We live in Hwasoon, about 20 minutes south of Kwangju. Last year we were crammed into a tiny studio apartment, so this year's 2-bedroom place feels like quite a palace. Chosun University provided the apartment, which is located in a typical Korean high-rise and is less than 3 years old.

Cheris and Shawn (our first houseguest) enjoying the space.
We even have room to throw stuff around.
Here's Cheris with our colleague and former next-door neighbor, the inimitable Sharon You. She moved into Kwangju in August 2000, presumably to escape Rob's incessant snoring and guitar playing.
Out in the hills around Hwasoon, it's really gorgeous. Check out the terraced rice fields in the center.
We got a visit in August from our buddy Cho Sang-mi, our former colleague in Taejon. Here she is with Cheris on a hiking trail in the hills outside Hwasoon.


     We had a visit some months before that from some other colleagues and buddies from Taejon--Dawn & Andrew (the pride of British Columbia) and Brian & Verena (the scourge of Ireland--just kidding, lads).

At the trampoline park across from our apartment complex, Brian jumped for joy at seeing us again...
...but Cheris didn't like his attitude and kicked him square in the face with this nice maneuver.
Verena and Dawn were so impressed with Cheris's kung-fu that they hugged her continuously while we headed into Kwangju and took a cable car ride to a peak at Mudeungsan, a mountainous national park located on the edge of the city.
Dawn finally managed to detach herself from Cheris long enough to pose with Andrew, who miraculously managed to keep his tongue inside his mouth for a photo.
Finally, here's a look across the beautiful city of Kwangju taken through the enormous volume of not-so-beautiful smog.


     Kwangju is well-known for its hosting of the Kwangju Biennalle, a biannual (did you guess?) event hosting modern art exhibitions from around the world. Luckily, we arrived in town in the proper year to enjoy this event, and we visited it with our good friends Yu Kyeong-wan and Shin Eui-kyeong (aka Mac) from Taejon.

Photography wasn't allowed inside the exhibitions, but Cheris managed to create a photo-op on the traditional Korean giant swing on the grounds.


From the hangin'-around-Kwangju-file: here's Rob's good buddy Seung-ji, whom you may remember from the Jeungshimsa page.
And here's Netizen, the PC room where Seung-ji used to work. Can't you almost just hear the sounds of Starcraft?


     Sometime last summer we had a great dinner at the home of our colleague Mike and his roommate Harry. They've got a great dog, too, a Siberian husky called Akie. Here are some pics from that memorable evenin'...

Cheris getting to know the pup.
CJB, Harry, and Mike enjoying the wine.
Our hosts with their canine buddy.
Grrrrrrr!
Not dead, just dog-tired.


Silliness at home in Hwasoon--the Same Sweater Incident.


In July, we threw a little party at our place for some of Cheris's students. Here are Na Hye-ju and classmate Seong-yun taking a crack at the computer dance game after a few glasses of wine.
In June, our buddies Craig and Cheryl took a few days' trip to Beijing, and we played dogsitter for their Golden Retriever, Joey. Here he is playing with Cheris outside a restaurant, then cooling off later by plopping down into the mud alongside a rice field.

the Kwangju Chronicles