9 Days of Mud!! Boryeong Mud Fest 2008!

"Escape your routine life with the experience of Mud!"

Time to get dirty. We mean REALLY REALLY dirty!!
Teachers, if you can make it out to this event, we're sure you'll be writing home about it! Boryeong is famed for its mud beauty products, but this event takes this to a whole other level!!
This festival is right up there with Spain's La Tomatina Festival!!
It IS that much fun!

It's the 11th annual Mud Fest!!!
in Boryeong City,
at Daecheon Beach,
July 12-20.
Boryeong is about 2hrs southwest of Seoul.

Sounds like soooo much fun!!
There's will be so many fun events taking place everyday!!
Check out this video of last year's festivities!

Last year's festival attracted about 32,000 foreigners. With various performances and events throughout the day and into the night along with free shuttle bus services going to and from famous tourist spots in Boryeong, everyone was guaranteed to have a fun time.

Canadian, eh? Well, Canada Day is coming!!

Hey all you Canadians!! As Canada Day approaches, your thoughts may be wandering back to the homeland... So, we thought we'd make sure everyone knows about the excellent Canada Day festivities taking place around Korea!

korea4expats.com reports that this year the Canadian Chamber of Commerce Korea is putting on yet another great event, with more than 1000 Canadians expected to turn out! They call it "the biggest outdoor event in the foreigner community." At the event, they say there will be "a tug of war, three-legged races and frisbee toss - all reminiscent of the festivities of Canada Day back home."

Korea4expats.com has also posted the following information about the upcoming Canada Day Fest 2008 in Seoul:

"The price of admission gets you through the gates and access to the games, door prizes, live music and the other afternoon festivities.

Tickets for the event can be purchased before Tuesday, June 24th through the CCCK website (http://www.ccck.org/). There are NO ticket sales at the door!

Sunday, June 29, 2008
12:00pm - 6:00pm
Nanji Campground (near Worldcup Stadium Subway Station - Line #6)
shuttle bus available from Exit #1

TIX: 25,000KRW (plus food & drinks)
*Buy 5 tix, get 1 free

MENU

Pita Time Beef/Chicken/Garden Pita (6,500won)
Outback Steakhouse Burger Meal (15,000won*)
Outback Steakhouse Rib-eye Steak (25,000won*)
*includes salad, fixings & dessert

For more information or to register, please visit http://www.ccck.org/."

Hey, there will even be a Canadian Idol Korea competition at Canada Fest!!
According to the Korea Times, "two bands [who have been] selected on May 31... will then perform live on a large outdoor stage in front of 1,000 roaring fans." Apparently, as quoted in the Korea Times, Canadian Chamber of Commerce Korea chairman, Simon Bureau, says that ``the CCCK felt it would be a good idea to have some local talent for our annual Canada Day Fest."

That sounds like fun to us!! We hope you'll check it out!!!

We've also heard that Club FF in the Hongdae area of Seoul is putting on "Summer Tribute Party" Saturday, June 28, and many Canadians will likely be there. It sounds like a good time.

Or, if you are in the Suwon area, there's festivities going on too... Check out this Facebook event, about the local pub activities this coming weekend!!

Near Incheon? Check out this Facebook event posting!

More of your questions answered

I'm debating whether to go to Japan (with JET) or Korea. What are your recommendations?

We are currently running a program with excellent terms. It's called the Pegasus Program, and if you want to know more info about it, check out this other blog post. In fact, it is a lot like the JET program in Japan, but WAY better.

Japan's JET program, according to its website, places teachers "with local government organisations throughout Japan in every imaginable locality, including large cities, small and medium-sized towns, and rural farming and fishing villages."

The Pegasus Program, on the other hand, ONLY places is major centers. Our Pegasus Program does not place teachers in small towns, rural farming or fishing villages.

Another difference is the application timeline. The Pegasus Program has TWO placements each year, as opposed to one: late August and late February. The application process is also much shorter. Applicants can start apply as late as 2 months prior to placement. That means, you can apply in June for August placement, or December for February placement. With the JET program, applications are taken up to year in advance and their application deadline ends 9 months before placement. For teachers, this means a lot of planning ahead. At Pegasus, we realize that graduating university students often cannot plan that far in advance. So, the Pegasus Program is uniquely geared towards the new graduate's needs.

Also, with JET, placements may vary. The Pegasus Program, however, only places you at a public school, and you get MANY paid prep hours. You will work no more than 22 hours teaching a week, and the other 18 hours are for prep and meetings within the school. There are no unpaid hours. Anything beyond the contract hours will be paid as overtime. There is no split shifts either... just the standard 8-4 Mon-Fri. Every single week. (This is a key difference between working for the public schools versus private hogwans in Korea too) Also, the career prospects are really good when you teach at public schools in Korea! You may even be able to use the experience on your teaching resume in your home country!

How much will I save when I am in Korea? Will I have enough to travel

As for costs, no matter where you work in Korea, you can save save save. As all your major costs are provided for, and the cost of living is really quite low (you can go out and have a GREAT time on well under $20 to give you an idea; $50 would be splashing right out!). And don't forget, the most expensive thing in Korea is accommodation, and that is provided free to you! Also, flights to many destination are much cheaper from Korea. I went somewhere every month while I was in Korea (on weekends and/or holidays) and still sent money home to my bank. I went to Thailand, China, Japan, and all around Korea while working in Korea! Not only that, but by the end of my contract, I had enough saved in Korea (not including money I sent home) to buy an around the world ticket and travel though Europe, Asia, Australia and Africa for a few months! So, the options for travel and saving are definitely all there for you when you choose to teach in Korea!

What can I expect being placed in Korea with Pegasus?

As for working with Pegasus. We are all past teachers. So, we have great relationships with our schools and only place teachers at schools where we would personally want to work... So, you can rest assured that you have chosen the right company to work with for placement in Korea. Not only that, but we pride ourselves in maintaining a great bond with, and support network for, our teachers throughout the year. So, you are never really on your own!

What's "the best" location to work in Korea?

As for choice of place in Korea, no matter where you work, you will have a great time. Every city/town is vibrant and thriving, and you will have a great cultural experience no matter what. We don't like to state where would be "the best" as each teacher has different ideas about what they would like in a place. Some people are better in smaller places, and some only feel comfortable with a big city. We have written another great FAQ section on our blog about the homogeneity of Korea, however, which may help you understand our point as well.

Dick and Jane Go to Korea

Another Pegasus Program extension!

We've had such a great response that we have extended the deadline to allow more teachers to get in on the excitement!!

New deadline: June 25, 2008

Korean Pastimes -- Installment 1

DANCING -- KOREANS DO KNOW HOW TO DANCE!!

The first way they get to hone their skills is DDR...
DDR -- DISCO DANCE REVOLUTION

DDR machines... they are everywhere in Korea -- really, EVERYWHERE -- and Koreans have developed amazing dance skills. DDR arcades are Korea's answer to North American video game arcades! [If Koreans want to play video games, they don't go to arcades. They go to PC-bongs (computer rooms) but that'll be the subject of another post later!]

Here's an amazing little boy who has already perfected DDR at home! We're not sure if he is Korean, but we wouldn't doubt that there are Korean children who are as good!



For those Koreans who like freestyling a bit more, the B-boy culture in Korea is huge! Korea has some of the world's best B-boy dancers!







Here's a great documentary on the development and advancement of Korean dance culture:

A word or two on Korea's level of advancement

In Korea, you will soon notice how INCREDIBLY BEHIND North America is when it comes to technology.



Back in 2000, when almost no one I knew back in Canada had a cell phone because they were way too large, cumbersome and expensive -- only those who worked in real estate, or had some other sort of mobile job thought they were worthwhile -- everyone, AND I DO MEAN EVERYONE in Korea had cell phones. Even small children! I saw them squatting on street corners chatting away on the phone to family and friends. And texting was truly the way to communicate. The phones were teensy too. I could slide mine in my back jeans pocket, much like the RAZR that came out about a year ago. But I had my Korean RAZR back in 2000! It is incredible how advanced Asian countries are when it comes to TVs, phones, and cameras!! Now... finally... about 8 years later, we seem to have caught up and everyone here seems to have a cell phone. We are texting, listening to music, and taking photos with our phone. But Koreans were doing all that more than 5 years ago! But our phones still do not compare!

To the left, look at this LG phone. That's about what my LG phone looked like, back in 2000...

Now, check out this YouTube video of a "low-end cell phone" from a few months ago. It is cheap and without a contract (pay as you go). In other words a real cheap-o phone, by their standards.



So, NEVER doubt how advanced Korea will be when you get there...