It’s funny, I use the word “last” there. My life as connected to Iksan is not over, of course. It’s a half hour away. So I don’t know why, but it does in some ways feel that way, as if I have made some kind of monumental move. It’s only a half hour away from Iksan. But now, I live in Jeonju. I suppose my time in Iksan is over in the sense of it being the place where I spend every day. Ah well. Here are some pictures I took there during the last days I spent in this little city where I made my life for 20 months.

Lunch With Min Jung

I met the friend who taught me Korean during 2002 for lunch before leaving Iksan. She’s become a high school English teacher in Pyeongtaek, near Suwon, but came home for a visit during the school holidays. I’m very proud of her for her achievements, and it was a good visit. She even gave me a good-luck present, a glass pig jar stuffed with over six hundred paper origami cranes (which she made herself). Both the cranes and the pig are signs of good luck, and I was touched by the present. It was a good visit with my old friend.

Out With The Morning Class

I also went out with my morning class. Let’s just say it was fun enough, and I managed somehow not to catch an epidemic disease related to the monarchy (Princess Disease) even though I met several infected persons in close proximity that evening.

Geumma Park

I also went to Geumma, a town near Iksan, twice last week. I went once to a park with Kimberley, Chong Sook, and Ju Young. (And various dogs.)

Young Ja

I met Young Ja for a beer on Wednesday night. It was all good news on her part, and I was happy to hear it. I will miss our swimming classes, and hanging out in Iksan with her. Of course, because of some recent changes in her life, she has a lot of reasons to come to Jeonju now, so I happily shall see her around here. It’s a good thing!

Geumma Again, With Kyu Jin

Once more I went to Geumma, this time with Kyu Jin. You may remember her from the soccer game I attended in Jeonju. She has never been my student but she’s very cool and I think well of her. We went to a wonderful cafe in Geumma called NongDi, and enjoyed the quiet of that place as well as the decor and the kids wandering around the cafe. It was a good talk. I look forward to our next visit. She also gave me a very cute little crossstitched pig thing to attach to my cell phone. I’ll get a pic of it up once my computer is fixed.

Sae Yoon

On Thursday, I had dinner with my student Sae Yoon. She’s a photo nut and also a very nice young lady. She’s volunteered to shoot pictures of Dabang Band sometime, and I wish we’d met sooner before I left Iksan. Anyway, it was good to see her again.