The Bitter End

This is going to be the most exciting entry I've written to date.  A few topics that will be covered include and are probably limited to:

Pizza in Korea

A Rock and Roll Show

A dancing cook

and

another Korean hot dog adventure

Saddle up and prepare to experience Korea vicariously through text and images.

I'll start with our first (and to this date, only) encounter with Korean pizza.  Just around the corner from me is a cozy little place called Pizza Flower.  One Sunday night Caroline and I decided to give it a shot.  Twenty minutes and seven dollars later we were sitting on the floor of my apartment.  Nothing stood between us and the pizza and the cameras were rolling.

Just in case curiosity has got the best of you, I'll describe what you've just seen.  You were looking at a Bulgogi Pizza, or a pizza with Korean-style barbecued beef on top.  What you probably don't know, and what we also were lucky enough to find out, is that the pizza was also covered with other bits of randomness including corn and maybe onions.  Corn seems to be a condiment here.

I hope you're all geared up for the first bite because it's happening right now:

Good not great.  Similar if not identical to a standard frozen pizza.  Nothing about it tasted Korean to me so I decided to improvise.

Buckle up:

Kimchi strikes again!  This stuff is fantastic.  Add it to anything that tastes of mediocrity and sit back as it instantly drums up some flavor.

The next topic that I'd like to cover is music here on the peninsula.  I'm not sure why, but KPop reigns supreme.  KPop is loud, dancy, technoey, (what?), rap/pop music.  I'm about to offend the entire country but I'd like to be honest about my feelings towards this musical genre.  

I think it's pretty terrible.  Every single song sounds exactly the same.  The male singers look like they've never heard of sandwiches.  The girls look fake.  The musical groups have more members than the entire Wu Tang Clan.  It's as cookie cutter as it gets but the  everyone here loves it and I mean everyone; from kids to teenagers to adults; I've even caught some older men listening to WonderGirls while devouring chicken and knocking back shots of soju.

I'd pretty much given up on seeing live music while living over here but then we stumbled into a bar called Urban.  We couldn't believe our eyes or our ears.  On the stage were about 6 or 7 young Korean rock and rollers.  In front of the stage were about 15 or 20 young people flailing around uncontrollably.  We had struck gold.  

Here's a quick glance at the Chef, as I've named him, dancing around to a rendition of the most popular KPop song in the world; Gungnam Style.  We're still debating whether or not this guy was actually a chef who had just finished his shift or if wearing a chef's apron is hip with the country's alternative youth.  Either way this guy was great.  We danced around with him and his crew for a while.  I even introduced some college kids to the Charleston and the Twist.  I hope it catches on. 

I'd rather not leave this post on a sour note but I can't be held responsible for my culinary exploits.  Dancing around like idiots strikes up your appetite.  There were some hot dogs on the horizon, Korean hot dogs.  After my first experience I still haven't learned my lesson and decided it was a good idea to try something else.  The dog I selected looked pretty decent.  It resembled a giant corn dog and it looked something like this:

Shock and Awe

Out On the Weekend

We've been in Daegu for 3 weeks now but sometimes it feels more like 3 days.  The work week passes by so quickly that we hardly have (make) the time to plan out our weekends.  Luckily the city has plenty to offer and the public transit system makes it easy to wake up on Saturday morning and find an adventure.

Our first outing was a walk through Duryu Park.  The park is gigantic and beautiful.  As soon as you enter you forget about the massive city that lies beyond the trees.  The only maps we could find were in Korean so we decided to wander around and hope for the best.  Here is a glimpse at what we found.

Keumyong-sa

View from the front porch swing

After checking out the temple grounds we continued down the trail until we came to a large pond where people were feeding a massive school of fish.  These fish were terribly ugly and extremely desperate for potato chip crumbs and other scraps of food.

We were feeding these pathetic saps from a footbridge that connected to a tiny island which seemed to house another small temple, but the gate was locked so I snapped a quick photo and then we went to find some food.

Hidden Temple

Duryu Park was a nice time and we've already set our sights on going back.  A teacher at my school gave us some info regarding a small mountain that people climb in the center of the park.  When you reach the top you'll find a small restaurant serving chicken and beer.  Sounds pretty nice.

Speaking of mountains our second outing took us to the top of Mt Apsan.  The hike was only about two miles but here in Korea, hiking trails seem to go straight up.  It wasn't until we had almost reached the top that the trail began to meander nice and slowly around the mountain's edge.  It was hot and we were hungry, (which seems to be becoming a common theme among this blog), but the view quickly struck this from our minds.

Daegu Tower

Duryu Park

Daegu.  Every inch of it.

A Night Out

For the first week or so Caroline and I have had to rely on PC cafes in order to make contact with one another.  On our second night in Daegu we were able to meet at an Emart.  (Emarts are giant department stores and they exist all over the city.  Think Wal-Mart but with higher priced options as well).  We picked the one that looked like middle ground and both made our way there.  The plan was for each of us to just circle the building until our paths crossed.  (No cell phones.  Once you leave the PC Cafe you're basically just hoping for the best).  All goes swimmingly and we soon realize that our apartments are only about 2 miles apart.

The next night we decide to meet in my neighborhood for dinner.  There is a BBQ place on my street with outdoor seating, (probably a rarity here where everything is so crammed together).  We walk over and fumble our way through ordering food.  The food is good and cheap and I'm lucky enough to try some Beondegi.  Beondegi is boiled silkworm larvae.  It's then tossed in chili and garlic and served cold.  I found it quite tasty and I've been looking for it ever since.

Bugolgi

Beondegi

Just in case you think I'm fibbing, here's some photographic proof to my claims:

After dinner, we set out to explore a supermarket.  I have about 6 or 7 markets in my neighborhood but I only visit two.  My favorite is the 007 Mart, or the Bond Mark as I've affectionately named it.  The other market is called Power Mart.  Power Mart has more options and is more organized than the Bond Mart.  Shopping in South Korea is the only time I find myself feeling completely lost.  The larger markets are way too overwhelming and the smaller ones are difficult because I can't read Korean.  It becomes a guessing game and so far I've done alright, (that's not saying much though, I've been sticking to rice, noodles and other things that I can easily identify).

Caroline's new friend

$10!!! Disgust...

What's even more rotten than the price of peanut butter?  The bread situation here in Korean would make it almost impossible to eat the peanut butter anyway.  I've only seen white bread being enjoyed as a snack or dessert here.  They sell slices of it in places like the PC Cafe and the 7-11.  I've even witnessed half loaves of bread (not sliced) sitting in the center of a table while hungry diners tear through it with forks (not chopsticks). 

Bread may be a treat here in Korea but pastries of all kinds can be found in the cafes and bakeries.  We've even seen a gourmet doughnut shop while wandering around downtown.  I have two bakeries on my block, each one offering everything from traditional Korean rice cakes to loaves of white bread.  This leads me to my next experiment: The Korean Hot Dog Craze!  By craze I mean I've seen hot dogs in the craziest places and I am making it my goal to try each and every one of them. 

First up, the hot dog danish, courtesy of Paris Baguette.

Don't scoff at me

The First 5 Days

We've finally arrived in Daegu.  The first week is blurry.  I'll try to recount it as best as I can.

Monday:  Arrival!  I meet my Head Co-Teacher and we drive to my school so I can meet the principal.  We sit in his office for about 45 minutes.  He has a lot to say but whenever Grace (my head co-teacher) translates for me she only asks one single question.  I feel like I'm definitely missing something, but I'm told that the meeting is a success.  Now it's time to go to my apartment.  The streets are narrow and full of bikes, scooters, and kids.  We get lost a few times, but eventually we find the alley that leads me to my home.  The room is just that, a room.  It's very small and very old.  Enter Jin, another co-teacher.  She speaks English very well and after a long discussion with Grace (in Korean) she informs me that I will be moving into a new apartment on Wednesday.  I'm exhausted and hungry and I want to change my clothes so I just smile and nod politely.  Before I have a chance to catch my breath we're out the door and on the road.  Grace and Jin take me shopping for home supplies.  They take care of everything for me, I just push the cart and thank them.  It's getting late and we're all in need of food.  They take me to a Korean restaurant where they watch me use chopsticks with my left hand like I'm inventing fire right in front of their eyes.  Jin tells me that all Koreans are taught to eat and write with their right hands.  I'm now even more of a minority, (my friend Josh is also a southpaw and his co-teacher told him that only 5% of Koreans are lefties).  After dinner, they take me home and let me settle in.  I change my clothes and hit the street.  It's close to 11 but the neighborhood is lively and full of wonderful smells.  There is food being prepared and eaten everywhere.  I wander through Paldal Market for a bit and then I head home and surrender to sleep.

Tuesday:  Jin meets me at my apartment and walks me to school in the morning.  It takes about 3 minutes to walk to school.  Inji Elementary School is located right in the middle of Bisan 5, one of the poorest districts in the city.  Jin informs me that I will not be teaching this morning because of the typhoon that hit late in the night.  I guess I must have slept through it.  The day is quick and uneventful.  I spend most of it alone in my classroom.  By the middle of the afternoon word must have circulated that there was an American in the building.  I begin to notice little heads popping into the room and then disappearing when I turn to their direction.  By the time I leave I'm being surrounded by Korean children.  Every one of them wants a high five.  The other teachers laugh and escort me to the exit and the kids follow me home like I'm one of the Beatles.

Wednesday:  On Wednesday I teach five 5th grade classes.  I introduce myself to the kids and then take their questions.  Here are some of the best questions that I can remember:

1. How tall are you?

2. What's your blood type?

3. Do you speak Korean?

4. Why isn't your girlfriend Korean?

5. Have you had cosmetic surgery?

6. Do you like frogs?

My answers:

1. 175 cm and the crowd goes wild.

2. O+ Apparently this is a good blood type to have.  B is bad.  Go figure.

3. I speak very little Korean and the crowd goes wild.

4. Rather than getting into Caroline's family history I just shrug my shoulders and look confused.

5. No, this is just the way that I look.

6. Sure.  Frogs are fine.

Thursday:  I move into my new apartment.  My old place was a dump compared to this but I was willing to tough it out for as long as I needed to.  The new apartment is literally brand new.  I'm the first occupant and the whole place still smells like wet cement.  I can finally do my laundry. 

Friday:  Downtown Daegu here I come.  I meet up with Caroline and we head to the city center to meet our friends.  The five of us end up wandering around for most of the night trying to find a quiet place to drink a beer or three.  There are people and noise and lights and scooters and cars everywhere.  Somehow we end up sitting in an expat bar for an hour or so.  We also discover a BBQ place at the end of an alley that is cheap even by Korean standards.  All in all it's a successful Friday night.

Wildlife is scarce here in Daegu.  I rarely see anything other than (what I assume to be) feral cats.  No rabbits.  No squirrels.  No rats.  A bird from time to time.  However, on Friday night I was lucky enough to catch a Wild Square-Toed Josh.  These animals are not native to this part of the world, so I quickly captured some footage of this strange creature as it attempted to make some food.

A Village and a Temple

Orientation is halfway over.  It's served its purpose though.  We're all making friends.  We're learning more about teaching.  We're dreading the group project that we need to complete and present on the final day.  At night we eat spicy chicken and drink terrible beers at the local hof.  In the morning, we search for a solution to the Korean coffee desert and usually settle for cans of Nescafe.  Most of us are ready to get to our respective towns or cities to begin our teaching careers.  Sensing our restlessness, our class leaders have organized a group outing.  We're heading to the Jeonju Traditional Culture Center, Hanok Village, and Keumsan Temple.

The Jeonju Traditional Culture Center is first.  We get to play some Korean drums.  We participate in a traditional mask dance.  And we learn all about Hanji paper as we use it to make ourselves some nifty little pencils boxes.  A nice way to start the day.

Lunch is next.  I could write about it but what's the point.  I have pictures to tell the story for me.  Jeonju is famous for its Bibimbap.  We had some.  It was most excellent.

the table is set

 

the main dish

Lunch was over quickly.  The only bad to come from this was our complete and total inability to settle for the free cafeteria food for the remainder of the orientation program.  Thankfully, dining out is incredibly cheap here in Korea.

After lunch we had an hour to wonder around the Hanok Village.  Hanoks are traditionl Korean homes and they look like this:

Hanoks

The rest of the town was busy and full of tourists from all over the region.  Caroline and I went looking for a shrine but we settled for ice cream instead.  The shrine was pretty expensive and ice cream is much cheaper. 

From the village we boarded our bus and rode along a narrow mountain road up to Keumsan Temple.  The complex consisted of about a dozen buildings, each one ornately decorated and holding it's own special significance.



The main courtyard

The backyard

Attention to detail

The regulars

There were hundreds of these guys.

This guy told the best jokes