Korea is a wonderful place and I've enjoyed living here, but one thing that I've really struggled to handle is the treatment of dogs. The miniature dogs are well looked after but the bigger dogs are always chained to their kennels or lamp posts (which I can understand because many houses are not securely enclosed) but they are never taken for walks and their living conditions are really poor.

I'm am a huge animal lover and it breaks my heart every time I see a beautiful dog in poor condition. There are two dogs in my neighbourhood that I visit and try to feed as often as possible. 

The 'eating dog meat' has always been a sore topic for me but I decided to approach some of my teachers about it because I was just too curious and wanted to clear any rumours I had heard. Unfortunately I wasn't put at ease. I discovered that most Koreans still eat dog nowadays even though they can afford other meat. My teacher's asked me if I hated them for this. Well I do but these are harsh words yo say. I was honest with them and said they I don't agree with it but I can't top them... it's Korean culture, so I do understand, but I certainly don't like it!

Dog meat is eaten in the summer months. There are three days where people will specifically eat dog, these days are known as "bok" days. Today is the second bok day - Jung bok. It pains me to think that people are celebrating this evening with dog soup!

"Bok refers to the three days in summer on which Korea is the hottest. Traditionally, on bok days Korean people eat hot, boiling soup that is supposed to make you sweat and restore balance of your body. The favorite dishes of the bok days are samgyetang (chicken and ginseng soup) and boshintang (dog meat soup.)"

When the heat of Korean Summer set in the poor black dog in my neighbourhood was no longer to be seen. I wondered now...did he just die? Quite possible... he was so malnourished, but it puzzled me because he was still so energetic when I went to pat him.
A few days ago a new pup has been chained to the same kennel (bucket) as the little black dog. Now this just makes me think... if the owners never took care of the previous dog then why would they get a new one? I seriously think they keep a dog just for food. So sad!

So this time next year, if this pup is gone, then I'll know. I just feel so horrible for being so close to an issue that I'm very anti. I have to keep reminding myself that it's a cultural thing, and maybe the tradition will fade away with generations to come.

Before coming to Korea I read about all the festivals that take place, and there are a lot of festvals! It seems as though Koreans are always looking for a reason to celebrate something, no matter how insignificant or strange it may be.

One of the festivals I really wanted to partake in was the Mud festival. The Boryeong Mud Festival has been taking place for the past 12 years at the Dacheon Beach of Boryeong, Chungcheongnam province. The mud is considered rich in minerals and used to manufacture cosmetics.

As July approached, I thought about attending the festival, but decided against it. Luckily, my friend Casey, convinced me to go. It ended up being a last minute decision and unfortunately, because of this, we ended up paying quite a lot for accommodation.

We arrived in Boryeong early Saturday morning, and in the pouring rain we tried to find our way to a motel. Luckily one of the organizers at the info center helped us out, and we were soon on our way to our very over-priced pension house (which is a self-catering room). 

After settling in and changing into our costumes, we headed down towards the festivities and found the quickest way to get dirty... a spontaneous mud fight. It wasn't the 'good' mud, but hey, it was fun.

There were many mud games and activities and my favourite was the mud pit. This was basically a blow-up swimming pool with a thin layer of slippery mud in it. Casey and I went in with caution. We stood around the edge just watching the wrestling and waiting for our turn to slide into the middle. " How do we go about this?" we thought, "just slide in?" Well, we didn't have to think about it too long, before we knew it we were being thrown in...literally thrown in! Once lying flat on the muddy floor, our attempts to get up failed. Everybody participated to kicking us with mud and sight now became an issue. We finally managed to crawl to the edge and carefully stood up. "Wow, that was awesome! Let's do it again!"


I decided it would be fun to push somebody in, but unfortunately I failed..and paid for trying. The guy who I thought was short and weak quickly lifted me onto his shoulder and slammed me, WWF style, onto the ground. I've never felt pain like that before. Scrambling to get up, the guy decided to help me up, apologized and then proceeded to lift me up again, and (what felt like in slow-mo) slam me down. This time, after anticipating the pain, it was so much worse. 

Absolutely great fun! Even though my spine won't be the same again, I don't regret it one bit.

Sunday approached with a headache after a rough night out and we thought the best cure would be to grab a cup of coffee and catch the first bus home...

But then we saw the beautiful day and decided to recover by lying on the beach. It was a great idea, and amazing to soak up the sun (despite the sunburn to follow).

I highly recommend going to this festival! Definitely one of the greatest times I've had yet.

Kpop is something I'm yet to write about... it's a fascinating phenomenon and so addictive! But for now I'm just posting a video of one of the songs that I constantly have stuck in my head. Enjoy!

Throughout my time here I've tried to respect the Korean culture, and dressing accordingly is important! Today I decided to wear a sleeveless top with a light cardigan. Of course I would have to keep the cardigan on because revealing my shoulders would be quite inappropriate, especially at school. 
The walk to school built up quite a sweat, and as soon as I entered the staff room, seeing as no one was there, I took off my jersey. Then, in walked one of the ladies and handed me a cup of hot coffee, smiled and said "ooh" while gesturing to my shoulders that were now exposed. Next was the principle, she looked at me with a smile, giggled and then said "tteugeoun" meaning hot. I just laughed and said "oh yes, very hot" and fanned my face with my hand. They then brought the fan and placed it right next to my desk to keep me cool. I put my cardigan back on and all was right in the world again. Haha

The dress code for Korean women is puzzling. You can show as much leg as you want, if your cheeks are hanging out that's no problem, but don't dare show your shoulders or reveal a little chest. Now I've been sticking to these guidelines, but summer has settled in and I just can't anymore. It is so humid that the minute I step outside, my straightened hair looks like it was attacked by the back of a hairdryer. I can't bare to wear anymore layers than necessary! I've decided to play the 'foreigner' card and hope to be excuse for dressing indecently.

The best I can do now is is simply smile and bow deeply when ajummas and adjossis give me death stares for showing a bit of shoulder.

These are some of my 4th graders at Daegok Elementary. During the 10 minute break they decided to entertain me. I always hear them rehearsing "Puff the Magic Dragon" but when I'm not there to see them play, the sound just gets on my nerves.

Life in Korea is good, but it would be a whole lot better if I had my dog with me. Life just isn't complete without him. In Korea it's not always possible to keep pets and my apartment is certainly not a good home for a dog, although I've though about getting a companion I would never, because that would be like cheating on my dog. Besides, there is no dog in the whole world that would come close to being better than my Rocco!


So anyway, back to the topic of Korea not being a suitable place to keep a pet… There are many animal lovers out there who can't have their own pet, and the solution…well a pet cafe! In seoul there are dog and cat cafes that you can visit in order to get some animal loving. 

I went to BAU House Dog Cafe, and although I felt a bit guilty for being there without my own, it was just great to be surrounded by canines. We had to wait for quite a while before being seated, but you can still walk around and play with the dogs while you wait.

If you have your own dog you can bring him/her a long for a play date. The dogs at the cafe are both people- and dog- friendly.

You can order a selection of beverages, but unfortunately the only food is doggie treats. 

It is well maintained and the 'waiters' are constantly cleaning up after the dogs and sanitizing, so there's no need to worry about the smell.

Although I am more of a dog person, I would still like to check out the cat cafe. There is however one cat who lives at Bau House, but I only saw him briefly as he darted past me.


More details about the pet cafes in the video below. 

After the Korean War many people migrated into Seoul and settled in makeshift houses alongside the Cheonggye stream, downtown Seoul. This condition of the area deteriorated due to the accompanying waste products and other excess sand and trash. Over time the stream was covered up and in 1976 an elevated highway was completed above the stream. This was seen as modernisation and therefore successful. 

The former Mayor of Seoul, and now current President, Lee Myung Bak initiated an urban renewal project that would recover the stream and beautify the city.
This was a costly and time consuming project, but one well worth it.
The beautiful stream of Cheonggyecheon now runs for almost 6 meters. The plan was to create a human-oriented and environmentally-friendly city. Creating this environment, with clean water and natural habitats, has made a significant difference. 

"Species of fish, birds, and insects have increased significantly as a result of the stream excavation. The stream helps to cool down the temperature on the nearby areas by 3.6 °C on average versus other parts of Seoul. The number of vehicles entering downtown Seoul has shown a decrease of 2.3%, with an increasing number of users of buses (by 1.4%) and subways (by 4.3% - daily average of 430,000 people) as a result of the demolition of the two high-used roads. This supposedly has a positive influence by improving the atmospheric environment in the region."

The restoration of this stream was one of the best things the Mayor could have done. It is such a beautiful and peaceful place, and oh, so romantic! At night you will see people gathered around with their feet in the water, some people provide entertainment by playing their guitars and singing for the crowds, while others snuggle their partner without even saying a word.

In a busy city like Seoul, it is so refreshing to have a place like this. It should definitely be on the "top ten things to see in Seoul" list.