Category Archives: Korean Apartment

IT’S HERE!

YES! Our household goods and car arrived today! WOO-HOO!

Actually, we were just getting used to the fact that we were living without all of the things we had back in the US. This experience has made use both question is there really a true need to live with all of this excessive stuff? We had the bare minimum of necessities while we awaited our shipment but we were doing rather fine without it. However, it is nice to open up one of your kitchen drawers and be able to have your pick of tools to get whatever you are cooking done.

The movers came promptly at 9AM and were out of here in a little under 2 hours. We were impressed at how quick and efficient they were!

First, the movers unloaded the car off of a wrecker, next they came around the back of the building and lined the ladder truck up with the living room windows to unload all of the items through, then they brought the truck around with all of the boxes and furniture, loaded the platform up with everything, brought it through the window opening, called out a number that was marked on everything as they took it into each room, Larry checked off the numbers as they came through, I inspected to make sure nothing was broken and everything was there that the movers packed in the US.

The car looked awesome with no scratches or things missing from it. Everything arrived the way it was packed up in the US except for the living room furniture that had scratches in the wood and an oil stain on the arm and back of the oversized chair cushion (I covered it up with a blanket for now so we don’t have to see it). We were a bit disappointed but we both agreed that it has had a good life and when we officially settle down we can replace it all, and of course that is what insurance is for.

We had to laugh because we have a king size bed (that we decided to bring because we had just bought it before the whole unexpected South Korea move) and the Korean movers thought the two boxsprings were two single beds. I guess this is because Korean mattresses are so incredibly different. We had a love hate relationship with our Korean mattress. I hated it and Larry loved it because it was like sleeping on a rock with no fluff whatsoever.

Right before the movers left they helped us adjust where we wanted the living room furniture took all the excess of empty boxes and then were gone.

We believe that the key to getting through these crazy days is to just have fun with it. We were like little kids in a candy store as we unpacked all of our kitchen spices. Even Miss Bean acted like she had not seen furniture in years! We caught her rolling all over our bed and couches repeatedly.

Fools in the rain

Today is a very overcast, rainy day in Dongducheon. Staring out the living room window I had a thought, we recently Skyped with a 3rd /4th grade class located in North Carolina that has been learning about Korea and following our blog site. They requested that we take them on a tour of the inside of our place and also wanted to ask us different questions about our experiences so far. There is a major time difference so we had to Skype at night allowing us to catch them during their regular class-time. We were not able to show the class what our “backyard” looks like due to the time of night.

We snapped some pictures of our “backyard” and learned a bit of more of traditional Korean culture. As you can see in the pictures we have three Korean burial mound sites and a large garden.

In Korea, it is very common to bury people above the ground, cover the body with rocks/dirt, and then grow grass over the body in a semi-circle mound shape (as captured in the pictures). It is said that in traditional Korean burial culture, the size of a grave mound increases proportionately to the social status of its owner. The ones that are located on the hillside in our “backyard” are a nice size but in doing research we came across what royalty mounds look like… HUGE!

The graves in Korean cemeteries are curved to reflect the belief in reincarnation. Basically, it’s like the Earth is pregnant with those entombed and is almost ready to give birth to them once more.

We learned that there is a bit of a difference in comparing graves to that of the US. Koreans traditionally buried the dead under mounds standing upright in coffins made from six planks of wood. These wooden planks represent the four cardinal points on the compass plus a plank for heaven and the other for earth. The corpses either face south or toward some important spiritual part of the landscape such as mountains because these are said to be homes of the spirits of the land and sky.

We also snapped a picture of part of the garden that is off to the right side when we look out our windows. We have been watching this garden get bigger and bigger every day. The Korean family that is planting is working at it daily and continues to expand into new earth. We can’t wait to see what grows in it!

Another major difference in Korea we recently discussed on a walk is just how many gardens there are. We love the fact that Koreans really utilize and take advantage of any grassy area, field, or strip of dirt that can be used for growing something. We are not kidding when we say they are everywhere!

Walking Around Dongducheon & New City Area

We have had many request from Mrs. Sylar’s class and friends to show them pictures of various things such as, what local schools look like, Korean houses/ apartment buildings, the local markets on a busy day, Miss Bean, what the area looks like, etc. Enjoy the various snapshots and feel free to request somethings that you might like us to capture.

Ohhhhh and I almost forgot – We found a pretty neat little coffee and tea spot in downtown Dongducheon too! At first I am thinking hmmm coffee and hotdogs(look at the sign)?? However, Koreans really love their hotdogs and we thought we would just try the place out. 

Check out the Cafe. at pictures located in the 04-05-2011 “Walk through Market and Dongducheon”. They have a really nice coffee bean roaster located in the front window of the cafe, seating inside and out, and just a  really neat and inviting  atmosphere! Everything offered on the little menu above the cash register was really reasonably priced. What’s the verdict on the place and most importantly how’s the coffee? Mr. B really liked his coffee and I enjoyed a green tea latte. We Bee’s will be definitely making this one of our regular stops on our walks.