Random helpful things I have discovered in Korea (glasses, transportation, hair cuts and wi fi)

As of right now, it has been nearly five months since coming here for the first time. what once seemed like an impossible dream of making my way to Korea has now become an everyday reality. There's been some challenges along the way but for the most part, Korea has been an incredible country to explore and discover. I consider myself very lucky that everyday is an opportunity for new adventures.

Since being here there have been a lot of small things I have learned along the way that have helped me live a comfortable life. Here is a small but helpful sampling of what I have learned.

If you wear eye glasses in Korea, it is very easy and affordable to get new ones. I was able to visit an eye glasses store in Seoul and in the end purchased a new pair of glasses, new lenses and a have my old glasses repaired for 40,000 won, an insanely cheap price compared to the states. If you were waiting to purchase new eye wear until after coming to Korea, this is the perfect opportunity to do so.

Traveling in Korea is a breeze. Not only do larger cities have an easy to use subway and taxi system (most of which will have a very frequent use of English) traveling between cities and towns is easy thanks to the excellent train systems here. The slowest train, the Mugunghwa will take anywhere from 2 to 6 hours between locations but is the cheapest (around 14,000 won). The next train in line is the Saemaul which is a step up in speed and price (around 20-25,000 won). Finally, the KTX is the fastest train that Korea offers, able to travel from one end of the country to the other in less than 6 hours. It is the most expensive option (anywhere from 34,000 to 50,000 won), but as you can probably tell, you have plenty of train options that can fit every budget and time frame. The website allows you to book your tickets in English and redeem them at the station. Be sure to bring your passport when redeeming them. You can find a link to the English Korail site here.

Along with trains, taxis and subways, buses are also an option. While a majority of bus schedules are in Korean, a little time spent learning the schedules and having a Korean friend help translate will cut down on travel time in the city immensely and will be a cheaper alternative to a taxi or subway.

Getting a haircut is also an easy experience if you live in a larger city. Most places will known enough English for you to express how you want your hair. An alternative is learn some basic hair-related phrases (trim, cut, perm) in order to make the process easier. Be warned, there are many places that cut hair for many different prices so be sure to choose carefully. Ask other foreign teachers, Korean friends and co teachers before making a decisions. Guys and especially girls are at a risk of having their hair butchered if not careful. As with many things in Korea, doing your research before doing anything else is key!

Finally, a side note: wi fi is not something that is widely available in Korea like back in the states. Coffee shops and restaurants are often your best bet to find hot spots, but even then, some places may be lacking. If you have a device that relies on wi-fi, it is best to find a reliable hang out spot that you can frequent. If you have a mobile phone device, it is best to stick with your service and try for the largest data plan possible. While it may cost more initially, if you frequently use your devices, it will be considerably less than going over a limit.

There are many useful tips for foreigners living in Korea. This is just a small sampling. I will post more as time goes on and I discover more new tips and tricks.

Chapter 10: Small town living, big life lesson

I have always been drawn to the big cities. The bustling metropolises and the frantic city life was an exciting invitation to someone who spent a good portion of his life in the suburbs, reading about the concrete jungles from socialites who roamed the city like some predator traversing the jungle with ease. I had decided at an early age that the city life was for me, I liked the chaos. I liked the nonstop nature. I was going to live there one day. It was only a matter of time.

This love affair continued, as I grew older. I was lucky enough to spend two summers in Tokyo, Japan, one of the largest and busiest metropolises in the world. It was a city that never stopped moving and always had something to do. Tokyo solidified my love of the big city. I was convinced that I was going to live here for a very long time.

Events occurred and eventually the option of Tokyo was no longer a viable one. Like a love that was never meant to be, Tokyo was a city that I loved dearly, but knew in my heart at the time, was something that would just not work out.

I turned my sights to Korea, once again aiming to work in a big city, and immerse myself in the bustle and breakneck speed of daily city life. Again, it was not meant to be as, my location chosen for me was not the sprawling city that I had envisioned, but rather the town nestled in the center of Korea. A town called Gimcheon.

Gimcheon at one point had actually been the second largest city in the Gyeongbuk province of Korea. Eventually however, its industry and economy slowed down and the once bustling metropolis became a slow paced shell of its former self.

My initial reaction was one of slight disappointment. Despite being one of the largest districts in Korea, a majority of it was farm land. The actual city portion could be walked within an hour. It was a city in name only; to me it was a town, a town just like the one I grew up in my entire life. It seemed that no matter where 

I went, the small town life was set to follow me.

Many weekends were spent outside of Gimcheon. I used the weekend opportunity to travel to the bigger cities around Korea as often as possible, not a difficult feat due to Korea’s excellent transportation system that could you get you from one side of the country to the other in a matter of minutes. Sprawling cities like Seoul, Incheon and Daegu were my homes away from home on the weekend. Sundays were always looked at with slight apprehension, the adventure of the city would have to wait until next weekend, and my small town needed me back again.

The past weekend was out of character for me. I had spent a majority of my weekends trying to get away from Gimcheon and explore but this weekend I had felt compelled to stay. Perhaps it was my mind telling me to take a break from exploring. Perhaps it was a need to become more accustomed with my own area of residence. Nevertheless I didn’t purchase tickets out of town like normal. I didn’t pack for the weekend Thursday night. I simply went home on Friday and stayed in.

I awoke Saturday morning feeling refreshed and optimistic. Saturday mornings were usually met with a few seconds of apprehension as traveling and working the night before would usually leave me exhausted. This was one of the first times I had slept in my own bed on a weekend. It felt good, it felt comfortable, it felt uncharacteristically inviting compared to the hard floors and stiff mattresses of hotels and jimjobangs I had become accustomed to.

That afternoon I received a call from some other foreign teachers in Gimcheon. They were planning on spending a night out in Gimcheon and I was invited along. These were people that I knew fairly well, but not as well as other people I traveled to visit. They were acquaintances in my town that I enjoyed being around, but never spent more than a few hours with.

I met up with the group of friends and after a nice dinner, we ended up walking around the middle of downtown. The sidewalks were filled with people and couples happily going about their business. The small shops were lit with bright lights and loud music. School children, free from the burden of school and studying ran in the street, some of them with ice cream in hands all of them laughing and seemingly happy to be free of the pressures of school if only for a day. As I continued to walk and observe the other people a sense of comfort and content begin to come over me. I was walking with good company, on a warm and breezy Saturday night. The sky was clear; the streets were brightly lit and bustling. It was an idyllic evening in my town of Gimcheon. Never before has a town looked more peaceful and happy. Never before did I feel more at home while being so far away.

I still love the big city. I love the busy lifestyle. I doubt that I will ever fall out of love with it. However, that night time stroll in my little town made me fall in love with a different kind of living, a life less frantic, but one more comfortable. Life doesn’t always need to move fast, and this is the town that told me that.