Busan or Bust

So one major Korean city wasn't enough for me, I felt like taking on another one the next weekend. Last week, two of my coworkers and a friend (Jessica) and I went to Busan (or Pusan) to attend the Pusan International Film Festival (PIFF). We got up at the crack of dawn to catch an early morning train. Before long we found ourselves hurtling at over 300 km/hr on the KTX, Korea's bullet train.

As my coworker Maree and I were trying to figure out what to spend the day doing, she spotted
our hotel on a random map in her guide book. However, it was not where we originally planned for it to be, but was on the other side of the city! Apparently, the hotel overbooked and we got moved to another hotel in the chain. Thankfully she had printed out her confirmation email and recognized the hotel name, or we would've wasted all day running across Busan to find it!

Once we got there we scurried over to the PIFF headquarters downtown to get our tickets. Not having reservations, we were a bit nervous, but there were still plenty of seats available for some interesting sounding shows, so we were content. We then went to check into our hotel, catch a quick nap, and explore the city. Upon arriving at our hotel, we discovered that A) we were the only weh-gooks (foreigners) around and B) there was an Oktoberfest celebration going on right outside of our hotel (not the German variety, but still the same spelling). As our rooms were still being cleaned and were unavailable, we spent some time checking out the festivities and joining in on the traditional games and activities. It was a blast, and the Koreans were so excited to see the weh-gooks joining in on the fun.

After catching a nap, Maree and I went to go explore a huge park and mountain right next to our hotel while Kate and Jessica ran around downtown. We rode a cable car up to the top and had an amazing view of the city. We also came across a beautiful small temple with Buddhist images carved into the mountain. It was a short hike, as Maree was only wearing flip flops, but it was deeply satisfying and refreshing.


We met back up for some very Korean food (i.e. Outback Steakhouse) and headed off to the movies. We had a great time seeing Spanish, Chinese, and Russian films and Maree and I even made it through the majority of the Midnight Passion, which was a screening of three movies at midnight.

The next day, we opted to go relax at the beach, as Busan has one of the most beautiful beaches I've ever seen, Haeundae Beach. During the summer, Haeundae has the highest number of parasols on a beach in the world and it's probably the biggest tourist destination in Korea. Thankfully, we were going after the beach season had ended, so the only people there were there for the film festival. We had a great time playing in the ocean, collecting shells and building a snow/sandman (this is what happens when you go to a beach with three Canadians).

I also got interviewed by random Koreans as part of their class assignments. One group of female students was even on a scavenger hunt and asked to take a picture with me. I agreed, and then they showed me what their criteria was: "Take your picture with the most handsome man you can find." I'm just guessing they were running out of time and getting desperate.

Finally we made our way to the train station only to find that everyone and their mom was leaving Busan when we were, so all of seats were sold out. Which means we got standing tickets. For a 4 hour train ride. It was a blast. Kate passed out in a luggage rack for a while whilst the rest of us played cards on the floor or sat where we could find a flat surface.

It was an exhausting trip for sure, but I absolutely fell in love with the city. I'm looking forward to my next venture to Busan, as there's so much to see in the city and in the surrounding mountains.

Riding the Seoul Train!

Well, things are becoming more and more familiar as time goes on. Having just finished my fifth week of teaching, I’m finding myself more and more comfortable working with the kids. Also, the kids are becoming less and less afraid of my beard, which is a plus. I even had a few of them offer me gifts of food for Chu-sok, their equivalent of our Thanksgiving. True it was a sponge-cake, but it was mighty tasty!

While I’m still working to understand the curriculum, I’m looking more and more for those places where I can supplement the lessons with my own style, thoughts, or materials. I’ve already managed to incorporate my guitar into a few lessons, which has gone over really well with the kids, and I’m hoping for more opportunities.

Because we had a three day weekend due to Chu-sok, I opted to join up with some other foreigners for a venture up to Seoul. We had a great time being in the city, although the people I went with were far more interested in shopping and night life then actually seeing much of the city. Still, I got to see some really interesting parts of town and got to experience what is definitely the most diverse city I’ve ever been in.

While we spent most of our time in what is considered the “Western” part of town, the diversity experienced there was incredible. On any street corner you could hear at least 5 different languages around you, and if you heard six people speaking English you were likely to hear six different accents. I went into a foreign food mart (right next to Foreign Restaurant), and was simply amazed at how many different skin tones, languages, smells, and foods surrounded me.

While it was incredible to be around, it gave me the strangest feeling, like I was in an amorphous place without any unifying definition; lacking in any striking identity other than commerce. I couldn’t tell I was in Korea, and it didn’t feel like I was back in the states; I was simply in a place where cultures met, mingled, and melted into each other. It was unnerving, yet invigorating. I’m eager to go back and get a deeper look into this multiculturalism, as well as historical sites that would teach me more about Korea’s unique identity and history. I think experiencing these two aspects of Korea will give insight into what the country, and in a larger sense the region, is going through; an intense time of redefinition, where traditions and ancient traditions are being held in tension with the progress of trade and modernity.

How very interesting.

With all that said, I was glad to step off the train back at Iksan. While there are roughly 500,000 people here, it was so quiet compared to the bustle of Seoul. I could actually hear my thoughts as I walked and went for a nice quiet read in the park. I'm glad Seoul is only 2 hours away by bullet train (traveling around 300km/hr, by the way), but I'm very glad to be living here in Iksan, in the quiet, and on the edge of rice fields.

Quirky Thing in Korea

What music do you hear in Korea? Well, if you're at the train station in Seoul you hear Latino beats, trumpets, and wooden flutes. Oh yeah.

P.S. Below is a picture of the TV in my hotel room. Amazing. Oh, and did I mention the complimentary computer and internet? Also, it was about $15 a night. Sweet.