Politics will now insert themselves into this column for the first, but certainly not the last time.
It’s hard to miss the blaring headlines in the last few days about the latest North Korean nuclear test and subsequent missile launches, which is designed to develop their technical prowess. Given the breathless pronouncements and endless analysis that [...]

The reason I came to Korea was to teach English, so let me talk about that experience.

I work at Goheung Elementary School, the county’s largest elementary, teaching 4th through 6th grade. I have about 300 students, and teach 21 classes a week and I work 8:30-5 PM every  weekday. Koreans go to school every other [...]

Last week, it was Teacher’s Day – although not a major holiday, it’s still commands much attention, especially from students and parents. Traditional gifts from students include letters, carnations, socks and either handkerchiefs for men, or cosmetics for women.
As the photo above indicates, I scored socks, a handkerchief and a “bun” which one attaches to [...]

This is part 2 of Children’s Day, although it centers on a subject one rarely talks to children about: leper colonies.
After the Children’s Day festival in Goheung, 2 other teachers, 2 children and I went to Sorokdo, an island south of the Goheung mainland, which is about a half hour drive from the city of [...]

While it was Cinco de Mayo in the greater Boulder metropolitan area yesterday, here in South Korea (and Japan*) it is Children’s Day, which is seen through a child’s eye as their Christmas. Traditionally, children receive gifts (often cash), although unlike Christmas, go special places with their parents, such as zoos or museums.
The elementary school [...]