I get this all the time when I tell people I’m going for the second time to Korea. “Wow, you must really like it there. What do you like it about it so much?”

You’d think by now I’d have an elevator pitch down for that one. You know the elevator pitch don’t you? You’re a salesrep and you get on the elevator at your client’s office. You’re meeting an executive, but into the elevator walks the CEO of the company. You’ve only got a scant few seconds to give him your well-turned pitch of your product or service’s value statement and garner yourself an appointment before he’s off on his floor or you on yours. Its a golden moment and if your words are not carefully chosen the opportunity is lost.

Well, in my case, its not quite so dramatic. There isn’t a single, glowing reason, held high for all to see, as to why I or anyone else should want to spend a year in Korea. Nope, can’t think of one. Not one anyway.  Several reasons.

Here’s a list of ten good reasons, in no specific order, what I like about living in Korea.  

• Medical expenses. I’ll pay roughly $8-9 for a visit to a specialist. That’s not even with insurance. I can walk in, no appointment, and see the Dr., get a scrip and be on my way in 20 minutes.  If I want to get acupuncture to ease some recurring shoulder pain from climbing, it’ll cost me a whopping $3.
• Korean BBQ. If you ain’t never had it, it won’t do no good to ‘splain it here. Go to Chosun Kalbi at Royal and Harry Hines to thrown down on some real chow. Expect to pay 2-3 times what I’ll pay for the exact same thing there. 
• MyeongHee. Sweet woman. Totally sexy. Say no more, say no more.
• My total Tax burden will be 5% of my income. 5%. So how much is taken out here in the US? Roughly 20% goes out before I even get a penny. Then add in sales tax, gas tax, telecom excise tax, blah blah blah.  5%.  Suck it.
• I’ll work from 1pm until 8pm, 5 days per week. Fridays are “game days”, so work on 1 of those 5 days will be spent playing games that emphasize English. Difficult, stressful work, you see. Getting up before noon, working so late at night…  I’ll probably need plenty of those $3 acupuncture sessions just to chill.
• I get to learn a new language! How else to keep the mind sharp than to constantly challenge it? Research has shown that vigorous mental exercise prolongs ones ability to cope much later in life. When you stop learning, you’re dead.
• Rock climbing on 70+ routes, just a few kilometers from my apartment. There’s several other climbers in the same town still there. Tons of hiking and biking trails all over the mountains surrounding the city. Its a nice change from the concrete prairie here in Dallas.
• My tax dollars will no longer support a President that has lost my respect and the confidence of 2/3rds of the US population. I’m tired of watching GW try to turn the rest of the world into democracies by force while ignoring the constitution and democracy here at home. You send him your money. I’m done with that clown. Want to read more rants? Read my political blog.
• Asia!  I’ll be there, just an hour or two plane ride away from some of the most exotic places on the planet. Food! Culture! Adventure! Ahhh….smell that? Its wanderlust! Catch it.
• Writing. I haven’t done much of it lately. I have one book finished. Another started. I’ll have the spare time I haven’t had here to get in a 1000 words or so a day. That’ll show up on this site, too, on my writing blog.
• Are there more reasons? Sure. Come see for yourself. I’ll have room in my apartment for guests. Who’s coming?

I hope you’ll come back and read more. Its not the same as being here, but on my last trip I took a lot of comfort knowing that I could stay in touch with so many this way.