bugs!

Maybe we're weird, but one of our favorite things about summer in Korea is the appearance of cicadas...except when they land on our balcony screens early in the morning. We don't have cicadas in our part of the U.S. and the most dominant species in the U.S. have very long life cycles, so they only appear every seven years or more. The Korean cicadas apparently employ a method of survival called "predator satiation," meaning that there are so damn many of them, some are bound to survive. And there are so damn many of them. And they're loud...at least the males are. They're the ones who make the crazy "whaa-whaa-whaaahaaahaaahaaahaaa...." noise. (Explanation of cicada song and sample sound recordings here.)

The Korean name for cicadas is 매미 (may-me), and the kids around our apartment complex hunt them with butterfly nets. Matthew picks them up with his bare hands to show them to Liam, which I think horrifies some of the kids. Seriously, Koreans of all ages are pretty skittish around bugs. (To the point of silliness. I had to "save" a college-age girl from a fuzzy caterpillar last summer, which her boyfriend was trying to beat off of her pant leg. Pregnant foreigner saves caterpillar. Classic.)

cicada blending in with tree:


and his not-so-bright cousin standing out on a rock at Mt. Seorak


the cicada I startled off a tree, which decided Matthew looked like a good spot to hang out...for several blocks:


me holding that same cicada after we got it off Matthew's shirt:


Dragonflies (draggy-plies in Liam-speak) are also abundant here in the summer. They're friendly little guys, very curious about human beings. Our friend J.E. tells a great rendition of her battle through a swarm of dragonflies at Mt. Seorak. It involves her covering her face to keep them out of her orifices.

Here's one lone dragonfly hanging out on a bridge at Mt. Seorak:


random weird bug on a tree near our apartment:


the white things are caterpillars:


There are a ton of different caterpillars here, ranging from flashy to brilliantly camouflaged. Matthew took his hands-on "after class" class on a "nature walk" (quotations used because it was down the sidewalk) one day to see a variety of insects (cicadas, caterpillars, etc.) that blend into their environs. He had randomly discovered at least three varieties of caterpillars skillfully blending into the sparse landscaping in front of a bedding shop.

The exception to the general queasiness about bugs here are boys and their beetles. Japanese rhinoceros beetles (AKA "fighting beetles") are sold in the pet department at E-Mart (and I'm sure other places, too). While we were out taking pictures of the cicadas one morning, we came across a boy and his pet beetle at the playground. He even posed his beetle so that I could take a better picture of it:


...but this picture gives a better perspective of the actual size of the beetle (it's perched on the boy's thumb) as it "meets" a cicada held by Matthew:

weekday wanderings

One of the best things about our life in Korea is all the time we spend together as a family. When Matthew was working a 9-5 job in the States (salary, which means it's never just 9-5), Liam was usually still asleep when he left for work in the morning. By the time he came home, it was time for dinner, then bath, etc. in the downward spiral towards bedtime. Here, Matthew doesn't start work until after lunch, so we have the mornings (usually Liam's best time of day) together.

We try to get out most mornings, so we've built a repertoire of usual spots. On average, once each week we visit downtown (usually including the traditional market), Sokcho Beach, and Expo Park. We also squeeze in errands like haircuts, quick shopping, banking, etc.

Once or twice per month, we also visit Daepo-hong (a harbor just north of Sokcho with many fresh fish restaurants) and Mt. Seorak National Park (a 20 minute bus ride). Both are nice on weekdays because they're not so crowded. Below are a few pictures from a weekday trip to Seorak earlier this month.

Matthew & Liam waiting for the bus.


Liam & Rowan -- I love that baby bear has his jet sticking out and daddy bear is halfway covered by the carrier.


Matthew & Liam strolling through the woods. "If you go out in the woods today, you'd better be in disguise..."


Matthew & Rowan sitting down for lunch at one of the trailside eateries. Rowan looks awfully interested in the sanchae (wild mountain vegetable) bibimbap.


Besides the aforementioned wild mountain vegetables (such as mushrooms and assorted greens), bibimbap also includes rice (bap), a freshly fried egg, and gochujang (fermented red pepper paste), which is served separately here, so that the customer may add the desired amount. It's delicious! Also appearing are the requisite kimchi, doenjang jjigae (soybean paste stew, with tofu and vegetables), and a (cut-up) potato pancake that she brought service-uh for Liam. He was more interested in his goldfish crackers, though. (Don't worry, I ate it!)


These cats belong to the restaurant owner. The mama's name is Nabi (Butterfly). Her kitten was a bit skitish, but she is friendly. I remember seeing her last summer when we went through. Her kitten from last year is now much larger than she is, but still very, very wary of Liam.


Monks walking down the trail ahead of us. I don't usually take pictures of monks. In fact, I think this is the first time I've ever taken pictures of them, but they were RIGHT THERE. If one has the right temperment, being a Buddhist monk in Korea seems like a pretty good gig. The temples are located in some gorgeous areas, perfect for zen hiking.

international walking festival

On Saturday, our little family participated in the 5th Annual Seorak International Treking Festival, along with our friend Brian (his blog entry here), his son Alex, and our friend Jenny. Unlike last year, when the entire international element consisted of us, two other A.P. teachers (another American and the Chinese teacher) and two Egyptian men who teach Arabic in Seoul, there were actually more than a handful of foreign participants. The bulk of these were a class of Russian students, who also participated in a dance festival later the same day, which another friend attended. (Unless, of course, there was more than one class of Russian students, mostly girls, in Sokcho that day.)

Traditional performance -- they dance whilst playing drums and whipping their heads around which moves the streamers attached to their hats. Talk about multi-tasking!


Brian started calling this gentleman "The Mayor," because, although we don't know who he is, he seemed to be fairly important. He wanted to have his picture taken (by the roving event photographer) with Liam. Obviously, Liam wasn't really on board with this idea.


Liam managed a calm grimace while everyone quickly snapped pictures.


Liam & Alex probably ate about three choco pies each -- not only the ones they received with the registration packets, but also the ones that kindly "aunties" gave them. I'm sure they used all that sugary energy on the walk.


Jenny said she was our "nanny" for the day, which consisted of holding Rowan, taking turns pushing the stroller, and chasing Liam around a little.


The crowd gathers...


After the traditional dance performance, the opening ceremonies consisted of the national anthem, several unidentified important people speaking, and group warm-up exercises, which I caught on video. (Unfortunately, we only had our older camera which doesn't have sound, so the K-pop music which accompanied the stretching exercises is sadly missing.) The Russian kids are all on the right. It looks like some of their teachers were shooting photos or video as well.



Since our group consisted of Liam and his 4-year-old friend, we did the 5K walk, which ended just inside the entrance to Mt. Seorak National Park. The 10K continued through the waterfall hike and the 20K was a course that is apparently only open twice a year.

Alex & Liam scored these super-cool visors with slide-down sunglasses and a solar-powered fan. Unfortunately, there wasn't enough sunlight amongst the trees to power the fan, which kept falling out.


Family photo at the turn-around point. We could have picked up a copy of the official photographer's shot back at the start/finish, but it was easier just to have him take one with our camera. So true to form, Rowan is attacking my hair and Liam is pacified by an ice cream cone.


Rowan enjoys relaxing in his new stroller with his toys.


Alex and Liam take a break from walking to explore the terrain. They walked a fair amount of the time, but also took breaks via shoulder and back rides.


Liam received this lovely "diploma" for his efforts.

a few high-lights of my in-laws' visit

I have been a negligent blogger. I could blame it on my in-laws visiting, but they were only here for 10 days. I've just been lazy.

We had a great time while they were here. Not trying to see or do too much, made it a relaxing and enjoyable visit for everyone (I think).


All of us at the top of the Mt. Seorak cable car. It was a beautiful, clear day!

Liam plays peek-a-boo with Grandma on the bus ride down to Gangneung.

Matthew (w/ Liam aloft) and his mom explore Ojukheon grounds in Gangneung. Ojukheon was the home of a really famous mother & son. She was an artist whose artwork is already featured on the W5,000 bill and her portrait will be on the upcoming W20,000 or 50,000 bill. Her son was a scholar and advisor to the king.

Matthew takes a picture of the rest of us enjoying a fabulous meal of dolsot bap (hot pot rice) and a plethora of side dishes. Liam likes the rice best.

Matthew and his dad grub down on free noodles at Naksan temple. Mashisayo! (Delicious!) Isn't it cute that they're color-coordinated? (So very Korean of them!)

Hiking Korean-style

After two days of rain, Sunday was a perfect day for a hike. We decided to head to Mt. Seorak to do the waterfall hike: short enough for Liam, easy enough for me, but interesting enough for Matthew.

In the slideshow:
Views of the stream facing east (toward the Sea of Japan) and west (toward cable car).
The first part of the hike winds through a forested area.
Matthew enjoyed searching for caterpillars along the way, and plans to return this winter (with Liam, hopefully) to look for cocoons and chrysallises.
Suddenly, there is a clearing in the woods. Hiking (even just a short ways) stirs up an appetite for food, drink, and souveniers. A proprietress tries to talk Matthew & Liam into potato pancake or wild mountain grape wine. (Unfortunately for her, we'd packed PB&J sandwiches.)
The second part of the hike is fairly steep (mostly stairs) alongside some gorgeous waterfalls.
At the trail's end, Matthew carries Liam back up from the water to eat some lunch. Notice the women in the foreground decked out in serious hiking gear.



This hike was our introduction to Seorak National Park almost three years ago. I haven't done the hike since then, so this was an interesting return. Three years ago, we were a childless couple, just arrived in a new country. It's amazing how much has changed since then, but the hike is just as beautiful as ever. We're looking forward to doing it again in a few months when the leaves are changing colors.