The Internet Ramblings of the QiRanger

Stop!!!!!

When I woke up this morning and started to read my news feeds, I saw the following story:

In 2009, the Monitor will become the first nationally circulated newspaper to replace its daily print edition with its website; the 100 year-old news organization will also offer subscribers weekly print and daily e-mail editions.

It’s something that I’ve known was coming for a long time. The method of distributing the news has changed so much in the past 10 years that print is essentially dead. Even as I teach my Newspapers Honors class, I rely only on web articles to teach the content, since it is easier and faster to get current events to discuss.

Bu I am truly sad, for there is something very special about waking up in the morning, walking out to the driveway and collecting that rolled goodness if information. To sit at your kitchen table with a hot pot of coffee and see what’s going on in the world. In fact, my greatest fear with the fast-coming demise of newspapers is that people will cease to see what’s going on locally.

In fact, I think the most intersting section of newspaper has always been the Opinion section – something that never quite lives up to snuff when viewing it online. In the years to come, I really hope that a better translation of news can come to pass.. but as geeky as I am. I still prefer the paper-in-hand approach.

Travel Video

Since I arrived in Korea there’s been one destination I’ve longed to see: The DMZ. Now goring up in the United States and being a student of history and culture, I knew most of the long and varied history of the Demilitarized Zone. However, in the days leading up to my trip, I was astonished by the number of questions I received asking, “What is the DMZ?” Here’s your answer:

The border between North and South Korea was created at the end of World War II to divide the Korean Peninsula into two sections: the north (Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea) and the south (Republic of Korea). The 38th Parallel was established as this border by an American because by 1947 the Soviets and China had announced their intentions to expand the Communist mindset throughout all of Southeast Asia. To ensure American interests, the demarcation line was drawn that split the country in two. Representatives from the south were opposed to this separation and did not participate in the treaty.

In 1950, the DPRK launched a surprise attack (backed by the Soviets) and essentially took control of the entire peninsula. American lead forces (there were 16 additional UN sponsored countries involved) retook the lost ground and pushed DPRK forced back to the Chinese border. The war could have ended there, but 1 million Chinese volunteers entered the theater of engagement. In 1953, realizing that there would be no end to the fighting, the Soviets pulled their support for the conflict, as did China (since most of their volunteers had been killed). The result of this cessation of violence was the Demilitarized Zone or DMZ.

The Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

The Military Demarcation Line (MDL) remains as the historic border between the DPRK and the ROK; however, a buffer zone has been created around the border, extending 2000 meters on either side creating a Demilitarized Zone. Since the Korean War ended in an Armistice Agreement, the sides are still technically at war and roughly each year there are shots fired across the border. I believe the last instance of this occurred in October 2007.

Dora Station

So let’s get to the meat of this post… the tour. I left Seoul at 8.30am and rode in our bus an hour north to Dora Station. This is the northernmost train station on the KORAIL line. As I’ve commented before, Korea has a great mass transit system. In preparation of unification, the ROK has brought trains up to the border already. In fact, three trains run here daily bringing raw materials and employees to a South Korean factory that resides in the North (Kaesan).

Trans Eurasian Ralway Network

Once unification occurs, the South’s KORAIL system will connect with trains from the North. Everything possible is being done by the ROK government to ensure this will happen quickly. This is mainly for two reasons. 1) They want to ensure that families split by the war will have a means to travel and see each other again (to truly reap the benefits of unification) and 2) for tourism. You see once the north and southern lines are created, they’ll form an extensive network of tracks that will connect with various other Asian lines and allow passengers to travel from Busan in the south all the way to Europe. It’s a bold move, but one that can bring a lot of people to Korea. The estimated travel time from Busan to London is one month.

From there we went to the heart of the morning tour: visiting the 3rd Infiltration tunnel.

Going Down...

After the Armistice agreement was signed, the DPRK still had plans on retaking the peninsula and began tunneling under the border. In 1976 a North Korean defector alerted the South and work began to detect these tunnels. Thus far 4 tunnels have been found and there are 10 suspected tunnels that enter the ROK. Tunnel 3 is a mere 52km from Seoul and could see 30,000 troops pass through course in an hour. The tunnel itself is 73m below the surface and extends 465m past the MDL. Today, only 265m of the tunnel is explorable, as the Army has erected three barricades and sealed the tunnel at the MDL. It’s an eerie place to be, since the tunnel is only 2m by 2m in diameter.

The North tried to claim they didn’t drill the tunnels and claimed they were left over from coal mining days. This argument doesn’t hold true on three fronts: 1) there is no coal in the area, as the mountain is granite. 2) dynamite blasting patters show the tunnel was dug from north to south. And third, there is s slight incline to the tunnel, ensuring water would drain away as the tunnel was being constructed.

On the surface, there’s a beautiful pavilion and garden. It’s a great place to take a moment and reflect on the dichotomous nature of the area: beautiful scenery and mines, cameras, and guns.

Freedom Village

The tour then left for Freedom Village. Roughly about 210 people live here (inside the DMZ). It is the closest settlement to the DPKR. Residents must live in the village 2/3 of the year in order to remain. Furthermore, women may marry into families there, but men cannot. Their chief product is rice and the fields are long the MDL. Workers enjoy close protection from UN forces during the day, but by dusk, they must return to the safety of the village.

From the observation platform, you can look over the wall and see North Korea. There’s a stark contrast between the two nations. The DPRK has erected their own villiage in response to the ROK, but according to the South, no one lives there. They refer to this encampment as “Propaganda Village.”

Then it was finally time for lunch. We were taken to a local restaurant and had some great bulgogi (beef) and unwound a bit. We switched busses and then headed back towards the DMZ, this time into the JSA (Joint Security Area) – the actual border.

Visitors are given explicit instructions, as the tensions are high in the area. Photos are only allowed when told (failure to do so will result in the tour being cancelled and forcing everyone to be evacuated from the JSA). Also, no sandals or open toed shoes are permitted (in case the North opens fire and you need to run for cover). There’s also no pointing allowed. This is for the guests’ safety, since soldiers are trained to shoot first and ask questions later. Some other interesting notes about the area… all the ROK soldiers must be a certain height and have a minimum of a Black Belt in Tae kwon do.

ROK Soldiers and DPRK Soldiers Facing Off at the MDL

Once inside, you’re taken to building T-2, where Colonel Level talks are held. You’re always under constant observation, from both sides. But it’s within this building that you’re allowed to cross the MDL and enter North Korea. The image to the right shows the stalemate. ROK forces are on the lower half of the picture. Guards stand at attention, ready to fight. Those on the left and right only stand with half their bodies exposed, in case they are fired upon. The cement slab in the center of the photo is the actual MDL separating the two countries. The top of the photo shows the DPRK soldiers. Their stance is a little different. Those on the Southern border are trying to prevent incursion, while those on the Northern side are standing to prevent anyone from defecting.

Throughout the JSA you’ll also see white posts. These 1m high posts are set 10m apart and represent the MDL. Under no circumstances are civilians allowed near them In fact, these have been some of most heated areas since the establishment of the JSA. Since the border is open, sometimes troops cross and fighting erupts. One of the more more powerful images from the trip has been the Bridge of No Return. While the MDL splits the bridge in two, the MDL markers (teal) are on the South’s side. The rusted sign on the left denotes the DMZ and MDL border. This bridge was used for a prisoner exchange. They were given the option of remaining in the country of captivity or return home. Once they crossed, there could never be a return, hence the name.

For a few more pictures, check out the album.

Fall in the Park

Things have shifted at work… and not for the better. Since 1st September, my employer has consistently made poor decisions.

First it was the implementation of Creative Writing Books that he saw at another school. The addition of these books destroyed a well articulated curriculum of classes and presented the idea to staff on the day they were to start teaching the new process. As a result there was a lot of confusion and complaints. In fact, it took nearly two weeks or polishing the process to get something that was remotely educational. I still believe the process is a waste of time. The reason is this: under the old curriculum, students received 45 minutes of hands-on learning experience with a teacher regarding how to write an essay. Now it’s all homework. The quality of the current writings show that.

Then it was the infamous name-tag incident. Enough said.

Third, I had a row at my employer over a basic contract issue: payment. In Korea, employers think nothing of paying an employee late. I was told the previous month, on payday, after the banks had closed, that they didn’t have enough money to pay me. That they would pay me in full a week later. So I had a little sit-down with the owner and explained to him that doing so breached our contract, that I no longer trust him or the organization, and that if he expects me to show up every day and teach, then I expect to be paid in full each month. If he could not honor that basic agreement, then I didn’t need to be working there, and if he could not pay me in full when expected, I’d tenure my two week’s notice on-the-spot.

I also had a discussion regarding my managing responsibilities. I was asked to serve as an academic consultant to help improve the functionality of the school and assist in teacher training. However, all they wanted me to do was sit in classes and take notes on students and look for problems with teachers. I explained to him that this was a waste of resources and that there were enough problems that needed to be resolved at the moment, that sitting in a classroom trying to “give a man fish” wasn’t as productive as “teaching a man to fish” and develop tools to resolve the problem across the board.

Last week, I had to stop what I was doing once again, to develop a new curriculum plan for the school, because he changed the way classes were offered to such a poor rotation, that nothing synced. Therefore, I spent two days working out a new schedule and a third presenting the idea to the owner. The General Manager presented the idea the day before and he shot it down. I had to take it up once more and finally it was accepted. It was a draining process because when the rest of the management saw his proposal, it was instantly recognized as being bad. It was frustrating to waste three days of work fixing something that anyone with a logistical background could instantly see and inherently wrong.

The problems continued yesterday and reached a fever-pitch, which will make work interesting today, and for the next few months. The day started with the General Manager wanting to take away a break in our Tu/Th schedule. Teaching Staff is expected to work from 3pm until 10.05pm. This would have created a situation where teachers would teach for 6.5 hours straight (8 classes) with no breaks. I pointed out the fact that in a meeting with the owner in September he promised the staff one dinner break on those days and that according to our employment contracts that we were entitled to a diner break each day. They really took offense at me pointing this out, but hey… I want to eat, especially since I have to be there at 2pm. They even went so far as to bring in a sheet of Korean Law stating that they have no legal obligation to provide a break since the total work shift is only 7 hours. I pointed out, that he needed to uphold the agreement he signed with the teachers. So it looks like we’ll be going in at 2pm and having a lunch. Which is great, because we need more prep time to take care of the next issue.

Work.

I’m a firm believer in putting in a hard, honest day’s work. That employment is an agreement between the employer and employee to accomplish specific tasks during the work day as negotiated during the hiring process. As such, the employer promises to compensate the employee for their work. The aforementioned definition of sorts is a western view. Because jobs are so hard to come by in Korea, most Koreans are simply thankful to have a job that they sacrifice any sense of self to keep that source of employment. They will work countless hours for no pay and always put the company first.

I believe that everyone within the organization should strive to make the company the best it can be, but when the goal of the company is serve money at the expense of its employees, then it’s not worth the time of effort to stay employed. Work is work and doesn’t need to be a rosy party, but employees should be treated with respect. That is something that is now lacking at this school.

The management continues to pile on work that cannot be completed during working hours and the staff is bring up the point that this requires them to work off-the-clock. Now everyone knows that in teaching, or in most jobs, a little work-at-home time may be needed. This isn’t the case. This is asking teachers to put in another 10 hours of work for no pay. In addition, our employers have continuously changed the deadline dates on lesson plans (as well as requirements) and are asking teachers to spend even more of their free time to work on them. While it is true that most teachers are getting paid to work on said lesson plans (W4,000/hr in the final calculation of project size vs. hours needed to complete it), they don’t seem to grasp why teachers aren’t energized to spend all their free time working on the project that nets them $2.94 per hour.

It’s created a heated environment. One where a teacher that had previously renewed their contract is thinking about not returning from his vacation. In fact, at this juncture, the other nine teachers aren’t planning on renewing their contracts and are looking at the terms of ending their contract early.

I’ve also learned that the recruiter that placed me hasn’t been paid by the owners for placing me, or the four other teachers that they palced for the school. Based on my experience at the school, I’ve told them not to accept any job placement offers there until things turn around (hopefully).

Really...

So last night I got home and saw a TWEET from a friend of mine regarding her results on the Myers-Briggs Personality Test. Now coming from education, I’ve taken the test numerous times and pretty well always scored INTJ. So without even thinking, I @replied INTJ to the Twitterverse.

Then I got to thinking… “Was I still an INTJ?”

Let’s find out… so I took the sample test.

A few minutes later… I got my result.. INTJ after all these years. Cool. But what did it mean? I hadn’t remembered what all the personality classifications meant over the years, so I thought I’d take a quick read.

All Rationals are good at planning operations, but Masterminds are head and shoulders above all the rest in contingency planning. Complex operations involve many steps or stages, one following another in a necessary progression, and Masterminds are naturally able to grasp how each one leads to the next, and to prepare alternatives for difficulties that are likely to arise any step of the way. Trying to anticipate every contingency, Masterminds never set off on their current project without a Plan A firmly in mind, but they are always prepared to switch to Plan B or C or D if need be.

Masterminds are rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population, and they are rarely encountered outside their office, factory, school, or laboratory. Although they are highly capable leaders, Masterminds are not at all eager to take command, preferring to stay in the background until others demonstrate their inability to lead. Once they take charge, however, they are thoroughgoing pragmatists. Masterminds are certain that efficiency is indispensable in a well-run organization, and if they encounter inefficiency-any waste of human and material resources-they are quick to realign operations and reassign personnel. Masterminds do not feel bound by established rules and procedures, and traditional authority does not impress them, nor do slogans or catchwords. Only ideas that make sense to them are adopted; those that don’t, aren’t, no matter who thought of them. Remember, their aim is always maximum efficiency.In their careers, Masterminds usually rise to positions of responsibility, for they work long and hard and are dedicated in their pursuit of goals, sparing neither their own time and effort nor that of their colleagues and employees. Problem-solving is highly stimulating to Masterminds, who love responding to tangled systems that require careful sorting out. Ordinarily, they verbalize the positive and avoid comments of a negative nature; they are more interested in moving an organization forward than dwelling on mistakes of the past.

Masterminds tend to be much more definite and self-confident than other Rationals, having usually developed a very strong will. Decisions come easily to them; in fact, they can hardly rest until they have things settled and decided. But before they decide anything, they must do the research. Masterminds are highly theoretical, but they insist on looking at all available data before they embrace an idea, and they are suspicious of any statement that is based on shoddy research, or that is not checked against reality.

Looking back on this, I have to saw that this is me. It really is. I love puzzles and hate inefficiency. If you can’t lead, I have no use for being under you… and if there’s a better way to do something, then I’ll do it and damn all the rules in the process. In fact, the part I thought most interesting about the result was the bit about leading.

I had being the leader. I mean I HATE it. It’s one of the reasons I’m going to school in 2010. But what it says is also true. I’d much rather sit back and be a follower, but once someone screws up… jump in and take over and fix things. It’s what’s happening here in Korea. Our owner continually mucks things up and I have to fix everything on a daily basis.

What personality type are you?

The Video

There may come a time, a time in everyones life
where nothin seems to go your way
where nothing seems to turn out right
there may come a time, you just cant seem to find your way
for every door you walk on to, seems like they get slammed in your face
thats when you need someone, someone that you can call.
and when all your faith is gone
feels like you cant go on
let it be me
let it be me
if its a friend that you need
let it be me
let it be me
feels like your always commin on home
pockets full of nothin and you got no cash
no matter where you turn you aint got no place to stand
reach out for something and they slap your hand
now i remember all to well
just how it feels to be all alone
you feel like youd give anything
for just a little place you can call your own
thats when you need someone, someone that you can call
and when all your faith is gone
feels like you cant go on
let it be me
let it be me
if its a friend you need
let it be me
let it be me

Thought

In the past several months, I’ve received several private messages and comments on my blogs and videos asking for a detailed explanation of my faith. I never really felt compelled to do that, mainly because I thought the Internet really wasn’t the right way to go about it and because I thought the information I posted pretty well summed up my viewpoints. But the other reason I hesitated to do such, was that I really didn’t know how best to go about it. What I wanted to say or in which manner to deliver the message.

But over the last month, that’s changed. The guiding force in that movement has been my decision to stop teaching in Korea after this year, move back to the United States for a while to visit family, travel, and prepare for school in January 2010. What kind of school? A diploma of ministry.

Now what I want to do with my life can be done without such an education, but I feel compelled to pursue it. The reason being is that I’m a point in my spiritual growth that hardening. I need to be around individuals that are more learned than myself. Individuals that will challenge my beliefs and encourage (and force) me to grow. It’s something I can no longer accomplish on my own and to succeed in what I want to accomplish, I need to be in an academic environment.

So what is it exactly that I want to do? A good question. I want to reach out to communities that have been destroyed by the Church. Specifically, I want to work with Gay, Lesbian, and Transgendered people who have been told by the Church time and time again how much God hates them and that they are doomed to hell.

This is not something I believe; however, I do believe that the Church has done a great injustice to the Lord’s message over the years and managed to spread hate rather than love. In the final analysis, it’s Christ’s message of love that is at the core of Christianity. Espousing hate does nothing more than turn people away from God and label the Church as hypocritical. It does nothing more than to turn people away and shut their hearts and minds to the possibility of God.

I simply want to reach out to members of the Community. To repair the damage that has been done. I firmly believe the Church, as a whole, will remain varied in its interpretation of homosexuality. Mainly because the Church has failed to form a consensus on something as fundamental as baptism in 2000 years. Since that’s the case, how can we expect the Church to come to an agreement on such a complex societal issue in just under 40?

4 Months...

As I sit here typing this, I find it odd that I’ve been in Korea for 4 moths. That I’ve served as an educator to young minds for this long and have been experiencing live in a new (although be it old) country. My day-to-day life really hasn’t changed all that much, but there are somethings I have noticed about myself that, quite honestly, are surprising.

First, I never thought I would love teaching this much. I mean, I really love teaching. It is something I can see myself doing for a very long time. And while I am not planing on being an ESL instructor past this upcoming June, I am looking forward to returning to school in January 2010 and pursuing my other educational dream and path.

Second, I never imagined that I would become proficient at writing upside down. I look back at when I was in school and I marveled at how teachers could not only read that way (of which I am also fluent at), but construct complex sentences while writing opposite me at my student desk.

Finally, I saw a bit of news that really surprised me today. The latest polls show Barack Obama with an impressive Electoral College lead. Being abroad, I’ve toned out most of the pathetic drivel in mainstream media and haven’t paid much attention to the sound bites (and yes I voted already). But the sheer number being quoted really surprised me. I thought it would be a closer election. Time will tell though, as many more people are more apt to complete a survey than actually go out and vote.

Deep in Thought

As time moves forward, I’m always amazed when someone puts forth an argument that is so irrational it utterly destroys their credibility. Case in point – the recent decision of Connecticut to allow same-sex marriages. Please let me state that I fully support this decision and what I find laughable is posted in an article printed in the New York Times surrounding some of the testimony opposing such unions.

Patricia and Wesley Galloway testified before the court that while they were religious, they opposed the establishment of same-sex marriages because of the following:

It takes a man and a woman to create children and thus create a family.

The article went on to “discuss” how this couple was trying to use biology to deter the court from lifting the ban on same-sex marriage. From the start their argument was flawed on two counts. Please let me explain.

First, the Galloways claim that it takes a man and a woman to create children. This is true (although with since an actual physical union is no longer needed). The statement also continues to infer that children are the root of marriage and family. Thus, by their reasoning, the chain of events is this: Man meets women, they decide get married and have children.

Now there is countless data to support both sides of arguments on the psychological health of single-parent raised children, heterosexually-parented raised children, and homosexually-parented children. That information isn’t needed. What I find flawed is that this 60-year-old, childless couple, is advocating the reason to marry is to have and raise children.

This is something I do agree with. I’ve stated before that the term marriage is a religious one used to define a union between a man and a woman with the intent to raise a family. The Galloways got that part right; however, the idea does not translate into secular circles because of it’s implications. Using this narrow definition of religious marriage, same-sex and hetero-sexual couples that do not intend to have children would both be excluded from marriage. Since the Galloways have no children, they do not meet the standards of a religious marriage.

A Video...

This heightens the second flaw in their argument. The secularity of marriage today. Beginning in the 1500s, governments have intruded where Clergy once governed in the pursuit of money. The reason today governments have requirements on who can and cannot marry is simply to collect, taxes, establish rights of property transfer, and accountability of debt. Governments profess to be concerned about “the family,” but their actions show something entirely else.

Given this, governments need to “come clean” and act above board and eliminate the term marriage from their statutes. The term Civil Union best suits the joining of two adults for the purpose of tax collection, property disbursement, and debt allocation. Let marriage return to the domain of the clergy.

The Galloways failed to recognize this relationship, thus eliminating their argument on a second front.

Dobongsan Peak

For the next month, I’m really trying to make a point to get out and explore more of the Korean mountains and folk areas that I’ve either been too sick to go out and see or that have been deterred by poor weather. Yesterday was the first of three adventures that took me north to Bukhansan National Park. The goal was to get on the trail and hike up to Dobongsan Peak and along the ridge-line and back to the subway station, as outlined in the Lonely Planet guide.

The ride out there was smooth, except I had to take three trains instead of one. Let me explain. Many of the longer lines in the metro area don’t travel all the way to the terminus on their route. Rather, there are some that do and some that don’t. Well, I was more focused on getting to my destination and really wasn’t paying attention to how far the trains were going… so I had to get off a few times and wait for the next train to come and re-board. It was not at all that disconcerting, but took time away from me being where I wanted to me.

When I finally got to Dobongsan Station, the guide was a little less than specific on where I needed to actually go. In fact it says:

Follow the nattily dressed Korean hikers across the main road and up through the long lines of hiking-equipment shops and food stalls.

This is what it should have said: You will know you’re on the right train, because as you approach Dobongsan Station, 3/4 of the passengers will be wearing hiking gear. Exit the train and make your way to Exit #2. Then follow the thousands of people across the street and through the winding food and equipment stands. If you haven’t eaten before your hike or need something special, this is the time to get it, there’s nothing in the park.

You see before I got off the train, I said a little prayer for God to watch over me and to guide me where to go. That is exactly what happened. I jumped into the mass of people heading to Buhkansan National Park and up to the trail-head. I was not prepared for the massive complex of stalls waiting for me. Seriously, you could have a great meal and buy any equipment you might need there.

Fall Colors

Then I arrived at the trail-head. Now I was confident in my ability to hike, but when I looked at the map on page 82 of the Seoul City Guide and the network of trails in the National Park. The two didn’t go hand in hand. In fact, there wasn’t much congruency (since they were all written in hangul). But I was able to find some key points and decide where I needed to go. In fact, since the guide pointed out that this was the most populous trail in the park, I felt even better by the sheer number of people with me on the hike.

After a while, I came to fork in the trail. The trail markers had some romanized names that pointed me in the right direction. It took a while, but I finally made it up the long staircase-like hike to the peaks. The views of Seoul (see above), were breathtaking.

Now I’ve hiked all over the world and in some of the most beautiful places in the United States, but nothing felt as good as this. After being couped up in the city for so long, to get out into the mountains was extra special. So I took the opportunity to find a nice perch and have lunch. It was just what I needed to recharge.

Then it was time to get home.

And it was time for a small problem.

The trail that I needed to follow wasn’t listed on the maps and the ridge-line trail had been changed to several side routes. So I prayed again to God for a little guidance and to keep me safe. He answered in the most amazing way.

Steve, Anne, Ollie, and Mannie

After on wrong turn, I met up with Ollie, Mannie, and Anne. A 50+ year-old trio of hikers (Ollie and Anne are married, Mannie is Ollie’s best friend) who were starting their hike down. Ollie works at Incheon International Airport and has great English Skills. He introduced himself and asked me where I was from, where I was hiking, and if I was alone. He initially thought I was US Military, but really liked the fact that I was a teacher and from Arizona. Since we were all headed the same way, he asked me to join their hiking group.

I did just that. It was a great experience and I made three new friends. Since we were having such a great time, they invited me out to dinner at the base of the mountain. So the four of us enjoyed some great barbecue pork, kimchi, garlic, three bottles of Mekchu (beer), and four bottles of Soju. We also made plans to hike again in a month and for me to come out their way (Incheon) sometime soon. They’re also planning a trip to the states, so I said I’d take them up to the Grand Canyon as well.

Into the Mountian... Video

It was an awesome day. I’m looking forward to the next adventure. For more pictures, take a look at the album. For those interested in seeing a video of the trip, click on the image on the right. It will slide you over to YouTube for the exciting journey and reflexion.

It's Korea Baby!

I hope you’re doing well. This entry will be more of a status update, as I’m approaching 4 months here in Korea. While there have certainly been some bumps in the road, I’m having a great time and looking forward to see some really cool things over the next 8 months. One of the things that was keeping me down was the flu or cold… or so I thought. It is actually a reaction to the pollution here. So for the next year, I’ll have to take anti-mucus meds to help keep things under control. I’m not too wild about that… but let’s face it… walking down the street coughing up phlegm isn’t exactly attractive either.

So now that I have that problem taken care of… it’s on to explore things! After last weekend’s excursions into Seoul to see KBS and the COEX, I’m ready for more! So what do I have in store????

Dobongsan Ridge

Saturday, I’m planing my first major hike in Korea. It will be an all day excursion to Dobongsan. This little 10k (6.2m) hike will take me up a few hundred meters (close to an altitude of 3600ft.). I’m really looking forward to pushing myself and getting into the outdoors again. The region looks great, but one of the nicer things about the hike is that I can do it all by public transport. Well, not the hike… but Bus into Seoul, then Metro out to the start of the trail, and finally end up at another metro station at the end. The Seoul City Guide did a nice write-up on the trail (p.82 if you’re interested in find out some more details before I go).

The following weekend, I’m looking to head closer to home by visiting the nearby Korean Folk Village. This is a trip I may opt to drag a few teachers along for. I’ve been wanting to do this trip for some time. Things just have always popped up that have prevented me from doing so. But I really want to get out there and see some of the exhibits and see new things. It should prove to be a real interesting day.

But the thing I’m most looking forward to at this moment is a trip north to the DMZ and North Korea. It’s an all day affair that goes over the history of the countries, Korean War, and steps being made towards reunification. As an American, I will also be able to enter North Korea and travel to Panmunjom, inside the Joint Security Area. It will be awesome!