TravelArk 2.0

I'm Krazy in (South) Korea

This blog is not a diary of all that happened to me during my time in Korea but rather is a collection of observations or feelings I experienced at the time. (Actually I copied this text from the start of a previous journal and made some changes … ah, the wonders of technology.) I expect I will write some observations about Korea, the country – different practices or objects or people I meet – but I expect some will be about me and how I dealt with the situations I was in. Some are merely interesting things I met along the way, and , as always, I am able to define interesting how I like! - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - And the name of the journal? Fair question. I like alliteration – “the occurrence of the same letter or sound at the beginning of adjacent or closely connected words”. So I asked myself – “What words start with ‘K’ that I can sit alongside Korea…?” and, as some people think things in other countries are crazy … there we have it. Also, some people think I’m a bit crazy, & I must admit I'm happy to encourage that opinion of me – we should all be a bit crazy. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Note: In this journal, unless stated otherwise, “Korea” should be read as “South Korea”. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Background I started off my first trip to China’s journal with “I have been interested in China as a country for some time.” I can’t say that about Korea. In fact, before coming to live here I had only visited once in 2014 for 4 days. So why come to Korea? Well, in July 2017 my oldest son married a half Korean, half Australian woman. No big deal yet, right? But then in July 2018 my second son married a Korean woman. Huh? A bit of a pattern here, but there’s more. In May 2019 my youngest son got married to his ... wait for it ... Korean fiancé! So although I planned to go to Africa to live for 2-3 years, I missed and ended up in Korean. (That, as they say, is another story …) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - One of my basic philosophies of life (I have a short list) is that ‘everything is interesting’. I’m really looking forward to learning & experiencing more interesting things about Korea first hand. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - As I have going to other countries to visit or to live, I have some small concerns. Most of it is about my ability to learn the language. The Korean written language – Hangeul – is different. OK, not a big problem as I have, over about 4-5 hours, learnt a little already. [As I write this, over a year since leaving Korea, I can still read Hangeul out loud.] But of course speaking & listening is another game again. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - I know at the beginning there will be lots of locals whom I will embarrass as I try to convey some idea to them in their language and I do it so poorly they don’t ‘get it’ the third or fourth time I try. Those are the people I feel for, and I consequently have concerns for. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - OK, enough ramble, let’s start the story, at the beginning …
Planned Dates
2018-04-01 to 2020-06-25
Countries
8
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