2003 ~ the year we didn't go home to London after our planned "one year in Pusan", but instead, stayed for another year. What were we playing at? Actually ~ it was because we were very happy to be here, and back home the "just starting" war with Iraq was such a turn-off. So we stayed. And even though we shouldn't have been here at all, it was a truly great year in most ways. So here's what stands out about this year ~ ~ ~
#1 ~ You could say this year in Korea I really got to know the place much more than ever before. People usually come to Korea and have a good old shout about everything that's wrong with it. For me, this year, this was just noise in the background that all year I don't remember once joining in with. I'm joined at the hip with Korea by now. One of the gurus. I feel more than ever like I know this place ~ that's a valuable feeling.
#2 ~ All year, me & Eun Jung looking after business. Both busy, focused and even quite centred as people, all year. I started an MEd: "Educational Technology and ELT" at Manchester University. And put together wildhokshi.com, an online art gallery for mostly for Eun Jung's art, and a lovely website by most accounts. Korea, 2003 ~ the year of busy: covering a lot of ground but still doing decent socializing.
#3 ~ Alice ~ we opened a litle clothes shop in Nampo-dong selling second hand Japanese & European clothes and accessories. Now for a sterling course on business, on the ground, this was a first rate experience. Although not "that" profitable! But I believe that more than anything, this opened both our eyes about what it takes do do that. Hmm. Wow! How time consuming it is!
#4 ~ I changed jobs ~ moving from Tongmyeong University of IT to the "better" Dong-A University, on the other side of town. (All the bleeding same at the end of the day.) January & February I worked on Winter Camps at Tongmyong, which made sure the traditionally "blah" months were actually full of good socializing, and the place I met good friends for the year such as Moonie, Christina, Julia, and Julie ~ and hung out with the solid citizen and excellent funster Tim for another couple of months. Spring and the rest of the year was Dong-A, living up the mountain with a sea + mountain view, and just being around a new place & people. The thing about Korean universities is, you know you are going to meet and find some fabulous people. You can count on it. They pop up in your class, and just ~ there is no better place to meet Koreans than in your class. They do education relationships really well. All year I took daily small group advanced classes ~ God, really fabulous times! Best hour of the day, every day. I miss them all ~ I can still see them all now ~ all the fine grrrls...
#5 ~ Another adventure was our football team REAL BUSAN, winning all the time, beating all our peers out of sight, every week, disappearing over the horizon. A ride on a magic carpet! This bunch of guys grew so much, that by Autumn we were peerless, blowing away every opponent, usually by a 6-goal margin ~ even though I played for us! Now, some might put this record down to the quality of our players but I say it's my club captaincy alone that took us this far, and no other factor. In the Autumn, we formed the BUSAN LEAGUE OF INTERNATIONAL SOCCER STARS, Pusan with 5 foreign teams now, and won it rather too handsomely. The names roll off the tongue ~ Gino Nini, Sebastian Cabrera, Mike Lamb, Brendan Morin, Hugh Dwyer, Jonathan Dong, Garrett Whitworth, Pedro O'Donnell, Marcelo Gortari, Kenny Munn, Scott Jolly, Mark Williams; and the others that left town, Stephen Connell, Jag Atwal, Richard Pfeiffer, Rob Nish... A little tear is rolling down my cheek as I write these names...
#6 ~ Friendswise ~ Tim Burke, solidly positive & there; Gino Nini, who are you, weren't you in the Sopranos? And all the Real Busan guys, we hung out. And all these young folk from TIT where I worked last year: Gyeong-Yoon, Simpson, and emerging out of the past, Sky who was patient enough to listen to me speaking retard-level Korean time after time after time, even though she doesn't look that patient. Now I can sort of get by in Korean, and understand a lot more. Amazing feeling.
#7 ~ What more do you say on 2003 in Korea? I didn't go to Seoul once. That's a bit weird. But I think it's because I liked Pusan better and didn't need to be going up there as much as last year, when I went about 6 times. "We got friends here now..." But we did travel though. All year, 100 times to Daegu, the place of rest and Eun Jung's family. Fukuoka, Japan. Jirisan, twice ~ magical mountain place. And London for a month, the two of us, it was amazing but expensive. Really expensive. But great. These places, plus Jinhae, Miryang and Yangsan, which are less impressive but at least we know that because we went there!
#8 ~ Seomyeon, Nampo-dong, teeming with girls, shopping, doing social stuff, always. It was supposed to be a bad year for the economy: you wouldn't know it. (Where's all the boys by the way?) Nice birds then, endorphin givers, everywhere, you could count on it, all year.
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