Korea Life Blog - Update

Nothing new here to report. Another day, another dollar. I just watched American Splendor which I downloaded off Overnet. I liked it a lot. Living abroad, Overnet is a real treat. I can watch good movies which almost never make it to Korean theaters. Now I'm drinking a beer, relaxing and watching Rocky 1 on DVD for the 10000th time. I love this movie and it never fails to inspire me. You should check it out if you never have, or if you haven't in a long time. It's not what you think or how you remembered it, I assure you. It's by far my favorite. If you give it a shot, I think you'll be surprised by how symbolic it is. Only Rocky 1, though, the rest of the series stinks.

By the way, I'm going to Taiwan for three days beginning Friday morning. I'm eager to check out the other country popular with foreign teachers. I'll be back in Korea Sunday night, and of course I will have loads of pics and stories to share here. I hope you're as excited as me.

I added the next section to the Geoje-do story. Sorry for the delay.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Around My Home

I thought I'd take some pics around my building to give you a better idea of the area that I live in. I moved here 7 months ago from Hongdae in Seoul where I lived for two months after coming back to Korea. (Before that I lived in Ulsan for well over a year and before that Busan and before that Geoje-do.) It's quite different from Hongdae, that's for sure. Even though I live close to Suwon and about 40 minutes from Seoul by bus, it feels like I'm in the middle of nowhere, hence why I call it Nowhere-dong. At first I hated this place, but now it's really grown on me. I like the small town/country side feel. It's very quiet here, peaceful. Take a look:



This hill is directly behind my home and part of what I'd see if they put the window in my room instead of the kitchen which overlooks a bunch of buildings. Oh, well. It probably won't be long before they build something up there. I envision highrise apartments, a mini-mart, a chicken and hoff restaurant, a PC bang, and 4 hagwons.



This is what I see through the hallway window when I open my door. I like the little woods. I wish they'd take down that ugly fence back there though.






Another little woods back behind the building. The sky was very pretty today.



This is a shot outside the front entrance to the building. It's a two minute walk to everything I need.



Back behind the building again. This roads winds up the hill and into a small university grounds.



I'm not sure what's going on with this building. That's the first graffiti I've ever seen in Korea. It must be some kind of art project from the uni. Up on the right, I think that's supposed to be Guss Hiddink, the Korean soccer coach before/during the world cup as everyone knows. On the far left it says "virus in here." Hmm...



A zoomed shot of one of the main buildings of the uni. It sits way up on a big hill. I'd hate to have to walk to it as a student in the cold and windy winter, or sweating to death in the hot and humid summer.


Well, there you go. I hope you enjoyed the scenery that I see everyday. It's not that exciting but I like it. The best part is the quiet. I never wake up to people arguing, banging, horns blasting, dogs barking, etc. I don't miss that from living in the city.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - Jangan College

I thought I was through with Jangan College. I sent them a letter turning them down because the pay is below average and they don't offer housing. This morning Professor "G" called me. I should have hung up.

"This is Professor G calling from Jangan College, may I speak with Shawn?"
I was outside, on my way to meet someone. "Can I call you back?"
"You were supposed to sign contract last week. Why didn't you?"
"I sent you a letter. Did you get it?"
"Anyway, are you ready to sign now? We can offer a little more money. 26,000,000 won."
That was less than 100,000/month more. "That's very kind, but an apartment costs more than that. Do you cover the initial deposit?"
"I'm sorry? I want to know. Do you want to work at Jangan College?"
"I want to. But like I told you - I can't because there's no housing. If I work there, I have to move out of my apartment."
"But that's no problem. All our teachers have apartment."
"But they had to pay a deposit and rent, right?"
"I don't know. You have no money for deposit?"
"Well, I might, but right now my apartment is free and my pay is almost the same as what you are offering."
"Anyway, we can help you. So do you want to work at Jangan college? We need an answer by today."
"Once again I want to, but there's no housing. I'm sorry to waste your time. Good luck."
"But housing is not a problem. Call one of our foreign professors. Tom. He can help you."
She started to give me the number. "Listen, I'm outside now so I have to call you back."
"OK. Call back."

Later I called and got the foreign professor's number. I decided to see if maybe the job was worth taking. Maybe he could also tell me about apartment prices. I called him but the connection was bad. He had to call me back 6 times. Finally:

"This is Shawn. I applied to Jangan college..."
"The apartment's been taken, sorry."
"What apartment?"
"It's taken."
"I didn't know you had an apartment for rent."
"Then why are you calling?"
"Actually, I'm not sure. Jangan college wants to hire me. Professor G told me to call and ask you about renting an apartment."
"I don't have anything to do with the hiring process."
"Can you tell me about the job?"
"It's OK."
"Well, how long have you worked there?"
"A few years."
"Do you like it?"
"It's not bad."
"Can you tell me anything else?"
"It's a decent gig. You'll have a lot of free time."
"But the pay is so-so considering there's no housing allowance, right?"
"Right."
"How do I go about renting an apartment. What kind of deposit would I have to put down around here?"
"Listen, I have to run."

I hung up, frustrated. An hour later Professor G called.

"This is Professor G calling from Jangan College, may I speak with Shawn?"
"Yeah, it's me."
"Did you speak with Tom?"
"Yes."
"Did he solution for your problem?"
"Not really. He sounded busy and he didn't know what to tell me."
"Are you ready to sign the contract now?"
"I'm sorry. Look - I'm making a big problem for you. I understand you need to to hire someone soon and you have no time."
"That's right."
"Well, good luck."
"What time will you be here?"
"I can't work there without housing - as I said, three times or more. If you can arrange an apartment, I'll gladly take it. I have no idea how to rent an apartment and neither of us have enough time. Also, won't I have to pay a big deposit? I don't really know the system in Korea."
"Maybe. You have to visit real estate agent. That's easy. Go to real estate agent and call me back."
"Well, where is it? I don't think they can speak English around here anyway. Can you call one?"
"You have to go. Maybe they have special arrangement for foreigners."
"OK, I will try tomorrow morning. I have to work now."
"Yes, make a decison by tomorrow morning. Hurry, please. I have to submit the teacher to adminstration right away."

At 4:30 she called yet again:

"This is Professor G calling from Jangan College, may I speak with Shawn?"
"Yes, I know who you are. This is Shawn. This is my handphone. Nobody else ever answers it." I was teaching and starting to get annoyed. "Can I call you back?"
"Did you go real estate agent?"
"I said I'd go in the morning."
"Anyway, I called one for you. You don't have money for deposit, is it right?"
"Well, I'm not sure. It depends -"
"She said you can pay 6 months rent in advance then. Total: 1,900,000."
"Not bad. What kind of apartment?"
"One room."
"Where is it?"
"Around our college."
"Well, where? I live nearby too. I'd like to see it. What's the name?"
"I don't know. Anyway, will you take the apartment and sign contract our college?"
"But I just said I don't know anything about the apartment. Is it new?"
"I don't know."
"If I'm going pay for it and live there for one year, don't you think I should at least see it?" The students were watching and laughing. The whole situation was aggravating. "I mean, I don't know what you expect. Can you tell me anything about it? How big is it? Is it clean? Is it furnished? Did you get any information at all beside 'one room' and price? Can you take me there?"
"You have to go to the real estate agent. They help you."
"Well where is that?"
"I don't know. I didn't get details. But tell me. How long have you lived in Korea?"
"Almost three years."
She laughed loudly. "Then how come you don't know about renting an apartment."
"Because I've never had to. Every apartment I lived in has been given for free with my jobs."
"But Jangan college has a different system," she said in a tone that implied I was an idiot.
"Yeah, I know that now. That's what the whole problem is. Hello?"
"Anyway, I want to know are you interested in working at Jangan College? Are you going to sign the contract today?"
That did it. I felt myself turning red. I was ready to tell her what's what, but being in the classroom, I was forced to control myself.
"No, I don't want the job. I'm sorry. Goodbye." I hung up. A minute later the phone rang again. I turned it off.

written by shawn matthews    -|link

Korea Life Blog - New Poll (6)


There's a new and exciting poll to vote on. Here are the results of the previous exciting poll:


favorite korean food

kimchi chigae 40 (19%)
dwen jang chigae 20 (9%)
bulgogi 27 (13%)
sam gyeop sal 23 (11%)
mandu 7 (3%)
bimim bap 15 (7%)
garbi 34 (16%)
garbi tang 11 (5%)
kim bap 11 (5%)
korean chinese food 13 (6%)

201 Total votes


In a surprise upset over garbi, kimchi chigae takes the top spot for favorite korean food. However, if you were to combine the votes from garbi with bulgogi, fairly similar meals, the chigae wouldn't compete. I personally voted for sam gyeop sal, but of course everything on this list is delicious.

written by shawn matthews    -|link