Shanghai treated me to the most wonderful weather over the course of my trip. The days were sunny and hot with a nice breeze every now and then, and the nights were mild and clear. After a night of monkeys, models, bottles, and midnight street food, I needed a good breakfast. I was able to…
Category: Teaching English in Korea
Gamcheon Cultural Village
When G’s Mum decided to come visit we decided it would be as good a time as any to be tourists in our own town. I imagine that this will be the first in a series of touristy adventures while she’s in town! I had heard about this place from a few different blogs comparing…
Seoul vs. Busan
As you may have guessed by now, The Toronto Seoulcialite actually lives in Busan, not Seoul. The terms of my transfer from Gwacheon to Hwamyeong are confidential, so blabbing about it all over my blog or any kind of social media would be a giant faux pas. The bottom line is that I live in…
Gyeongju – fit for a Queen
This past Saturday I had the opportunity to travel to Gyeongju with some passionate history students from Dong-A University in Busan. They’re our friend Joe’s students (from G’s birthday yachting experience) who wanted to share their Korean pride, culture, and history with Koreans and foreigners alike. This trip was an absolute steal at KRW 50,000…
Naked and Afraid: Korea Edition
Get ready: today’s post has 50 + pictures. No, not nudie pics as the title might suggest – we’ll get to that later, though. I had planned on heading out to the beach yesterday. Blanket, towel, water, and sunscreen in tow, we headed out to Haeundae early Sunday afternoon to pick up a cell phone a…
Weekend Warriors part I
“You’ll never see so many sunrises as you will in South Korea.” The past two weekends have been an absolutely wonderful blur. The first weekend was full of restful nights and international foods, and this past weekend was late nights and later departures. The CU on Friday nights (yes, a convenience store across the street…
The Universe
It’s almost as though Amy Schumer, Bill Nye, and the lovely gals from Broad City got together to write a sketch for me this past weekend. Just as I had written about missing the comforts of home, “the universe” decided to send me some things I’d been missing. Last weekend I met a fantastic young…
I dream in Skyscanner part I
I want to see everything and go everywhere. I’ve traveled pretty extensively throughout Europe, I’ve been fortunate enough to perform in China, England, The United States, and South Africa, and I still feel like I haven’t even started to see the world! Being in Korea just makes me want to jet set each and every week do a…
When your friends leave Korea
Well, it happened. Much earlier than I had anticipated, way earlier than I’d hoped, and so much earlier than I’m ready to understand. It was bound to happen. I had read many articles about it. Most foreigner friends don’t plan on staying in Korea for more than a couple of years, if that. I just…
How to meet people in Korea (or at least Busan!)
You’re going to have to kiss a lot of frogs before finding your Prince (or Princess!). Thankfully there is a mixed bag of great people in Korea. Photo by Joel Gale Photography I was very hesitant to write another list post but after the quick success of the last one (and e-mails from followers – thank…
Moving to Korea? 12 tidbits to consider…
Over two years ago I considered teaching abroad in either Korea or China, but I chickened out. After moving from Vancouver to Toronto the thought of packing my life into two suitcases and selling the rest just seemed too far-fetched, and having gone through the process of getting transcripts and copies of a degree notarized…
La Bella Citta Busan
Have you ever had a meal so fantastic from start to finish that you felt like a changed person? After the most wonderful weekend checking out new corners of Busan, we were exhausted and disappointed upon discovery that the “Spanish Bistro” about which we had been wondering didn’t actually serve food (El Secreto – but…