My Korean Life #57: IKAA Gathering 2016

This past summer was the IKAA Gathering - the largest gathering of Korean adoptees in Korea that takes place every 3 years. The last time I participated, I was staying in Korea temporarily for a short term Korean language course. However, this time, I participated as a resident of Korea, having now lived in Korea for almost 2.5 years. Participating as an adoptee living in Korea, as opposed to just visiting, had a different feel to it. I was able to meet a bunch of new people, catch up with my adoptee friends that don't live in Korea, and also enjoy a good time with my circle of friends I've made in Korea.

I paid for the full registration as I wanted to attend as much as I could. A special weekend pass is offered for those that are adoptee residents in Korea however the weekend is only a short snippet of the full program. The first big event is the opening ceremony which features many distinguished guests. Below are some photos:

Chung Chin-Youb: Minister of Health and Welfare

IKAA President (Liselotte Birkmose) and President Emeritus (Tim Holm)

Roberto Powers: Consul General of the Embassy of the USA in Korea

Republic of Korea President Park Geun-Hye Video Address

Song Yong-Duk: President of Lotte Hotels

In addition to participating, I was also part of a workshop that G.O.A.'L hosted about its services and living in Korea. I talked about living and settling in Korea for adoptees. My coworkers talked about the organization itself as well as birth family search. Our workshop was very well attended and we also had many people ask questions after the session concluded.

G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees

G.O.A.'L Workshop Attendees

I was also able to attend some of the film sessions however I didn't take any pictures there. I saw the film Twinsters and Approved for Adoption. The one I didn't get to see during IKAA was akaDan but I ended up seeing that film a little after IKAA. I've now seen a variety of adoption related films and I must say that each is different in their style and how they address adoption. While most of the films I have seen deal with Korean adoptees, I have seen the film Somewhere Between which documents Chinese adoptees.

Since I also had to work during the week of IKAA I didn't get to attend much else of the actual conference. There are many other events and workshops that take place during the Gathering including a scavenger hunt, age breakout sessions, and other social events. If you are a Korean adoptee that has yet to attend the Gathering in Korea, I highly recommend you go to at least one.

The IKAA Gala Dinner is the big closing event (in addition to the after party) where there are performances and a great meal to go along with it! Check out the pictures below:

손승연 Performance (Pretty sure it was her, will try to confirm)

Traditional Korean drumming

Traditional Korean fan dance (부채춤)

NCT 127 Performance

NCT 127 Performance

I look forward to the next IKAA Gathering in Korea during 2019!
~

My Korean Life #27: House Hunting Part 3 - The Decision and Signing a Lease

Part 3: The Decision and Signing a Lease

So you are probably wondering which property I chose and the process of signing a lease and actually contracting an apartment!

I ended up choosing one I saw with the 3rd agent. The one that was my favorite out of all the ones I saw.

It's on the top floor of the building (just 4 stories tall but still on the top). The building has an elevator and looked very well maintained. The unit was not your standard box with a window as is with most one-rooms here. The kitchen area is somewhat separate from the living space and the bathroom is bigger than average. There is a small enclosed balcony area that I'll probably use for storage and hanging laundry. Overall, I'm very pleased with what the agent found to show me and can't wait to move and make place my own so to speak. Due to privacy concerns I won't divulge the area I am living in nor pictures of my apartment but you may see some of it coming up on my YouTube channel depending on my filming schedule with my fellow classmate.

**If your Korean language ability is still being developed (Or you are unable to obtain a copy of the terms and conditions in your mother tongue) I suggest bringing a Korean friend with you to go through the final negotiations and contract signing**

The day I signed the contract the following happened:

• Invited back to the agent's office for a final chat
• Agent called the owner to make final negotiations and to settle the move in date
• Agent provided an English copy of the terms and conditions of the lease
• Agent described all the money that was to be due and when.
• Final negotiated rent, security deposit, management fee, and brokerage fee was detailed
• The day I signed the contract, 3 copies were made (one for me, the agent, and the building owner). Once the building owner signs the paperwork, a fully signed copy will be given to me. In the interim, I was given a copy without the building owner's signature.
• I also paid part of the security deposit to basically hold the property. I also decided to pay the brokerage fee that day but the agent said I could have waited if I wanted.

More details about the brokerage fee:

Real estate agents will take a brokerage fee once you sign a contract. This fee is 0.4% of the (Monthly rent x 100) + Security Deposit Amount. Upon signing the contract, you will be asked to pay a holding deposit (a portion of the security deposit) and the brokerage fee. Upon moving in, the balance of the security deposit, management fee, and first month's rent is due. Utilities are billed as you use them per month and bills arrive in your mailbox. The management fee can include a number of things but typically it only includes Internet and TV (and water sometimes). Some buildings have everything included but the management fee may be quite high (~$100 per month).

The brokerage fee can also be where the agent could give you a further discount. Be aware there is tax added to this fee (the tax on mine was about 10%).

I paid the holding deposit and brokerage fee by bank transfer but the agent said he would have also taken cash.

Immigration information:

If you are a foreigner you only have 14 days to change your address at immigration from the day you move to your new address. If you do not do this and immigration finds out, you can be fined a lot. You should bring a copy of your lease and a form you can get at the immigration office. Let's say instead move to a Korean friend's house, goshitel, or hasukjib; immigration told me you need another form you can get at immigration that basically says you are living at their place with their permission. The address change is free, however, if you run out of spaces for addresses on the back of your ARC Card, then I think you have to pay for another card (will verify after I go to immigration in a week or two).

Part 4 will cover moving in and taking possession of my new home :)

My Korean Life #23: Last term at language school is on the horizon

Starting on Thursday, it will be the first day of my last term in language school. It all flew by very fast. Just a year ago I was beginning my new life as a full time language student in Level 2 and now I am about to start Level 6. I still have a few days of break left and I've kept quite busy even though going into the break I had very few plans.

One thing that I experienced for the first time was a wedding in Korea. My good friend from Level 3 tied the knot this past weekend and I attended the wedding ceremony. I had just read about what a Korean wedding was like so experiencing it was interesting. Before the ceremony you can visit the bride in a special room and take pictures with her. At the entrance to the wedding hall, both sets of parents and the groom stand out front to greet everyone. You also have the desk where you can give your congratulatory money (no physical gifts) and in return you receive a meal ticket.

The actual ceremony was different from what I'm used to in the USA. During the ceremony there were still people chit chatting while things were being read and people were also taking a bunch of pictures or on their cell phones. Friends of the groom (I think) sang a song and the groom joined in at the end. The couple bowed to both sets of parents and a few hugs and tears were also exchanged.

After the ceremony, they had picture time. First was the couple, then the family, and then all the friends. Also, the throwing of the bouquet is prearranged and staged. Only one girl (usually set to get married soon) stands behind the bride to catch the bouquet. If the picture isn't satisfactory the first time around, they reset and do it again, haha.

Finally comes the meal, they had food set out on the table before hand and as we sat down they brought out hot soup and rice. Other things available were fruit, meat, seafood, japchae, kimchi, beer, soju, and soft drinks. The couple also came around to each table to greet guests and thank them for coming.

After eating, you're done! No big reception with dancing and drinking and cake :/ Oh well.

Also, I recently met a fellow language student and did a little interview/chat with her, check it out below. We've planned to make more vlogs together so stay tuned to my YouTube channel for those:

www.youtube.com/user/brightness86

My Korean Summer 2013: Day 24 - Sogang KIP Cooking Class!

Korean food is delicious and if you ever get the opportunity, please try it. My culture class traveled to a training kitchen to make some delicious and fairly well known Korean dishes. I'll write the Hangul and romanized versions for you, we made...the English descriptions are very generalized just to give you an idea of ingredients:

• Bulgogi (불고기) - thinly sliced marinated beef

• Japchae (잡채) - noodles with mixed vegetables

• Kimbab (김밥) - rice, vegetables, fish and/or meat products rolled up in seaweed

First we grabbed some rather fashionable aprons (not) and then headed to the front of the kitchen to see the demo. The chef demonstrated the bulgogi and japchae first. She spoke mostly in Korean and I might have understood half of what she said but it was pretty easy to simple watch what she did. She was cooking at a blazing heat, there were flames engulfing the pan at times...

I won't bore you with the details but I will mention one of my classmates tasted a lot of stations food and said we had the best bulgogi. The chef also complemented my cutting of the carrot in the dishes :) Here are some more pictures:

Many people say kimbap is like Korean sushi...even though kimbap looks very much liked sushi rolls, the taste is completely different. They are seasoned differently and the ingredients don't always overlap. Many times in Korea you can come across some interesting things included in kimbap (spam, fish cake, cheese, potato, lettuce, mayonnaise, etc). Even on campus we have a kimbap called something like "Ugly but Tasty Kimbap". 

Bulgogi and japchae are safe bets for people trying Korean food for the first time. I mean, who doesn't like beef and a pasta-like dish :) The chef assistants even gave us some kimchi to eat as a side with our main dishes we made!

~

My Korean Summer 2013: Day 18 - Korean Buddhist Temple Visit

[Over the River and Through the Woods]

This past Wednesday, my culture class visited a Buddhist temple romanized as "Geumseonsa". We met on campus and then headed to the subway for a somewhat long ride to the northern edge of Seoul. Upon arrival, we had a bus ride up the hillside and then a hike up the side of the mountain on a road/stone incline. Check out this house on the walk up:

While the weather had cleared up for us, it was still fairly hot and humid. I was sweating bullets by the time we reached the main gate, but the smell of fresh air was nice.

[The Temple]

The temple had a variety of buildings, the tour guide led us to only a few but we got to walk around most of the other ones. We were shown how to properly bow to the Buddha in one of the halls containing the main Buddha statue. (I apologize as I'm not very well read regarding Buddhism). We also saw another hall where the monks also gather to pray, meditate, and worship. The center entrance is reserved for the monks of the temple while non-monks enter through the sides.

Near the entrance to the temple are some very large instruments. These all have significance when played; see the picture below:

[Chatting with the monk]

We had tea set up for us in one of the buildings and a monk greeted us and let us ask whatever questions we wanted. They said every time someone asks how to become enlightened...we were no stranger to that question either. The monk said you will just "know". Through our teacher who did a lot of translating from Korean, it sounded like once you are enlightened, you see reality as it is - not through your physical eyes, not through any type of filter, just as it exists. 

Others asked about life at the temple and how monks interact with the "real world". The response to that question was one of needing to balance wisdom with practice. The way I took it was needing to balance gaining wisdom from life in the temple to practicing a good life with others. The monk said it was a constant...not struggle but maybe challenge for the monks.

We took a few pictures afterwards with the monk and then said our thank yous and goodbyes before heading down the mountain. It was quite a relaxing and serene experience. This may have been because of the streams and small waterfalls and nature all around us but I definitely felt somewhat at peace up at the temple.

[Post-temple]

After returning to Seoul I met up with my friend at the "팔색 삼겹살" restaurant in Sinchon. Their special is 8 different types of pork belly. In addition to all the pork, we got a big seafood soup/stew.

Maybe some of you have met my friend before here (TTMIK). 

~

My Korean Summer 2013: Day 1 & 2

[DAY 1]
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday! The jet lag started to hit pretty hard on my first real day in the motherland. I met up with two of my friends for lunch followed by coffee...which I never drink. I was dragging by early afternoon and was encouraged to down a cup of joe to fight the urge to fall asleep on the cafe table. My friends enjoyed espresso while I settled for an iced mocha...it was full of the sugar and caffeine I needed to carry me through to evening.

Later that day I met another friend who is local to Korea. It had almost been a year since seeing each other! We did many laps around Hongdae just taking in the sites, sounds, and smells. For a snack we got something amazingly cheap and delicious. I wish I had taken a picture :( It was a small waffle with different flavors of ice cream folded into a sandwich. The grand total was KRW 1,000 which is less than one USD. The heat and humidity was getting to us so we found a cafe and got some iced tea and much needed air conditioning

After our iced tea break we started searching for something to eat for dinner. I chose chicken and beer which is quite a popular combination here in Korea. The large amount of chicken tenders and homemade chips with beer was less than $20.

[DAY 2]
Jet lag didn't let me sleep much that night and neither did my nervousness of taking my placement test for my language program (or the neighbors that talked really loudly at midnight...and 4am...). I caught the bus and walked through the pouring rain to the building where my orientation and placement test was. Turns out I know a lot less Korean than I thought...or the Korean I know is too fragmented. I get the placement results later this evening. The age range of the program participants is quite large but most seem <30 years old. My lunch was from the convenience store and cost maybe $3 total for ramen, triangle kimbap, and a soda!

I will start my adventure in the Level 1...I'm not sure what area of level 1 (maybe the beginning beginning) but we'll see how the first day of class goes tomorrow!
~

My Korean Summer 2013: Day 0

My summer in Korea started with nothing other than a very long flight. The cheapest ticket I could find (without going through China) was one on Air Canada via Toronto. I got up mega early to make sure I was ready for my shuttle to the airport and to finish any last minute packing. I ended up getting to the airport before the gate agents started checking people in. After about 20 minutes of waiting I got my bag checked and grabbed a bite to eat. The small propeller plane to Toronto wasn't full so I got two seats to myself. I took an interesting video of the propellers. It looks like the propellers are actually moving very slowly but I'm guessing it has to deal with the frame rate of the camera. See that video below:

The next leg of my journey took me to Toronto for a short layover. The terminal I was in was very high tech. The larger restaurants had iPads for ordering your food and also had plenty of outlets to charge your device.

The flight experience was a little different than I expected. I ended having coffee spilled on me and then almost had hot food trays dumped on me. The coffee incident would have not been a big deal but the flight attendant was making it out as some sort of joke (at least that's what I thought). I don't even remember her saying sorry. Then later during one of the meal services, one of the carts got rammed right into my row, spilling about 3 hot food trays into the aisle. Another thing that irked me during the flight was that for one of the snacks, we were given instant noodles. This was fine. What wasn't so fine was that the flight attendant was automatically giving all the Asians on the flight chopsticks and didn't even ask them if they wanted a western utensil set. I watched him for 4 or 5 rows worth of people...maybe he asked later during the meal service (I doubt it though).

I got to Incheon airport safely where my friend picked me up. We then headed to dinner after I checked into my guesthouse.

More to come later! Stay tuned!

~