These ' vignettes ' are based on my personal experiences and interactions while living in South Korea. Many of these stories have been published in a magazine catering for westerners living in Korea called ' Gwangju News.' South Korea is a land rich in culture and history which was formally known as the 'Hermit Kingdom.' Korea is now known worldwide as a leader in technology, electronics, ship building and is the most 'wired' country in the world for internet useage. In stark contrast I personally find the country sitting on the cusp between a 'developing nation' and 'second world' country. Herein lies most of her charm. The Korean people on a whole are suspicious of 'westerners' and at times can be very xenophobic, especially in the country areas. South Korea has succumb finally to the ideoligies of the west, especially since the Korean War (1950's) but change moves slowly in this country now known as 'The Land of the Morning Calm.' Please enjoy....

Life in South Korea....Part two.
The Hagwon....

Small brown eyes peered in awe as I squeezed my 183cm frame into a plastic lime green chair designed for a child. Bright exaggerated plagiarisms of American television cartoon characters garnished all four walls. My Korean supervisor introduced me in a 'machine-gun' blast of what I now recognise as 'hangul' dialect as all present sized me up for a fight third world style.

Have you ever taught before or was this your first experience in the classroom? Well I have, at high schools in tough areas with even tougher kids and for more years than the majority of readers have even been out of high school. Now this may give me the the cunning style of the fox and the bluff of a barking dog, but let me tell you all this experience meant nothing to this class of Korean four year olds.

It's very cut and dried on the surface teaching English as a second language to kindergarten students and as the owner said to me, "Don't worry just play, no teach." Less than half way through the thirty minute lesson I was up and out the door. No response be it negative or positive from anyone in the room bar the supervisor saw me walk out of my first class in over a decade of teaching. The straw which broke the camels back was watching this one boy 'jackhammer' a bogey the size of a small pizza from his nose and treat himself to early lunch.

Let's face the obvious facts. 99% of foreigners working in South Korea are teaching English and not modelling 1970's style lingerie with self-standing air conditioners while running on treadmills eating 'kimchee'*, or dancing on poles in mafia sponsored 'discoporiums'.

To let you in on a secret; I'd rather be wearing lingerie while eating spiced cabbage on the podium pumping up the Korean disco/pop masquerading as techno with my cell phone around my neck. Beats the hell out of dealing with kindergarten kids sporting a Soju** hangover any day. Wouldn't you???


*"Kimchee, the staple of the Korean diet is basically grated or chopped vegetables mixed with various other ingredients-notably chilli, garlic and ginger-and left to ferment in an earthenware pot. It has a raw, tangy taste and is very spicy." Lonely Planet-Korea.(74:2001)

**"Soju is the local firewater; a robust drink distilled from rice, yams or tapioca, and potent as toilet cleanser."
Lonely Planet-Korea.(77:2001)

Life in South Korea....Part three.
The Farmer...

He's up every day before me and still at it as dusk envelopes this picturesque valley situated only 25 minutes by bus from 'downtown' Gwangju. Mostly rice, a seasonal crop which covers 90% of his land in traditional 'stepped' terraces but also vegetables scattered at random between the rice and a very lush grove of plum trees.

I had never noticed him before spring when his terraced fields lay barren and neglected. Even the plum orchid was void of leaves recovering from yet another harsh and bleak northern hemisphere winter. Pre dawn on a still April morning the calm was shattered by the harsh drone of heavy machinery. There he was, directing traffic amongst his fields.

Often I walk and at times sit within this maze of dirty water, bright green stalks and single lane pathways to contemplate life and ponder just why I am here; like a fish out of water two hours from the nearest ocean? I never search for him but often he finds me alone and at peace. He is definitely 'old-school; which translates into no English and my Hangul* is embarrassingly limited but he nod's and i nod back. If time permits I offer and we smoke together in comfortable silence.

Our friendship differs from most as having never been formally introduced, seventy odd years of Confucian ideologies Korean style** don't stand in his way; as is the case with so many I've encountered. As i watch him tend his fields from ten floors up I wonder what will happen to him come winter? Does he too dream of life in the south of France?

*"Hangul-the language and alphabet developed under King Sejong's reign in the 15th century."
Lonely Planet-Korea.(407:2001)
**"Korea is probably the most Confucian nation in Asia. All relationships require a placement in some sort of hierarchy for one party to determine how to behave with respect towards the other."
Lonely Planet-Korea.(31:2001)