The Ultimate Guide to Boseong, South Korea: Sleep It!

Sorry, we've moved!

No Excuses Just Travel has recently relocated to http://www.noexcusesjusttravel.org.  

To read the Ultimate Boseong Guide post about lodging, please click HERE to be redirected!

Thanks, and happy travels!

~Nomadic Madda

The Ultimate Guide to Boseong, South Korea: Find It!

Sorry, we've moved!

No Excuses Just Travel has recently relocated to http://www.noexcusesjusttravel.org.  

To read the Ultimate Boseong Guide post on access and transport, please click HERE to be redirected!

Thanks, and happy travels!

~Nomadic Madda

English Camps in Korea & How To Develop A Successful One

The idea of coursework during summer and winter vacations is quite foreign to most westerners--as is a school year that starts in March!  Unlike the west, schools in Korea begin their school year on or around March 1st.  Students are then in school until the end of July, taking their summer vacation throughout the month of August.  The second semester spans from the end of August until Christmas, and the students have a long winter break for all of January.  Weirdly enough, they come back for the first week of February for graduation, but then go on break again (for Lunar New Year) until the new school year begins in March.

However, students aren't free to relax, go on vacation, or even really get much of a break during these "vacation" periods because they are required to attend "camps".  Camps (and for us native English teachers, English camps, specifically) are additional special courses that students must enroll in during their summer and winter vacation times.

This is similar to how kindergarten started out as completely optional in the USA--wait.  Did you even know kindergarten was optional in the USA?  In fact, even today only 16 states mandate kindergarten enrollment!  Today, kindergarten is seen as such a norm and necessity we don't even question the idea of enrolling our children in it.  Parents don't want their children to be "left behind" their classmates academically and socially upon entering 1st grade, so the idea not enrolling them isn't even given a second thought.

This is essentially the mentality behind Korean summer and winter courses, as well as the hagwon  (학원: Korean private school/academy) obsession pushed upon Korean students today.  Parents, and many times even the students themselves, are so obsessed with getting that extra leg-up against their peers that they're willing to sacrifice nearly any and all free time.  Of course (just like kindergarten enrollment in the States), when everyone does it, it eventually becomes expected.  To not attend winter or summer camp would be seen as quite strange or lazy.

Most native English teachers (NETs) are asked to teach two weeks of camp in the winter, and two in the summer.  Some schools condense it into one, and others have even extended it into three or four.  It all depends on the needs of the school and the teacher's mandated vacation time, which is why teachers at different schools will have different breaks and camp requirements.  As contracted public school teachers in Jeollanamdo, our contracts entitle us to 24 paid vacation days in winter and 8 in summer.   This means that for the long winter break of January and February, any days that are not in my 24 approved days I must be in school as I'm being paid for them.  Most schools will have teachers "desk warm" during that time (no classes to teach, just required to be present in the office), though the school has the right to utilize us for camp classes during those days if they so desire.

Cosmetic Procedures & Dermatology in Korea Part III: The Results

ATTENTION: 

This post contains before and after images of the procedures I had done.  They are not graphic, but are cropped, close-up, and high-definition images of skin and hair, including some near the bikini area.

So was it worth it?!  For those of you who have been following my skin care and cosmetic journey, you're likely already aware of the procedures I had done two months ago.  For those who aren't you can catch up on my first post detailing my search for a clinic, and my second post detailing what the actual procedures and process were like.

So let's get into it!  At the end of November, I scheduled a variety of appointments at Dr. Han & Woo's Skin Clinic with Dr. Geun-soo Lee.  He performed the following:

• Broken red blood vessel removal with the Starlux laser
• Botox injections in the forehead
• Laser hair removal on my underarms and bikini with the Candela laser

And down in the aesthetics center I had a facial for the removal of milia.  Dr. Lee only works in the laser center, so even though he did my consultation and I booked my facial through him, I was directed to a professional in that area for the actual service.  Anyway!  My results were as follows:

Red Blood Vessel Removal
Area: Face
Equipment used: Starlux laser
Happy?: Yes, very!

Before and after, from left to right.

This was really effective for me!  I initially wanted to spot treat some really obvious areas (two of which you can see just below my curve of my nostril, and then off to the left on my cheek), but Dr. Lee treated the inner area of my nose as well.  I didn't even realize this was all from blood vessels, but the treatment with the Starlux laser was definitely effective!  I hardly even need my green tinted primer anymore.  My cheeks still have a bit of general red, but that's something to be treated with a mini-Fraxel session or IPL on another day.  My only complaint about this is that this area on the bridge of my nose is still red and there's one tiny spot near my eye that we missed, but my nose might not be broken blood vessels and may therefore need a different kind of treatment, like my cheek.

Cosmetic Procedures & Dermatology in Korea Part II: The Procedures

Alright.  So you've done your research, picked your clinic, and have scheduled your appointment for your cosmetic services in Korea.  (If you haven't done so yet, read my first post on plastic surgery and cosmetic dermatology services in Korea for foreigners!)  For my first round of procedures, I chose Dr. Woo and Hann's Skin Clinic (우태하 한승경 피부과) located in Galweol, Yongsan.  Since I live about 5 hours from Seoul, I came up Friday night and scheduled a Saturday morning appointment.  For convenience, I stayed at the Kimchee Seoul Station Guesthouse since it's located right behind the clinic.

Saturday morning, I rolled out of bed (no makeup allowed!) and around the corner to the clinic.  At 9am, clients had already begun to filter in.  I checked in on the 3rd floor (Laser Center) for my 9:30 appointment.  The staff was very prompt, and had me pay before beginning any of my treatments that day.  After having a quick second consultation with Dr. Lee to recap our plan for the day, I was taken into the Laser Center area itself.  There, a woman who spoke English very well took me to a small locker room and gave me a gown and a robe to change into.  Everything was very neat and tidy, and was split between two rooms.  The main area was a powder room with sinks, toiletries, and a large mirror while the other, smaller area was for changing.  The changing area had around 12 large lockers in which guests could safely store their clothing and belongings while receiving treatments.  The assistant told me to wash my face as well, but because I didn't have any makeup on, she said just rinsing with water was fine.

Good morning!  This is the pink (under layer) and blue (top layer) robe set I was given to wear.

TIP: Don't wear makeup if anything on your face is being treated!
You'll just have to wash it all off anyway, and they only provide soap to do so.
My skin is pretty sensitive, so washing with soap is a pretty big no-no. 

As I would be having laser hair removal on my bikini, I undressed completely under the gown and robe.  If you're having treatments where they'll need to access your arms or underarms, make sure they give you a pink under layer that is sleeveless!  The blue robe with sleeves goes over the pink, and there are slippers located underneath the link.

When I stepped back out of the locker room, my "guide" was ready with another assistant to escort me down the hall to one of the treatment rooms.  The first room I was taken to wasn't particularly large in size, but was equipped with a medical reclining chair and some equipment.  My second assistant didn't speak much English, but I discovered the purpose of this room was to apply all of the numbing cream in my treatment areas.  She covered my underarms, bikini line (awkward!), and forehead.  The broken blood vessels to be treated on my face were not numbed.  When she finished, I was left to sit for 30 minutes while the cream took effect.

Sitting and waiting for my treatment to start...

TIP: You can bring your phone with you.  Both my gown and robe had pockets,
and I was really bored sitting for 30 minutes with nothing to do!

After thumbing through a few of the Korean fashion magazines stacked beside me, my quiet assistant returned and scraped off all of the cream.  She then took me to a similar, neighboring room for the broken blood vessel treatment.  Dr. Lee came in with yet another assistant, and they got right to work.  If there's one thing I'll say about Dr. Woo & Hann's Skin Clinic, it's that they're a very well-oiled machine!  Here's how my treatments went:

Cosmetic Procedures & Dermatology in Korea Part I: The Consultations

One of the many floor-to-ceiling ads that plasters the walls of Sinsa Station.
Caption reads: "Perfect! Looking beautiful."

Often lauded as the "Plastic Surgery Capital of the World," South Korea has become notorious for its obsession with picking out and correcting flaws--especially in women.  The country controls a whopping 16 trillion of the world's 21 trillion market share--that's 76% of the industry on a global scale!  South Korea doesn't have the highest number of people getting plastic surgery (they're still topped by the USA and Brazil [PDF]), but they do have the highest rate of plastic surgery per capita.  It is often the expertise and wide variety of cosmetic surgeons and dermatologists that draws thousands of foreigners to South Korea, expressly for their services, each year.  In 2014 alone, 336,224 foreigners visited cosmetic clinics in Korea. While there are plenty of plastic surgery options for foreigners in South Korea, over 70% of the foreigners from the 2014 statistic were from China.

Yes, this is the same woman.
Some Chinese tourists have been held up by airport security for not resembling their passports
after having plastic surgery in Korea!

South Korea, being an Asian country with a predominantly Asian population, is specifically known for its technical expertise in operations and procedures for classically Asian features.  While there are many English articles that suggest traveling to South Korea for cosmetic work, I think this is an incredibly important distinction for anyone with non-Asian features interested in getting work done here.  It's imperative that if you are planning on having an invasive (re: surgical) procedure that you find a doctor that has extensive experience working with features similar to yours.

This warning should also extend to anyone with fair hair or darker skin who is interested in laser skin and hair treatments, as many South Korean doctors have worked almost exclusively with patients who have fair skin and dark hair.  The other day a blonde-haired girl in a women's expat group said she had been contacting Korean doctors about electrolysis, and couldn't find anyone who offered services.  Common laser hair removal methods aren't effective on light hair, but because the doctors here rarely work with blonde clients for laser hair removal, they typically don't see a high demand for alternative methods.

Alright, so let's say you're interested in non-invasive cosmetic procedures (non-Asian features won't be a factor), you have fair skin and dark hair (unique treatment methods won't be a factor) and you've traveled to or live in South Korea.  Hello, you are me.

Actually, this is me.  Like, straight up; without makeup or editing.  Hello, internet!

Stereotypes & Cultural Differences: Parenting in South Korea

As my first year here in Korea inches toward a close, I feel as though I've finally experienced enough of Korean culture to comment on repeated observations I've made while living here.  Some of the biggest stereotypes of Koreans and Korean culture involve parents. If you ask someone from a western country to describe what they imagine parents in Korea to be like, you'll often get the image of some English-obsessed mother who storms into school to yell at teachers and principals for inadequate grades and forces their child into hours and hours of hagwon every day after regular school lets out.

Obviously stereotypes exist for a reason, and there are unfortunately some parents out there who try to push their kids like this I'm sure this has to do with the fact that I'm in the country and down south, but I've found the majority of these to be untrue!  Here are some of the most common stereotypes of Korean parents, and how I've found they actually manifest themselves.

South Korean parents all want their children to grow up to be doctors or business professionals.

There are countless popular dramas in Korea that take place in and glorify the medical world.

Out of all the stereotypes I have here, this one probably still hold the most truth.  There are a lot of parents who still push their children to become doctors and businessmen and women, or work for Samsung or LG.  "What do you do for a living?" and "How much money do you make?" are common questions my Korean friends are asked by both their parents' friends and even their own peers.  Even dramas seem to be obsessed with doctors and the chaebols of the business world.  I suspect this is still fairly prevalent in Seoul, but I've actually found this to not necessarily be the case in the south.

When I ask my students what they want to be when they grow up, numerous times I've gotten illustrator, diplomat, game designer or programmer, and athlete.  While some of these seem like typical childhood dreams, I find diplomat in particular to be interesting.  More than one student has mentioned this to me, at both the elementary and high school level.  If there's one thing you can say has been successful about the English program in Korea, it's that it has inspired Korea's younger generations to take more of an interest in the world outside of Korea.  Also, I think it's worth noting that none of them wanted to be Kpop stars!

English Teachers' Orientation: What to Expect (And What Not To)

Every job--even within the same field--will be different.  And every orientation, even within the same company, can be different.  Some throw you out there on your first day and watch as you sink or swim.  Others hold your hand and hammer their way of doing things into your head, denying you any freedom to experiment and improve the system.

No comment.

I've held a variety of jobs  and participated in a range of activities over the last decade, and I've experienced countless orientations that fall all over this spectrum.  When I came to Korea in August of 2014 to teach English as a second language, I didn't know where our program's orientation would entail or how much it would or wouldn't help me in my new teaching job.  Obviously even within the same orientation everyone's personal experience of it will be different, but here is what I took away from mine:

DON'T EXPECT everyone to be on the same level.  There were some people I met that I was incredibly impressed with.  One girl spoke gorgeously fluent Korean (and blew away all the Korean co-teachers at our introduction!), and others still had years of teaching experience or were working on Master's degrees while abroad.  And others were new, just like me.  In fact, you may even meet some people whose qualifications you strongly question, but at the end of the day, take everything as a learning opportunity.  Pick up good tips from the more experienced teachers and learn what not to do from those who set bad examples.  You have control over what kind of teacher you want to be!

DO EXPECT to meet some awesome people.  Not only are you all in the same boat, but that boat is floating in a foreign sea, and you're all feeling equally out of place.  Orientation sort of feels like being a freshman in college all over again--friend groups are formed, everyone is a little awkward and out of their element, and no one wants to seem like they don't know what they're doing.  But everyone is new to something--whether it's teaching, or Korea, or both.  Orientation is a huge opportunity to make friends...and go visit them in their respective placement cities later!

Spring Has Sprung: Korean Flower Festivals

If there's one area Korea takes first place in, hands down, it's festivals.  They have festivals for everything, and it all really kicks off in spring.  A few weekends ago, Lorna and I explored the island of Jindo, where they had the Jindo Sea Parting Festival (진도 신비의바닷길축제)--you can read about our experience here!  Slowly but surely, over the last three weeks flowers have begun to bloom.  First were the bright yellow tangles of forsythia, followed by budding cherry blossoms.  Once the cherry blossoms started blooming, bright purple azaleas started slowly spreading throughout the mountains too.

Cherry blossoms beginning to bloom.

A mountain-top azalea bush.

Red cherry blossoms?  Not sure, but it was among a row of pink ones!

This weekend, there were two big festivals: one on Yeongchwisan (영취산), a mountain in Yeosu (여수); and another up in the mountains of  Gyeongsangnamdo's (경상남도) Hadong (하동) county, in a small town called Hwagae (화개).  Yeosu was our first stop, as we had friends there to meet up with Saturday evening after the flower viewing.

Walk like Moses: The Jindo Sea-Parting Miracle (Festival)

Despite our hectic schedules as we settle into the new school year, Lorna and I found time this weekend to venture across Jeollanamdo to the island of Jindo.  Every year, a festival is held to honor the legend of Grandmother Ppong and her escape from the island.

A statue of Grandmother Ppong and a tiger to commemorate her escape.

Long ago, on the island of Jindo, a group of villagers were constantly under the threat of vicious tiger attacks.  One day, they finally made their escape from the main island to the nearby island of Modo.  Unfortunately, in their haste, Grandmother Ppong was left behind.  All alone on the island and desperate to be reunited with her family, Grandmother Ppong prayed fervently to the Dragon King.  One night, he visited her in a dream, telling her he would create a rainbow reaching all the way to Modo Island and her family.  The next morning, Grandmother Ppong rushed to the sea to find it had indeed parted, creating a path for her to safely escape the tigers.  Halfway across, Grandmother Ppong collapsed, too old and exhausted to make the rest of her journey.  But her family had also been visited by the Dragon King, and and hurried to meet her on the sea path.  In the arms of her loved once, Grandmother Ppong said, "The Dragon Kind has granted my wish and reunited me with my family once again!  I could not ask for anything more in life!" before passing away.

Each year, locals, Koreans across the country, and many foreigners venture down to the island of Jindo to participate in commemorating Grandmother Ppong's escape from the tigers of Jindo and her faith in the Dragon King.  While I was initially wary of crossing a sea using the precious little footwear I have here in Korea, Lorna assured me waders could be purchased at the festival.  So, we hopped in the car and made the 120km (75mi) drive across the bottom corner of the country.

The event itself is a good 20min drive into the island itself, and we easily found it by following the trail of cars and buses.  The sea parting itself wasn't to peak until 6:10PM, so we had plenty of time to kill arriving at 12:30PM.  Right at the entrance, there was a man selling the infamous waders used to cross the sea. We nabbed a pair early on and tossed them in the car before heading in to check out the stalls.

Local Tip: They all cost ₩8,000, so it doesn't really matter where you buy them.  The stalls were all throughout the grounds and they didn't look to be running out, even right up until the parting!

Somehow, we managed to stumble into the international tents almost immediately.  Stalls representing Korea, Peru, India, America, Russia, Turkey, Germany, Japan, and others advertised food, drink, and occasionally crafts.  Ironically enough, the American booth was the least accurate out of all of them, selling Korean-style ice cream (served in a large, V-shaped corn tube instead of a cone) and Korean-style potato tornadoes.  Longing for my days in Japan, I immediately grabbed some takoyaki while Lorna went for the Korean chicken.

Clockwise from top: spicy Korean chicken, Japanese takoyaki, and Japanese okonomiyaki

Grapefruit juice, straight from the source!

We brought our snacks to the seaside, but were soon interrupted by a parade coming our way!  Drummers, dancers, and students in animal costumes lined up, preparing for the 3PM procession across the shoreline to the sea-parting point.  Some of the middle school students next to us shyly struck up conversation with us, and we ended up chatting with them for nearly an hour.  They were very punchy (typical of Korean kids) and kept tugging at each other's costumes and cracking up.  One poor boy who was an orca kept inadvertently whacking everyone with the tail of the whale worn on his head.  When we went to take a picture, one of the girls asked a boy dressed as a crab to snap it...only to have him sadly look at his hands--incapacitated by the costume's claws.

Korean Hospitals, Doctors, and Health Care

I'm six months in to my stay here, and it was bound to happen at some point.  Some good ol' Korean nasties have settled in my system and blessed me with a pretty brutal cough.  I'll spare you the details, but I'm typically a very healthy person and get over illnesses quickly.  So, once I hit the one-week point without seeing much progress, I decided it was time to see a doctor.

Korea has a fantastic health care system that even covers us native teachers during our contracts.  I think the cost and efficiency of this system comes as the biggest shock to Americans, who have exorbitant costs and wait times associated with hospital and doctors visits.  Here, when you mention that you're unwell, the first suggestion a Korean will make is that you go to the hospital.

The hospital?!  For a general visit or check up?!  It sounds strange to those of us from Western countries, who associate hospitals with serious medical issues, long-term stays, or emergencies.  But here in Korea, the hospital is the first stop when assessing your health problems.  Only after you've been checked out would you possibly receive a further recommendation to see a doctor, who is a specialist in a particular field.

My Korean Milestones

Coming to a new country and not knowing any of the language can be frustrating.  Here are some of the big milestones I've accomplished since coming to Korea:

Week 0 (July):

- Managed to catch a bus from Seoul to Daejeon and meet up with my friends before starving to death.

- Can say my friend's address in Korean and catch a taxi home on my own if necessary.

Week 1 (August):

- Can successfully navigate the subway in Seoul alone....although the stops are all written in English too, and I have a travel card I can top up.

- (Can't read or write)

Week 2: 

- Can order coffee or tea with the Konglish name (Korean pronunciation of English words), as well as beer and soju.

- Can navigate a familiar bus route on my own using my travel card.

- (Still can't read or write, still haven't eaten a meal alone)

Week 3:

- Can read consonant characters and a few vowels.

- Have picked up on a few Korean words and phrases.

- Can tell everyone my height in Korean.

- Am getting really good at charades.

Month 1 (September):

- Can properly greet, thank, and say good-bye to people using the correct level of politeness.

- Can read, albeit slowly and often without understanding what I'm saying.

- Slowly learning a few more phrases and getting used to using them every day.

- Am really, really good at charades.

- (Names are so, so hard to remember, you guys...)

- Can communicate with Korean guys when we go out to clubs.

- Have a pay-as-you-go phone

- Have a Korean bank account

Bonding on Your Teacher's Trip, and How Not to Die.

Back in September my co-workers and I had a meeting to discuss our school trip.  There were many ideas on the table, ranging from island hikes to temple visits to traveling to multiple cities, but I didn't know quite what was in store for me until I was picked up on Thursday morning.  Our itinerary, a five page packet, was written entirely in Korean.  I couldn't be bothered to translate it, so I opted to just roll with whatever was thrown my way.

Fellow foreign teachers in Korea, consider this your warming: regardless of their age, all of your Korean co-teachers can out eat, drink, and party you.  The activities are never-ending. They will not stop, and they will not show you any mercy.

Our general route from Boseong to Geumodo...followed by Yeosu, Suncheon Bay, and the Naganeupseong Folk Village.

The morning began innocently enough.  After managing a last-minute washing machine delivery (don't ask), two of my other co-workers and I were picked up bright at early by our school's bus driver, Seokoh-ssi.  His van had two seats in the front and an open back, so my two co-teachers kicked off their shoes and sat on blankets while I was ushered into the front seat.

흥국사 (HeungGukSa) Temple Stay

Well, this temple stay happened back in September.  Due to a variety of problems with technology (computer breaking, getting a new one, entire blog post deleting, unable to transfer photos, etc, etc.) no one has heard from me in a while.

We've been busy making new friends!

But I'm still here!  And still keeping very, very busy, so you can expect many more posts from here on out!  The weather is getting cooler now, so we've been enjoying the outdoors while we can.  One of the places we explored was 흥국사 (Heungguksa) Temple where we lived with Buddhist monks (and their many dogs) for 24 hours.

Birthdays In Korea.....And Why I'm Old.

I have almost forgotten that I am actually 24, not 25.  In fact, I won't turn 25 until March 6th of 2015, but on January 1st of 2015 I will be considered 26 in Korea.  What?!

Koreans count your time in the womb as part of your life span, so when you are born you are considered 1 year old.  Age is incredibly important in Korea, and your age is labeled by the year you were born in, not the individual month and day.  So, since I was born in 1990 and it is now 2014, I am considered to be 25 years old along with every other child born in 1990.  When the new year changes over in January (solar) or February (lunar), there is a big celebration for everyone turning a year older.  So in the year of 2015, everyone born in 1990 is considered to be 26 years old.  Yikes, talk about feeling like time is escaping you!

One of the first questions I am asked by every Korean I meet is "How old are you?".  In Korea, you are considered "friends" or 칭구 (chinggu) with anyone in your same birth year.  There is a very strict hierarchy in Korea, so even if someone is only one year older than you, you must speak to them with formal language and treat them with respect.  On the flip side, if someone is younger, you are able to freely speak in more casual language.  Obviously this can get even more complicated with people who are considerably older than you (parents age, grandparents age), as can sometimes lead to confusing work situations.  For example, if a boss is younger than some of his employees, how does he address them?  Formally because they're older?  Informally because he's their boss?  Do they have to use more formal language with him even though he's younger?  I'm just glad everyone at my school except one teacher is older than me!

Start Saving for a Ticket to Visit Korea, Because I'm Not Coming Home.

You guys, I'm so, so sorry, but I absolutely love Korea.

Please remind me of this in 5 months when I'm homesick and lonely, craving Mequon Taco Bell and have gotten sick of rice.

About a month ago, I bought a one-way ticket and hopped on a plane, traveling over 30 hours to get here.  I'd never been to Korea before, I don't speak or read the language, and I knew a grand total of four people in a country of 50 million.

Officially the last photograph of me in the USA.

I haven't had a chance to truly sit down and study the language yet, but I now know a handful of phrases and am able to (slowly) read and write.  In the span of a week my circle of friends and family has expanded to eighteen.  In Korean culture, friends are made by being "introduced" by a mutual friend.  Striking up a casual conversation with a stranger is strange and uncomfortable, but with an introduction, people are quick to be friendly and keep in touch on KakaoTalk*.  For example: my friend from college, CJ, introduced me to his friend D on Sunday.  D brought along another friend, B, who I ended up grabbing lunch and hanging out with on Tuesday when my other friends were busy.

Coping with Language Barriers & Becoming a Charades Master

Moving to a new country is never easy.  There are foreign customs, strange foods (that may or may not agree with you), bizarre stereotypes, and every day tasks like grocery shopping or ordering a cup of coffee can become incredibly challenging.

Help.

I lived abroad in London, England for a semester and found plenty of frustrations during my stay--and that was in an English-speaking country.  A step up from that, traveling throughout France (where I speak the native language well) has been manageable.  Even other countries that I have visited in Europe have used Latin alphabets that I have been able to read.