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How a Canadian can go so far west to look for work that he ends up in the Far East 
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All text and original images are Copyright Ian Ross, 2001, 2002 and 2003. Changwon, Kyungsangnam-do, and Seoul (Nowon Gu), Kyunggi-do, South Korea/Corea. Live from the Killbox 
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Wednesday, May 19, 2004
 Road beyond Nowon I hope you're all doing well. I felt it was time for a little update here. I still have lots of photos backlogged and I might release a few once in a while to keep things running. I know lots of stuff has been happening in Korea since I left but I'll resist the temptation to comment on it. I'm at home now. Still, the split from Korea is not complete. Yeji will be arriving in a month which is a big connection. I'm also working on a couple of projects for Korea. Textbooks are one direction I've started into via my new company. I've also reopened my old student-oriented site to offer online English instruction. If anyone knows of interested students, send 'em over. I resisted teaching privates for the entire time I was in Korea due to the legalities, but now that I am not in the country nor am I subject to an E-2 visa... the shop's open for business. Further to that point, I don't anticipate becoming an E-2 visa holder again. I'd like to visit Korea again within the next year or two, but I'm hoping that it'll be on an 'F' class next time. Again, I hope you're all doing well. Drop a comment and I'll continue passing through this way to check up. Wednesday, March 24, 2004
 The way home... [Note: There was a little bit of dirt on the window, but it's been cleaned up, thanks to yours truly and his new copy of Photoshop CS *brag* *brag* *smirk* *brag*] Right now I'm sitting in my office near the waterfront in Miramichi. I made it back safe and sound. The last three weeks have been a whirlwind of tearing down, and setting up. Let's see what I can remember. Don't expect many more updates here. I am even going to redirect the domain names for "Fareasterner" soon. In a short while, it will become the homepage for my new business, to be named: "Fareasterner"... surprise. *grin* If you're looking for a Korea-specific post: They impeached the president last Friday, and apparently the country is in chaos from what friends tell me. I also heard that they are keeping high school students in The Final 24 Packing succeeded. I misplaced a couple of things, and some of the computer equipment was shipped off to find a new home. A lot of things were left behind as they were either owned by the school, or else I figured I could pass them off as being owned by the school (dishes, the T.V., an extra desk...) What the school will do with them is anyone's guess. I am not being replaced. I hit the airport early on Sunday, to find that my flight was late. I passed the time in the lounge, was interviewed by some middle school students looking to practice their English conversation, and I bought some sandwiches for the flight-- knowing full well after last time that airlines have cut back on their dinner menu. I took the above photo after reaching Vancouver and departing again for Toronto. If you look beneath the clouds, you'll see the Rockies. I had a window seat.  Pearson airport. I stayed the night in Toronto at my cousin's place. Part of my planned activities now that I am home include finally working on some of those English textbooks I've been tossing around inside my head. My cousin's wife's brother runs a publishing company in Seoul. I'm thinking of sending some stuff off to him on spec. Early Monday morning, Canada time, I flew out again on the last leg of the trip and arrived at Moncton Airport in time for lunch. A couple of hours driving later, and I was home.  Back to the snow of home. Needless to say, it's a lot colder here, inside and out. The hometown has changed. It changed last time too, but now I can see what it was changing into. When I was home over the summer, I noticed a lot of businesses were gone but those that remained were freshly painted and seemed a bit more prosperous than when I left. Now, those gaps left by the businesses that closed have been filled-- but with discount stores. There must be a couple dozen "dollar" stores and used clothing outlets. In fact, it's almost impossible to buy anything new anymore. Retail outlets are understocked and everyone goes to Moncton for their major purchases, or chops online. Both Future Shop and Staples offer free delivery for online orders and I took advantage of that also. After reviewing and deciding against a job at the newspaper, I had an office to set up. It took me two weeks to get established. There's no high speed internet at home yet, so I've opted to move into an office in town. At least half of Water Street in Chatham is vacant. Three business are holding closing out sales as I type. As far as office space went, I am in the newest building on the street and am the only tenant on the second floor. The first floor is half-empty also. Street level retail space now runs at about $400 CAD a month, all incl. My office is costing me half that. It's not big. It's about 120 sq. feet but it's perfect for a computer workstation and my drafting table. I've invested in new computer equipment. Half of my startup costs went on software however. Photoshop, pagemaker, etc. don't come cheap and I'm determined not to use pirated software for the business. So what will Fareasterner be? ...um... that's a good question. I have my finger in a lot of different pies. I am hoping to make my income sustainable by not depending on any one thing-- or any one country. I see lots of business opportunities here. The problem with Miramichi isn't entirely the economy. Much of it is that older business, especially those that are unable to conform, are closing down faster than young people start new ones. Most of the young people are gone. Those that are left have been struggling so long that it seems many have lost their ambition. Word of advice: don't let anybody know you're an optimist or they'll eat you for lunch. I learned that lesson already. It's good that my office doesn't have a window in the door for just that reason. My workspace has a nice level of privacy, especially with the other offices remaining vacant for now. (I did notice a familiar old face checking them out though. If my hunch is correct, I could be writing an interesting followup post). I'm certainly continuing with the cartooning, even if I have decided against a full time gig at the paper. I'd like to expand toward some illustrating contracts also, but the main focus now will be to design some ESL textbooks and the like, for printing back in Korea. I'm also going to try my hand at online ESL instruction (to that end, I've already made news in two papers who think that such a business is rather innovative for these parts). I've also been handed some web design jobs and have been asked to do a little side-publishing on my own. The area is also without a local marketing/advertising agency and I figure that with my graphic skills and publishing experience, I could fill the gap once things are running more smoothly. Time seems to be my major limitation for everything. I'm happy to report that my family is doing well. My aunt loved the violin I brought back from Korea so much that she asked to get one. Yeji helped her out and it arrived yesterday. She's tickled. I didn't get down to Halifax yet. I had hoped to be there by now but I pursued the business start-up rather quickly and now that it's pretty much ready to go, I feel more like earning my first profits rather than hitting the road and spending my last savings. Hmm... Suppertime. I spent the day doing web design. I plan to spend the evening here cartooning. I have a great little water cooler with a fridge in the bottom. There's a sandwich calling my name right now. Let's leave it there. Friday, February 27, 2004
 Buddhist statues. The final push is upon me. Molly departed last night. Today was spent cleaning out his balcony. I kept the recyclables out there and today is the day of the week they are collected, so that was coordinated well. I ended up going through news headlines afterwards (I still have one cartoon to draw tonight in order to meet deadlines while I'm travelling). This afternoon was a chance for a much needed rest, though. Tonight I'm scrambling a bit. The movers and courier come tomorrow morning. Yeji still has some things to collect together and I have to sort out one more of my boxes for the mail. Since Yeji's father will be inheriting most of my computer components, that means that I will also be offline in about 12 hours. I better get cracking on the cartoon. Sometime in the middle, I have plans to meet a couple of friends to say goodbye over a quick coffee. I'll also take the time to snag some soju for friends back home. Good thing, because I am running out of coffee at home. I'm down to drinking green tea. It's a rush now, but in less than 24 hours, my preparations will be complete. In exactly 48 hours, I will be taking off from Incheon. Moncton is 78 hours away... and home will be a couple of hours after that. So there you have it: Around the World in 80 Hours, by Ian. That'll become a new classic. Next report will likely be from home. Saturday, February 21, 2004
 Coffee counter in Dongdaemun. I can't really believe that I haven't posted anything concrete since classes ended for me. Time is moving at light speed. I suppose I owe you all a bit of a rundown on how things are going. Well, not so bad. I've just about hit the "one week to go" mark. The packing's been slow but I suppose that's my fault. I started putting some books into boxes for mailing but honestly, I don't think I have that much to pack. Half of my clothes are going into the garbage. Many of them are worn out or hopelessly ancient. There are a number of CDs, videos, and books, but for the most part, I've spent the last three years downloading my entertainment. The computer will be packed up at the last minute since I need it to get artwork finished (and stay in touch with folks). The guitar was also in question but I truly believe that I can get by with only one stowaway bag once other items are mailed. It's quite possible that the guitar could be my other stowaway luggage. Whether it would remain safe is another matter. So much of the apartment will either go to Yeji's brother or father while other areas, like the bathroom, will be emptied into the trash full force. I'm not wasting space or time by taking half emptied bottles of shampoo with me. Yeji has a lot more stuff, on the other hand. But she has luckily found a place for the next month. She'll be staying in Seoul while she finishes at work, then spending time with her family in Busan. She plans on coming to Canada in April or May. Right now, she doesn't actually need all that much though. She should be able to just pack a few clothes and personal items to last her through the next couple of weeks. The rest, I am hoping, can be boxed up completely and sent to Busan where much of it will remain. While it's a lot more stuff, it doesn't have to be made flight ready so that should make it more possible to take care of. I have my plane tickets. I had to make another call in to the school about payment, but eventually they came through and I now have my tickets in hand.  Molly is getting ready for his new life also. My cousin's wife's brother's parents in law are currently slated to be his new keepers. They have a farm outside the city and lots of space for him to hop, jump, and burrow. Yeji and I are the only people he's really seen since I brought him home two years ago. I hope he can adjust. Thinking about being separated from him makes me feel absolutely rotten... I'll leave it at that.   The new Seoul Station: By night as we left, and day as we returned. As I said before, Yeji and I took a final trip down to see her folks in Busan. The new Seoul Station, shown above, is a vast improvement over the old. It's just like an airport in its size and design. We had a great time. As usual, there were lots of laughs and good food. We played a few rounds of Unari also, which is a traditional game involving the throwing of four sticks to move a token around a board. Yeji won about 20 games in a row on Saturday afternoon. I only won once, and it was the last game we played so I guess that makes me champion.  We also took a walk down to the shoreline and I got a chance to see some of the damage caused by Typhoon Maemi. Much of the stone work that had been built along the shoreline was crumbling. Some areas were ruined. Even some of the carved wooden statues has been snapped off and left in splinters. That day the weather was fine though. The sun was shining again and the harbour was still filled with dozens of cargo vessels awaiting their journeys. The waves were high and the wind was heavy but overall it was warmer than Seoul and much nicer than the metre deep snow that has been falling back home. On Sunday afternoon, we caught the train back home, exhausted but still busy. I ended up staying up all the next night doing a cartoon for the paper. Partly because of the fatigue, we skipped the trip to the police station on Monday. There was no time to finalize a case for the credit card problems and I had long resented spending time on such a losing battle while I should be concentrating on my move home or finishing my other, more pressing responsibilities. Yeji relented. Yes, I lost a tonne of money. Yes it burns me inside like little else. But there is no way to solve it. I pray I never allow myself to get into a situation like that again.  A few folks turned out to see me off? Tuesday I was tasked with a more important mission. This time for sure, it's my last trip to the Mokdong Immigration office. I even have an "Exit Order" now which I got after a member of the school and I filed my separation letter. I guess that means I am being deported. The guy with me (I don't even know his name actually) didn't speak any English and seemed a bit standoffish at first but warmed up over the four hours we were at the office together. He didn't know the word "fired" though, so it was really embarassing when he was checking the form over with me and pointing to my final date of work saying roughly, "Day you fired, Okayee?" With only a few days to go, I wasn't about to give him a vocabulary lesson on the differences between "laid off" and "fired". It wouldn't make a difference to him and it wasn't about to make much of a difference to me once I left the office. Nothing overshadows the freedom I'll have as I completely switch lives. My readjustment to home is going to be huge. After we passed in the forms, we had to wait for my passport to get stamped. As we did, we ended up next to the window. First we saw the riot police lining up. Then I could here the typical bongjak music start up as a demonstration approached. It was mildly ironic that there'd be a demonstration on the day we chose to go, but nevertheless, we felt a bit hurried now to get my passport back and get out of there. You never know what can happen at these things. I don't have any idea what they were demonstrating over. I got the impression it had something to do with Chinese factory workers being deported these days. Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, today... all passed by quickly as I am sure this week will too. In no time at all I will be on that plane, gods willing. I spent the end of this week organizing some things back home. I'm trying to decide how much I want to invest in my business. Lately I have also been considering a job opportunity that doesn't pay much but is in the field that I enjoy most: writing. If I take it, then my other business venture would have to be scaled down. I haven't set anything in stone. I'll just have to weigh the options and pick the one that will make me happiest- though I fear looking at my phone bill this month. I sort of hope to do both, actually-- but I have a habit of spreading myself thin. Once my path is decided, I promise to let you all know. Saturday, February 14, 2004
 Near Nowon Station. HAPPY VALENTINES DAY !!! I actually went to Busan for the weekend. I'll post more when I get back and caught up on things. Friday, February 06, 2004
 Street near Ehwa. Last day... Time does go quickly. Today is my last day of classes. Things have been moving along. I have my passport and my alien card, although I will be filing an official letter of separation in a couple of weeks which will have the effect of canceling my work visa. After today, I will left to packing up, organizing, planning, and freeing myself of my ties to here. I've been up since 6am today, having fallen asleep around midnight. I downloaded and watched the movie, "Paycheck" (sic). The plot involves memory erasure and is based on a work by Philip K. Dick. The main character takes a contract to do work in seclusion for three years, and when he is finished, his memories are wiped and he is to return to the world he left behind. While I won't consciously say it, there's a voice in the back of my head that's saying, "Lucky bastard. Curse our present technology." Maybe I should mail myself an envelope of trinkets and try banging my head against a wall more frequently. I am definitely eager to start fresh. I do have the choice to settle where I want. I am returning home because it's what I want. It's time for me to not just lay roots, but to cultivate those that have already been laid and since have been left fallow. I know I will have to get caught up on three years of changes. Heck, I have completely missed the post-9/11 North America. I was already living in Korea for almost a year when the terrorism attacks occurred. Over the next three weeks I will be mostly concentrating on designing two new homepages for my business plans. In fact, you may need to check your bookmarks for this site. The name "Fareasterner" is my planned business name so when I have the pages finished (nothing too fancy but something to signify some sort of web presence), I will be switching over both www.fareasterner.ca and www.fareasterner.com to the new site. Readers of the blog will still be able to find it at the Blogspot address, http://fareasterner.blogspot.com , although the updates will slow to a trickle and eventually end altogether. I hope you will join me instead, at www.Latenight.ca. In good news, it looks like Yeji has a "working vacation" visa in the works. That gives her a full year to join me in Canada before we worry about any next step. It also lets her work right away, for up to three months at any company in Canada. In good news for me, my father's found a car (although I hope he didn't break the bank picking it up... I need the cash for my business *grin*) It sounds nice. It's a 1999 Ford Taurus SE, with all the bells and whistles. The CD player is gojang but that's going to be fixed. Apparently it was owned by an older couple upriver so it's otherwise in fantastic shape. A used car is also easier on the insurance premiums. More good news of sorts has appeared in potential opportunites. I was on the phone to Canada yesterday with an old friend and heard of some developments that make for a suitable back-up plan should anything not succeed with my business. He also corrected me in my undervaluing of some freelance work I was looking at. I'm hoping to operate my business in the mornings (more on that later) and have the afternoon free to freelance writing and artwork. The money I get from the cartoons I already do isn't much, but it would be enough to cover the cost of renting a studio/office each month, so I think that's what I will be doing. One of my main drawbacks of the area I plan to move to is that it is still far enough out in the countryside that there is no option for high speed internet, which is a necessity for my plans. More on this stuff later, including a significant and detailed explanation once I am back in Canada and set up. So... there are just four classes left to go and then it's all paperwork. Thursday, January 29, 2004
 Photo from this past autumn. It's really hard to know what is true and what is not. Yesterday, I asked about the package and my school still said that they knew nothing about anything. I decided that no matter what was happening, I should call my embassy and make an inquiry into getting an emergency passport. Such a document is only good for one trip but since I will be staying put in Canada for a while, that's fine by me. The embassy also took the phone numbers/case numbers/etc. relevant to my situation and I think they made some calls of their own which may have sped things up. Bouncing right along, while I was on the phone with the embassy, Yeji got a call back from Immigration. It turns out that they never mailed the package at all, as they had said the day before. This time, they said that they were holding my passport until my school furnished the proper form, and that my school had been notified. So after touching base on this-- Yeji's help being the best I could ever hope for-- I called back my school. The girl who "knew nothing" admitted that there had been two phone calls to the school already. They may have just occurred recently, she didn't say. I suspect one was the embassy and that may have been the motivation to get things done. Still, there was a problem. For some reason, the school needed to get a letter signed by Mr. Park now, who was the former owner (and founder) of our school, until selling it last July to the new owners. I was given a new promise that things would be settled by the weekend. That night the stress was becoming rather evident. Poor Yeji has had to put up with a lot, and has assisted me where no one else could... but the level of ineptitude and subversion on the part of others has made this whole thing into a nightmare. It's problem after problem. The funny thing is that the one thing that broke the tension, while we were speaking, was another problem. Completely unrelated to all of this-- the hot water shut off again. I think we could have either cried or laughed... so we laughed. Now things seem better today. The hot water was temporarily fixed, but at the expense of the ondul heating system. They must have disconnected one furnace to the other in order to solve the hot water problem. The floor's cold now, so it's anyone's guess when that will be fixed-- but it's much easier to deal with a chilly place than the prospect of cold showers while you're working morning duty. As for the passport, I asked again after class today. I was told that the forms had been prepared and that the desk manager had already left for Immigration with them an hour previous. I'm now expecting a call by the end of the afternoon to state that everything is handled and that my passport and alien card will be at the school when I arrive tomorrow. Now it's back to confirming my ticket booking, filing for my pension, and having a little talk with the Yongsan Police regarding corrupt bar owners.
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