Some panoramic shots

This is a shot I took while in Soraksan last weekend. Take note of the color of the leaves on the left. Autumn is the most popular time to visit the mountain because of the change in color.

This is the inside of my favorite bar, Rush. Bars in Korea are pretty different from bars in the USA. Rush is one of the few western style bars. They often have live performances and the crowd is very mixed. Rush is known for great long island ice teas.

hanging with the guys

Recently I have had more opportunities to spend time with my students outside of class. I really like these occasions because they allow the students to get more comfortable around me. These chances have also been great for building rapport with both the students and the other teachers.

Two weeks ago, our school had a school wide physical fitness exam. All of the students spent the morning going through a long set of body circuit tests. Here you can see the sprinting and sit-up events.

This past weekend, I went on a day hike to Soraksan mountain. The hike was organized by the school as a kind of disciplinary measure for the biggest trouble makers at school. I went along with the hopes of getting closer to some of the toughest students. I was successful, and I think the benefits are already showing in class. We ended up having a lot of fun, despite how crowded the trails were. Here are some of my students.

Paper making

I recently went to a traditional mulberry paper factory. Koreans use the fibers from mulberry bark to make a variety of products including conventional paper, wall paper, flooring, clothing, and insulation. In this video, you can see the factory worker sifting fibers to make a single sheet of paper.

The screen in the previous video is suspended from these bamboo springs...


Here, paper is being applied to hot plates for drying.

Eating dog

Last weekend, Mr. Son took me out for dog. As it turns out, the best dog restaurant is located across the street from me. We met there and were seated. The dog was already out on the table. Traditionally, dog is prepared in two ways. For lunch, leaner sections of meat are eaten in a soup. For dinner, which is what was in front of us, dog is served in thin slices. The slices are taken from the outside of the dog, with the outer layer of fat and skin left in tact. Koreans are very fond of fat, and it is not uncommon, when eating meat, for a dish to be more fat than meat. In the case of dog, the hair is removed by letting it burn off during the cooking. This leaves little follicles in the outer layers of fat, and it also gives the meat a certain odor. To help fight the odor, the dog slices are arranged around a crock of dog soup that is kept at a boil throughout the meal. You eat the dog slices with vegetables that get added to the soup. These include green onions, mushrooms, and sesame leaves. My guess is that, between the vegetables, the soup vapor, and all of the chili pastes that come with any Korean meal, the burned dog hair smell is blocked out.

I ate about half of the plate of dog, along with the dog soup, and some dog kidney and liver. It was not bad, but I'd say, it is an acquired taste.

Meat Truck

This truck was pulled up outside of my local grocery recently. Koreans are definitely not squeemish people.

Bushwacking on the Mushroom Trails, and the Hidden Valley of Odaesan.

For the last two weekends now, I have gone hiking in the local mountain range here in the Korean north east. This past Sunday, I went mushroom hunting with local bad ass gaucho, and co-English teacher, Mr. Son (rhymes with "bone.")


Mr. Son has been exploring the mountains on the Korean east coast for years. As a result, he knows all of the hidden back country foot paths. This past Sunday, I got a little peek at what he knows about the land here.

Our mission, that Sunday, was to collect the coveted and rare Pine Mushroom. We hiked into the Odaesan area using one of the main entrances. It was very crowded on the trail. (Hiking is a huge national pass time in Korea.) After about 40 minutes of hiking, we stopped next to a very steep hill. We waited for a window when none of the other hikers were looking, then we quickly started up the hill. After climbing for about 30 minutes, we reached a heavily forested ridge. This was Mr. Son's secret mushroom hunting ground. He even knew specific trees to look under. The key to finding Pine Mushrooms is to look in a 3 meter radius around the older pine trees only. The trees are found in groves, separated by thick patches of brush and oak trees. Inspection of the pine groves is relatively straight forward, since the Pine Mushroom is normally the size of a human hand. That means it was not necessary to get down and really search.


We searched for about two hours, making our way along the ridge. We found nothing. Towards lunch time, we left the ridge. It was hard work to bushwhack down the brush covered slope. We both did our share of slipping and sliding through the ground cover. Sometimes, large rocks would get dislodged and begin to roll down the hill. We could hear them rolling and smashing into stumps and roots. It would take almost a minute before the stone would come to a halt. We finally made it to the bottom of a deep valley where there was a stream and lots of big flat rocks. The rocks must have been worn smooth by the changing course of the stream. This made for a good clean place to sit down. We took lunch there, next to the stream.

At the beginning of the trip, Mr Son gave me a 2 way radio in case we were separated. Upon finishing lunch, I discovered that I had lost the radio. We knew we had to go back up the slope to look for it. We did our best to retrace our steps. All the while, I was using the second radio to help find the first. Near the top of hill I finally heard some radio chatter. Mr. Son and I could hear that the radio was close. I spoke into the radio again, and Mr. Son spotted it. The lost radio was hanging in a young tree. After hi fives, we continued to work our way back up to the mushroom ridge.


We followed the ridge as it climbed to meet its parent mountain formation. We were aiming for another unofficial trail that would cross our path at some point. It was a great relief to reach it. I had worn shorts, and by this time, my legs were pretty cut up. Getting cut wasn't so bad, but having branches continually scratch over the old cuts was annoying.

We followed this trail for about two hours. It followed a ridge opposing the one we had hunted mushrooms on. While on this trail, we stopped at a number of look out points. Each time, Mr. Son would ask "Does it command a fine view?"



At this point we found our one and only mushroom. Although it was edible, it was not a Pine Mushroom. (Later, after our hike, we went to a local restaurant and asked the cook to prepare it for us.)

Finally, our walk on the ridge ended and we scrambled down a very steep section of trail. When we got to the bottom, we found ourselves in a deep ravine. Mr. Son referred to that place as "The Hidden Valley." Indeed, it was hidden. Without Mr. Son's previous trips to explore the area, the uninformed hiker would never find the way in or out. We walked down the length of the ravine and eventually came to a series of water falls. The rocks here were cut slick by the water. There was no way to continue. Mr. Son led the way to a hidden path among the long sharp slabs of rock. The path climbed vertically out of the ravine. After following this, we found ourselves, essentially, back near one of the official Odaesan park trails. We could see the droves of hikers through the trees. We waited for an opportunity, and scrambled out of the woods to mix back in with the crowd. Grinning, Mr. Son announced "We are back on the Highway."

What it is.

Today marks the end of my first month in South Korea. After an amazing 5 days of orientation at a beach resort, and then about a week of serious home sickness, my life is finally starting to stabilize. During the work week, I spend my time at Myeongnyun High School in Gangneung South Korea. I am the guest English teacher for about 600 high school boys.

My job basically resembles a nine to five desk job, with about 19 hours of teaching time each week. That said, this blog will mostly focus on the life I have outside of school.