The Comic Convention!

So the week was a pretty normal one ending in Market Day. That is the students put on a play and then can buy little items with Jungchul or "school money". Things like miniature packs of cards, Yu-gi-oh cards, games, baseballs, pens and so on.

On Thursday I went out with... I am just going to say Moses my "Co-teacher" for relative ease since saying a Korean English teacher that I work with is just too long and convoluted.

So The first dish arrives which is a plate of honey chicken and I was worried that was it but no a big bowl of noodles came to eat it with which were great! Considering I am not a fan of western style noodles I really enjoyed the taste and texture of these Korean noodles and I was thinking that boy this was going to be quite a meal. Then came a huge plate of rice with more noodles, cabbage and a massive cheese pork steak. This added to the usual side dishes like kimchi and onions made for a hugely satisfying meal. I was also reminded that the meal is not over or complete until the rice appears. So for 18,500 won (being 9,250 per person to be stuffed) I was very satisfied as it was my shout (or treat) and we sure had our full.

But what I was waiting for this whole week was the Comic Con. I was dissapointed that this year I would miss the Auckland New Zealand event called Aramageddon http://armageddonexpo.com/nz/ (which also has events in Wellington and Christchurch as well as in Australia).

I thought to myself a couple of weeks back that there must be something like it in Korea and low and behold with a little scratching around on the web I found a forum linking me to the event.

So I made it there after a good ride on the subway which surfaces right where the event was being held (Setec event centre Hangnyeoul Subway exit) and you couldn't miss it for all the crazy cos-play kids and just masses of people.

After about an hour of standing in line I paid for my $4,000 won ticket. Yes around $5 NZ not the $20 or $18 that it costs back home but $5.

So as at any event you will see a handful (and this time it was literally a handful) of foreigners but once again I was in the absolute minority with thousands and thousands of Korean's mostly young teenagers but still a variety of ages. There were two halls of little comic stalls where you could buy comics and all sorts of nick knacks from cell phone charms, clocks, mugs, ties, stickers, pens, stamps to posters. I did end up purchasing 2 art books which I thought were of excellent artistic quality. So there was at least a couple of hundred stalls of these comic things. There was also an event stage set up for I guess cos-play competition and singing but I went outside for a wander about and that's where I saw most of the costumes. I thought that it wasn't a bad turn out of people dressed up and after looking around decided to go for a walk down to the river. This is where I ran into cos-play madness! The majority of the people dressed up were not at the comic event showing off but under the bridge at the river. Hundreds of costumes with people being artistically photographed by professional photographers and generally just hanging out having a good time. This is where I saw one of my students who I thought I would see there as she is amazingly artistic.

So over all I had a good time, purchased some quality artwork (for quite cheap 9,000 and 6,000 won) met a lot of people who were very good speakers of English and then it was off to Itaewon to have Taco Bell and buy a hat.

So I managed to have Taco Bell Buy my hat nothing else spectacular to report and then I thought I have enough time to go explore Sinchon for a bit. This appears to be the medical capital for Universities and the University I saw was massive. I only had about 2 or so hours to look around so I am definitely planning to go back and take more photos as the camera's battery died yet again :(

Still there was one interesting club that I saw called Pharaoh which quite possibly may be worth a visit as it looks quite impressive from the outside.

Well i have blown out my 200 photo limit for my flickr account so have had to set up another one (shhh don't tell anybody) which kind of means I have to make a new link next week detailing all my pictures taken to date "Part 2". A little inconvenient but I can accommodate that.

So here is this weeks slide show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/52338606@N05/sets/72157624451441355/show

And since I am on a martial arts buzz:

My week Part 2 - Dongdaemun & Gio Cat

Well monsoon anyone?

So yesterday I met Dylan in Dongdaemun to have a look around. It was monsoon weather and it rained all day. Hard rain, light rain, medium rain and side walk lakes.

We first ventured out into the shoe market which was filled of... shoes, lots and lots of shoes. We then travelled across to the Fashion Town building and looked at 3 or 4 floors of women's 90% and men's 10% fashion. There are so many clothes in these places it just blows your mind!

From there it was an exploratory excursion away from the market area to heavens knows where. Once we got to E Mart we had lunch at Steff Houlberg which is a hot dog joint. It wasn't bad and I saw a picture of the chicken coke cup. The chicken coke cup has the chicken in a small cup inside a big cup with coke in it and a straw protruding out (check out the picture I took) which is quite innovative.

We then discovered a type of American? museum in the middle of a market with lots of old memorabilia and a few knights in armour. But the gem in all this is when we stumbled across (whilst trying to get out of the rain) the Seoul Folk Flea Market.

This is a must see and in my opinion the best market I have been to so far. If you like nick nacks or strange unusual things perhaps even military equipment, knives, DVD's, clothes, boots, hats, cowboy stuff, Alcohol and just about anything you have to go here... YOU HAVE TO!

I took a few pictures of the items on sale there but there is too much to take in. There are two full floors of items and an eating area. At the time I did see pigs faces being offered for a meal I assume so it is distinctly a Korean food court. (I have seen pig faces twice now and no picture... next time my friend's... next time).

The only thing I did purchase was a Barber 1912 U.S. Half Dollar for 5,000 won which is a good price for that kind of coin (I am hoping to use it in a later photo project).

I will let the pictures do the rest of the talking (check out the slide show).

We then, wandering through the back streets, discovered the Dongmyo Shrine

I took some rainy pictures and one of the history for you to read in the slide show.

Then it was off to the toy market which is close to exit 4 from the station but that was a little underwhelming as I was looking for Eddy (the little red fox from the Korean cartoon Pororo). So if you see a little toy or something cool of Eddy please let me know!!!

Here is a picture of Eddy so you can recognise him:

The day continued with the most anticipated visit since I arrived here... Gio Cat. Jump on the subway line 6 (same line as Itaewon) and get off at Sangsu station. Take exit one and when you reach street level do a 180 degree so you are now facing the exit you just came out of. There is a street in front of you. follow the foot path around to the left and walk up a slight hill until you reach a park, there will be a Starbucks on the right side of the road or look for the infamous condom shop on the right side of the road. Take the steps that you now see on your left up to the park and you should see a big Mr Smoothie sign on the other side of the park. The alley way just to the left of Mr Smoothie is where Gio Cat is. I think it is on the 3rd floor from memory.

Here is a map:

I only had enough battery power for a small video clip :(

But I think it deserves its own slide show so here it is:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624526135332/show

Entrance will cost 8,000 won per person but you get your first drink free. Its a lovely environment where you can sit at tables. benches or even on the floor and play with the cats and kittens. There are no less than 20 cats around the cafe and you will discover them up tree posts, on ceiling grates, in cubby holes, shelves on the wall and just about anywhere. There are some little toys you can use to play with the cats but there are rules of conduct regarding picking up, waking up and annoying. However I did not see a rule about play fighting with the cats so I guess that's OK or I hope it was....

And the day is not over! On to Hong Ik University Subway Station to go on a mission to find apparently the only war gaming store in Korea "Orc Town".

Take exit 5, walk down past a main street then take the next street on the left. Follow that up past KMC... yes K.M.C. and you should then see an ORC and a sign saying Orc Town.

Of course a map is always handy and since I believe in not just telling of such finds but also letting you know where to go so you can enjoy then too... here is a map :)

Or you can simply just go to the site.

http://orctown.com/orc/map.html

Phew! So after such a long day it was time to retire and go home.

However next week is approaching already promising an exciting and unusual weekend filled with interesting characters, fun events and crazy collectables... I will keep you on the edge of your seats for now.

Here are the rest of the pictures I took and a couple of video's I took of Dongdaemun. Enjoy :)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624401613889/show

My week Part 1

Revisit to Namdaemun market.

My Week Part 1.

So I have decided to break my week into two posts for ease of reading... and of course blogging.

So on Wednesday I decided to go back to the Import Market that is in Namdaemun Market.

Now a more direct route to get there is to head toward Hoehyeon Station and I chose to use exit 5 which surfaces just inside gate 6 within the market.

I now have a map (which I cannot remember the website I acquired it from) which I will post here:

The Sungnyemun Import market is in the North West corner and if you are interested in buying protein powder or other supplements there are 2 guys down there I have found. here are the directions to the guy I purchased from:

Go directly down the stairs of the entrance that faces the market (east side of the import market building). Take an immediate right and the first left and he will probably be reading the newspaper on top of his vitamin / supplement table.

The cost of my protein powder was 75,000 won and the glutamine was 40,000 won. I found this to be a pretty good deal as in New Zealand you can pay up to $60 for glutamine and around $100 for 5lb's of protein or approx 2.5kg's.

Taekwondo.

What was I thinking! The first training was a wake up call to my body as the day after I had back pain from all the stretching. I was training in the senior part of the class and was there again on Wednesday. The second time training was much easier as I guess my body got over the initial shock of exercise. I am planning to officially join on Monday. it is 150,000 won per 3 month period so that's not too bad and apparently the uniform (or gi I'm not sure if you call it that in Taekwondo) is 20,000. So I will be looking forward to wearing a white belt again which hopefully they will let me do.

Although I have a black belt in Shaolin Kempo; Taekwondo is totally different focusing mainly on kicks and flexibility so I am almost a total novice at this art.

I will post some pictures once everyone gets back into uniform (its so hot now that people generally wear only the pants of the uniform and a t-shirt or something similar).

The rest of the week was generally the same as other weeks although a girl at school had her birthday so there was a little class party and various food. Ddeokbokki was familiar to me but there were some other strange looking things which I tried. Liver which wasn't bad and ear... which was exactly as you could imagine ear to be like crunchy gristly with not much taste.

I have also finally done a video tour of the apartment which you can see here:

I also opened up a bank account with my alien card which I got this week and paid my gas and electricity bills.

Well I hate to tell you how much it cost me for a month of electricity and gas but:

Gas 2,530

Electricity 8,570

11,100 won

I given up converting but its probably around $12 or roughly $13 New Zealand.

So since I have an alien card I can do just about anything... which apart from opening a bank account, getting a cell phone and maybe a drivers licence I have no idea what else I can do with it...

So that's it for part 1 of my week. Now onto part 2 where I go to Dongdaemun with Dylan (another New Zealand teacher over here).

Flicker slide show part 1:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624525800714/show

"I seen 99 camera's ain't got a pic of one"*

A week of adventure began last Tuesday with a morning visit to Donong. Unfortunately the store I was going to have a look at (US Military) looked like it has closed for good. It seems like the recession is still in effect with shop closures which I have seen around all areas I have visited.

I however visited E Mart and had my picture taken for my alien card which I perhaps will get this week.

Friday was a quick trip out after work to Taekwondo which happens to be not far from where I live. However it will be interesting to see if I can make it all the way from Deokso (where I work) back to Guri and a transfer on another bus or take a brisk walk to the building. We shall see how that works out today.

Saturday was a big day where I planned to cover Yongsan and Namdaemun Markets. Wow I arrived at Yongsan Station it is a huge place! Attached to it is I Park Mall which has floors (it must be 8 or 10?) of things to buy. Cameras, cameras, cameras. I will start with I Park; there were floors of cameras I mean it was ridiculous. Floors of computers as well and entertainment equipment such as Television and Audio equipment. There are also some very interesting stores there which I ave not yet seen anywhere else yet. An area for musical instruments which are quite reasonably priced, a book store with English magazines and a selection of English books (I believe they referred to it as Mega Book Store on the internal signs but it is called something else (Donkyo Book centre?...) I have a picture but half the name is obscured.

There is also a pet store and I was amazed to see hedgehogs there?!

On the other side of the mall / building is a food court or food courts as it extends multiple floors. This is where I had lunch, a pork steak half the size of the plate for $7,000 won (see in the picture section) which is not too bad considering I was at the station and the size of the meal.

I ventured out side took a walk around the block and then headed through a walking tunnel (on the right side of Yongsan Station if you are looking at it from the main entrance) to the other markets. so this is where it gets mind boggling in terms of the amount of stuff for sale. I first walked past computer part stalls then past a whole line of guys selling DVD's which led me to another section of buildings. Underground was a basement of Playstation, Wii and Xbox vendors with 1000's of games. More DVD stalls and then I crossed over into another building (which I later discovered was attached to Yongsan Stations rear by a sky bridge) to see another 5 or so floors of computers and cameras. A side note here; if you are wondering where Hooters is take the rear sky bridge from Yongsan Station descend the building you have now entered to street level, exit and turn right walk to the end of the building and you cant miss it.

So as I was saying I must have seen literally 1 Million cameras perhaps at least in Yongsan alone. I will definitely be back because that's where the KTX train leaves for Busan so see you next time Yongsan!

Seoul Station. Now Seoul centre is just somewhere you cant do in a day or 2 perhaps even a week. There are markets everywhere and yes there are some that pass you buy as you walk over them.

Namdaemun markets from Seoul Station:

If you get out exit 2 then you will have to cross the road. Exit 6, 7, 8 or 9 would be a better exit. There is a very large copper coloured building on the corner Seoul Centre if I remember correctly with the Police Station to the right of it. Walk up the road and you will see the SK building on the right and a walking over bridge just after that. Keep walking and on the left side of the road you will see gate 6 of Namdaemun market.

So the market is a maze of "stuff". Clothes, souvenirs, food, stationery and all sorts. Now somewhere in there is the Import market which is underground. I went specifically on a mission to find protein powder and sure enough on the 2nd level underground there are 2 or 3 guys that I found who are selling various protein powders, glutamine, creatine, amino acids and all the usual other supplements. Averagely pricey around $75 for a tub of Protein (around 1kg or so) and $20 for Creatine (probably 200 - 250g). I am going to a Korean Body building store this week to see what there prices are like.

I did manage to find other markets which look like subway entrances dotted around the place. Now these markets have some goodies. Coins, music, K-pop posters, mugs, pens lots of clothes, shoes, bookmarks well all sorts of things. One thing that grabbed my attention was the amount of record stores, yes that's right record stores. (Namdaemunno Underground Shoppping Centre).

If you don't know what a record is then... don't worry its one of those things from another era.

I also stumbled upon Shinsegae shopping mall which is floors of clothes and accessories with some electronics, beauty centre and a supermarket in the basement (8, 10, 12 floors? I cant remember or I lost count at some stage). There is also a beautiful rooftop garden / eating area which overlooks the city.

Now this is where you can get your fancy Armani, Gucci, Prada luxury items so be prepared for sore feet and a large credit card bill.

After that it was off to meet another New Zealand teacher and some of her friends in Itaewon (Charlotte with whom I did the ESL course at the New Zealand Institute of Education prior to coming to Korea) and then it was off to Hongdae University area to check out the night life. There was a vibrant atmosphere in the park with a couple of amateur concerts taking place and a lot of young students? drinking in the park aided by a mojito vendor and a guy dragging around a cart full of mokoli (a kind of rice wine). I discovered down an alleyway Gio Cat which I will definitely be re-visiting in the not too distant future so stay tuned... oh yes it will be worth a post in its own right.

Clubbing at Ting Ting and somewhere else... 1 and a quarter soju bottles will aid in my attention to detail dropping off to almost nothing and then it was an early 6am subway trip back to Guri a six hour sleep and then grocery shopping in Deokso.

So I think that this post is complete and look forward to what this coming week has to offer.

Flickr slide show link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624348811839/show

Something all gentlemen should take note of:

The endless maze of the subway...

Well here is my post about Itaewon.

My Disclaimer:

Rawr Korea is about being Raw and honest about what it is like here. Please do not be offended about the opinions I express in this post.

I arrived in Itaewon after making my way through the subway system (I have made 2 Youtube video's of my way home to show you the reality of it all).

I arrived and walked the one main street for foreign shoppers with a reported 2000 shops on about a 1 - 2km stretch of road. Everyone here tends to speak good English especially the tailors who will seek you out on the street in front of their stores promising you a good deal on a new tailored suit. This is definitely the place to go for suits (well as far as I know at this point) but for other shopping I found it a little lacking for example in the shoe department. Puma doe's not seem to be on the shelves in Itaewon and although they have monster sizes the styles are not so "fly".

This is where I come to what I found most disturbing about Itaewon.

If you love Korea, the culture, the food, the atmosphere, the adventure then Itaewon is not the place for you. The Korean's are wonderful and helpful wherever you go in Korea but what really sets Itaewon apart from other cities and what made me disgusted beyond what I ever thought I would be was the foreigners. Don't get me wrong I don't want to paint everyone with the same brush but what I saw in terms of the behaviour of foreigners there absolutely disgusted me and made me feel embarrassed that I could be thought of as one of them. I know that this is strongly opinionated but hear me out on this next point. I witnessed an American arguing with what appeared to be a Jamaican over letting a woman go home in a taxi. There was loud profanity and a scene in the street which caught every ones attention. I walk around a corner and there is an African foreigner pulling around a small Korean woman. 2 Korean Security guards were there with another Korean male whom I asked what was going on. He said everything was OK and I advised him I will be back down the street after visiting "What the Book". I venture back down the street and the situation is still going on on the other side of the road. At this point I notice that the Korean girl has blood spots on her top and so I decided enough was enough and crossed the street. I go nose to nose with this guy who was not too much bigger than me and he advises me that everyone is friends here. I am not sure how the Koreans usually deal with this kind of thing (it seems they were letting things take their course and hoping that eventually she would be able to get in a cab and go home). I have had some experience of dealing with these situations in other colourful parts of my past so I took my sunglasses off and put them in my bag which certainly got the attention of the African. About this point the Koreans escorted the girl to a taxi and she was on her way home to which the Africans reply was to call the Korean security guys bastards and I was left unmolested but the most annoyed I have been in a very long time.

I enjoy the Korean demeanour and it disappoints me that as foreigners it is those of us who act in such a disgusting manor that ruin the honour and respect of the rest of us who are looking to fit in as best we can respecting the culture we are now living in.

But on to more positive and interesting things. What the Book as I may have mentioned somewhere (probably in the side bar up there) is a foreign book store where you can but new and used books in English! You can order online and pick up in person or have the book posted to your apartment.

Breaking News! What the Book is Moving from this week to a new site on the main road.

Above this tailors store (he will give you a Sunday suit deal :)

Here are the store hours:

Could have typed them I know but its just another excuse to post yet another picture :)

So I may just be back to check out What the Book in a month or so. I can think of a book I would like right now but I think I need to clear the backlog I already have!

I think a little midweek adventure to Donong is in order tomorrow to see a couple of sights before work. Will keep you posted.

Here is the Flickr slide show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624301397943/show

My Subway Transfer Adventure!:

And something a little special for your enjoyment :)

R16 B-Boy Korea 2010!

Success! After working out how to get there by bus and trusting my instincts in terms of where to get off to transfer to the next bus and then where to get off at Olympic park, I made it.

I initially spent the early part of the day walking around Olympic park (not all of it) looking at the art sculptures. I will have to go back at some stage as I barely saw any of the park.

I then headed down to the main entrance and then to the river walkway to view the street art that was being created there. A couple of exceptional pieces were being created.

I must say though that the organisers should look seriously at sign posting where things are next time. The information desk did not speak English when I was there and I eventually had to follow 2 staff members who had to ask the drinks stand where the B-Boy event was as they could not find it themselves!

I guess there was some confusion as the event coincided with Usher. Yes OMG.

So I made it to the Gymnastic Stadium (I think) and Foreigners had the VIP treatment. I got in free because I had a Foreigners Exchange Ticket with proof of my Visa. I'm sure I did not even need that as I could just go where ever I wanted whilst the local fans had to wait for the doors to open.

I was amazed at the number of people who turned out for the 1st day as it was almost full by the time the main show started.

It was an interesting show and I met an Asian girl from New York who is an aspiring B-Girl working (an intern-ship) in Korea for a bank.

The main show was from 6pm to 9pm and contained the usual Poppin battles, Locking battles and of course the B-Boy battles (of which I have the most video footage) which were amazing and you will see some of the crazy moves in my video.

There was also a show of traditional Korean dance / music mixed in with a B-Boy flavour and a show of Martial Arts. This is where my camera battery ended is life and so I only captured half of what happened.

I seriously need a new camera though as I would like better video quality, a longer battery life and better picture quality as well. So I will have to look around for a while and just deal with my little Olympus for a while yet.

Sunday I went to Itaewon. I think this trip needs a post all unto itself so I will post what happened when I ventured out there later in the week.

Here is the flickr slide show:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624293391467/show

I think this is media overload for this post so another interesting video will be posted next time.

Well another week over and a while since I last posted!

Time to make some observations since I have been here a while now.

Teaching:

Once you have been here a while you realise that you are not here to teach your students anything. Your role is to facilitate speaking, listening, understanding and to some extent reading and writing.

Teachers amongst us may agree that some of the text books made available to teach from are almost entirely useless. The Korean teachers may have 10 lessons of grammar to teach while the native speaker has 5 lessons with perhaps 4 pages (if you are lucky) or 2 pages to theoretically teach over 2 lessons. So making or finding things to supplement your lesson is very important if nothing else but to maintain your sanity.

It appears that the best lessons have nothing to do with the text book and if you have only 3 - 4 students (if they are behaved) free talking is the best method of teaching.

For example this week the topic was accidents spanning over 2 weeks and having a content of 2 pages which advise the students not to blow dry their hair whilst they wash it. So it was teach accidents or.... Vampires. Being the conservative chap that I am and being all about conforming to the expected norm I chose to teach what was expected of me. So Vampires was quite a good lesson a few screams and look away's from the screen but afterwards there was a request for Ghosts next week so the lessons effectively teach and grow on themselves.

So really there is a lot that goes into a lesson be it a game a lesson with a video and or a word search relevant or even colouring for those younger classes. It aint a walk in the park where you can lean heavily on the text book.

I love the Subway:

Oh no! I am going to be late! I have arrived at the subway station at 13.02 and the train is to arrive at 13.04 have I missed it?

No. No you have not. What I like about the subway is that the train will be there at 13.04 and you can bank on it. You can always have an ice tea or a coffee (in a correct proportion not an obese proportion) while you wait for 2 or 3 minutes.

I also enjoy how it is cool and smooth and I generally get a seat which is not cramped and I can relax and just enjoy the ride.

The bus service is a little different. It can run a little late. It can be akin to a suicide run down the side of a mountain and it can be a little uncomfortable. However it has got me to my destination so far pretty much intact.

The other helpful feature is the lovely music that will play either at the end of the line for that train or a transfer point. So if you are ever wondering if the next station is the one you were to transfer at or if is just another stop on the line just use the cheat code and listen for the symphony heralding your next point of action.

The Sun:

Where I come from (New Zealand) you could go for a 10 or 15 minute walk and end up burnt to a crisp. In Korea you can go for a 4 hour walk and not even get a tan. I don't know what it is but I like it. Its hot but its not a focused under the microscope hot and I have not been burnt one day here.

White People:

Well... I think I will go more into this in a later post. I will leave this here to build up the tension.

R-16 2010 begins today with the press conference and is followed up with multiple events tomorrow and Sunday. I will be heading over to the Olympic gymnasium tomorrow and may meet a couple of exciting individuals if luck holds. I will hove some pictures and video's to post of the event so stay tuned.

Another busy weekend ahead as I plan to attend R-16 on Saturday and then on Sunday I may make a trip to Itaewon to see what clothing there is there so when I get paid I can get some shoes!

Well what can I leave you with this week?

Of course the flickr slide show link:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/50841302@N05/sets/72157624405730272/show

Perhaps this random clip....