Reading this blog it may appear that the only thing I do for fun is walk laps around Jeju, and while that is a favorite past time of mine, I occasionally get out to explore other things on the island. Living in Jeju I've often heard about the Jeju FC (Football Club for anyone who is as sports illiterate as I), but I was about 50/50 on whether or not I truly had a desire to attend. Last weekend Seohui and I both had the night off, but I was back and forth on what I wanted to do with the evening. There was an "Expat Festival" in Jeju city which I wanted to check out as well as a home game for Jeju FC. I got off work at 3:30, and although earlier me was eager to attend both, a day at work was killing much enthusiasm for anything. Ultimately the soccer game won, mostly because it required less potential social interaction, and was a shorter drive from home. We decided it would be a good excuse to get out of the house and visit the city, even though neither of us are avid sports fans. Honestly, this felt like something I'll do once and now having been probably never go again, but it was an experience. We failed in preparing adequate food and drink beforehand, which was again due to my indecision and lack of knowledge about carry in rules. The stadium is directly behind E-mart, making for a convenient stop for food, but unfortunately the selection on offer that evening was mediocre. I half jokingly suggested we get a parking lot beer, but gave up when Seohui gave me the side-eye. Immediately after entering the stadium and seeing the lack of drink selection I was regretting not doing so. Our tickets had assigned seats but with the small number of people in attendance it was easy to move around as desired. Having missed the opportunity for decent beer at E-mart I was planning to go sans alcohol, but having grown up in Wisconsin, attending a sporting event without a beer just felt wrong. Plus, I wasn't really into the game and decided a walk up to the concession stand would entertain me for a while. Unfortunately, Cass was the only option on offer, and for ₩4,000 per can at that, but beggars can't be choosers. Beer and Chicken in hand I pretended to love the excitement of sports, but was easily more entertained by people watching. There were a few large groups of foreigners getting very excited, a novelty for me as I tend to forget that there are other foreigners on the island other than the bubble of teachers in the GEC. I'm in a new bubble of expats, less of the party all night hagwon crew and more of the weekend playdate for my kids team, nevertheless I tend to avoid the masses. Like I said, it was an experience, but don't count on another retelling of my next outing as I don't see a repeat in my near future. Earlier this week was an outing that was much more my style. I had seen a post on Facebook advertising PODO museum, a small gallery only about 15 minutes from where we're living, but a place I had never heard of. What drew me most was the fact that they were offering free entrance for all GEC (Global Education Community) teachers, and you can't really beat that price. I'm off work Monday's and Tuesday's this semester, so after Seohui finished work we decided to go out for lunch and then head over to the museum. I'm a huge fan of mountain food, which basically means a lot of veggies, and we found the perfect restaurant offering plentiful bibimbap. Actually this was a replacement after the buckwheat noodles we were planning to eat was randomly closed (the second time this happened to me), but it was a positive turn of events. The food was delicious and the interior was even more entertaining. From movie star themed bathrooms to a corner of Christmas decor and antiques, this place had a little bit of everything. I'm still curious how the decor was settled upon, but it felt like the owner just decided to put all an any collectibles on display. Lunch was only a short distance from the museum so after a few minutes we had arrived. The exhibition was call "Yet, With Love" and focused on the stories of the diaspora of people persecuted by society. The aim was to cause the audience to consider co-existance and inclusivity. I found the exhibition very interesting and enjoyed basically every aspect of the museum. The work was a collection of 8 different artists, each with their own approach to the theme. This theme was especially interesting in the contrast to the current issue of low birth rate in Korea, as the country struggles to find solutions for the aging population. I have heard proposals of increasing the immigrant population, and valued the narratives from communities of immigrants living in Korea who do not know the comfort of the experience I've had. The top floor of the museum included a gigantic room of life-like clowns, which I'm still unsure as to why they were included or what the intent was. They were an odd mix of beautiful and terrifying, I'm just glad I don't have any type of clown phobia or I would have been in tears. My only issue with the museum was in the cafe on the basement level. There were rows of books centered on the topic, however, for a theme of immigration and migration, there was a fallible number of book available in languages other than Korean. Reading the synopsis of a few I found books that I'd be interested in reading, but I can guarantee my Korean is not at the level of reading essays and I would have given up frustrated had I tried. Reflecting back on and writing about this visit is a great reminder to get out more and explore the island I live on. Splitting my time between my on-campus housing and apartment I'm often happy to just relax with a day at home, I really am a comfortable homebody. I know many attractions here are overrun with tourists, or appeal to visitors for their Instagram worthy atmosphere, but there are also the hidden gems. I appreciate the natural beauty of the island on a weekly basis, but it's worth my effort to dig a little deeper now and then and find the culture as well.
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AsiaKoreaWhere to start. After living on and off in this country for nearly 10 years I have memories, experiences and stories galore. I'll now always be a bit partial to the Land of the Morning Calm. Filled with delicious foods, beautiful nature and friendly people, I'm always happy to return. Archives
June 2023
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