Justin Loves the Mountains of Korea

Here are a few pictures from Justin, one of our teachers who we met in Sudbury.

He has really been enjoying the mountains of Korea.

Meeting Justin was fun because he was very enthusiastic about coming to Korea to teach. We met him at a job fair at Laurentian University, and from that point, we knew that he was serious about this opportunity.

I'm glad that now he's here and enjoying himself.

Thanks for the pics Justin!

Jason

Pictures from Sarah

These pictures come courtesy of one of our teachers, Sarah. I'm very thankful she sent them to us, and I'm looking forward to getting more pictures from people we've sent, and eventually organizing them for all to enjoy.

For now, this should be a good venue.

Thanks Sarah!

Jason

Misty Mountains of Gwangju

The past couple of days have been pretty hectic. I’ve been traveling around to meet some schools as well as some of our business partners.

Right now, I’m on the bus heading for Gwangju. It’ll probably take about 2 and a half hours to get there from Daegu. The only other time I remember being there was in 2002 for the World Cup because we had tickets for a game there.

I have meetings with two schools in Gwangju today. It’s among the top 5 largest cities in Korea, so it should be a good place for people to go.

In the past couple of days I’ve visited schools in Gumi, Seoul, and Siheung. I was impressed with all of them in different ways.



We have one school in Seoul that is very high above average in terms of quality of students, pay, and housing etc… They have very high standards, and that includes who they hire.



They’re looking for someone who is really passionate about teaching and who has a great attitude. In order to keep up with the intelligence of the students at this school, the teacher needs to be very well educated and able to stimulate high-level conversation.

If you or anyone you know fits that description, e-mail me directly at jason at asknow.ca


They will basically hire at any time, as long as it’s the right candidate.

I really enjoy getting to visit schools and meeting the directors and staff. It’s fun to see what different schools are like. The overall quality seems to be improving. It’s great to be able to chat with people who have similar interests and who are very goal oriented.



Beyond that, I continue to learn about Korea and cultural differences. Doing business in Korea and negotiating with Korean counterparts is certainly different than doing business in Canada or the U.S. etc…

Without knowledge of the culture or the language, I think anyone trying to do business in Korea is at a severe disadvantage and will most likely have a hard time.

I’m glad that the years I’ve spent here were not wasted just spending time with other foreigners. Having jumped right into the local scene has given me a lot more opportunity than I would have had otherwise.

At the time, I didn’t know where I would end up a few years down the road, but if I did know, I would have done much the same.

So, I will sign off for now, at 8:18 am as I wind my way through the misty mountains on the road to Gwangju.

Pictures for your entertainment

Folks bowing for Buddha at the top of a mountain in Daegu.

We went to see the Korean movie that our friend David Anselmo is in.


Matt and SY walking down the road.


Matthew playing a giant piano with his feet. Ok, not really.


Matthew is messy too.

A Few Pictures from Recent Days

The family eating on the floor.

Jason is messy, so he wears a bib.

Jason hangs out with Buddha

On the highway.

This place has great ice cream. You can add all kinds of stuff to it, and they mix it on this cold stone. Then, you pay 1000 won and they sing and dance for you. Fun.


This is a spicy chicken dish, Dduk Kalbi.

I like coffee, and I enjoyed my first trip to Davinci. It seems to be a new coffee chain in Korea. Prices reasonable, and tasted good.

Mountain climbing is fun and really popular here.


This is kind of like a radar detector. In Korea, all the highways have cameras, and this little device warns you when they're coming, and tells you to slow down. It kept getting angry and beeping at me. But, at least I guess I won't get any speeding tickets.


Ding Dong

On the bus to Daegu

I am currently on a bus from Seoul to Daegu. I arrived back in Korea last night at about 8pm local time. Was the plane ride long? Yeah, pretty long. I took a flight with a couple of stops in order to save about $700. Nice on the wallet, hard on the body!



Really, when all is said and done, it’s not too bad. There was nothing too eventful on the flight itself. I flew on United, and all was decent.

So, I arrived at Incheon airport and the immigration process was simple. It was one of the quickest I’ve had in a while. Since my old passport had expired, this is the first stamp in my new one. I’m looking forward to adding more soon.

My wife So Young was at the airport to meet me. It’s been a while since we’ve seen each other, and it was our anniversary, so it was a very happy moment.


We hopped on a bus to head into Seoul. Our plan was to go out for a late dinner at one of our favorite Kalbi (BBQ beef) restaurants. So, we grabbed a hotel and then hopped in a cab and headed off to the Kangnam area.

I was somewhat overwhelmed by all the sights, sounds, and smells. It was all coming back to me. After not being here for 2 years, I forgot a lot of what it is like to really be living here. It’s hard to explain how exciting it is to be here again.

We enjoyed a great meal and then I insisted we go to the “Buy the Way” convenience store so I could have an after-dinner Goo-Goo ice cream. Goo-Goo is still as good as it used to be, even if I was spoiled with Dairy Queen for the past 2 years.

From there, we headed to meet a couple of So Young’s friends for a drink. It was all rushing back to me. Even taking taxis was fun as always. I got my first “han-kuk mal chal ha she nay yo” (wow, you speak Korean well) within about the first hour of being back, so I guess I haven’t lost it all that much!


My wife has ensured that my arrival was very exciting by providing me with some nice gifts. One I was expecting, one I wasn’t. The expected anniversary present was an MP3 player (Samsung of course), and she went beyond the call of duty and already has me set up with a cell phone. She knows my style, and she got me a sleek, black phone. It’s a camera phone, so I’ve already been taking pictures with it, and hopefully if the quality is good enough, you will be seeing a lot of my phone pics here since it will be very convenient to snap on the go.


Today, we headed off to the bus terminal to grab a bus to Daegu (where we live). Before, we stopped at a restaurant we used to eat at very often. One of the schools I worked for was right across from the Ko-Sok Bus Terminal, so I was a regular in the area.

I enjoyed my classic choice of Jae Yook Dup-Bap, which is spicy pork with rice. Yummy as always. From there, it was on the bus.

So, now I’m charging my MP3, typing out my blog, and loving the scenery as I drive down the Korean highways. I just snapped a picture that I hope turns out.

Anyhow, I’m very happy to be back and I look forward to keeping this blog up to date with what this trip leads to. The battery on my laptop is giving way, so I will see you in Daegu!