Just feel it at Sachoom Dance Musical

 Some short clips of Sachoom. My co-worker was pulled up on the stage at the end of the video!

    One of the most popular shows currently running in Seoul is Sachoom. The show has been an open run since May of 2008 with shows every day of the week except Monday. All tickets cost 50,000 won. Luckily, I got my ticket for free because one of my coworkers students is a member of the cast! (Another great perk of being a teacher!)
    The non verbal dance musical runs for 80 minutes and consists of a many different types of dance including tango, hip hop, tap, and modern dance. There are three main characters, but the musical does not portray the storyline well. The show depicts different scenes from growing up including elementary school, dating, getting pregnant, and break ups.  Some of the scenes get pretty sexual and steamy, which was funny because I never thought I'd see a student half naked and dancing so seductively! 

    Although the storyline is pretty weak, Sachoom makes up for this with great comedy and awesome dance moves and singing. The entire show is very silly and audience members are encouraged to dance throughout the show. Don't expect a Broadway type musical at this show. The atmosphere is low key and the musical solely depicts a great love of dance.
    Caution: If you have seizures do not attend this show. The strobe lights are extremely bright and the music is very loud. I personally thought the music was too loud, and had to close my eyes whenever the strobe lights started flashing!
    Sachoom Theatre is located right in Insadong on the fourth floor of the Nawkwon building. You can't miss this building, there are cars running underneath the left side, and there are tons of music stores inside. There is an entrance to the building directly horizontal of the Jongno 3-ga Station Exit 5. For more information and map of the location visit Sachoom's English website at http://www.lovedance.co.kr/eng/01_sachoom/sub01.html.

If you have any questions or comments about Sachoom Dance Musical please leave them in the comment box below or email goneseoulsearching@gmail.com! 

Gone Seoul Searching by Marie Webb is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License.
Permissions beyond the scope of this license may be available at goneseoulsearching@gmail.com.

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The perks of being a teacher in Korea: It's not even Christmas yet!

                                   Marie Webb with one of her Level 2 students Grace.

    The generosity of students is an added bonus of being a teacher in Korea. Teachers are highly respected, and many Korean ELS students are genuinely excited to have a class with a native speaking teacher. It wasn't even my Birthday this week I was invited out to Burger King for lunch with a Talk Time Class. Of course the oldest student named Tango paid for everyone, but I managed to sneak up to the cashier and slip her 6,000 for my whopper and Coke. After lunch, one of the girls politely explained to me that in Korea, teachers are like the sky. What she really meant was that in Korea, teachers have a very high social status. Eventually I got her to blurt out the word respect!

    The following day I received my first gift from a student in my Level 2 Intensive course. The course consists of the two cutest girls I have had yet. To spice up class I always answer their million questions about LA and California. One day I commented on my student Grace's adorable diamond poodle earrings. The next day at class she eagerly ripped open her purse the first five minutes of class and handed me the same earrings! Later in the same day I was given a 50,000 ticket for a dance show that my coworkers student is performing in! I'll post a blog about this show after attending.
    The perks of being a teacher in Korea just keep on coming, and I definitely don't mind feeling amazing everyday when I leave work!

If you have any questions or comments about "The perks of being a teacher in Korea: It's not even Christmas yet!"please leave them in the comment box below.

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How to survive the crazy Korean rain

                  The rain doesn't stop the busy streets of Seoul, but it ruins many Louboutin's! 
    The other day my boyfriend back in Los Angeles, CA asked if I had an umbrella in Seoul. My reply was "WTF! Did you really just ask that question?" There is a two week rainy season during the beginning of July, when Seoul gets an enormous amount of rain. Then the rain lasts off and on until around the end of September.
    The rain in Korea is totally unforgiving, and requires a little bit of outsmarting. Most of the time the rain comes down so hard, that it splashes up from the ground and gets your shoes and clothes completely soaked! After spending a day strategizing how to enjoy a day with this rain, I came up with some fun and simple tips for staying dry.

Six tips for surviving Korea's rain

1. Rain playlists-  I swear that every restaurant and store in Korea has a "rain play list." Where ever you go there will be famous American songs related to rain such as Jack Johnson's lyrics "can't you see that it's just raining" from "Banana Pancakes," and Rhianna's "Under my umbrella." The video above features  a techno version of "Under my umbrella" taken from a local Cold Stone on Piano Street. 

2. Wear flip flops- If you plan on wearing your nice business shoes or heels in the Korean rain you might as well say goodbye to them now. The leather will be completely ruined and water will puddle up inside of your shoes. Flip flops are the best way to go because your feet can eventually dry while socks will stay soggy and wet.

3. Hide out- Get a window seat in one of Korea's numerous coffee shops or restaurants. In the video posted below, I was hiding out in a Cold Stone eating ice cream. Simply watching all of the people running by the window is a blast! The most memorable people are the ones with a magazine or a box over their head. I mean really people, you are pretty much standing underneath a shower head with paper trying to block the water!

 

4. Tour the subway- If you are in Seoul on a rainy day you might as well explore the subway system. Each stop has its own atmosphere. Some are modern and have very interesting architecture such as the stop at Noksapyeong on Line 6 which has an enormous dome and over 5 sky high escalators to take you back to civilization.

5. Stay home and listen- The thunder in Korea is the most ominous yet natural sound that one can ever hope to experience. The first time you experience thunder in Korea, you might get legitimately frightened! Don't believe me, just listen to the video below. This was taken from inside my apartment!

6. Get a huge umbrella- A small dinky umbrella from the street corner won't cut it during the rainy season. Try to get this umbrella if there is a break in the rain, because the street stands will charge you double while it is raining!

Good luck staying dry!

If you have any questions or comments about surviving the Korean rain please leave them in the comment box below!

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National Criminal Background Check- for teachers already living in Korea

    A statewide criminal background check is no longer acceptable for Americans living in Korea with an E2 Visa. An FBI check is required and it can take up to 12 weeks to process so I recommend applying right away if you are a current resident in Korea. The apostille also takes up to 15 days. So plan for this to take 14 weeks total! Apparently these changes were made in September, but many teachers like me weren't notified by their bosses until October (Hopefully we won't get deported in January.)



As of Jan. 1, 2011:
All Americans must get an FBI level background check. Fingerprints can be done in Korea and the application can be mailed home and paid via credit card or check. ATTENTION: FBI checks must be notarized and apostilled before returning them to the Korean government. Keep reading for more details.

1. First download the required documents for the FBI check from the FBI Website.

1. A Check list so that you don't forget anything.
2. A fingerprint card (FD-258)
3. The Fingerprint card instructions
4. Credit Card payment form
5. Application Form

2. Next go to the biggest police station in your city. This will ensure that your fingerprints are legitimate enough to be sent to the FBI. I went to a smaller station and they had no idea what they were doing. The fingerprints were terrible and I literally did them myself while the Korean police man just stood there. Finally I had my boss make an appointment with the CSI division of the police. This guy used better ink and knew what he was doing.

3. Next you will need to send the documents to the US. Write a note to the FBI asking them to use their official seal for the document. This will make things easier so that your family will not have to get the document notarized before sending is to the US State Department to receive an apostille

Send fingerprint forms here:
FBI CJIS Division – Record Request
1000 Custer Hollow Road
Clarksburg, WV 26306

4. When the government finally returns the documents to you or your family they should send them to the following address for the apostille:


U.S. Department of State
Authentications Office
518 23rd Street NW.
SA-1
Washington, DC 20520

The U.S. Department of State recommends that the documents be sent with the following cover letter: Office of Authenications cover letter.

5. Have your family send the final documents back to Korea. Then you need to have your company deliver the documents to the nearest immigration office.

    Personally I think the new requirement should have been enforced a long time ago. I was told by my company that I would need a local police check in April of 2010, and then a state wide background check in June of 2010, and now an FBI background check in October 2010. Korean immigration is driving us crazy!
    I also don't like that the only way to pay is by filling out a credit card form which will go through the mail. Your social security number is also required on the FBI check application. Because fingerprints are required, it is impossible for your family members to fill out the applications for you and mail them into the government. Thus, your private information will be traveling across seas through mail. (This is super sketchy in my opinion!)

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