Kam-sa-ham-ni-da (Thank you) South Korea, I am out!

Tomorrow morning I’ll take the plane back to South Africa after spending a year in South Korea as an English teacher.

Time flew by real quick and I had some wonderful experiences living and travelling in East Asia.

I can recall back when I boarded the plane for Taiwan as if it was yesterday. I couldn’t wait any longer in South Africa and wanted to leave, so I decided to go and look for work in Taiwan, but soon received a call from Korea to come and work on an island somewhere in the yellow sea. I took the post without hesitation and did not really know what I was getting myself into. I still remember those first moments in Korea when I set foot into my apartment to find a dirty dump and not knowing who else lived on the island. I remember sitting on the bed which was covered in blood because the guy before me had to leave due to an anal infection and thinking to myself; “what the fuck did I get myself into coming to this far off place for a year?”

Things soon changed as I made friends and realised that I was not alone on the outskirts. And it’s these friends that made my time here all the more memorable. We were a small community who became real good friends and we carried each other through the good and bad times. This place is really different and remote and it was my friends that made this year so great.

Commuting to work on another island for an hour daily was an experience in itself. I took a ferry to work every day and often had to run for busses or hitch-hike rides with Koreans as I tried to communicate in my non-existent Korean. I soon figured out who was who and would get rides with either the police chief, the bank manager or post office attendants. I later knew all the faces on the morning and afternoon ferry and locals would give me rides knowing that I am the foreign teacher teaching their children. The ferry crew understood that I didn’t want to stand in a line with Koreans and that I’d sometimes run for the ferry even as it pulled out. I became a local on the ferry and informed people where to take the bus as we shared a shot of Soju or ran together for the late afternoon bus. I was never able to speak the language and made no effort, but the people on my route knew me and we shared a laugh, a nod of the head or a one liner in Korean or English.

Many people would complain about this tiring commute, but I decided to make the most of it and there was a part of me that enjoyed sprinting for busses or negotiating a lift to and from school.

I taught at two small elementary schools and loved the small intimate classes. I knew all my students and had a good relationship with each. There were only two boys out of all 39 students (two schools in total, eight classes) that I taught who I had a hard time with. Other than that I had a good report and enjoyed what I did. It was really one of the easiest jobs for good money. I earned a decent salary to play bingo and sing songs and put this money to good use to travel.

The main reason for coming to South Korea was to travel and I think I did okay in that department. In a years’ time I was able to travel to Taiwan, mission around Indonesia with Clementine, hike the Great Wall of China near Beijing and ferry to China to see the bustling city of Shanghai. I did a bit a travelling around Korea too, but was never intrigued by this place. Korea is an interesting place, but at times it was too square and I spent most of my time in Ganghwa and Seoul on the weekends.

I had a truly authentic experience as I lived out in rural Korea and would hit the city on weekends.

Ganghwa had its ups and downs, but we all persevered through to make this a great experience. There were times that routine was killing me and so to the lack of diversity. Other times I felt alive as I saw the fighter planes overhead during the shelling of Yeongpyong Island by North Korea. The days we hiked the surrounding hills after work or the mornings I woke up with the most brutal Soju hangover. Pulling faces, making noises and drawing pictures to order food, missing a bus or train, beating old men at pool, head banging to Iron Maiden, getting the school mute to speak, realising the power of a ‘high-five’ and putting a smile on the ferry crews faces all contributed to me having an enriching experience.

It’s an old saying but I do agree with it and it’s that you determine your own happiness. I stayed positive throughout my time here knowing that it was only temporary and that I came here for the experience.

I’ve thought about why this year has been so good for me and it came down to this: Having Clementine visit me three times and a solid group of friends was what made it. Her visits and being able to travel with her to Indonesia and having her here for Christmas is something I’ll forever be grateful for. Along with Clementine’s visits were also the opportunities I had to travel around East Asia seeing places I only dreamed about and the solid community of native English speakers.

In two days from now I’ll be drinking a cold one in warm Cape Town and I’ll think back on my year abroad. A lot will only then kick in and reveal itself, but as I am sitting here I am nostalgic about the year that has past and excited for the next adventure.

My Return To The DMZ

I visited the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) in April 2010 and had a great experience. Clementine was going to be with me for two weeks only of which I had one week vacation. I thought of returning to the DMZ in winter and this would be the perfect opportunity. We spent most of our time sightseeing and relaxing in and around Seoul with the goal to visit the DMZ on a nice day. We checked the weather forecasts for a clear day as viewing the North on an overcast day would be pointless.

Going to the DMZ has to be done with an accredited tour group and there are numerous ones to choose from. These companies all offer the same trip for the same price and I decided on a company by finding the most creative brochure with the least amount of spelling errors.

They picked us up in the early morning outside our hotel and we were soon at the DMZ. A military check point and some pro-South Korean information and we were in the controversial DMZ.




The tour back in April was a little different because I went with my school and the highlight then was the viewpoint from the Dorasan observatory overlooking infamous North Korea. From here one can see into the rolling hills of North Korea as well as see the world’s tallest flagpole built by the North. You can view North Koreans working in the fields, riding their bicycles and chatting with each other.

We especially chose a clear day for this, but upon arrival we were informed that the viewpoint had been closed for security concerns. The closure of the observatory has been in place since the shelling of Yeongpeong Island back in November 2010. On our tour we did enter the DMZ area and visited the 3rd infiltration tunnel built by the North, but it was not the same without a good view of North Korea.

The second best option was to view North Korea from a viewpoint further away. It had snowed the night before and the landscape was beautifully covered under a blanket of snow. This was a different view to the Dorasan view. We could not see ordinary civilians outside and only viewed a ghost town drowned in snow and depression.

This was my second visit to the DMZ and you can read my previous blog entry here. It’s a very informative tour to have a better understanding of the Korean divide and one I’d recommend for all those visiting Korea or living near by.
Tensions are not as high as what they were at the end of November and it seems reasonably calm for now, but trends and history have proven that this chapter is far from complete.

The Ones That Stand Out - Best of 2010

I selected these 15 images to be my favourites for the year as they involved an interesting story to shoot and are relevant to my time spent working and traveling a small part of Asia. They are the ones that stood out and I thought I’d share them with you as 2010 draws to an end.

The end of 2010 is not a milestone or specific date that determines some kind of change or the start of something new for me. I’ve been viewing some interesting “best of 2010’s” this past week on leading news websites and thought I’d give it a go to re-publish some of my favourites too.

This blog has been my creative outlet for some time now and I hope you are enjoying the photos and stories I share.

Here are some of the images in no particular order for 2010:

1. Seokmodo Landscape

I drive past this house everyday towards school, but I never have the opportunity to stop and take a photo. One late afternoon in summer I decided to leave school and go for a walk to this view point to shoot this image. It is yet another reminder of where I am currently finding myself teaching out on a rural island in South Korea. This image will always stand out when I think back of Seokmodo Island and the commute to school.

2. Kaohsiung by Night

I stayed at my cousin Xenia and her husband Estienne in Taiwan before coming to South Korea. This photo was taken from the roof of their apartment building. Estienne and I climbed to the top with some beers and a chair each. I placed my camera on the chair for this shot as I had no tripod. I also ended up going back for more shots during the day. Estienne was my ‘Kaohsiung tour guide’ and was always keen for an adventure. It was his idea to go shoot photos and drink beers on the roof.

3. Exploring Bali’s East Coast

Clementine and I rented a scooter on our last day in Indonesia to explore Bali’s East Coast. This was one of the best days in Bali. We took the back roads through rice paddies and gravel roads and took this shot just before sunset. I took many photos here which resulted in us driving back in the dark dodging trucks and stray dogs.

4. Over Night

South Korea is growing at an enormous pace and new apartment skyscrapers seem to appear over night. I see this growth weekly when I take a bus into Seoul, but I never have the opportunity to stop for a photo. This was taken when I came back from China. An acquaintance picked me up with his motorbike and having our own set of wheels allowed me to stop on route for this shot.

5. Palm Trees and Rice Paddies

This image was taken in Bali Indonesia. It was one of the images I had in my mind of what I thought I might see while visiting Indonesia. It’s a cliché image that will probably appear on travel websites and in coffee table books, but it was still an amazing sight to witness.

6. Chained Dog

One of the first and most prominent things that stood out for me upon my arrival in March was that almost all dogs were chained to their kennel and lived outside in harsh conditions. I walked around my town before spring to shoot some of these dogs and found many to be just as cautious and curious as me. This dog at first looked as if he wanted to attack me but he soon calmed down and allowed me to come closer. This is not a common sight in the urban parts of South Korea, but here on the outskirts it is.

7. Taking Shelter While Viewing the Forbidden City

It started raining on the day that I visited the Forbidden City and hundreds of tourists took shelter under their umbrellas. I did not have an umbrella and took this shot just before the rain came down hard. I tried to capture the size and attractiveness of this palace with all its visitors regardless of the weather.

8. Carrying the Load

I took this image on Gili Trawangan Island in Indonesia. We did not stay on Trawangan Island, but had to take the ferry from there for Bali. This image was taken from the main tourist drag, though you wouldn’t think so. I tried to capture the non-tourist aspect of the famous Gili’s as I waited patiently for the women to walk past the boat with their load.

9. The Changing of the Season

This image was taken on the ferry that I commute on daily. I see these birds every weekday and have grown tired of them. The landscape changes frequently though and was what drew me to the ferry deck on this autumn day.

10. Mount Rinjani

Rinjani was truly one of the most spectacular sights ever. The photo does not do justice for the sheer size and beauty of this extravagant volcanic crater. Getting to this view point took a grueling one day hike and we camped at the top near the rim. The weather on the day before was miserable with downpours and no visibility, but on this morning we were lucky to be treated with a clear view of the crater. It was a memorable sight, though a wider lens and more time at the top could have helped to justify the size of Rinjani.

11. A View of the North

This is an image of North Korea taken at the DMZ (demilitarized zone) on one of the only clear days in April. I used to take my camera to school every day in the beginning of my contract and on this day our school took a field trip to the controversial DMZ. The soldiers on duty said that we were lucky to have a clear view of the North as the days before had no visibility. This image is not great, but it would have been useless if I didn’t have a 300mm lens in favourable weather conditions. Getting a clear photo of the north was difficult with all the photographic regulations in place. Tensions on the Korean peninsula between North and South have increased since my visit and my experience of this strong divide and sightings of the North have added to my understanding of this sensitive issue.    

12. The Great Wall of China

Not much to say about his image other than I had the opportunity to hike 8km on one of the seven wonders of the world on a perfectly clear, warm day outside China’s capital Beijing.

13. Forbidden City Wall

I visited the Forbidden City in Beijing on an overcast day with the possibility of rain. I found this big red wall towards the end of my long walk through the palace grounds and waited for a local to walk past. I took this image of a man pushing his motorbike only seconds before the rain came down.

14. Clementine’s Visit (s)

I’ve been extremely grateful and lucky to have had Clementine visit me three times in Korea. I took this image of her feeding Seagulls during her first visit in May. It was taken on the ferry that I take to school everyday and I see Koreans feed these birds daily. What makes this image special is that it is not just any Korean feeding the birds. It was Clem having fun and sharing these experiences on the outskirts with me.

15. Giving Assistance

This image was taken near Ubud in Bali Indonesia. Clementine and I went on a cycle tour through the small villages of Bali and I took this image of the locals doing daily work in traditional wear. I made use of my 300mm lens and waited for them to start loading the rice.  

Final Distribution Points

And on the other side in North Korea citizens face food security threats. Reasons for these shortages include:

• Late spring droughts

• Summer flooding

• Occasional typhoons in early autumn

• Deforestation and consequent silting of rivers

• Economic downturn

• Lack of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers

• Limited capacity to access international capital markets and import food

Source: WFP

The Commute - Continued

My teacher asked me last week to write a small article for the local Ganghwa Herald Newspaper about my experience in Korea. "Just write something, Alber-Te" she said. This was what I wrote:

Commuting to the Outskirts

I never thought I’d find myself to be an English teacher somewhere on an island in the Yellow Sea, let alone so near unpredictable North Korea who decided to shell Yeonpyeong island last week. At first I thought I’d be in some city with tall buildings and coffee shops. Then I received a phone call one early morning back in South Africa where they wanted to know if I could fill an English position on an island, ASAP. I took the post without hesitation and landed 2 weeks later in a dull late winter South Korea.

It’s certainly not your average English teachers experience when you tell them that you commute to school with a ferry everyday where you teach English to only a handful of students - a school the size of some of the classes in the city.

What adds to this authentic experience of working in rural Korea at a small school is surely the commute there and back.

Mornings I wake up after snoozing my alarm for about twenty minutes. Time is limited and I rush to catch the 07:20 bus – miss this bus and you need to take an expensive cab ride. I therefore, to the dislike of most Koreans, j-walk almost every morning to catch the bus in time. I jump on the bus as we take the bumpy road to Oepori where we skip all the red lights on the way (similar to my j-walk skills). The completion of the new road to Oepori is taking forever and might only be completed by the time they build a bridge to Seokmodo Island

Oepori is the port where I board the short 15 minute ferry for Seokpori. On the ferry it’s a nod of the head to all the familiar faces as I take my seat and prepare my breakfast. Every morning the same: yogurt and muesli.

On Seokpori’s side I wait for one of the teachers to pick me up. Half the cars all look the same, so I’ve started to memorize the cars registration numbers. A squeezed ride and I make it to school as I drop my hat in my bag, take off my shoes and prepare for another day on the outskirts.

The two schools I work at (Samsan and Heumyeong Elementary) are both extremely small with bright enthusiastic students. I have the opportunity to know and interact with each student as I teach them the English language. It’s truly an authentic experience to be based in a rural part of Korea and yet you’re so close to the city.

Getting home in the afternoon is a different ball game. Most days it’s easy, but there are those days when there is no lift and others where I have to run for the ferry. When I say run, I really mean run. It’s happened that the ferry has stopped for me before, but I don’t want to miss this ferry as it will result in me missing the bus and arriving home real late. Other days I go stand next to the road and throw my thumb out. It’s a small island with only one road that goes around and I have to rely on my hitch-hiking skills for strangers to take me to Seokpori.

At Seokpori I first have to buy my ticket from the grumpy bouncer-like lady who never smiles. My Korean vocabulary is very limited, nonexistent at times, but I try my best to put a smile on this ladies face by saying Anyeong hasaeyo and kamsahamnida in many different ways, smiles and tones.

Then it’s back on the ferry and on the bus. The bus leaves at 17:00 sharp (my watch is set on the bus time) and the ferry docks around 16:55, which results in yet another sprint and side stepping shrimp barrels to make it in time. On the bus I try to take the back window seat as this is the least likely seat to handover to and elder.

Since my time working on Seokmodo Island I’ve been held up at Oepori due to a typhoon or because of thick fog. I’ve missed the ferry several times by only a few seconds and I’ve also made it with seconds to spare. I’ve ran my heart out for the ferry and busses. I’ve made meaningless conversations in imaginary Korean as a hitch-hiker in a foreign country and I’ve still not been able to put a smile on the ticket-lady’s face.

In the city and elsewhere people sit in traffic for hours. My commute takes me an hour each way daily, though I would never want to trade it for sitting in the traffic. It’s an awkward, thrilling commute that adds to my experience on the island. Waking up late is not ideal, but there’s a part of me that loves the rush. The winter is now approaching and the commute will now become a different experience.      

  

Rounding Off The Weekend

Tensions on the peninsula seem to still be mounting as the planned military exercise by South Korea and their US ally took place today, while North Korea has placed surface-to-surface missiles in place on launch pads in the yellow sea. China is getting more involved, calling for calm, but is still not condemning the North’s actions this past Tuesday. A lot seems to be going on at the moment as parties involved express their concerns.

It’s been a calm weekend for all of us here on Ganghwa Island and today we rounded off a relaxed (minimal-drinking) weekend with a game of American Football and a braai (BBQ). The temperature is starting to drop and this weekend saw the first scattered snowfall for the season in Ganghwa.

This coming week will be an important week - politically, as the uncertainty regarding the tensions on the front-line might increase. Strong leadership from all parties involved, including China, will be needed to address this issue more strictly.

For now I’ll try to bear the cold as I commute to my island off the west coast of South Korea. I don’t think that there is much need to be worried, for tomorrow will be just another school day on the outskirts of South Korea – or so we all hope.

Amongst The Political Tension

Tensions are still high on the Korean Peninsula after North Korea’s attack on Yeonpyeong Island this past Tuesday. This coming Sunday South Korea and their US ally will exercise a planned military drill near the disputed sea border of North Korea. The US is sending one of their aircraft carriers to partake in this drill and the North has warned that they will retaliate if provoked.

This has been headline news since Tuesday and has the world on the edge of their seats. The possibility of war is there though most think it’s highly unlikely as there’s just too much to be lost. The struggle for power will always remain a global reality; let’s just hope leaders remain cool to prevent a violent eruption.

The drama’s surrounding the incident and run-up to Sunday’s drill is also an extensive topic amongst us foreign English teachers here on the front-line.

Thursday was American Thanks Giving day and we all celebrated at Derek and Beth’s apartment. The situation on the peninsula seems tense when watching international news and reading reports, but on the ground things are calm. A great meal and awesome company made for an enjoyable night as the conspiracies and opinions made their rounds.

Sunday will be a very important day and we’ll have to wait and see what the outcome might be. People remain positive and so do I that some form of non-violent resolution will be found, though the North’s proven unpredictability might hinder this process. Let’s hope everything remains calm as we enter this winter.  

On The Frontline As Tensions Increase On The Korean Peninsula.

 Things are heating up on the Korean Peninsula. I took this photo this afternoon after school as planes took to the sky while tensions between the two Koreas increase. North Korea has fired artillery shells on an island off the west coast of South Korea about 50km from where I teach.

More news to follow in the days to come.
Here is a current link with some news.

Check out this older post to understand more of the situation.

The Korean DMZ (Demilitarized Zone)

South Korea (ROK – Republic of Korea) and North Korea (DPRK – Democratic People’s Republic of Korea) have been divided since the end of the Korean War in 1953. What started as a civil war escalated into a proxy war between the powers involved in the Cold War. An armistice was signed but was not followed by a peace treaty - so these two countries are technically still at war. This war is seen by some as ‘the forgotten war’ as it was overshadowed by World War II and the Vietnam War, but within Korea it is still very relevant and present.
The Korean peninsula is the last frontier of the Cold War with the peninsula split in half between the communist North and capitalist South.

The tension between these two countries is and has always been on a knifes edge and the event when the Cheonan Military ship sunk in March this year sent renewed fear through many parts of the world. The Cheonan was patrolling the disputed border between the North and South when it sunk in late March (The day of my arrival in Korea). Investigation uncovered that the ship was hit by a North Korean torpedo (which the North denied) and this had the world at the edge of their seats.

Both countries are heavily militarized and the South receives added support from the US army who has a military base here in Seoul.
The main reason why the world is so watchful of the North is because they pose a nuclear threat. The North is probably the world’s most secretive country and it’s this mystery surrounding it that has everyone paranoid. Linked to the fear of nuclear warfare is the hate towards the North’s notorious leader: Kim Jong-il. A controversial figure who apparently once completed a round of golf in only 18 shots. Kim Jong-il is the leader of almost everything in the DPRK, leading the propaganda machine which never sleeps and known in his country as “Dear Leader” and “Our Father”. He is feared for potentially making a wrong decision which would severely affect world stability.



The presence of the military remains prominent throughout Korea and we have to go through military check points just to visit the north of Ganghwa Island. Some afternoons we go for hikes up the hill behind my apartment and on clear days we’re treated with a sighting of the infamous North.
You’ll need to pay a visit to the DMZ to see this North South split with your own eyes. These two countries are divided by the most heavily militarized border in the world, known as the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone).
The Demilitarized Zone is approximately 4km wide and 250km long as it runs across the Korean peninsula along the 38 degree parallel.

I had the opportunity to visit the DMZ in April this year and it was an enriching experience.
Mornings I would come to school with my camera bag thinking I might see something to shoot. I don’t bring my camera to school anymore, but on this day I was lucky I did. Communication is very limited at my school and on the day I was informed of a field trip to who knew where. I climbed on the bus with my handful of students and drove North East. On the way I thought to myself that we might visit the DMZ as they started showing propaganda videos to the young minds on the bus and the direction seemed right.
As we neared the DMZ one of the teachers asked me if I had my ARC (Alien Registration Card) on me for security reasons.

“Alber-te this is a very dangerous place”
“Why?”
“It just is”

The DMZ itself is not a dangerous place for tourists; it’s just a sad story of a nation being split in two with no signs of reconciliation in the near future. It’s where these two forces meet and flex their muscles at one another. The chances of you being in danger are very slim. Their watching you! You will NEVER jump this fence and why would you? The grass is most definitely not greener on the other side. Looking from the North you might want to leave your prison, but control and propaganda will not allow this. This border is so well controlled that they probably know how many birds cross per day. People are not permitted to cross – at all.

The North has tried to cross into the South with tunnels built kilometres long into Southern territory. The plan was to invade Seoul and reclaim what ‘belongs’ to the North. This was not successful.
I paid a visit to the 3rd tunnel with height restrictions confirming that it was made by Koreans as I bumped my head a few times. A narrow tunnel 1km underground designed for one purpose only – to overthrow the South.

The view point at the DMZ was spectacular on this day and I could see into the rolling treeless hills of North Korea. It was my first opportunity to view this country frozen in time. The North has erected the world’s largest flagpole boasting their national flag and South Korean flags can be seen everywhere on their side too. An overdose of patriotism!



Photos are prohibited at most places and there is a photo line to take photos from. Being taller than your average Korean and having a 300mm lens came in handy as I tried to capture this dull late winter landscape. You can look into the country with binoculars and see the working man plough his fields and ride his bicycle - a small visual insight into this bitterly poor country.





There is nothing positive about the DMZ except that the fauna and flora has been able to flourish in this narrow stretch of land - an ecological paradise between two overly proud countries. It’s a sad place that has split families for life. Survival in the North is hard with limited reports showing that famine and malnutrition concerns are increasing.









And here I was standing on the edge, looking into the most isolated country in the world. I was observing a continued ideological war and wondered if this would ever be resolved?

I went again in September to view the North from Ganghwa Island’s observation centre and was treated with yet another clear day. The landscape was greener, but still no trees and only a handful of people working the lands. An example of how isolation and arrogance can hinder basic development needs in the 21st century.

This mighty divide will remain for some time to come though people continue to speak of unity. Everyone wants to know what’s going on in North Korea and what threat they pose, but reconciliation will not be easy and this will be an interesting case study in future years, if ever.