Korea 2010: Lacking Time-Off

I know Christmas has just past, but picture Christmas 2010. It’s Christmas Eve, Friday December 24th and you’re with family and/or friends sipping on a cup of hot chocolate or egg nog and spiced rum, mm mmm mmm. But why does this Christmas Eve feel so wonderful? Well yes, you could argue it is because you are with your loved ones, but let’s be honest, it has a lot to do with not having to be at work! Unless you’ve booked holidays over Christmas, you most likely have the 24th off in lieu of Christmas Day.

Canada and the US are great when it comes employees being paid time and a half on statutory holidays and giving a day in lieu of a holiday that falls on a weekend. We all love long weekends and about once a month we get one whether or not the holiday falls on a weekend.

Below is a list of holidays that fall on a weekend in Korea for 2010:

February 13 – Lunar New Year

February 14 – Lunar New Year

February 15 – Lunar New Year - Lunar New Year is a 3 day holiday in many Asian countries and this year two of three days fall on a weekend. So for one of the biggest holidays of the year, it’s only a 3 day weekend.

(Also called "Seol(설)" or "Gujeong(구정, 舊正)". The first day of the lunar Korean calendar. It is the most important of the traditional Korean holidays, and is considered a more important holiday than the solar New Year's Day)

June 6 – Memorial Day - This holiday falls on a Sunday, a long weekend lost.

(The day commemorates men and women who died while in military service or independence movement. It was originated from the traditional customs of Mangzhong, one of the 24 solar terms. On this day, national commemorating ceremony is held in National Cemetery)

August 15 – Liberation Day – This day falls on a Sunday, another long weekend lost.

(The day celebrates national liberation from Japan in 1945. On this day, Emperor Shōwa announced surrender and World War II was ended. On the same day of 1948, the government of the Republic of Korea was established. The word "Gwangbok" means "restoration of light")

September 21 – Chuseok

September 22 – Chuseok

September 23 – Chuseok –This 3 day holiday actually falls in the middle of the week Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. We can’t complain too much because we still get the time off, but it would be fantastic to have either the Monday or Friday off to make it a really great holiday! We may not get this holiday anyway as our contract here is up at the end of August. We may however extend for one month, we’ll keep you updated as to the status of our vacation. Only time will tell!

(Chuseok is the biggest holiday of the year next to Lunar New Year. Also called "Han-gawi (한가위)". Korean traditional Harvest Festival. With Seollal, it is one of the most important Korean traditional holidays. As a celebration of the good harvest, Koreans visit their ancestral hometowns and share a feast of Korean traditional food)

October 3 – National Foundation Day – This holiday also falls on a Sunday and so it is lost.

(The day celebrates the foundation of Gojoseon, the first state of Korean nation. According to Samguk Yusa, Dangun founded Gojoseon on the 3rd day of 10th lunar month, 2333 BCE. Today, South Koreans are celebrating their national foundation on October 3 in solar calendar, for convenience sake. "Gaecheonjeol" means "Heaven-opened Day")

On a more positive note, May 21 is Buddha’s birthday. Also called "Bucheonnim Osinnal (부처님 오신 날)" or "Sawol Chopail (사월 초파일,四月初八日). The birthday of the Gautama Buddha. In South Korea, Buddhism is the one of two major religions, with Christianity.

This is one of our favourite holidays in Korea. Lotus Lantern Festival also takes place during this time. Click here and here for links to our posts of the festival in 2008.

After teaching Korean children English as a second language, we really have an appreciation for teachers back at home. We don’t have regular national holidays and two months off in the summer. We teach at a private institute and receive 10 paid vacation days a year plus national holidays. We look forward to a long weekend each month to get away from the crazy children, but this year is a little tougher than others. So to all of you at home, enjoy your statutory holidays and days in lieu!

If you’re interested in more information on Korean holidays, click here for the information on Wikipedia. (All links and detailed information on the holidays above are from Wikipedia)

January 1		Solar New Year
February 13		Lunar New Year
February 14		Lunar New Year
February 15		Lunar New Year
March 1		Independence Movement Day
April 5		Arbor Day
May 5		Children's Day
May 21		Buddha's Birthday
June 6		Memorial Day
July 17		Constitution Day
August 15		Liberation Day
September 21		Chuseok
September 22		Chuseok
September 23		Chuseok
October 3		National Foundation Day
December 25		Christmas Day

Karon Beach, Phuket, Thailand

Day 2: Saturday December 26th, 2009

Hello sunny Phuket! 33C/92F

Shower. Get dressed. Put on sunglasses. Coffee time!

We started the morning off right with a small breakfast of eggs, fresh fruits, toast and a cup of coffee around the corner from our guesthouse. Most places around here are owned by Scandinavians and the one we went to was no exception. The price was right and there was decently priced hourly internet rates next door too.

Christie rarely gets up early, but the warm sun and scent of coffee lured her away from her bed.

Jana wide awake, ready to start working on her tan.

Dammit Jay! Another cigar? Wait, that’s the same one you started last night. Well, at least we are outside this time.

Before heading to the beach, we stopped at a convenience store and picked up two large 660ml beers for 76 baht ($2.30US) and some sunscreen. Now we’re ready for a day at the beach.

John buried in the sand while enjoying an ice cold Beer Chang.

Jana buried in the sand as well, although we’re not sure how she intends to work on her tan with only her face uncovered.

Because Christie was up too early, she used this time to take a nap on the beach after drinking a beer.

Karon Beach. Sun beds were 100 baht each at peak times, later in the afternoon you could generally sneak one without paying. We think of Thailand as a Mexico for Europeans. Phuket was filled with Europeans, which of course includes older men wearing their tight speedos. On the other hand there were plenty of women in their 20s up to 60s topless.

European man in a speedo! If you’re interested, click the picture to enlarge! Warning doesn’t enlarge the speedo!

Mmmm pineapple and rum in a pineapple!

Chang in the morning. Chang in the afternoon. Chang at sunset.

Krista and Jon on the beach at sunset.

Beer Chang as the moon rises.

After spending an entire day travelling it was wonderful to spend a day at the beach. Afterwards we were relaxed, a little burnt and looking forward to a 2 day / 1 night scuba trip!

Seoul to Bangkok to Phuket

Incheon International Airport – Seoul, South Korea. It’s Christmas day and keeping up with our tradition we stopped at Caribou Coffee after passing through security. White Chocolate Mocha, shot of hazelnut, and moose it (extra shot of espresso), we were up way too early! The only thing missing is the chocolate covered espresso bean that you would normally get in most US locations. Mmmm.. tastes like heaven, what a great way to start off a trip.

We have been through this airport many times before, and with the amount of times we’ve flown in general one would think we have finally nailed down the proper preparations when taking a trip. Guess again! Here’s a helpful tip if you’re ever in this airport, go to an ATM BEFORE you pass through security! There is no way to take out cash otherwise. You can buy anything on that side with a credit card or Korean cash card but good luck trying to get any extra cash in your pocket.

Incheon airport does gain points aside from having a Caribou Coffee though, and that comes from having a free internet lounge complete with netbooks and comfy chairs to relax in while waiting for flight departure. All the netbooks have built-in webcams so you can chat with friends and family, next time we’ll have to get there earlier to take advantage of this.

Our first flight was 6 hours non-stop to Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok via Thai Air. The food on the plane was decent and we kept ourselves occupied while watching Ice Age 3. After arriving in Bangkok we tried to find a way to kill a 5 hour layover. Or get rid of it. We attempted to get an earlier flight to Phuket, but if you’ve ever been to the Suvarnabhumi airport you will know that it is always busy with people trying to get an earlier flight or just a flight. On our way to attempt to get a better flight, we saw Jean Claude Van Dam also trying to do the same thing!

The airport cost an estimated $3.8B US, I think the money went to concrete, steel and asphalt only; being inside the airport is like being inside a dingy warehouse, at least on the domestic side… With the lack of colour it was certainly not aesthetically pleasing. So what does one do while on a layover? Drink beer, of course. We made our way to the food court to see what the cost of food and drinks were. Yup, you guessed it! Ridiculously overpriced as usual. A bottle of Beer Chang was at least 200 baht (about $6US). Maybe $6 doesn’t sound like a lot compared a beer in an airport at home, but it is when you can buy the same beer at 7-11 for 25 baht ($0.75) or 50 baht ($1.50) elsewhere in the airport.

OK, Beer Chang in hand, now to find a place to sit down and relax. What? No chairs in an $4B airport? Well the chairs that were lined against the wall were occupied by individuals sleeping on 4 chairs at a time. So what do we do now? Well that’s obvious, go stand at the suggestion box table and drink with another guy who would like to borrow a pen and fill out a suggestion ballot regarding the lack of a areas to relax and drink. So instead we had a great time at our own standing bar.

5 hours are up! Time to board our flight to Phuket! Wrong.. we are delayed for another hour. What do we do? Well that’s obvious, we walk 5 minutes to the other end of the terminal and pick up more Beer Chang.

Dammit Jay, you’re not suppose to smoke in the airport!

Jana hid in our suitcase, she really wanted to escape Seoul during Christmas, we thought it would be nice to help her out.

We finally arrive in Phuket around 10pm and make our way outside to catch a mini bus to our hotel in Karon Beach for 180 baht each ($5.40US). After an exhausting ride, we finally reach our hotel near midnight. We made it!! We quickly dropped off our bags and explored the streets to find a Christmas dinner. To our surprise, no one was serving food. So what did we have for dinner? Beer Chang and pizza from 7-11.. ooooh so exciting! But you know what? IT WAS! After a full day of travelling we were finally at our destination! After all, it could have been worse, we could’ve been in Seoul freezing in our apartment. Tomorrow’s plans? Beach day!

Happy New Year everyone, we hope you had a wonderful Christmas!