TaeAn

Last weekend, I finally got out from the belly of the smog choked beast that is Seoul. My hagwon (school) has an annual tradition of heading out to a beach or moutain for a workshop, team-bonding exercise. I must admit to being a little apprehensive, with 'team-bonding' conjuring up visions of David Brent going home to get his guitar before launching into Free Love on Free Love Free Freeway. Another thing putting a slight damper on my enthusiasm was the fact that our west coast destination was the sight of one of Korea's worst oil slicks only a few months ago.

I needn't have worried. Our pension was a lovely wooden building, looking across the expansive mudflats, over the handful of islets, and out to the Yellow Sea beyond. We had one pension for the boys and one for the girls; each containing one bedroom, a bathroom, a kitchenette/living area, and a balcony.

In the afternoon we took a stroll down to the beach on the other side of the peninsula. My visions of an ecological hell were thankfully unfounded, with no sign of any oil anywhere. Instead, I found a picturesque little beach backed by pine trees. Also behind the beach, was a small farm settlement whose name translated as 'No Crime Village'!

In the evening, we had a barbecue and some drinks outside our pension. Unfortunately there were no burgers or chicken so we had to make do with Sang Yap Sal, the fatty bacon type thing that Koreans love. We chatted, played a few drinking games, and had a very good evening in the fresh air. I even managed to catch the second half of Spain v Sweden to round off a nice night. Next morning it was time to trudge back to Seoul and rejoin the 20 million strong collective. I'll have to get to the coast more often.

This weekend I'm going to see the South Korea v North Korea World Cup qualifier, so I'll try and get some pics and a match report up if I can find my missing camera charger.