Suwon Hwaseong Theatre Festival

Last week I spent most of my out of school time at the Suwon Hwaseong Theatre Festival. It was an international theatre festival that took place at different spots along Hwaseong Fortress (the wall in Suwon) and the best part was; most of it was free. My friends and I took in quite a few shows and enjoyed most of them.

This is first show I saw, "The Angel and the Woodcutter." At this point the woodcutter is being forced into the army and eventually abandons his family and his wife is forced into prostitution in order to feed their son. It was a really good show. There was no talking, only dance, so it was really easy to follow the story.

This is "MOB (Mobile, Oblique and Bucolic)". It was basically some drumming clowns who wound throught the audience and then hooked themselves to this crane and drummed while dangling in the sky. Interesting to watch...

This show was called Ku-Do. It was based around a video game theme. Here the actors can be seen emerging from a giant cube. I really like this one, but other described it as "pretentious." A woman did give birth to a rock at one point, so I can see how it might be seen that way...

This is "Blue Bird" from a German company. They spoke in English and they projected subtitles in Korean. I found this one to be visually interesting, but story-wise could have used some help.

This was my favourite show, "History of Madness." It was about the effect of the Korean War on Korean people. It was all in Korean, but was so visually powerful that it moved me to tears. This is a picture from the end of the play when the "leader" is being lifted up the side of the wall.

This is the only pictures I managed to get of "Apropo de Butterfly" before the usher came over and gave me the "X." It says "This is not a contemporary play."

This was my least favourite of all the shows. It was called "A Soldiers Tale." It was all in Korean, so maybe if we could have understood it we would have liked it more.

The last show we saw was called "Charanga" and it was by a Portugese company. It consisted of clowns on bicycles with various brass instruments. It was neat to watch and the music was cool. I managed to get a litte video clip of it:

All in all it was a great week. I felt more like myself this last week than I have in a long time, and it inspired me to be creative again, which is never a bad thing.

DMZ Tour

We took a tour to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone) between North and South Korea on the weekend. It was a very interesting and eye-opening experience, albeit very touristy, which surprised me.

We started the weekend Friday with a trip into Seoul where we planned to stay the night so we wouldn't have to get up quite so early to catch our 7:30am bus for the tour. We went for supper at a Turkish restaurant...very delicious. 9 courses and lots of lamb. Yogurt drink. Tea. Dessert. Yum. We also found a foreign foods supermarket where I was able to buy some cous cous and Thai curry. Very exciting.

We slept at a love motel that night. Have I mentioned love motels yet? Korea and other Asian countries have special motels intended for business men to have affairs in. The parking lots are curtained so you can't see who is entering and leaving. There are sexy things in the rooms (porn, condoms sometimes) and you can pay by the hour or stay all night if you want to. They don't take your name or anything. You pay cash at the door and get a key. They can be really dodgy but also really nice depending on your luck. We didn't luck out this time. The bathroom had no sink and we had to brush our teeth in the tub. And it was very small and kinda smelly and the walls were very thin. Hannah and I shared a room and Mel and Shawn could hear us laughing from across the hall. Good thing it seemed to be pretty much deserted so we couldn't hear the sexy things from other rooms!!!

The morning came very early and we made our way to the American Army camp to catch the bus. Our tour guide was a very witty and cute old man named Young ("You see, I am very young") who kept us entertained with stories and pointing out the various sights on the road. The highway we took was lined with barbed wire on the side that ran along the Han River. This was to keep out any North Korean spies who would try to get into the South with small submarines in the river. Sounds weird, I know, but I guess this has actually happened. It was kinda creepy to see that...where we live you don't really see signs that the two countries are still in a very tense situation and it's easy to forget. To have actual physical evidence of it out the bus window was a bit disconcerting.

Our first stop was the JSA (Joint Security Area) that is occupied by the Republic of Korea (ROK) army, American soldiers and North Korean Army on the other side. I believe it's under UN control... We were forbidden to take pictures for most of it, but were allowed certain photo-ops in specific areas.

First we were escorted into a hall where we signed a form saying that we understood the dangers of entering the JSA and instructing us not to point, gesture, look at, talk about, the North Korean soldiers. Then we had a short briefing on the Korean War and the area around the JSA, then were herded back onto buses to make our way to the border. We were escorted in two straight lines into an area with UN buildings and allowed to take photos of the North Korean buildings on the other side of the border. Our American army tour guide told us "Be sure to take pictures of them, they are taking pictures of you." Not creepy at all....

There is a North Korean soldier on the steps of this building looking at us through binoculars.


We then went into a building where talks are held between the two sides. It was half in N. Korea, half in S. Korea. So for a brief moment we did step into the North. There was a cement line that signified the border.



Inside the building were ROK soldiers who were there for our safety. We were told not to get to close to them or they would stop us with physical force. Again...not creepy at all.


They also told us stories of ROK soldiers being pulled into N. Korea by soldiers when they go to lock the doors. So they introduced a new policy of one soldier hanging on the wall while also hanging on to the others gun belt. The walls are worn white where they lean.



They have framed plastic flags on the walls instead of little silk ones on stands. I guess at one point when the president of the US and the president of S. Korea were visiting, some N. Korean soldiers came into the building and blew their noses and wiped their shoes with the US and S. Korean flags. So they replaced them with plastic ones to remove the temptation.


After that we were taken to a look-out point where we could see into N. Korea. In particular Propaganda City with a their giant N. Korean flag the size of a three story building and weighing 600lbs.



It's called Propaganda city because up until a few years ago they had a massive speaker system there that blasted propaganda into the South trying to get people to come over to their side. I guess they stopped doing it when they realized that the answering propaganda from the South was much more effective and that their people wanted to go south, so they offered up an agreement to end the broadcasts on both sides. Propaganda Village is actually uninhabited except for a few people who come there during the day to do maintenance.


Here you can see the mitre-tall white posts that are placed along the border all the way across the peninsula.

After that we were driven to a spot where 30 years ago there was a incident that resulted in 2 deaths. There was a big tree that was blocking the view from the aforementioned look-out point, so some UN people, some ROK soldiers and some workmen went to cut it down. But the N. Koreans didn't like that, saying that the tree was their property, so they started a fight and axed two people to death. The day we were there was the day after the 30th anniversary of this incident so there were wreaths layed out around a monument.



Also at this spot is the Bridge of No Return. At the end of the Korean War both sides realeased eachother's prisoners and they were allowed to decide which side they wanted to go to. They crossed this bridge into whichever country they wanted, but only under the stipulation that they would never be allowed to return to the other. Hence the name.



After that we were taken to the gift shop. You could buy pieces of the wire fence, t-shirts, N. Korean wine. Many things with the slogan "freedom is not free." I chose to opt out of the souvenir buying. It seemed somewhat wrong to me to turn an area of political strife into a tourist attraction. I guess the DMZ tour is the most popular tour in Korea...


After leaving the JSA we were taken to another lookout point where you could see like 12km (that might be the wrong number...) into North Korea on a clear day. Luckily we had a clear day so the view was amazing. No pictures allowed past a certain point, though, so I didn't get any stunning shots. I chose to obey the rules, too chicken to risk losing my camera over a few pics.

On the way there Young pointed out the red triangles hung on the side of the road. These denote a live land mine area. YIKES!!!! I was a little nervous putting my trust in the hands of the busdriver not to drive us off the thin mountain road and into a land mine!

After that we went to see Tunnel #3. After the war was over the South Koreans discovered a bunch of tunnels dug under the DMZ that the North had dug to try to infiltrate the South. They claimed they were just digging for coal and painted coal on the walls to try to prove it. You could go inside the tunnels as far as the North Korean border. We had to wear hard hats because the ceilings were so low. I was feeling very clausrophobic and it was basically 15 minutes of panic control on my part as we explored it. But it was an interesting thing to see. Shawn took some illegal pictures, he being much more bold than I am.

That was the last stop on the tour. I found it a really interesting experience. I was really amazed at how the American tour guide made no attempt to hide his bias, in fact everything on the South Korean side was blatantly anti-North. I thought that they would at least make and attempt to appear neutral. Especially the Americans who had no personal beef with the North. I can understand the Koreans, I probably wouldn't like a country that invaded me either...

It's made me really interested in the history of this country too. They've really been through a lot...and though the propaganda we saw that was pro-south made it seem like a reconcilation is in the works, I don't know how true that is. And if they did, they would lose their biggest money-making tour!

If you would like to see the rest of the pictures from the tour, check out http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=44561&l=70222&id=890700076

Friends from Canada visit Seoul

Well another weekend has passed. My fellow teachers went to Jeju Island (described as the Hawaii of Korea) but I did not have the funds to go, so was left to my own devices for the weekend. Not a big deal, as two of my friends from Canada were in Seoul Saturday night on a layover on their way home from Hong Kong.

So Friday was really low-key. I shopped around for a while, and then took myself out for sushi. I finally joined the gym, something I've been talking about for months. And then went for a walk with one of the teachers who was also not on Jeju.

Saturday I went to Seoul in the afternoon to do some more shopping in Dongdaemun market. Went to this really creepy flea market inside an old baseball stadium. It was hot and smelly and just generally weird. Stalls and stalls of useless crap amidst the odd laptop, stereo, musical instrument (tuba, saxophone, violin, guitar, you name it). Not to mention a jade carving of a foot-long penis. Very lifelike...except the green colour and the footlong-ness. Unfortunately my pics don't seem to be liking their existence on this computer and I don't have my camera with me today so I can't post the pics from the flea market. But once I bring in my camera I will put some up.

So after a long hot (a thermometer in the flea market read 39degrees...not counting the humidity) day of shopping and not really buying anything I went to the hotel Amanda and Calvin would be staying in to wait for them. They didn't show up until nearly 11 and I was just about to give up on them and take the last subway home. I'm so glad I didn't though! It was so great to see people from home, even if only for a few hours.

After they were settled in their hotel room we went out for food and I introduced them to galbi. They enjoyed it, I think. Then to the convenience store for drink and snack. And introduced them to soju. Which was less well received, but that's really to be expected. We stayed up playing a card game called horse. Something we play all the time at home, so it was really cool...felt just like old times. And though I didn't win (came in second from last) I did beat Calvin, who is usually a pro at all card games. Perhaps it was the influence of the soju. After that we piled three in the bed and stayed up til 4am giggling and gossiping. It was just like a high school sleepover. Except there was a boy present.

Sunday the visiting Canadians took off to the airport to go home and I took off on the subway to find a bookstore I've been wanting to go to for some time. I found it, but it was closed. But I discovered that across the street was a palace. So, even though I was totally exhausted and not really in the mood for things historical, I went to check it out. It was really beautiful. I didn't find myself enjoying it as much as I usually would have, but managed to get tons of amazing pictures. These are just a few. (yeah I have a thing for ceilings...what's it too you?)

If you want to check out the rest of them here are the links. I recommend that you do. I can't really describe it right now...my brain seems to be on stand-by this morning.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=964896&l=29503&id=890700076

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=42438&l=42431&id=890700076

Anyway, after the palace I went home and got a CVS supper (convenience store) and fell instantly asleep. I think I was actually still chewing...

Weekend of good eats

So last week we had a group of Science geniuses at our school. And not only were they super smart, but they were also older than our typical kids. Up to 15 years old. So it was a bit of a challenge, making our lessons geared toward 11-year olds interesting for them. And also fitting them in the classrooms. It's amazing how one year of growth makes such a huge difference! Teaching these huge tall men with low voices and moustaches.

Luckily my team was still young, but also very smart. I wrote a new drama with them that was called "The New Romeo and Juliet." The story is basically Romeo falls in love with Cinderella instead of Juliet but then Cinderella has to run away at midnight and leaves her shoe behind and Romeo smells it and dies because it is so stinky. Then Juliet and Prince Charming also die due to the smelly shoe, and some terrorists come and take it to use as a biological weapon. (I'm not sure what the Korean youth's obsession with terrorists is all about...It's okay to make jokes about it here...)

Here's a picture with me and my team. I will never forget them, it was truly the best week I've had at the English Village.

Nothing too exciting happened this weekend. Last weekend before payday tends to be low-key. But we did of course manage to find some trouble.

Friday night we went for Thai food in a city whose name I can't remember that is half an hour away on the subway. It's near where the American Army base is, so there are a lot of foreign foods and lots of foreign people around. Army folk and their families. So we went to a Thai restaurant that Mel and Shawn had been to before. The food was absolutely amazing. It's a rare thing in Korea to have food that makes you exlaim in joy. But every bite of this was like a taste of heaven. The last time we had Thai food here it left much to be desired, but this was perfection. It was even better than in my favourite little Thai place at home. It made me so excited to go to Thailand next month!

After the restaurant we went to and English pub for a few drinks. I had some Guiness, a rare thing to find here, and earned a free pair of flip-flops for drinking two pints! I don't really know if it was worth it...the beers were like $9 each and not very good. I think its true what they say, Guiness loses it's taste the minute it leaves Ireland. But I've had some in Canada that tasted way better than that stuff...

After the pub we got the subway home and went to our favourite alien norae-bang. (If you've been keeping up with my face-book photos you'll have seen it many many times.) It's Mel and Shawn's last month, and every weekend between now and their departure is taken up with activities, so it was probably their last visit there. It was a very emotional moment, our last song. I don't know if I can go back there without Shawn to sing Celine Dion with, and Mel to help me out with "November Rain."

Saturday we all slept in as late as we possibly could, then Shaun, Hannah and I made a proper English fry-up. Translation: huge greasy breakfast. It was so good. We went to Home plus and bought all the ingredients and then went to my apartment to cook everything. We had two hotplates, an electric frying pan, and the toaster all cooking at the same time. Not to mention music playing and the washing maching running. It's a wonder we didn't fry the electric!

Anyway, here's a picture of Hannah and Shaun enjoying the fruits of our labour.

And the breakfast.

And the aftermath.

But that breakfast really hit the spot, let me tell you. It felt like Christmas. We were all totally stuffed and just laid around all afternoon groaning and laughing.

Saturday night we finally met up with our Korean friends from two months ago. I've been texting them for weeks trying to find a mutually agreeable night to go out, but we've all been too busy. Finally we were able to connect and went for drinks. They taught us a Korean drinking game and we taught them the name game that we use at school to learn kids names. Who would have thought you could turn teaching tools into drinking games!

I do love those guys those. We met two other friends this time, and all of them are just wonderful. So kind and funny and sweet. I've never met anyone so genuinely lovable. I really hope it doesn't take another 2 months before we see them again.

Sunday we went to what we were told was a rich part of Seoul. They have a Rodeo Drive and supposedly lots of posh shops and what not. But we didn't see much that you can't find anywhere else. And it looked just as grimey as most parts of Seoul. But it was interesting anyway, and we found this great Mexican restaurant. They only used fresh natural ingredients and boasted home-cooked food. And delivered. It was so amazing. And so much of it! We were all stuffed.

Isn't it funny how the weekend of good eats did not involve anything Korean in the slightest. Don't get me wrong, lots of Korean food is really delicious. But you know how it is. What you're used to is what you find most delicious. And we have been pretty good with getting out and trying Korean stuff too. Just so happened that this weekend we did not.

Oh, and I also tried out my mud mad from the Mud Festival. Here's a pic of me just before removing it.