Today, I would like to take a break from talking about business ethics and share a few quick pictures from my time in Korea.
(Note: Depending on browser settings, these pictures may or may not align correctly. They align OK on mine, which I think are set to the standard settings, but may not align correctly on others with different browser settings)
Left: Helping some students with an exercise at Boeun Girls Middle School.
Right: Me with some of the boys from Nae-buk Middle school at an agricultural/biology festival.
Enjoying a beer at a local beer house with some of the local teachers, Mr. Cho (left), Mr. Choi (blue shirt) and Mr Kim (far right).
Mr. Choi deserves a special mention. My former neighbor, he was an immense help to me in settling into Korea.
Right: Enjoying some ‘dolsat bibimbap’ (rice served in a stone pot) with teachers from Boeun Girls Middle School.
In traditional Korean restaurants, patrons sit on the floor, with both the main dish and a wide range of side dishes being laid out on the table in front.
Some traditional Korean culture:
Left: Trying on a ‘hanbok’ costume with some teachers from my Korean class. ‘Hanbok’ represents the traditional style of Korean dress, with origins dating back to a time period known as the ‘three kings period.’
It is still worn nowadays on formal occasions.
Right: Receiving a few basket weaving tips from an ‘ajuma’ (older woman).
Left: My apartment building (I live on the bottom right apartment).
Right: The town of Boeun, where I live in the central part of South Korea (population 20,000)
Left: Me with a group from the local church in my town taken at Boesong tea plantation, on the south coast of Korea. (This picture is also featured on my About page)
Right: Me with Good friends Dwane (from New Zealand), Cindy (dark blue top) and Su Jong (cream colored top) at Chungju Lake, in the centre of South Korea.
Left: Michael (from Gwam Island) and me on top of Munjungdae (Rock) at the peak of ’Songnisan’ (Mt. Songni -1058m), nearby the town in which I live in the centre of the country.
Right: Michael and me again – enjoying a well earned break at a small eatery half way up to the top.
Left: Described by Bill Clinton as “The scariest place on earth,” fully armed soliders from both North Korea and South Korea stand just metres apart, each protecting their own side of the line which separates the two countries.
The only point at which anyone can cross the line is by entering into the room with the open door which you can just see on the extreme right of the leftmost picture.
Right: In the building referred to above, I stand with friends (from right to left) Deborah, Elizabeth, Kyall and Elizabeth’s mother (far left).
At this point, we are actually standing ever so slightly on the North Korean side of the line. Fully armed North Korean guards stand literally right outside the window.
Actually, the two Koreas are separted by a four kilometer wide area known as the DMZ, which has separated the two Koreas according to a ‘ceasefire’ agreement signed in 1953, to make the end of the fighting in the Korean war. Civilian access within this area is strictly limited to a few specific locations. Within this area, armed forces from each country patrol their country’s side of the line.
Technically speaking, the two Koreas are still at war. Whilst the ceasefire agreement has held since 1953, the reality is that relations between the two countries are still hostile. Extensive efforts on the part of South Korea earlier this decade to improve relations failed, and the north never particularly shown any respect at all for it’s southern neighbor.
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