Monday, August 29

Be careful


If you ever come to seoul; be very careful.

You will at some point no doubt be making a trip on the extensive subway system here.
On the dark green line there is a stop called: "Seoul National University."
Half an hour later, another stop called: "Seoul National University of Education."

Be warned - these stops are in no way related to each other by geography and are VERY FAR APART.

On saturday night I was making my way home from an evening in Bundang.
Caught the subway near Gangnam, and lost track of the time.
About half an hour later I look up to see where I am.
"Ah!" Seoul National University, I think to myself, and jump off only to realise that this is not my stop.

And as I stand dormant on the platform I become uncomfortably aware that I am the only person standing on this platform.
And then like a scene from a movie, the lights are shut off.
Cleaners begin to appear, and the terrible truth begins to dawn.

I had always managed to avoid this predicament in London; trying to make it back on the yriad of nightbus options never seemed particularly palatable to me.
But Seoul is different, and even nightbuses shut down too early here.

The long and short of it I fumble through a few bus options before finding a cab that understood my conglish.

You have been warned.

Thursday, August 25

peter & ralph & chi muk & aeja



peter
ralph
chi-muk
aeja

in seoul
my boss aeja nuna

Sunday, August 21

Aeja nuna


I'm completely spoiled.

I've just enjoyed one of the most refreshing days I have experienced in a long while.

It's days like this that in the midst of conversation you stop to realise the absolutely unrelentingly gracious attitude of God right down to the breath you are drawing across your lips.
And you are seeing it that way because of the company and quality of friendship you are experiencing in that moment.

Perhaps you understand what I mean when I put it that way.

I woke up this morning in my little place in Yong-in about 40km outside of one of the most breathtaking cities I have experienced.
I set off for Seoul in the company of my friend Chi-Muk - one of the greatest men I know, a real quality man.
We were heading for the city in order to meet up with my old boss from Starbucks Aeja nuna (big sister Aeja).

Aeja came up to Seoul from the otherside of korea just for the day, and brought along her friend Peter.
After some initial introductions we went for lunch and proceeded to spend the rest of the day in a lovely little coffee shop in a beautiful little area called Myongdong.
It almost appeared as though time itself had lost interest in keeping Meridan Standard; discarding it's occupation in favour of our conversation.

Before long it became apparent that there was barely enough time to see something of the area and catch something to eat before their return train departed.
We resolved to continue or fellowship next week in Daegu, and how I look forward to it.

Aeja nuna truly is one of the most amazing human beings I have ever encountered; it is humbling to reflect upon the quality of people God has allowed me to connect with in the last few years.

I think I am starting to fully realise that when I'm having trouble finding God myself, I find Him through my friends.

I will post pictures later.

The photograph is off Chi-Muk and Ji-Ae.

Saturday, August 20

Kids-punishment-sub-blog pt II


Another full on week has drawn itself to a close, once again.

Days seem to melt into each other almost as if the the sun never chooses to leave.
And all of a sudden, another week has passed.

The 5 push ups rule does not seem to be doing the trick.
(The kids are not allowed to speak in korean during the camp - doing so incurs the aforementioned puishment).

But my coworkers happened upon something that does the trick beautifully.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to call your mum".

These ten words seem to posess the ability to conjur instant behaviour in almost any child.
The power contained within them never ceases to amaze me.

I shall be sure to remember this magic sentence.

I am off to meet annie and hosea; tomorrow aeja comes to seoul!

I also have a cell whilst I am here if you want to contact me: 010 6489 9432

That was dismal


What happened on wednesday night in Copenhagen?

Sunday, August 14

get him a fork


I think I am winning a strange battle.

You never would have guessed the weight of uncertainty upon you as a westerner entering a typical restaurant in Korea.

You enter through the door as any normal person would.
Perhaps a traditional greeting: "Anneyong Haesey-o".
Find a table, get yourself settled.

We're still wandering within the realms of reality here.
Perhaps you order off of the menu (a little self-conciously due to your bad command of the lingo).
Your food arrives.
Just like anyone else.

So why at this point do you feel the weight of uncertainty and the eyesight of every patron falling upon your very table at this specific moment in time?

It's all down to those two shiny little sticks placed neatly on the table just about where our customary "knife and fork" should be.

You've now got two options, as far as I see it.
Hope that the ground opens up and swallows you thereby relieving you of the obscene pressure... or you just get on with it and pretend that you are the master of the 'sticks able to control and manouvere down to the smallest grain of rice.

I often wonder what they think I'm actually going to do with them.

In my experience, once you start throwing them around a little, just listen closely and you can hear an audible wave of relief passing throughout the establishment.

And by this time you are in the home strait.
Dust off what remains of your bibimpab, salute and congratulate the little old lady behind the counter and leave with the knowledge that dingity and decorum were once again upheld, no one "lost face" and everybody will be able to fully enjoy their evening.

breakfast substitute


It's just been a rather mundane week altogether, really.

Another week done and dusted, 2 down, 2 to go.
Forgive my lack of enthusiasm, as I too excuse myself.

I have been on the road for 134 days straight, now.
Slept in some amazing places, some strange places, some leaky places and some that were just downright suspect.

A friend of mine was trying to find the cheapest accommodation available in Hong Kong a couple of years ago.
He ended up renting a small place with a couple of friends before realising that they had actually paid to live in somone else's appartment - clothes and accoutrements scattered everywhere.
Where the original occupant was was anybody's guess.

Fortunately nothing like that for myself, however.

The camp is going well, most of the kids are fun to be around.
Some have way too much energy. I realised on wednesday that a couple of the boys were substituting a proper breakfast with sugar.
Just plain sugar saches from the coffee condiments bar.

They proceeded to demonstrate for the better part of a day that Screaming Lord Sutch never fully had the monopoly on maddder-than-a-marzipan-doorknob.

The browser here is completely in korean; I am not able to update my posts all too often.
I resign tol try harder.
This afternoon I am off to visit a church which boasts an attendance of 60,000 (that's medium-sized here apparently), and then I will be meeting friends in Kangnam.

Peace in the far east.

Saturday, August 13

A dying creed



An article from the Daily Telegraph newspaper reads:

"Richard Spencer reports today from Beijing that there may now be more practising Christians in China than there are members of the Communist Party.
The precise figures cannot be known, in a country in which Christians are still persecuted. But the evidence suggests that there may be as many as 80 million or even 100 million members of underground Christian churches in China, unapproved by the state.
The Chinese Communist Party, meanwhile, has only 70 million members. If those figures for worshippers are even roughly accurate, then we are looking at a very remarkable development in the history not only of Asia but of all mankind.

Christianity and communism are fundamentally incompatible - one a spiritual creed, the other materialist. Christianity lays down that a man's responsibility to his neighbour is personal, a matter for his individual conscience, while communism decrees that all duties are collective, to be enforced by the state. At first glance, communism may look like the fairer system, and Christianity the more selfish.

In fact, of course, communism and its blood-brother, fascism, have been responsible - in Asia, Europe, Africa and South America - for more human misery over the past century than any other systems of belief thought up by man. By denying human beings their individuality, all totalitarian systems brutalise the human condition, reducing everyone in their sway to the status of ants, or cogs in a machine. Christianity teaches that each of us is a moral being, responsible for our actions to our Maker, and individually bound to love our neighbours as ourselves.

Xun Jinzhen, a Christian convert who runs a beauty salon in Beijing, put it eloquently when he said: "We have very few people who believe in communism as a faith. So there's an emptiness in their hearts."

The growth of the Christian churches in China is a story of great courage and belief in the special status of man as a moral creature, for whom good and evil are eternal truths that cannot be redefined by politicians. It gives enormous hope for the future happiness of a people who have suffered under the dying creed of communism for much too long."

Saturday, August 6

my thinking is changing


I was just thinking.

Since my exit from North Korea six weeks ago I have run into alot of people of who have been very interested in what is going on in the country.

Understandably, many people carry a sort of morbid fascination towards the place. They call it the "Hermit Kingdom" - the most isolated nation on the globe.

Don't get me wrong, I don't want to get political (and I have my own opinions), but the people of North Korea are not represented well in our western media.
We hear nothing of their virtues. Their hospitable nature, strong work ethic and - for the most part - innocent nature.
Its not uncommon to see young boys and even men walking down the street holding hands - an expression of friendship. There is no "suggestive advertising"; respect for elders is paramount.

I'm a little tired of hearing the same things.
Sure, the government is one thing, but who will represent the people?

Can we alter our thinking a little?

Rule number one



I am exhausted.

I have just finished my first week at an english camp for kids here in south korea.

And may I add that my respect for elementary school teachers has rocketed exponentially in the past few days.
Really, next to nurses they should be sainted.

Where does the energy come from?

During the course of the past week, I have been able to improve my shouting skills, my having-my-head-jumped-on-by-a-kid-in-a-swimming-pool skills and also my wider shouting skills.

It has also been possible for me to accrue some parental wisdom that I am willing to pass off freely to any prospective parents.
Rule number one: Never give a kid candy at 9 o'clock at night.
Never do this.
This rule is also good for coffee, coca-cola and all sugar related products.

Korean kids are extremely cute, though.
I have been working with three or four other westernised teachers throughout the course of the week, sharing around 15 kids.
Since the camp is an English speaking only camp, my coworkers and myself have devised a cunning plan in order to stop the children from using korean.
Once the culprit has been apprehended he or she is immediately required to perform pushups in public.

So far this plan had met with mixed success.
I will keep you up to date with all alterations to our current punishment regime.
Sort of a kids punishment sub blog.


With the advent of sunlight behind the murky outgoing rainy season, Seoul appears to become more and more beautiful everyday, not least within the gracious hospitality exhibited by my korean hosts.
It seems as though everybody here is eager for me to enjoy a pleasant experience of their native land.
I have had interesting conversations with strangers in kimchi type bars - koreans appear flustered and flattered at my eagerness to assimilate korean culture - a characteristic I tend to find endearing.

I will try to post more pictures.

English Humour


I love English humour.

There's nothing like it in the world, really.
Im not talking about the man-dressed-up-in-womens-clothing type English humour. (Which, judging by korean television is not solely confined to the British shores).
I just really miss the wit and parody.
"Have I Got News For You". "Red Dwarf".
Love it.

Whilst in China I happened upon a gem of a discovery; the "Blackadder" dvd boxset. Three quid, so obviuosly not 100% genuine, but it certainly helped wile the solitary hours away in dprk.

A couple of weeks ago I read a review for a set of books in a national rag parodying the "Harry Potter" phenonomen.
Titles include: "Barry Trotter and the Shameless Parody"
"Barry Trotter and the Unnecessary Sequel"
and my personal favourite: "Barry Trotter and the Dead Horse".

Great stuff, init?

Will write something worthwhile as soon as I receive a reply.

Fermented cabbage soup


The koreans are an interesting bunch.

The national dish stroke obsession here is called "Kim Chi".
An interesting concoction of cabbage, spices, chilli, radish and who-know's-what-else.
Left in a pot underground.
To rot.

Over the years I have surprised even my own delicate and moribund english constitution with an ability to aquire an affinity for "interesting" foreign delicassies.
Kim Chi soup being one of the foremost.

One of the korean guys that I work with here shared an amusing anecdote with me last night invloving his newly aquired house in the states, a pot of fermented bean soup, worried neighbours and the bomb-detection squad.
Only on a korean menu, I tells you.