Living in Nongong and being reliant on public transportation, the local 600 bus line has been a vital link to Daegu. In fact, upon arrival into South Korea, public transportation has been a huge part of my life and it is better than what I’m usually used to back in San Francisco. First of all, it is cheaper; Daegu bus/subway fare is 950 won if you have a Daegu transit card(.85 USD) with an allowance of 15minutes to transfer AFTER you leave your first bus/subway. The transit card, all major cities have them (Seoul, Daegu, Busan, etc.), allows the customer to use the public city buses, city subway, selected taxis, and even make convenience store purchases with a swipe of your card. Second, I am fortunate that I take the 600 bus. If you really want to acquaint yourself with Daegu, the 600 does a very good job at that. It takes you to the most notable locations with a scenic tour.
On the northbound route, the bus starts off at Hyeonpung Bus Terminal, which is my primary launching pad to Busan. (The motorcoach from Hyeonpung is 7400won and takes about 100 minutes, which is quite fast. I could also take the KTX, high speed rail, which costs about the same as the bus but it would make me take the 80 minute trip to Daegu Station before the hour ride on the train.) After departing Hyeonpung Bus Terminal, it whisks you to my town, Nongong. Then after passing by smaller towns, fields, and the huge construction project of damming the Nakdong River, you are in Daegu.
The 600 bus will then follow the Line 1 subway along Daegok, Jincheon, Wolbae, Sangin, Wolchon, Songhyeon, and Sangdangmot stations as you get closer into Daegu downtown. It will first take you to Daegok Station, which is close to the Daegu Arboretum. Notable points of interest along the Line 1 corridor include the tall apartment highrises along most of the stops, Jincheon small eateries and shops, Sangin Lotte Department Store, Wolbae Open Market, Seobu Bus Terminal. From here, the bus cedes from the Line 1 subway route.
This is where it gets interesting and it’s best when you take the bus at night for this portion to see the night lights brighten the city! The bus will proceed to take you to Duryu Park--Daegu’s Central Park--which includes a swimming pool and city library. The bus will cross town to follow Line 2 subway route, starting with Duryu Station, but not before passing the National Health Insurance complexes and Woobang Tower--the Space Needle of Daegu--which also holds an amusement park in its premises. The bus continues along Line 2 subway stops, Naedang, Bangogae, and Seomun Market--a huge outdoor flea market. From here, it cedes from Line 2 subway and goes toward the Textile Center--a row of shops selling textiles and clothes.
Toward the end of the route, the bus will take you toward Jungangno, the major shopping district in Daegu, City Hall, and Chilsung Market.
In the end, you would have seen most of Daegu in less than two hours!
The subways in Daegu are cheap, efficient, reliable, and clean. But the buses are what makes getting to your destination exciting! Every time I use the bus, it’s like reliving my childhood dream of being in Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride, which was also the Disneyland attraction that scared the hell out of me as a kid. The bus can be dangerous (Safety Third!)--not for the faint of heart or with a heart condition (oops!) but it will get to your destination on time, which can’t be said for the public transportation system in San Francisco. The buses are stickshift so when it goes into overdrive, it will jerk and propel you onto someone’s lap or sideswipe you as it rounds a corner at full speed. Don’t even think about not swiping your card/paying the bus/subway fare or entering through the back door (which you can’t anyway with a one-way sliding door that won’t retract)! The Koreans go by an honor system and the bus driver will know who has paid and who hasn’t even if he’s not in the bus! Trust me, I’ve seen kids and old people yelled at so I don’t dare pulling a fast one on a bus driver! But in most cases, people will pay their fare and tell the driver later if he(never seen a female driver yet) is not in the bus (like on one of his breaks at the terminal) if necessary.
Bus drivers literally own their own buses as they have their name and pictures posted. Judging from the faded photos, many of them have been driving or years. They clean the buses inside and out at the terminal.
The biggest mistake is to not make arrangements in case one should arrive late. But for the past 5 months, that was what I have been doing. Conventional wisdom would point me in the direction of erring on the side of caution. Yes, there are also speedy taxis just in case, but I wouldn’t rely on them.
Update on Living with ARVD
It’s been more than 5 months since I’ve had an ICD implanted in my chest. Since then, I have been shocked twice--once on a very hot and humid day while lugging a heavy backpack up a hill and again when climbing many flights of stairs during a hike, I tried to slow down on a descent when the ICD went off. In both situations, they were bittersweet--bitter because the “shock” scares you and “sweet” because you’re no longer wondering if the ICD really works.
Before I went to Taiwan for winter break (see next article below), I had my first medical checkup in a Korean hospital. With the guidance of Father Kim, a priest/chaplain at Daegu Catholic Hospital, who was brought to my attention by a nurse who was taking care of me at the time at St. Mary’s Hospital in San Francisco. Without the assistance of Father Kim, I would have been completely lost in the bureaucratic process of the Korean health care system.
Barring the language barrier, which Father Kim alleviated with his ability to converse in English. the hospital care in Daegu is pretty damn good.
Let me begin by stating that as an employee in Korea, I am entitled to the National Health Service, a government-run health care system that allots a portion of your monthly salary. It is the law to have all citizens and legal-workers to be under the care of the Korean government. Without health insurance in Korea, it doesn’t mean that you will be entirely screwed. Your medical bill will cost more, but it won’t leave you in dire straits compared to what may happen if something should happen in the United States.
Given that I had a major head figure of the hospital chaperoning me around with the main nurse pushing orders on subservients, cutting long lines for this “waygook”, I was in and out of the hospital in less than 2 hours. First, you have to go to a very small clinic on the hospital campus before a specialist can assist you. As I needed a specialist to check my ICD, the general practitioner in the clinic had to confirm that who I needed was the right person. The “co-pay” is about 5,000won, less than $5. Then I had to go back to the hospital lobby to pay for what I was going for before I see the hospital doctors. I would get an EKG and checkup on the ICD device. Father Kim warned me that the cost will be more as this was a more specific checkup. The clerk rang up the price on my credit card and I braced myself for the worst. I was expecting something in the hundreds of US dollars, but when I looked down at the screen, it read 34,000won--less than $34 USD!
Once payment has been submitted, I walked up the stairs with Father Kim and with the high ranking nurse. They led me through the halls until we went to the cardiac ward. They opened a door and three nurses were standing in a row to greet me, “Annyeong-hashimnikka!” From there, they looked at my history and medical chart and did the EKG. When it was finished, they bowed and said goodbye. Next up, the ICD device checkup.
I walked with my two guides to meet another physician. There I would bypass the long waiting process after they checked my vitals--blood pressure, weight. height, etc. Then I walked into an office, no different than your typical workplace. He had the same small briefcase that could record all the history of my ICD and it predicted correctly that I was shocked twice and when they occurred. The specialist printed out page after page of details about my ICD that I’m not sure what he would do with it once I left. When that was done, they escorted me out as Father Kim had to attend to another meeting that was in conflict with my schedule. The nurse took me over to the free shuttle that would take me to the subway stop and this whole ordeal took less than two hours, which would have taken a day or longer in a typical US setting.
UPDATE: I was shocked again in mid-February. I suspect that it was the coffee that I drank after a heavy meal. It took me a full week to really get back to normal; I felt fatigued and a little disoriented for a couple of days and sometimes my medication would really cause some abnormal palpitations because of the strong dosage. The following cause me to get tachycardia: caffeine, going up hills/stairs very quickly, carrying heavy objects, extreme weather. I do get scared sometimes that something bad will happen in front of my students and co-workers. I'm also really worried about my checkup when I return to the US for a couple weeks because the most likely scenario is that may need another ablation.
School Musings
The semester has just ended and the spring semester is about to begin. My school(s) Guji Middle School and Dalseong Information High Schools will lose about 15 staff members as they have fulfilled their 2 year commitment. In Korea, teachers normally get relocated to other schools in the county on a 4 year rotation. However, my schools are located on the farthest, rural region of Daegu county and because of this, teachers only have to serve 2 years as gratitude. No one really wants to teach at my schools because the students are of lower level than other areas of Daegu, but teachers and staff members are eager to be a part of the staff because they get extra points, which can accumulate if one should choose to be promoted for a position (i.e. vice principal to principal, teacher to head teacher, etc.)
Needless to say, I will miss my students. I have much to learn from my current students as they do with me. The graduating high school seniors I will miss the most are the ones that put in a valiant effort in my class. I wonder what most will do afterward. I asked some of them, and some of the replies were quite underwhelming. They include going to university for cosmotology or working in a factory. Many of them are talented, but if you’re not in the top percentile in a Korean competitive pool, then their chances, hopes, and dreams are left on the backburner.
On the other hand, there’s no question, that most of the graduating seniors will work hard.
One of the teachers leaving after this semester is my co-teacher. We definitely have different styles of teaching, mine being more creative and geared toward real-life situations. It was her first time working with a native English teacher and she was not accustomed to that. We ended up trying to test different methods which mostly didn’t work but we gave it a shot.
In the end, my decision will be to stick to the textbook and apply what they have learned through speech and listening exercises. The co-teacher will teach them grammar and English structure. If anything, I think it’s important that the students follow the book because that is what they are ultimately going to get tested on and test results matter a lot; that said, if they can use what they crammed/studied into dialogues and situational themes, it may help their grade--if they put in the effort.
(left: Empty office during winter break as I have to desk warm.)
The Korean semester system leaves much to be desired. Students are enveloped in a flurry of exams and contests and once those are over they still have a week or two left. So where does that leave me? Well, it leaves me with disinterested and inattentive students who are more inclined to screw around in class. A part of me is sympathetic to some of them who really crammed and are tired from their efforts. However, acting up, talking, and/or using cell phones is NEVER acceptable in my class and I will call you out.
The new semester starts this week! I will probably eat my words, but I can't wait to teach again!
The sun sets on another end to winter break.
Another reason why I look forward to the new semester, the school built a new wing that includes a pool hall!!
Recent Travels
I need to keep track of where I’ve been so far. This is more for my benefit so that I don’t end up forgetting about my wonderful experiences abroad before my time is up.
● Andong Mask Festival
● Jinju Lantern Festival
● Busan - Lotte vs. Samsung baseball game, Haeundae, Jalgalchi Market, Gwanggali, Busan Aquarium
● Pyeongchang Ice Fishing
● Jeju-do - Hallasan mountain hiking
● Cheongsang Apple Festival
● Seoraksan hiking trip (Gangwan-do)
● Mindeungsan hiking trip
● Taiwan (update in next post) - Taipei, Dalin, Ruifeng, Xinbei (New Taipei City), Alishan Forest Recreational Area, Sun Lake, Pinglin, Jinxi, Jiaoshe, Yeliu, Yingghe, Jioufen
