Only in Korea

So I went out of town yesterday with a few friends to Yeong-Am, a nearby town that has a huge mountain and a National park. My friends were to climb the mountain and I was to wander the park, find some quiet spot, read, relax, and just have some time to myself. It is so noisy here, it is virtually impossible to find quiet.

Well, ol' Korea stayed true to herself; I did not find quiet!

The mountain was swarming with Koreans dressed in their finest hiking gear. It looked like a Mountain Equipment Co-Op fashion show. There was not much room to wander around that was not uphill towards the mountain top. To top things off, who should arrive right next to me, but Mr Kim!

He has been constantly asking me to come to his house in Yeong-Am. I always decline as he does not speak much English and I am always too tired on the weekends to spend a day fighting to be understood.

Well Mr. Kim decides that I need not hang around the mountain (Wolchuson), I must go to his house. So, he whisked me away to his house, then his son's house, attempting to feed me, etc. I tell him I am only there for an hour or so, then I must get back to my puppy. He takes this to mean that we have an hour together and then he will take me to the bus station!

It is funny and I did see the comical side to it for sure. But, it is also aggravating. He is my boss, (much higher than me in the hierarchy) so I am careful not to offend him. I do appreciate his kindness, but he doesn't even ask, or concern himself with what my plans were. He just decides he will do what he wants with me! His English is good enough to understand what I was doing there and to ask if I want to do things, but in Korea, this is irrelevant. One is expected to simply go along with things. I see the teachers at my school do this all the time.

Finally, I had to put a stop to it, less my trip to carve out a little peace and space away from the constant demands Korea puts on me, turn into another day at school. I kindly told Mr. Kim I needed to walk, I was not hungry, and he took me back to the mountain. (mind you, not without following me around for a bit, lol)

I managed to secure around 15 mins of quiet time...