The elderly, hunched-over woman stopped what she was doing, smiled at me, and finally understood what I was requesting. She took me by the arm and guided me through the quiet but expensive looking restaurant. I was eventually led through the back doors onto the empty patio. I wasn’t...

There’s a definite nip in the air nowadays. I woke up this morning with a cold nose. That’s a sign that winter is upon us, and more importantly, Christmas will soon arrive. Everything about Christmas turns me into an excited child. We’ve been playing Christmas songs for two...

Discussions on the Gwangju EPIK teachers Facebook page generally start out with people complaining about something, then others tell them to stop complaining, then the thread is deleted. Yesterday there was uproar about a letter the Education Office had sent to our schools telling our...

I’m going to keep this to the point. You may die in Korean public schools if you don’t read this guide. You’re about to learn very little from someone who is not qualified to give any real advice. Therefore, read the points below with care, and ignore most of them. Some may...

‘Camera shy’ generally refers to those people who don’t like getting their picture taken – like me. But in this circumstance I’m referring to people who are scared of taking pictures in public. – like me, a couple of years ago. We set off for Thailand almost...

An expat in Miryang has fallen seriously ill. He desperately needs a liver transplant. The substandard health insurance over here means he has to pay around $50,000 dollars to get the operation he needs. In the past year the South Korean expat community has done wonders in helping two of its...

Regularly I receive emails from readers asking for information about Korea. 99% of the questions sent to me are worth asking. The other 1% are questionable. One person sent me some pictures of  ‘real ghosts’ in a supposedly haunted hotel and asked for my opinion. What can I say to...

I love autumn in Korea. The leaves, the lack of rain, the slight chill in the air, Halloween, and the hint that Christmas is just around the corner all add to a feeling that I can only describe as ‘freshness’. Being free from the constant damp heat of summer, I now enjoying moving...