Too much to eat, too much to experience, too much to see, too much to love, too much to drink, too much to buy, too much to…

Not enough time.

- A child who is clearly in need of attention needs to be nurtured, not ignored. But how do you overcome his or her almost unbearable selfishness as well as giving attention to the rest of the (well-behaved) class like they deserve?

- The most troublesome and hostile students obviously have troubled backgrounds. How do you rehabilitate them when you don’t speak their language (and no one who does is willing to help you)?

- How do you connect with students without pandering?

- How do you reconcile your hatred for certain students with your responsibility to treat everyday as a clean slate?

After being sidelined by illness for two weeks, I realise that Hong Kong is also in about two weeks.

I can feel it in my bones, more vital than ever.

Friday afternoons. High 17°C. Spring is finally here.
6 classes done. Jumping out of work clothes and eating strawberries in bed.

Doesn’t get much better than this.

(Note: If you have any information you think would be useful, please feel free to submit it in the comments and I’ll add it to the article!)

Welcome to Uijeongbu/Uijungbu/Uijongbu/의정부, foreigner/tourist/native English speaker/ESL teacher! Here is a guide to Uijeongbu that will really help if you’re new to the area (and also a foreigner!).

I would’ve written this post a long time ago but I think that a lot of the fun and excitement (and, of course, frustration) of coming to a new country, city, or language is exploring and finding things out on your own. On the other hand, I realise that many people don’t enjoy this and just want to be able to get around, a concept lost on many of the native Korean teachers here that don’t even try to acclimatise you unless you ask for it.

So here’s a ton of information that I either had to research on my own, ask for from other nice foreigners, or found out just now after months of being here. Some things may seem vital and other things trivial, but all of it I’ve found quite helpful at some point or another. Unfortunately, I can only base these bus routes on experience – I live near the Uijeongbu Homeplus so I don’t know too much about the City Hall or “station” area.

Taxis:

I was using taxis for the first little bit when I arrived since no one bothered to explain the bus system to me. One tip: always give the driver a big and popular point of reference (you may have to walk a bit, but it saves from any misdirection or the driver kicking you out because he doesn’t know what you’re talking about). Try to pronounce the name of the city right, for one thing. Uijeongbu = oo-ee-jung-boo (say the first two syllables very fast, together, but maintain the “oo” sound, don’t turn it into a “woo” sound. Keep the j hard, not like a “zh”). It shouldn’t cost much more than 5,000-6,000 won from Uijeongbu to the Homeplus area, for reference.

Bus Routes:

So, what should you know about buses? They’re the lifeblood of Korean transportation (sometimes faster and more comfortable than the crowded and often slow Metro) and you’ll want to get to know them quite fast, unless you’re a princess that requires taxi-ing everywhere. The ones in the Uijeongbu area will be a very solid, dark green and white on the bottom, whereas the Seoul buses are lime green all over.

You board the bus at the front and disembark at the back; apparently this is strange to some people. In Uijeongbu, you scan your T-Money when you get on and you scan when you get off as well (to let the card discern transfers between buses, or if you’re getting on the subway). In other areas, like Incheon, you only scan getting on.

(From Breanna):

Something else of note – most of the bigger bus stops (i.e. the ones with covered benches) will have the bus routes listed on them. If you’re going to to a station, you don’t have to read Korean to be able to tell if the buses that will come by that stop will go to your station – there’s a small colored number next to the stop indicating the subway line (i.e. 의정부역 would have a small blue “1″ next to it). Once you’re able to recognize the characters, this is even more helpful.

Also, if you listen carefully, most of the bigger busses will announce the next stop and the following stop in Korean. If you know the name of where you’re going but can’t hear the announcement, you can often ask the bus driver, and they will let you know when to get off if you’re afraid of missing your stop.

City buses:

One of the things that freaked me out most was the fact that I didn’t have a T-Money card and had to pay using cash. Unfortunatley, the fare (요금) signs are all in Korean, so I guessed. Anyway, it’s 1,000 won for the bigger buses and 800 won for the smaller buses. Get a T-Money card as fast as you can, though, because then you don’t have to pay for transfer between buses or from buses to the subway.

2 – This one stops right at the doors of Homeplus and goes to places such as Uijeongbu Station (의정부 ì—­). It’s a good “direct” bus from my area to the station but it only comes every 15 minutes or so, which makes it not worth waiting for most of the time.

23 – It travels to very important places such as Line 1′s Uijeongbu Station (의정부 ì—­), one of the main Uijeongbu post offices, Hyoja Middle School (and, thus, the High and Elementary schools nearby), Lotte Mart in Minlak-Dong (민락동), and so on. You can also walk to and from Homeplus from this bus stop.

10 – Another subway route, you can take this one to Line 1/7′s Dobongsan Station (도봉산 ì—­), which is what I use it for, but it also passes Line 1′s Mangwolsa Station (망월사 ì—­) but it also passes right outside Homeplus (whereas you have to walk from the 23). It also stops outside Hoeryong Station (회룡 ì—­).

72-1 – Yet another subway route, this bus takes you to a central transfer point in Seoul, Line 4/7′s Nowon Station (노원 ì—­), and also Lotte Department store nearby. This one also stops outside Hoeryong Station (회룡역)

72-3 – This one is a long bus-ride but it passes quite a few subway stations, including Uijeongbu, but most importantly Chang-Dong station (창동역). Note that it stops directly across from Homeplus.

Mini-buses

205-1 – Doesn’t go to many important places (for me, at least) but it does pass by one of the smaller hospitals in the Homeplus area.

206 – This one doesn’t go to many important places but it does go to Line 1′s Kaneung/Ganeung Station (가능 ì—­). Make sure to note this station was once called Uijeongbu Bukbu station, as some older maps may list it as such. It also, very circuituously, makes its way to Uijeongbu Station, but I wouldn’t recommend this route; it takes way too long. It does, however, pass directly outside the Lotte Mart near City Hall. This one passes directly outside Homeplus.

Express/Highway buses:

Note: Like the regular and mini-buses, you can use your T-Money card.

1001 – This one travels from Jongno 3,5 (종로 xê°€ ì—­) ( to the Uijeongbu area. I’m almost certain you can get on at the stops right outside the Kyeonggi-do Provincial Office 2, even though they aren’t listed. I’m thinking this bus can be quite useful if you’re on Line 1 and you know you aren’t going to make the last train to Uijeongbu.

3100 – You can board this one from the Homeplus area, it goes, apparently, to Nowon and other stations, but most importantly, it ends up in Kangnam/Gangnam and right near the station as well (강남 ì—­).

3700 – An express bus to Incheon. You must board this one at the Uijeongbu Bus Terminal (accessible by bus 72-1, 23).

???? – If there’s a bus directly from Hongdae to Uijeongbu, I’d love to know.

I just booked my flight for a weekend trip to Hong Kong in April. We’re planning on not sleeping from Friday until Sunday and then, of course, eat-til-die.

I can’t wait to get lost in the city again.

_{And, of course, the infamous Chungking Mansions.}

Do you wanna know what I’ve been listening to lately? I know you do.

Yeah Yeah Yeahs – Zero

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bO4Qk_R1uos

Crystal Castles – Untrust Us

Girls Generation – Gee

Lee Hyori – U-Go-Girl

Big Bang – Sunset Glow

BoA – Eat You Up

Yeah, so of course, as I always do, I neglect my blog until it falls into disuse and there’s so much to catch up on that I just never do it.

Hopefully I’ll have more regular time to blog as I return to a regular class schedule.