Winter already?

We had a nice few weeks of Autumn weather here in Daegu but yesterday it took a turn for the worse and it's much colder. I don't know if there'll be an upturn in tempteratures but for now we'll just have to deal with what we're served with. It's not super cold, just that for the past six weeks or so the weather has been about perfect. As I have said before, I'd rather deal with the cold than the six-eight weeks of insanity you go through in Daegu's Summer. Anyway, the cold reminds me of home and the fact that I'm coming home soon, making me pretty excited.

Watching the season change

Just thirty seconds walk from my apartment the changes from Summer to Autumn can be seen. This is by far my favourite time of year to be in Korea. The weather is perfect and the colours are most vibrant over the next few weeks.

Cheering up

Being from the UK I am honour bound to talk about the weather far too much. Summer is over now, temperatures are down and from last week people are walking around in shirts, jackets and coats. In fact for weeks and weeks now to my dismay my students have been almost begging me to turn off the air conditioner.

It's amazing how much the weather affects my mood here. I'm more used to it than newcomers but Summers heat is much too intense for my North European disposition. Temperatures of 35/36°C are all too common in those nightmare weeks with the Feels like temperature sometimes being over 40°C. I don't know how the locals in Daegu put up with it all their lives. It's over and I feel like I've survived something.

Now the air is cool and the temperature is what it is and it's perfect for me. Being outside is not a burden now and work is less of a chore. There is no discomfort moving. No air conditioner on at home nor fan. There are no two or three showers a day (due to taekwondo), no sweating and no outrageous night time humidity that makes you feel like you can actually touch it, so thick it is because of pollution.

If the weather was like this all year round I could stay longer but it's not and I'm not going to do. I can enjoy the rest of my time in Korea and I'm really looking forward to the remaining months. One of my ex co-workers is leaving in a matter of days and it reminds me that my time will be up sooner rather than later - though I keep saying that! Time to enjoy the good things about Korea rather than dwell on what I don't like.

Early Autumn splendor in Korea

This week in Korea we have seen a noticeable change in the seasons. Autumn has been with us for a while now but temperatures were still high until this week where we have seen a 4/5° C drop. The daytime is much cooler and it is nearly cold at night. Students begin to complain about the cold after the excesses of Summers heat. The wind has picked up and I even wore a jumper to work on Wednesday.

Other noticeable changes though are in the nature that surrounds us. The leaves are slowly starting to change colour and beginning to fall onto the floor. Korea seems to be alive after the long drawn out Summer. Now is the time to enjoy what nature and the season of Autumn can give us with its beautiful colours. I look forward to this, one of my last Autumns in Korea with affection and enjoyment. This is Koreas best season.

Culture clash: Battle on

Right now we are in the middle of Autumn. It's not very cold but from December it will start to get there. However, many of the Korean staff (not children) are behaving as if they have to work in Arctic conditions. One person in particular is being phenomenally ridiculous about the 'cold'. One day this week I counted down her return to the teachers room from class until she turned the heating on. She lasted six seconds, and I will be watching to see if she can beat that one. That included the now mandatory moan of "its cold" before the lunge for the heating. Surely she means "I'm cold", along with all its connotations. I am trying to casually turn down the heating whenever I get the chance so we'll see where that gets me. Things got better on Friday, one Korean teacher yelled it's too hot and turned off the heater, so it's not just me feeling heat.


There seems to be a bit of a divide between Westerners and Koreans. Westerners are saying it's a little cold at times so they dress appropriately. The Koreans by and large constantly say they are cold and don't always dress so fittingly. Their usual approach to the situation is to put the heating on asap and right now its very warm especially if you are me and someone who dresses according to the weather. If they are so cold why are they dressing like its a nice Spring day? It's all in their mind. If you keep saying you're cold, then how else are you going to feel?!


My seat in the teachers room is right next to the heater/air conditioner, so in theory when its cold I get close to the heat, and in Summer I get a lot of the benefit of instant cooling. At the moment all I get is the blast of the heater. The record for the heater so far is 29°C but I'm expecting to reach 30°C some time soon. I know my nemesis is dying to crank it up.


A further thing, the actual classrooms are at times like saunas. They are so hot right now that every class almost begs me to ask for the heating to go off. I am told that some of the classrooms on the lower level are colder than on my level and I think I would enjoy those more. But at least we are getting heating. Almost certainly many smaller schools won't have theirs on right now.

Out and about: Killing time

Yesterday I found myself with three hours to go before work and desperate to avoid going back to my computer again. I decided to take the time out to enjoy the decent weather and try to appreciate the surroundings of Autumn. I took my camera with me as I usually do and tried to picture what I would be seeing. I was surprised with how well the results came out.

The first thing to mention is the beautiful blue sky. No clouds in sight, very sunny. I can only imagine how dull and colourless back home in England will be right now. Omnipresent grey filling the skies, depressing all but the few. Though apartment buildings dominate large parts of the skyline here they cannot block out everything.


The slogan for Daegu (my city of residence) is Colorful Daegu, which is a bit ironic as it is far from the truth. Most times. However as these photographs illustrate, Autumn is a very rewarding season. The trees which can be found lining most roads right now are striking.

The area I live in is dominated by some close-by mountains and hills. The one which is closest is called Unamgee. Many times have I gone hiking there and always have I enjoyed myself. I prefer to go alone with my MP3 player for company, sometimes for exercise and sometimes for pleasure. These days, despite going to Hapkido, I feel out of shape and the change of weather makes it perfect to get out there and maybe have some fun too. So I decided to go hiking again and here are some of the things that I saw.



There are probably hundreds of ways to go up this hill/mountain and I don't think I even hike all the way to the top but the way I go in enjoyable and familiar and eliminates the chances of stumbling. The way up is steeper than the pictures suggest, but we can also see there are places where you can take a well earned breather. As you can see the sun is extremely bright so I had no idea how good/bad photos would be.


I wonder what the rock-piles like this mean. Perhaps nothing. The surrounding trees allied with the sunlight make for an enjoyable hike though the shadows do make it easier to lose your balance when walking but equally more enjoyable.



I have reached the top of my hike. It didn't take too long, maybe twenty five minutes or so but as most of it was very steep my legs were burning at times. A chance to sit down if needed and also to see part of the area I live and work in. As you can see its not just people of my age who can go hiking here.



The walk down is more treacherous because of the consequences of falling but again that makes it more interesting. I have slipped here many times though never doing myself much harm. Again another place to rest and appreciate the brilliant sunshine and your surroundings or perhaps just to think by yourself.



The journey home is not over. I have to walk past an outdoor gym where middle aged Koreans exercise in the fresh air. A good idea I think, when it's not too cold. Again I wonder if this could ever happen back home.




And still not away from Unamgee as there is a man-made lake with some fish to be found and fountains sometimes spraying jets of water (though there is not much to do ON the lake). People of all ages come here at various times during the week. Weekends are pretty packed too so I tend to go hiking, when I do, during the mornings. Autumn is clearly here and it won't be long before Winter displaces the colours from view, so time to enjoy.

By now the battery had ran out of power on my camera. Time to go home again and then to work with a smile on my face.