Fukuoka - A Frequent Destination

At the time of this post I have visited Fukuoka, Japan on many occasions. The below video is from one of many hotels I have stayed in during my trips to Fukuoka. For those living in Korea, Fukuoka offers very close access to Japan. Often low-cost carriers will have very affordable flights. The airport is also only a few stops away on the subway from the city, unlike Osaka or Tokyo where it takes significantly longer to get into city-center. Fukuoka also offers a good starting point for exploring Kyushu. There are other airports around to get into the region however, I feel many start with Fukuoka.

I still plan on maintaining this blog albeit with longer gaps of time between posts. I will continue to upload hotel room tours to my YouTube channel and will also continue to (try to) re-post them here along with more content for the blog.

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My Korean Life #59: 여수

At first I thought I could squeeze both Yeosu and Suncheon into one post but it turns out I have too many pictures and it would be too long as one blog post. So, I will be splitting them up. First will be Yeosu located in the South Jeolla Province of Korea. I will be pointing out some of the highlights as well as embedding maps so you can see exactly where I went! If you have a free weekend, I definitely recommend checking out Yeosu.

YEOSU

Yeosu Expo Station

While there are buses as well as slower trains to Yeosu, I recommend taking the KTX train. It is a fast albeit expensive option. The trip from Seoul to Yeosu will take you less than three hours via KTX.

Yeosu Expo Grounds

Yeosu was host to Expo 2012 - a world expo consisting of many different countries exhibiting around the theme of "The Living Ocean and Coast". The grounds and some of the building are still open to the public.

Grim Garden Guest House

The Grim Garden Guest House is located only a short walk away from the Expo grounds and looks to have been constructed very recently. It is locally owned and operated with many different room types. I stayed in a double room but there are also dormitories, triple rooms, and traditional Korean style rooms where you sleep on the floor. The rooftop has a large garden and reading room. A free continental breakfast is offered in the morning as well as free Internet throughout.

Yeosu Railbike

The Yeosu Railbike runs along a cliff on the coast of Yeosu and is a great way to take in the views of the sea. The track goes through a tunnel as well with a turn table at the end of the track to let you pedal back to where you started. The bikes are geared to allow easy pedaling even uphill.

Approximate Beach Location

Very close to the railbike area is a small beach. It's within walking distance from the railbike station and also has some restaurants and cafes near it.

After riding the railbike I enjoyed the local Yeosu specialty of Soy Sauce Crab (간장게장). There was also 양념게장 served in the set menu. It was all very reasonably priced and delicious.

 

Cable Car Location

The cable car is has two stations. One located near Odongdo and another located near Dolsan Park. Both stations have a variety of facilities including convenience stores, restaurants, and cafes. The cable car is suspended over water and provides good photo opportunities during the ride. Most people buy round trip tickets although one-way tickets are available. The attractions near the cable car stations are free of charge while a ride on the cable car is KRW 13,000 for a round trip ticket. There are cars that have a glass bottom and you can enjoy those for slightly more.

Stay tuned for the next post about Suncheon (순천)

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My Korean Life #16: Welcome to Autumn - reflections on learning Korean thus far

*DISCLAIMER*

The below are my personal opinions/views and have no intention of communicating qualities, good or bad, about the program I am currently enrolled in

*END DISCLAIMER*

Finally we have entered autumn. It is probably my most favorite season here in Korea. The weather is comfortable and not humid, the leaves begin to change, etc. Anyway, I thought I would take this moment to reflect on my experience learning Korean so far. It's almost been 4.5 months since I moved here and about 4 months since I've been learning Korean.

• The expectations are high. This is somewhat expected as the program is marketed as intensive/immersive however, if you are struggling, it can be a challenge to find people able to explain concepts in your native language especially if you do not speak English, Japanese, or Chinese (Mandarin/Cantonese/other widely spoken dialects).
• There is little focus on explaining things like passive versus active voice, what a perfect tense is, and so on - I think this is because it really doesn't make sense to do in an immersive environment where, among the students, there could be 5+ native languages. Instead, there is a focus on what I will call sentence constructs. Simply, how to make certain sentences using, for example, because or expressing hopes/wishes.
• You are given a moderate amount of time to practice concepts in class but it seems like the pace is faster than level 2. I'm guessing they expect you to practice a lot outside of class but some sentence constructs require you to disagree with someone or quote someone's speech. I'll say I'm not that creative and repeatedly use similar sentences with new grammar. 
• I'm also getting quite bored talking about the same things (school, home, my home country, self-introduction). Luckily in level 3 we start talking about more real world applications (finding a place to live, describing personality and appearance more in depth, meeting co-workers/students/etc, interactions in the workplace).
• More focus is being put on our pronunciation and intonation. During our review days our teacher has us memorize dialogues and gives us pointers on our pronunciation and intonation. The memorization is not the hard part but sounding like a native Korean is...

That's all I've got for now. Stay tuned for more. Until next time.

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