After arriving at the Seoul airport, Sean and I took an airport bus to an area slightly outside of Seoul called Anyang - where Sean's friend Derek lived and worked. Derek wasn't able to give us exact directions as to where we would find his school since he was in the middle of class when we arrived so all we had was a street name to go on. With the aid of some really helpful and friendly Koreans, we made it to that street and walked around until we found the school.
The life of the average English teacher in Korea is much different from the lives of the English teachers in China that I know. Some foreigners teach English in public schools and universities, but most work for private academies or companies. Just like Chinese parents, Korean parents look to give their children any edge they can which includes enrolling them in countless extra classes and activities. It seemed more extreme and out of control to me in Korea, however. For example, it is quite common for young children to attend extra English classes until 10 or 11 pm. Thus, Derek's daily work hours are from 2-10pm. This means that foreign teachers usually hang out very late in the evening after work and sleep until noon every day. Although they get paid much better than English teachers in China do, the work seems harder and they get much less time off (only about two weeks a year).
After we met up with Derek, he took us back to his place so we could drop off our bags. His apartment is provided by the company that he works for and is basically just a little studio apartment. What I most liked about it was that it had traditional heated floors (called ondol heating) which felt amazing on my stocking feet after wandering around freezing cold Anyang.
Derek informed us that the night was just getting started and that even though we were exhausted that we had to push through. I was skeptical. He said that because it was Friday night, many Koreans would go out. Korea (and Seoul in particular) seems to have a pretty incredible night life scene. Although Shanghai, Hong Kong and Beijing are known for partying, going out seems to be a more important part of the culture in Korea. What's even more interesting is that people don't even leave the house until about 11 pm. Derek said that most people leave at about eleven and then return home at about 5-6am. One reason for this is that the subway is closed from midnight to 5:30am. Instead of paying an expensive cab fare, most people just choose to stay out until the wee hours and take the subway home.
We learned that when Koreans go out they head to a bar or restaurant, drink a few bottles of soju and share some appetizers or bbq, and then go to two or three more places and do the same thing and finally they end up at a dance club.
We began our night with a traditional Korean barbecue which was, hands down, the best food I had while in Korea. Korean meals are elaborate and include countless side dishes full of spicy kimchi, sprouts, dipping sauces, dipping spices, radishes etc. It's a little overwhelming and Derek basically had to teach us how to eat all over again. The bbq included pork, beef, onions, potatoes and kimchi. It was amazing. You take a rice wrapper or leaf and wrap a piece of meat in it, add some kimchi, sprouts and radish and then dip it in a sauce and then dip it in some seasonings. I've never tasted anything like it and I found myself wishing my family were there with me to try it because they would love it!
The barbecue was accompanied by the Korean drink of choice: Soju which is consumed cold and in shot form. After the bbq we went to another restaurant for spam sushi (interesting but pretty good), kimchi and "Korean car bombs" (Korean Hite beer, Coke and Soju). We finished off the night by dancing until about 5am at a little club called "Slang bar". Needless to say, I was exhausted and ready to crash on any floor, heated or not. It was a crazy first day and a crash course in Korean culture and cuisine.
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