Korean Chess

There is a version of chess native to Korea called Janggi (장기). Despite the fact that Korea claims this game, it is based around the battle between two Chinese dynasties, the Han and Cho. The pieces in the game include elephants (象), horses (馬), chariots (車), soldiers (兵), cannons (包), royal guards (士), and Han and Cho kings (漢 and 楚, respectively). In terms of moves and compared to the chess you and I are familiar with, elephants and horses are similar to knights, chariots are similar to bishops, and soldiers are similar to pawns. Cannons, royal guards, and kings are unique to janggi.

Cordia and I, having seen old men playing it on sidewalks, have always found it interesting, mostly drawn in by the attractiveness of the Chinese characters engraved on the pieces. On our most recent trip to Seoul, we visited a park full of retired men spending their afternoon socializing and practicing their janggi strategies, needless to say, a favorite park of ours. This time we were approached by a man well versed in English, and I expressed my interest in the game. He offered to teach me.


We rented a game board and pieces ($1 for a 24-hour rental) and grabbed a bench. For the next 90 minutes, I was a student, and he taught me the legal moves of each piece and basic strategies. Soon there was a crowd of curious Koreans around our bench watching the action. With his guidance, I was able to beat him 2 times. Then he decided to take a break and a new challenger sat down. Instant defeat. It turns out you need more than the knowledge of legal moves and basic strategies to beat these people.

I made a promise to practice and on my next trip to Seoul bring more competition to the table. Given that I leave for my final trip to Seoul in exactly 7 days, I had better start practicing.

One for the road

Last night one of our managers took us out to eat after work. The seven of us stuffed ourselves full of samgyupsal (grilled pork), boiled egg, dwenjong jigae (soybean soup), rice, beer, soju, and coke. After a 2 hour party in the restaurant, our bill was only around ₩100,000 ($100). In Korea it's customary for restaurant owners to bring service (free) soju, beer, or coke to customers who stay a while, come often, or spend lots of money. We had been getting service drinks throughout our meal, and when we were paying out, the owner offered us some more soju. Instead of taking him up on the soju, we asked for a discount. Sure. He gave us a little discout.

This is normal in Korea. And there's no tip. Can you imagine this happening in America? Shoot no! Free drinks, a discount, and no tip...?!

This is just one thing we will miss....

Packing Up

Our time in Korea is coming to an end quickly, and while we're excited to see our families, friends, and some real texmex, we can't help being sentimental as we pack our year into boxes and put them on a boat to Texas. We have grown quite fond of this little country and its strange ways, and leaving it brings the same anxiety and sadness that leaving home brought. In an odd way, we've become comfortable being out of our element. This year has been full of lessons, tears, laughs, and love. We have been confused, lost, homesick, bewildered, stared at and laughed at so many times this year and have learned a lot about ourselves, our relationship, people, traveling, and of course Korea.

But not only will we be leaving behind a beautiful country with friendly people and delicious food, we will also have to say goodbye to our compadres. We've stuck to Mike and Diana since the day we met them (Mike in January, and Diana in August), and they've become two of our closest friends. We've gone on trips, eaten mandu, played cards, laughed about work, looked like weird foreigners, danced, sang in the noraebang until 5:30am, and drank tea together. They're both incredible people and great friends, and we'll be sad to move away from their neighborhood.

Our last day of work is December 16. Mom and Lindsey will be here December 18. We will depart Korea on December 22.

Let's eat lots of kimchi and mandu in the next two weeks!!