Sunday June 30

Today was the first day of our 5 day field trip outside of Seoul. We boarded 2 very comfortable tour buses at 8:00. Because we had 2 busses everyone got their own seat and space. Mark Peterson, a history professor from BYU, is accompanying us on the trip and giving us lessons on Korean history and culture. He firat came to Korea in 1960 on a Mormon mission, back when it was a desperately poor country. At dinner he told us the average Korean income in 1960 was $80 per year. On his mission, he got a $90 a month allowance. He has seen remarkable changes in the last 53 years.

Our first stop of the day was King Sejong's tomb, about a 2 hour ride fom Seoul. The trip went quickly as Professor Peterson was on my bus, telling stories and sharing his expertise. It was extremely hot, humid, and sunny, but the tomb is a remarkably serene and beautiful spot. I mentioned in an earlier post that King Sejong is one of Korea's most beloved figures. In addition to developing the Korean script (hangeul), King Sejong also supported the arts, music, science and technology.

Next, it was on to lunch. This is by far the best meal I've had so far. We are in a region of Korea famous for its rice. We had an 11 course lunch, with rice served in a steaming hot bowl at the end. I won't go through all 11 courses, but one course was breaded, deep fried stingray - tasty despite the rubbery yet crunchy texture. Also, something that I thought was a green bean but turned out to be the hottest something I've ever eaten in my life. Dessert was a cold, iced pumpkin juice.

After lunch we went to Cheongju, home of a printing museum. Koreans were the first to use moveable metal type in printing, even before Gutenberg who gets all the credit. The museum covers all aspects of printing, and includes a hands on workshop where we made our own books and paper. It was a 2 hour process, and a little frustrating at times. The workers didn't speak English, and they hurried through the complex steps. Most of the time, instead of just showing us again how to do things, they ended up making the books for us. Which was fine with me.

Next, off to the Ramada in Cheongju. It's a beautiful, 16 story hotel, but oddly there's almost nothing around it. We had 1 hour to freshen up, then walked across the street to a restaurant that had a buffet. It was a combination Korean, Japanese, and American buffet. Nothing spectacular.

After dinner, we went to a gigantic store - like a Walmart - built under the hotel. There were clothes, school supplies, kitchen goods, groceries, a food court, etc. The seafood and meat sections of the grocery store were incredible, and fragrant. All sorts of dried seafood and meats out in the open. It definitely would not pass health inspection in the US.

Saturday June 29

"Never Underestimate how different it might be." Those were words of advice about Korean cuisine, and I've found it to be true so far. While I'm not starving, I'm also feeling less than satisfied after each meal.

Today's lunch included two fish, which were very good, assorted kimchi side-dishes, and a large bowl of rice and vegetables. I ate all of my fish and rice, but was still hungry.

For dinner, we had a temple meal at a well-known Seoul restaurant, San-Chon. We sat on the floor, and were presented with an overwhelming number of small dishes of food, all vegetarian. I counted over 100 bowls on our 8 person table by the time dinner was done.

There was no menu or explanation of what things were, so we had a lot of fun tasting and trying to guess what we were eating. Luckily, the BYU professor who is accompanying us on the field trip sat at my table. He was able to explain some of the dishes. I particularly enjoyed a pickled radish - very cool and vinegary, and fried lotus root.

For drinks we had tea and a liquor made from pine needles. That was surprisingly good. We all practiced our "nunchi", which means our attention to the needs of others. In Korea one should never pour a drink for themself, so dining companions should always be on the lookout for someone who might need a refill. If you do need a refill, but no one notices, you might ask your neighbor if they would like more tea, and maybe they'll get the hint that you would like more, too.

On our way back to the bus after dinner we walked quickly through a crowded shopping street, but were unable to stop for fear of losing contact with our guides. There were 4 very young women, around 19 years old, left in charge of us for the afternoon and evening. When they said it was time to go, they hustled off quickly, rarely looking back to make sure they were being followed.

One thing I wish we'd had time to get were these deep fried, curly cones of dough filled with ice cream. There is a picture below.

For now, I'm happy to go down to the breakfast buffet and get some eggs, French toast, tater tots, bacon, and croissant.

Friday June 28

Today was an extremely long day, mainly because I woke up at 3:00 am and couldn't fall back asleep. I think I dozed between 5:00 and 5:45, then was up for the day. After the breakfast buffet at the hotel, we boarded a bus to drive to Korea University, one of the 3 most prestigious universities in Korea. They are called "SKY": Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University.

Seoul is a huge, sprawling city that just goes on forever. It was about a 45 minute bus ride through the city streets to the university, a quiet campus with beautiful stone buildings set on a hill in the city. We were led to an impressive lecture hall: We had leather comfy chairs, a name plate, and microphones; along with a briefcase full of books and note-taking supplies from Korea University.

We had been warned ahead of time to stay attentive and professional during the lectures. This was especially because many of the lecturers may not speak English well, and also the Korean lecture style may seem dry and un-interesting to Americans. I think we were all expecting the worst, and were very pleasantly surprised at how engaging the lecturers were.

We learned about the origins of the Korean language (hangeul), and some basic phrases and language etiquette. Next, an economics professor brought us through the phases of South Korea's economic development, from one of the world's poorest countries after the Korean War, to now the world's 11 th largest economy.

Finally, and education professor led us in a conversation about the pros and cons of Korea's education. There are aspects of Korea's system I wish we could replicate in the United States: the value that Koreans put on education, and the belief that achievement, effort, and hard work are what will get you ahead in life. There are no shortcuts to success.

The drawback, however, is the pressure that is put on students. This was clear in our next stop, the Goyang Foreign Language High School. Students are in school from 7 a.m.-11 p.m., 6 days a week. Many students live at the school and see their families only 1 day a week. I was paired with a teacher from Shawnee, Oklahoma, and 3 senior girls who were our guides for the visit. The students we met were exceptionally polite, composed, mature, and proud of the school and eager to show it off. One of the girls had lived in Connecticut from kindergarten through 4th grade, and spoke exceptional English. Another of the girls was working very hard at her English so that she could go to college in the US. I think meeting with them will be the highlight of our trip.

I spent about 30 minutes in a classroom with my partner from Oklahoma. We were able to teach short lessons about our home states and give gifts of appreciation. I brought some maple syrup, which the students loved (of course). I wish I had brought more! We played a bingo game with pictures of Vermont, and generally had a lot of fun.

We then got back on the bus for our trip back to Seoul in rush hour. We were back at the hotel around 6:00. By then, the jet lag had caught up with me. After showering and having a snack of nuts, some Hershey's candies, and a soda, I fell asleep until 4:00 a.m.

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Cute Shot

A school group at the Korean Folk Museum.

Thursday June 27

I slept very soundly last night, and woke up around 5:00 feeling very rested. I relaxed in my room, before heading to the lobby around 7:00 to meet others for breakfast. The breakfast buffet was very good, and had mostly recognizable western foods.

We met for the first time as a whole group after breakfast, and headed off to purchase subway cards and begin our subway/walking tour of Seoul. As a teacher, I was a little worried about the logistics of keeping 40 people together on this tour, but I wasn't the one in charge (foreshadowing).

We took the subway about 5 stops to the King Sejong square. He is a beloved king who ruled from 1418-1450, and is credited with the creation of the Korean alphabet (hangeul), and promoting music, science, and technology. Included in his accomplishments in the singijeon arrow machine, where arrows have packets of gunpowder attached to them and up to 100 arrows are fired simultaneously. I think I saw this tested on Mythbusters.

From there it was a short walk to what was once Seoul's principal palace: Gyeongbokgung. We got there in time to see an impressive changing of the guard ceremony. We quickly walked through the palace grounds to the National Folk Museum, and were given 20 minutes(!) to explore.

Before moving on to the next stop, someone decided it might be a good idea to check if everyone was here. After counting and taking attendance there were 4 people missing. And, come to think of it, those 4 hadn't been spotted at the Folk Museum at all, so who knows how long they'd been missing. Nobody in charge seemed overly concerned at the moment, leaving me to be even more certain I was in constant contact with the group.

We walked to Cheongwadae, aka the "Blue House" - Korea's White House. It was heavily guarded, as one would expect.

We then broke nto smaller groups and were given time to find a place to eat lunch. My group found a place that advertised itself as "Good Restaurant." Sounded modest and unassuming, so we went in. We had another kimchi (of course), a green onion pancake similar to what I'd had for dinner the night before, and a seafood noodle soup. It cost us each 6,000 ₩, or less than $6.

By then it was late afternoon, so we headed back to the subway and hotel so we could shower and rest before dinner. It was a pretty hot and humid day, so I also stopped at 7-11 to stock up on water.

At 6:00 we had a formal welcome dinner, sponsored by the Korea Foundation, at the hotel. I lost count of how many courses there were. I remember the kimchi (including stingray and jellyfish), pumpkin soup, fried chicken in sauce (like General Tso's, but not), prawn and smoked duck, mini seafood paste dumplings, a ground beef mini loaf/burger with brown sauce, soup with beef strips, ginseng, abalone, noodles; then finally rice, and fruit slices. It was a lot.

Tomorrow (Friday) we're up and out early for lectures at Korea University, then our teaching session at a local high school.

Tuesday June 25-Wednesday June 26

I had an uneventful flight from Burlington to JFK, arriving around 7:15 am. I made my way to Terminal 1, and found that I wouldn't be able to check in for my Korean Air flight until 10:30. So, luggage in tow, I got a Dunkin Donuts coffee and bagel and waited out the 2.5 hours.

Standing in the check-in line I noticed a few people that looked like they could be teachers, so I introduced myself. Sure enough, they were other Korea Society fellows. Five of us arrived at the gate together, and we were gradually joined by the other 22 who were flying from JFK. It was nice to get to know my fellow travelers before taking off.

Once on the plane I was astounded at how big the Airbus A 380 is. I sat in row 42, an exit row with no seat in front of me and plenty of room to stretch out. Aside from the caged bird under my seat, it was great.

We were served lunch, and I chose the bibimbap. It's a bowl with beef and assorted vegetables all arranged colorfully. You mix in rice, sesame oil, and as much of a spicy red paste as you can handle (Korean Air helpfully provides a card for non-Koreans, showing us how to prepare this dish. The bibimbap pictures below are from Google images, I forgot to take my own pictures). It was fabulous. I skipped the side dish of seaweed soup.

After reading, watching 2 full movies, listening to podcasts, and sleeping a bit, we were served another meal. (This was around 10:00 p.m. New York time). I had a pasta dish with cheese and vegetables, salad, roll, and carrot cake. Nothing Korean about this meal.

I dozed for the rest of the flight, and before I knew it we were beginning our approach to Seoul. The A380 is really a smooth ride! I de-planed and quickly caught up with other Korea Society fellows, as we had been scattered throughout the plane during the trip. We gathered luggage, made it through immigration and customs, and were met by sponsors from Korea University. We also met 2 other fellows who had flown in from Chicago, and 1 who flew in from Dulles. They had arrived only 30 minutes before us. Another flight from Los Angeles was arriving 30 minutes later, and we would meet the Los Angeles travelers later in the evening.

I changed some money, then we were off on a comfortable bus to the hotel. I slept for most of the way, and was a little dazed when we arrived at the hotel. We all agreed to spend 30 minutes settling in, then meet again in the lobby at 8:00 p.m. Once there I joined with 6 other teachers: 2 from Maryland (PG and Frederick Counties), 1 from Rhode Island (North Kingstown), 1 from Texas, 1 from Oklahoma, and 1 from Ohio. The Texan and Oklahoman had met each other 4 years earlier on a different educational trip to Korea, so we had some expertise with us.

We explored the narrow streets behind the hotel, and were all a little overwhelmed by the food offerings. We walked right past the familiar coffee houses, Parisian bakeries (which looked delicious), Popeye's fried chicken, McDonald's, and ubiquitous 7-11s. Aside from these choices nothing was in English, and the pictures outside the restaurants were not particularly helpful. Feeling hungry, we all eventually agreed to just go in to one place that looked inviting. It turned out to be a great choice.

It served mainly jeon, or "pancakes": platter sized fried concoctions stuffed with kimchi, ground pork and kimchi, or seafood. The helpful cook, who spoke English, suggested 2 pancakes for the 7 of us, and 2 bottles of Soju, a popular alcoholic beverage. Kimchi, and raw onions in soy sauce were served on the side.

The pancakes were phenomenal, a perfect first meal. The Soju tasted like I imagine ethanol to taste, and I stopped myself at 1.5 shot glasses of the moonshine. Total cost for the 7 of us 22,000 ₩ or about $3 each. A total bargain!

We walked the neighborhood for about another 30 mintes, and arrived back to the hotel around 10:30. I was tired but not exhausted, but definitely ready to lie down and unwind. Lights off at 11:00 - good night from Seoul.

Summer Fellowship 2013

From June 25 - July 7 I will be learning and traveling in Korea on a Summer Fellowship sponsored by the Korea Society.  In April my superintendent e-mailed me from Korea, on his own fellowship with the Korea Society (You can read his blog at koreafellowship.wordpress.com). He highly recommended the program, and wanted to let me know that there was a trip for teachers in the summer.  Oh, and by the way, the application was due in one week, so don’t delay!

I hesitated briefly, but then went ahead with my application.  My travels outside of North America have been very Euro-Centric and comfortable:  Ireland, Scotland, England, France, Germany, and Iceland.  Asia, however, was a different matter in my mind.  I haven’t studied much Asian history and culture, and I can barely use chopsticks.

One of my goals as a teacher is to open my students’ minds to the world outside of Fairfax and Vermont, and I thought what kind of example I could set by embarking on this adventure.  So, I completed the application, and found out in early May that I was accepted and would be traveling with 39 other educators from across the United States.

I have done A LOT of background reading, and now have the basics of Korean history under control.  As much as possible, I’ve been eating with chopsticks and am fairly confident I won’t totally embarrass myself.  I have pored over the orientation and background materials and I’m pretty sure I won’t cause any diplomatic crises with any breaches of etiquette.

What I’m most looking forward to:

1. Getting the 14 hour flight from JFK to Seoul over with.
2. Spending an afternoon in a high school in Seoul.
3. Visiting the DMZ.  (Maybe I should be apprehensive, since we are advised to wear shoes suitable for running.)

What I’m most apprehensive about:

1. The 14 hour flight from JFK to Seoul.
2. Unfamiliar food.
3. Being away from my family for almost 2 weeks.  (Although I’m sure I’ll come home to find that I’m not as indispensable as I think I am.)

Summer Fellowship Program Schedule

Here is a rough program schedule:

Wed. 6/26
Arrive in Seoul late afternoon/early evening. Check-in at hotel and free time.

Thurs. 6/27:
Morning and afternoon: Downtown Seoul tour.
Evening: Welcome dinner.

Fri. 6/28:
Morning: Korea University seminars on Korean language, economy, and education.
Afternoon: Visit and teaching session at Koyang Foreign Language H.S.

Sat. 6/29:
Morning: Korea University seminars on Modern History, Society, Traditional Arts, and Cinema
Afternoon: National Museum of Korea
Evening: Dinner at "San-Chon" restaurant

Sun. 6/30:
Depart Seoul for our 4 day "field trip.
Visit Royal Tomb of King Sejong and the Early Printing Museum in Cheongju.  Spend the night in Cheongju.

Mon 7/1:
Depart Cheongju, visit Najung, Cheonmachong, Bun Hwang Sa.  Spend the night in Kyungju.

Tues 7/2:
Kyungju - Visit POSCO Company, Goe Reung, Seokguram Grotto, Bulguk-sa.  Spend the night again in Kyungju.

Wed. 7/3:
Depart Kyungju for Yangdong.
Spend the night in Daegu

Thurs. 7/4:
Visit Haeinsa.
Evening return to Seoul.

Fri. 7/5:
Free morning.
Afternoon seminars on Korean Migrations/Diaspora and South-North Relations.
Evening: closing ceremony and farewell dinner.

Sat 7/6:
DMZ

Sun. 7/7:
Return to U.S.