Who’d have thought 15 months ago that we’d be sat on a plane heading to live in South Korea? I suppose then I’d have laughed at the proposition too; sat on a beach in Thailand sipping an ice cold Chang. The idea of North East Asia and the hustle and bustle of Seoul would have seemed a long, long, way away. The concept had arisen a few months after returning home from our travels. My previous employer had offered positions in both Japan and Korea, my role would change but that seemed irrelevant. Fortune herself had smiled at me once again. We’d be stupid not to take it; wouldn’t we?
The 8 months before we left were both tiresome and stressful. My employer had laid the foundations of a new business venture in Korea, but that was all they’d done. It took until September for a decision to be made about our repatriation. During that time, Sarah got a job in the BDU at Sheffield Colleges. I worked in L.A, Houston and Pittsburgh, as well as flying to Korea on several occasions to witness scrap melts, at the POSCO plant in the south of the country. It was a whirlwind 8 months. We even managed to find time to buy a second house in the city centre. Part of a converted block of Victorian offices, complete with floor to ceiling sash windows and exposed brickwork. We completed in three weeks flat; receiving the keys a few days before we left the country. At least we spent one night there!
Our departure was naturally tearful and for many confusing. “Why would we leave again?” “What was it we hated so much about home?” I don’t think we could answer many of those questions ourselves at the time. Something had definitely changed our outlook during that incredible year out. Values changed, perceptions shifted. The thought of further travels, the chance to actually live overseas, seemed much more appealing than standing in the queue outside Takapuna every Friday night in the rain, or worse, the long drive to grey old Rotherham each Monday morning.
It took around three months for our enthusiasm for Seoul life to fade. I was working out of a cell like office in central Seoul, beside the Korea World Trade Center. Commuting, or should I say pushing, shoving and wrestling my way, like several million other Koreans to work each day on the Metro. The CEO of our company was a short, furiously aggressive, toupee sporting Korean. He reminded me of the Japanese POW camp commander from ‘Bridge over the River Kwai’. We didn’t hit it off well from day one. Mutual suspicion saw to that. Within two months of arriving I’d been promoted to the Board of Directors and subsequently to the position of COO. That didn’t wash well with the psychotic Korean. Thanks to Confucianism, in Korean business culture positions such as mine came with age. To him it was ludicrous that a thirty three year old Englishman should be handed such power. To be honest it seemed ludicrous to me too and proved a very shortsighted move by my employers in Europe and the US. A cold relationship ensued. I would be excluded from meetings. When I was included, they were inevitably held in Hangeul. Withholding information became the norm and allowed my Korean counterparts an advantageous shift in the balance of power. They played a tight game which made even the simplest of tasks cumbersome and nigh impossible for me to perform effectively.
Christmas saw us back in the UK after a few weeks in Pittsburgh for training and also the company Christmas party. Seeing people again was good, yet in some ways disappointing. I think people were used to having us around after returning from our travels so just didn’t appreciate that we didn’t intend to return to the UK for a very long time. We’d been home over a week before we saw some people very close to us. It was something we never understood at the time and still struggle to comprehend now. Leaving friends behind again was hard. There were two revelations whilst at home over the Christmas break. Both our closest friends were having babies. It was great news, but hit us hard knowing we were soon to leave and was unlikely to see either birth. I spent the day before we left climbing on Stanage Edge, while Sarah spent some time with Fiery. It was bitterly cold and neither Chris nor I could feel our fingers after only a few minutes. Two routes saw us heading for the car and retreating to the coffee shop in Hathersage. Sitting atop the edge belaying Chris as he ascended the route, I looked out over beautiful landscape. Grey clouds scudded overhead, whilst here and there a shaft of sunlight would break the grey, dancing like a spotlight over the patchwork of fields and dry stone walls. In the distance I could just about make out the ridge where the old Roman fort stood at Brough some 2000 years ago. To my right I could see the ancient Mam Tor, the “shivering mountain” commanding the surrounding area. Long before the Romans came here the ancient Britons had recognized its significance, crowning the mountain with their defensive earthworks; the huge ditches are still impressive even today.
A tearful farewell saw us back in the air en-route to Korea. Leaving again had left us with mixed feelings. Britain increasingly leaves us in this state of mind. I’m not sure if it’s the growing parochialism we experience in those around us, but something leaves us feeling isolated and disjointed. Maybe it’s just growing up and continually expanding our own sphere of awareness. People and places just don’t hold the same value that they did before, in contrast some hold more. In one way the feeling always reminds me of visiting someone’s house for the first time. You’re inevitably impressed. It’s only the second or third visit that you notice the dog-eared piece of wallpaper peeling away behind the curtain, or the tear in the nice leather sofa. We found people, just like houses; have their dog-ears and tears too. Of course there is an opposite of every situation. In some people we found an added value we’d never seen before. Qualities emerged the deeper we explored and the more time we shared. We left some incredible friends behind the day we boarded the aircraft.,br>We returned to a city wrapped in the icy grip of winter. Our apartment, which we admittedly chose ourselves, was dark and cold. With apartments towering over us on three side’s claustrophobia began to set in quickly. Winter days in Seoul are bright and crisp, but only the cold seemed to permeate the dull mood of our apartment. We also realized as we came out of winter that we had a termite infestation. We simply had to move. So around March Sarah started the hunt with our Korean friend Sally to find a new apartment. We found winter harsh. Temperatures often dropped below -10, with a breeze the wind chill would cut that to -20. With air this dry, your face cracks and you constantly cough and splutter your throat is so dry.
After a short break in Thailand over Lunar New Year, March saw me working in Uiwang City, South of Seoul. We’d been given the go ahead to begin construction of our new facility, so I spent some very cold days standing in the cold managing the project. Sarah in the meanwhile had managed to find us another apartment. Strangely named SOD 3rd? Apparently it stands for ‘Street of Dreams’. Well I wouldn’t say it was a dream apartment, but it was a major improvement on the first. It still cost around $3500/month which to me still seems extortionate. But hey, who cares, the company is paying. After ironing out a few teething problems with the place we got settled in pretty and felt much more at home. For one we had natural light for the first time in months!
Our trip to Thailand was another story. I’d previously heard a lot of things about Pattaya – mostly bad. To me it was one of those places that I had no desire to visit, but in the wake of the Tsunami hotel prices and flights to Thailand were at an all time low. We both just figured what the hell and married up two air tickets and a cheap hotel. The hotel was a monstrosity, billed as the world’s largest resort complex. However, I think it would be fair to say it had seen better days. To make matters worse the place had been taken over by the US Marine Corps taking part in the relief effort on the West coast. Needless to say the place felt like an Army barracks. It was awful. I’ll never forget Sarah screaming in the face of a US Marine Sergeant after his platoon of goons had woken her up from sunbathing around the pool. She just got up without a word, strolled over and gave him both barrels in front of his squad, reminding him this was a hotel not Guantanamo Bay. Priceless! Pattaya itself was not much better and lived up, or down, to my expectations. The streets were lined with old men sporting beer bellies. They peered out from inside dark bars; most of them with barely legal girls and boys draped around their necks. It made your stomach turn. Pattaya had absolutely nothing to offer us and was decidedly un-Thai. We won’t be going back. But I can’t say we didn’t have a good time. This just wasn’t the Thailand we had come to know and love so well. Maybe we expected too much?
Throughout spring we put our backs into breaking into the Itaewon social scene. We’d soon come to realize that our foray into the Seoul ex-pat community pre-Christmas revealed a circle who were simply not our scene; false and insular people without soul. For them life seemingly revolved around which health club you were a member of and whether you had a driver or not. We started to spend more time around the Iteawon area. In particular the ‘3 Alleys pub’, where we met a younger and more vibrant crowd, most were here teaching English. We also met a couple of guys who had a restaurant just around the corner from Iteawon, at Noksapyeong. Not just any restaurant either; they served kebabs and Fish and chips! ‘Istanbul’ became our favourite haunt. I can honestly say it became a life line for us in our settling into Seoul life. It offered us a retreat from the pressures of being in the minority. Over the coming months we met all our current friends there, including the owners Nev and Yong-su, who have become two very close friends.
Spring also saw me driving again. In Seoul, not an experience for the faint hearted. If I had a poor opinion of Koreans already, driving just made it worse. Behind the wheel Koreans become the most arrogant, ignorant and plain stupid drivers I’ve ever come across. Four-way intersections are nothing more than a free for all. Red stop lights mean, well, mean nothing basically. So do pedestrian crossings; I’ve actually seen people parking on them. I also noted that motorcyclists much prefer the pavement to the street. After a few months we became oblivious to fact we had to sidestep quicker than Shane Williams to avoid being run-over as we walked down the sidewalk. You see, with driving, the trick here is to just close your eyes and go. In the immortal words of Lloyd Garrison, “give no quarter!” However, this would explain why after only two months of driving I had two nice scrapes down my brand new Kia Sorrento!
Work was not going so good. Things never really improved for me despite many promises from the US. By May, with eighteen hour days becoming the norm, I’d more or less realized that things were never going to get any better, so I resigned. I gave the company six months notice period of my intention to leave ELG and Korea. Most of my reasons for resigning were down to my Korean counterparts. They just refused to include me in the management circle. I became worried also that through their often incompetent or ignorant behavior, there were possibly liability implications for me as a Director. I simply couldn’t accept that. To make matters worse support from the US had also been scant. They simply had no idea of the situation they had put me in. The whole thing was inevitably beginning to take its toll on me personally also. There’s only so much stress any man can take. Alarm bells rang in the US after my resignation. Following a poorly handled attempt to sort out the problems, I agreed to stay on, after some compromise and with conditions. The Korean CEO flatly lied throughout the crisis meetings, I genuinely couldn’t believe some of the things that were said. The fact I’d logged all his actions didn’t help me, my employer gave him the benefit of the doubt. I felt totally sold out. But I knew that several issues had been brought to the table and doubts had been raised.
By the summer we were fully into the swing of things. April saw the weather pick up and by the end of May, early June, it was warm enough to go to the pub in shorts. It was in April that we met Dan a guy who was working as a Teacher in Seoul. We became pretty good drinking buddies and watched most of the international rugby games televised over here together. We met quite a few other notables also like Tom from Wales, Aussie Dan and our ‘Parents away from home’ Rusty and Vera. Summer came and went in a blur of sweltering days and cold air conditioned nights. Why is it you never seem to be able to get the setting right? It can be forty degrees outside yet the bedroom inevitably feels like an icebox!
August saw Nick come out to visit us as well as Wendy. It was great to see those guys again and there were quite a few boozy nights out on the town to say the least. Bert and Carol (Sarah’s Mum and Dad) also came out to stay for three weeks throughout September which was great, as they we’re able to be here for Sarah’s birthday. While they were here we visited Jeju Island which was nice, but I have to say, highly overrated. Certainly not the ‘Korean equivalent of Hawaii,’ as stated in the Lonely Planet! We also toured many of the tourist sites around the city. To be honest we packed a hell of a lot into the few weeks they were here. I genuinely think they enjoyed their stay here. They also picked the best time of the year to visit Seoul. The days are warm and balmy and in the evenings it’s still warm enough to walk the streets in flip-flops and a t-shirt.
Mid September saw our friend Dan, return to Seoul. It was a surprise, but we’d earlier said he could stay with us if he came back so he moved into the back room. It was good to have another face around for a while to be honest. Dan planned to stay a month before moving onto South America. He just wanted to get enough money together to fund his travels and he soon found a teaching job at his old Hogwan (school). Within a few hours it felt like he'd never left , by that I mean we we're drunk!
Towards the end of September we took a break to New Zealand. Kate and Simon our friends who’d been so kind to us during travels through that great country in 2003, were getting married and we had an invite to the wedding. It was great to catch up with them again and we had an awesome time at the wedding, even though I did get a bit drunk. From the wedding we headed down to Wellington to see Nam-Yeoung and Aaron two friends of ours who left Korea earlier in the year. We also managed to catch up with Kit by chance. Kit was another star who’d fed and watered us during our travels and it was just great to see her again. From Wellington we headed down to Queenstown and spent a week just kicking back and relaxing. It was a great time and we exactly what Sarah and I needed. Queenstown hadn’t changed much since 2003, it was just as beautiful. There did seem however to be a lot more Asian restaurants and tourists than we remembered. We counted 3 Korean restaurants alone? At times we could have been fooled into thinking we were somewhere else. As we weren’t backpacking this time we took in many of the activities we couldn’t afford last time around. We chartered a helicopter to take us up onto the peak of the Remarkables, then out along Skippers Canyon which used to be one the richest gold deposits in the world. We got the seats next to the pilot and the view was unbelievable out towards the Southern Alps. We also took a jeep safari along Skippers which was incredible, the scenery is simply stunning, yet deeply scarred in places from the activities of the gold sluices. The tour also took in a few movie locations from The Lord of The Rings. We saw the Ford of Bruinen where Arwen crossed with Frodo, a truly beautiful stretch of river fringed with pines and stones rolled smooth by the crystal clear water.
By mid-October we were back in Seoul. My Birthday came and went. We went out, ate, got drunk, the usual really. Sarah bought me a really nice guitar, which I’m still struggling to learn to get a tune out of. By now the weather was turning. The nights had begun to draw in and there was a chill in the air. Winter was definitely coming. Off went the aircon until next year. It would soon be time to flick on the under floor heating switch instead. By the end of November Dan was still with us and we were beginning to wonder if he’d ever leave. It was great to have him around, but the house was beginning to feel like a student bedsit. Sarah and I really needed some space, as we had a lot going off. It was very awkward, but we asked him to leave. We didn't really want to in our hearts, but it was more a case of had to. I think we felt more put out than he did to be honest. Our only consolation was that we felt we'd helped a good mate out for a while. That still didn’t help the mood when he simply packed up and went, things felt a little icy for a few days. Dan’s a great guy and I truly hope we (know we'll) cross his path again in the future. If you're reading this Dan, we're still waiting for that dinner you promised and my half of the bourbon - so it's your shout when we hook up mate!
So here I am, it’s now the 22nd of December and I’m sat in my office looking out at the snow on the yard. The outside temperature is once again subzero. Korea is firmly in the icy grip of winter. Sarah arrives back in Seoul tomorrow, I have to pick her up from the airport at ten past four. I’ve really missed her for many reasons and can’t wait to see her. After the Christmas party in the USA Sarah flew on to Britain to see friends and family. She also wanted to see Jake, Sarah and Chris’s baby who arrived earlier in the year. Unfortunately Nick and Kerri had left for Australia so Sarah couldn’t see Ellie, their newborn, but I’m sure we’ll both get chance next year. After the party I went onto Amsterdam, before returning here. I met with Dad and we spent three days together, the highlight of which being a visit to Arnhem to see John Frost Bridge and then the Airborne Museum and Cemetery at Oosterbeek. To see the bridge and imagine how those troops held on for so long unsupported against armoured German SS units is truly amazing. Catching up with Dad was fantastic after so long. It seemed like forever since we’d sat down for a beer together. I’d waited from him outside Amstel station and spotted Dad in the crowd a mile off. He hadn’t changed a bit!
My return to work after the Christmas party brought on a heap more stress. There were to be major changes to the structure in 2006 and It seemed would I be playing a major role. Several other things happened that added to the stress levels, but I’ll leave those tales for another time. 2006 I think has to go down as a poor year for myself and Sarah, possibly our worst. What we expected to be an adventure turned out be more of an ordeal. However, we’re here and I’m sure in our usual style I’m sure we’ll overcome most hurdles that are thrown at us. I can certainly see some big ones ahead. We’re here until September, but I think time will tell if we last the course. We’ve benefited financially from our time here, but only just. The opportunity and personal costs have been high. On a plus note, we have met some great friends here and cemented some strong relationships, so in that respect all has not been lost. The coming Sunday is Christmas day, we have Nev and Yong-Su, plus Aussie Dan coming around for dinner at ours, just a shame Dan the man couldn't be here too. It should be a good day. From there it’s onto the New Year. No plans as yet……….
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