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SooChaeHwa - Fusion & Well-Being Restaurant

Shabu-shabu is a Japanese hot pot meal (nabe) similar to sukiyaki. It is considered the dish for winter in Japan. This means that you will be cooking a stew over the gas stove in the middle of your table. The size of the meal means you will need a minimum of 2 people in any Nabe restaurant, and SooChaeHwa is no exception. SooChaeHwa adds a few Korean elements but essentially this is the same shabu shabu I've eaten all around Japan, but with some kimchi on the side. This is a clean, family-friendly restaurant, and the staff will help you with the various stages of cooking the shabu-shabu.

They serve several varieties of shabu-shabu, including beef, seafood and mushroom.

We opted for the Hanushabu (12,000 p/p) which, despite being one of their middle of the road options, is a very generous meal with more than enough food for two people.

As you can see from this giant pile of beef slices.

Although, looking at this heap on your left, you might think shabu-shabu is entirely beef, there is also a plate of assorted vegetables and mushrooms. The broth starts with some odeng and tofu in it as well.

Shabu-shabu is cooked in stages. First one adds portions of meat and vegetables to cook. Once they are fully cooked, ladle some broth into your bowl, pick out the most delicious looking items and eat them with the sauces, while you drink the broth like a soup. Then top the soup up with more meat and vegetables, and wait for it to cook again. You should find each stage is more delicious than the last.

As the stew boils down, the waitress will periodically top up the broth and recommend which components to add next. After all of your giant pile of meat and vegetables has been consumed, SooChaeHwa gives you another 2 dishes cooked in your remaining broth. The first is a fat spinach dumpling with fried noodles. Once you have managed to consume this, the final dish is a thick fried rice and egg combination with the delicious treasures that line the bottom of the empty stew pot. I would have taken a picture of the golden moment when this appeared, but unfortunately I was too full for thinking.

SooChaeWa makes great Shabu Shabu with quality ingredients. The paradox of shabu-shabu's deliciousness which grows exponentially over the course of the meal will mean that you will leave with a stomach so full you better not plan on doing anything for at least an hour or two after your meal. Come hungry and leave stuffed and happy.

Location: 5 minutes from Goejeong Subway Station (Line 1), take exit 8 and walk past the Goejeong Market. Continue past the Market and New Core outlet. Keep going on past Pizza Hut. SooChaeHwa is on a corner on the left side of the road.

Phone: 051-201-1953

English Menu: No, but a good picture menu. Staff speak no English.

Seating: Floor.

Vegetarian Option: None.

Price 8,000-18,000 per person.

Drinks: Beer 3,000. Cider 1,000

A Conference in Jeju - Part Deux

Not long after we arrived in Jeju, our professors decided that the conference seminars were not that important and we would instead go sightseeing around the island. I did get an inkling that it was a foregone conclusion before we even left Seoul, but to ponder such matters is not very useful. Jeju is one of the highlights of Korea and well worth the short flight from Seoul.

First up on the agenda was horse riding. I once rode a horse at Wirrina Cove in Australia, which was a rather mediocre affair. Our horse riding in Jeju started off in the same way, but then the horse-guy came up and slapped our horse's rumps with a stick. The instant reaction was for the horse to increase speed, not quite to a gallup, but to a 'heightened state of urgency'.

It was a little bit scary and a little bit difficult to walk afterwards.

Because horses are herbivores, their eyes are spaced widely on their head. This helps them spot approaching predators more easily, but at the expense of being able to see straight ahead. If you think about lions and tigers on the other hand, they have their eyes positioned straight forwards, which helps them chase a target.

I've always thought of horses as rather gracious animals. These ones were funny though. An ajumma came out with a box of carrots and all of the horses instantly came wandering up like little kids looking for candy.
I learned from a documentary once that horses communicate extensively with body language. Which, incidentally, is something they have in common with sharks.

Then we arrived by coach bus at this idyllic looking beach. It's on the south coast of the island somewhere, but I can't remember the name. There are quite a few nice beaches around the island.

Here's Professor Moon's lab from Daejeon. Behind them is a wind farm. I like the idea of wind energy, but apparently one of their drawbacks is that they chop up bats who fly through them at night.

Echolocation can only give you so much information.

Tide pools usually contain an interesting array of life. Being sheltered from the drag of the waves helps small communities of life establish themselves. This tide pool only had a couple of snails in it, probably because investigative children had plucked everything else out already. If you tried to raise anemones or other pool life in a salty aquarium, you'd have problems though. That's because tide pools are constantly cleaned and refreshed with new food every time the tide comes in.

And speaking of nourishment, this is what we had for lunch that day. It's abalone porridge or jeonbok juk. Wikipedia just told me that the colour is green because it's cooked with the abalone's digestive organs.

Well, it tasted better than it looks.

Next on the conference agenda was a ride in a jet boat. I believe the purpose was to get first hand knowledge of wave function dynamics on an extensively hydrated surface. Which, I might add, is abstractly related to our studies in molecular biology.

It was a lot faster than expected, reaching speeds of probably 70 km/hr. The driver did a few roundabout spins in the water to make sure we were all sufficiently drenched. That made my studies on wave dynamics particularly difficult.

The jet boat ride is on the south side of the island and lasts for about twenty minutes. Also available is a ride in a small submersible which can take you under the water.

The final destination was Sangumburi, which is a volcanic crater that exploded upon eruption many eons ago. The remaining geological feature is like a miniature Wilpena Pound, and only takes about 30 minutes to make it to the top. The cliffs on the far side drop directly into the ocean.

Our professor was once a student at Berkeley, where he was also the number 2 tennis player. He's smiling in this photo because he appreciates geological artefacts that have weathered the storms of a millenia.

And here's me with Seung-Mo and Sang-Min from Daejeon. Sang-Min in particular has the worst command of the English language, but we get along like a house on fire. In Korean, he often says "Lee ootgyoyo", which means "Lee is funny."

Here's the view from the top. The mound in the far distance is a parasitic cone that originated from Mount Halla. There are around 360 of them scattered across the island.

Us four guys had to share the same room in the boarding house that we stayed at, which was roughly 3 X 3 metres square. On the first day Sang-Min happily announced to us "I snore every night."

And here are the biotech ladies of the future. Biotechnology has its pros and cons, but in the far distant future humans will probably colonise Mars. And that would be greatly accelerated with biotechnology if we want to sustain a population there. In the photo above are possibly the early pioneers of the field.

How's that for a thought?

And this is me and Mi-Ok at the top of the crater. Mi-Ok is the kind of person who will talk to you cheerfully even if you spend the whole day frowning at her.

Remember Se-Kyung taking a photo of herself in the last blog post? Well I managed to see her preparing herself for another one, so I snuck in at the last minute. Her reaction upon review was well worth the effort.

And on the end of the last night, we all had some drinks at a local bar. In the photo above is our professor defeating Seung-Mo in an arm wrestle. Although our professor is quite strong, theoretically in Korean culture no one would really try and beat him anyway.

So that's all for this post. Jeju is quite different to the rest of Korea and something to think about if you've been on the mainland for too long. And if you can go there on a business trip or a conference, all the more power to you.

See you soon!

Koreabridge volunteering online broadcast

Koreabridge is going to stream online volunteering opportunities. If you have free time, please listen in and take some notes for the rest of the group!

"Volunteering in Korea, Saturday, Jan. 16 at 1pm - We plan to stream a discussion about opportunities for volunteering and community service in Korea. Would love to discuss existing options and brainstorm other ways that expats and locals can contribute to the communities in which they live. Again, if anyone is willing to participate, please contact me at jeff@http://www.facebook.com/l/53a79;koreabridge.net

Both webcasts will take place at: http://www.facebook.com/l/53a79;koreabridge.net/live and participants can skype 'koreabridge' or call 070-7847-7361 to join the conversation."

Street Smarts

Whilst in Asia I realised I was developing a subconscious set of rules when it came to choosing the right street cart to eat at. These rules aren't absolute, and exceptions frequently occur, but so far they've done a decent job of keeping me on the straight and narrow.

First and foremost is local patronage. The number one indicator of good street food is the prescence of a long line of hungry locals. Many a time I've foregone the busier places out of self consciousness and regretted it. People tend to be pretty helpful, and I've usually found someone just within my preiphery vision to help me out when I get stuck.

I also tend to favour one dish operations over multi-food extravaganzas. If a stall is selling paejon, soondae, dukbokki and tempura, chances are that one (or all) of them will be below par. Time and again my favourite stalls have been those that specialise in one particular food item. These places often combine passion, expertise and attention to detail in a way that shows in the food.

There are of course exceptions, but I've found that the best street food stalls generally don't tout for business. If they look like they don't need nor want your money, you're probably on to a good thing. You're also less likely to get ripped off.

It seems obvious, but I try to avoid stack-em high joints in favour of somewhere that will cook to order. This is especially true of the Korean Tempura and Pajeon stalls, where sogginess tends to set in after a relatively short time. Even grandma's old socks taste good as long as they're straight off the hotplate!

Also, avoid vendors outside tourist attractions. In my experience, these places consistently turn out below average food at above average prices. They also tend to fall foul of at least one of the points above, meaning they should be doubly avoided.

Finally, the most important aspect in choosing somewhere to eat is to follow your gut. Never feel pressurized into ordering something until you properly suss it out. A place might satisfy all the positive criteria listed above but if it doesn't feel right, don't do it!

What IS the Age of Consent in South Korea?

Considering the abysmal state of sex education in Korea, part and parcel of a society reluctant to admit that teenagers have sex or even sexuality, then the notion that it’s only thirteen sounds simply absurd.

Despite myself though, that’s precisely what I’m going to argue.

Not because that’s the consensus of English-language materials on the subject however. The vast majority never provide a source for their information on South Korea specifically (see here, here, here and here for some examples), and following the trail of those of that do almost invariably leads to a chart of the age of consent in various countries on Wikipedia, itself unsourced (but which has recently been edited as I’ll explain). Indeed, highlighting how problematic that makes them was my original intention in writing this post.

But the catalyst was this post at Omona They Didn’t!, a popular K-pop site. There, commenters discussed singer G-Dragon’s (지드래곤) concert performance below that featured simulated sex scenes, and which he is now being investigated for (but not yet prosecuted) because it had been rated suitable only for ages twelve and above (see here, here, here, here and here for the latest developments). Arguably somewhat arbitrary and hypocritical considering similar performances by other singers that haven’t been, the outrage is even stranger if the age of consent is thirteen, as pointed out there by a commenter with the handle “hallerness.” (Update: See here for a detailed explanation of what exactly happened at the concert and the legal response, including an interview with the performer on the bed)

Queried on that low age by other commenters though, this blog got mentioned, and she emailed me asking for clarification. With apologies for the delay, this post is my response.

The first step in preparing it was simply to ask my students. But although their confusion was not entirely unexpected (I’ve been writing about Korean sexuality for a long time now!), it still took a great deal of time and effort to explain what the concept was.

Not to imply that they’re stupid and/or ignorant of course, but that Korean adults needed an explanation at all is surely indicative of how alien the notion of teenage sexuality is here (or at least public discussion of it).

Once that was out of the way, then all said it was 18, like I also thought: after all, almost everything else sex-related is, including buying contraception, having access to or appearing in pornographic materials, and working in de facto sex-related industries. But they had no idea of what the Korean term was, hesitant suggestions including 법정나이 (literally “correct age”) and 법적나이제한 (correct age limit).

Turning to an online dictionary next, I found 성관계 승낙 연령 (sexual relationship consent age) instead, and that it has an explanation attached to it – 합법적으로 성관계를 승낙할 수 있는 연령 (legally sexual relationship can consent to age) – is again surely telling.

Paste it into Korean search engines, and you do get some results, although most appear to be about Canada (see a little later for why). Rather than wading through those though, I had no hesitation in turning to Matt at Gusts of Popular Feeling instead, who has written a great deal about teenage prostitution. And fortunately he does have a post in which he discusses this issue.

To be specific, it is about controversial rulings in two teenage prostitution cases in July 2001 and July 2009 (known in Korean as wonjo gyoje; 원조 교제). And while technically The Korea Times articles he quotes also do not mention any specific law, the age of consent being thirteen proved crucial in both cases, and I recommend reading his post in full to understand why.

From the 2001 article (link broken):

Under related laws, those who have sex with minors younger than 13 should be punished, regardless of whether the minors agreed or whether there was a financial deal. However, having sex with minors aged 13 or older, which does not involve financial deals, is not punishable if the minor consents.

And from the 2009 one:

In Korea, a person is not guilty of any crime for having sex with a minor aged 13 and over unless it is paid for or forced. Sex with those under the age of 13 is punishable even if it is carried out under mutual consent.

And Matt’s reaction was exactly the same as mine would have been. In particular:

….I found the age of consent shocking because I’d heard for so long that it was 19. Keep in mind that in the 1990s I think Canada’s age of consent went from 16 to 14 (or 12, if the other person was 14) which I also thought was quite low. It recently was put back up to 16 due to people considered predators on MySpace, etc. finding young girls to sleep with [James: which is what most Korean articles on 성관계 승낙 연령 were about]. Considering Korea’s internet culture and the fact so much wonjo gyoje is organized online, you’d think more would have been done by now….

…I’m surprised that the age of consent hasn’t been raised here, considering, as I mentioned, how much online activity is to be found with men looking to have sex with underaged girls, and how it’s routinely stated (even by the police on their website) that the age of consent is actually 19. Also, considering how in the late 1990s how youth sexuality and changing youth behavior (and rising crime, including sex crimes) was discussed as if teens were a virus infecting society, the low age of consent is perplexing – not looked at through a moral lens, but through the discourse in the media surrounding teens at the time (and to a lesser extent now).

( Source )

Six months earlier, he wrote the following on this post of mine about a 14 year-old Korean model that posed nude, and I’d be interested if the second case in 2009 changed his mind:

…“However, having sex with minors aged 13 or older, which does not involve financial deals, is not punishable if the minor consents.” That contradicts the 19 year old age of consent the police say they adhere to, but if I have to choose between the police and a 7 year-old KT article, I’ll go with the police.

And when I wrote that post, the Wikipedia entry on the age of consent in South Korea gave it as thirteen, citing this chart as a source but which in turn implies that the entry for South Korea comes only from “verified information from our correspondents,” given that the other sources cited there have no information about South Korea. Very recently though, the Wikipedia entry has been edited to “The age of consent in South Korea is not currently known,” and if you go on to examine the discussion about that this is what you find:

I’d hoped that that link to the Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency would save me the trouble of following up Matt’s mentions of it myself, but unfortunately it doesn’t appear to be working, and besides which might be unreliable like “Truthfulchat” pointed out.

So, if Matt doesn’t read this post for himself first, then I’ll contact him for help with that source from the Korean police (I’ve given up trying to navigate their various sites), and besides which would be very grateful for his input. As I type this however, I’ve had my long-suffering wife looking on her computer for more Korean sources (her Korean is rather better than mine!), and yet after twenty minutes she has only been able to find this page from a 2007 book entitled Gyoyanginul Ouihan Saegyaesa (교양인을 위한 세계사), or World History for Civilized People by Kim Yun-tae:

With apologies for the small size, that states that in Korea the age of consent is 18 for men, and 16 for women!

Needless to say, the jury is still out on what the age of consent in Korea is, and this seems an opportune moment to throw open the floor to suggestions on how to continue from readers, which would be very much appreciated (not least by my wife!).

Before I do so however, if you’re curious then the first two images above (source) are from the 2006 movie Dasepo Naughty Girls (다세포 소녀), which appears to be an excellent satire on Korean sexual mores; see here for an extensive review by – who else? – Matt. And finally, although they’re not related at all sorry, the more I wrote this post the more the following safe sex posters (NSFW) by James Jean kept coming to mind:

( Source: I Believe in ADV )

See BoingBoing for an extensive comments thread about them.

Posted in Child Raising in Korea, Korean Children and Teenagers, Korean Sexuality, Korean Sources, Readers' Emails Tagged: G-dragon, 성매매, 원조 교제, 지드래곤, Korean Prostitution, Prostitution, Prostitution in Korea, Teenage Prositution, wonjo gyoje

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Please Mr.White Tiger, Don't Eat Me Up! - SWEDEN

Most of the people I know over here in Korea hopped on a plane for a few hours, found some small piece of island paradise a friend of a friend recommended, and spent their winter vacations languorously spread across a beach chair sipping $2 cocktails .... I did not.

I took a train from Busan to Seoul (3 hours) + bus to the airport (1 hour) + played in the Seoul airport (3 1/2 hours - this I didn't mind. I like airports) + flew to Paris (12 hours) + 2 hour layover ... CHEESE ...+ flew to Stockholm (2 hours)

I guess I should somewhat sheepishly acknowledge that my major in university was geography, and yes I am aware that flying to Paris in this situation was somewhat redundant as I was almost literally passing over Stockholm would just going to back track ... but my judgement was clouded by visions of wine and cheese dancing in my head.

... but eventually I made it ....

... and it was more than worth it ....

... in fact it was quite delicious. Let's start with the food.

Swedish breakfast.
It is already very sorely missed. The key to it is to have a man make this for you. They butter the flat bread in a way only a men can, with a reckless disregard for hips and thighs, paying attention only to ensuring that inappropriate sized globs of butter cling to all the bread's nooks and crannies.

You name it, we shake it. Brilliant.

Don't you want to nibble on his sausage? Just for reference 7 krona = a little more than 1,000 won = around 1$ CDN.
This little Italian restaurant near Pet Sounds had the most wonderful fennel salad and shared a secret with me, I might miss Toronto a little bit.

Question - Are muffins the new cupcakes? Because the enormous blueberry "shhheasecake" beast we feasted upon was amazing.

We spent an afternoon wandering around the modern art gallery. They had a Dali exhibit which was alright - I liked this video - but in general the museum wasn't quite as goood as their hot chocolate.

Stockholm only gets a few fleeting hours of sunlight a day, generally it is pitch dark by 4pm ... and it got chillier everyday I was there. So there aren't too many outdoor photos.

Back indoors I brought a little Korea to the Swedes. Gonggi is an ancient and popular Korean children's game that all my kids play between and during classes. I brought over a set for each of the boys. It was a hit. The wolves make it look so easy ... me and the blondes soon learned it wasn't.

On New Year's Eve we headed over to Oscar and Ailyn's for dinner. Oscar is pretty much allergic to the world which isn't such a terrible thing when you come over for dinner because he'll make you 3 kinds of meats (chorizo, steak, and chicken), loads of gravy, salad with healthy amounts of avocado, and then for dessert you get Marängsviss.

After dinner we returned to the city all the while sipping on mini bottles of Jägermeister which we proceeded to lovingly place at special locations along the way ...

Eventually we found ourselves at one of her favourite places. It was a beautiful bar, filled with beautiful people, and decadent cocktails. I felt a little shy about bringing the camera out ... which in retrospect was ridiculous because despite all its beauty, most of the beautiful people in the bar looked so bored ... but not us. I couldn't stop smiling. We giggled in our chairs and drank our drinks and when midnight came around we were standing on those chairs and we kissed, and it was wonderful.

And just like that it was almost time for me to go... but first .... more food ....

I am Canadian.

I can build a fire.

I am quite proud of this.

Me: We should make smores and drink glögg.

Linus: Smores?

Me: Right. We need to buy marshmellows immediately.

So we made smores ... Gingerbread, with dark mint chocolate smores.

They were delicious .. and then it was time to go.

Puss puss.

Ps. Mary Flynn - I'm sorry I went without you. Next time?

I watched

I watched THIS and it's giving me ideas ....

Should I stay or should I go? On making Korea a home or just staying for a year

While I have no hard facts or data, it would seem that I'm running into more and more expats / foreigners who have made Korea their home. Long after their first one-year contract has finished, they're still here making a life for themselves as a teacher, a college professor, a student, a writer / reporter / journalist, or the all-important-sounding title of businessperson. While few of us knowingly start our Korea journey thinking we'll stick around for a second (or third or fourth or ninth) year, here we are.

Some expats come to Korea with a specific plan - 'I'll work here for a year then apply for a teaching job back in the states' is one I've recently heard. 'I want to work as an ambassador or in an embassy, so I need a couple years of experience living abroad' is another. Others come with no plan at all - 'I just graduated college / university and I have no idea what to do next, so maybe Korea will help me discover My Life Plan'©, or 'I came to Korea to find myself'. Plans change, however, as does the situation you might find yourself in when / if you return home.

Thanks to an economic downturn in most countries English teachers come from, there is that fear of what you'll do if you return home. There are plenty of ways to tell a story about your time in Korea - presuming of course you didn't drink and chase women your entire time here. You learn a lot while in Korea: self-reliance, ability to think on your feet, ability to understand (or at least tolerate) a foreign culture, and perhaps a new language or skill that will go great on a resume. With that said, you still have to convince an employer that your experience in Korea will help you (and them!) in the position they have available.

Most expats find themselves looking at several choices:

A: Keep going as an English teacher in Korea, whether at the same school or a different one.

B: Move to another country to teach English - whether your home country or a completely new country.

C: Go back to school - getting a Master's degree, a teaching English course, or even a second Bachelor's degree

D: Move back home and bum off of your parents or friends until a job comes along.

E: Find a non-teaching job in Korea

So which is best? That's up to you - I'm not your mom. More than a few people have taken a break from life in Korea, gone home, and actually missed things in the Hermit Kingdom after awhile. Others leave and never look back, thankful to never see another dish of kimchi.

The key to consider is purpose. Why did you come to Korea originally? The money? The food? The international experience? The resume-enhancing benefits? The Korean girls / boys? Whatever your reason was, consider whether you've achieved it or enjoyed it. What purpose will staying - or moving on - serve?

If you stay in Korea:

Consider how you want to grow or advance. Do you want to keep teaching kindergarten for the same wage, or do you want to move up the pay scale? Getting a teacher's certification is often worth the time and money required to get the piece of paper.
Make the country your home - now might be the time to invest in guitar lessons / Korean lessons / Korean cooking class - whatever it takes to make it feel more like home.
Get involved with the expat communities - whether it's the Hash House Harriers, Roboseyo's 2S2, or Stitch 'N' Bitch, there's more than enough communities out there.

If you decide to leave:

Get all the loose ends tied up - get paid, get your severance pay / pension reimbursement back, close your bank accounts, pay the bills, get your deposit back from the school / apartment, and so on. You should be returning home with more money than you first came with.
Have a going away party - that goes double if you've built up a lot of friends and have some time to plan something. Maybe your favorite bar can make a special or something. Don't just show up one day and disappear the next.
Keep up-to-date with your friends in Korea via Facebook / Myspace / Cyworld - it's done far more easily these days than in years past.
Have some idea of what's next. Flying back into your home city / country with little more than two suitcases and a carry-on is almost no one's idea of a life well-spent.

One excellent resource to considering one's purpose is the revered What Color Is Your Parachute? by Richard Nelson Bolles. While the book is geared towards career changes, in a sense that's exactly the decision you have to make.

Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.

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Article for Groove Magazine: On community (published Jan 2010)

As of the time I post this, Groove Magazine's website hasn't yet been updated with the newest issue. Pick up the paper copy at your friendly Hongdae / Itaewon bar, or just wait until you see it online.

On community

2010 holds more opportunities than ever to become part of a community, and there's plenty of choose from. It's time to really get to know people - going beyond polite conversations on where you're from or how long you've been here. It means getting out of your comfort zone instead of just going to the same bar, the same trivia night, or the same three parks. That more foreign teachers are calling Korea home for longer than usual (thank you, global recession) means they're less likely to say goodbye right after you meet them. It also means they're more likely to help out when crap hits the fan and you need a friend.

So why isn't there a better / stronger community of foreigners here in Korea? It might just be what I'll call the 'Superman attitude'. When you first got off the plane in Korea, you learned how to deal with things for yourself because you didn't have anyone to turn to - things like a tiny apartment. A washing machine entirely in Korean. How to work the air conditioner or heater. Where to get groceries. After awhile, you figured out how things work here and gained some self-confidence. You might have said to yourself 'I can do it all', 'I can take care of myself', or 'I don't need to be a part of a community'. Put simply, it's counterproductive and somewhat pointless. Just because you've put up with the hand Korea has dealt you doesn't mean anyone else needs to. What's to lose by sharing what you know with those who might benefit from it?

Take it from science if you like. Several studies have shown people that belong to a community - no matter the kind - have fewer health problems, commit suicide less often, and tend to be more satisfied with their lives. One study (Beem, C. (1999) The Necessity of Politics. Reclaiming American public life, Chicago: University of Chicago Press) equates one's social connections as a predictor for one's life span, similar in accuracy to getting married or affluence. The study suggests the same health benefits come from quitting smoking as joining a community of some kind. Abraham Maslow (of the famous Maslow's hierarchy you might have learned about in Psych 101) listed social groups on the third tier - a pre-requisite to reaching the esteem and self-actualization levels. In other words, you can't achieve levels of happiness or self-actualization without having other people in your life.

It's very true that teachers have different schedules, locations across the country, needs, interests, lifestyles, jobs, native cultures, different visa categories. No matter what differences you may have, the nice thing about communities is that they start with sharing a common interest or goal. It doesn't have to be a huge community - few of the expat-focused ones are - so start with what interests you and build from there.

Great - so where do I find these communities?, you ask. There isn't any one place to find them all, but you can learn about quite a few in the back of the magazine - quite a few have an advertisement in the classifieds. Matt Lamers of the Korea Herald has put together an extensive list of communities based on common interests or populations. If you've been looking for a community to join, anything from the Cigar Aficionado Society to ice hockey to touch rugby to the Czech Club is available in Seoul. Playing in a dart league may not interest you, but the Seoul Hiking Club might. You may not be interested in joining an Ultimate Frisbee team, so take some photography lessons instead. Other areas of the country have expat-focused groups as well, especially in the larger cities of Busan, Daegu, and Daejeon. In smaller cities, you can always start one of your own.

While they lack the same kind of connection, getting involved in online communities is another way of staying in contact with friends and family - whether in Korea or your home country. Facebook and Myspace are the two undisputed champions, although Cyworld is a great place to make some Korean friends if you can navigate their website. One you probably haven't heard of yet is Chatjip (www.chatjip.com) - aggregating news, opinions, and pictures from all over the web in an effort to be a one-stop-shop for all things Korea. Whatever one works best for you, use them to connect with other groups or like-minded people during your time in Korea - and to keep in touch after you move elsewhere.

A few communities based around a common interest worth checking out:

2S2 - founded by the popular blogger Roboseyo, 2S2 meets on the second Sunday of every month to do something different. The last couple meetings took the group to see the snowboarding festival in Gwanghwamun and taught the group how to play Go-Stop over lots of conversation. Check out http://2s2community.blogspot.com/ for more information.

Animal Rescue Korea - adopt an animal, animal-sit, get to know other animal lovers, or help raise funds to care for lonely animals. Lookup www.animalrescuekorea.org for more.

Adventure Korea - if your excuse for not traveling around Korea has been not going where to go, this community does plenty of trips across Korea while taking care of all the transportation details. The people you'll meet are fellow travelers - and the trips can take you almost anywhere Korea has to offer. Check out www.adventurekorea.com for a list of upcoming trips.

Swing, salsa, and tango dance - you won't find the same people at each studio or dance floor, but pick one (or more!) and find some lessons to learn. If you already know the basics, there are plenty of clubs that specialize in each kind across the country. They're scattered across the city, but a tango and a swing place are within walking distance of Sinsa station. http://swingkorea.blogspot.com keeps maps and directions for all the swing dance clubs around Seoul; for salsa and tango, do a little online searching to find one closer to you.

Seoul Improv - flexing those theatrical muscles doesn't need to happen before a crowd of thousands. While the troupe performs occasionally, practices can be just as much fun. Contact [email protected] for more information. Whatever community or groups you join, I wish you a Happy New Year, plenty of friends, and a great community.

© Chris Backe - 2010

This post was originally published on my blog, Chris in South Korea. If you are reading this on another website and there is no linkback or credit given, you are reading an UNAUTHORIZED FEED.

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