, just how many military folks there are around here. All the Western men in the club were military, and they were quite nice, actually. A few guys were teasing their buddy who wasn't drinking, and I got to talking to this guy, who was pretty nice. The next day, after crashing on Kristen's friend's couch, we met up with this guy and headed back to Insadong to check out a book store (omg so many English books--70,000 won later). We went to Gyeongbukgung, the palace in Seoul that Stephanie and I visited back in the fall, and just enjoyed the beautiful weather. It was a good time, just meeting new people and enjoying some sites in Seoul.

This weekend, though, I am definitely not planning on doing Seoul--I don't know where I'll go yet, or if I'll just stay home, but I definitely need to find something interesting to do, because I'm feeling very restless and frustrated. My students haven't been good to me and I just... haven't been on the ball with teaching. My temper is short. I'm homesick, and the kids know it. I try to be a better person, but sometimes it just doesn't work. I keep thinking that I can't possibly be cut out for this, so I turn to art, or writing, which just comes out bent with my already frustrated mindset.

In other news, I have a Suite101 account, where I will be publishing articles about travel and life in Korea. I'll put up some links when I have articles out.

Mokpo! (And Daejeon loses something feirce to FC Seoul.)

Last weekend was Korea's independence day (March 1, 1945--from the Japanese), and it's a national holiday--which means that I had a very exciting day off.

To pass the time, I went to a soccer game with Tom, Kristen, and Kristen's friend from Suwon. Daejeon was playing FC Seoul, and we lost terribly--a whopping 5/2. But the first goal of the game was scored by a Weiguk, so I was a little bit excited about that.

Soccer fans are pretty nutty, which is good for some quality entertainment. I think maybe the reason Daejeon lost is because our side didn't look like THIS. (This is FC Seoul.) They were dancing and throwing these banners around the entire game. And there were Weiguks in their traveling crowd! Whaaat? Our team's supporters looked a little dismal. Sad.

The next day, I headed out to Mokpo, feeling a little frazzled by the idea of traveling alone. So far I haven't actually done it--I went to Seoul alone a couple times, but Mokpo is DEFINITELY not Seoul. It's a whole different world, and for that I was quite grateful--when I finally arrived.

When I got to the Daejeon Station, I was promptly told that I was at the wrong place, as the Daejeon Station does not sit on the Mokpo line, and thus I needed to go to the SeoDaejeon Station. (Which prior to this day I did not even know existed--but a quick check in the guidebook could have fixed that.) On the way to SeoDaejeon station, my cabbie almost got in an accident, but I wasn't paying attention (because I was NOW reading the aforementioned guidebook.)

I arrived at around 1:30, which was quite late for a day trip, so I had already decided that I was staying the night, regardless of whether or not there would be anything to do in Mokpo, which was described as having "coastal grimy charm". (Just my kind of city.) However upon arrival at the station, I misinterpreted the posted times and thought that the 'arrival' time for the train was actually the 'departure' time from Daejeon, so I thought that the next train to Mokpo ran at 4:30. So instead of waiting around for three hours, I bought a ticket to Gwangju, which seemed interesting.

And then I sat down to wait for the train, and I was flipping through the guidebook, and realized that there was nothing to see in Gwangju, and at that time I also realized that I had read the sign wrong, and so I waited in line AGAIN behind this adorable baby so that I could switch out the tickets. The whole time I kept thinking "everybody is watching me be an idiot right now."

But I exchanged my ticket and ended up getting on the MOKPO train as planned (at 2:10, not 4:30, which was actually sooner than the Gwangju train. Haha.)

The train ride was fantastic. Once we passed a certain point, the Korean countryside just changed. It became something else. Square rice fields lay flat and then mountains just exploded out of the earth for miles and miles--they piled up on each other forever. And the farther south we went, the farther away from Seoul we got, and I felt like I was farther away from whatever it is that makes this place look all the same.

Once in Mokpo, I was also in love with the difference that seemed to be prevalent in the city. Mokpo was at one time the seat of the main opposition party in Korea. Development funding was deliberately cut to stifle the political activity here--but the result was that Mokpo looks distinct from other Korean cities. It has 'grimy coastal charm' and a kind of liveliness that other cities didn't have. I smiled at people, and they smiled back.

Actually, within five minutes of my arriving at the Mokpo train station, I was invited to drink with the best native-Korean English speaker I have ever met. And although I didn't take him up on the offer, I was pretty excited, and I felt welcomed.

Other than being an intriguing place, Mokpo is on the ocean, and it is on the mainland overlooking a spectacular cluster of islands. I was planning on taking a cruise around some of them, but the rain on Monday prevented me. How sad. However, Sunday evening was sunny and I headed straight from the train station to Yudalsan, a park in the middle of the city, from which there are spectacular views.

(Note the lack of identical high rise apartments in this photograph.) Yudal park was spectacular, and I climbed higher and higher, even as the sun was getting lower and lower. (Though I took note of the street lamps, placed even on the most precarious of stone steps.)

Pavilions like these stood at the various ledge points so that the ajummas and ajoshis could rest. Or drink--whichever was more logical, but these men decided to drink not on a pavilion, but on a big rock that was sticking out of the mountain.

(Also possibly someone's grave.) Anyway as I climbed higher up the mountain, the path began to snake up around the large rocks that sat at the top of the mountain--a kind of rock formation that seems to me to be quite Asian--bare, white slabs with almost no features. Like enormous boulders that just happened to fall from the sky.

I sneakily took a picture of two young gentlemen sitting on one such outcropping, but this is not the one at the top of the mountain. As I moved farther up the mountain, the stairs became more precarious, and the path more like a real trail, and below me I kept seeing more and more of Mokpo--and farther out into the ocean. It was simply a photography paradise, so I took all the pictures I could.

As you see, just because Mokpo was once undercut for development funding, it is not so now. A number of large projects are under works, like this strange diamond shaped land bridge. Who knows what it is designed for. One of the 'nicer' sides of town is built on 'reclaimed' land (who decided "building" land where there was ocean before should be termed "reclaiming"--that makes it sound like it was ours to begin with!). It is an odd metaphor for how I see most of Korea these days. The 'nice' things, the new Korean 'good life' is built on a fake foundation. A man made, tangible--earthy, real, yet fake foundation. The grimy, swarthy, saline world is the undesirable world, but it is the world that is built on real soil.

Anyway I reached the very peak of the mountain, a perch on top of some enormous bald boulders, and sat with about twenty Koreans who were just minding their own business. The sun ducked behind a cloud and refused to give a good sunset, but I was content with being at the top of the world for a little while.

On my way down I captured this spectacular shot of the city lights starting to come on. I am not sure who the statue is of, but I am assuming that it is Admiral Yi, man of the naval hour, who saved the Koreans from the Japanese with Turtle Ships.

Heading back around the city, I got something to eat, and then I sat in a coffee shop and drew for a couple of hours--something that felt good to do, even if I could do it at home. It felt nice to do it somewhere else. Then I searched for a super cheap motel and found one. I paid 15,000 for a room--with it's own bathroom facilities, which is something like 12/13$. However, when you pay that little for a room, you should expect facilities of about the same quality.  Please, examine the photographs....

The room seemed alright--not too dirty, not too clean, with a working television (and CNN in English!) and a heated bed (since the ondol didn't appear to function.) However it was the bathroom that really did a number on me. Something had melted the bathtub. Like actually corroded the plastic enough to melt it. The shower barely worked and I was actually afraid to flush the toilet because of plumbing reparations. But it wasn't a problem at all. Everything worked out. Until I woke up in the middle of the night to a sound that sounded quite like someone attempting to force my door.

Now this is probably one of the reasons that I know I have been in Korea for WAY TOO LONG. Instead of assuming that someone was breaking into my room in order to steal things from me, I was convinced that the landlady had seen that I had left my bathroom light on, and was attempting to break into my (indoor locking only) room so that she could turn off the light and thus not waste her precious electric bill.

After a few moments of horrible fear passed, I realized that in fact no one was attempting to break into my room, and that the sound was coming from the opposite end of the room, and above me, so the only logical conclusion was that someone was having a VERY good time in the room above mine.

I woke up the next morning, departed the yeogwon (guesthouse, not even a motel) and went on my way--only to find that there wasn't much to do, because it was raining. So I explored, took pictures, ate some delicious bibimbap, and then went on my way. It was a wonderfully relaxing trip, and I got some great photographs and some great stories, and even better, I spent some quality time with my pens and markers.

Sunday's Excursion: Magoksa Temple near Gongju

[In which we ride the oldest bus in Korea on the twistiest roads in Korea, and are forced to eat temple food by an enthusiastic monk.] 

Lately Gongju has simply been the best place to start for intriguing day trips. People in search of some interesting destinations around Daejeon would do well to start there. On Sunday, we decided to enjoy the warmer weather and take the day to do something cultural. Kristen has a new coworker at her school, so we were treating him to the 'life in Daejeon' skit, but since we hadn't done anything other than eating and partying, we figured it was time to do something 'cultural'. (Though eating and drinking is basically a cultural experience here.)

We set out around noon to Gongju, and got our bus at the Yuseong bus station. The Yuseong station is a crowd of bus madness, pulling in and out through the traffic of a regular street. I don't know how these drivers manage to do this without killing anyone--or hitting the other buses--but somehow it all works out. People wait in the corner of the small lot patiently, and then when the bus arrives (destination written only in Korean), you make sure that you make eye contact with the driver so that he knows that you are actually getting on the bus.

The bus ride to Gongju is also quite beautiful, since you are passing around Gyeryongsan National Park. While in Gongju we walked across the city (not knowing we could pick up the Magoksa bus at the big terminal!) and took some silly tourist pictures.

The local bus station in Gongju is right by the market. Now when Stephanie and I went to Gongju in September, it was a big holiday, and so the market was closed as closed could be. However, on Sunday, it was a big old markety mess, and I was instantly in love. The buses pulled into little "ports" when they were about to leave, which meant that there was a covered platform where the destinations were listed. On the market side of the platform, some old people were playing "Yoot", a game that we played at the Traditional New Year's Party last week. At first I didn't know what they were doing, because they were doing it with such enthusiasm--and at first, in my direction--that I thought they were attempting to exorcise me or something. This ancient woman in a pink felt zip up tossed those sticks like a fortune teller, speaking in the harsh Korean dialect that the older people tend to use. (Which to me sounds SO much better than the whining tone that the younger city kids seem to have.)

Sneaky as I am, I took a video.

Anyway, we meandered around the market, looking at the fish, meat, various feet products, and, of course, RED PEPPERS!

These bags come up to my waste. Looks like Kimchi dipping season is soon.... One of my students mentioned it to me, so I think it is coming up. These are the peppers that go into literally every Korean dish imaginable. In the fall they were all laying out to dry, now here they are in huge bags.

 Anyway we explored the market, saw our fare share of weird animal products, boots, buckets, and oddities, and then we hopped on the bus to Magoksa.

Sadly I don't have any pictures of this bus, but it was probably the oldest Korean bus I have ever been on. It was mostly open, with a few seats. We sat in the back, on the raised part above the engine, and we slowly jerked through Gongju, then we were released into the surrounding countryside. We were at first in a city, and then we went through a tunnel, and arrived in what seemed to be a completely different country. The countryside was empty except for farms, occasionally grave yards, and these little cement houses. The road became narrower and we jostled and flew down the road and increasingly more precarious speeds, and I was feeling delighted. The only people on the bus were these ancient ajummas, who all seemed to know each other. Just like in America, life in the country in Korea must be a completely different world.

We arrived at the temple feeling ready for an excellent time, and then we began our walk. Magoksa was established during the Baekje kingdom, but was also a principle temple during the Silla period. And then, during Joseon (when the Japanese invasion of the 1590s occurred) the temple was a place of refuge. So, in short--most of Magoksa is now entirely intact--which cannot be said about most other temples in Korea. Unlike all the things in Buyeo that Stephanie and I visited two weekends ago, the Magoksa buildings haven't been moved, rebuilt or even repainted in quite some time.

Yet there are new buildings among them, and we had a very pleasant time strolling through the complex. We heard chanting coming from a service inside one of the main halls. I paused to listen for some time. A few monks spoke to us--enthusiastically explaining things in Korean which I didn't understand.

When we were about to leave, I heard the bell being rung, so I skirted close so I could see it. This tiny little man with a sort of bucket hat on was ringing the bell (I assume for dinner), and then when he saw me standing there, he began to talk to me. I mostly had no idea what he was talking about, but when I inquired about their temple stay program, he lit up and dragged us back to their office. (We were a little bit worried about the last bus at this point, but we couldn't be rude.)

Then after a long discussion, and many, many brochures, he said "I am very hungry!" Oh, well we need to leave, so I figured now was a good time to escape... because I had definitely convinced him that I understood MUCH more Korean than I actually do. Now was the proper escape time. But no, no, "I am very hungry and you are very hungry!" He wouldn't take no for an answer. We kept saying "bus, bus!" but he kept saying "time many time!" So we really had no choice. Lee, the new guy, seemed a little concerned, but I was happy to finally feel like I was traveling, and I just put my hands up in the air and said, "It'll work out."

So we went downstairs to the monk's quarters--a new building--and feasted on some delicious vegetarian bibimbap style food. It was delicious! And the monk came up to Lee and made a huge round sign with his hands, and then put it to his stomach. Then he grinned with this absolutely uncontrollable joy and bounced off to speak to more people. Then the temple secretary gave us this weird piggy bank thing and we set off.

It was a really odd experience, but one that I absolutely loved!

I seriously need to do laundry.

Spent an interesting weekend--and when I say spent, I mean SPENT, because I went shopping and bought SO MUCH that I might have set back my saving plans by weeks. Lord.

But I now have a pair of THE coolest boots on the face of the earth. For less than 40 bucks. And who can beat that, anyhow? I went shopping with Kristen, the girl who works at Avalon down the street from me. She's a lot of fun, and it's great to have a girl around again--especially one that likes to shop, bwaha. But I definitely spent too much too quickly.

I went dancing on Friday night at the 'hiphop' style club in Dunsan-dong called Cocoon. It's an intriguing place... good music, to an extent, but dancing there is slightly awkward. People watch you but don't approach you, and when they do, they're usually 20 years old, and their idea of dancing is basically to just latch onto you like a leech and try to suck the blood out of you. A friend told me that everybody at Cocoon was really young, and I didn't quite believe him (because he's old, haha). But once again, I'm realizing that I might be the 'young' one (at the remarkable age of 22, which apparently is really strange here), but the people on my level are much older--27-28-29. In fact the people that I most enjoy being with are around the 30s range. And while I love having an older group of friends, it's also a testament to how difficult the younger ones can be--like when you go to Cocoon and have awkward boys all over you.

Anyway after spending all Saturday shopping, I went to a birthday party of a friend of a friend over at the KAIST dorms. (And the dorm/apartments are much nicer than mine. Putain.) Failed at playing Korean drinking games, (which was a consumption disaster, I will tell you that), then ended up at--of course--Sponge, where I ran into friends who like to play pool and darts for drinks. All in all, we can say that I got the week's stress out of my system, and then spent all day Sunday at the jjimjilbang recovering.

This jjimjilbang that I went to was great though, they had all kinds of stuff in there. The outside waiting area, where the entrances to the saunas were, had a fake waterfall with little bridges and cars and people. And it was awesome. In the bathing area they had a really hot room with a really cold pool, and I loved that. I met a woman who had lived in DC for five years, and at first I had no idea that she was even Korean. Her English was so good that I thought she was foreign. (Is that a bad assumption?) Anyway I had a great time chilling out, and then I went home and napped.

Things at work have been stressful. Rumor has it that the husband is watching the cameras from the wife's center, and while I've heard nothing about how I am 'misbehaving' or 'not teaching properly', my boss has called up my coworker to tell him super anal things. I'm worried that the hands of corporate Korean hagwon madness are going to start closing on my already dwindling soul. I'm struggling to be a better teacher, but the weight of things is just pressing too hard. Once and a while I just need a little faith. Someone to say--"you're doing okay." or, "You handled this correctly." Instead of this constant silence, thin smiles, and continual avoidance. Or, my least favorite thing, "Maggie, why did you do this?" And it's been five months, so now it's really hard for me to say "I just didn't know." But there are things that I just don't know, because nobody tells me anything. And contrary to popular belief, I don't read minds, and I didn't really have much training, and someone who as worked with a program for 5 months, simply doesn't know the same amount about it as someone who has worked there for five years.

Sigh. At least it's getting warmer.