Things I'll Miss About Korea: School Lunch

It concerns me how many of my posts are/will be about food.

Lunchtime in Korean middle school.  For some of my fellow ex-pats, this topic is a source of contention.  To hear many of my friends speak of the lunches at their schools, you would think that they are the worst thing in the world.  Still others rave about the food they are served.  You can definitely count me in the latter of those two groups.  I am usually very impressed by the meals served by the cafeteria at Sinsang Middle School.  It sounds like I certainly got lucky when it comes to the food we're served!  Sure, there is the occasional dud, but for the most part the food is satisfying and delicious.

Lunch is served buffet-style, and teachers line up to fill their trays from a selection of foods.  The main feature of the meal is rice, followed usually by some sort of meat dish, a vegetable dish, and kimchi (of course!).  A soup normally rounds out the meal.

The serving area.  The red container holds the rice.

Today's lunch: a little different from the norm.  Instead of the regular soup, we
had a noodle dish.  Also included were some kind of pizza pocket-things.

Lunch time also affords opportunities for socializing with co-workers.
Unfortunately, sometimes the English content of the discussion is limited!

As I said, the food is usually good quality and delicious.  However, bibimbap day is something altogether special!  Nothing compares to entering the lunch room and discovering that this king of Korean dishes is the day's featured menu.  Bibimbap day causes me to do my happy dance (even if it's just in my head so as not to confuse and frighten the Korean teachers)!

Bibimbap.  Om nom nom.

Things I will really miss about Korea: bibimbap day.

Things I'll miss about Korea #3: Pamphlet Immunity!

One of the small joys I get here in Korea is being ignored.  Well, to be fair, as a foreigner, I actually get quite a lot of attention from people in the street.  However, there is one situation in which I am often overlooked, and I am quite happy in these cases.

The people on the street who hand out flyers and pamphlets are quite insistent and in-your-face.  Also, I don't know if it is a byproduct of the politeness culture in Korea, but many more people seem to be willing to accept a pamphlet or flyer from a hawker here than the average person would be back home.  Perhaps that's why the practice seems to be more wide-spread, at least here in Seoul.  However, many of the people handing them out seem to be quite rude.  In one instance, I saw a man walk alongside a woman for nearly half a block, holding a flyer against her arm while making his spiel.  She was doing everything she could to ignore him, but he wouldn't have it.  I would have been livid if someone tried to do that to me!  The good news is, they generally don't.  When one of these people sees my foreign face, they assume that I can't read or understand Korean and generally ignore me.  (For the most part, they're correct, but I probably understand a lot more than they assume.)  There are exceptions (churches being the main one), but for the most part, street advertisers are simply something I don't have to deal with.

Another exception was a local gym that recently opened near my officetel.  They actually had an English-language pamphlet for me to read, and after looking it over, I am now a member there.  Sadly, in this case, street advertising actually worked on me.  However, it's quite a nice gym, and hopefully I can get into enough of a habit of going that I continue to lose weight after I return home to Canada.  No regrets!

Things I Will Miss About Korea #2: The Subway

An Ode to the Seoul Metropolitan Subway System

In London, there is the tube
Edmonton, the LRT
Vancouver has the sky train
And others around the world, too numerous to mention
But here, in the capital of Korea to the south
The jewel of easy travel on rail
That bastion of convenient commutes
The Seoul Metropolitan Subway System.


Sixteen lines, heat in the winter and air-con in the summer
Some days, taking long rides just for relief on a hot summer's day
Clean, usually quiet, the gentle rumbling down the tracks
What better time than to crack open a good book?


Maps and signs in multiple languages ensure you'll never be lost
Doesn't matter if you're Korean or waygookin
Just pay the small fee and you're on your way
Unless the Korean soccer team just played; then, you may have to wait.


One look at the map, and you may be daunted
But have no fear; the subway is easy to navigate
Anywhere you want to go, you can
Although you might need the smart phone subway app.


Fall asleep before you reach your transfer?
Have no fear! They've thought of that
A cute little tune will play to wake you up
Because, after all, everything in Korea must be cute.


Yes, the Seoul subway is a marvel of modern engineering
So many lines, trains, and stations
How can they keep track of it all?
I don't worry about it; I just put my head back and wait
Nowon station is coming up soon.



Apologies for that, it turns out I am not a poet in the slightest!  I do want to say that I've never seen a public transportation infrastructure as advanced and convenient as Seoul's.  The bus system is also very good, but I mostly use the subway so I don't have much experience in that area.  The English signage is definitely a great thing for us English-speaking ex-pats, but even moreso to visitors only in the city for a few days.

To give you an idea about some of the things I mentioned above, I've included a few pictures of the subway system.  Click on the thumbnails for a larger view!

Exits and entrances to the subway stations are clearly marked.

The inside of Digital Media City station.  Notice the signage in Korean and English.

... including English!

A ticketing kiosk.  Service is available
in multiple languages...

After getting a subway card, you merely swipe it to walk through the gates to the platform.

Choose which direction to go using the convenient signs showing the stations in either direction.

English and Korean signage show the direction of travel for the train.

And a status indicator shows the current location of the next train!

Convenient maps show the layout of the station.

And other maps show the points of interest and landmarks in the surrounding neighborhood.

There are many escalators to get to and from the platform from ground level.

I try to use the stairs as much as possible, but not at Itaewon station.  Good God!

EDIT: I meant to include this video.  This is poetry done right!  The following video features a song written and performed by an ex-pat living here in Seoul.  The music you hear at the beginning and a various points in the song is actually the tune that many of the lines play on the train when approaching a transfer station.  Also, this video has actually been featured on monitors in the subway stations!

Here's a link to his YouTube Channel.

Things I'll Miss About Korea #1: Pizza School

As I begin my first entry in this series, I would like to stress that this list is not in any order whatsoever!  It may seem silly to start this series with something so seemingly insignificant, but that's because you don't understand how great this phenomenon is.  Without further delay, I introduce to you the first thing I'll miss about Korea: Pizza School.

The Pizza School closest to my apartment, only one of hundreds of locations throughout the country.

Now, don't get me wrong: there are many, many better things in Korea than a budget pizza chain.  Like I said, this list is in no particular order.  However, you can't understate the value you get for the price.  Pizza School offers a fairly large-sized pizza for the ridiculously low price of 5000 won!  For those of you who don't know the exchange rate between won and dollars, according to xe.com, 5000 won equals around 4.34 CAD.

The box.  They even wrap it in a nice, little ribbon.  Like a present!  A delicious, cheesy present.

Now, granted, Pizza School pizza isn't exactly the highest quality pizza out there.  This isn't Ramona's Pizza in Grande Prairie or even Boston Pizza's pizza... but it's not bad!  Did I mention that price?  For less than five dollars, you get the equivalent of a Domino's or Panago pizza.  Let's look at the price, in Canadian dollars, of a regular pepperoni pizza from Domino's, for example.  Pricing out a medium pepperoni pizza on Dominos.ca yields a final cost of $17.31.  Even if we take away the delivery charge, that still leaves us with a pizza that costs $12.49.  Here, at Pizza School, I can buy an equivalent-quality pizza (I would say, even better quality, actually) for only slightly more than a THIRD of the cost!

Greasy, delicious -- and better than Domino's!

Consistent quality at an absolute rock-bottom price earns Pizza School a place on the list of things I will miss about Korea.

Although, to be fair, you might have to get used to the idea of kernels of corn on your pizza...

A Return to Blogging

Hey everyone!  I know it's been ages since I last posted, and I intend to make a few changes.  First, I'd like to talk a little bit about this adventure I've been on.

It's been nearly two years, and I'm beginning to feel the imminent end of my Korean adventure.  I've had some amazing, life-changing experiences.  I've met some amazing people, people who have made impacts on my life that I'm sure that even I will be unable to fully appreciate until some far-off, unknown time.  I intend to recount some of these experiences over the next few months as my time here draws to a close.

I initially came to Korea with the intention of only staying for a year.  However, "fate" or "random circumstance" or whatever you want to call it intervened and caused me to change my mind.  I met an amazing woman and some amazing friends who led me to the decision to stay in this, frankly, amazing place for longer than I expected.  I wouldn't trade my time here for anything.

However, I am now torn.  As August draws closer, I find myself greatly anticipating my return to the land of my birth and the one true home I've known.  I am eager to get back, but at the same time, I don't want these feelings of anticipation to overshadow the experiences I've had and are still having here in Korea.  Indeed, I know that when I finally do leave this place, I will miss it a great deal.  I want to give enough time to fondly reflect on the things about this country that I love, so that I might still appreciate them while I am still here.

To that end, I have decided to compile a list of things that I will miss about this country.  Some of them are small, seemingly insignificant items, while others are much broader in scope.  However, big or small, they all add up to the grand tapestry of my experiences here, and they will all be missed.  This is not to say that every experience here has been entirely positive.  It is easy to look back with rose-coloured glasses and imagine that my time here has never had any sort of obstacle or setback.  I will, on occasion, recount some of the stumbling blocks I've encountered.  After all, any experience worth having is not going to be without its speed bumps.

Over the next few weeks, I intend to begin my chronicle.  I have a few topics lined up already, but I am also still compiling ideas.  I appreciate any input anyone might want to provide, and any questions people want to know will be addressed.  My friends, please enjoy my meandering thoughts and recollections, and to everyone back home, I will indeed be seeing you soon!

One Year Later...

Well, here it is: one year in.

It doesn't seem real.  I recently returned to Seoul from a ten-day vacation in Las Vegas and back home in Alberta.  Many things took me by surprise: first, how much I missed being here in Korea while I was home, and, in the last few days, how severely I miss being back in Canada.  Just a little taste of being home with friends and family made me realize how much I miss them.  It sounds silly, but the last couple of days leading up to the start of my second year have been incredibly hard.  Knowing that I could have been going home for good, but rather, I'll be spending another year here has hit home in a very real way.

I've met so many amazing people here, and I have many good friends, but I almost feel like I did in the first few weeks after I arrived here a year ago.  I'm eager to meet new people and get out and explore.  One of the reasons I opted to remain another year here in Korea was to have more opportunities to travel throughout Asia, something I have not done at all yet.  I have explored many areas of Korea quite thoroughly, but other destinations in the region such as Japan, China, Taiwan, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Thailand have all eluded me thus far.  I would like to think that I'll have many opportunities to visit them in my second year, but I have a feeling that it will fly by much like the first one has.

I'm sorry that this particular entry has sounded so melancholy.  As such, it really matches my mood of late.  I will have an opportunity tonight to reconnect with some friends here in Seoul at Dillinger Pub's trivia night, so I'm really looking forward to that.  However, I think some Skyping home to friends and family might be in order.

I love you all, and I hope to talk to all of my friends soon.

Thoughts from Places: The Train from Seoul to Daegu

Written Saturday, May 7th, 2011

In the past couple of weeks, the weather has taken a distinct turn in Korea.  Gone are the chilly mornings in which one can still see their breath and the ever-present chill in the hallways of the school.  Instead, we have sunshine and warmth, a sharp rise in humidity, and that small bit of sweat accumulating at the small of your back as you walk the busy streets of Seoul

Summer is on the way!

As I gaze out the window of the train, the Korean countryside rolls by, bathed in the nearly oppressive heat of the late-spring sun.  Oppressive, that us, to this Canadian, who is more used to seeing snow on the ground in early May than battling the heat.  The warmer weather in the past couple of weeks has turned the landscape from dreary tones of brown and grey to the green of grass and leaves and the many colours of the flowers and other flora we pass.  Shelby, Meagan and I are on our way to Daegu this afternoon, leaving behind the noise and smog of Seoul for a couple of days.  Of course, Daegu is still a very sizeable city, so we'll be greeted once again by noise and smog at the end of our journey.

The landscape of this part of Korea is reminiscent of home.  As I watch the trees pass by, I'm reminded of the Wapiti River valley, or the area around Dunvegan.  Sunlight plays across green leaves and wide fields, and the nostalgia hits.  I am loving my time here, but part of me is always eager to see my friends and family and the familiar Alberta countryside again.  This leads me to think about my friends the happenings in their lives while I've been gone.  It is supremely unfair that life does not simply stop or pause while I'm away.  No, the lives of my friends go on, seemingly oblivious to the fact that I am not there to witness it.  One of my best friends is going to be a father soon, and I am sad that I won't be there to meet his new kid when he or she is born.  Is it not the height of selfishness for them to go on with their lives when I'm so far away?

I think it goes without saying that I am kidding.  But part of me does regret not being there with my friends and family, for the good times and the bad.  I am traveling to Las Vegas with some friends in August, and I will have some time afterwards.  I'm contemplating going home for four or five days at that time.  If I do so, it would be the last time I'd be home for a full year.  Perhaps it would be worth it?  I'd be able to meet Serge's new son or daughter, see my parents, visit with my friends... I haven't booked a return ticket back from Vegas yet, so I still have some time to think about it.

In the meantime, I'll be here, enjoying the beautiful weather and the company of new friends.  But my mind will, on occasion, return to the beautiful expanses of wide prairie and lush forests of home, and the friends I've temporarily left behind.