South Korea

Korean sword fighters at the Suwon Fortress
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Came to Incheon, South Korea in July 2004 to teach English. Like many foreigners here, I was in debt back home and tired of trying to make ends meet with student loan payments. I came for the adventure (and the money!)

Korea has been fun. I am leaving at the end of December (2005). Only 6 more weeks to go - I am very excited! I've met some reallly great people and have experienced some very cool (and not-so-cool) things, but its just time to go.

Korean people are very nice. Their society is based on Buddhist-Confusianism ideals. They seem to make things very simple compared to western society and the population allows things to be very cheap here (such as bottled water - .50 cents/ 2.0 litre bottle!). Unfortunately, the population causes some problems as well - real estate is hard to obtain, there is alot of pollution, and many crazy drivers (who, in my opinion, shouldnt have their licences).

Korean sunset
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Korean people have a very good sense of patriotism. They are very proud of their country and the "famous people" who come from it. Unfortunately, some people have a distorted view of JUST HOW famous the famous Koreans are. They also have a long, very vivid history dating back to the Gojoseon Period (2333 - 108 B.C). They are a nation who has suffered many times (it is said the most horrific was The Japanese Colonial Period (1910 - 1945)), but always seems to recover from their loss. Their current and on-going struggle is the re-unification of South and communist- North Korea. (To learn more - take a trip to the DMZ).

A monk standing by the tree
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All in all, I've had a positive experience here, but I think that I have seen all that Korea has to offer.