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LAUREN CLARK in South Korea
Published Date
08 October 2009
Home Town in SA
South Africa
Now Living in
Seoul, South Korea
Occupation
English Teacher
Best Thing About the Country?
The food and the people! Without a doubt! The people are fantastic and the food is varied, spicy, unique and delicious. Most of it is also healthy and eating together is a very social affair. I love trying new things and my students and Korean friends have been great in introducing me to new tastes and some crazy foods. I love that you can buy a meal for R10 from one of the street vendors, or pop into a restaurant for some seriously delicious dishes for about R40. Side dishes of mushrooms, bean sprouts, dried anchovies, spicy radish and onions are a must and I am now addicted to kimchi, the traditional spicy preserved cabbage that Korea is so well known for!
Biggest Cultural Difference?
Koreans are a homogenous people and consequently, they generally think the same (or along the same lines). Their behaviour can also be predictable based on their age, gender, marital status and region. It is a rather conservative culture where women are not as free as their male counterparts and sometimes the sexism is downright blatant. But for me as an English teacher, I seem to be exempt from most of the ‘rules’ for women.
South Africa is not called the rainbow nation for nothing! I have realised just how much freedom we have in SA, where things such as same-sex unions are legal, inter-racial relationships are common and mostly accepted, people who have the same nationality and birthplace speak totally different languages and think in completely different ways, and we have so much space available.
Top Things to Do or See?
1. Eat dinner late at night in a small Korean restaurant down one of the alleys around Seoul, drink soju (Korean liquor, not unlike mampoer!) and watch the antics unfold around you as people get louder and eventually their friends pass out at the table and only get roused when everybody else in their party is ready to leave!
2. This should be followed by a visit to the Noraebang, a karaoke bar where you and your friends have a private room to belt out your favourite tunes as loudly and badly as you want.
3. And definitely, one should take in Insadong and the surrounding palaces and markets to experience some of the history of the country as well as some beautiful architecture and some incredible artwork.
I work everyday, including two Saturdays a month, teaching adults from 7-11am and 5.30-9.30pm in order to accommodate business people. I live 10 minutes from my office in the heart of Gangnam (downtown of Seoul) and in between class I play golf, do yoga, meet friends, shop and sight-see.
I have many Korean friends, most of whom I’ve met while out having dinner and drinking! I also hang out a lot with my colleagues and students! This helps with my painstaking language acquisition process! The language barrier can be frustrating at worst but highly comedic at best! I have learnt the basics so I can use a taxi without worrying where I will end up, order food without worrying that I might be eating a former pet and understand enough to know when to say my name, how old I am, what I am doing here and where I am from (thanks to the World Cup everyone knows ‘Nam A Gong’, South Africa in Korean).
One quarter of Korea’s population live in and around Seoul, so there are high-rise apartment blocks everywhere and space is premium. My apartment is about 24m squared, but I love it. It is located opposite a convenience store, with a market around the corner, a drycleaner down the way, restaurants all around and close to the bus stop and subway stations. Sadly, there are very few gardens so I do miss my garden back home!
I travel around Korea every month, most places worth seeing are within three hours of Seoul and twice a year I hop the ocean to a new country in Asia! On weekends when I work, I usually do stuff with my mates around Seoul, like head off to Hongdae which is the arty university area with some cool dance clubs. Buying a cocktail in a Ziploc bag to sip while you walk around at night is compulsory!
Compared to a year and a half ago, my life is stress-free, fun, interesting, unique and totally addictive!
I have many Korean friends, most of whom I’ve met while out having dinner and drinking! I also hang out a lot with my colleagues and students! This helps with my painstaking language acquisition process! The language barrier can be frustrating at worst but highly comedic at best! I have learnt the basics so I can use a taxi without worrying where I will end up, order food without worrying that I might be eating a former pet and understand enough to know when to say my name, how old I am, what I am doing here and where I am from (thanks to the World Cup everyone knows ‘Nam A Gong’, South Africa in Korean).
One quarter of Korea’s population live in and around Seoul, so there are high-rise apartment blocks everywhere and space is premium. My apartment is about 24m squared, but I love it. It is located opposite a convenience store, with a market around the corner, a drycleaner down the way, restaurants all around and close to the bus stop and subway stations. Sadly, there are very few gardens so I do miss my garden back home!
I travel around Korea every month, most places worth seeing are within three hours of Seoul and twice a year I hop the ocean to a new country in Asia! On weekends when I work, I usually do stuff with my mates around Seoul, like head off to Hongdae which is the arty university area with some cool dance clubs. Buying a cocktail in a Ziploc bag to sip while you walk around at night is compulsory!
Compared to a year and a half ago, my life is stress-free, fun, interesting, unique and totally addictive!
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