Blogs from South Korea, Asia - page 363

For one thing, it is an adventure in and of itself to travel with 12 co-workers, co-inhabiters for a weekend long single room stay. OK, in all fairness, the first night we had two rooms....one housing our Korean administrator, her friend, and 3 female foreign teachers. The other, the rest of us. You learn in a hurry who snores...and if you are reading this, you know who you are. Let's admit it, everyone in Gyeongju knows who you are. But it was all part of the fun, watching the drama unfold as 13 people that already get quite enough of one another, attempting a weekend of fun and togetherness. No fists were thrown, no pillows anhiliated, no hearts broken. There was a little tension, but all things considered, the weekend went off without a hitch. Aside ... read more

Lotus Lantern Festival The city of Seoul and the entire country of Korea has been preparing for Buddha’s Birthday for several months. The streets have been lined with neon colored lanterns that are lit at night, and so are the temples. The festivities started off with a Lotus Lantern Festival that took place the Sunday before Buddha's Birthday, in downtown Seoul near Insadong. Earlier in the day, Jogye-sa (one of the temples in the area) hosted a large lantern-making event for foreigners. The places were quickly filled and since it was the day after Meredith and I got back from Seoraksan, we missed out on the chance to participate. In Korean Buddhism, the Lotus Flower stands for purity, perfection and spiritual enlightenment. Other than the lanterns, you will see halls filled with paintings and sculptures containing ... read more

This will be a very short entry since I just got home from shopping at 3 in the morning and is in terribly need of some sleep! Yes, the shopping centres here are open till 6am...and just as full as always I guess. Go clubbing and then straight to the shopping lanes...why not?! Anyway, I wanted to inform everyone that I have two more job offers to consider the next couple of days as both Bosch departments in Stuttgart, with which I had interviews last week, apparently want me. I guess I'll have to thank some people for putting in a word or two for me along the way. Ok, sleep tight, I will! /Magnus ... read more

I haven't put up a blog in a while so I wanted to post some pictures of what I've been up to lately. I can't believe it, but I've almost been here for 6 months already. Though the winter really dragged on, time is flying by now. Seoul in Spring is alot more livable than in winter. The mountains around the city are turning green, the sun has come back out and the air is, well still polluted as ever, but just feels fresher. The other day a korean friend helped me order a bike off the internet. I couldn't believe when it was hand delivered to my office the next day. So lately I've been rolling around Seoul, trying my best not to knock over any of the 10 million or so people who live ... read more

It's noon and I just got out of bed... Yes, my first night in Korea I overslept. Well, I'll blame the jetlag and the long day yesterday. The trip went well...I managed to get a couple of hours sleep on the KLM 747...maybe thanks to the nice chilean 50/50% Cabernet-Merlot I had before hitting the sack. Anyway, it took some time to get through customs...three forms to fill out and stamps to collect...very German... So, I was a bit late as I finally made it to the waiting lounge. I recognized Hyojoo right away and we went for a coffee. Was really nice to see her again! She took me to her apartment in Seoul where her friend Sookie waited. She had come up from Pusan over the weekend and was going back later that day. ... read more