Even as more foreigners are picking up the iPhone and iPad, I find myself sticking with an iPod Touch - and a full-fledged netbook computer better able to do the heavier lifting. There are times when one or the other is preferred; in this case, looking up the subway lines is an easy job for the iPod Touch.

Enter this free app - SeoulMetroTour Lite - into the mix. After starting the program, you can tap your way into a Seoul subway system map completely in English. Tap on Sights (as above) to highlight a number of tourist-friendly destinations.

One nice touch: if you miss the half-centimeter dot that represents a subway station, a sub-menu will bring up the three subway stations nearest to where you touched.



This is thankfully the worst English in the app that I saw - not that there's a lot of English here to begin with. Simple, easy to use, and speedy (even on an older iPod Touch) are definitely its high points.



I was left a little surprised by this layer - on one hand, there's plenty of jimjilbang listed here, and there's no clear evidence of sponsorship.

As a whole, it's a lightweight app, intended for a couple of simple uses, and that's it. It doesn't have the 'create a route' feature that Jihachul has; to be fair, once you've been in Seoul for awhile, you don't really need it. The emphasis on sights and saunas is nice, and is a definite download during your time in Seoul. Highly recommended.

Ratings out of 5 taeguks (How do I rate apps?)

Usefulness / helpfulness: (is it useful / helpful?)

Return on investment: (is it worth the time / money to figure out?)

Intuitiveness / Ease of use (can you pick it up and use it, or do you have to tinker with it?)

Looks / Design (while not every app is elegant, do you want to stare at it for an hour?)

Overall: (keep it or delete it?)

A 99-cent version is available on the iTunes store, but the version seen here was the free version. (Warning: both links will open up iTunes)

Disclaimer: Chris in South Korea was not compensated for this review. I have no relationship, financial or otherwise, with the program's authors or Apple.

© 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.

Thank you to everyone that entered the contest! I hope that you are enjoyng the videos! I will have more contests in the new year. I also learned from this contest. Next time there will be only a one week wait till I announce the winner. Keep posted for new contests.

Keep moving,

Jeff

It is no laughing matter that my father-in-law fell from a tree and broke some ribs but there must be some way to work that cliche in.

On Monday, my f-i-l was collecting persimmon, when he fell. Now, he was hurt and seriously to need to stay in the hospital for a few days, but don’t think he fell from a tall pine or maple or the like.  Horticulturists could better explain, but as I understand it, you clip the main growth bud of a young tree and major branches grow instead.  This way you can have many more fruit-bearing branches and all close to the ground.

So, he fell and probably hit a branch on the way.  He went home, and probably went to bed early.  The next morning, he was in great pain so he decided to visit a hospital.  There he was diagnosed with broken ribs, admitted to a room and had his lower chest wrapped.  I suspect he was given pain-killers.

We visited in the evening and he was sitting up and smiling at his grandchildren. When my son pointed to something behind him, he twisted slowly, but without gasping or showing pain, and told my son the thing was a baduk board.

He will spend a few days at the hospital.  We will visit him on Friday evening on our way to the farm. On Saturday and Sunday we will work on the persimmon crop and do whatever else we can.  I will be very careful while climbing the trees but then I always am. My fear is not of falling though.  I am over ninety kilos and the branches seem thin and long; my weight is strongly amplified by leverage when I step away from the trunk and I would hate to break a major limb – botanic or human.

One strange thing about the hospital was that behind the nurses desk was a white board with the patients names, their ages and maladies.  Any visitor could read that my f-i-l had broken his 8th rib and had a hemo– (? this word was illegible).  That’s not so bad or private, but others might have been.

Halloween on Saturday night! My coworkers and I went to the Kyungsung Pub Crawl. This was way better than what I did last year.


I made my costume out of things I snatched from school. I was Katy Perry from her California Girls music video.
Shooting for this:





Man those were a pain to iron on. This is a post Halloween shot t0o, there used to be more.




On the subway....


I make every effort to photobomb.





The Dadaepo Crew.


Cheun un! Cheun un! Brilliant.




Kinoeye was the best bar.

It doesn't look it but there were so many good costumes. This was a blast.

Colonel!



I was asked to take pictures with a bit. That was fun. And I saw EVERYONE I know it Korea there that night... which is good and bad. This girl, Steph I LOVE, but there are super douchebags here that I never wanted to see ever again. Ah well, as Eric said, "It's just transitory here." Meaning yeah, the good people leave, but so will the horrible ones.




Ah! This guy was sick. He made awesome drinks and did some good DJing. Couldn't stop dancing!


Dancing with Cici.


This is my favorite photo of the night. Eric looks like some kind of eyeless zombie! And Cici was just gone at that point, and in the cab ride home she only spoke Afrikaans so we were all just confused. HAHA! At least I know the f-bomb is the same.

Halloween's just way better spending it with a group of friends instead of a single person, I've decided. Thank you so much everyone!