I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! Korea is the only East Asian country to recognize Christmas as a national holiday, so that means I had the day off, yay! It was a little hard being so far from loved ones, but I managed to enjoy my day anyway. I had brunch with a few friends, then I spent the rest of the day relaxing and watching movies.

My apologies for the lack of posts lately. I’ve been a little under the weather and have been a bit lazy…more posts to come soon! In the meantime, here are a few photos from the past few weeks.

I was showered with holiday love from my students.

My living room was quite cozy on Christmas. The English teacher that lived here last year left a tree behind for me to decorate and get in the Christmas spirit.

The great thing about my rural school is having very small classes. The third graders are the cutest.

Here I am with the fifth graders. They love pictures.

I have much larger classes at my main school. This is one of my 4th grade classes (the smallest of the classes at this school). They all wanted to stand next to me in the picture so I got squished in the middle.

Its been very cold lately. It was 8 degrees (Fahrenheit) on this particular morning. I hate the cold but must admit the dusting of ice and snow made the view that day quite beautiful.

This is the view from my office. I had no idea it was going to snow so often here.

I went on a temple stay last weekend (more on that later) and this sign was on the door of my room. I have yet to see any “wild animals” in this country.

Palsangjeon in the sunlight at Beopjusa Temple.

Beopjusa Temple, Songnisan National Park

I’ve been to this temple multiple times. Winter seems to be the only time it’s not cluttered with people.

Look at the size of those icicles!

“If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant: if we did not sometimes taste adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.”  -Anne Bradstreet

It’s technically still fall, but I woke up to five inches of snow on Wednesday and declared it winter.  That means I’ve entered the fourth season of the year in Korea, and I think this one might be the most difficult.  I really dislike being cold, and that’s particularly unfortunate in a country where I’m a teacher and heating is not generously provided in public schools.  This week the temperature has been in the upper teens and low 20s (Fahrenheit) which feels particularly harsh when I just can’t warm up.  The hallways, cafeteria, and bathrooms are not heated at all, and the heat (which was finally turned on two weeks ago) is stuck at a very low setting in my classroom.  I will remain bundled up in my coat, scarf and gloves all day long for the next several months.

Being so far away from loved ones during the holidays also makes this time of year a bit of a struggle.  I worked through Thanksgiving (although I did eat some turkey with friends from around the world a few days later) and for Christmas I have the day off, but I will have to go to work in the icebox they call school the day before and after.  The good news is I have underfloor heating in my apartment and lots of yarn to knit with so I can improve my knitting skills.  I also recently found Christmas lights to string around my apartment which means I don’t have to use the hideous overhead fluorescent lighting all the time!  It’s certainly not the same as curling up in front of a cozy fireplace, but it does add a little bit of warmth to the atmosphere that I’ve been craving since getting here.

Thankfully, I have some delightful students that love winter and know how to cheer me up on bleak winter days.  I also know that I can look forward to next year when I’ll be closer to my dear friends and family.  Until then, I’m going to eat a lot of kimchi jjigae, teach myself how to knit a hat, and continue to be grateful for the opportunity to experience a year in Korea, even if it means missing the holidays and constantly shivering.

The view from my apartment on Wednesday morning.

When I got to school, the students were already hard at work shoveling.

“Emily Teacher, I’m going to throw this snowball at you, ok?”

Happy and totally oblivious to the cold.

This is when I realized why they were so happy about shoveling. They couldn’t wait to build an igloo!

It’s no surprise hiking is really popular in Korea considering 70 percent of the country is comprised of mountains.  There are 21 national parks in South Korea, which seems like a lot considering the country is the size of Indiana. Jirisan was the first to be designated in 1967, and the Korea National Park Service was established in 1987.  Knowing the park service was formed in 1916 in the United States, it’s a relatively new concept here in Korea.  From what I’ve seen so far, the KNPS does an excellent job of maintaining them.

While I’ve only been to three of the national parks so far, there are several things I’ve observed each time I’ve gone hiking.  One of the first things I noticed was not about the mountains or trails themselves, but the hikers.  I have yet to see a Korean on a hiking trail that isn’t decked out in the latest brightly colored hiking gear, head to toe, with matching backpacks and trekking poles.  The difficulty of the hike doesn’t seem to matter, it’s all about the gear.  Appearance is a really big part of Korean culture, so this isn’t shocking, but I’m still amazed by how much time and money they seem to put into their hiking outfits.  This explains why there are so many outdoor apparel shops throughout Korea.

The first time I went hiking in Korea I wondered why I saw so many people carrying 50+ liter backpacks on a day hike. Then I reached the summit and discovered clumps of people scattered about, all huddling around gigantic spreads of food, rice wine and soju.  I’ve learned that hiking in this country is not complete without a feast on the mountain.  I assume this is why there are so many “rest stops” along trails that are basically roadside restaurants, just in case you didn’t bring enough food or drink with you.  My peanut butter and jelly sandwich and bag of apple slices seemed quite pathetic after seeing so many elaborate mountaintop picnics.  The food lover in me really likes this aspect of hiking in Korea.

As a native Coloradoan and former resident of Washington, I can say the mountains in Korea seem a little puny in comparison to 14,000 foot peaks.  However, I don’t think Korea knows about the secret of switchbacks.  They prefer to just plow straight up the mountain making many of the hikes here a bit strenuous.  This is where I should mention the majority of hikers I see here are older.  And by that I mean it’s rare to see people under 40 taking pleasure in day hiking (not that 40 is old, but I’ve hardly seen anyone in their 20s or 30s on the trails here, unlike what I’m used to seeing back home).

Claustrophobic is not a term I ever thought I would associate with hiking.  That is, until I went on a few fall hikes in Korea.  There have been times when the trail has been so crowded there’s been no where to go and no way to get around all of the people.  I have actually been pushed and shoved on crowded trails here, and I have had to wait in line to finish hiking the last half kilometer to the summit because there are so many people.  I’ve also nearly had my eye poked out more than once by other people’s trekking poles while trying to navigate through what I decided to call hiking jams.  It’s great to see so many people being active and taking advantage of the outdoors, but didn’t we all come here to escape the hustle and bustle of the city, to listen to the trees blow in the wind, to be quiet with nature and our own thoughts?  There have been a few instances where I’ve felt just as stressed about being on a mountain side as I have in an overly packed subway car.  Perhaps I’ve just chosen the most popular trails during the most popular hiking season a few too many times.  I also rely on public transit to get me places, making it harder to access spots that are a little more off the beaten path.  Thankfully, not all of my hiking experiences have been this way, but more than I’d like have been.

In the end, no matter how crowded the trail is or how under-dressed I feel, no matter how big or small the mountain is, it always feels good to conquer it.  I hope to climb a few more before before my time in Korea comes to an end.

A crowded day at Munjangdae Peak in Songnisan National Park.

Hikers feasting in Songnisan National Park.

Extreme picnicking.

A rest stop in the middle of a trail on a quiet day in Songnisan National Park.

Day hikers making their way up to eat and drink on the mountaintop.

Another crowded day of hiking, this time in Naejangsan National Park.

Several peaks I’ve hiked here have ended with stairs leading to the top of a rock. This is in Seoraksan National Park.

Bulchubong Peak, Naejangsan National Park

Seoraksan National Park

Naejangsan National Park

Summer Vacation Part 4

I was really excited to go to Jeju, South Korea’s largest island.  I couldn’t wait to see the blue skies, warm sunshine, beautiful beaches and the palm trees.  We were saving the best for last on our summer vacation…or so we thought.  Mother Nature decided we still hadn’t seen enough rain yet.  It rained, I mean poured, all but 30 minutes of our three day visit. No exaggeration.  I’d like to say the weather didn’t stop us from doing everything we wanted, but it did.  We were still able to have a great time, we just didn’t see nearly as much as we’d hoped and there certainly wasn’t any beach time.  Perhaps just another reason to go back someday.

Jeju is accessible by ferry (about 10 hours, depending on which port you depart from) or a short flight from one of Korea’s  airports.  We chose the latter and took a 40 minute flight from Busan.  We had difficulty deciding where to stay on the island since we wanted to see quite a few different things that were spread out over the island, and we knew we’d be using public transit.  In the end we went with The Forest Hostel in Jeju City.  While we had an okay stay at this hostel, I wouldn’t necessarily recommend it.  Our room had an endless supply of giant, hungry mosquitoes and it smelled like a pile of dirty, damp towels.  But, there was a nice common room and the owners were pleasant.

The unfortunate thing about using public transportation (buses) on Jeju is that is takes several hours, one way, to get to the other side of the island, and many of the sites we wanted to see were not within close proximity to each other.  We tried to be strategic about making an itinerary since we were a little restricted by bus timetables, but the crummy weather made it even more challenging than anticipated (mostly because we found ourselves getting tired of being wind blown and soaking wet).  We planned on hiking Hallasan, South Korea’s tallest peak (yeah, yeah, it’s only 6,397 feet high but it’s still a mountain), but we opted not to due to really strong winds, sideways rain and lightning.  Instead, we went underground and explored Manjanggul Cave, one of the most impressive lava tube systems in the world, and checked out some of the beautiful Jeju Olle Trails that go around the perimeter of the island.  Oh, and cannon balls into the sea as well.

Surprisingly, we didn’t indulge in seafood on this leg of the trip.  We were on an island and didn’t eat seafood, really? Yes, really.  We decided we’d splurged enough on fresh seafood in Gyeongpo, and after trying Jeju’s famous black pig barbecue on our first night (a species on Jeju known to be more tender than others), we decided it was so good we had to go back the next night too.

Even though the trip didn’t go as planned and we didn’t get to cross everything off the list, it was still unforgettable and an excellent experience (largely do to a great travel companion).  I’ll let the pictures do the rest of the talking.

Welcome to beautiful Jeju Island.

Dol hareubangs (roughly meaning stone grandfather), which are statues carved from volcanic rock, can be spotted all over Jeju. Traditionally, they were carved and placed at village entrances to provide protection.

The trailhead for Jeju Olle #1. There’s a stamp inside the box at the bginning of each trail which you can use to stamp your Jeju Olle “passport”.

Fields and wild horses along Jeju Olle #1.

This is when we had a 30 minute break from the rain.

The dirt/mud on the island was such a brilliant color.

More of trail #1. I love how green it was.

View of Seongsan Ilchulbong from trail #1.

Somewhere along trail #1.

The Jeju Olle Trails are marked with these blue and red ribbons.

The coastline in Seogwipo.

We hung out under this pavilion for a while to see if the storm might pass. Nope, it was there to stay for several days.

Lucky for us, cheap ponchos were for sale everywhere.

Despite the rain, we stumbled upon this swimming hole in Seogwipo.

Panorama of the lagoons near Oedolgae Rock in Seogwipo.

David doing a cannon ball into the lagoon near Oedolgae Rock.

Enjoying the beautiful weather.

What rain?

Oedolgae Rock stands 65 feet above what is usually turquoise water (but not on this day due to the storms moving though). It was formed by a volcanic eruption 1.5 million years ago. According to legend, an old woman became the rock after waiting for her husband who went out to sea to fish and never returned.

A young Korean guy offered to take our picture. We didn’t realize it was going to be a mini photo shoot. He took at least 20 photos from all different angles.

Black pork street where you can find an abundance of restaurants specializing in Jeju’s black pig.

I think David was very happy about this Korean barbecue experience.

Mmmm. Mushrooms, pork, kimchi, garlic, and bean sprouts sizzling right at our table.

When ordering bokkembap (fried rice), they use the bits of remaining meat, garlic, kimchi and onions that are on the grill and mix it with rice right at your table. They usually add dried seaweed as well. Also, you’ll notice he’s using scissors, the knife of Korea.

Testing the fried rice. It was delicious!

Exploring Manjanggul Cave.

Inside the lava tube.

A lava formation that looks a bit like a mushroom in Manjanggul Cave.

Formation at the end of the lava tube (or at least the part that was open to tourists).

More Korean barbecue because it tasted so good the first night.

Jeju is known for mandarins, tangerines and hallabongs (a cross between an orange and a tangerine).

Squid and giant plates of really cheap sashimi at the fish market near our hostel.

We got some game time in while drinking tangerine flavored makgeoli in the common room of our hostel because, well, it was still raining.