Ulsan Experience

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Day One: September 10th

I arrived in Busan Gamhae International Airport at approximately 20:32. To start off my new life in Korea and all the experiences that I was looking forward to Destiny had already had a plan set in motion to jostle the cultural awareness and make me realize that I was, indeed, "not in Kansas" anymore. What is this experience that I write of?......Customs.

I have been through countless (truly countless) countries and their different custom proceedures. Nothing would have prepared me for the one that I had in Korea. Not even the turntable style customs of the Moroccan "Do whatever you like and enjoy our country" attitude then get on a ferry and get your passport stamped while we don't check what your bringing back. Which, up to this point, had been the most bizzare customs adventure yet.

Why was customs so shocking for me? It wasn't the fact that everything was in 한 갤 (which your having trouble reading yourself right now) or the fact that I stood in the "long line" to get through customs which NEVER happens to Americans. It wasn't even all the stares that I recieved from the other passengers on the bus to get from the plane to the terminal (being that I was the ONLY white person on the bus). It was...I kid you not...the fact that not a single person in the ENTIRE baggage claim/customs all-in-one spoke a single word. I might have understood if we arrived at 02:00 or even if no one was speaking in my general direction, being that I'm waygook. But nay, I tell you. Not a single person from the three planes that had just deboarded spoke. Then, after acquiring my luggage, I promplty walked to the customs official who did not check my bags, did not ask me where I was going, did not ask me if I had anything to claim, did not EVEN look at the claims sheet, but took my claims slip and ushered me through the door where my director, Charles, and co-worker Craig (Kiwi) were waiting for me.

From the airport Craig and I talked all the way back to Ulsan (just North East of Busan about 45 min drive) about living, working, and culture in Korea. He seems pretty cool and I'm sure that we'll get on fairly well. Upon our arrival in Ulsan I got the not so grand tour through our SUV windows ("That's the Hyundai theater and there is the Hyundai Hotel. Oh, and that there is the Hyundai foreigners building......Also, that river...Don't go in it.") Once the quick tour through old downtown (Shinae) and a "look in that direction and you'll see Samsong" tour of new downtown we finally arrived at the school. I was shown the outside of the building and told to show up to work at 13:00 the next day.

From there it was on to the yuhgwan (love motel) that I would be staying at for the next two nights. As we were pulling into the garage (which was not even a block away from the school) Craig told me that the ropes hanging over the entrances to the garage are to keep wives from spoting their husbands cars at the love motel. This prompted me to ask the obvious question of "Why?". Little naive American to Korean customs I was... Apparently, a yuhgwan is not called "love motel" because they have murals on the walls of hearts, flowers, and care bears, but it is called that because of the truly obvious. Men will meet their mistresses at these establishments and "utilize the mirrored walls" (as one man once put it) to their hearts content. Once their pay-per-hour hours are over they seperate until their next rendezvouz. Well, I was immediatley prompted to ask the next obvious question......"How much is it an hour?"....just kidding!....."Why am I staying here?" Come to find out, yuhgwans are very popular with foreigners, however, not for their inital intent. They are cheap (about $30 a night) and come with all the bells and whistles that most 4-star hotels have. We got to my room and boy was I surprised. I was expecting to see a small room with a heart-shaped bed, candles on the head of the bed, a swing in the corner, and an assortment of toys on the bed side table. (Naive American once again). In fact, it was a king sized bed about 10 feet away from a 52" flat screen HD tv mounted on the wall. Underneath the tv was a mini-fridge stocked with all you could ask for (free too!), a sterilizing machine full of cups and mugs, instant coffee, and a water cooler/heater all-in-one deal (they like their all-in-one's). Then there was a very nice mirror/table piece with toiletries (free again) ranging from full bottles of shampoo and conditioner to body lotion and oil. The bathroom was a huge bathroom for Korean standards, almost as big as the bedroom. The entire floor was tiled and the only drain (for the shower) was under the sink. Koreans definitely know how to build a bathroom. They make it so you can clean while showering. Just hose off the walls, toilet, sink, and shower and you don't have to go back and scrub it on the weekend. There was also a tub in the bathroom which means hours of soaking in a hot bath. It was luxury to the max.

Eventually (10 mins later) Charles and Craig left me to sleep and reminded me that I had work at 13:00 the next day. Can't wait to start!

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