Within a few short hours KTX had effected its magic, spiriting us from our Jeonju respite onto Busan, the second largest Korean city. Though several orders of magnitude smaller than Seoul, Busan is still home to some 5 or so million spread along the undulating coast at the southeastern extreme of the peninsula. It feels… Read More Busan is Good
North Korea – enigmatic, isolated, and dangerous – lies only 50 or so kilometres from the heart of Seoul. Even in morning traffic, it is less than an hour to the Demilitarized Zone, or DMZ, the dividing line agreed upon in the 1953 armistice. At my insistence, we found ourselves boarded onto a 40-person coach… Read More Land of Morning Calm
Seoul spreads on and on, squeezing through valley floors and climbing over craggy hills before reaching the shores of the Yellow Sea. Even here, fresh soils have been crafted for the relentless conurbation, playing host to new towns and Incheon Airport. All this is apparent from above, circling the megacity before touching down, a sense… Read More Bballi Bballi
The second part of my week in Korea was consumed with exploring its capital and megacity, Seoul. My grandpa had told me stories of the city in the late 1940s, telling it as desperate place rank with poverty, illness, and mud that vacillated between extremes in weather. I guess I should tell him that Seoul… Read More Seoul by Rail
My poor students were subjected to the GaoKao, the infamous college entrance exam that heaps pressure upon the seniors of China as their fate is decided well into the future. Something like the SATs, and then multiplied by several factors. While pressure is piled upon the students, for myself and the other foreign teachers, it… Read More Rushing Through the Hermit Kingdom
Zak Abroad 