Blogs from Jeollanam-do, South Korea, Asia

It's starting to get good down here in our little coastal town. It's the time of year that reminds me why we chose this place and why I prefer living here rather than in the bigger cities up north. The mountains and feilds are dressed in green. A few azaleas are still putting up a fight and make for purple patches on the mountain sides and the water is warming up for summer time swims. Since the summers can get uncomfortably hot now is the time to do things outdoors. Even if that thing happens to be wandering the pedestrian street in the cool spring air after seeing "The Avengers" while looking for a place to grab a drink. Rather than head to a bar, sit inside and listen to insufferable K-Pop, it doesn't matter how ... read more

The past week has been filled with the comings and goings of our daily lives. We wake up, shower, eat, water the plants and wash the dishes before heading off to school. We great our students with a thousand hello's, teach our classes, go home, go to the gym, have dinner and settle in for the night if it's a weekday, or if we're feeling saucy we might go out for a coffee. The weathers starting to warm up and with it we head out on the weekend to do more activities. Hiking, bike rides and trips to the beach are all favorites. We try to get a good deal of outdoors activities under our belts by the time the rainy season shows up in June. This past weekend we spent Friday night in, watching live ... read more

Jen and I have been dealing with the pleasure of figuring out a wedding, reception, U.S. immigration law and the Koream marriage process at the same time. As you can imagine it's as fun as it sounds. Add to that the fact that we live in little ol' Yeosu on the southern tip of the Korea penninsula and all of the forms have to be picked up at the U.S. embassy which just happens to be open Monday through Fridaand reside in Seoul. We've spent the last few months going over government websites and waking up at unholy hours for a Saturday in order to skype with our immigration lawyer. The most frustrating part is just when you think you've figured something out you see something else that contradicts the first thing you read. But eventually ... read more

I was running around taking in all the new scents of the campsite. It smelled SO GOOD. There was all this food I had never seen! Luckily, I'm short and the people from Seoul easily lost track of me. I found a present of a whole loaf of bread just sitting in a bag for me! I felt sick after that, but it was the most fun I've had in awhile. I'm not really sure where my owner went, but I live with Paul now and he's the one that took me to meet his friends up on this hill above the ocean where they were setting up tents and hanging things in trees. Everybody kept picking me up. "Hey Sam, how ya doing buddy?" They put their faces so close to me. They don't smell ... read more

I've just realized that it's been a long while since I've written a blog. I originally started with the goal of doing one every Friday but as life here often does distractions come and schedules change. It's been a good month and a half or so since my last post and it's been busy. The summer is finally here and the days are starting to reach their muggy Asian feel. The rains are coming down more and more frequent. In fact as I write this it's the first day in a week that it hasn't been raining but there's a strong chance that streak will continue tonight and through the weekend. So what have I been doing these past few weeks? In early June we headed up to the Northeast coast for a 3 day weekend. ... read more

I decided to visit Yeosu—host city of the 2012 World Expo—for the long weekend. The bus arrived into Yeosu at 9:40 am on Saturday. The less-than-two-hour ride from Gwangju costs 9,900 Won. After finding out which city bus (1,100 Won) could take me to Hyangiram Hermitage, I was at the temple in 50 minutes—a taxi will be faster and costs between 22,000 and 25,000 Won. Buses 111, 113, and 116 will take you there. Restaurants and shops surround the street and long-steep-inclined pathway toward the temple entrance on both sides. Two-thousand won will get you into the temple, and a long and steep walk along stoned stairs will get you up to Hyangiram. The grounds are nice—crews were doing construction/renovation during my visit—and the views are amazing. After strolling everywhere, I hiked up to the top ... read more

So, I arrived in Yeosu last Saturday, and it is indeed as beautiful as I remember it. Rolling mountains reach to the sky at every turn, and the smell, sense, and sight of the sea pervades every part of life here. Water is everywhere, and it is beautiful. In fact, it’s been quite nice coming here to quiet(er), beautiful Yeosu after three weeks in the bustling, city-fied Seoul. One of my acquaintances at the hostel in Seoul asked me repeatedly, “Have you seen anything living here? I can’t find a single living thing, except people and some trees. I mean, no birds, no bugs even. Isn’t that strange?” Having hiked on Bukhansan just outside of Seoul, I can’t say I completely agree with him. But there is a distinct lack of nature/green space from what I’ve ... read more

Many festivals in various parts of Korea have been canceled this year due to concern over the spreading of foot-and-mouth disease. The sea parting festival was no exception. Although the festival was canceled, the sea parting still took place, just without the hypnotizing mayhem that is a Korean festival. We decided to stay in nearby Mokpo and make a day trip to Jindo for the event. Buses run regularly between Mokpo and Jindo and the ride takes about one hour. On the way to Jindo is a magical place called Uhang-ri, a dinosaur museum and fossil site. We arrived to find this place nearly abandoned, with a few visitors strolling the massive grounds. The vast open field is strewn with “life-sized” dinosaur statues, a funhouse mirror maze, and plenty of places for photo opportunities. This place ... read more