I mentioned Yangyang previously. The Gangwon-do Office of Education hosts two two-day conferences and workshops every year here for Korean English teachers and us Guest English Teachers. This conference took at the KORAIL building on the shoreline for the second year in a row. It's an excellent setup because of its modern facilities and generous condo accommodations.
The trip almost didn't happen this year because my school didn't apply to go until the last minute. I had assumed we were going because we went last year, but it didn't go that way this year. Thankfully, JB the co-teacher was keen on going, so he made the necessary phone calls and got us in. Good for him, because we ended up carpooling with Matt, Nina, and Nina's co-teacher. We met them in Munhye and got on the road. Our drive took us through the pretty, twisting mountain roads to Chuncheon and even prettier, curlier mountain roads of Mt Seorak National Park. The leaves have started changing color and it's something to see here.
The conference went down quite well. Unlike last year, a much smaller group of us attended it, but we all had a great time meeting old friends and making new ones. I was thrilled to see old Orientation buddy Graham here because we hadn't seen each other since last year. We quickly caught up. When we were talking, he threw out a line that probably resonates more with seasoned conference attendees of all stripes: "This is good, but it'd be better if we were all having a beer. The real meeting is after the meeting." Indeed; while I thought all of the lecturers prepared well and delivered useful information, some of it seemed redundant. It is possible to have too much review and not enough new information.
Bonus pictures
We stopped along the road to take pictures of a mountain stream...
The backyard of the KORAIL building.
The Yangyang shoreline. Of all the places I've been on the east coast, Yangyang has the best waves.
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