Korea is very different in terms of liquor laws. For example, the picture. In Canada, the police would pick these guiys up right away, fine them, and send them home to get their balls busted by their wives for something they were going to do (and continue doing) anyways. In Korea, the gentlemen provide excellent photo opportunities without getting introuble with the law or getting it from the missus.

The Promised Land

All you can eat meat and seafood... all you can drink beer, soju, whiskey, and vodka. Welcome to Carne Station.
Notice all the different food in the back. Yum.


Adam cannot help but gorge himself

As well as Kyle

The BBQ pit after the food. I don't know what the red thing is.

New York Fries... from Canada.

Gyeongbokgung (경복궁)

The outside of the Castle. It was more like a compound than a castle, but this is a traditional Korean castle.

This place was like stepping back through time. This is the ground where soldiers would practice their martial arts in for generals just like in movies of the Forbidden City.

This type of chisel work was all over the place.







The rooves all over the country in the traditional style are pretty cool, but this was a cut above the rest.






Chimneys. I'm not sure as to their purpose, being outside buildings, or how they would be able to transfer heat inside, but they're cool looking. They line the compound.





It turns out what Ian MacIsaac has been saying all these years is correct. "Jonny, you're a rat." ... Zodiacally, of course.



This is the picture on the back of the 10 000 dollar bill in Korea. Its where the kings and queens used to sup with the special guests of the Joseon kingdom.

fishing trip

There are no pictures of any fish, because no one on the entire vessel caught anything. nyarr. not your regular fishing boat.
I have more pictures, but not on my camera. soontime.

I couldn't believe it either. Kyle was aboard a Tourst Cruse Ship. The Korean characters after the letters VIP make the sound "Ho."


there were advertisements for cell phones and other electronics on the unfinished bridge, of all places.





Noraebong on the boat.





here's a kid I was playing with. His parents were more scared than he was.

Korean War Museum

This year for Mother's Day, I went to the War Museum. Korea is currently in one of its longest stretches without war on its own soil in its history. There has been an incredible amount of war here in the past few thousand years, usually through invasions by stronger countries, militarily and economically. It's amazing that the two Koreas are not part of either China or Japan at this point.

They consider the Korean war of 1950-1953 to be the big one of their history, most likely because its the closest of the most devastating ones in their memory. And there have been quite a few devastating ones... as far as the museum demonstrates. I felt that many displays were a tad nationalistic and propagandistic though, so the stories might be a little skewed, but that's all I'll say about that.
The statue of the two brothers. The older, stronger, victorious brother is from the South. The weaker younger, loser brother is from the North. Reunited on the battle field.

Canada's contribution to 1950-1953.

a few kiddie-poos playing on the monument. Grief and despair in behind their innocent faces. It was cool.



The main part of the monument in front of the Museum is a traditional Korean sword cut in half surrounding the "Tree of Life." It's rather large.

The building itself is also nice and big and good.

Seoul Tower overlooks the Museum. That's Christina's head I'm cutting off. I was trying to cut her out completely.



The countries that participated in 1950-1953.

The Canadian exhibit

A miniature figure of the Canadian Memorial Monument in Incheon

These are the collected dog tags of those that died in battle during the Korean War, shaped into a tear drop with the UN logo above.

Pictures from School

I don't know how it worked out that these pictures are all jammed together like this. But we have various pictures of front desk staff and students. These are long overdue, but better late than never.

There was this Russian guy, this Spanish guy and this Korean guy all in the same ESL class. The teacher told them to make a sentence using the word 'hostess' for homework.
So the next day the Russian guy goes "Oh I have a good sentence. The hostess was very courteous." And the teacher said "Wow that was really good!"
The Spanish guy goes, "Oh I have a better sentence. My mother is a good hostess when others come over." Then the teacher said, "Wow that was really good!"
Finally the Korean guy goes, "I have the best sentence. When my mother answers the phone, she says hostess?"



There was this Spanish guy, this Korean guy and this Russian guy all working for the same construction company. At the beginning of the day the boss comes out and says to the Spanish guy, "You're in charge of the cement."
Then he said to the Russian guy, "You're in charge of the dirt."
Then he said to the Korean guy, "You're in charge of the supplies."
Then he said, "I'm gonna be back at the end of the day to check on your work. It better be good or you're fired."
So they all go off to go get their work done.
At the end of the day, the boss comes back to check on their work. He looks at the big pile of cement and goes, "Good work," to the Spanish guy. Then he looks at the big pile of dirt and says, "Good work," to the Russian guy. Then he couldn't find the Korean guy so he asks, "Where the heck is the Korean guy??"
All of a sudden, the Korean guy jumps out from behind the big pile of dirt and yells, " SUPPLIES!"


A rabbi is sitting on an airplane next to a Korean guy. After they have been flying together in silence for a while, the rabbi leans over and says, "You know, I've never forgiven you Chinese for what you did at Pearl Harbor."
The Korean looks shocked and replies, "What the hell are you talking about?!?!? It was the Japanese the bombed Pearl Harbor, not the Chinese. And besides, I'm not Chinese or Japanese, I'm Korean!"
The rabbi says, " Korean, Japanese, Chinese, what's the difference?"
A little while later, the Korean man says, "You know, I've never forgiven you Jews for sinking the Titanic." The rabbi looks confused and mad and says, "What are you talking about? The Jews didn't have anything to do with that! An iceberg sank the Titanic!"
The Korean guy replies, "Iceberg, Goldberg, Greenberg, what's the difference?"