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United Kingdom2674 Posts
Tomorrow (Sunday September 17) after four years, five months and six days, one very happy marriage, two jobs, thousands of games of Starcraft and buckets of soju, I will be leaving Korea to return to the UK.
I arrived in Korea in April 2002, just before the excitement of the World Cup. Having failed to secure the funding I needed for my post-grad programme I decided to head to Asia for a couple of years, hang out, teach English, have a lot of fun and save some money. My original plan was to stay in Korea for one year, Japan for one year then head back to the UK.
Soon after I got here I met a wonderful girl. Or rather I met her for the second time; we originally encountered each other in Israel, where we lived on the same kibbutz for a while. Having met up again in Seoul, we soon started dating. After a year I asked her to marry me. So much for only being in Korea for a year, and so much for heading to Japan.
I love living here in Seoul. However, for someone with my background there are not many career opportunities. I have never wanted to become a career English teacher and I always intended to return to academia at some point.
So, late last year my wife and I decided to move to England. I will be studying at King's College London for at least the next two years, four if everything goes as planned. My wife is looking for work with Korean firms in London. We fly at 8.50am tomorrow. On Tuesday we are going to look at a flat above a wonderful antiquarian bookshop in a beautiful old town in Kent, from where we plan to commute into London.
Things I will miss the most:
-My many Korean friends.
-Staggering into a pojang macha at 3am and drinking soju until sunrise.
-My cat, which, due to Britain's draconian quarantine laws, we decided should stay here in Korea with my wife's family.
-Soju, makkoli, dong dong chu.
-Sam gyeop sal, so kalbi sal, dak kalbi, budae tchigae.
-Playing Brood War all night in a pc bang with my soju-blasted friends.
-Seoul's fantastic metro.
-Being able to turn on the television at any time and watch Starcraft.
-Korea's many beautiful national parks.
Thanks for everything Korea. I am just happy I am taking the most wonderful part of this wonderful nation with me to England. 
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it's not the end, its just the beginning
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"The end" is a rather pessimistic view on things.
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Wow we've been having a lot of quality threads lately. Good luck back at the UK Arbiter 
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Osaka27180 Posts
Best of luck Darren, dont be a stranger eh?
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GL HF back in England again. Sucks that you have to leave all that stuff behind, but you're kinda starting over in the UK again, so think of it more as a new beginning. Beside that, who is to say you can never go back? Unless you're banned from the country, which I doubt.
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Valhalla18444 Posts
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Whow, how big are the chances that an english guy lives in a kibbutz with a girl and then later they see each other again in Seoul? Or did you kinda go to Seoul to see her again?
Nothing wrong with King's College tho, i know someone there...And since your wife has experience living abroad it won't be as difficult for her to get accustomed to the UK. Very many lucks in England, and we'll see you around here, won't we?
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Korea (South)11603 Posts
Congrats on the marriage, and what are the chances of meeting her in israel and then in seoul?
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HonestTea
5007 Posts
I'm glad you enjoyed your stay, I hope most of the people you met here were good hosts.
Good luck with yoru studies.
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Baltimore, USA22261 Posts
Nice story frolix, but it'll be a new chapter for you now. If you can, share any pics you might have lying around, I always love to get a glimpse. Anyways, and I say this with one hundred fucking percent sincerity, I wish you the best of luck, and I hope your new life back in the UK is even better for you.
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Aw arbiter... That's exactly what i wanted to be in Seoul... Too bad i can't get any teacher's grade, and the poker gamble seems to be too reckless to live there...
Hope you won't be somewhat annoyed by all those little thing that UK could have (like hooligans whatever :p)
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Good-bye, hope you back someday
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turn that frown upside down.
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On September 15 2006 23:20 FireBatLover wrote:
turn that frown upside down.
That's a smile, not an upside-down frown! Work on that, too!
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thedeadhaji
39489 Posts
On September 15 2006 22:46 Sfydjklm wrote:
it's not the end, its just the beginning
<3
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It is strange how you keep bumping into the same people on trips overseas. I happened to find 2 guys and a girl in 3 seperate cities in Egypt over a 2 week period, 2 times in the same hostel. Then there's also the korean tourists in middle east...I swear half the korean nation's there ;p.
Awesome story to tell your kids though, best wishes.
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good luck in your "new" life
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Hong Kong20321 Posts
wow cool lets meet up in the uK then im in leeds right now!! XDDD j/k.. anyway good luck with your new start!!
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EPT
