Jeju

Jeju.

Not my map. Credit goes to english.jeju.go.kr.

It's known as "The Hawaii of Korea." When you mention it to people in Korea, they will likely smile and say (if they speak English) one of three things:

1. I've never been there, and I want to go visit.
2. I've been there before, and I loved visiting.
3. I've been there before and I want to visit again.

Basically, people in Korea love Jeju, so I figured that I should go check it out.

The round trip flight between Seoul (Gimpo) and Jeju cost 152,000 won, or about $150 USD. I booked the flight, through T'way Airlines, about a month and a half before the trip. Since South Korea is a fairly small country, it took less than an hour to fly from Seoul (in the northwest on the country) to Jeju (off the southwestern coast of the country)...and thank goodness. The flight was fine, but budget airline seats don't take kindly to the knees of gangly folk like me. In other words: My knees were up against the seat in front of me for the whole flight.

I got off the plane, retrieved my luggage, and stepped out of the airport. I saw several palm trees and felt a nice breeze blowing as the sun shone bright. Though Jeju is unlike Hawaii in that it experiences all four seasons, I could see why Jeju has been given the Hawaii moniker.

After a 5000 won (~$4.50 USD) taxi ride, I arrived at my hostel, HK Jeju. HK Jeju was good to us. The staff members were helpful and the rooms were nice enough. Unlike the other hostel I had stayed in when I visited Seoul before, each room had direct access to a private bathroom. Luxury!

The hostel was located right by the sea, and it was also a 10 minute taxi ride to the Intercity Bus Terminal (if you don't rent a car, this is your transportation lifeline).

Front of HK Jeju

Seaside walkway - a five minute walk from HK Jeju

Okay. Enough about that. Let's talk about what to do in Jeju.

My first stop: Seongsan Ilchulbong. I first saw a picture of this place in 2011 at the Korean Cultural Center in DC and thought, "I must go here." Since it would be a few hours before other members of my group arrived, and after an hour-and-a-half of getting lost in Jeju City and trying to figure out which bus I needed to take, I went on my own to the crater.

First, I should note that it took an hour-and-a-half (different from the hour-and-a-half  that I may or may not have mentioned in the last paragraph) to get from Jeju City in the north to Seongsan Ilchulbong in the east. At one point, before coming to Jeju, I had this idea that Jeju was really small and that I could just rent a bike and take a quick ride around the island...lololol.

After a while, the crater came into view.

Oh boy oh boy oh boy!

A few minutes later, I got off the bus, paid the 2000 won to get in, and hiked up. I also took many, many pictures. You've been warned.

Still here? You're tenacious, aren't you?

Seongsan (the village) from the trail

Seongsan from even higher on the trail

At the crater...I couldn't go down in it, nor did I want to. In related news, seeing other birds besides pigeons and crows (Seoul has an abundance of both) is a really nice experience.

Back at ground level

It's hard to see, but there were several divers in the sea. Jeju likes its seafood.

Man. I loved it. I loved it so much, I went again the next day with the rest of my group.

It's a good thing I did, because I ended up running into a friend from DC during round 2 at Seongsan Ilchulbong.

Hey Andrea! She was on her way to China before starting a combined masters/doctoral degree in Chicago. NBD.

Udo Island

Proof that I was in front of Udo Island

On the way back to our hostel, we stopped at Saehwa Beach, because who goes to Jeju without going to a beach?...the truth is, I may have skipped the beach completely if it weren't for the earnestness of a few of my traveling comrades.

Waiter?

See that strip of sand? We walked out to it, put our stuff down, and learned that tides are sneaky critters. Thankfully, no one's stuff got damaged.

Thanks for the sunset, Saehwa.

Okay. Let's be real here. The actual reason for me coming to Jeju was to summit Hallasan, the tallest mountain in South Korea. I was worried about the weather, since late June is around the beginning of monsoon season and weather can be unpredictable on the top of the mountain.

People, the weather couldn't have been better.

The first 60% of the trail on the way up, and the last 60% of the trail on the way down, was covered in pine trees. Beautiful as it was, it got monotonous, so most of these pics are from closer to the summit.

First vista. The city of Seogwipo is in the distance.

See that knob? That's the first sign of the peak.

As Lucy and I were relaxing, someone came up to us and gave us each a potato.

We were then invited over to eat cucumbers, mangoes, and treats with several people who had been friends since middle school. I loved this day! Such generous people.

Getting closer...

One kilometer left!

9.6 kilometers to the top, 8.7 kilometers to go to get the bottom...SO close to the summit

THE TOP!

By the way, Hallasan is an extinct volcano.

Jeju City in the distance...it seemed so close, but it took SO long to get back.

 

Last view of the summit on the way down

It was a long hike. But with the chance meetings with generous people, and the amazing views, it was worth it.

I returned to Seoul the next day so that I could get ready for work, which meant that I spent a total of 3.5 days on Jeju. Could I have stayed there for longer? YES. But 3.5 days was a good amount of time to see a few of the things I wanted, and I worry that a longer stay would have tempted the weather fates.

Jeju, it was fun.

Jesus Loves You, and so Does Park

Lately I've been feeling like a zombie. I think that this is mostly due to the split shift schedule I have this term. Today, during my long break, I decided to go down by the river to exercise. Korea is full of outdoor exercise equipment. See below for an example:

Photo courtesy of traveljapanblog.com.

There I was, on my 500th (approximate) leg press, when a man came up to me and said something. I didn't quite understand him the first time, so he repeated himself: "Where are you from?" "Meegook saram eyo (I'm from the US)," I replied.

His next question: "You know Mormonism?"

Folks. I wasn't even wearing my BYU shirt.

I told him that not only do I know about Mormonism, but I am one. He got really excited and started talking about how he saw missionaries walking around close by. The conversation then transitioned to his home planet, Mercury. He pointed out his invisible UFO on the rive, which I admired with him. This guy's name was Park (which is a name shared by about 20 million other people in Korea. Seriously), and he was hysterical (not crazy...at least I didn't get that vibe).

Then he brought me over to a bench. We talked about many things, including:

• The 300 mountains in Korea. Park has climbed all of them.
• The legend of Achasan. "Acha" apparently means "Oh my," which is what a king in the Chosun Dynasty said when he realized that he had sent a fortune teller to death on false pretenses. Happens all the time.
• The difference between zebras and pintos.
• The most popular refrigerator brand in the US.
• A place with good tteokbokki in Sindang, a neighborhood in Seoul.
• Why some people (50%, according to Park) from the US are kind and warm, while the rest seem to be unkind.
• Why people pay for themselves when they go to restaurants with friends.
• What my opinion was about marrying a Korean girl.

Unfortunately, I had to go to get ready for class, but he took me to a shop nearby and bought me some ice cream. Then he said, "Jesus loves you."

He gave me a hug, shook my hand, told me to look for him when I go to the river again, and said goodbye.

Totally random. And I loved it.

Things My Students Say

This evening, I've thought about a few of the things my students have said that have surprised and/or entertained me. Here's a sampling.

***

Marriage:

Thanks, columbian.com.

- Bob, an older man who works every day (except for holidays) once said, when we were talking about regrets: "My biggest regret in life is that I got married."

- Steven, a younger man (in his 20s, maybe 30s, it's really hard to tell with people here) has mentioned, at various times, the following: "I got married because I thought that's what people did when they got to my age. I didn't realize they had a choice! So now I tell single people: DON'T GET MARRIED!"

Plastic surgery:

Thanks, medwow.com.

- Isabel, a very sweet, older woman with a contagious laugh, once mentioned this when we were discussing physical appearances: "Both of my daughters had plastic surgery. They used to be ugly, and now they're both so-so."

Mr. Bean:

Thanks, mrbeanwikia.com.

- One of my students last term, Potter, is a happy, portly ten-year-old. He's very energetic and knows what he wants. One day, I showed a Mr. Bean clip in class to introduce the topic for the day. Potter, almost every day afterwards, would request that we watch a Mr. Bean clip. Here's an example of one of those conversations; if you dare, you can listen along by clicking here:

Potter (at the beginning of class): "Teach-ah, Mist-ah Bean please."

Me: "Potter, we can't watch Mr. Bean every day."

Potter: "Ah, teach-ah, every day Potter want Mist-ah Bean and every day teach-ah nooooo."

At this point, he covered his head with his jacket and leaned helplessly back into his chair. Poor little diva fella.

***

Don't get me wrong, I have plenty challenging moments here, but I love gems like these.

How to Break a Rule in Korea and Get Away with It

I've discovered the secret, folks.

Basically, if an ajumma says you can do it, it's okay.

Ajumma: An older Korean woman. Typically travels in packs with other ajummas (I suspect there are ajumma gangs that have turf wars with competing ajumma gangs...we'll save that discussion for another time). Likely has brightly colored clothing, a smart perm, and a fashionable visor.

I can't take credit for this, but heyajumma.blogspot.com can.

So there I was on the subway, sitting down. The train had gone two stops from my point of origin, and there were very few seats left. The train doors open, and four ajummas rush in. One sits in jumps into an empty seat by me. "YUH-GI!!!" she shouted. I suspect that she was the pack leader, because one of the ajummas immediately and obediently sat down.

Yuh-gi (여기): Over here, over there, come here.

Two ajummas remained standing on the train, so I stood up to offer my my seat. "YUH-GI!!!!" the permed gang leader shouted. Seconds later, my seat was taken. One of the gang members (I have a feeling she's the sweetheart of the bunch) said "thank you" (in English, I should note) to me. I looked around to see several glances of approval for my noble action of standing up. If only they knew that, in the US, what I did was considered basic gentlemanly behavior...but I liked the positive attention, so I went with it.

As I stood, I glanced over to my left to see that a different ajumma was beckoning me to sit by her. This would not be blog worthy if this woman wasn't in THE SENIOR SECTION. At either end of any train car are six seats that have a different color from the other seats. It's obvious that there is something different about them.

And there is. If you sit in one of these seats without being:

1. Over the age of 55
2. Pregnant
3. Mobbed by your five children

You will, on your best day, get a month's worth of stink-eye from the train passengers. You may even get scolded.

I found myself in a dilemma. Do I sit in the forbidden seats or risk offending the ajumma? I went with the former.

Guys, this is so stupid, but I felt like I was in a limo.

The ajumma, at one point, excitedly said, "I go! Spelling?" So I spelled it out on my hand, with my finger, several times, until I felt fairly sure that she either I had misheard her question or that she wasn't really listening. It was still amusing. And did I mention I was in the senior seating?

It's the little things.

Teacher's Day and the Cascade that Almost Wasn't

Last Thursday, I experienced a phenomenon known as Teacher's Day. On this holiday, students bring gifts for their teachers.

I wasn't aware of this holiday, so it came as a surprise to me when my students brought me these:

Two boxes of chocolate, two carnations, and a peppermint bark bar

These chocolates are crazy.

It was very kind. I felt undeserving of the gifts but devoured them nonetheless.

Also on Thursday, I went with my coworkers to a place called Yongmasan to see an artificial waterfall. Yongma Falls is said to be the tallest artificial waterfall in Asia. Well, it turns out that it's also only open for business during certain hours...otherwise the mountain is completely dry. We happened to come by when the falls were off. Not to worry, we managed to get jumped by these children:

We went the following day, and behold, the waterfall was on. I can't say it blew me away, but it was worth the visit.