Dangjin

The dog hair-dying fad has reached Dangjin

This weekend I went to Dangjin where my friend Ben lives, located an hour an a half bus ride southwest of Suwon. Around 120,000 people live in Dangjin county but it's a cowtown compared to Seoul. There are only 4 English teachers living in the city and there is a definitely a more curious vibe from the people than you get living in Seoul or Anyang.

What is there to do in a small town in Korea? Well in this particular town, probably not unlike many small towns in America, it involves BB guns, roman candles and beer. I was starting to get nostalgic memories of being back in Kansas at the Ranch... We also went to the market on Saturday where I saw freshly slaughtered pigs being thrown out the back of a truck and then chopped into pieces for sale, something I can happily say I've never before seen.

The most entertaining thing about Dangjin was walking around and watching the wide-eyed and sometimes horrified expressions on the faces of passing children when 6' 2" scraggly-bearded, long curly-haired Ben passed into their field of vision. These kids rarely see foreigners and Ben doesn't exactly blend into a crowd. Sometimes the middle school kids would run up and shout, "Jesus, Jesus!", or something about his beard or his height before running away. The younger ones would just stare with intense curiosity unless Ben caught them, in which case they would quickly avert their eyes and turn away.

At the market in Dangjin

Squid at the market in Dangjin