I don’t drive in Seoul so I don’t have to face any traffic jams and such. The subway system in Seoul is fantastic, easy to use, and is very cheap compared to Tokyo and even New York and Boston. The network is in my opinion far superior to New York and Boston. One of the [...]
I went into the language institute at my school to inquire about changing my 30 day visa here to a D-4 student visa as described on the website of the school. I had all the paperwork I thought I would need in the form of pictures, school admission and enrollment letters, tuition receipt and bank [...]
Sayaka posted about the recent statements made on gender in education made by Minister of Education Nakayama Nariaki. He is the same minister who last November was pleased to report that in this year’s history textbooks, “it is good that such terms as sex slaves of the Japanese Imperial Army and forced Asian labor were [...]
At a dinner recently, I was told by a Korean friend of mine that the now famous Korean stem cell researcher Hwang Woo-suk recently claimed that the Korean metal chopsticks (which I find admittedly relatively hard to use in grabbing greasy noodles and other slippery food items) have developed the dexterity of the Korean people [...]
I’m slowly getting settled in here. I went shopping for basic living materials today. I had a success rate of 3/4 today for getting my meaning across in Korean. First getting my luggage from the hostel to the dorm I had to navigate a taxi driver. I would like to thank my old 初めての韓国語 textbook [...]
I’m sitting in small café called “Fango” at Seoul University’s Language Education Institute (LEI). I arrived in Seoul yesterday and I’m here until mid-August to study Korean. A storm is raging outside while some ’60s-sounding Norwegian song (the second one in less than half an hour!?) is playing over the café speakers. Although I’m not [...]
I spent my first night in Korea at Seoul Backpacker’s Hostel which was really great value for the price. It is located only 15 minutes walk from Insadong and only five from one of the royal palaces. It is easily accessible from the airport, and their directions, both online and available in pamphlet form from [...]